Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Aamir and Marcos were reveling in their role as the lord protectors of Maersa. They used to be only two leaders of unknown warbands, but now, they were powerful managers of a powerful city.
The City of Maersa had changed a lot. After having received donations and profitable business deals for a while, the city’s development had started to pick up speed. The problems that people initially worried about were solved easily.
Since Maersa City provided technical support for the production line of the energy crystal gun, everyone wanted to be on their good terms. Therefore, despite the boom in population, there were still plenty of resources to go around.
As the population grew, Maersa also started to draft more soldiers into its force. The requirement of becoming part of the defensive unit was very low: a level three soul energy. Moreover, there was no restriction on age. After the soldiers were drafted, they only participated in one type of training: shooting.
“Is there any news from Wang Tong?”
“Nothing.”
Despite the boom of Maersa under their watch, neither Aamir nor Marcos could find any joy in their hearts. As their power grew, so did their responsibilities. The more reports they had heard, the more they realized that the situation on Mars had reached a turning point. The Martians’ united front had re-established themselves at the third line of defense, preparing themselves for a final showdown with the Zergs. Every major faction had contributed to the defensive line to the best degree they could; some cities had even sent in their reserves. If the humans were able to hold back the Zerg attack at the last line of defense, it would be safe to say that the Zergs wouldn’t be able to amass another attack for a while.
The city of Maersa had also sent in ten thousand of their soldiers, leaving the city barracks practically empty.
However, despite the effort of all Martian resistances, the situation remained unpredictable. If the energy crystal guns could be manufactured a few weeks earlier, the humans might be able to organize a GN gun special unit and send it to the front line. However, so far, the first group of soldiers who had received the guns was still under training.
The humans had done what they could do, and the rest was up to the decision of the gods.
The public in the city remained optimistic about the war, largely because of the propaganda. This was going to be the final battle, and the main force at the defensive line had received unequivocal support from the public behind the front line. Everyone knew that this was the time of life or death, and only in unity would they survive.
Marcos had sent out scouts everywhere, trying to gather as much information from the other side of the battlefield as possible. Ever since Wang Tong entered the Zerg territory, the communication was cut off. Therefore, Marcos didn’t even know if the latter was still alive or not. Although Wang Tong had ensured him that he would return alive, Marcos knew even that if the latter was the heir of the Blade Warrior, he could not surpass the impossible.
Aamir heaved a sigh and patted on Marco’s shoulder while saying, “We all have our devils to fight. Perhaps for him, to be able to die in the enemy territory was his greatest wish. We will be joining him soon anyway.”
Neither of them was very optimistic about the humans’ odds in winning the war. Even if the Martian united front were able to push back Moye’s army, what would happen when Patroclus finally joined forces with Moye?
Humans’ days were numbered, and that was the hard truth no one seemed to be willing to admit.
Even if the Blade Warrior returned to the human world, what could he achieve if he was fighting all by himself anyway?
“Every city had supported the war, and we had mobilized fifty regiments to the front line. I am confident that we should be able to deliver a blow to the Zergs.”
“Yeah! Let them come, and they will never go back!”
“The defense behind the front line was practically none. Are you comfortable with that?”
“Not really. There were still Zerg activities in the human territory. However, we have them under control. It is not just us who are gathering force at the front line, the Zergs are too. Their home base is very fragile as well. Have you heard about that Einherjar? He has been very active lately.”
“Yes. I had seen him in my city. His appearance helped a lot with placating the nerves of the soldiers. He was not just a charlatan; he was actually very powerful. I have heard that the Zergs had cornered him twice with the Einherjar’s Bane unit, but he was able to destroy the EB unit on both accounts with ease. ”
“I have seen this guy once.” A voice boomed, and the meeting room suddenly quieted down.
“Captain Ding, you have? Really?”
Captain Ding was in his thirties, a veteran general of House Lie. “Indeed! I ran into him while I was on a business trip. The golden Zergs were harassing the city which I was staying in, and the city defense were getting wrecked.”
“Did you hide under the desk?” Someone jested. Captain Ding rolled his eyes at the jester and announced, “Who do you think I am? Of course, I went into the fight right away!”
“And?”
Ding Zhan opened up his jacket and revealed an ugly scar running from chest to his lower belly. “These golden dark ones are really tough SOBs. They are much tougher than a normal dark one, and the three of them knew how to work as a team. I thought I was done for until that Einherjar showed up. He ripped those poor Zergs into pieces with bare hands. ”
“Get out of here! That’s impossible! The only person who can do that on Mars would be Zambrotta and Lie Jintian. ”
“That’s not the end of it! The three golden dark ones were merely baits for the Einherjar as a level twenty-five EB unit suddenly joined the battle.”
Everyone gasped; they had never seen a level twenty-five EB unit before.
“The sky was covered with Kamikaze Zergs and over a dozen golden dark ones. These b*stards had been hiding until the Einherjar showed up. Gosh! I have never seen such a battle before. He could have destroyed an entire city if he wanted to.” Ding Zhan said with a broad smile on his face.
“And, and? What happened to him? Did he live?”
“Of course! Otherwise how the hell am I still alive and retelling the story to you? ”
“He defeated a level twenty-five EB unit? That is… unbelievable. Balls! This is great news!”
“Did he get hurt? A level twenty-five EB unit is no joke! Remember what happened to Einherjar Luo Kuang? He was killed by a level twenty-five EB unit right after he had advanced into Einherjar Level.”
“Yeah, I want to know too! What kind of move did the Einherjar use?”
“Why don’t you take a guess?” Ding Zhan asked, letting the suspense hang in the air. Everyone booed him and urged him to give them the answer. Ding Zhan then shrugged and said, “Well, I don’t know either.”
“Balls! You probably had passed out.” Someone piped up.
“No! I was conscious, and I tried to look at his final move as much as possible, but I couldn’t. I remembered that his first move was a punch, and then there was a white flash. When I saw him again, the ground was already covered with dead Zergs.” Ding Zhan said as admiration flashed across his face. As a soldier, Ding Zhan worshiped power and might. The mysterious Einherjar was a paragon of those two attributes.
Truth be told, the existence of the God of War was the main reason for the optimistic mood among the public. Encouraged by the War God, the people on Mars contributed to the war in many ways. Although some of them couldn’t fight on the battlefield, they worked hard in the factory to produce supplies for the soldiers.
“Just one punch?” The captains were dumbfounded by Ding Zhan’s story.
“Only if I could meet him in person…”
…
Wang Tong had no clue that he had already become the reincarnation of the devil for the dark ones. After three intense battles, more and more people in his units were getting injured. However, so far, there had been no casualties.