Chapter 140: Act III - Crimson Setting Sun

Chapter 140 [Act III: Blood-Red Setting Sun]

Returning once more before the four great battle banners, Xia Zheng was thoroughly calm this time. Without the slightest hesitation, he activated the third banner—the one seemingly dyed in fresh blood.

A line of translucent white text emerged once more: The Eternal Sector has fallen and is now controlled by the Blood Clan. Human reinforcements have arrived, vowing to retake Evernight City. A fierce battle is about to erupt.

Upon entering the instance dungeon, Xia Zheng found himself not within the Eternal Sector, but resting on a hospital bed in a field medical tent. Furthermore, he was in an injured state, his constitution somewhat weak, with gauze wrapped around his head through which faint traces of blood were seeping, leaving Xia Zheng somewhat amused yet exasperated.

He clearly remembered that at the end of Act II, he had not been injured at all; he had only suffered a massive depletion of spiritual energy after unleashing a high-tier skill. It seemed that being wounded was simply a preset condition of the instance.

"You were rescued from the Eternal Sector by your subordinates. Your heroic deeds of fighting the Blood Clan to the death spread throughout the military camp via your men. You are now a hero of the Federation." The dungeon prompt appeared before his eyes, yet he could not feel happy about it.

Becoming a hero of the Federation was merely a personal honor, whereas Evernight City was sliding irrevocably toward the abyss of complete subjugation.

"Could it be that humanity can only submit to fate?" At this thought, Xia Zheng was filled with reluctance. He had originally held a sense of awe toward this mysterious force known as fate, but after that wondrous epiphany, he seemed to have touched upon a power far greater than fate itself—one that appeared to be the source and essence of all power. Consequently, he had gradually fostered the notion of overcoming the power of fate. Thus, the further he progressed into this dungeon journey, the stronger this conviction grew within him.

Surrounding him were wounded soldiers; men with severed arms and legs were everywhere, and there was even someone whose skull had been sheared off at the corner, yet miraculously still alive. Moreover, this was merely the light injuries ward; the critical care section over on the other side was even more harrowing to behold.

Just as he was lost in thought, a fragrant figure threw herself into his arms, causing him to let out an involuntary cry of pain.

"I'm sorry, Benson. I forgot you were injured." Seeing Luo Bing's pretty face laced with apology, what more could Xia Zheng say? Fortunately, Luo Bing had not sustained any serious injuries; she had merely been knocked unconscious at the time.

Xia Zheng nodded, and unable to resist, the two shared a passionate ten-minute kiss that kept the nearby wounded soldiers swallowing loudly with envy, forcing them to cut it short.

"Luo Bing, my body doesn't have any major issues. Let's check out; I'll just rest in your apartment," Xia Zheng suggested. Luo Bing nodded in agreement; freeing up a hospital bed was a good thing anyway, given how severely medical resources were currently stretched.

Thus, an hour later, Xia Zheng was supported by Luo Bing into a camouflage jeep, and she drove him back to her apartment.

After resting for about a day, Xia Zheng had fully recovered. Within the dungeon's settings, he had actually recuperated for nearly a week, which, combined with his astonishing recovery rate, was hardly worth mentioning.

Through the wealth of intelligence Luo Bing shared with him, he learned that in the aftermath of Act II, the Eternal Sector had been completely occupied by the Blood Clan. Of the more than five million residents within the sector, only a small fraction had been killed; the majority had been brainwashed by the Blood Clan into submission, and a portion of them seemed to be undergoing a transformation into the Blood Clan themselves.

Among the over fifteen million residents of the Outer City, five to six million had been infected, yet nearly ten million remained scattered across various districts. They no longer trusted the Federation and also loathed the Blood Clan. When the Federation's vanguard reinforcements arrived, these citizens had even clashed with the military, forcing the army to retreat and consolidate their defense in the Seventh and Eighth Afternoon Districts, while other urban areas temporarily remained in a state of chaos.

The Federation's vanguard army that arrived earliest in the Outer City this time numbered over twenty thousand troops, representing their most formidable and elite fighting force. The fifty-odd thousand who had arrived just two days prior were slightly inferior, while the one hundred and fifty thousand due to arrive in about two to three days would be the main force. In total, the Federation had dispatched over two hundred thousand elites this time. Aside from the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed at the borders, virtually the entire nation's elite forces had been pulled to the frontlines of Evernight City.

In addition, there were over a million logistical personnel, and the resources consumed daily were staggering.

The reinforcement forces had organized several offensives, the largest of which involved nearly fifty thousand troops. The Blood Clan had likewise deployed all their elites; approximately several thousand elites controlling tens of thousands of Blood Clan thralls engaged in a frantic slaughter against humanity. Casualties on both sides exceeded twenty thousand, forcing them to temporarily suspend hostilities for the day.

Once his physical strength was restored, Xia Zheng was soon summoned by the reinforcement forces' general staff headquarters. Luo Bing had originally wanted to accompany him, but because she needed to reorganize the team of Star-Radiance Martial Artists, she was temporarily preoccupied with military duties.

Arriving at the temporary headquarters, Xia Zheng was soon led by an elegantly poised female officer into a smoke-filled room.

A meeting seemed to have just concluded inside. Both men and women were present, and judging by the colors of their uniforms, they were field-grade officers, and there were even general-ranked commanders among them.

"Are you Mr. Wood?" A female officer in a blue-and-white uniform with three gold stars on her shoulders walked over, holding a lit cigarette between her fingers.

"Yes, Benson Wood, reporting to all officers," Xia Zheng said neither servilely nor overbearingly. Strictly speaking, he was currently a civilian, but because he had spent the previous period leading troops in combat—especially fighting fiercely against the Blood Clan and holding the rearguard for his subordinates—he had won deep affection and possessed considerable prestige within the military.

"A pleasure to meet you, a pleasure. I am Grace Mesaress!" The female officer took the initiative to extend her hand. Xia Zheng immediately reached out and shook it. The other party appeared to be around forty years old, with noticeable crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, yet she exuded an air of great vigor, which, combined with her tall stature, made her appear highly imposing.

The surrounding officers successively came up to shake his hand. Through his exceptional performance, Xia Zheng had won the affirmation of the military command.

"This is Major General Ying Fan. The commander-in-chief, General Lord Lefebvre, will arrive in two days. Currently, all affairs in the army are managed by General Ying." Mesaress introduced an imposing man standing before them, who appeared to be in his early thirties with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, bearing a seventy-percent resemblance to Major General Ying Ying whom Xia Zheng had previously met.

"Could he be a cousin of Major General Ying Ying?" Xia Zheng could not help but speculate, though the vast majority of characters in the dungeon were fictional, meaning there was no necessary connection to real-world individuals.

Xia Zheng took the initiative to extend both hands to shake hands with Major General Ying Fan. Ying Fan looked at him, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Indeed, heroes emerge from the youth. Right now, when it comes to combat records against the Blood Clan, you are the Federation's sole pride."

"The General flatters me. I merely fulfilled my duty, but the current situation is truly lamentable," Xia Zheng said with a sigh. The tragic death of Song Ze—especially his transformation into a monster by the Blood Clan—had dealt a heavy blow to human forces, nearly wiping out the Star-Radiance Martial Artists entirely and making Xia Zheng deeply feel his own powerlessness.

Ying Fan patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "We must also thank you for preserving General Song's dignity. General Old Song, the Federation's senior general, entrusted me to express his gratitude to you."

"Could it be General Song Xinghui?" Xia Zheng quickly thought of a person, though he could not be certain. It seemed Song Ze was a tangible figure, perhaps someone who could not be bypassed even in the original dungeon, thus requiring his real name.

The general staff headquarters primarily wished to understand the situation inside the Eternal Sector and regarding the Blood Clan. Xia Zheng was the person with the most detailed knowledge, and he had also slain a vast number of Blood Clan members, making his intelligence of paramount importance.

Several hours passed by in a blur. Xia Zheng's throat was parched as he finally conveyed all the intelligence he knew and analyzed to the officers of the general staff, leaving the room plunged into a profound silence...