Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Two reinforced companies stand guard for twenty-four hours.

The woman sits down brashly on the ground. Before the medics can rush over, she rips off the bandage from her calf and removes the ant jaw lodged in it.

A team of soldiers hurriedly approaches her and then stands guard on both sides.

The woman is initially puzzled. Seeing the soldiers make way for the person behind them, she smiles and says, ”Xiaomi, aren’t you supposed to be designing the big energy barrier with your Boss of miscellaneous grains? What are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid I’ll toss you down to feed the ants?”

Standing opposite the woman is a girl about fifteen years old, her long black hair tied into two thick braids with a large portion falling onto her forehead, covering her delicate eyebrows.

Xiaomi’s eyes become red, ”Colonel Nut...”

The woman is momentarily stunned, then quickly stands up, ”Why are you crying? I was just kidding. If I really tossed you down, wouldn’t your Boss of miscellaneous grains come at me with all his might?”

Xiaomi shakes her head, her voice tinged with tears, ”Captain Coarse Rice is in trouble.”

A flash of coldness appears in the woman’s eyes, but her voice remains calm, ”When did it happen? Tell me all the information.”

”Just now, the Boss asked me to invite you over.”

The woman throws the freshly removed ant jaw to a nearby soldier, instructing, ”Have the others gather and wait for me in the battle preparation room.” Then, with a military knife in one hand and holding Xiaomi with the other, she rushes upward.

The checkpoints that usually require layer upon layer of verification are now wide open, with fully armed warriors everywhere. The last time she saw such a scene was when welcoming the ”Year Disaster,” and Nut’s heart grew heavier.

The two of them pass through numerous functional areas and quickly dash into a gigantic hemispherical space, with a diameter of over five hundred meters, its grandeur inspiring awe.

Inside the space is a suspended command platform, where several people are already standing.

A middle-aged man with slightly white temples is wearing a researcher’s sterile gown. Beside him is an elderly man in Chinese tunic suit, along with his secretary, and the last is dressed in the only marshal uniform of Donghuang.

He is the first marshal after the apocalypse and the commander-in-chief of the entire Eternal Night Battlefield.

Nut puts down Xiaomi and the military knife, steps forward, and a small section from the edge splits out and flies steadily towards the central command platform.

Nut first greets the elderly man and the marshal and then looks at the one in the sterile gown, ”Is there an Evil Anomaly appearing near United Command?”

The one in the sterile gown nods solemnly, ”Just received the news. It’s not an Evil Anomaly but a life form known as the Pale Demon...”

The military made no judgments but instead forwarded all of Su Huan’s conversation information to United Command, though a bit delayed, it still provided valuable insight.

A series of significant information bombard Nut’s mind, making it somewhat dizzy.

”Super strong evolvers of Tier Three and even Tier Four””Can easily obliterate Evil Anomalies””Demons capable of erasing memories, or even controlling fate”... With these massive information compression packages, Major General He Wei’s alleged major intelligence paled in significance.

After swiftly sorting through, Nut captures the key point, ”Are the two Tier Four Pale Demons currently outside United Command?”

The one in the sterile gown nods, ”We’ve tried physical methods, but they can’t be hurt. That Su Huan says the Pale Demons can only be obliterated using evolvers of the same tier or vast amounts of energy, there’s no other way.”

”The same tier?” Nut raises an eyebrow, ”And what about the Tier Four evolver?”

”Distant water won’t quench a present thirst. Not to mention he’s over a thousand kilometers away in a war zone, and we don’t know his attitude towards us, whether he’s willing to assist.”

”Others outside have borne a lot too.”

The elderly man suddenly speaks, with a tone of lamentation.

The Elder Marshal speaks calmly, ”Even if he is willing to help us, we cannot sit back and wait for certain demise. It’s just a ripple; we must continue fighting here for at least five years, ten at most, even if the sky falls, we must hold our ground!”

Nut’s expression brightens, asking, ”What do you need us to do?”

As one of the two Tier Three Evolvers cultivated with the full efforts of the military, Nut was long prepared for sacrifice.

The Elder Marshal doesn’t respond with words but gestures, and under the sterile gown’s operation, the entire dome’s inner wall abruptly transforms into a seamless panoramic display.

In an instant, it’s as though they are standing above the planet, oceans flowing beneath their feet, clouds drifting above their heads. Yet, this isn’t a planet in peaceful times.

The dark red patches representing ”Erosion Zones” cover sixty percent of the land, only where Donghuang is located appears normal, roughly divided between Celestial Disaster Zones and safe zones, with all other details obscured.

No matter how thoroughly they’ve prepared, once entering the Eternal Night Zone, all external communication channels are cut off, the precise divisions of Celestial Disaster Zones mostly pieced together from outsiders.

The image changes again, the area representing the dark Eternal Night Zone expands, this time containing significantly more detail.

Light points symbolizing Donghuang Military and Northern Alliance troops are spread across the entire Eternal Night, yet these details are promptly skipped over, focusing on a desolate western plain, surrounded by missiles about to land, flames filling the sky, Evolver Coarse Rice lying on the ground, clutching a detonator, looking peacefully at the sky.

Recill’s translucent, towering figure appears in the sky, with an indifferent expression.

The images freeze at this moment, as though they’re standing in the wilderness, even mimicking the cold and chaotic winds brought by the missiles.

The sterile gown says, ”Cameras can’t capture Pale Demons, this is a multidimensional image established from a perceiver’s description.”

The image moves, missiles fall, and endless white light fills everyone’s vision.

The explosion ceases after an unknown duration, white flames flowing everywhere, consuming everything, suppressing everything, yet the Pale Demon remains floating where it was, while the plain beneath Coarse Rice’s feet has vanished.

The Elder Marshal glances around the terrain, saying calmly, ”The battle happened at the 14-th periphery detonation site, only fourteen kilometers from us. The temporary base there will self-destruct in ten minutes, but it’s still likely they might probe United Command’s center...”

”To ensure the stability of the Eternal Night battle situation, I think we should immediately commence evacuation.”

Nut frowns, ”What if I go to lure them away?”

The Elder Marshal shakes his head, ”It’s useless. If they truly possess the power of fate, no matter where we go, we’ll be found. What we need to do now is to buy time, for United Command to buy time.”

Nut looks at the elderly man beside her, the sole representative of Donghuang in the Eternal Night, who merely squints at the simulated battlefield beneath him, without objection or nodding, the greatest form of acknowledgment.

She vaguely understands that perhaps decisions were made by the two before she arrived.

Nut takes a deep breath, ”Then I’ll go to buy time.”

The one in the sterile gown is the first to veto, ”You have more important tasks.”

Nut doesn’t retreat but instead locks eyes with the Elder Marshal, ”Train a soldier for a thousand days, use them for a moment; you taught me this.”

The elderly man wants to object, but the Elder Marshal laughs, ”Let her stay, without Tier Three Evolvers, United Command has no viable means to evacuate.”

Emotion finally emerges in the elderly man, carrying subtle anger, ”Geng Shuo!”

The Elder Marshal, unfazed, replies coolly, ”Number Three, I have but one name now, and that’s Marshal! The appointment of the new Marshal will be issued to the entire army in a moment. Now, you should evacuate.”

Supported by his secretary, Number Three moves toward a nearby mobile floating block.

Upon reaching the other side, the elderly man turns again, his voice heavy, ”Take care!”

The Elder Marshal salutes.

The second to leave is the one in the sterile gown, and Nut is the last.

Gazing at the straight and upright figure in the center of the command platform, she doesn’t salute but instead smiles and waves.

”I’m heading to the battlefield, Grandpa.”