Counterfeit Hero

Clayton’s broadcast answered Meiduo’s question for Old Hake.

Hearing the name Tian Xingjian, Meiduo felt a deafening roar in her ears, and she couldn’t think of anything else. She stood dazed at the spot, watching the jubilant figures before her. Those were hundreds of Leray men, celebrating with high-fives.

Behind the crowd were others, Leray refugees who arrived on the same spaceship as her, men, women, the elderly, children... Their eyes were glowing, and their faces were flushed with excitement.

Tian Xingjian, this name, had been lost for a long time. The recruitment posters on Leray’s city streets had faded with the wind and rain. The fall of the Bermuda Star System, the Saleria Federation coup, the Leray coup—each piece of news weighed heavily on the heart of every Leray person. Heroes of the past had long been overshadowed by the hardships of life.

Yet, who would have thought that when they were forced to leave their homeland and begin their exile, when their spaceship arrived in a star domain not belonging to Leray, and when they faced various oppressions, this name would once again reach their ears.

”Colonel Tian Xingjian?” A woman with a haggard face and parched lips clung to her man’s arm, looking up, ”Did that person say our Leray’s Tian Xingjian?”

”Of course it’s him!” The man, overjoyed, gave the woman a loud smooch on the face and shouted, ”Who else deserves that name but our Leray Hero?!”

”This is our army...” The woman blushed, but her eyes grew brighter, ”Oh God! Are they here?”

”They are here!” The man waved his fist, and his face turned red with excitement, ”Not only are they here, they’ve taken Mars Free Port! We don’t need to go to Chuckna; we can stay right here! With our Leray Army, no one can bully us!”

”Our army!” This phrase resonated with the surrounding crowd. Many seasoned Leray people waved their arms, feeling a surge of electric excitement coursing through their bodies, tears welling in their eyes.

Four years of the war defending the nation, and now Leray is riddled with scars. Yet, the Leray people do not regret fighting this war. Leray ultimately belongs to the Leray people. In this country, no matter what the Leray people do, it’s their own business. The Leray people never succumb to outsiders’ orders, nor have they ever thought of welcoming ancestors from other countries to worship, doing what and saying what while looking at others’ expressions!

If that were the case, they’d be too ashamed to face Leray’s ancestors after death. Three hundred years ago, the country’s freedom was fought for, and three hundred years later, that blood and courage still pulse through their veins! As long as there’s a breath left, the fearless spirit inherent in the Leray people will strive for that freedom.

If it weren’t for the Brody coup, if not for that land once belonging to the Leray people, now open to welcome invaders, causing them to tremble in humiliation, who would want to leave their home?! If Hamilton and the others were still leading Leray, even if down to the last person, Leray would still stand tall!

Go to Chuckna! There’s still Flavio, there’s Bernadotte!

Go to the Atlantis Star Domain; there’s still Miloke Planet, Lucerne Planet! And the seven states of the Leray Federation that vow never to surrender!

Rather than staying in Leray, living in humiliation and fear for their families, it’s better to find another place, stand tall, and live. Those who can hold a gun join the army; those who can’t resist in other ways. One day, they will return to Leray clean and upright!

Those with any means have left. No one wants to live humbly as second-class citizens on their own land.

This sentiment is deeply embedded in the heart of every Leray citizen who leaves. As they board the spaceship, most bring a can of Leray’s soil. They kiss the soil, watching with tears as their home planet grows smaller, embarking in silence on the journey of exile, searching for a path to life and freedom.

But in this turbulent world, a nation that others see as collapsed, a people others see as fallen, faces only indifference and oppression on their journey.

The Leray people remain silent.

When Gazalin attacked Leray, the Leray people watched their army fight back. When the Desic attacked Galileo, still the Leray army drove them out! Jiepeng attacked the Bermuda Star System, and the Leray army stood firm for six whole months! At that time, the Leray army was a miracle in the eyes of other countries, the pride of all Leray people!

But now, as countless ships take off from Leray, traversing the vast star domain, staging a grand migration in this great era, they find they’ve lost the army they once took pride in. They’ve lost the protection of these young Leray soldiers who walked smiling onto the battlefield.

Tens of thousands of soldiers died on the battlefield, ships turned to wreckage in the starry sky.

They still remain the pride of the Leray people, but they are no longer by their side. In this war defending their nation, they did what they had to do, watching over this country from the starry sky.

And Brody will never allow the army under his control to escort the exiled Leray refugees. Moreover, they are conducting massive purges, attempting to emasculate the Leray soldiers’ spirit. The drifting Leray people can only remain silent. They can only watch in anger at the Freedom Channel, at the triumphant Suss and Jiepeng people.