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My comrades, even if we die here today, we die as brave soldiers of humanity.

—-Nalan Youzhen

The strength of the wraiths laid in their ability to pass through physical objects at will. Pass through physical objects -meaning they could also pass through the protective armor of the mobile armor, right into the cockpit of the pilots!

Yet a single wraith was no threat to the physically-enhanced superhumans and their suits of war. Thus, the wraiths started banding into groups, some even combining with others to form a stronger amalgamation in order to force their way into the mechanised exosuits and mobile armors…

To the humans of Gaia, this was a tactic they had never seen before.

Normally, these pilots had an iron will that wouldn’t falter even against such supernatural foes. But when their attacks came from within, their mental states went into a panic. Soon after, the system deemed that they were a danger and forcefully cut off their connection.

Armor after armor started to go dark as their machines ceased functioning. From within, blood seeped from every crevice as the pilots were slowly ripped to shreds by the wraiths. From some of the machines, sounds of gruesome clawing could be heard echoing through the armor. The wraiths had dived right into their minds, causing the pilots to rake their heads and anything they could get their hands on, as if that could somehow remove that burrowing sensation haunting them.

Their weapons were by no means weak against normal opponents. It was just unfortunate this world’s high technology setting meant that their research into the supernatural was nearly non-existent.

The scientists of Gaia would have never expected that their vaunted creation, hailed as humanity’s greatest weapon, one that could operate in any environment, would meet such an unceremonious demise in the hands of enemies from a different world.

Even now, the Federation had no idea who it was pulling the strings behind this crisis.

Seeing his subordinates beat up so one-sidedly by the wraiths, Nalan Youzhen was inflamed.

He frantically sent out his flying discs in all directions in a dazzling dance of blades. But it was no use… The blades of the Champion of Gaia were physical in nature and couldn’t damage the wraiths. Furthermore, the number of wraiths they had to face were too many for his laser cannons to individually take down.

Thus, after a fierce but ultimately futile resistance, Nalan Youzhen was overwhelmed by a sea of wraiths…

———A decidedly furious person’s room———-

“Lieutenant General, sir… Colonel Nalan’s forces… have been wiped out…”

“I can see that.” The Raging Bear, Lieutenant General Rodenas took off his headdress and gripped it hard. Having done that, he quietly put it back on, face unusually calmer than before. “Gentlemen, any suggestions?”

As that was said, a holographic screen popped out. At the end of the holographic screen was a conference table with over ten military men seated around it.

This was the War Room, those at the table now were in charge of setting the strategies for the entire Federation.

Met with no response, General Rodenas remained silent as well, merely watching with hawk-like eyes.

After a long silence, one of the officers suddenly stood up, nails practically biting into the table as he gripped it with a frantic look on his face. “General! I suggest we deploy the Heavensrail system!”

“Heavensrail…” Hearing that word uttered, Rodenas no longer stayed silent.

Heavensrail was a military satellite orbiting around Gaia, armed with a weapons system that could level a city in an instant. Should that really be activated, Southern Plains and all its inhabitants were done for.

“Lieutenant General, sir!” Seeing that his superior was actually a little moved by that officer’s words, Rodenas’s second-in-command anxiously interjected himself amidst a rain of cold sweat. “If we were to really activate that satellite, the civilians…”

“Then what else do you suggest we do? Throw more lives at the problem?” That frantic looking officer loudly cut off the man. “The enemy we are facing right now is nothing like those we’ve ever seen. They can resurrect Primal beasts, stir up the souls of the dead to fight for them -we’ve already lost two brigades to them in just a short span of time…”

Nalan Youzhen’s defeat had sent shockwaves through the upper brass of the Federation army. Even worse, the ones who defeated him were the recently deceased of the city. This new enemy was able to call up the souls of those he slayed, defiling those souls like they had never imagined!

Their strongest weapon had failed them. Their very dignity as humans were being trampled upon even in death… This was not a shock anyone could take lightly.

When deciding whether or not to deploy such a weapon of mass destruction, Rodenas had already resolved to be court martialed after the fact. Although, this suggestion given by the officer was technically their safest bet right now.

Assuming, of course, that Heavensrail could kill off all the undead…

Their greatest weapon of war had failed against this unknown enemy. Should those incorporeal menaces leave Southern Plains and flood the rest of the cities, then the casualties would be far worse than just losing a city.

Rodenas might have stationed a lot of men at the various exits, but should those wraiths really set their minds on leaving, it was hard to say whether or not these numbers even mattered.

Even so, the second-in-command did not give up. “But those monsters could just dive into the ground and avoid the effects of Heavensrail, unless you are planning on releasing the limiters on the satellite to pierce the planet’s core. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee these monsters might not find some nook or cranny to survive in…”

Cracking the planet was naturally insane. Blowing up an entire planet just to stop a contagious disease? Definitely insane.

It was at that point that one of the other officers chimed in as well. “Indeed, we can’t discount the possibility that our enemies might have some means to hide underground. Any further insistence on using such a weapon would seem almost callous…”

The frantic officer immediately whipped his head around to glare at his colleague. “Then what else do you suggest?”

“I feel we should proceed cautiously for now. Observe these new enemies, but still try to preserve as many lives as possible…”

“And then what? Southern Plains is basically a ghost city right now. Even if we don’t use Heavensrail, it’s highly unlikely that there are any survivors left by the time we are done observing…”

“Even so, that’s not a reason to recklessly activate Heavensrail!”

“Then you think of a better idea!”

The meeting immediately descended into a shouting match between two sides. Watching the scene get ever more chaotic, Rodenas face blackened further.

It was then that the holographic image of Duanmu Xinqing appeared before Rodenas. A beautiful lady with a child, her face seemed noticeably haggard and her eyes red as if she had just cried.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE