"Hurry up! The squad leader ordered us to confirm that Zhang Shixiong is dead and the Imperial State has taken over Qing State, right at this mont!" A platoon of light chanized Qikun Army troops rapidly advanced to the crash site.
In the Azure Planet, the Yige Federation was undisputedly the world's economic hegemon, its economy accounting for a quarter of the global total. The size of its territory was second only to Bayer, covering the entire Beisong Continent, while Bayer ranked second with a strong heavy industry sector, and in so areas, its military industry was even stronger than Yige's.
In third place was Qikun, a once small country that had followed the Eastern Land's lead. It had smoothly trodden the path of modernization and industrialization and, by clinging to Yige's coattails, its industrial developnt accelerated rapidly. The Qikun military was highly equipped, with many of its weapons purchased from Yige. Yige was a nation dominated by capital; if you had money and interests aligned, they would sell you just about anything.
The primary equipnt of the Qikun light chanized troops included the lightweight main battle tank "Type 10 combat vehicle" and the wheeled infantry fighting vehicle "Type 4." Even though they were called 'lightweight,' no warlord faction in the Eastern Land had armored forces that could compare.
Bai Zhongqi was already aware of the Qikun troops when they were still several kiloters away. He smiled at Zhang Shixiong and said, "The Qikun are here to collect your body."
After understanding Bai Zhongqi's implication, Zhang Shixiong turned ashen. He bowed repeatedly to Bai, pleading, "Please save and my daughter, Mr. Bai. I will be imnsely grateful!"
Zhang Yingxi, however, was not blindly optimistic. She worriedly tugged at Bai Zhongqi's sleeve, "Are there many Qikun soldiers? If we can't overpower them, just run."
Bai Zhongqi did not speak, only smiled.
At that mont, another force appeared on the scene, so guerrilla fighters wearing very worn camouflage uniforms erged. Upon seeing these guerrillas with red scarves tied around their necks, Zhang Shixiong's complexion worsened.
If he had a newfound grudge with the Qikun people, then this group of guerrillas, with whom he had deep-seated and significant enmity, had just shown up. Zhang Shixiong's hands were stained with the blood of many of these guerrillas. The southern part of Qing State, the northern part of Wu State, and the eastern part of Yu State were the activity areas of the "Patriotic Guerrilla Squad." These pure nationalists were ard forces that arose ten years ago, opposing all foreign powers as well as warlords, though their ideological foundation was weak.
The hallmark of the Patriotic Guerrilla Squad was the red scarf. Most of these people actually joined because the warlords and foreigners had encroached upon their livelihoods. The guerrilla squad had launched multiple uprisings, all ending in failure, now primarily operating in the mountains and remote areas.
Zhang Shixiong imdiately recognized the big-bearded leader, nad Hou Jimin, who was a notorious wanted man posted on notice boards in the alleys of Qing State, and was also the leader of the Patriotic Guerrilla Squad in the southern part of Qing State.
eting one's nesis really made the blood boil.
Zhang Shixiong and Hou Jimin exchanged glances. Hou spit on the ground and cursed, "Zhang Shixiong, today is your lucky day. I won't kill you; just scram! Don't get in the way of my fight with the Qikun."
Zhang Shixiong was sowhat surprised but did not show weakness, "Do you think you could kill even now?"
Hou Jimin was livid, pointing at Zhang Shixiong and yelling, "You old cur! If it weren't for the fear that your death would throw Qing State into chaos and give the Qikun an advantage, I would have slaughtered you long ago."
Zhang Shixiong stood dumbfounded for a while, then clasped his fists towards Hou Jimin and said, "Hou Jimin, you are a true man. If Zhang does not die today, he will never associate with those wretched Qikun people. Even if it ans sacrificing my old life, I must protect the people of Qing State, protect the Divine Land."
Hou Jimin laughed heartily, his eyes sparkling with sharp light, and said, "Old fellow, rember the words you just said!"
Bai Zhongqi stood aside, observing the two n, feeling sothing stir within him. He had grown accustod to standing in the remote expanse of the universe, gazing down upon the ground. No matter which planet or what kind of race, if observed from a great distance, they all appeared as re specks on the ground, like ants.
Yet, standing once again on the ground and listening to people talk, Bai Zhongqi was reminded of the emotional impact he felt from reading history in his youth. They were all ordinary people; Zhang Shixiong and Hou Jimin may not be considered good people, but when it ca to certain major matters, they both showed the resolve to face death if necessary.
Perhaps the events unfolding on Azure Planet, the will of the Qing State grassroots, and the warlords ant little to Bai Zhongqi, but at this mont, he found himself yearning to be like them, striving for a cause that could stir his blood and benefit the masses.
"Perhaps it's because the Elder Race stands too high, possesses too much, that we feel empty. Maybe that's why the Elder Race was born among ordinary people, hoping to root ourselves in the lives of the truly common. No matter how much universal truth one understands or how many years one lives, what's the use? In the end, everyone must choose a way of life that satisfies them."
Bai Zhongqi, who had not been very noticeable up to this point, began to speak, "Captain Hou, how many people do you have?"
Hou Jimin, looking at the "young man" who hadn't even grown a full set of whiskers yet, asking him so abruptly, raised his thick brows and asked, "Who are you?"
Bai Zhongqi smiled and said, "No one in particular. However, I'm not exactly keen on watching you lose or letting the Qikun people roam freely on the land of the Eastern Land. The Qikun people's light chanized units will arrive here in about ten minutes. You're all light infantry and not well-prepared; I fear you may not be able to hold against them."
Hou Jimin snorted, "Whether we can hold against them or not, we'll have to find out through actual combat."
Bai Zhongqi nodded and said, "Fair enough, then let take the first round, and you can follow up."
Having said that, Bai Zhongqi touched his Holand Stone, and from within, a row of PLZ-05 self-propelled howitzers materialized. These howitzers were equipped with a basic D-class AI as their control core, capable of unmanned operation, from driving to firing, all automatically executed.
These were still under the control of the Supre Command. Bai Zhongqi sensed the location of the Qikun troops, entered the targeting data directly into the Supre Command, and the howitzers could fire automatically.
Hou Jimin and Zhang Shixiong were scared into retreating when they saw a row of 18 guns set up. Zhang Shixiong, coming from a genuine military background, knew more about the world's leading military hardware. Lacking artillery in his Qing State army, let alone such self-propelled howitzers, he had only seen them in the military pamphlets of the Yige and Bayer people and never expected Bai Zhongqi would just conjure up eighteen of them without any warning.
In his heart, Bai Zhongqi silently commanded: "Fire."
Eighteen howitzers, facing the direction of the Qikun people, suddenly erupted in a blaze of brilliant firelight.
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