Book 5, Chapter 18 - A Painful War

Raffles stood in the balcony, gazing at the crimson planet.

This very moment was more than enough proof to show everyone that Raffles was a man. At the bottom of his heart, he was fearless towards war and more than willing to fight for the sake of changing this world.

I walked up next to him and he looked at me. I held his hand and he held mine back tightly as he looked afar. “Those metahumans have mostly evolved but Harry has yet to go through secondary evolution. I am worried.”

“Harry is very strong. Don’t worry!” Although I’d said so, I still felt a heavy weight on my chest. My worries and yearning for Harry had become a huge rock over my heart. I somehow felt insecure. It was an unprecedented feeling. I hadn’t felt like this during the time he’d gone for his first expedition.

I had been worried on the day he’d gone for the expedition, but I had never had such an ominous feeling. This had never happened in my life either. As though something was tugging on my heart, I felt my heart hanging in the air.

This feeling persisted throughout the three troops’ reunion.

For the first time, classes were stopped in Silver Moon City. Everyone gathered at the cafeteria, the square or the meeting room, because this was the first time the frontline was broadcasting video to us. It was obvious that this was a very important war.

In the video, we could see the battleships of the three troops had stopped somewhere very far away from Steel Ghost City. A huge lake stretched between them and Steel Ghost Town.

Water sources were considered extremely important in this world. The lake was extremely clear. No wonder Steel Ghost City was a major city.

There was even a field of crops opposite the lake!

It was my first time seeing a crop field in this world!

The crops stood as tall as a man, and there were many people farming in the field. However, several others dressed in black steel armor stood around the farmers, holding leather whips in their hands as they urged the farmers in their labor.

It seemed that they had yet to notice that Xing Chuan and the troops were right across the lake.

Xing Chuan and the troops were far from Steel Ghost City. When fighting against metahumans, the base camp shouldn’t be set up too close to the main battlefield. Just like how spaceships couldn't pose any real threat to metahumans, if metahumans started fighting nearby the base would be easily destroyed as collateral damage.

Hence, the base was normally situated one radiation zone away from the main fighting area. It would turn invisible in the air once the war started. That way, it wouldn't be found easily and would also be useful for retreat or attack.

Raffles wasn't doing experiments anymore, instead he was watching the video anxiously.

Xing Chuan's battleship began to slowly ascend in the air. They were going to launch an attack!

Harry's Croton mothership submerged into the lake.

Then, the fighter ship and fighter jet positioned themselves in the lake and the air. Turning invisible, both began to move towards the Steel Ghost City that wasn't on guard at all. A ripple on the lake was the only clue that there was about to be a war.

The surface of the lake was quiet. The fighter ship should have stopped.

Tall crops swayed along with the breeze as the metahumans landed on the enemy shore in silence!

"Wow!" The war had yet to start but everyone had already cheered because they’d successfully landed in secret!

Our metahumans quietly advanced through the tall crops. Suddenly, the enemies with whips disappeared all of a sudden!

They had been wiped out by our metahumans one after another! They fell over in the field of crops in complete silence!

"Wow!" Everyone continued to clap and cheer again.

The slaves who had been farming were dumbfounded at the sight. At once they began to run in all directions!

They ran and ran all over the place. They ran anxiously for their lives!

There were many people around and the field was in a mess. The entire field of crop moved as though it was a sea of billowing waves.

But it was too quiet. The mood of insecurity that had persisted the past few days became even more intense because the entire scene was just too quiet. It was so quiet that I felt uneasy and anxious.

The sight of those slaves running amok among our metahumans in fear especially put me on edge. They ran past our people, they ran among our men, they were scattered all around.

*Bang!* Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. In an instant, the field of crops was covered in red. Bits of human limbs and internal organs flew all over the place!

Everyone quietened at once!

Then came one explosion after another. Explosions lit up the scene before us. The people, the slaves who were running all over the place, they were bombs! They were human bombs!

"Stay away from the slaves!" Someone shouted. Metahumans were using their superpowers, trying to protect themselves or to directly kill the slaves that were closest to them. The quiet field of crops had swiftly turned into a chaotic warfield!

Blood and pieces of dead bodies spilled everywhere. There wasn't even a whole corpse in sight!

Fresh blood tainted the entire field of crops red. You could clearly see the blood flowing into the lake and dying the water red too.

*Retch!* I felt nauseated and sick. I couldn't bear to take another look at the tragic scene before me, the reality of blood and flesh strewn all over the place.

I wanted to stand up but my legs felt weak. Raffles quickly helped me to the side.

Everyone was quiet. They had been astonished at the sudden ambush too.

I knew that war was tragic. I’d seen countless war films. I’d come to the end of the world and I’d joined the war. I knew that war was tragic.

But I had never expected that I wouldn't be able to resist the disgust and fear that made my head throb after seeing such a scene.

"Harry..." I turned back and looked with concern. Many of those in the room who had never participated in war threw up.

"Harry has yet to join the war," Raffles said. "Stop watching." Raffles hugged me.

I shook my head and took a deep breath before turning back to the video again. The metahumans from the opposition had barged into the crop field and started a massacre!

Merely from this battle, we could tell that the Ghost Eclipsers in Steel Ghost City were far stronger than the Ghost Eclipsers we’d encountered before!

What had the earlier war been? Those Ghost Eclipsers had been just bandits.

Looking at the Ghost Eclipers in Steel Ghost City, their ambush was beyond expectation and had instantly messed up Xing Chuan's war plan!

Plus, I saw that everyone was retreating!

When they retreated to the shore, the metahumans in Steel Ghost City attacked!

Suddenly, I saw a red figure. It was Harry!

I immediately surged forward. Harry came!

Harry leaped to the shore and his arm swiftly increased in size. He punched the ground forcefully!

*Bang!* The metahumans who’d caught up to the retreating force were instantly shaken off the ground. Harry protected the injured and survivors for retreat!

There was no longer cheering and clapping. After the video was cut off, there was only a long pause.

Seeing the war had been like a bucket of cold water that splashed onto everyone's heads. It had told us that the Ghost Eclipsers from now onwards were no longer local ruffians.

They were stronger and smarter! And, also more cruel and merciless!

They used the pitiful slaves as human bombs!

In their eyes, beside themselves, all other humans were either food or bombs.

They were demons!

They deserved to die!

Anger churned in my chest. The earlier disgust and fear were burned into ashes.

The guys began to stand up, clenching their fists angrily. Then, the girls stood up too. Flames of hatred burned in their eyes!

"Destroy Ghost Eclipsers!" Someone shouted.

Then, everyone raised their arms and shouted angrily, "Destroy Ghost Eclipsers! Join the war for revenge! Destroy Ghost Eclipsers! Join the war for revenge!"

Their cheer resounded in all corners in Silver Moon City and reverberated in Silver Moon City's sky.

As expected, there were wounded who were sent back. Everyone wore discouraged expressions from the lost battle. This was our first defeat throughout the war.

Everyone sat in the medic room with their heads hung low.

I looked at them and roared, "Are you defeated just like that?!"

They lifted their heads and looked up at me.

"In war, sometimes you win and sometimes you don't! You didn't lose before but that doesn't mean that you are a divine soldier. You are not God! Humans make mistakes. It is only natural to be defeated at war sometimes! But as long as we keep our heads held high and persist in our beliefs, we will win against any strong enemy! We must take revenge for the comrades who were sacrificed in this war!"

Fire ignited in their eyes again. They became determined and full of vigor.

"That's right! We must take revenge!"

"Yes! Revenge!"

"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"

However, the war didn't end as soon as I’d imagined it to.

The war in Steel Ghost City lasted for a week. They didn't conquer the place; instead, the number of wounded sent back Silver Moon City was growing. Morale dropped as the mood turned dejected.

If this had happened in my world, a war would possibly take a month.

However, in this world, the world that was full of metahumans and advanced technology, a war wouldn't last longer than three days.

Especially given the precedent where Silver Moon City had been continuously victorious.

Since the beginning of the war, Silver Moon City had been on a winning streak. They hadn’t conquered cities in days but in hours. Their fastest record had them taking a city down in one hour.

Hence, when the war lasted longer than seven days, the soldiers from Silver Moon City started to become weary.

No one had expected Steel Ghost City to become an obstacle!

Video of the frontline was transmitted everyday. Everyone was anxious. Silver Moon City was submerged in a sorrowful mood, which was bad and would influence the soldiers’ morale.

"Oh no! Captain Chaksu's battleship is under attack!"

Looking at the video, Captain Chaksu's originally invisible battleship had been hit. It seemed to be a human!

One person after another soared into the sky and struck against Captain Chaksu's battleship, forcing it out of invisibility! Following the impact, the people exploded in the air and became a blood fog!

They were humans!

There were metahumans who used the humans as bombs!

Captain Chaksu's battleship began to fall in mid-air. It was just like a huge city had gradually appeared in the air and started to fall.

"No!" Everyone stood up and cried out in shock. They covered their mouths as they watched the battleship fall slowly.

"No!"

I closed my eyes. This was our worst day. If we couldn't even take down Steel Ghost City, how could we advance against the Ghost Eclipsers beyond them!

How could we talk about making the demons disappear from this world?!

As the battleship fell, the entire video froze and became silent.

At night, more wounded who were sent back. I watched the wounded getting off the spaceship with their heads hung low. Now, I was at a loss for words.

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