Chapter 726 Unity is Strength
Chapter 726 Unity is Strength
At the port of the military port on Beidao Island in the southern sea area, a towering warship is standing in the center of the harbor.
Its name is “Hai Ya”.
With a hull length of nearly 400 meters and a displacement of nearly 70,000 tons, it looks like a monster lying in its nest. So much so that the cruisers and destroyers parked next to it are all eclipsed, just like the eggs it hatched.
The angular inclined armor covers every inch of the hull, and thick and long gun barrels stand in front and behind the bridge, pointing to the sky.
The most eye-catching one among them is naturally the giant cannon on the bow deck!
Its power cannot be described by caliber alone. The gun barrel as thick as a locomotive does not look like something that appears in a naval battle.
And this is indeed the case.
There was no such thing as a navy in the era of the Human Alliance. This giant cannon was originally dismantled from a starship, and its power naturally cannot be measured by conventional weapons.
At this moment, the crew on board seemed to have received a signal. The battleship, which had been quietly parked at the port, sounded an alarm. Driven by the nuclear fusion reactor, it slowly moved its huge body and sailed about three to five hundred meters away from the dock.
Then, the angular gun barrel slowly rose up, and then slowly spread out to both sides, just like cutting open the belly from the middle, exposing the entire closed gun barrel. The
violent electric current made a hissing sound, and even the air nearby became agitated. The drastic change in the magnetic field scared away the nearby fish.
The bridge of the Haiya.
The captain stared at the calculated shooting parameters and predicted trajectory on the screen.
In the image, a cone with an arc as the central axis crossed the spherical sea surface and covered the sky above a small island.
That was Anle Island!
The second largest military port in the southern waters, and also the base camp of the rebels and the pseudo-authorities.
After learning that the Han Ye submarine was sunk while performing a mission in the Coral City area, President Chalas immediately issued an order to bomb Anle Island!
They want to avenge the fifty comrades who died on the Han Ye!
At this time, his adjutant came from the side, saluted with a resolute look, and reported.
”Calibration completed!”
The captain nodded slowly, paused for only two seconds, and then decisively ordered.
”Fire!”
The blue plasma accumulated terrifying energy deep in the barrel, and released it in an instant as the attack order was issued!
”Buzz–!”
The waves that originally hit the bow were pushed back by the terrifying energy in an instant, and smashed into pieces of fine water mist with the waves that followed. The
nearby sea water seemed to collapse two meters down, and then bounced back violently. A hot white light rushed to the sky from the center of the waves, violently tearing apart the black clouds pressing on the sky.
The battleship of nearly 70,000 tons was pushed by this terrifying recoil.
And this was just the first shot!
Less than ten seconds later, the capacitor was recharged again, and then another blazing white light shot up into the sky.
On the shore not far away stood a crowd of onlookers, mostly soldiers from the nearby military port and port staff.
After the incident at dusk, President Charas declared a curfew, and no one was seen on the streets. However, the windows of the buildings were more or less open, watching the lightning rising from the sea.
Looking at the battleship in the distance that even the night sky was eclipsed, the man standing on the dock shook his head.
”…It’s a waste to use this thing to carry out strategic strike missions. It’s better to drive a cruiser over and shoot a few drones or missiles.”
His name is Varo, a corporal in the Marine Corps. At this moment, he is wearing an exoskeleton painted in a sea blue color, and there are still unloaded ammunition hanging on his belt.
A few hours ago, they carried out the mission of occupying the presidential palace and witnessed the collapse of a building and the end of a short but beautiful era.
Although Charas still called himself the president, and everything seemed to be the same as before, everyone knew that he had become a huge “Laken”.
No force could check him anymore.
”Without submarine cover, it might still be dangerous to rely on a few destroyers for escort…” Standing next to Varo, Sergeant Wang Pa, holding a telescope, stared at the warship intently, grinned his scruffy beard and said, “If nothing unexpected happens, it will only dare to sail this far now.”
On the sea, it is beyond visual range combat, and so is it under the sea.
Even the strongest battleship “Hai Ya” of the Federation cannot withstand a few nuclear-powered torpedoes.
If the battleships of the Federation exist to hunt the airships of the Legion, then the submarines of the Federation are designed to check and balance the battleships of the Federation.
Shelter No. 70 has always been worried that “outsiders” will steal the treasures picked up by their ancestors near the Heavenly Court, so in the past century, many strange ideas have been born in this sea area.
Among them are “cargo ships” such as the Dolphin that can be driven back to the bottom of the sea at any time, as well as attack-type nuclear-powered submarines developed with their own warships as imaginary enemies, destroyers designed with their own submarines as imaginary enemies, and cruisers designed with their own destroyers as imaginary enemies.
On the surface, the Anle Island authorities have two fewer ships than the Beidao authorities, but the three extra submarines are a big problem, especially now that the Beidao authorities have lost their only submarine, the “Han Ye”.
Obviously, Mr. Chalas knows the cards in his hand.
Varo looked at the officer standing beside him and asked in confusion.
”I remember correctly that the main gun is used for anti-ship purposes, and it may not be very effective against ground targets. And I heard that a shell is not cheap.”
Putting down the telescope in his hand, Wang Pa squinted his eyes and said concisely.
”The value of strategic strikes is not entirely reflected in the number of destruction.”
”…What do you mean?”
Wang Pa looked at his subordinates standing beside him and said meaningfully.
”Why do you think there are seven governors on our side, except for the North Island where the capital is located?”
Varro: “Isn’t it because of Mr. Charas?”
”Because they are all within a thousand kilometers, because they have to be responsible for their own residents, that’s all.”
After a pause, he suddenly smiled and patted Varro on the shoulder.
”Just like you and me, we have to be responsible for our own identities.”
After saying that, he passed by Varro and walked towards the direction of the military camp.
To be honest, he agreed that the survivors in the southern sea area should decide their own destiny, stop internal friction and expand outward, but he did not agree with Charas’s approach.
Even if President Mungo has problems, he should be judged by law, not by the Marine Corps.
Unfortunately, he is only a sergeant, and above him there are sergeants and people who can really command them.
That’s it.
No matter how his children will evaluate them in the future, they can only continue to fight now.
But he always has a hunch.
This war may be more difficult than everyone imagines…
…
Anle Island.
Thunder broke the silence, and deafening roars fell on the sea and land.
The mass bomb weighing half a ton is like a man-made meteor. Even if there is no charge in it, it can still cause huge damage with pure kinetic energy alone!
The front end of the shell is compressed to the air like a solid, and the rear end is forcibly pulled out of a vacuum zone. The huge pressure difference madly tears the warhead of the shell and burns the remaining resistance coating.
During this process, the temperature of the shells continued to rise until it reached a critical point of collapse.
One of the mass bombs disintegrated and exploded in the air, emitting a scorching white light and metal solution, and rushed towards the buildings on the island like fireworks.
The other two fell straight on the island, crashing into two billowing dust.
As for the remaining seven shells, they all crashed into the sea, knocking open a boiling water column and disappeared.
Even after careful calculations, even taking the rotation of the earth into consideration, a distance of more than a thousand kilometers is too far. In a parallel world, it is equivalent to going from “Xisha” to “Brunei”. The
actual mileage of the ten mass bombs flying in the air is far more than more than a thousand kilometers. It is a miracle that three of them hit the island.
The two shells that directly hit the island carved two deep pits on the mountain, but simply did not hit the seaport and submarine factory behind the mountain, and did not cause any casualties.
On the contrary, the mass bomb that exploded in the air caused greater damage. The glass of many houses nearby was shattered, and there were holes and debris left on the roofs caused by metal slag. The
Anle Island authorities had long anticipated that Beidao would launch a strategic attack, and had evacuated tens of thousands of residents on the island to the vicinity of the submarine factory on the south side of the mountain in advance.
Since most of these residents were family members of soldiers or military factory employees, most of them had strong discipline, so the evacuation work did not cause much chaos.
In the command post, Commander Li Minghui stared at the sea map spread out on the table with a frown, and the ashtray next to him was filled with cigarette butts. What
worried him was not entirely the battleships of Beidao, but also the bad news from the hinterland of the south –
the governor of the Ring Island said in his last call back that the residents of the Ring Island had joined the South China Sea Alliance.
This was undoubtedly bad news.
Not only did the Anle Island authorities have to face Beidao, which had eight settlements and controlled the sea power, with four settlements, but they also had to worry about the impact of the separation of the Ring Island on the legitimacy of the “Declaration”.
This was not a trivial matter.
After all, their declaration is the constitution, and the legitimacy of the Anle Island authorities is granted by that declaration.
Charas can ignore legitimacy because he has enough naval guns.
But he can’t ignore it, and the reason is very realistic, because their fists are not big enough.
Now, let alone building a few more submarines, it may be difficult to eat if they delay for another two months.
Just now, Charas signed the first presidential decree after taking office, announcing martial law and curfew in the North Island, and has completely controlled the situation.
However, the first order he signed was to announce the rationing of food and supplies on the island, requiring local people to tighten their belts to support him in the war.
Fortunately, this order was not announced through the radio, and Charas probably didn’t know it yet.
If that guy knew, he would probably laugh out loud…
Just when Li Minghui was racking his brains to figure out how to solve the current problem, his guards saluted at the door.
”Report! There’s news from Shelter No. 70!”
”Shelter No. 70?” Li Minghui was stunned for a moment, his face clearly showing surprise, but he quickly came to his senses and asked, “…what did they say?”
The guard reported truthfully.
”They hope to talk to you!”
Li Minghui pondered for a moment, without hesitation, immediately put down the pen in his hand, and followed the guard to the communication room.
Instructing the guard to watch the door and not let anyone approach, he picked up the headset hanging on the radio and put it on his head.
”This is the Anle Island Naval Command. I am Li Minghui, the highest person in charge here. Who are you?”
A response soon came from the other side of the communication channel,
”Chen Jianhong, the captain of the Dolphin, the residents of Shelter No. 70, and their representatives who are still trusted.”
Li Minghui frowned and asked in a deep voice.
”What do you want to say?”
”…An idea that may surprise you, but it is also the best solution we can think of at the moment.”
”You say.”
”Let’s join forces, or to put it more accurately, I hope we unite.”
There was silence in front of the radio for a while, with only the slight rustling sound of electricity, and no movement for a long time.
”Unite…”
Li Minghui’s facial expression couldn’t help twitching as he squeezed out the word from his lips, and said in a strange tone, “Isn’t it too late for you to say this now?”
”I don’t think it’s too late at any time. We have studied your declaration and drafted a new declaration. From now on, the shelter managers will no longer have the right to manage all affairs in the southern seas, but will only manage the internal affairs of the shelter in accordance with the shelter management regulations. At the same time, all survivors in the southern seas and the residents of the shelter will enjoy the same rights, not only education and medical care, but also legislation, becoming a commander or something else… Isn’t this what you are pursuing?”
When he said this, Chen Jianhong paused and continued.
”Now we have taken off our coats, what about you?”
Li Minghui narrowed his eyes.
”Who can guarantee that you can keep your promise?”
A chuckle came from the other end of the radio.
”Aren’t you right here, or are three submarines not enough for you to stand up straight?”
Li Minghui also laughed, and his expression did gradually turn cold.
”… Don’t forget, I am the one who trusts you the least, otherwise I wouldn’t be in this position.”
”That’s great. If you were the kind of guy who would listen to whatever we say, I would be hesitant about whether it’s too early to take off this coat now… See, we didn’t do nothing good. At least the first generation of managers educated you, otherwise you would be the same as those guys in the Borneo Province.”
When he said this, Chen Jianhong suddenly thought of something and continued.
”By the way, I was so busy trying to win you over that I almost forgot to talk about business. We have established the Southern Sea Survivors Alliance, referred to as the South Sea Alliance. After that, we plan to rebuild the ocean current power station, starting from the part of the seabed that we can control, and then restore Coral City and the production facilities there, and finally defeat the enemy in the north with our allies.”
He didn’t say half a sentence.
In order to achieve this goal, they need three submarines from Anle Island.
Without the protection of submarines, dozens of mutants will be enough to give them a headache.
Even if the alliance will support their defense, he can’t bear to see those people holding small water pipes and fighting with mutants on the seabed.
Those noble people should bring their nobility to the new era, instead of perishing with the beasts…
Li Minghui narrowed his eyes slightly, pondering his words in his heart.
This is indeed a good idea.
When he discussed with the staff just now, he also considered that relying on the advantage of Anle Island on the seabed to restore the production of Coral City and Anle Island factories as soon as possible, and to get a few more submarines before the destroyers of North Island began to be launched in batches. And
winning the support of the alliance is the key to their realization of this plan.
After all, it is unrealistic to want to mine the seabed deposits now. The main processing facilities are in the hands of Charas, and with only the inventory of materials on the island, I am afraid that not even a submarine can be built.
”Alliance… have you already contacted them?”
”Yes,” Chen Jianhong admitted straightforwardly, “Not just the alliance, but also the ring island that has already stood on our side. Later, I plan to fight for the other three settlements that are on your side. In the most optimistic scenario, we can also pull you in and own six settlements including Coral City. Even if Charas is still difficult to deal with, our strength will be much stronger than it is now.” ”
They won’t stand on your side,” Li Minghui snorted this sentence in a cold voice, but he seemed to have no confidence, so he added, “Why don’t we find an alliance ourselves?”
Chen Jianhong smiled and said.
”Do you think they will choose you?”
Li Minghui snorted coldly.
”Why not? They can even unite with the feudal lords of Luoxia Province. Even if we are not as good as President Monggo’s era, we are definitely much better than the feudal kingdom!”
Chen Jianhong sighed and said.
”If you only look at the surface of the problem, it is true. But if you have really been to Luoxia Province, you won’t say such stupid things.”
Li Minghui frowned.
”What do you mean?”
Chen Jianhong continued.
”The reason why Luoxia Province still has a royal family is because the local survivors chose their own traditions and beliefs from the bottom of their hearts, and they are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice for this. If the survivors in the southern sea area unite around you from the bottom of their hearts, the alliance will certainly not mind cooperating with you, but look around you, do you have such people around you? Or… do you have such a high ‘legitimacy’?”
He paused and said pointedly.
”Besides, they have never united with the king, but always with the local survivors. They built railways, schools, hospitals, and even abolished slavery for the locals. Which one of them was for the king? The king doesn’t need those things! They just didn’t paint their equality on bullets and force it on the locals!”
”This sea area would be better without you. I don’t think they have any reason to let middlemen make the difference. They can try what they did in the Falcon Kingdom, such as giving those behind you a gun. Those guys dare to shoot at you, do you have the courage to order them to fire?”
Li Minghui was speechless for a moment, staring at the radio with his eyes wide open and unable to speak.
Indeed…
The southern sea area is a completely different place from the Luoxia Province.
There is no feudal tradition here at all, and the education rate even exceeds that of the alliance he is eager to win over!
The war between the survivors of the islands and Shelter No. 70 is for equality, and the war between the Anle Island authorities and the North Island authorities is also to defend this hard-won right from being usurped by ambitious people like Charas.
If he eventually becomes a “traitor” like Charas, launching a war in the name of the Declaration, abolishing the Declaration in the name of war, and finally grabbing all power into his own hands… the four governors will not stand on his side at all. Even if they stand on his side now, they will definitely oppose him after they come to their senses. After
all, both sides are equally bad, so why not stand on the side with a bigger caliber?
You have to choose between faith and sword.
Supporting the Anle Island authorities is not without risks, and they all have to be responsible for their residents.
But if he chooses to be someone completely different from Charas, a hero who truly fights for the Constitution, and fulfills his promise in his oath of office after everything is over, rejecting the peace maintained by lies, and truly uniting…
it seems to be no different from immediately accepting the olive branch thrown by the Southern Sea Alliance.
No matter what happened before, the current residents of Shelter No. 70 are also fighting for the ideal of equality, and they have taken off their coats on their own initiative.
In this case, why not fulfill this promise now?
He only needs to nod and fulfill his words, and they can achieve the real union, and he can also end his life as a hero…
A trace of struggle appeared on Li Minghui’s face, and he could not help but clench his fist in front of the radio.
If he had faced this choice a day ago, he would probably have agreed without hesitation.
But now, he finally stood above thousands of people… Whether he was put there by force or it was what he wanted deep in his heart.
He is not a saint after all…
This is too difficult!
As if sensing his hesitation, the radio once again came with a sincere advice.
”Admit it, this is not Luoxia Province, nor is it Bola Province. Neither Charas nor you have the chance to be the king. The guy who got his ass burned first has thrown away his hat and ran away.”
”If you think you are more professional than that guy, you can take a gamble with that unrealistic idea, but if he can run away, you will definitely not! Either you fulfill your promise on the radio and finish what you started!”
Chen Jianhong said word by word, repeating what he heard on the radio.
Regardless of whether he really meant it or not, at least it came from that guy’s mouth.
”…We will never compromise with the beasts, and we will never accept peace maintained by lies.”
”What we need is real unity!”
”Real!”
…
…
”…We will never compromise with the beasts, and we will never tolerate the Torch Church continuing their stupid experiments, and watch them bring the last pure land under our feet into an irreversible abyss!”
Dawn City, the hall of the Sticky Community Building.
More than 200 people sat in the semi-arc conference hall, and solemn voices echoed above the heads of every participant.
Those sitting here were representatives of various settlements.
The farthest ones came from Triumph City and Ideal City, and the closest ones were the kingdoms next door, and even the Garbage City just east of Dawn City, and the Bughra Free State, which was slightly farther away and represented the Great Rift Valley.
In addition, there were a large number of survivors from the eastern and western provinces. Their strengths were uneven, but most of them played relatively important roles in the local area.
The entire conference building was completed by the construction team of the enterprise and the college, and the centurion of the legion served as the project supervisor. Therefore, the construction period that could have been completed in one month ended up taking only two months.
Compared to the insignificant building itself, the more than 200 people sitting in the meeting were mostly the diplomatic achievements of the Alliance.
After all, whether they were attracted here by the Legion, the Academy, or the Enterprise, it was the Alliance that brought them here from all over the Middle Continent.
At this moment, the respected Alliance manager was standing on the podium in the center of the venue and giving an impassioned speech.
Countless eyes were focused on the man, especially the representatives from the Academy, who listened particularly carefully and even turned on the recording function of the bionic eye and the vertical stabilization of the neck prosthesis to ensure that the camera would not shake.
It was as if it was some important sociological data.
Of course, maybe that guy was used to it, and heard that everyone in the Academy was like this.
Benoit, who was sitting in the front row with his legs crossed, curled his lips in disapproval and didn’t listen very carefully.
Maybe what that guy said was right, the survivors in the wasteland should indeed join hands to do something, at least on the issue of “mutated slime mold” that endangers the survival and safety of everyone.
But is this a problem that can be solved by just talking?
Every one of the guys sitting here, including the guy standing on the stage, which collective they represent can make more sacrifices than the Weilant people to solve the mutant slime mold?
Is it the closed-door enterprises? Or the academy hiding behind the wandering swamp and “building ships behind closed doors”?
Not to mention the alliance, which was established only a few years ago. I’m afraid that more people died at the hands of slime mold than at their hands. Wait fifty years before comparing with them.
Some young officers may have forgotten, but he knows the blood and tears history of the Weilant people too well.
The guys in the War Construction Committee “created” them just to deal with the slime mold. The reason why their noses changed from shackles to medals today is that they beat them up bit by bit with their fists!
As for the “ally” sitting next to him, the so-called empire, Bennott didn’t even bother to look at him.
There is no mutant slime mold in the Borneo Province. Those guys have been fighting with their own people all their lives. If there is no label, they will make a label and stick it on to fight. It has only been quiet in recent years. However, the governor sent there by Triumph City said that the war seems to be about to break out again recently.
Benoit couldn’t help but yawn, and his eyes drifted towards the enterprise who was also sitting in the front row.
He didn’t even need to guess, that guy had probably reached some private agreement with the alliance before the meeting, and he would definitely vote in favor in a while.
Just as he was yawning, the guy sitting next to him, whom he despised the most, had a completely different reaction to the voice on the podium.
Staring intently at the figure standing in front of the podium, Ni Yang, who was attending the meeting on behalf of Duke Galava, couldn’t help holding his breath. His not-so-big eyes were full of enthusiasm and desire, just like a mouse hiding in the shadow of the stove and “hissing” at the oil lamp.
If only he could follow that adult, he would be willing to be a rat for ten more lifetimes…
That ups and downs of his voice were like a beating war drum. Just listening to him speak, Ni Yang felt his heart pounding violently, as if it was about to fly out of his throat.
Compared to that adult who was shining with warm light, his “honorable” duke was just a piece of scum!
No –
how dare that sickly guy compare with this adult?
Not to mention that guy couldn’t be compared with that adult, even the big nose sitting next to him was just a rat in the gutter in front of that adult.
In terms of bloodline, who can be more pure than the bloodline of the shelter?
In terms of ability, they stood up from the ruins in just a few years!
Not to mention knowledge and experience, the smartest guys in the wasteland are all trying to get to them. Even the most stingy and contemptuous guys in the north are reluctant to admit that they do have some knowledge that they don’t know, and are willing to take out real good things to exchange with them.
When it comes to understanding the alliance, Niyang, who never misses any newspaper, can even say with confidence that he knows this place better than the people living here, and even knows that adult better than them!
There is no doubt that he is a real fan of that adult!
Although he knew very well that he was just a humble ratman…
As for the dirty robber sitting next to him, Niyang didn’t even bother to look at him.
Duke Galawa couldn’t see clearly, and his majesty couldn’t see clearly either, but he knew very well which beast had harmed his compatriots the most.
Chu Guang, who was standing on the podium, suddenly felt a chill, as if he was being spied on by something.
Facts have proved that having too high a sense of perception is not necessarily a good thing, and it is easy to become suspicious.
Most of the people sitting here stared at him, listening to every word and sentence he said.
No matter what, it is not necessary to stare at him secretly…
Although it is very confusing, now is not the time to pay attention to such trivial matters.
Chu Guang, who was delivering the speech to the end, clenched his right fist and placed it on the podium neither lightly nor heavily.
“…Everyone, we are facing the most serious crisis in two hundred years since we entered the Wasteland Era!”
“If we don’t strangle it in the cradle before it’s fully grown, all our efforts to rebuild this world will be in vain!”
“We will take the lead and launch an offensive against the Torch Church’s sphere of influence from the north! However, our strength alone is not enough to solve all the problems. I need you to put aside the unresolved conflicts and disputes for the time being, at least for now—”
“Let us unite again for the same goal!”
Staring at the entire venue with his eyes, Chu Guang placed his hands on the podium.
As he expected, applause started from the first row and spread to the entire venue in a moment.
Whether it was their allies, former opponents, or the empire that had just clashed…
everyone voted in favor without exception – for this just war.
In fact, from the beginning, Chu Guang had no doubt that the Torch Church did not have even the slightest chance of winning.
Those lunatics used all their tricks and painstaking layout, but they only won over a few islands, and it was a superficial win.
On the other hand, through his victory four months ago and the lobbying and mobilization in the past four months, he has already gathered a force that is far more powerful than the “heaven” in the mouths of those lunatics.
No matter what kind of struggle those lunatics intend to make.
From the moment they tried to make enemies with all the survivors in the entire wasteland, their fate was doomed!
(End of this chapter)
