Chapter 12: Terrifying Casualties: Heartache Like a Knife's Edge
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Bridge of the "Radiance" · The Other End of the Furious Sea Worm Bridge
When the residual shockwaves of the spatial storm—symbolizing the complete destruction of the Worm Bridge entrance—reached the bridge of the Radiance through long-range sensors in a blurred manner, the tense atmosphere on the bridge finally showed the slightest, almost imperceptible loosening.
It was a success.
The Worm Bridge was utterly destroyed.
The Angelic forces would be utterly incapable of launching a large-scale pursuit here by conventional means anytime soon.
They... were safe for now.
Hefeng’s upright, spear-like posture trembled ever so slightly.
It was as if the iron will that had been holding him up finally allowed the surging fatigue and pain to break through, the moment he confirmed the retreat was cut off and a path forward was opened.
A strong dizziness washed over him, and his vision briefly blacked out.
The searing pain in his left shoulder socket, the burning and stabbing from wounds all over his body, and the turmoil in his internal organs overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.
He instinctively reached out to grip the cold edge of the control panel, his knuckles whitening from the force, barely steadying himself.
Cold sweat instantly soaked through his torn undersuit and trickled down his temple, mixing with the blood and dirt on his face, dripping onto the scratched control panel.
“General!” Lieutenant Rein noticed Hefeng’s abnormal state immediately and stepped forward with a worried voice.
The scar on Rein’s face looked even more menacing under the dim light, yet his eyes were filled with concern and reverence.
He had witnessed the General charging like a war god, how he tore a bloody path for them with his own body!
Every wound on the General was inflicted for their sake!
Hefeng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the rising metallic taste of blood in his throat, waved his hand to signal he was fine. He could not fall—not now.
“Rein,” Hefeng’s voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper rubbing, “immediately take stock of the fleet’s status.”
“Casualties, remaining combat strength, energy reserves, ship conditions... I want the most detailed data. The sooner, the better.”
His gaze swept over the equally exhausted officers on the bridge who were still forcing themselves to stay alert, “Everyone, hold your posts and maintain the highest vigilance. We are not out of danger yet.”
“Yes, General!” Rein acknowledged immediately, steeling himself to issue orders through the still-operational communication channels.
The wait was not long, but to Hefeng, it felt interminable.
Every second, fatigue and pain gnawed at his will.
He leaned against the console, closing his eyes slightly to steady his breath.
Yet in his mind, scenes of the Furious Sea battlefield flashed uncontrollably: comrades’ desperate self-destruction, warriors’ frenzied tearing, the crimson ruin of the Sumari Legion, the golden collapse of the Celestial Palace, and... the final figure of Hua Ye he had personally abandoned...
After an unknown span of time, Rein’s heavy and suppressed voice broke the silence on the bridge, each word striking everyone’s heart like a hammer:
“General... preliminary statistics complete.”
Hefeng slowly opened his eyes. Behind the frozen gaze lay undeniable weariness, but his look remained sharp as a blade, signaling Rein to continue.
Rein stared at the data pad in his hands, his voice rough:
“The breakout fleet... total personnel... three hundred and five thousand. Every single one wounded.”
He paused, as if summoning great courage to speak the next numbers:
“Among them... over fifty-one thousand severely injured and disabled, incapable of basic combat.”
“More than nine thousand eight hundred with limb loss, requiring mechanical or external assistance to move.”
“This...” Rein’s voice trembled slightly, taking a deep breath, “is all currently accounted for...”
The bridge fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone wounded, over fifty thousand disabled, nearly ten thousand crippled!
Behind these cold numbers lay mountains of corpses and rivers of blood and tears!
Rein’s gaze grew unbearably sorrowful, his voice sinking lower:
“When we made our final rally on the Furious Sea battlefield, the remnants newly joined from other corps totaled... five hundred and twenty-seven thousand.”
He lifted his head, grief unspeakable in his eyes, “Except for the three hundred and five thousand who broke out successfully... the remaining two hundred and twenty-two thousand comrades... forever... stayed behind on the Furious Sea battlefield...”
Two hundred and twenty-two thousand!
This number was like a cold noose choking the breath from one’s lungs.
Over two hundred thousand vibrant lives, over two hundred thousand brothers who had just fought side by side!
Finally, Rein’s gaze brimmed with guilt and pain. He scarcely dared meet Hefeng’s eyes, whispering in a voice barely audible:
“General... our Second Corps...”
He drew in a breath with great effort and barely managed to utter:
“From twenty-five thousand elite soldiers at the start of the Furious Sea battle... now... only one hundred and two thousand remain...”
“One hundred and two thousand...” Rein’s voice choked with sobs, “One hundred and forty-eight thousand brothers... died on the battlefield... their remains lost...”
One hundred and forty-eight thousand!
This number pierced Hefeng’s heart like the sharpest ice pick!
His fingers gripping the console edge tightened fiercely, the hard metal cutting deep impressions into his palm!
The wound in his left shoulder spasmed violently, as if torn anew by an invisible force!
Those were his soldiers!
The elite corps he had personally raised!
The old comrades who fought bloodily alongside him since the Battle of Tianwang Mountain!
The “Sword of War Gods” that once struck terror into the entire Angelic civilization!
Now, that sword... was broken by nearly two-thirds!
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An immense, nearly suffocating pain and grief seized Hefeng instantly!
He seemed to hear the silent screams of those one hundred forty-eight thousand souls amidst the bloodied waves of the Furious Sea!
Guilt, anger, sorrow... emotions gnawed at his heart like venomous snakes!
He could hardly suppress the trembling of his body!
But he could not!
He was the commander!
The last hope of this shattered spark of fire!
The beacon in the eyes of all survivors!
If he showed even the slightest weakness or collapse, this exhausted, bloodied remnant force would fall apart instantly!
Hefeng clenched his teeth fiercely; a rich metallic taste of blood filled his mouth!
He summoned all his willpower, burying all pain and weakness deep within his soul!
Like refreezing a volcano about to erupt with millennia-old ice!
When he lifted his head again, all emotional fluctuations had vanished from his face, replaced only by a near-cold calm and unyielding determination.
Only in the bloodshot depths of his eyes remained an indelible, star-core-like heavy sorrow.
“I understand.”
Hefeng’s voice regained its usual icy steadiness, without a hint of emotion, as if the heartbreaking numbers were just a routine battle report.
“Order: fleet maintain current speed, destination—Tian City.”
“All ships, expedite minimal repairs and medical aid for the wounded.”
“All able-bodied soldiers, rotate rest immediately to restore strength.”
“Yes, General!” Rein looked at Hefeng’s once again straightened back, as if bearing the weight of the entire galaxy, filled with indescribable reverence and sorrow.
He knew exactly what the General was enduring, and because of that, Hefeng’s steel will was all the more inspiring.
Hefeng’s gaze swept across the oppressed, silent officers on the bridge, finally settling on the deep, unknown expanse outside the viewport.
Tian City... the capital of the Angelic civilization, once the Celestial Palace’s stronghold, and also the key stop in his plan to obtain final supplies and carry the spark away.
Time was tight, and Angelic pursuers could follow by other routes at any moment.
He needed strength—not just that of ships and soldiers, but more importantly—the power to unite hearts and rekindle hope!
“Rein,” Hefeng’s voice sounded again, carrying an unchallengeable resolve, “prepare a fleet-wide broadcast. I want to... speak to everyone.”
Meanwhile—Furious Sea · Wreckage of the Celestial Palace
The crimson cloak trimmed with gold fluttered slightly in the energy aftershocks. Liang Bing kicked aside a piece of golden armor debris at her feet with undisguised disdain on her face, listening to her lieutenant’s report of the shockingly heavy casualty figures just compiled in as steady a tone as possible.
“…Preliminary tally: our forces have over three million three hundred and twenty thousand wounded... over one million severely injured...” The lieutenant’s voice was burdened beyond control.
“Dead... Angel sisters... two million one hundred seventy thousand...” When this number was announced, every remaining female Angel officer on the deck, regardless of rank, instinctively held her breath, eyes filled with grief and disbelief.
“Two million one hundred seventy thousand?!” Liang Bing’s pupils contracted sharply! The number was like a red-hot iron branding her nerves! She whipped her head around, those eyes usually filled with mockery and cruelty now blazing with furious rage, locking onto the figure kneeling in disgrace on the deck, bound like a wrapped dumpling by energy chains—Hua Ye!
“Bastard!!” A piercing, shrill curse shattered the air! Liang Bing, enraged like a cornered tigress, stepped forward, her armored palm wielding all the strength of a third-generation super soldier, delivering a fierce blow!
Smack!
A crisp slap echoed across the deck, sharp enough to make teeth ache!
Hua Ye’s well-maintained, once-arrogant face instantly bore a clear purple and red handprint! The force jerked his head violently to one side, splitting his lip, blood mixed with saliva dripped down, and a few shattered teeth scattered!
He was stunned. The defense of his third-generation divine body spared him serious injury, but this naked, public humiliation—being slapped in front of everyone—was more painful than death!
“Filthy beast!!”
Liang Bing continued to vent her hatred, pointing at Hua Ye’s nose and shouting, spittle nearly spraying his face, “Look! Open your dog eyes and see! Two million one hundred seventy thousand! Two million one hundred seventy thousand sisters’ lives!”
“All because of worthless trash like you who only knows how to lie on women’s bellies and indulge!”
“All because of your damn Celestial Palace order!”
“Because you commanded like a pile of shit! Dumped everyone into the Furious Sea meat grinder!”
“You, a piece of trash, deserve to be king?!”
“Deserve to rule the Angelic civilization?!”
“Bah!”
Her anger grew, eyes flashing with brutal light. She suddenly drew a short rod crackling with dangerous blue-white electric arcs—the high-frequency stun baton!
A torture tool designed to punish disobedient super soldier prisoners!
“Like playing with women, huh?!”
“Like throwing your disgusting orgies, huh?!”
Liang Bing’s voice dripped with venom. The stun baton’s tip crackled energetically as she jabbed fiercely toward Hua Ye’s groin!
“No—!!” Hua Ye screamed like a slaughtered pig, terrified beyond measure!
He twisted helplessly, bound tightly by energy chains, his third-generation divine strength rendered powerless!
His face was the purest expression of primal fear!
This was worse than death!
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
“Liang Bing!” Kaisha’s cold voice swept through the deck like an icy gale.
She did not even turn around, merely raising her right hand clad in silver gauntlets slightly.
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Buzz!
Kaisha’s cold hand precisely grabbed Liang Bing’s wrist holding the baton, pulling it away from Hua Ye.
“Enough.”
Kaisha’s voice was calm and steady, yet carried undeniable authority.
“He still has use.”
“Now is not the time to vent personal anger.”
Her gaze swept over the crackling stun baton and the pitiful figure of Hua Ye, electrocuted and humiliated, showing only cold calculation with no trace of mercy.
Liang Bing glared resentfully at Kaisha, then at the forcefully restrained baton, finally gritting her teeth and retracting her hand, slamming the baton back into her belt, still dissatisfied as she kicked Hua Ye again.
“Bah! Consider yourself lucky, trash!”
Kaisha ignored Liang Bing and Hua Ye, turning her gaze to the lieutenant: “Continue.”
The lieutenant took a deep breath, suppressing his inner turmoil: “…Enemy casualties totaled over two million six hundred forty thousand... approximately sixty thousand captured... the remainder, about three hundred thousand enemy troops, led by Hefeng... successfully broke out...”
“Three hundred thousand?” Liang Bing sneered, arms crossed, “Just a pack of lost dogs! No threat at all! Wait until I’m free; I’ll crush them in minutes!”
Kaisha’s ice-cold eyes showed no contempt but grew deeper and more solemn.
She slowly rose, her crimson cloak falling as she stared toward the starry direction where Hefeng’s fleet disappeared, as if piercing the endless darkness to lock onto that figure who haunted her day and night.
“Three hundred thousand ordinary fugitives are naturally nothing to fear.”
Kaisha’s voice was like clashing ice, heavy with insight.
“But if they are led by Hefeng... then these three hundred thousand fugitives are three hundred thousand seeds of fire, each capable of detonating and burning down our hard-won victory!”
In her mind flashed Hefeng’s demonic figure on the Furious Sea battlefield: single-handedly slicing through encirclement, taking on four elite enemies at once, commanding remnants in desperation, slipping away like a cicada shedding its shell... That mind, that combat power, that terrifying force always bursting forth in the direst straits!
“That villain Hefeng...” Kaisha’s voice bore unprecedented gravity, even a trace of fear she herself refused to admit, “his threat... is a hundred times greater than Hua Ye’s!”
“Greater than three million fugitives!”
“If he escapes with this spark of fire... given time, he will become a nightmare looming over the New Order civilization!”
“A calamity a hundred times worse than the Furious Sea battle!”
She spun sharply, her crimson cloak slicing a fierce arc, eyes flashing like lightning toward Hesi and Liang Bing:
“He must be utterly crushed before he gains strength! At all costs!”
She knew with absolute clarity: if the three hundred thousand ordinary male angels were annihilated on the Furious Sea, she might breathe a sigh of relief at reduced casualties.
But if Hefeng escaped—even if only with one man—the potential threat would far exceed an army of three million ordinary male angels!
That man who grew up alongside her, understood her as well as she did him;
That commander known as the War God, unmatched in wisdom and courage;
That anomaly who could unleash world-turning power in desperate straits;
Letting him flee with the spark was like throwing a galaxy-destroying bomb into the dark depths of space!
She could not laugh. Not one bit.
Only icy, bone-chilling killing intent and a shadowing sense of crisis.
“Hesi,” Kaisha’s voice broke the silence, “the Furious Sea battlefield cleanup, wounded transport, and most importantly, the resource integration and pacification reconstruction of the Merlow Heavenly Court and rear star regions, are urgent.”
“You must return to Merlow immediately to oversee logistics and scientific recovery, ensuring supply to the front and stability in the rear.”
Hesi withdrew her gaze from the direction of Hefeng’s fleet’s disappearance, her silvery-gray eyes returning to their usual cold rationality.
She nodded slightly: “Understood. I will depart immediately.”
She knew Kaisha was arranging for her to avoid the awkwardness of directly facing her brother while making the best use of her logistical and scientific talents.
“Liang Bing.” Kaisha’s gaze shifted to the still sullen, unapproachable brown-haired queen.
“What?” Liang Bing replied irritably, clearly still not fully recovered from her earlier rage.
“The task of pursuing and annihilating Hefeng’s remnants, cutting the grass and exterminating the roots, is yours.”
Kaisha’s voice carried unchallengeable resolve, “I give you one million two hundred thousand elite soldiers, equipped with the fastest warships and the strongest tracking devices. Hefeng’s fleet is heavily damaged, carrying many wounded; their speed cannot be fast.”
“I want you to be the sharpest hunting dog, locking onto his trail without fail!”
“Completely extinguish them in their cradle before his fleeing corps recovers!”
A fierce fire instantly ignited in Liang Bing’s crimson eyes!
The excitement of hunting a powerful prey!
Pursuing Hefeng was far more interesting than torturing a worthless Hua Ye!
It suited her Apocalypse King style far better!
“One million two hundred thousand? Hahaha! Fine!”
Liang Bing licked her lips, revealing a bloody grin, “I’ll lead the team myself!”
“Even if Hefeng is a burrowing rat, I’ll drag him out of his hole and crush his bones! Don’t worry, he can’t run!”
Kaisha took a last look at the nearly vanishing light on the star map’s edge, raised her silver-gauntleted right hand slowly, pointing to the dazzling star symbolizing the heart of the Angelic civilization—Tian City.
“As for me,” her voice was like a cold judgment ringing through the bridge, “I will personally lead the main force of the Heavenly Blade Legion to Tian City!”
“To receive all territories and legacies after the collapse of the Celestial Palace Order! To let the light of the New Order completely cover the entire Angelic civilization!”
“After this campaign, the universe will know that only the New Order can endure forever!”
The will of the three kings, like three swords pointing in different directions, would decide the future pattern of the Angelic civilization. Hefeng bore the last spark of flight into darkness, while the net of pursuit rapidly closed behind!