Chapter 1078

The chaotic square gradually returned to calm.

After Lin An stored the two-headed dragon inside his body, all the Awakened Ones present felt their eyelids twitch violently.

Indeed, it is a summoned beast, the same as the one in Lin An's hand.

With a mythic-level summoned beast present, coupled with tremendous strength, it's no surprise Lord Rayen could so quickly resolve the Red Tower disaster.

Half a minute later, several high-level representatives, suppressing their excitement and elation, strode toward Lin An.

Both hands extended, their eyes even burning with fervor:

"Lord Rayen, welcome back!"

"We, on behalf of all survivors of Soviet Russia, extend our highest respects to you!"

"Whoosh"

Thousands of Awakened One soldiers raised their hands in unison to salute, and amidst the gaze of ten thousand eyes, a solemn shout rang out from all sides of the square:

"The awarding ceremony begins!"

"The awarding ceremony begins!"

"The awarding..."

Outside the square, millions of survivors from the central Safe Zone gathered, heads together, watching the scene before them that could be called the highest-level reception in Soviet Russia's history.

Only to see the well-prepared elite troops now forming neat ranks, marching in step from the opposite end of the square.

In the three formations, the leader of each, a Fourth Rank, held a gift box containing a medal symbolizing the highest honor.

Taking a deep breath, the propaganda department head on the square's stage raised his voice, and under the spread of mental power, he shouted in a high-spirited tone:

"Everyone!"

"Let us sincerely welcome our hero! Lord Rayen!"

"It is he who, fearless of life and death, solved Soviet Russia's greatest crisis! Ended this cataclysm! Having endured countless hardships and life-and-death trials, he became our hope, saving the nation and people from fire and water! Propping up the collapsing mansion!"

"Let us pay our highest respects to this true hero!"

"Salute!"

"Whoosh!"

Inside and outside the square, millions of survivors instinctively followed the salute, with many shouting Lord Rayen's name loudly.

"Lord Rayen! You are our hero!"

"Lord Rayen! You are our pride!"

"Rayen!!"

On the other side of the square, little Mo Ling, with a strange expression, watched the excited crowd below; amidst the roar like mountains and seas, even she felt a faint shock.

The whole world seemed to be filled with shouts and cheers.

This scene was just like in the amoeba worm, but now, compared to then, it had a bit more of the Soviets' own pride.

For some reason, Mo Ling unconsciously thought of Chu An. If that pervert were to give a speech here taking advantage of the moment, with Chu the Pervert's brainwashing ability, he could probably persuade the crowd to now "go out" and fight monsters to the death, sending them off in batches amid the cheers.

As the awarding ceremony continued.

The first formation, with solemn expressions, already carried the medal up onto the platform.

The military commander in charge of the awarding slowly lifted the gold-bottomed snowflake, red-cross medal, and reverently walked to Lin An's side.

"Lord Rayen, this medal is our nation's honorary award for your brave combat and salvation of all Soviet Russia."

"This is the highest honor medal of the empire since its founding in 1698."

"The Saint-Andre Medal! This is the first time in forty years since its inception that anyone has received it!"

Slowly placing the medal on Lin An, the somewhat older commander's eyes held complex emotions, his lips slightly trembling:

"Hope you... can lead us toward hope!"

"Whoosh!"

The entire venue gave a third salute.

Many of the Fourth Rank Awakened Ones standing on the platform looked enviously at Lin An's medal, their expressions complex.

For a Soviet person, the symbolic meaning of this honor far outweighs its practical significance. Receiving it means being permanently recorded in history. No matter what the future holds, as long as the nation exists for even a day, Rayen's name will be eternally engraved in national history.

Under this honor, it represents their hope; no matter what Rayen does, his will shall represent the correct path.

Soon, the second and third medals were conferred in turn.

"The Empire's Highest Combat Medal!"

"The First-Class Defense of the Motherland Medal!"

As the awarding ceremony drew to a close amidst enthusiastic applause, the Soviet high leadership decided to announce the highest honor bestowed upon Rayen.

Only to see the two chief leaders, one representing the military and the other the Awakened Ones' legion, walking one after another toward Lin An.

As the most representative figure of the Awakened Ones' legion, and formerly the leader who led the team in trials, Ter was now slowly removing the gold star from his own chest.

Their eyes met, and they saluted.

"Lord Rayen!"

"After discussion by all our high-level leaders and unanimous approval, we will confer upon you the highest representative position of the Awakened Ones' legion."

"Seventeenth Awakened Ones Legion Joint Commander!"

"If you are willing, over six million Awakened Ones of the military and 413 Fourth Rank Awakened Ones will all obey your command!"

"We hope to move toward new hope under your leadership!"

Having said that, Ter took from the tray the shoulder insignia representing the highest rank, and reverently placed it on Lin An.

This is something he himself had never received; since the establishment of the Awakened Ones' legion, no one has been able to obtain this honor.

It can be said that at this moment, Rayen has thoroughly obtained one of the highest authorities in all of Soviet Russia.

On the other side, the middle-aged man representing the pre-apocalypse military's highest defense commander likewise offered Lin An a salute with an extremely complex feeling.

"Lord Rain."

"I will, on behalf of all combat troops and regular army groups, grant you the highest command authority."

"This marshal's medal is probably only the second time it has been awarded since the founding of the country."

"Looking at Rain's arc-shaped mask, the middle-aged person awarding the medal actually showed a rare hesitation for a moment."

"If the honor granted by Teer representing the war zone can still be considered an emerging department after the Apocalypse, then the full control of the new combat sequence."

"That medal in his hand, however, truly represents a country, a war zone."

"Before the Apocalypse, this was the top-level authority that had the right to directly launch a war. To speak without exaggeration, once these two authorities are placed in Rain's hands, it means that Rain will become the true holder of supreme national power in Soviet history, and also its sole possessor."

"In fact, just a day before, they had erupted into an extremely heated discussion about whether to hand over such authority to a 'stranger'."

"If Rain harbors any ill intent, the entire war zone will slide into Shen Yuan, heading toward ruin."

"But after the final discussion, several military High Level directly hammered the decision. They believed that if they still handed over command and supreme authority, as before the Apocalypse, to generals who rose through seniority via normal channels, that would truly be hopeless."

"Awakened Ones represent the future; the strongest among the Awakened Ones represents true hope."

"So naturally, the authority to lead all of Soviet Russia naturally belongs to the strongest! They should discard the pre-Apocalypse rules and order, making the pure continuation of the nation their first goal!"

"Only by living can there be hope; without a truly capable strong leader, all pre-Apocalypse regulations are superfluous!"

"In a few seconds of hesitation, the middle-aged person took a deep breath, as if making a momentous decision, and slowly fastened the marshal's medal onto Lin An's chest."

"Step back, salute!"

"Recalling Rain's terrifying performance when he appeared also somewhat soothed his somewhat uneasy heart."

"At the same time, as Lin An also felt somewhat surprised by the Soviet Union's generous performance, a special system prompt suddenly sounded:"

"\"Ding, the title of Fire Thief has been upgraded. The effect of the Fire Bearer title has changed! \""

"\"Current title: 【Fire Bearer/Dawn】 (1/34)!! \""