Chapter 1298: and translation of chapter title

"Minister An! The troops of the Cangzhou War Zone are launching an attack on us!"

"According to Frontline intelligence, they have mobilized a group army and a third-level Awakened One!"

Inside the noisy command room, An Jing Tian silently watched the images transmitted from the Frontline. All he could see was that on the ground defense line, tanks and artillery were gathering.

Although the troops were few, in a short time they had mustered less than ten thousand, but he could already see that the enemy was attacking their forces under orders from the "capital".

"Are you trying to probe with conventional forces, or do you have some other motive..."

His brain racing, after taking a deep breath, An Jing Tian simply spoke coldly:

"Intercept them!"

"It doesn't matter if they're human or military; anyone who crosses the defense line is the enemy!"

Hearing his order, the Awakened One issuing the command hesitated slightly, merely sending the order to the Frontline with a complex mood.

Being human, even military, it's hard to say how tormented and conflicted they feel at this moment.

In Minister An's view, these military forces must have been deceived by monsters, and thus they spare no effort to engage them in battle—just planning to let Long An bear the name of treason completely?

But he also knew they had no other choice.

Ignoring the human troops converging from the three defense lines, An Jing Tian now focused more on the Alien Species emerging from the capital direction.

They could not determine the enemy's exact strength, but that astonishing speed still gave them a great shock.

Moreover, the enemy seemed to have long known they had been discovered.

"Does that group of Alien Species have a fourth-stage!?"

"No, not even a third-level peak is something we can block..."

Clenching his fists slowly, An Jing Tian felt at this moment like an infant desperately waving a weapon, trying to stop an entire army.

After continuous simulations, their best scenario was that the Alien Species, due to being rushed, might only be able to send out a peak plus a group of third-levels. After all, the Alien Species in the competition seemed still stuck at the advanced level.

With an added level, a fourth-stage might not necessarily exist.

If that is the case...

If we could fortuitously heavily wound them with a spirit-energy nuclear bomb, combined with AnXia, Red Clothes, Black Dragon, Gao Tian, and a large number of Long An second-level group army, perhaps there would be a slim hope of stopping them.

Yes, a heavily wounded third-level peak would force them to go all out, betting everything.

"All strength must be exerted to the utmost..."

"The laser weapons that Captain Lin brought back from the competition should also be able to threaten the remaining third-levels..."

"What a pity, space-based weapons are only useful against immobile targets; otherwise we could try them too..."

As if he had thought of something, An Jing Tian suddenly asked Gao Tian, who had been on standby, speaking rapidly:

"How about Mo Ling?"

"Has Mo Ling not returned yet?"

"If Mo Ling were here, she should also be able to handle a third-level!"

Seeing An Jing Tian ask him, Gao Tian hesitated a moment and could only give a bitter laugh:

"Jing Tian, we still can't contact Mo Ling. She went to Heiyu before and hasn't come out. That place, we simply cannot contact her."

"I don't even know if Colonel Chu went in with her..."

"Moreover..."

After a long exhale, Gao Tian couldn't help but speak softly:

"Mo Ling actually doesn't need to come back."

"Have you forgotten? What that little girl turns into when she dies... that's a monster even Captain Lin fears..."

"I suspect Colonel Chu anticipated this, so he simply took Mo Ling and left first..."

"After all, I think Mo Ling's actual worth is greater than the entirety of Long An..."

Hearing Gao Tian's words, An Jing Tian fell silent at once.

It's not that they began to suspect Chu An had already left; rather, at this critical juncture, the Chu An who had been entrusted with expectations seemed to have vanished, leaving not a word behind.

Given that they all knew Chu An was essentially an emotionless robot, it's hard not to wonder whether he had calculated this, believing they had no hope of victory and simply took Mo Ling and disappeared.

Of course, perhaps Chu An didn't initially plan to leave. But when Older Brother Lin ran into trouble, given Chu An's nature, it was natural to judge how things would proceed.

Under absolute rationality, it wouldn't be strange to abandon them directly.

Moreover, Mo Ling's ability to control zombies undoubtedly could rebuild a second Long An.

Even if we retreat ten thousand steps, even if Captain Lin only emerged after their deaths, Chu An had ten thousand reasons to tell Older Brother Lin that he had preserved Long An's most valuable person.

Yes, under absolute rationality, Mo Ling is indeed the most important member.

He, Wen Ya, An Jing Tian, and even Zhang Tie—the strategic value of these few pales in comparison to Mo Ling's.

It's unrealistic for all to escape; escaping just one is still possible.

They even don't know whether Lin An had actually talked with Chu An about anything... whether it's possible...

Having reached this thought, Gao Tian hastily suppressed his increasingly terrifying speculation.

Captain Lin, it's absolutely impossible for him to abandon them! He believes Lin An must be temporarily unable to come out, or that the Alien Species arrived too quickly!

Before the two could even glance at each other and want to say more, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded.

"Warning!"

"A hyper-speed moving object is breaking through the low-altitude defense line!"

Blinding red light instantly filled the entire command room; An Jing Tian started in shock and immediately realized the gravity of the problem.

"How many people!?"

"Immediately have the fighter jets armed with laser weapons intercept them!"

"Four people!! No.. five people!!"

"Minister An! Their speed is too fast!"

Staring fixedly at the monitor screen, only five streams of black aura were seen, rushing into the drone swarm at extreme speed in an instant, and in the blink of an eye they had crossed several kilometers.

Such speed almost instantly made everyone realize that these five afterimages must be a third‑rank high‑level being.

The progress is far faster than imagined.

Even though countless possibilities had been considered, seeing the massive drone swarm shattered by a shockwave from afar, An Jing Tian instantly realized the enemy had dispatched super‑level forces, preparing to invade the Faction: Long An.

And let the high‑rank beings directly destroy their 'landmines'!

"Five people!? That's all the Alien Species that came out of the capital!"

"They just come killing without hesitation..."

"Five at least third‑rank high‑level Alien Species... no, if they really want to kill Lin Ge, there must be at least one third‑rank peak! Wrong, if we count Zhang Tie, maybe two!"

"Like the illusions created by the Alien Species, in a subconscious moment An Jing Tian reached the same conclusion."

We can't let this pack of monsters break in!

Otherwise, just two peak‑rank Alien Species could wipe out the entire base!

"Mobilize all aircraft in the nearby airspace! First intercept with lasers!"

"If... no, when they are about to break through the defense line, directly detonate the nuclear bomb!"

There's no need to hesitate any longer.

After realizing the enemy's terror, An Jing Tian didn't hold much hope for laser weapons.

In their tests, this laser weapon might possibly harm a third‑rank mid‑level Awakened One with a single shot, but against peak‑rank foes he has no confidence at all.

If we could get the warship blueprints brought back by Lin Dui, perhaps hanging enough laser weapons could still hold them off for a bit... but now their aircraft simply can't carry such high‑level weapons.

Using laser strikes to delay their speed... after a nuclear explosion, it's unknown whether it could cause sufficient damage...

If they are merely heavily wounded, maybe there's still a sliver of hope... or even... blown to death?

Staring fixedly at the monitor screen, An Jing Tian and the others all nervously watched the two red dots.

That is a spirit‑energy nuclear bomb hidden deep among a pile of small nuclear warheads.

Last time they successfully severely wounded an Alien Species, even nearly killing it! The two newly produced ones will only be more powerful!