Chapter 366: The Executioner!!

Within forty‑eight hours of the 3rd Fleet's crushing defeat by the expeditionary force, the incident spread throughout the Earth Citizen Federation, even the powerless "chives"‑like civilians learned of it.

Although the Federation leadership has issued strict lockdown orders, nothing can now conceal the matter as before, as if an invisible pair of hands manipulates everything behind the net.

Across the Federation, the 3rd Fleet's collapse has left people anxious; fear and confusion quietly spread among the crowd that once scorned the Bug race.

After all, only five fleets are deemed elite by the Federation forces, namely the 1st through 5th Fleets.

The 1st and 2nd Fleets guard the Solar System's interior and exterior, while the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Fleets lead the remaining forces at the three‑border frontier to eradicate the Bug race.

Yet the 3rd Fleet vanished in just two hours?

How is this possible??

If we wait another few—ten‑some hours, will the entire Federation forces be finished?

The 3rd Fleet boasted 240 million members! Over two hundred‑plus million gone in two hours—that's far more catastrophic than humanity's first battle with the Arachi Bug race, and now…

"All citizens, do not panic and do not believe rumors. At present the Federation forces have not confirmed any information about the 3rd Fleet's annihilation. Please stay calm; our station will continue to follow up. Next is a live interview by our station with Ruiandi Nuoz about Duke Saom's award…"

…

"Pfft… Hahaha!"

"Rumor? What a joke, the video's already online!"

"Do you really think we're fools? Rest assured, citizens—pfft… is being a citizen just a death sentence?"

After the news anchor finished reporting on the 3rd Fleet incident, a chorus of boos and jeers erupted in the bar, clearly displeased with the Federation government, the Federation forces, and the anchor's use of the term "citizens."

In the dimly lit bar hall, accompanied by light music, many people in suits, workwear, or casual clothes—who had finished work and were idle—sat drinking, snacking on fast food, bantering and bragging, all now focusing their conversation on the 3rd Fleet.

By appearance alone it's hard to tell civilians from citizens; only the bartender can check IDs to verify age, but judging from the crowd's reaction to the news, the overwhelming majority are civilians, and even any citizens present dare not speak up, merely drinking in silence.

Outside, the sky is dim, dotted with towering megastructures that resemble the main‑universe metropolis, yet no car‑shaped airships fill the streets above.

Though the window view can't reveal the bar's location, the holographic TV hanging above the hall displays "San Diego Time 20:21," indicating the bar is on the West Coast of North America, in San Diego.

"Ding~"

At that moment the main entrance swung open, and a group of Federation soldiers in dark‑gray dress uniforms and officer caps marched in.

Seeing this, the patrons' chatter and laughter halted abruptly, and their eyes turned to the dozen‑plus soldiers heading toward the bar.

The soldiers, feeling stared at, were uneasy, but professionalism kept them from uttering harsh words; they returned the stare with even fiercer gazes.

After the soldiers sat at the bar, removed their officer caps, and ordered drinks from the bartender, the hall's atmosphere finally eased a bit.

Everything resumed as usual—drinks, chatter, and jokes—though the volume of casual conversation dropped noticeably, as the patrons seemed to mind the soldiers.

Yet, at any time, any place, there's never a shortage of "troublemakers."

Two hulking men, each about 1.9 m tall, clad in filthy work overalls, rose from their seats and deliberately sat beside the soldiers.

One of the hulks waved at the bartender, "Hey! Buddy, I'd like to…"

At the same time, the other hulking man rudely pointed at all the seated soldiers, then flashed a "13" sign to his companion.

The first hulking man continued, "I'd like to treat these thirteen cowards—one vodka each, hahaha!"

"Um…" the bartender didn't know what to say.

"What the hell did you say?! You fucking idiot!" a hot‑tempered Corporal could no longer contain his anger, slammed the bar top, stood up, and assumed a punching stance.

"Calm down! Soldier! Calm down!"

"Bro, chill out!"

Fortunately, a group of comrades quickly rose and restrained the irate Corporal; otherwise a fight with civilians could have been filmed by opportunistic onlookers, ruining the Corporal's career.

"Ha, just the usual cowardly dogs—damn you and your dog‑coin crew. What can you do? Huh? Fight me? Come on!"

But the hulking man scoffed, tossed off his work jacket, and struck an amateurish fighting pose, continuously provoking the soldiers trying to keep their composure.

The other hulking man pulled out an ultra‑thin phone, activated video mode, and began recording from a short distance away.

"Citizen, please behave." a Second Lieutenant straightened his uniform, then stood before the hulking man, saying with righteous tone, "You have violated Article 5 of the Federation; I can now call the military police to arrest…"

"Arrest your mother!"

"Bang!" a muffled thud sounded; the hulking man stopped any further chatter, swung a powerful punch at the Second Lieutenant's jaw, and launched into a brawl.

This ignited the entire hall; the soldiers ignored the consequences and prepared to beat the hulks, while the surrounding mob, already resentful of the Federation government and forces, erupted into a fierce clash.

Even the bartender, servers, and bar owner's desperate pleas could not stop it, and they were nearly drawn into the fight.

As the conflict escalated…

"Hey! Stop fighting! All of you, stop it, damn it, watch the TV!!" the bar owner shouted hoarsely.

?

A few civilians who had been merely "goofing off" instantly turned their attention to the still‑working holographic TV.

??!!

"Holy crap! Stop fighting! Stop it!!"

"Watch the TV! It's the Federation Marshal!"

Upon seeing that, the civilians not only halted their brawl but even "helped" the soldiers, calming everyone's nerves.

Hearing "Federation Marshal," more and more people turned their gaze to the holographic TV, and after seeing its broadcast, they simultaneously lowered their fists and found the best angles to "watch the TV."

Because the broadcast showed not a live interview but a recording of a dark‑skinned, overweight female Federation Marshal discussing matters with senior officials in a conference room.

In the footage, the female Marshal was only a distinguished General, seated at the deputy's seat, while the main seat was occupied by a white‑haired, wrinkled, seemingly "kind" and "amiable" fellow.

In fact, that "kind" fellow was the former Federation Marshal who ordered the surprise strike on the Bug race's homeworld, causing the Federation forces' first battle to end in disastrous loss and massive casualties.

Moreover, the discussion between that "amiable" former Marshal and the senior officials sent chills through everyone in the bar hall, including the thirteen soldiers.

"Everyone," the former Marshal's deep voice intoned, "Forty‑five minutes ago we detected an asteroid from the Bug race's domain, its target being Earth. I therefore propose using this asteroid to rescue the increasingly collapsing Federation."

"Oh?" a General replied immediately, "Marshal, you mean a full‑scale war with the Arachi Bug race?"

"Exactly." the former Marshal nodded.

"But Marshal, we know little about the Bug race; a rash move could mire us in a war quagmire, and without any defensive measures, tens of millions—no, hundreds of millions—innocent civilians could die unnaturally," the youngest General voiced his objection.

"Without sacrifice, there is no victory." The former marshal said firmly: "If there is no further stimulation from external forces, the federation's split is inevitable, so only this can save the federation from its predicament—who still has objections?"

"I agree." The dark-skinned current female marshal immediately echoed.

"No."

"I agree too."

More and more generals and high officials expressed agreement; even the general who had objections could only sigh helplessly, nodding in agreement as if against his conscience.

"Very good." The former marshal stood up, glanced at everyone, and ordered: "Our top priority now is to vigorously publicize the threat of the insectoid race and prepare for war—for the federation!"

"For the federation!" All the high-ranking officials and generals rose and saluted.

After the video finished playing, the TV screen went black, and at the same time the bar hall fell into a silence and eerie atmosphere.

"Hey..." The most knowledgeable among them, the lieutenant with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and a swollen left cheek, quickly looked toward the boss and warned solemnly: "Privately broadcasting such edited, synthesized videos or images that slander federation leaders will result in life imprisonment, or even the death penalty."

"Sir, it wasn't me… it started playing these on its own, I can't even turn it off." The boss, on the verge of tears, explained while continuously pressing the remote's power button to prove himself.

"This probably isn't a synthesized video; maybe a highly skilled hacker hijacked the live broadcast." A network engineer helped the boss by saying that.

"So the federation had already detected the asteroid!"

"Fuck your mothers! My sister is in Buenos Aires! You bastards! Assholes!"

"I'll slaughter you lot, you executioners!!"

At this point, people began to realize that the federation hadn't failed to detect or defend against the asteroid strike—it was damn 'not going' to defend!

So after learning the truth, both civilians and citizens pointed their anger at the thirteen soldiers present, ready to vent their fury.

"Wait… this is fake!"

"We don't know either!"

Seeing the furious crowd, the lieutenant and corporals didn't know what to do, but these soldiers still believed that what had just been played was merely a synthesized video.

"I am Lieutenant Lazarak of the Hardbone Battalion..." At that moment, the TV screen shifted from black to bright, showing Lazarak's upper body and behind him Long Face, Rui Ge, Fu Luo Si, and the entire Hardbone Battalion.

And Lazarak, with a solemn expression, narrated: "The order my subordinates and I received was to hold Whiskey Outpost for two hours until the Third Fleet arrived, but relying only on a single company to fight against billions, tens of billions of bugs…

"Hah!" Lazarak gave a bitter self-mocking smile, then angrily said: "Letting an old man like me die is fine, but my subordinates are just a bunch of nineteen- and twenty-year-olds! They should be contributing to humanity's future, yet the federation's higher-ups can lift a finger or flap their lips and send people to die at will—just to let those high-ranking officials earn military merit by sacrificing others at will!"

Next, Lazarak, as a low-ranking officer, denounced the federation's high command; this old lieutenant's intention was that they could die in battle, could sacrifice, but should not be treated by the high command as entertainment, as "playthings," disposable pawns!

Upon hearing Lazarak's words, the lieutenant and soldiers surrounded by the crowd instantly resonated, because… it was the truth, especially as an officer, the lieutenant had already sensed the federation's decline.

Not long after, the screen switched again, showing Sarah and the wild wolves "assisting" the Hardbone Battalion in resolving the insect swarm crisis, with many thrilling moments of wolves punching through bugs and slashing them with swords, and these exciting clips were edited so smoothly that there was not a hint of awkwardness.

Immediately after, the screen changed to the disastrous scene of the Third Fleet encountering the expeditionary force, with utterly no ability to fight back; of course, the subsequently released video content went beyond this, exposing even more nauseating federation secrets.

Although civilians had long known the federation was not great, and citizens and soldiers alike felt disappointed, everyone restrained themselves, drinking alcohol, eating snacks and fast food, and sat down to watch all the videos…

Resentment and disappointment were mild; civilians and citizens practically wanted to join resistance organizations immediately, preparing for a protest march, while the lieutenant and corporals even wanted to go on strike with their comrades.

Emotions had already been whipped to a peak by all kinds of "facts"; at this moment, people no longer cared whether the videos were true or false, merely…

People seemingly still lacked the guts to openly confront the federation with real weapons, after all, the federation's military size sits there—how could they fight?

However, people actually don't need to worry about this, because there will be a "person" to resolve the federation government and military high command for them.

Outside the atmosphere.

In the region of space at least six hundred kilometers above the ground, sixteen blue vortices representing jump points suddenly appeared.

(End of chapter)