Chapter 384: Can You Forever Keep Your Loyalty to the Emperor?

"Sisters!"

Seeing the unstoppable, world-eater advancing like a bamboo split, Valentina, leader of the first platoon of the first company, raised her clenched left hand and shouted: "For the Emperor! For humanity! Prepare for battle!"

"For the Emperor!"

"For humanity!"

The sixty-four first-platoon battle sisters tasked with guiding civilians into the bunker roared in unison, then, following training experience, they spread out, formed a formation, and, using the all-around enhancement from their powered armor, conducted precise point fire on the distant world-eaters.

Even if Astate far surpasses us mortals, we still shoot! Moreover, these world-eaters are traitors to the Emperor, heretics, traitors—they must be shot!

Likewise, the soldiers responsible for guiding the evacuation raised their laser rifles or operated large-caliber fixed artillery, coordinating with the battle sisters occupying the high ground to lay down suppressing fire on the southern tunnel entrance.

"Rat-tat! Rat-tat!"

"Tap-tap-tap!"

"Pong! Pong!"

In an instant, guns and cannons erupted throughout the underground city: ordinary-caliber explosive bolts, blazing red beams, and whistling large-caliber shells and grenades rained down on the traitors.

Those who chose to follow the world-eaters, the depraved mortal scum, even if their bodies had undergone considerable mutation and they had received the blessings of evil gods and demons, could not withstand the indiscriminate bombardment.

Especially, the explosive bolts fired by the battle sisters, imbued with absolute faith, could easily pierce the armor of the mortal scum and shatter their hideous bodies.

Of course, soldiers with equally steadfast will could also inflict heavy casualties on the mortal scum.

But against world-eaters wearing ceramite armor and bolstered by a psychic stance, the soldiers' firepower seemed somewhat "short on cover," appearing unable to inflict effective damage on the world-eaters.

Fortunately, the battle sisters' firepower remained effective; usually seven to nine explosive rounds could shatter or break the world-eaters' faint psychic stance.

However, this does not mean the world-eaters have lost all defense; the battle sisters need to expend several or more explosive rounds before they might kill a world-eater.

By contrast, though the world-eaters are reckless, they are not truly foolish…

Although they can sometimes be stupid, for the chaotic power makes them lose themselves, indulging in endless slaughter and bloodlust, yet at this moment the world-eaters are still fairly normal; thus, those who favor melee will not merely charge forward without counterattacking.

One saw many world-eaters, while charging, raise their. 75-caliber bolt guns, quickly lock onto targets, and immediately pull the trigger.

"Rat-tat-tat!!"

The report of the "normal"-caliber bolt guns instantly drowned out the gunfire of the battle sisters and soldiers.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Almost in sync with the gunfire came the sound of armor "blowing apart" and mortal bodies bursting and shattering.

One saw the soldiers of the underground city, and civilians who had not yet reached the military fortress or bunker, falling like dominoes sped up dozens of times, one after another dying miserably.

Those lucky enough could keep half a body; the unlucky turned straight into shreds and chunks, with sprayed blood rising into a blood mist within the underground city.

The battle sisters occupying the high ground also suffered concentrated fire from the world-eaters; even with powered armor protecting them, they could not withstand the dense. 75-caliber explosive barrage.

Within ten-odd seconds, the first-platoon battle sisters lost more than half their number; blood flowed like rivers between streets and buildings, and in the open, exposed positions no living person could be seen.

This…

This was merely a single sweep of fire from the world-eaters.

Seeing that the underground city side could temporarily organize no effective counterattack, and wanting to enjoy the thrill of close-quarters slaughter, the world-eaters' side unexpectedly showed "mercy."

However, this "holding back" was merely them, before charging into the crowd wielding their respective chain swords and chain axes, giving up on using bolt guns for a one-sided massacre, because shooting would be too boring and fail to excite them.

!!!

Having stood near the military fortress and narrowly escaped disaster, Valentina was utterly dumbfounded—or rather, all the surviving sisters, soldiers, and civilians were dumbfounded.

Is this the gap between Astate and us mortals?

Just a moment ago, she was still complaining with her sisters about what was so scary about the fallen giants—weren't they just a bit bigger?

However, after experiencing a brief engagement, Valentina realized she was completely wrong—utterly ignorant and foolish—and should try to believe the legends left by her seniors!

Even though the battle sisters' powered armor helmets provided visual aid, they could not truly capture the world-eaters' attack range, nor predict from which position or direction they would fire point or sweep shots.

Whether in overall strength, combat experience, or battlefield intuition, the world-eaters are crushing them on every front.

Against mortal scum, they can.

Against "fallen giants," they have absolutely no means to fight back.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Just then, the military fortress behind them finally completed its activation, with various large-caliber guns and even plasma cannons bombarding the tunnel entrances and exits and the positions where the world-eaters gathered.

"Boom… boom…"

The underground city's overall structure also trembled with each salvo from the military fortress, first shedding dust and mud that would not stop falling, then bricks, and finally various support columns.

It was obvious that, if this continued, the underground city would soon collapse due to the fortress's practice of preferring mutual annihilation and being lavish with ammunition and batteries.

Yet precisely because of this, the rebels' offensive was finally checked, and the seemingly invincible world-eaters, when faced with 600mm or 700mm solid-shot warheads or plasma cannon salvos, had no choice but to suffer defeat on the spot—either being blown to fragments or vaporized by extreme heat.

No matter how strong, they cannot overcome caliber; moreover, this group of world-eaters has no chosen ones or champions.

"Valentina!" At the same time, Sisa's command came over the comms: "Take all survivors into the bunker! Quick! We must withdraw from here!"

Due to the sudden barrage and feeling the despair brought by the world-eaters, Valentina seemed still dazed, but having received the order she quickly steadied herself and loudly said: "You all heard Lady Sisa's words! Quick! Get moving!"

"Yes!"

The surviving people also stopped being dazed, turning instead to continue entering the military fortress and heading to the bunker beneath it.

Speaking of irony, due to the world-eaters' volley, personnel numbers plummeted, allowing Valentina and her group to complete the evacuation in under two minutes, whereas at the start of battle it would have taken over twenty minutes.

Soon, the battle sisters and soldiers responsible for operating the fortress's artillery also entered the bunker via internal passages, and before moving they topped off each gun with the remaining ammunition and batteries.

"Boom! Boom… boom!!"

After the military fortress finished its final salvo, the underground city, riddled with a thousand holes, could no longer hold up; it collapsed outright, burying everything—including the rebels who had not yet caught their breath.

Inside the bunker.

"Boom…" a series of muffled sounds came from above, but after a moment all motion and noise ceased.

However, inside the bunker there were not many of the imagined weeping, clamor, or helpless cries; people seemed quite calm.

After all, having lived underground, they had long prepared for "the day that would surely come"; although the event was sudden and they were frightened by the world-eaters, they did not panic into a mob but continued to withdraw in an orderly fashion…

Exactly, this sturdy, spacious, and extremely monotonous bunker is absolutely not the last refuge of the underground city's residents; on the contrary, this place is a rail train station that can reach a point fifty kilometers away.

As for fifty kilometers away?

In fact, it is a large underground hangar where pioneers and seniors from a hundred years ago left behind space shuttles and a few models, to prepare for the current situation.

Before Valentina and her group withdrew here, residents, under the guidance of soldiers and battle sisters, still boarded trains in an orderly manner, efficiently heading to the hangar, and they happened to be able to take the "last train".

Standing on the flatbed train car at the very end, with simple railings installed on both sides, Valentina took off her helmet and gazed into the distance as the bunker station gradually receded.

And she could only hear the rhythmic "clack~clack" sound of the wheels pressing on the rails, because her sisters were equally silent.

Not long after, Valentina and her group arrived at a more spacious and bright hangar, where all the facilities still looked brand new and which had an overall lift function.

By this time, the vast majority of people had already entered three space shuttles, each about 160 meters long and capable of subspace travel.

Moreover, there were sixteen fighters resembling main-universe WWII aircraft and four similarly rugged transport aircraft, also undergoing tuning and maintenance by ground crew and pilots.

The train stopped.

Not long after Valentina and her group entered the hangar, the platform carrying the space shuttles, transport aircraft, and fighters began to rise slowly, gradually heading toward the surface.

At the same time, the surviving three hundred-plus civilians and soldiers directly boarded the third space shuttle, which had plenty of empty seats inside; as for Valentina and her more than twenty remaining sisters, they first came to the side of Xisya and others, who were nearby the third space shuttle and assigning subsequent tasks.

Approaching, they heard Xisya say in a low voice: "Lorensali, Lotassna, Musi, you and your subordinates will board the transport aircraft with me to the suburbs, cause as much chaos as possible; please note, our mission is to act as bait, not to kill the enemy, understand?!"

"Yes, ma'am!" a group of battle sisters with clearly wrinkled faces, just as aged as Xisya, responded with fervent enthusiasm.

Afterward, more than three hundred fully armed battle sisters quickly proceeded to the transport aircraft that was already ready for departure.

"Ma'am, what is this…?"

Hearing Xisya issue an order tantamount to suicide, all the remaining sisters, including Valentina, couldn't help but want to speak up and ask.

"Children." Xisya simply waved her hand, signaling them to be quiet for now; immediately, this elderly lady revealed a rare kindly and benevolent expression, her eyes filled with evident reluctance, and she instructed:

"We are old, but you are young; the Empire is now occupied by traitors, humanity suffers greatly, and only by passing on this fire seed of the Emperor's Truth can there be hope. Initially, Lady Serelia entrusted this fire seed to me, and now…"

Xisya said, then turned her gaze to Valentina standing at the front, took off the personal power sword and its sheath hanging from her waist, and handed it to her, smiling:

"Now, I entrust this fire seed to Valentina Rockford; then I ask, can you forever maintain your loyalty to the Emperor and bear the heavy responsibility of spreading the Empire's Truth?"

"I…" Upon hearing this, Valentina hesitated slightly, but she steadied herself, hung the mortal's path burst arrow gun on her outer thigh armor, freed her hands to receive the power sword, and solemnly replied: "Yes, ma'am, I will forever maintain my loyalty to the Emperor and will also re‑spread the Empire's Truth throughout the galaxy!"

"Good! I believe you can do it!" Xisya laughed loudly, then turned and walked toward the transport aircraft without looking back, saying over her shoulder: "Take your sisters and leave."

"Yes!"

Valentina and the remaining young sisters all raised their hands in the highest salute to Xisya.

At that moment, accompanied by a muffled "Kong…Dong…" and a noticeable jolt, it indicated that the platform had also reached the maximum height it could attain.

Afterward, perhaps due to the structure's sturdiness or perhaps the Emperor's blessing, the gate that had been sealed for two hundred forty years opened normally, allowing all aircraft to leave the underground and head for the sky.

Unfortunately, when the gate fully opened, Valentina and the others who were just about to board the third space shuttle realized that the Emperor only blessed them to open the gate, seemingly not granting them a smooth escape.

Because a Devourers squad had, with the aid of Spiritual Energy, long ago discovered this secret evacuation point of the underground city and had been waiting at the edge of the gate for them for quite some time.

"Hahaha! I didn't expect there to be any living battle sisters? I'll smear your blood on my armor!!"

"Come die! Come die!"

"I'll skin that silver‑haired sister; nobody else dare try to take her from me!"

Upon learning of the existence of battle sisters, the Devourers, "extremely excited," leapt down from above.

"Valentina… Is the Emperor really still alive…?" a sister said, looking at the fallen giant on the platform, feeling somewhat disheartened.

"Of course!" Valentina drew her power sword and firmly replied: "The Emperor will surely bless us! Let's fight the traitors and the heretics!"

Afterward, a one‑sided battle unfolded once again.

However, as Valentina, Xisya, the many sisters, and the soldiers who had left the space shuttle fought together, they failed to notice that the sky was suddenly filled with countless drop pods.

Looking closely, the paint and symbols on those drop pods represented Umbrella's Eighth Legion—

the Clearers Legion.

(End of chapter)