Chapter 548

Golden radiance.

Silent lightning.

This supernatural anomaly beyond nature, together with the familiar Spiritual Energy fluctuation, definitely comes from the Human Emperor, and is also their father!

Thinking of this, Dan Ding, Ze Lin, and the others finally showed a faint, heartfelt smile—the first since they were transported to this Earth.

Because this represents their father watching over them and also giving them a certain degree of help.

Could it be…

Is this also part of the newcomers' trial?

Without waiting to think it over, Dan Ding hastily took off the Chain Sword hanging from his waist, gripped it firmly, and issued the command:

"Ze Lin, Fen Ni Si, Ba Er, Huo En, you four must ensure the safety of all our comrades; Yang Luo, you will go with me to the town to carry out the purging operation, and at the same time, you will also inspect the town's center with me."

After saying that, Dan Ding ran ahead toward the town, while Yang Luo, holding the Blast Cannon, followed behind.

Dan Ding left the four brothers in charge of guarding, which shows that as the squad leader he truly does not want any comrade to die at the hands of traitors and alien scum.

After all, when their father founded all the legions, he hoped the Astate would bear the heavy responsibility of protecting humanity.

And Shengjilesi, every Friday morning upon arriving at Luna Base, would hold a holographic meeting for these Blood Angels' newcomers, teaching them that even a single comrade.

Even if only a single comrade is surrounded, the Blood Angels must exert all their strength to rescue them.

Although every legion strives to protect and save comrades as its duty, there seem to be few Primarchs like Shengjilesi who specifically emphasize this.

As for the prisoners at this moment…

"Golden lightning?"

"A generous gift. What omen is this?"

They all lamented the previous silent golden lightning.

If it were some biomechanical spacecraft, or a portal to another dimension or space appearing, the prisoners would not be overly surprised; mainly because they have become accustomed to such things after the Seven-Hour War with the United Empire.

But this supernatural phenomenon, overly mythic in nature, truly exceeds the prisoners' capacity to comprehend.

"Jesus Christ… thank you for giving us a revelation…"

At this moment, a prisoner wearing thick glasses, whose appearance and demeanor resembled that of a Catholic or Christian Church Father, made the standard sign of the cross toward the town, then looked at the four Astate newcomers and said devoutly:

"Also thank you for sending down the battle angels to stand beside us, saving us from peril…"

"Enough already." Fen Ni Si restrained his anger, interrupted the prisoner priest's prayer, and corrected: "I don't know whether this Earth and this universe have a Jesus Christ or a God."

"But I can certainly tell you that the previous golden lightning definitely did not come from the god you believe in; it was the Human Emperor, and also the father of all us Astate."

"Human Emperor… could it be… that He is a deity?"

The prisoner priest's eyes widened; evidently he did not expect that the supernatural phenomenon would also be related to these giants.

"Of course… no, that's wrong." Fen Ni Si almost continued along the priest's line, so he quickly said: "There is no god in the world or the universe; please remember this. When the main forces of the Human Empire arrive, a group of professionals (Battle Sisters) will come to teach you."

But even after Fen Ni Si finished his explanation, not only the prisoner priest but all the prisoners began to feel curious about the Human Empire and the Human Emperor who could emit a 'revelation'.

They all witnessed how formidable the Astate are, and as the father of the Astate, they wondered just how powerful the Human Emperor could be.

Strangely, including the priest, many of the faithful prisoners began to silently pray in their hearts to the Human Emperor, that is, Sui Bian.

"No god?"

While the prisoners trusted Fen Ni Si's other words, they remained skeptical about the claim that there is no god.

If there is no god, then how should we explain the golden lightning?

"."

In response, Ze Lin grasped the prisoners' emotions and inner thoughts through Spiritual Perception, taking them all in.

But Ze Lin did not explain anything like Fen Ni Si did, because the concept of god, for the people of this Earth, remains a deeply rooted notion or idea that cannot be clarified in just a few words.

As Fen Ni Si said, once the Battle Sisters arrive, these questions will be readily resolved.

———————

…

Meanwhile.

On the outskirts of the town named "Ke Luomu Fu", scattered headcrab zombies roamed; they had not yet noticed that Dan Ding and Yang Luo had slowed their pace.

Furthermore, Yang Luo also slung the Blast Cannon onto his right back and took down the Chain Sword.

After a brief observation, Dan Ding said: "Brother, we will meet at the town center in three minutes; I hope that by then you can eliminate half of the zombies."

"No problem." Yang Luo chuckled, and while activating the Chain Sword, he teased: "Let's see who reaches the square first!"

Saying that, Yang Luo stepped forward first, charging toward the town's east side; along the way, every zombie and headcrab was pulverized by the disassembling stance and the blade chain.

"."

Dan Ding gave no reply, likewise charging westward at a quick pace, disposing of as many zombies and headcrabs as he could see, ensuring that when placing their comrades here, they would no longer need to worry and could live in peace.

Meanwhile, Dan Ding and Yang Luo were secretly comparing themselves, seeing who could first finish clearing their respective areas.

This is not a blind comparison, but rather because they both wanted to be the first to examine the town center, given that there lay there something released by their father, which the prisoners had mistaken for a 'revelation' or 'divine descent'.

Not long after.

The two had disposed of nearly a thousand zombies and headcrabs, and almost simultaneously arrived at the town's central square; at this moment, neither had any intention of competing or comparing with the other.

Because of that silent lightning just now, the central square was split open into a square pit a hundred meters long and wide, with a depth of about one meter.

And within this pit, neatly stacked large equipment crates were placed, and on each crate, besides the red-and-white umbrella insignia and the imperial emblem, were also engraved "Viper-type Explosive Bolt", "Individual Exoskeleton Type-IV", "M41A Pulse Rifle", "M56 Smart Machine Gun", "Plasma Rifle", and so on.

Besides weapons and equipment, there were also "injectable nanobots", "individual compressed rations", and "nanometer-grade drinking water", among medical, food, and water supplies.

"Father, this is…"

Yang Luo took the lead stepping into the pit, then bent down to open one of the equipment crates, looked at the old-style individual exoskeleton inside, scanned the whole pit, and said:

"Are these supplies sent because we fear we cannot overthrow the United Empire? But it seems there are no crates for holding tau-steel armor or Thor's hammer."

"It's not because we fear we cannot overthrow it, brother." Dan Ding also came into the pit, walked up to Yang Luo's side, and explained: "It's because we fear over-worrying about our comrades' safety, forcing us to split our forces and attention, so most of the equipment here is meant to provide for our comrades on this Earth."

Speaking, Dan Ding reached into the equipment box and picked up an individual mechanical exoskeleton that could rightly be called an old antique.

After a brief inspection, he discovered markings on the back spine reading "Serial No.: 20600717-0116-UmRCF (Umbrella Raccoon City Arsenal)".

It was a product from over 150 years ago.

Judging by its appearance and brand‑new condition, it was surely maintained and serviced even after being retired…

A typical Umbrella way of doing things,

"Mm, indeed." Yang Luo, who also saw the individual exoskeleton's serial number, expressed agreement, slightly raised his head, gazed at the azure sky, and sighed: "Surely Father must be watching our every move; otherwise he wouldn't have sent help."

"So there can be no mistake." Dan Ding returned the individual exoskeleton to the equipment box, then via his earpiece ordered: "Ba Er, change the settings of the Razor Train so it keeps moving; after finishing, come back as soon as possible."

"Yes."

"Ze Lin, Huo En, Fen Ni Si, you escort the compatriots to the town; I have some matters to announce publicly."

"Okay."

After issuing the orders.

Dan Ding and Yang Luo first went to inventory all supplies, while Ba Er, who excelled at machinery and engineering, prepared to use the Razor Train as bait to keep moving forward.

Soon, over seven hundred prisoners, under the escort of three Holy Angel recruits, gathered in the town's central square, awaiting Ba Er's return.

"My heavens… the Emperor manifests!"

"My Lord bless… no! Emperor bless!"

Yet seeing the "appearing out of thin air" or "descending from heaven" abundant "rewards," led by that priest, many faith‑holding prisoners dropped to their knees in worship.

Moreover, the devout words they spoke were also altered to be extremely smooth.

Basically the format is the same; they simply replaced Jesus Christ and God with the Human Emperor.

Moreover, even though Fen Ni Si, Ze Lin and other Holy Angel recruits repeatedly stressed that there are no gods in this world and urged the kneeling prisoners to rise, promoting the idea that "there is gold beneath the knees," it seemed to no avail.

The priest and the faithful prisoners, even if they didn't say it aloud, kept silently chanting in their hearts "Emperor bless! Emperor manifest!"

"No gods in the world?"

"Come on, you Astate are all three meters tall; just looking at your appearance shows no signs of biological modification, and combined with your calling the Human Emperor 'Father'…"

"What else could you be if not battle angels?"

"Besides, how could these life‑saving supplies before us appear out of nowhere?"

"To think of it as some kind of technology or another sort of transfer device, the priest and believers would never believe it."

"On the whole, it feels more reliable to call the Emperor a god."

"Right."

"Surely a god."

Fortunately, after Ba Er finished modifying the program to let the Razor Train keep speeding, he returned in time, finally allowing the priest and believers to temporarily halt their prayers to their Father.

Seeing this, Dan Ding immediately addressed the crowd: "Everyone! We now possess enough weapons and gear to equip a support army vanguard unit—or a combat team—as well as medical, food and other living supplies sufficient to sustain twenty thousand people in prosperity for thirty days."

Having said that, Dan Ding's gaze swept over all the brothers, his tone grew heavier, and he continued in a low voice:

"Therefore, to establish a regular army affiliated with the Human Empire on this world's Earth, and for the sake of easier leadership, command and combat…"

"I intend to bypass the cumbersome procedures, and without obtaining approval from the legion and the Original Body, first set up a temporary legion headquarters and organize the corresponding support forces."

"May I ask if there are any opposing views?"

It is obvious that this final question was not directed at the prisoners, but at the five Holy Blood Angel recruits.

"Establish a temporary headquarters?" Yang Luo, standing beside Dan Ding, furrowed his brows.

It wasn't just this brother showing hesitation; all the brothers present did.

Establishing a headquarters by bypassing the legion and the Original Body, if done in the main universe, would be immediately flagged and noted by the White Empress, and would be deemed an act of rebellion.

After all, a legion headquarters commander possesses a high degree of autonomy, able to muster an entire planet's—or even one or several star systems'—troops and resources in an emergency, to launch a small‑scale expedition of "False Apocalypse"‑level against high‑threat alien vermin or demonic heretics.

This is done to ensure, as much as possible, that the legion headquarters can promptly respond to the enemy with countermeasures.

In other words, a headquarters commander who directly governs planets and star systems can be likened to an ancient provincial lord or local ruler.

Such an imperial system, on the surface, carries a high probability of rebellion.

However, the existence of the G‑gland gives each headquarters commander absolute loyalty to the Human Emperor, directly eliminating the possibility of headquarters mutiny.

Yet only the Human Emperor Sui Bian himself clearly understands that this "absolute loyalty" stems from the system (Zero Three Emperor) granting an alternative familial bond.

Moreover, Sui Bian could never reveal the truth of this "absolute loyalty" to any Original Body or any Astate.

Thus, the Original Body and the Astate know only that they themselves are absolutely loyal to Sui Bian, but they are unaware of how the other brothers stand.

Consequently, when Dan Ding announced the plan to set up a temporary headquarters, Yang Luo, Ze Lin and the other Holy Angel recruits first had to consider whether Dan Ding might be seeking to expand his own power under the pretext.

Feeling the atmosphere suddenly turn "cold," the bewildered prisoners, each barely breathing, feared disturbing the giants beside them.

"The post of commander can be elected by vote." Dan Ding spoke first, breaking the eerie atmosphere.

"No need, I can sense your intention." Ze Lin was the first to echo, saying, "For the sake of convenience, establishing a temporary headquarters is indeed a viable plan; I support it."

"Me too, as long as I can get a good round of killing traitors and alien scum!" Fen Ni Si also expressed support.

Seeing Dan Ding gain support from two brothers, the remaining brothers all nodded in agreement, with no objections.

"Thank you, brothers."

After nearly securing the commander position, Dan Ding showed no trace of joy; instead, he felt much heavier and said:

"Calling our temporary headquarters by a number would be inappropriate; to commemorate the sacrifices and efforts of this world's warriors, I propose we tentatively name it 'The Mourners.' What do you think?"

(End of chapter)