Chapter 803: The End of the Xiu-Luo Holy War (3)

Ninth Defense Zone Outer City Headquarters.

The heavy office door shut out the clamor of the outside world.

On Angron's desk were reports from various battlefronts.

Tech-Priest Marta's gaunt fingers danced rapidly across the button-covered Control Console, data cables extending from her mechanical prosthetic limbs to the main control terminal.

Angron stood before the newly installed main screen in the office.

He stared intently at the scrolling information.

Suddenly, a top-priority encrypted communication signal on the main screen began to flash frantically, accompanied by a unique buzzing sound.

This sound caused Tech-Priest Marta's movements to stop instantly; her withered lips parted silently, and her eyes, filled with precision optical lenses, widened.

Angron's head lifted; without any superfluous movement, though it lasted only a split second, the pressure released in that moment made the very air stagnate.

Marta connected the communication with the utmost speed. There was no image on the screen, only a line of text composed of pure golden energy.

"First Defense Zone has fallen. The Cyberk main will core 'Sage' has been destroyed. War objectives achieved. Declare immediately: The war is over."

Silence.

Only the low hum of the servers remained in the office.

Angron stared at that line of text, time seemingly frozen for several seconds.

His chest rose and fell ever so slightly, and after steadying his emotions, he spoke to Tech-Priest Marta.

"Marta. Confirm the source and authorization."

"My Lord! The source... the source is confirmed as the highest level! The encryption sequence... is... is the direct authorization mark of Emperor His Majesty! Without error!"

After receiving the affirmative reply, Angron looked again at the golden text declaring final victory.

A moment later, his massive palm tapped lightly against the metal edge of the Control Console.

"Thud!"

A dull, booming sound that seemed capable of shaking the heart echoed within the base.

"Initiate global broadcast."

Angron's voice had returned to a calm state.

"Notify all military and civilians in the Ninth Defense Zone."

Marta's fingers entered the command into the Control Console.

The indicator light for the global broadcast system lit up.

Angron lifted his head slightly, his calm voice resounding through every corner via the loudspeakers spread across the defense zone.

"Citizens of the Ninth Defense Zone, this is Angron."

"The First Defense Zone has fallen."

"The core will of the Alien Cyberk, 'Sage', has been utterly destroyed by the Emperor's great power."

"The main Cyberk force has been reduced to dust."

"The war—"

At this point, Angron paused deliberately for half a second before continuing.

"—is over."

In front of the bulletin board in the Ninth Defense Zone residential square.

The massive metal bulletin board, plastered with production quotas and notices for new crop cultivation, was packed tight with people at this moment.

Angron's calm voice had just resounded throughout the entire Ninth Defense Zone via the broadcast system.

"……The main Alien Cyberk force has been utterly destroyed by Emperor His Majesty! The war—is over!"

The crowd was dead silent at first, as if unable to digest such monumental news.

Then, a sound of incredulous sobbing broke the silence.

Immediately after, the crowd completely erupted.

"We won?! We really won?!"

A porter carrying a sack slammed the bag onto the ground, dust rising, but he was completely unaware, only staring with bloodshot eyes at the official notice just posted by a soldier on the bulletin board, stamped with the golden eagle emblem.

"The Emperor is above! The Emperor is above!"

Laoma squeezed to the very front, his calloused hands trembling as he stroked the words "War Over" on the notice again and again, tears streaming down the deep furrows on his face.

"It's over... those tin cans... will never come again..."

"Mommy! Mommy! Have the bad robots been beaten away?"

The child held in his mother's arms pointed at the hideous Cyberk portrait next to the notice and asked.

The mother hugged the child tightly, a joyful smile on her face, her voice choked with emotion as she said.

"Yes, baby, they have been beaten away! The Emperor bless us, they will never hurt us again!"

The notices on the bulletin board about "30% increase in new crop production" and "significant results in Outer City discipline rectification" now appeared full of hope under the light of victory.

Production Zone factory canteen.

The factory canteen was as noisy as usual.

Steam pots rolled with the rich aroma of vegetable meat soup, and the long lines moved slowly.

Marie stood behind the counter, habitually muttering: "Next! Don't push! There's enough for everyone!"

"Marie, this soup smells so good today it could hook a person's soul out!"

Laotangmu, who was in the front of the line, sniffed, the grease on his face unable to hide his smile.

"If it smells good, eat more and shut your mouth!"

Just then, Angron's calm voice came through the speakers hanging from the canteen ceiling.

"……The war—is over."

The entire canteen instantly fell into absolute, deathly silence.

The steam pot continued to "gurgle, gurgle" as it bubbled; that was the only sound.

All movement froze.

Laotangmu's hand, reaching out with a lunchbox, stopped in mid-air.

Marie was the first to react.

She turned around, back to the window, and her shoulders began to shake violently.

She raised a hand stained with grease and soup to cover her mouth, but could not hold back the sobs that had been suppressed for who knows how many years.

"Is... is it over?!"

Xiao Liu's voice was filled with disbelief.

He looked at Laotangmu, then at the stiff fellow workers around him.

"Is it really over? Those... those things... won't come back? Are we... are we safe?!"

"Safe..."

Laotangmu grabbed a fellow worker standing nearby who was just as dazed, shook him hard, and growled.

"Did you hear that?! Lao Zhang! It's over! It's fucking over!! We won!! The Emperor won!!"

This roar ignited the entire canteen!

"Waaaaah—!!!"

"We won!!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Human race!!"

Some knelt on the ground wailing, some laughed wildly at the sky, and some pounded the sturdy metal dining tables, making "thump, thump" sounds!

The long-accumulated fear, despair, forbearance, and anxiety about the future were completely vented at this moment!

At this time, the canteen manager walked into the canteen and shouted happily.

"Marie! Today, all workers get extra rations to celebrate this memorable day!"

"Okay!"

Marie wiped the tears from her cheeks, went to the soup barrel, grabbed bread, and shoved it into the arms of Laotangmu, who was closest to her and still laughing and crying.

"Take it! There's plenty for everyone today! For the Emperor! For a better life ahead! Eat!!!"

She grabbed a few more pieces of bread and shoved them into the hands of Xiao Liu, who was incoherent with excitement, and into the hands of everyone she could reach.