Chapter 783

Chen Dynasty, the main hall of the Observatory Platform.

The air solidified like iron.

On the huge monitoring main screen, the yu-energy readings from the west side of the light curtain had already exceeded all preset safety thresholds, the curve almost vertically rising, and the frenzied flashing scarlet alarm covered half the screen.

The light dot representing the Ying Tian Fu region of the Ming State was being rapidly devoured by a swiftly expanding patch of deep‑blue contamination, like thick ink dropped into clear water.

Even more alarming were several thick streams of yu‑energy rising from different positions in the north, shooting straight toward Ying Tian.

That was no longer a tactical strike.

That was a strategic‑level energy focus, a destructive beam driven by the will of the Iron Crow Army, aimed at completely erasing the 'variable core'.

"Energy intensity……has reached the upper limit of a Class C disaster, and is still rising."

Zhang Cheng's voice was dry, his fingers trembling slightly on the control crystal board.

"On the west side of the light curtain, with Ying Tian as the center, the stability of the laws within a 300‑li radius is rapidly deteriorating."

"Tremors in the earth's veins, abnormal atmospheric composition, observable minuscule shifts in fundamental physical constants……this is a "Script Reset"‑level interference!"

He suddenly lifted his head, looking at Chen Wen, who stood with eyes closed in the center of the hall.

"Your Majesty! The Ming State……can't hold on. At this rate of energy infusion, Ying Tian City's defense system will completely collapse within six hours. After that……will come total ecological extinction and the erasure of all traces of civilization."

The hall fell into utter silence.

The five ministers stood rigidly, their faces grim.

They had endured the long war with the Iron Crow Army and understood what such a scale of yu‑energy burst meant.

That was not a matter of winning or losing a war.

That was the prelude to an entire civilization node being 'erased' from history.

Yue Fei stepped forward, his armor clanking.

"Your Majesty, I, the subordinate, request orders!"

His eyes burned with a scorching flame—not just battle intent, but an almost instinctual resonance and anxiety that crossed the light curtain.

"The First and Third Elite Battalions of the Northward Aspiration Army are fully in position; the "Breaching Cone" formation has been inspected and is ready."

"According to the latest calculations, the seventh weak point of the light curtain will enter a penetration cycle in three hours."

"Although the stable window is less than two quarters of an hour, it is enough for an elite force to force a breakthrough!"

"Please grant me permission to lead my troops across the border and rush to aid Ying Tian!"

"Rush to aid?" Zhao Lao Nian couldn't help but speak, his old face deeply wrinkled: "General Yue, it's not just crossing a wall! It's entering a world being systematically dismantled! How effective will our yu‑energy equipment be there? How can we maintain supplies? Even if we break through, facing such a level of yu‑energy frenzy, how long could we hold out? This……this might be like throwing a meat bun at a dog!"

"How can we just watch?" Yue Fei turned his head, eyes like lightning: "Watch as another spark of Huaxia civilization is snuffed out before our eyes? Watch as the Iron Crow Army wins another round, twisting history completely back to their cold, bloody script?"

He again looked at Chen Wen, dropped to one knee, and clasped his fists overhead.

"Your Majesty! I, the subordinate, know full well that this journey is perilous, ten deaths and no life. But the aspiration of Northward Aspiration lies in survival! Though the Ming State lies beyond the light curtain, its people are our kin, its ruler also opposes the Iron Crow! Now they fight to the death in desperation; if we stand idly by, when the light curtain shatters someday, what face will we have to stand between heaven and earth, what confidence will we have to speak again of 'Northward Aspiration'?"

His words rang out, echoing in the hall.

Gongsun Sheng twisted his beard, brows furrowed, as if making rapid calculations.

Lin Chong clenched his fist, clearly leaning toward Yue Fei.

Zhang Cheng watched the increasingly perilous data on the screen, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Chen Wen slowly opened his eyes.

His complexion remained somewhat pale; the weakness after the system's promotion to Level 7 had not fully passed. Yet his eyes were deep and calm, as if reflecting the flow of deeper rules.

He did not immediately answer Yue Fei, but turned his gaze to Zhang Cheng.

"How many more high‑intensity interventions can the light curtain's stability support?"

Zhang Cheng quickly pulled up a data model, his expression growing even grimmer.

"Your Majesty, according to calculations based on the current decay rate and the resonance effect of yu‑energy impacts……large‑scale, organized Jun Ying crossing the border, especially when carrying heavy yu‑energy equipment, will severely accelerate the light curtain's collapse."

"If we follow General Yue's plan, the seventh weak point will likely become permanently enlarged after the mission is completed, possibly triggering a chain collapse of the surrounding area."

"At the earliest……it could bring forward the time of the light curtain's total failure by thirty years."

Thirty years.

For a civilization standoff that usually lasts centuries, this is almost moving the final showdown far ahead.

The cost is heavy.

Chen Wen then looked toward Zhao Lao Nian.

"What does the Armory Institute have in stock for a single rapid cross‑border strike in terms of yu‑energy weapons and protection?"

Zhao Lao Nian quickly reckoned and replied: '"The core components needed for the "Breaching Cone" formation are just enough to assemble three sets. Individual "Yu‑Harmor" armor can be urgently allocated five hundred sets. Portable "Crystal‑Shatter Guns" and ammunition can equip two battalions. However, the stock of long‑lasting yu‑energy batteries is severely insufficient; after crossing the border, sustained high‑intensity combat is expected to last only one hour."'

One hour.

To charge into that apocalyptic battlefield, find the person, and fight his way out.

How difficult.

Everyone's gaze ultimately focused on Chen Wen.

Waiting for his decision.

Is it to preserve strength, hold fast to the Chen Dynasty, and wait for a future that might be more advantageous—or perhaps more desperate?

Or to spare no expense, wager the fate of the nation, to rescue that flickering flame about to be extinguished, a spark from the same‑origin civilization?

Chen Wen fell silent for a moment.

His gaze seemed to pierce the hall's dome, pass through the swaying light curtain, and see the bloody, fiery carnage at Ying Tian City's gates, and see that soul, likewise refusing to bow in desperation—Zhu Yuanzhang, or rather, Zhu Yue.

He recalled the instruction deep within the system, one he himself had implanted, the original and most core directive.

"【Repair the error. Maintain the variable.】"

"Variable……"

Zhu Yuanzhang is precisely that greatest variable.

Not only is it a variable in history, but also a variable of human will that opposes the Iron Crow Army's cold logic.

If he falls here, it is not only the fall of the Great Ming.

Moreover, it means a possibility is completely strangled.

The Iron Crow Army's "script" will become more solid.

And Chen Wen himself will lose a crucially important 'anchor point' that could perhaps stand shoulder-to-shoulder to break the impasse in the future.

"Activate the 'Cross-border Support Contingency Plan'."

Chen Wen's voice was not loud, yet it fell with perfect clarity into everyone's ears in the hall.

"Objective: Rescue the Ming state's core leader Zhu Yuanzhang, along with his decision-making team and key artisans, carrying as much important civilizational achievement as possible."

"Executor: Yue Fei."

"Forces: All members of the Northward Aspiration Army's First Elite Battalion, plus fifty personnel drawn from the Heavenly Works Institute's 'Combat Techniques Battalion' who are proficient in maintaining energetic equipment, to be incorporated into the order."

"Time window: The Seventh Weak Point's penetration cycle. Must complete the breakthrough within thirty minutes."

"Operational principle: Quick in, quick out, no entanglement. Prioritizing achieving the rescue objective; if necessary… we may abandon all heavy equipment and even some personnel."

His gaze swept over Yue Fei's resolute face.

"Yue Marshal, do you understand the meaning of this order?"

Yue Fei took a deep breath, clasped his fists firmly: "This subordinate understands! Spare no expense, bring back the fire seed!"

"No." Chen Wen shook his head slightly, a flicker of complexity in his eyes: "I want you to understand, each of you yourselves is also a fire seed. Do your utmost to bring back as many people as possible. The Chen dynasty… needs you."

He paused, then continued issuing orders.

"Zhang Cheng, fully monitor the energy flow on the western side of the Light Curtain, to select the best entry point and withdrawal route for the Yue Marshal's unit, in real time."

"Zhao Lao Nian, Gong Sun Sheng, immediately inventory and unseal all contingency supplies, completing distribution and final adjustment within two hours."

"Lin Chong, the Forbidden Army enters highest alert, defending the homeland against any infiltration or attack that might arise from disturbances of the Light Curtain."

A stream of orders flowed down, carrying indisputable resolve.

"This battle is not about expanding territory, but about preserving a spark of civilization."

Chen Wen finally spoke, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue and resolve.

"Even if we accelerate the collapse of the Light Curtain, even if we drain the nation's strength, this fire must be saved."

"For what burns is not only the fate of the Ming state."

"It is also the final proof of all of us…… resisting the predetermined fate."

The decision has been made.

The Observation Platform instantly shifted from stagnation to an efficiently operating hive.

Orders transmitted like electricity to all sides.

Yue Fei strode out of the hall with swift steps, began to muster troops.

Steel, energy, and will began to converge toward that set, dangerous coordinate.

The rescue crossing the Light Curtain has entered the countdown.

And on the other side of the Light Curtain, the doom bell of Heaven-responding City seems to have already tolled.