“The other side wants Gu Xingchi, and his clone, Gu Ya. These two people as hostages.”
When he uttered these words, the dozens of people present all looked at Gu Ya, their eyes filled with incomprehension.
The Commander-in-Chief slammed the table furiously, saying, “We absolutely refuse! Maintaining the status quo only aids and abets evil! Moreover, Gu Xingchi… absolutely not, this is no different from surrender!”
The Supreme Commander stated calmly, “We are all in agreement: we fight to the death. If we truly engage in a decisive battle, the enemy may not be our match.”
“After all, Black Star’s regular army is not very strong, and many are merely half-trained conscripts. Furthermore, the armies of neighboring countries cannot be compared to ours.”
“Protracted warfare, mobile operations, sneak attacks, guerrilla tactics – we must drag them into the mire of Xianxia, ensuring they can never recover.”
The Commander-in-Chief nodded, saying, “Xianxia has stood at the pinnacle of the world for hundreds of years, relying on its unyielding Xianxia faith and its brave, fearless, diligent, and simple people.”
As the meeting progressed, Gu Ya began to grasp their true intentions.
The Commander-in-Chief and all his subordinates fully supported fighting to the death and defending the city. They were prepared to use weapons of mass destruction, to perish together, and absolutely not allow the enemy to leave Xianxia alive.
Although Gu Ya had the system’s help, he was not a prophet. At this moment, he felt his own insignificance; the future of Xianxia was not something he alone could change.
If he were to decide Xianxia’s path, it would be an undertaking of astronomical proportions.
“If only I could change Xianxia’s path, turn this desperate situation around… wait…”
A flash of inspiration struck Gu Ya. He suddenly remembered something.
This excitement made it impossible for him to think calmly!
With a loud “Clang!”, Gu Ya stood up calmly, looking towards the Commander-in-Chief.
No one present was disturbed by his action; they were all busily discussing Xianxia’s future and upcoming negotiation matters.
“Commander-in-Chief!!!” Gu Ya shouted excitedly, “I have an excellent tactical plan!”
…
As dusk settled, a group of high-ranking military officials who had gone for negotiations calmly emerged from the barracks and boarded jeeps, heading towards the negotiation barracks.
Those remaining in the barracks waited in silence.
As minutes ticked by, the Commander-in-Chief softly asked Gu Ya, “Are you sure you can do it? If so, the fate of the entire Xianxia City rests on your shoulders!”
“Moreover, what you’ve said is truly hard for me to believe.”
Gu Ya gave a wry smile and said calmly, “Commander-in-Chief, at this point, I have nothing left to hide. Although I am a transmigrator, I have completely integrated into Xianxia over the past year. I am a Xianxian, my parents and sisters are all Xianxians. I cannot stand idly by while the enemy destroys my homeland at will.”
“Don’t you not believe me?”
With that, Gu Ya extended his hand and, in front of everyone present, conjured a small, circular device from the system’s store.
The circular device rested in his palm, then suddenly a section of its surface sprang open, emitting a holographic projection.
“This is one of my abilities, but it is not all-powerful.”
Everyone, who had been skeptical of Gu Ya, brightened as he produced the device as if by magic.
Of course, there were also those who scoffed at Gu Ya’s little trick; the fourteenth-ranked War God was one of them.
The Commander-in-Chief nodded and said, “But you said that thing can only be used once. Without seeing the actual object, it’s difficult for us to believe.”
Gu Ya stated calmly, “Such a large item appearing out of nowhere would surely make the enemy suspicious. For now, it must remain hidden. Once the enemy agrees to our terms and everything is in place, I will resolve the crisis for Xianxia.”
The Commander-in-Chief nodded and smiled, saying, “We’ll fight if we have to! Haha, we were going to fight anyway! If your tactic is truly feasible… you will be the greatest warrior in Xianxia’s history.”
Most of the people present nodded in agreement.
Gu Ya shook his head and said, “No… I am too insignificant compared to that young man.”
Everyone seemed to guess who the young man Gu Ya was referring to. They realized now that the Xianxian youth who saved the world three hundred years ago might also have been a transmigrator.
The night was long and the barracks were extremely quiet.
When the dawn broke again the next day,
Xianxia’s defenders still had not received any supporting troops.
And the high-ranking commanders who had been negotiating all night walked into the barracks as the dawn broke.
As everyone took their seats, all eyes turned to them with anticipation; the entire barracks was silent and solemn.
The Supreme Commander, with a calm tone laced with exhaustion, nodded and said, “The enemy has agreed to our terms.”
“Wow!!”
“That’s great!”
A chorus of quiet gasps erupted from the crowd.
Then, the negotiating commanders looked at Gu Ya. The Supreme Commander said, “Next, it’s up to you, young man. I will now urgently contact all defense forces to make the final preparations.”
“If the tactic fails…”
Gu Ya suddenly stood up, exuding a powerful aura, and declared with calm determination, “No, it will succeed! It must succeed!”
…
At ten o’clock in the morning, the Commander-in-Chief, leading a group of high-ranking commanders, stood amidst 295 defensive mechs, aboard Xianxia’s flagship mech.
All of Xianxia’s War Gods, piloting their own mechs, were arranged on either side of Xianxia’s flagship mech.
Numerous mechs were arranged in five rows, positioned south of Xianxia City, with their backs to Xianxia and faces to the south.
The bright sunlight shone upon the towering mechs, creating a solemn and reverent scene.
These were the last 296 defensive mechs of Xianxia City. Gu Ya’s own mech was, of course, not among them.
Behind these mechs, within Xianxia City, tens of thousands of ground troops stood ready, prepared for the ultimate battle with their lives on the line.
In front of Xianxia City, before the towering ranks of 296 defensive mechs,
Gu Ya stood alone on a very open Gobi desert.
Compared to the mechs behind him, Gu Ya, at 1.8 meters tall, appeared incredibly small. Yet, in everyone’s eyes, he was exceptionally heroic and imposing!
Facing tens of thousands of enemy mechs, this 19-year-old youth possessed a courage that surpassed everyone else’s.
Ye Zhenjun smiled faintly as he looked at Gu Ya’s retreating back on the display screen, murmuring to himself, “Truly unexpected… Anna, if only you were here. Our son-in-law is a man of integrity, at least stronger than me.”
Hong Yan watched Gu Ya calmly, unable to imagine that Gu Ya, who was not as powerful just a few months ago, was now standing alone in the wilderness, blocking the enemy with his bare body.
Qiao Weiwei also shed her spoiled rich girl demeanor, looking at Gu Ya with worried eyes.
Everyone cast looks of anticipation towards Gu Ya; they knew that their hopes now rested on this young man. If even he failed, Xianxia City might truly fall, and the Xianxia nation would face an even greater catastrophe.
At a quarter past ten, numerous black dots suddenly appeared on the horizon.
Those black dots flew at a low altitude, approximately 500 meters, and did not move quickly, at about sixty kilometers per hour. This was considered very slow for mechs.
This was one of the negotiated conditions.
Yesterday, they had discussed extremely detailed negotiation scripts and conditions.
Although the conditions sounded incredible, even humiliating, with the involvement of numerous negotiation experts in formulating the scripts and the allure of immense benefits, Black Star’s high command had ultimately agreed to Xianxia’s terms.
The most important, and most difficult to fulfill, of these conditions was hidden among the many terms. Although troublesome, Black Star had managed to achieve it.
This condition was that Xianxia’s defending forces would agree to Black Star’s terms for a ceasefire and withdrawal from the city.
As part of the return, Black Star needed to arrange all its attacking mech units, with every three hundred mechs lined up horizontally in a column, to fly over Xianxia’s defending forces in rows, simulating a flyover of Xianxia City.
This was equivalent to allowing Xianxia’s defending forces to inspect the enemy’s military strength from the ground, akin to letting the enemy defecate on the heads of Xianxia’s defenders.
This was an absolute humiliation for Xianxia’s defending forces!
Initially, Black Star was quite surprised, suspecting a trap. However, as the negotiations progressed, and eventually concluded with the defending forces withdrawing from Xianxia City, Black Star still agreed to this bizarre condition.
Now, tens of thousands of enemy mechs from Black Star were slowly approaching Xianxia City, flying in columns of three hundred mechs per column, totaling two hundred and seventy rows.
In each column, the mechs were spaced fifteen meters apart. The distance between rows was two hundred meters. For heavy weaponry like mechs, this was a very close proximity.
The smallest, lightweight mechs were positioned at the front, and as one moved backward, the mechs increased in size. The entire enemy formation stretched for over eighty kilometers, resembling a terrifying, top-heavy dragon soaring through the sky.
The sky was obscured by a black torrent of steel.
On the ground, the shadows of the enemy mechs moved like a colossal, spotted serpent, slowly crawling towards Xianxia City.
When the leading edge of the enemy formation was still five kilometers away from Xianxia’s defending forces,
The 296 defensive mechs steadily advanced, forming pairs with each other, with a 55-meter gap between each pair and an approximate 2.5-meter gap front to back.
This positioning appeared truly comical to the enemy.
Within Black Star’s formation, the Black Star national anthem had already begun to play. It was a display of their strength before Xianxia’s defending forces! They intended to enjoy the admiring gazes of the defenders below!
But to Xianxia’s defending forces, this was part of the tactic, and the most crucial preparation!
When the leading edge of Black Star’s formation was only three kilometers away from Xianxia’s defending forces,
The Commander-in-Chief shouted with composure, “Ascend!!!”
The 296 mechs simultaneously activated their magnificent engines, slowly rising into the air.
Black Star’s enemy forces detected the anomaly, but upon realizing that Xianxia’s defending mechs had not adopted combat formations, they relaxed and continued their advance without change.
Behind the 296 defensive mechs, Gu Ya summoned his full exoskeleton armor and ascended along with the defending mechs.
When all of Xianxia’s defending forces reached an altitude of 500 meters, level with the enemy formation,
Gu Ya suppressed his excitement, his expression contorted with ferocious anger, and he declared with calm, unwavering resolve, “Cannon Tactics! Execute!!!”