Chapter 478 - 233: Qin Hu, The Evolving Situation in the City, Attack

Chapter 478: Chapter 233: Qin Hu, The Evolving Situation in the City, Attack

"The South District I command has a total of one hundred fifty thousand men. Fifty thousand of them are Tier One Awakeners and just under a thousand are Tier Two Awakeners. More than half have already been converted into Genetic Warriors."

"Out in the field, this force could easily take out any Tier Three Early Stage Mother Empress. We could even put up a hard fight against a Tier Three Middle Stage Mother Empress. But stuck here in the Capital, they’ll just end up as evolutionary fodder for the Zerg Race."

Qin Hu let out a low sigh. Over the past month, his fiery patriotism had been tempered by the shock of countless deaths, leaving him sober, then numb, and finally filled with bitter resentment.

It had gotten to the point where he’d repeatedly defied the suicide orders from headquarters. If the Awakeners and Genetic Warriors under his command didn’t revere him as their leader, he would have been stripped of his rank and reassigned long ago.

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. ’Looks like fate has already set the stage for me,’ he thought. ’I won’t even have to waste my breath.’

Looking at Qin Hu’s grief-stricken face, he said bluntly,

"You’re aware of the current situation. The Federation’s high command came to me personally at the Jin City Base in the South. They invited me to lead the Salvation Army north as reinforcements to assist their breakout plan by drawing the attention of the Mother Empresses on the southwestern edge of the encirclement."

"I’ve successfully lured away several Mother Empresses and have already notified the Federation’s high command to execute the breakout plan immediately."

"But from the looks of things, why haven’t you received orders to evacuate?"

Qin Hu’s face darkened. He took a deep, final drag from his cigarette.

Then he crushed the burning cigarette butt in his hand. The heat, hundreds of degrees, only left a faint mark on the orange Zerg Armor that materialized over his palm.

He then looked at Lin Feng, his expression numb.

"I know. My orders are to wait until most of the soldiers from the East District have evacuated and the defensive line has been breached. Only then am I to pull my troops back to act as a rearguard."

"They want to use my one hundred fifty thousand men to cover their retreat, to hold back a Swarm of millions chasing at their heels..."

"The South District is the furthest from the breakout point in the Northwest—it’s over thirty kilometers away. We’d never make it in time. Our only option is to cover the retreat."

"Besides, the one million survivors in the city handling logistics still need protection."

Lin Feng frowned.

"What’s the difference between an order like that and sending one hundred fifty thousand men to die for nothing? Facing a Swarm several times larger than any before, even the most elite soldiers can’t maintain formation during a fighting retreat!"

"The slightest disturbance, a single breach in one sector, and the entire front will collapse like dominoes. How many civilians and soldiers will be torn apart by the Zerg Race’s sharp limbs and Giant Mandibles then?"

"Making you cover the retreat... for these one hundred fifty thousand soldiers, it’s not a slim chance of survival, it’s a zero percent chance! They’d be lucky if even a thousand managed to escape."

Provoked by Lin Feng’s words, Qin Hu’s fists clenched. His face twisted into a snarl, veins bulging on his forehead and temples as his eyes turned bloodshot. His voice was hoarse, thick with palpable indignation.

"We have no choice! The Northwest corner was the optimal breakout route. From the very beginning, the South and East Districts were fated to cover the retreat."

"But I’m also to blame. My poor relationship with the Federation’s high command is why the South District’s Legion is the last to leave. So many precious lives will be wasted for nothing..."

As he spoke, the bloodshot fury in Qin Hu’s eyes faded slightly, and his tone softened.

"Did they con you into covering the retreat, too?"

"Take my advice: turn back now, before the defensive line collapses! Humanity doesn’t produce a Tier Three genius like you often. Don’t throw your life away here."

"Lin Feng, your future is in the South. The Jin City Base and the countless human survivors across the vast southern territories are all depending on your Power to keep them safe."

Lin Feng’s expression was calm as he shook his head.

"You came all this way to defend the South District for them. You’ve trained tens of thousands of Awakeners and Genetic Warriors. You have more than fulfilled your duty to the Federation’s high command..."

"Even if it’s for the sake of the civilians in the rear, you shouldn’t just throw away one hundred fifty thousand elite soldiers here."

"You know better than I do that after this battle, the Federation will exist in name only. In the entire North, no one will be able or willing to raise the banner of humanity’s resistance against the Zerg Race again."

"The only thing left for humanity will be extinction—to be slowly devoured by the Zerg Race until we are powerless to resist!"

"Brother Qin, are you just going to sit here and wait to die? Are you really going to hand humanity’s fate over to those cowards who only know how to save their own skins?!"

Lin Feng’s words reignited the indignation in Qin Hu’s heart.

His breathing grew heavy.

"Sit and wait to die?!"

"In the last month, I’ve attempted several coups. But the power structures in the other Legions are far more complex than I imagined. Most of their High-tier Awakeners are the original brass..."

"Just taking out a few leaders won’t solve a thing!"

"But a full purge of the mid-to-high-level command would cause devastating losses on both sides. Without a command structure, the other districts’ defensive lines would crumble at the first touch and end in a total rout!"

"Just securing control of the South District took everything I had..."

"If they had just agreed to full Genetic Assimilation from the start, we could have created hundreds of thousands of Genetic Warriors! Then, even when our ammunition and supplies ran out, we could have used Nuclear Bombs to fight the Zerg Race and their Mother Empresses to the bitter end!"

"But now that they can’t hold the line, now they’re afraid, now they’re getting ready to run. And who has to shoulder the blame for their failed strategy? Us! The death squad they’ve assigned to cover their retreat..."

"But what’s done is done! Am I supposed to throw a fit, order my one hundred fifty thousand soldiers to abandon the line, and trample over the survivors just to be the first to escape?!"