Chapter 628: We Must Survive

"Any news about the new cracks?"

"They’re still spreading, two have been reported in the southern area."

"Pull back the scouts in that section, no position is worth losing people over, especially when the ground beneath their feet isn’t stable."

Lian listened to the conversation for a few seconds.

Good.

Unlike some commanders he had seen before, this man did not only care about his people’s combat strength.

He also considered support routes, the movement of the wounded, and the possibility of losing ground when making his decisions.

At that moment, one of the officers noticed the three Chosen and walked over.

"Are you from the expedition group?"

"Yes. We returned to report the situation in the southern area." Rindo presented his identification badge.

After checking the badge, the man turned toward the commander.

"Commander Weston, three young Chosen have returned, and it seems they also fought some mutated creatures."

The blond-haired man raised his head, his gaze resting on Lian for a moment before moving to Rindo and Noah.

"Come closer."

When they approached, the man introduced himself.

"Alaric Weston, senior officer in charge of the Awakened Association’s security operations and temporary commander of this base."

Lian remembered his name.

It seemed this man was an Awakened at level forty-three, an experienced individual who had now taken command of the emergency operations after coordinating with government officials and the Association.

"How many creatures did you see?" Alaric asked without any introduction.

"There were about thirty near the cracks, most of them were between level twenty and forty-five."

"Did they all attack?"

"No, some had no intention of fighting at all, and we killed more than twenty of the ones that attacked us, the rest scattered."

Alaric looked at the map for a moment.

Rindo continued.

"They were all registered under the race name The Withered, but their appearances and movements were very different."

The commander thought for a few seconds before asking.

"Any injuries?"

"None of us were injured, one of the Association’s staff members almost got caught by one of them, but we got him out safely." Lian answered.

The man gave him a brief look.

"Good."

Then he placed his finger on the southern part of the map.

"But our forces can’t all deal with this many enemies, some of our staff members can’t even fight a level thirty mutated creature."

Lian agreed.

"That’s why it’s better to keep weaker groups away from the cracks."

Alaric nodded.

"Exactly."

Then he gestured to one of the officers.

"Send the enemy level information to all units, forces below the required level must not leave the second zone without support."

The officer immediately recorded the order, and Alaric looked at Lian again.

"Vorhelm, right?"

"Yeah."

"I know your name and background, I’ve also read the report about the defense of Base #3, if you really managed to defeat that many mutated creatures in a short time, we might need your help here."

Lian turned his gaze toward the map.

"As long as it’s useful work, I don’t mind."

"That’s what I wanted to hear." The corner of the commander’s mouth lifted slightly.

Some time later, the forces at the emergency base gathered in the central area, although not all the guards left their positions.

Alaric had ordered only the representatives of each group and the forces whose duties had temporarily ended to attend and listen to the briefing.

Lian stood near one of the support buildings with Rindo and Noah.

Around them were Awakened Association members, government guards, exploration staff, and several Chosen who had returned to the entrance area.

Some were still tired, others had fresh wounds, and almost everyone glanced at the Hollow Sun every few minutes.

Its black pupil remained open above the land.

Alaric stood on a low platform, waited a few seconds for the scattered conversations to stop, and then spoke in a firm voice.

"As of this morning, the world we knew no longer exists."

No one spoke.

"The exit is closed, unknown creatures are coming out from beneath the ground, and something has appeared in the sky that can pass a death sentence without any warning."

His gaze moved across the people present.

"I won’t calm you down with empty promises, we still don’t know how to get out of here, and we don’t know who the next judgment will target."

Several people in the crowd lowered their heads.

But the commander continued.

"What we do know is that we’re still alive, and we still have equipment. We still have forces that can fight and people who can treat the wounded."

He pointed toward the buildings behind him.

"Until we find a way out, this is our base, not because it’s the safest place in the world, but because we can defend it."

Then his expression became more serious.

"No one is forced to pretend they’re not afraid, being afraid in this situation is normal, but what we cannot do is abandon our duties."

The man paused for a moment.

"There are people behind these walls who may still not know what’s happened to us, and on this side of the walls, there are people who cannot defend themselves."

His voice became slightly firmer.

"If the combat forces retreat, those people will die, if the healers abandon their duties, the wounded will die, and if every one of us only thinks about saving ourselves, this base won’t last even a single day."

A heavy silence fell over the area, and Alaric lowered his hand.

"Our duty today isn’t to defeat that sun."

His gaze moved toward the massive golden ring for a moment before returning to the people in front of him.

"Our duty is to make sure there are still people alive here tomorrow who can find a way to defeat it."

For a few moments, no one spoke, and then one of the Association’s officers answered in a firm voice.

"Understood, Commander."

Several others nodded as well, but the most important change was not just in their reactions.

When Alaric began assigning duties, the people moved toward their designated areas in a more organized way.

Their fear had not disappeared, but at least now they knew what they needed to do.

Lian watched the scene.

He’s a good commander.

He had seen many powerful people before, but physical strength and leadership were two different things.

And Alaric seemed to have considerable skill in the latter.

After the gathering ended, the commander explained the base’s defensive plan to the group leaders.

The base had been divided into three main zones, the central area was where essential supplies, communication equipment, healers, and non-combat staff were kept.

The middle ring was assigned to the guards and combat groups.

In the outer zone, scouts were responsible for reporting the movements of The Withered, cracks in the ground, and any unusual changes in the environment.

However, unlike ordinary bases, simply building defensive barriers was not enough here.

After all, the enemies could emerge from beneath the ground.

For this reason, Alaric had ordered some guards to focus on checking changes in the ground’s surface and the flow of mana beneath it instead of watching the entrance routes.

He had also designated two specific routes for transporting the wounded and carrying out emergency retreats.

Rindo accepted the responsibility of working with the route coordination and perimeter defense teams.

Noah was assigned to the rescue and protection of support staff, but when it was Lian’s turn, Alaric moved his gaze across the map.

"I’m not going to assign you to a fixed position."

Lian raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

The commander pointed toward the eastern part of the map.

"Because if thirty of those creatures attack from one direction and you can eliminate them in a few minutes, keeping you behind a wall would be a waste of your strength."

Then he pointed toward another section.

"Rapid Response Force, whenever a defensive line is in danger of breaking, you’ll go there."

Lian looked at the marked routes for a moment.

"That makes sense."

However, something caught his attention.

Part of the retreat route passed right beside an area of land that had not yet been fully examined.

He pointed at the map.

"We also need another retreat route."

Alaric looked at him.

"Why?"

"If the ground beneath this section cracks, you’ll lose both the main route and the outer defensive ring at the same time, at that point, transporting the wounded will become almost impossible."

The commander looked at the map for a few seconds before gesturing to one of the officers.

"Mark an alternative route behind the equipment storage area, check the ground’s stability first, and then mark the route."

"Yes, Commander." The officer nodded.

Alaric looked at Lian again.

"That was a good point."

"I’d prefer to still have a way to move when we need to save someone." The young Vorhelm added with a smile.

The blond-haired man gave a small smile.

"Same here."

The preparations at the base continued until nightfall.

Different groups were stationed at designated points, and several temporary watchtowers were set up around the middle ring.

The wounded who had been injured during the first attacks by The Withered were moved to the medical area, while food supplies and essential potions were also recorded and stored separately.

However, despite this new order, the condition of the ground continued to worsen.