Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Portraits of the Multitudes
Upon receiving the authorization order from headquarters, the entire Armored Infantry Regiment assembled completely in less than ten minutes.
Outside the valley.
Lin Li was conducting the final handover with Yan Shaohua:
"Captain Yan, Colonel Lin has already returned to headquarters to relay the news of the suspected Transmigrator. As soon as there are results from HQ, I’ll contact you immediately.
Considering that the camp here is connected to the portal and some research tasks are still ongoing, I really can’t leave, so I won’t accompany you to the front line.
According to the headquarters’ arrangements, all communication equipment and personnel this time will cooperate with your actions.
With equipment like high-powered binoculars, it’s not difficult to keep track of battlefield dynamics at all times.
I’ll emphasize one more time, you must grasp the ’degree’ of whether to participate in combat.
Moreover, out of the fifty warriors at the high-frequency base station, apart from a ten-man team staying behind, the remaining forty will temporarily integrate into your regiment.
With so many PF-97 93mm man-portable thermobaric rocket launchers, and FHJ02 62mm cluster rocket launchers, it should significantly enhance your regiment’s infantry combat power.
Finally, you must remember.
If there really is contact with humans from another world, under no circumstances can we be the ones to fire the first shot.
I’m not saying this lightly, nor am I being generous with others’ lives, and I’m certainly not treating the warriors’ lives as trivial—if necessary, you can contact me at any time, and I will serve as the first representative to meet with the otherworldly humans!
It’s a ten-kilometer journey; I promise to get there within twenty minutes!"
At this moment, Yan Shaohua’s face was solemn, fully embodying the temperament of a Huaxia soldier. He saluted Lin Li:
"Captain Lin, with the task in my hands, Old Yan guarantees no mistakes!
If a situation arises where a meeting is absolutely necessary, there’s no need for you to make the journey. I’ll personally go handle it. Please rest assured, headquarters!"
Lin Li stared at this resolute man for a long silent moment before solemnly returning the salute:
"Everything... is in your hands now."
Yan Shaohua lowered his hand, took a step back, and nodded to Ma Ning and the others standing beside Lin Li one by one.
In the crowd, Wang Qiang stood on tiptoe and waved vigorously at him: "Captain Yan, take care on your journey!"
Yan Shaohua gave a thumbs up to the young girl, turned around, jogged a few steps, and agilely jumped onto an armored vehicle:
"All units, target, the backside slope of the terraced fields four kilometers outside the city! Move out!"
Rumble——
With the command given, sixteen main battle tanks, thirty-seven armored vehicles, and dozens of military off-road vehicles roared simultaneously.
The rear wheels of the mechanical beasts deeply embedded into the ground, stirring up clouds of dust and then roaring off into the distance.
Lin Li and others stood at attention, watching until the armored regiment completely vanished from sight.
............
Meanwhile, inside the otherworldly city eighteen kilometers from the camp.
Yu Lian was assigned to a small group composed of seven or eight commoners under the arrangement of a squad leader from the city defense forces.
Although Yu Lian couldn’t understand the otherworldly language, he could deduce from the squad leader’s gestures.
The main task of their group was to sort and transport various projectiles.
For example, stones of various shapes, wooden stakes bristling with sharp spikes, arrows coated with unknown substances, and so on.
Of course, it also included the raw materials for boiling gold liquid.
At this moment.
The city walls were already covered with arrays made of talisman paper—’Talisman Paper’ and ’Array,’ these terms were temporarily assigned by the command post, as although there were no Extraordinary powers on Earth, talismans and arrays were not uncommon.
These arrays looked extraordinarily mysterious; from a distance, various colors of light shone and flickered along the mysterious patterns, making for quite the visual spectacle.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to move supplies, Yu Lian meticulously counted them.
There were over seventy arrays on all four walls of the city, with the south wall—where the city gate entrance was—having the most.
The number of arrays on the south wall exceeded thirty, with an array visible every hundred meters or so.
A large number of military personnel guarded these arrays, and some even had Extraordinary individuals stationed at them.
For instance, the three elders Yu Lian had seen at the mansion were now sitting cross-legged in a huge green array, continuously chanting some mysterious incantations.
Yu Lian, under the command post’s request, had pretended to be transporting materials for the city defense, trying to approach an array to see if he could gather some information up close.
But before he could get within ten meters of the array’s edge, a solemn-looking soldier stopped him.
Perhaps due to the enemy being beasts, the soldier didn’t suspect Yu Lian could be a ’spy.’ He simply rebuked him a bit.
Especially after learning that Yu Lian was deaf and mute, the soldier’s attitude softened slightly, and he began to communicate using sign language:
The soldier pointed at the ground—representing ’here.’
Then pointed to the materials behind Yu Lian—’Supplies.’
Shook his hand—’No.’
Yu Lian, still clinging to a sliver of hope, played dumb and signaled, "Can the supplies be used?"
The soldier’s attitude was firm, still pointing at the ground, materials, and shaking his hand: "The supplies really can’t be used."
Yu Lian could only sigh internally while showing an expression of realization and gratitude as he left.
Returning to the makeshift work station, he was about to carry more wood to the front line of the city wall when his temporary squad leader stopped him.
Perhaps he remembered Yu Lian was a mute.
Without much ado, the squad leader handed him a long knife and pointed outside the city, making a slashing gesture.
The meaning was clear: follow me to kill the enemy later.
Yu Lian instinctively took the knife, and after coming to his senses, he quickly scanned the surroundings.
Sure enough, almost all the men on the city wall, like him, had been given one or more weapons.
As the war approached.
At this moment, the city wall was displaying the truest depiction of humanity.
For instance, about seven or eight meters from Yu Lian, there was a burly man with a fierce expression looking southward, holding an iron shovel, his sleeves rolled high, muttering words Yu Lian couldn’t understand but could guess the implications of.
Yet, every time he glanced at a sturdy woman on the wall boiling gold liquid, the ruthlessness in his eyes was instantly replaced by deep tenderness.
Yu Lian also noticed a scholar.
This scholar appeared frail, too weak to kill a chicken, standing trembling at the edge of the city wall, pale-faced.
The knife in his hand, due to the trembling of his body, kept clanging against the city wall.
It was evident that this was a student who had never been to the battlefield.
But just when Yu Lian thought he would collapse in fear.
The scholar suddenly bowed his head, glanced at the fabric shoes on his feet, then turned and gazed at a certain spot in the city.
Instantly, an unparalleled strength seemed to burst forth from his frail body.
His back straightened high, a flush replaced the pallor on his face, and his right hand gripped the knife’s handle tightly, the previously trembling tip now serene.
The number of civilians on the city wall was vast, and the burly man and scholar were just two insignificant figures among them.
These civilians varied in height, were fat or thin, and came dressed in different attire.
There were cotton and linen clothes and silk garments—it was clear these people’s previous societal classes or living standards in the city weren’t entirely equal.
But at this moment, whether they were the proletariat or wealthy merchants.
They all stood together on the city wall.
To defend their home, to protect certain bonds, they gave their utmost effort.
The myriad expressions of humanity, how could they not be a reflection of the myriad feelings of humanity?
As time trickled by.
The atmosphere of the entire city wall, no, the entire city, grew increasingly grim.
About an hour passed.
"Rumble——"
Suddenly, a dull thundering sound was heard from the extreme distance.
Accompanying the stomping sound was a thick cloud of dust raised by the running beasts!
The beast horde.... was attacking!