The Imperial Capital's highest command center,
The moment the system prompt sounded,
*Pfft!*
Zhuge Yun spat out a mouthful of reverse blood. The blood flowed slowly down the computer display. The highest commander of "Shenji" was as pale as a dead man:
"It's over... it's all over..."
"There was no way to survive from the beginning... We are not players in the game, we are merely pawns being played!"
Inside the highest command center, the atmosphere was surprisingly calm.
No one hysterically blamed Zhuge Yun for his strategic errors. Their gazes towards Zhuge Yun even carried a hint of sympathy.
Upon learning that the enemy's main base had over a hundred thousand Nightmare-level combat power,
Everyone knew instantly that the Imperial Capital could not be defended by ordinary means.
The use of nuclear weapons was inherently implied, but even the few old men in the highest decision-making stratum dared not speak of using nuclear bombs directly on their own soil.
Zhuge Yun had merely made a decision for everyone that would surely be reviled by future generations.
Therefore, no one resented Zhuge Yun. They merely pitied the man who was now in a state of frenzy.
The old man in charge of shelter operations slowly picked up a nearby telephone, dialed it, and instructed:
"Stabilize the emotions within the shelters. The entire city is to enter a special-grade combat readiness state."
Special-grade combat readiness state meant that everything was to be stabilized as the highest priority.
The shelter administrators even had the power to decide on and execute killings without trial!
Suddenly, another old yet powerful hand pressed down on the old man's hand holding the receiver.
The elder responsible for the highest decision-making, after gazing at the battlefield situation displayed on the surveillance cameras, pondered for a moment and then stated with unquestionable authority:
"Those who are not rioting are to be suppressed! Bloodshed and conflict are to be avoided as much as possible!"
"Furthermore, the people have the right to witness this final battle! All shelter administrators, prepare to receive the signal broadcast!"
...
Inside the various underground shelters, the people who had been sheltering for half a month began to stir slightly.
Although they did not understand what "Purgatory-level" meant, the system's sudden prompt was clearly not good news.
The dim environment of many days and the daily settlement of the doomsday game had weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
At this moment, the sudden system prompt became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
A slight unrest began to emerge within the shelters.
But soon, this unrest was suppressed by guards armed with live ammunition.
In the shelter management room, the administrator's face turned extremely grim as he listened to the voice from the receiver.
The power to autonomously decide on killings without trial seemed formidable.
But it also meant that the situation in the Imperial Capital had reached its most critical juncture.
Facing the bewildered and uneasy expressions of the populace, the shelter administrators' hearts grew heavier.
Were they truly going to use guns to suppress the citizens of Dayan?
Suddenly, another steady male voice, often heard on television, came through the receiver.
After listening, the administrators felt a slight easing of their burdens.
Concurrently, massive display screens rose in every underground shelter.
After a slight flicker, the screens directly projected the battlefield situation captured by satellites from outer space.
Following the explosion, on the land vitrified by high temperatures, a black torrent was slowly advancing towards the Imperial Capital.
The iron hooves of skeletal warhorses pounded the earth, causing the vitrified solid ground to crack and shatter.
Skeletal knights, mounted on terrifying warhorses burning with black flames, were so numerous that even satellites filming from high altitudes could only capture a terrifying army resembling an endless black tide.
Inside the underground shelters, the people who had previously looked bewildered now wore expressions of terror.
Even through the screen, they could feel the horror of these monsters; they seemed to have emerged from humanity's nightmares.
"Let us out!!"
"Let me escape! These monsters can't be stopped at all!!"
"Damn it! You dogs of officials must have all fled long ago, and now you're preparing to leave us here to die!"
Shouts arose from within the crowd.
The previously terrified populace, stirred by the voices, had their emotions ignited.
The administrators in the management room wanted to explain, but looking at the agitated crowd, they were momentarily at a loss for words.
In the highest command center, the decision-makers and think tanks watched the footage transmitted from the shelters with no change in their expressions.
This was because the highest command center was located directly in front of all the underground shelters.
Once the defense line was breached, everyone present would perish before the people behind them.
Suddenly, the images within the shelters flickered again.
A massive white screen appeared on the display. The bottom of the screen rippled slightly.
Countless military-green vehicles, filled with soldiers armed with live ammunition, silently sped towards the battlefield.
These were the defending troops from the front lines, who had been withdrawn before the nuclear detonation.
And now, as the final battle commenced, they were once again rushing to the battlefield.
The defensive fortifications, built over a long period, had been largely destroyed by the residual shockwaves of the nuclear blast.
However, the commanders accompanying the troops knew well that in the upcoming battle, defense had essentially lost its meaning.
In the footage, the silent soldiers sat in speeding military vehicles, advancing beneath the sky filled with drifting black smoke.
In a daze, it felt as if they were marching towards hell.
But on the military vehicles, no one raised any objections, and no one chose to evade.
Because their comrades were by their side, and the people they needed to protect were behind them.
The army of Dayan did not ask who the enemy was, nor did they ask how strong the enemy was.
They only knew that until the last soldier fell, the enemies who dared to harm their compatriots would not be able to cross this wall of flesh and blood.
Inside the shelters, which had been somewhat chaotic, the people watched the silent soldiers rushing towards the battlefield in the footage.
The agitated atmosphere gradually calmed down, and an inexplicable emotion flowed through everyone's hearts.
These monsters were beyond human strength to resist.
And those rushing to the battlefield were ordinary people, no different from everyone else, except they held the identity of "soldiers."
Sorrow, fear, and anger all seemed insignificant at this moment. Everyone's emotions merged into one.
But as the camera zoomed out further, and the military-green torrent of Dayan on the battlefield drew closer to the charging black sea of undead, the people in the shelters could not help but close their eyes:
"No! What are they doing? Are they going to die?"
"Run!! Why aren't they running! Why are they charging towards the monsters!!"
"They're going to die!!"
Outside the Imperial Capital,
The speeding military-green torrent suddenly stopped.
On the military-green jeep at the forefront of the formation, an old man with silver hair stood up, gazing at the blurred black tide in the distance.
A memory of the war on the Korean Peninsula half a century ago suddenly flashed through his mind.
At this very moment, it was exactly like that time!