Alliance Citizen

Kazhan, young as he was, had spent the afternoon practicing War Chariot driving and shooting, then spent two hours in a less crowded spot memorizing Alliance language words. By the time he returned to his stone house, his wife had already brought out the grilled steak and sweet potato.

"Good thing I reheated it just now, eat up," his wife Shaxue said.

Her snow-white scales shimmered with a faint golden halo under the dim light. She was still the renowned beauty that captivated Kazhan.

Kazhan silently gnawed on a Luo Beast steak and ate a sweet potato, then suddenly said, "I might have to leave home for a few years."

Shaxue, who had been mending Kazhan's outer robe, stopped her work and quietly looked at her husband.

"The Great Elder wants to send some young people abroad to study, and he hopes I'll lead the team."

"That's a good thing!" his wife replied. "Go with peace of mind. Don't worry about home, I'm here."

How could Kazhan not worry? He and his wife had three children; the eldest was only six, and the youngest was still swaddled. He had taken over the chieftainship from his father at a young age and had even resorted to killing to secure his position, so he couldn't possibly be without enemies. He and the neighboring White Thorn Tribe had a deep-seated hatred for each other over the dispute of water sources and oases.

Yet, he knew, from the perspective of the universe, what significance were the grudges and entanglements of one or two tribes?

"At worst, I'll hand the tribe over to Uncle Roz and take the children back to my parents' home," his wife said with a smile.

Kazhan was slightly taken aback, then he smiled too. His wife was very intelligent, and more importantly, she understood him deeply. This touched him the most.

He held his wife's hands, wanting to say more, when he vaguely heard gunshots from outside.

"It must be those little rascals practicing shooting again," his wife said with a smile.

"Shooting?"

"Yes, didn't you say that in the future, even our Vanu will live in a world of guns? They need to spend half the time they usually spend practicing with knives and spears practicing with guns to survive in the future. Kaz, they listened."

Kazhan was even more touched. Although these tribal elites he had personally selected and trained were young, each and every one of them was outstanding and sensible. They would surely become the future pillars of the entire tribe.

"If Uncle Roz is unwilling to use them... let them organize a mercenary team themselves, led by the Great Elder's chief disciple, Mr. Wind Fist, so they can make a living." At the same time, perhaps they could recruit young people from various tribes and city-states who had ideals, courage, and an unyielding will to join and strengthen our future forces. Kazhan mused.

"You'll have to tell them yourself. They'll surely clamor to go with you if they know you're leaving," Shaxue said.

"How could that be possible? There aren't that many spots..." Kazhan had only managed to say a couple of jokes when the gunshots outside seemed to intensify, interspersed with sudden explosions.

"No! This isn't practice!" the young chieftain exclaimed, standing up abruptly. He was far from an expert in firearms and armor, but he knew that the White Raven guns his people heavily equipped with didn't sound like that.

"I, I'll go out and take a look. You stay here, don't move!" Just as the chieftain was about to leave, he uneasily took out a bracelet and placed it on the fur blanket in front of his wife.

"Turn the knob on it, and you can activate a shield! This is an ancient treasure gifted to me by the Great Elder."

After explaining everything, Kazhan strode out of the stone room. He saw Black Scale Sandfolk running quickly towards him; it was Moway, a renowned young warrior of the tribe and the captain of his chieftain's personal guard.

"Chieftain, something seems wrong."

Not wrong, everything was wrong!

Kazhan gritted his teeth as he looked in the direction of the sound, only to see flames erupting on the distant highlands, accompanied by the rumble of cannons. He felt his entire body go cold.

"Quick, gather everyone! Everyone!" Kazhan roared. "Sea God Highland! The heavy artillery position is in trouble!"

But by this time, the battle at the "Sea God Highland," as the Sandfolk called it, which was designated "Alchi Highland 6" on the security forces' headquarters map, had already begun.

Captain Winter had left two strongholds on this side of the mountain peak. The rest of the men, including Yu Lian himself, activated their mecha's built-in gliding systems, swooping across the hundred-meter-long ravine below like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, leaping onto the highlands. It wasn't until Lieutenant Parkin, the first to land, smashed a dozing Sandfolk sentinel standing by the mountainside with his battle axe that they reacted.

"Parkin, take your first platoon to secure the mountain pass gate and set up defenses on the spot. Ainan, take the second platoon to the left! Capture targets one to five! Norsen's third platoon to the right, capture targets six to ten! The fourth platoon follows me!"

"All enemies, except for enemy mercenary engineers, are to be executed! I repeat, all executed!"

Captain Winter shouted orders as he charged forward, his rifle never ceasing fire. He was by no means a bloodthirsty person, but this was no time for mercy. They were essentially playing a central offensive in the midst of a million enemy troops; any slight carelessness would result in annihilation, so they couldn't afford to leave any survivors. As for the goblin engineers, they needed to keep some alive to interrogate who was behind them. Yu Lian didn't believe the Sandfolk could find their way here. Of course, since this race wasn't known for fighting to the death, the risk of sparing their lives was manageable.

As Captain Winter advanced, he observed the location of almost every soldier on the holographic map, methodically issuing subsequent orders.

"Fire Bat, prepare to activate support mode!"

"Aman, prepare to snipe! Take out those War Chariot crews!"

The pre-arranged strongholds on the opposite mountain began to unleash their firepower.

Several of the fastest-reacting Sandfolk rushed towards their stitched-together War Chariots, only to be destroyed on the spot. The soldiers around Captain Winter began to pick off every enemy that appeared in their sight. A muzzle poked out from a nearby bunker and had just spat out a burst of fire when it discovered that all the attackers were hiding behind cover; his shots hadn't hit a single person.

A soldier in a Fire Bat special mecha slid across the ground a couple of times before reaching the bunker and directly spraying flames into it.

The screams lasted for only a moment before falling silent.

Yu Lian, holding his rifle, picked off a few unlucky Sandfolk who dared to show their heads in the opposite watchtower. He was full of admiration; Captain Winter's orders were decisive and direct, without the slightest hesitation or mistake. Some contrarians might argue that he was simply following the established tactical manual, but wasn't executing it perfectly the mark of an ideal junior officer?

Yu Lian raised his rifle and, with two precise shots, killed all the Sandfolk attempting to climb the guard tower. It wasn't until several mechanized infantry soldiers ascended and completely secured these high grounds that the shooting stopped.

"Good shooting!" Captain Winter casually praised.

Yu Lian chuckled twice, glanced at the three tanks in the center of the highland, and the War Chariot crews lying dead around them with their eyes wide open in disbelief. His eyes darted, "We can push them over, towards the mountain pass."

The Captain looked at the mountain pass and saw that Parkin's advance was also going smoothly. The burly man had already climbed onto the stone gate at the mountain pass and sent the last Sandfolk flying with his battle axe. Winter quickly understood Yu Lian's intention and nodded, "Big Ox, push those War Chariots onto the mountain road."

Operating a tank was also a skill, but just driving it wasn't a big problem.

"Sir, all targets cleared!" Lieutenant Ainan's voice came through the communicator.

"Cleared!" Lieutenant Norsen also reported.

As for their side, the soldiers of the fourth platoon had surrounded several large armored vehicles. Under the pressure of the Vulcan cannon and C10 rifles, a white flag emerged from a car window. Immediately, a creature with brown-yellow skin, only half the height of an adult, with a large nose and pointed ears, jumped out of the car. It was the legendary Karda Goblin, a renowned engineering race.

It scanned the surrounding gun barrels and said in a sharp voice, "We are legal citizens of the Alliance and demand that you comply with the Galactic Watch Convention. You may not harm or mistreat us, nor may you seize our personal belongings."

The goblin's behavior was so matter-of-fact that it stunned the soldiers. Then, the creature pulled out a small blue booklet, emblazoned with a crest of a star system wrapped in wings and vines – the Alliance's national emblem.

"I am a legitimate citizen of the Free Galactic Alliance! Here's my passport!" he shouted louder, "All 12 people in this convoy are Alliance citizens, you can't hurt us!"

Captain Winter hesitated. If the other party was indeed a legitimate Alliance citizen carrying a passport, it would be troublesome. After all, they were citizens of one of the only two major powers in the entire Galaxy, even the entire universe! They were accustomed to acting with impunity.

But just then, Yu Lian had already walked up to the goblin, looking down at him from above.

"Where did the heavy cannons here come from? What models are they?"

The goblin looked into Yu Lian's cold eyes and swallowed. "I am an Alliance citizen, you must give us fair and humane treatment."

"I'll ask again, the source of the heavy cannons, their models, and how many people you have here? Also, I need to adjust the firing sector, and I need your cooperation."

The goblin closed its eyes, deciding to be a soulless repeater: "I am an Alliance citizen, you must give..."

"Bang!" Yu Lian casually picked up a White Raven Rifle left by a Sandfolk from the ground, blew the head off this soulless repeater, and stepped over the bloody fragments and the blue passport already soaked in blood. He walked to an RV and reached out to pull another goblin, who was stunned by the window, out of the vehicle.

"Source of the heavy cannons, models, your numbers, and I need your cooperation. Answer me."

The goblin didn't speak. It wasn't because he was someone who would rather die than yield, but because he was dazed from the fall and terrified. Of course, it wasn't just him; his companions inside the car, and even Captain Winter and his soldiers, were all stunned on the spot.