For Hope

Contrary to what the fleeing Sandfolk leaders suspected, Great Elder Hessen was not only alive but quite healthy.

After all, he was a third-ring psionics, the foremost expert among the Sandfolk, and the top expert on this planet. He had some means of preserving his life.

The extraordinary sensory abilities granted by his psionic talent allowed him to detect the approaching danger at the first moment and quickly deploy his psionic arts. Giant stone golems grew from the ground, shielding him beneath them within the camp. In the next second, a deafening explosion reverberated through the golems' solid stone bodies, dominating his hearing. Immediately after, intense heat and shockwaves tore through his scales like sharp swords, penetrating deep into his muscles and bones. He felt pain all over his body, his internal organs churned, and his blood seemed to be boiling dry.

In reality, if Hessen hadn't already been a psionic expert who had opened the third ring of the Star Chart, his physique would no longer have been extraordinary, and all of the above would have already happened.

After the intense pain and brief disorientation, he seemed to gradually realize that he was being shelled. And it was shelling from the Alchi Highlands.

The mercenaries had betrayed them? This was the Great Elder's first thought. Was there a mistake during the test firing? No, someone was rebelling! Yes, there were too many "Kings" of city-states and "Khans" of tribes who disliked him! Were they finally going to make a move against him? Someone must have bribed those greedy goblins!

But it shouldn't have happened, it really shouldn't have! Even if they were going to make a move, it should have been after completely defeating the defenders of Tulon Port! You short-sighted rats are truly not fit for great endeavors!

For a long time, the Great Elder's mind did not entertain the option that "the heavy artillery positions had been captured by Earthlings." This was understandable. Hessen was not a military expert who had undergone strict training and arduous study, nor was he a born general with superhuman sensitivity. After all, he had a million troops; it was truly difficult to imagine someone infiltrating his army's defenses, seizing all the heavy artillery, and then shelling his own forces in return.

The heavy artillery continued to bombard the camp for an unknown number of rounds. Just as the Great Elder felt he was truly going to die below, someone finally dug through the shattered stone golem and pulled him out.

"Teacher! That's great... you're alive! That's great!"

It took the Great Elder a few seconds to finally come to his senses. His vision gradually shifted from chaos to clarity. The constant trembling of his sight, the intense light and heat from all directions, and the continuous loud noises still occupied most of Hessen's senses, but he could finally vaguely recognize the other person's appearance.

"Miyun..."

The Great Elder's most proud disciple let out a long sigh of relief. The fact that her teacher could recognize her meant he was not only alive but also seemed to be sane. She quickly reached out to help him up.

The Great Elder grinned and took a breath, enduring the pain as he looked around, but he couldn't see anything clearly. "What happened? Did someone betray us? Hanrat? Gamel? Or someone else..."

Miyun said loudly, "Teacher, our heavy artillery positions have been taken by Earthlings!"

Hessen was stunned for a second, then shook his head. "This, this is impossible! We..."

"Teacher, it has already happened! And the defenders within Tulon Port have also attacked! We are utterly defeated! Please make a decision!"

The Great Elder was stunned for another second, then suddenly bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to dispel all his confusion. He stood up and said hoarsely, "What about the others? Where is Wind Fist?"

Miyun lowered her head with a heavy expression.

The "others" the Great Elder mentioned were not the retinues of other lords and khans, but a thousand-strong guard personally led by his disciples. This was likely the most organized force the Sandfolk had ever assembled. However, as guards, they were naturally stationed around the main camp and were, of course, the first targets of the shelling.

"Is that so..." The Great Elder looked at Miyun, who was also covered in wounds, and sighed.

"Teacher, most people are fleeing. The situation here can no longer be saved. But as long as we are alive, there is still hope!" Miyun said.

Hessen gritted his teeth and nodded. "Yes, there is still hope! Let's go... cough, wait, Miyun, where is Kazhan? Have you seen Kazhan?"

Miyun shook her head, thinking that she had just been knocked unconscious herself and had rushed to dig him out the moment she woke up, so she hadn't had time to worry about anyone else.

"We must save him! He is the future! Let's go to his location!" Hessen said.

Miyun naturally wouldn't object. On one hand, her teacher was like a god in her heart; on the other hand, she had her own little thoughts.

She helped her teacher up and looked around, only to find a large, dying Raptor not far away. Miyun quickly ran over and injected her psionics into the Raptor's body--she was a "believer" and was preparing to develop along the branch path of the "Pure" Star Ring.

Her abilities focused on repair, healing, infection, and encouragement. In short, she was a healer. Of course, she was only at the first ring now and couldn't truly bring the dead back to life or grow new flesh. At most, she could only stimulate the opponent's life force to its fullest extent with her psionics, temporarily restoring their ability to move.

Miyun helped the Great Elder onto the Raptor's back, judged the direction, and prepared to head towards Kazhan's camp. However, as the two on the dragon had just run a short distance, they ran headlong into a large group of fleeing Sandfolk.

"Stop! Stop! Go back and fight! You are the sons of Vaanu! You are the masters of this planet! Pick up your weapons! Go back and fight! Why are you running away! Why are you running away in front of your mentor!"

The young Miyun stood on the dragon's back, shouting loudly at everyone. However, the sound of cannons and gunfire drowned out her voice. The panicked Sandfolk, consumed by dread, couldn't even see the road ahead, only knowing to flee like walking corpses with the masses, naturally not noticing Miyun and the others.

"You cowards! Stop at once!" Miyun roared, her psionically condensed word-soul power erupting like a thunderclap out of nowhere, momentarily completely overwhelming the sound of the cannons. Many Sandfolk were also startled and actually managed to recover from their panic.

"Mi, Lady Miyun?"

"Great Elder!"

"It's the Great Elder!"

The Sandfolk who had come to their senses saw Hessen on the dragon's back. They immediately ignored his obviously severe injuries and weak state. Many even prostrated themselves on the ground and began to kowtow.

"Great Elder, save us!"

"Save everyone!"

"Please guide us again."

More and more fleeing Sandfolk stopped. A herd mentality existed in civilized societies as well. They might flee because some people fled, and of course, they could regain their courage because some people went against the flow.

Hessen looked at Miyun with admiration. If it weren't for his proud disciple's timely intervention with her word-soul power to turn the tide, he, the Great Elder, the third-ring "Wizard," would have been more fragile than a dead tree in a mountain flood in front of the retreating defeated soldiers.

A higher ring did not necessarily mean greater power, nor did it mean omnipotence. A low-level awakened individual who could achieve a specific effect under specific conditions might be more useful than masters or even saints.

The Great Elder felt that he should indeed seriously consider the application of different psionics in warfare. However, such "high-level" tactics seemed too far off for the current Sandfolk.

"Get up and form ranks immediately! Who among you has served as an officer! Quickly get up and take charge of organizing the ranks!" Hessen asked loudly.

There were indeed a few officers among these fleeing soldiers, even a warrior captain and a centurion, who were the highest military ranks under the "King" and "Khan." Under the encouragement of the Great Elder and Miyun, they finally started working. Unfortunately, they were not the kind of people who could make soldiers gather and disperse at will. It took nearly ten minutes to finally reorganize about 500 people.

Still a rabble! The Great Elder shook his head discreetly, thinking that this was better than nothing.

He didn't expect to lead these people to counterattack. If he could escort him to rescue Kazhan, and then use that as a base to gather the fleeing soldiers, it wouldn't be a complete loss.

"We..." The Great Elder was about to give everyone a pep talk, but at that moment, crimson beams of light rained down upon the crowd. Many Sandfolk were instantly pierced by the scorching beams, their internal organs and muscles within the holes even being directly vaporized. However, when the beams struck the ground, they directly caused explosions, spreading into turbulent shockwaves that continuously tore at the bodies of the surrounding Sandfolk.

The Sandfolk, who had just regained a little courage, were now like soap bubbles floating into a raging fire, instantly vanishing without a trace. But this time, there was no word-soul to inspire their hearts and retrieve their morale.

Because another series of energy beams exploded near the Raptor, throwing the master and disciple on its back down on the spot.

Fortunately, Hessen had recovered a little strength by then. Using Psionics to gather airflow, he lifted himself and Miyun, so they didn't suffer any impact upon landing. His gaze cut through the chaotic crowd, finally catching sight of the figures clad in Power Armor in the distance, as well as a "Divine Guard" Tank.

"Divine Guard" was actually the official name the Sandfolk lords had decided on for their "stitched-together monster" tanks after deliberation. Though the name sounded imposing, they were essentially brick-built contraptions assembled from various domestic components.

Hessen knew, of course, that in the Galactic Homeland, tanks of this quality wouldn't even make it onto the battlefield. But he also knew that this was still the most powerful weapon of war on this remote planet.

After all, it was a proper tank with armor, shields, and an ion cannon. It was at least much more formidable than the Black Panther War Chariots wielded by the security forces.

He had persuaded various departments and city-states to scrape together their resources and buy 200 of them from those "Collaborators," always believing they would be the trump card to break through Tulon's defenses. But up to this point, these tanks had killed far more of their own men than enemies, and once captured by the enemy, they became a nightmare for their own side.

"I should have listened to Kaz! After acquiring the tanks, we should have trained them for at least a year, forming them into a dedicated unit before they could become combat-effective!" Hessen gritted his teeth and grabbed Miyun.

"Quick, go find Kaz!"

"...T-Teacher!"

"Go! I'll cover your retreat!"

Miyun was on the verge of tears, but her mentor had already pushed her away. By the time she reacted, she had already been sent a hundred meters away by Psionics.

"Remember! He is the future! Help him! Assist him! Give us hope!" Hessen left his final instructions for his disciple, then unhesitatingly charged towards the direction the enemies had come from.