Giving Their Lives for the Nation, Bringing Honor to Their Ancestors

At that moment, none of those one million people knew they could awaken their bloodline.

But their faces were resolute, and they were ready to die for their country.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too heavy.

A young man in his twenties glanced around and nudged a fat man on his left.

"Hey, buddy! We're stuck waiting anyway. How about a little chat?"

The fat man turned, furrowed his brows, and said nothing.

The young man pursed his lips, then looked at someone on his right.

He was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, with a crew cut and blue work clothes. He looked like an assembly-line worker.

"Hey, you came because of the mobilization order too?"

"At your age, you've probably got a family, right? They agreed to let you come?"

The middle-aged man seemed more approachable. He smiled at the questions.

"I wouldn't dare let my family know about this. I told my wife I was getting promoted to workshop supervisor and had to go away for a few days of training..."

The young man's mouth fell open in a deliberately exaggerated expression.

"Nice one! Aren't you afraid your wife will give you hell afterward?"

The middle-aged man glanced at him and smiled again.

"I'd gladly take a scolding from her. I'm just afraid... I won't get the chance."

At those words, the young man's expression froze. Everything else he had wanted to say caught in his throat.

"It's all right, kid."

The middle-aged man reached out and gently patted his shoulder.

"Everyone who came here was ready for this."

"I've never been a soldier, but even I know every citizen has a duty when the nation's at stake."

"Some things have to be done!"

"Some battles have to be fought!"

"You're right!"

The young man gave him a thumbs-up, glanced around, and lowered his voice.

"But there's something I still find strange..."

"Sure, fighting for our country is our duty."

"But the army are the professionals when it comes to war. Look around. Why are there so many ordinary people here?"

"If the fighting had started and they needed reinforcements, I'd understand."

"But who sends civilians onto the battlefield before the fighting even starts? What if we just get in the way?"

"And they mobilized us without giving us any training or weapons, then brought us straight into these woods. It doesn't make sense!"

The middle-aged man frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I hadn't thought of any of that until you mentioned it."

"But if that's what the higher-ups arranged, they must have their reasons."

"Whatever happens, even if all I've got are my fists, I'll take on those Haidong dogs!"

With that, the middle-aged man reached inside his clothes, took a photograph from an inner pocket, and held it out to the young man.

The photograph showed a sturdy-looking little boy, around six or seven years old.

"This is my boy."

The middle-aged man's anger faded, and tenderness filled his rugged face.

"I watched a movie once, and one line stuck with me."

"If we fight all the battles that need fighting, our children and grandchildren won't have to."

"It's because of those who came before us that we've had these decades of peace."

"Now it's our turn to fight for the generations to come!"

"If we chicken out now, how could we face those who came before us? How could we ever face our own descendants?"

The middle-aged man drew the photograph back and planted a hard kiss on it.

"I barely went to school. I've been a laborer all my life. Didn't find a wife until I was forty, then had a son."

"I haven't amounted to much. I can't give my wife and boy a good life."

"But I'm a father! I'm the man of the house!"

"If anyone fucking tries to hurt my wife or my boy!"

"I'll fight them to the death!"

His words stirred the emotions of everyone around him.

The fat man who had refused to speak earlier suddenly stood up and stomped his foot.

"He's right!"

"Without a country, how can we have a home? Protecting our families and defending our nation are one and the same!"

"I'm an orphan. I grew up in an orphanage!"

"The country raised me. Now that Haidong is attacking us, if I don't step up, who will?"

"I always thought I had no family."

"But after Su Chen activated the Ancestor Symbol and summoned Dayu, I realized I wasn't alone."

"Because when the orphanage found me, there was a note on me with my name written on it: Xia Yang!"

"Did you hear that?"

"My name is Xia Yang! Xia, as in Huaxia!"

"My home is all of Huaxia! My ancestor is Emperor Xia Dayu!"

"If I give my life for my country, I'll be bringing honor to my ancestors!"

The fat man pumped his fist fiercely, growing more impassioned with every word.

The young man's eyes shone as he gave the fat man a firm pat on the back.

"Your name's Xia Yang, right?"

"What do you mean, you don't have family? I'm your family!"

"How's this for a coincidence? You're Xia Yang, and I'm Xia Donglin. We're both surnamed Xia. We're kin!"

"Ever heard this saying?"

"We ask not to be born on the same day, in the same month and year, but to die on the same day, in the same month and year!"

"That's what people say when they swear brotherhood. It couldn't be more fitting today."

"If we die for our country, we can keep each other company on the road to the underworld. Then we'll be reincarnated together and be actual brothers in our next lives..."

Before Xia Donglin could finish, the middle-aged man beside him grabbed him.

"Kid, your surname's Xia too?"

Xia Donglin paused.

"Yeah. Why?"

The middle-aged man's eyes slowly widened. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh.

"What a stroke of fate! I'm Xia Hai. All three of us are surnamed Xia!"

"What are the odds?"

"No way!"

Xia Donglin looked astonished, and even Xia Yang stopped crying.

Who knew how many people were in these woods now?

There were over a thousand packed into their section alone.

And three people who had happened to gather together were all surnamed Xia.

Wasn't that a little too much of a coincidence?

But before the three could recover from their surprise, the people around them began speaking up all at once.

"Seriously? I'm Xia Guoming. My surname's Xia too!"

"I'm Xia Jie!"

"Holy crap! What's going on? I'm surnamed Xia too. Xia Tianhao!"

"I'm Xia Jianjun!"

"..."

Without exception, everyone who spoke up was surnamed Xia.

Countless pairs of eyes glanced left and right, growing more astonished by the moment.

Two or three people sharing a surname was understandable.

But with this many people surnamed Xia gathered together, not even a ghost would believe it was a coincidence!

While everyone was completely baffled, a man in military uniform came striding over from the distance.

Xia Donglin's eyes lit up. He was about to stop the man and ask what was going on.

But the man walked straight to the front of the crowd and shouted before he could.

"Quiet, everyone! Listen up!"

The soldier swept his stern gaze over the crowd. Despite all their questions, they had no choice but to hold them back for now.

"Although you come from all over the country and didn't know each other before..."

"Standing here today makes you family and brothers who will depend on each other for your lives!"

"Most of you have never been trained. Once the fighting starts, you're bound to charge around in chaos, so the higher-ups have assigned people with military experience to lead you. I'll be in charge of you!"

"If you want a chance to go home, you must follow orders in everything you do."

"Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself first!"

"My surname is Xia, and I'm a veteran. Just call me Old Xia!"