Fight to the death, never retreat

Everyone present looked at one another, completely baffled.

"What's wrong?"

The veteran frowned at their expressions, his face darkening.

"I may be retired, but I was a company commander before I left the service. Don't look down on me!"

"No, no, no..."

Xia Donglin hurriedly waved his hands and said rather meekly,

"We're not looking down on you."

"But if I told you that calling out 'Old Xia' right now would get at least a thousand people around here answering, would you believe me?"

Similar scenes played out everywhere.

The lush, sprawling mangrove forest stretched for dozens of miles.

But with a million people gathered there, it still felt terribly crowded.

They came from different military units and every corner of their homeland.

Besides the Han people, there were members of ethnic minorities such as the Qiang people, Dong people, Bouyei people, Miao people, and Tibetan people.

Before that day, they had never met and had no connection to one another.

Yet once they introduced themselves,

many discovered that they shared the same surname!

Besides the Xia surname, there were the Hou surname, Zeng surname, Bao surname, Tan surname, and others.

What was more, everyone seemed to have been grouped by surname.

Even those sent to command them were no exception.

This baffling arrangement left everyone scratching their heads, unable to figure out what was going on.

Just as they were puzzling over it, the roar of helicopter rotors came from the distance and soon reached overhead.

They instinctively looked up through gaps in the leaves and saw more than a dozen helicopters sweep over the forest, landing one after another on the nearby beach.

The downdraft from the helicopters sent sand and stones flying across the beach.

WZ-10s?

Everyone instinctively narrowed their eyes, their expressions lighting up with excitement.

But it was not the attack helicopters that excited them. It was the people stepping out.

"Look! Isn't that Su Chen getting out of the helicopter in the middle?"

"That's right! It's him!"

"Thank goodness! I was worried he wouldn't show up!"

"Are you kidding? Su Chen is Huaxia's inheritor now. How could he stand by while foreign enemies invaded?"

"I wasn't trying to think that way, but there was a news report a few days ago about a country in East Africa getting invaded by its neighbor. Their inheritor didn't even fight back. He was the first to take the money and run, so I..."

"So you what? You thought Su Chen would run too? Have you lost your mind?"

"Hey, don't chew him out! Su Chen's position is different from ours now. If he abandoned Huaxia, any country he went to would treat him as an honored guest. And he hadn't shown himself for so many days. It's only natural that some people started imagining things."

"Exactly! If Su Chen went over to the West, those countries would line the streets to welcome him. Staying here means almost certain death. Anyone would struggle with that choice."

"I don't know about anyone else, but Su Chen would never do that! Have you forgotten what he said when he summoned Dayu's phantom? If anyone says he'd betray Huaxia, I'll be the first to call them a liar!"

With Su Chen's arrival, the once-quiet forest grew noisy.

Haidong had declared war and could launch a full-scale invasion at any moment.

Dark clouds hung over the heart of every person in Huaxia.

As Huaxia's inheritor, Su Chen now held an unparalleled place in the people's hearts.

At a time like this, he should have been the first to step forward and take charge, even if only to say a few words.

Yet so many days had passed.

Not only had Su Chen failed to appear, there had been no news of him at all. It was as though he had vanished.

With a major battle looming, their inheritor had remained absent.

How could the people not let their imaginations run wild?

But now,

as Su Chen jumped down from the helicopter,

every rumor and suspicion fell apart on its own.

"Honestly, you people! Always imagining the worst! How could Su Chen possibly betray Huaxia?"

"Exactly! He personally promised Dayu that he'd defend the Nine Provinces and protect the people. How could he leave at a time like this?"

"Hey, who do you think is stronger, Su Chen or Haidong Country's inheritor?"

"Do you even need to ask? Dayu was our ancestor from four thousand years ago. That Kim Chunchu from Haidong Country was only from a little over a thousand years ago. Of course Su Chen is stronger!"

"Still... however strong he is, Su Chen is only one man. He can't fight over a hundred thousand on his own."

"What are you saying? Don't we count? Did we rush here from home without eating or sleeping just because we had nothing better to do?"

"That's right! We may be ordinary people, but we're not made of clay! Even if we die, we'll bite a chunk of flesh off those Haidong dogs and tear off a strip of their skin first!"

"Right! If one of us isn't enough, ten of us will attack together! If ten aren't enough, then a hundred, a thousand! As long as we drag one Haidong dog down with us, it'll be worth it!"

"The land beneath our feet is Huaxia's, and behind us are our parents, wives, and children. Even if we die, we won't retreat a single step!"

"That's right! Fight to the death, never retreat!"

"Fight to the death, never retreat!"

"..."

Su Chen's appearance sent everyone's spirits soaring, dispelling much of the fear and uncertainty in their hearts.

That was the influence of an inheritor.

Even without saying a word, merely standing there made him a bright banner that rallied their hearts!

Hearing the cries from the forest, Zhu Yuanzheng could not help turning to look.

Although he knew Su Chen's plan, the veteran general in his fifties was still deeply moved when he heard their vow to fight to the death and never retreat.

Half of these people were ordinary civilians.

Before that day, they had still been working to make a living and striving to provide for their families.

But when their homeland was in peril,

they had cast everything aside without hesitation and gathered here from all across the country.

They did not know that Dayu's blood flowed in their veins.

They had all come prepared to lay down their lives for their country.

Such courage!

Such willingness to shoulder responsibility!

Such national spirit!

These were Huaxia's most precious treasures!

Perhaps the struggle to make a living had gradually made many of them slicker and more calculating, no longer as full of passion as they had been in their youth.

But that passion had never vanished. It had become seeds buried deep in their hearts.

With just a little rain and dew, those seeds would take root and sprout again, bursting with life!

"True sons of Huaxia!"

"With people like these, Huaxia will be invincible!"

Zhu Yuanzheng's eyes shone, and the hot blood in his chest could not help surging.

Su Chen nodded, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

"Everything is ready. Now we just wait for the people of Haidong to come knocking. Hopefully, they won't keep us waiting too long."

Seeing the confidence in Su Chen's eyes, Zhu Yuanzheng smiled too and pumped his fist.

"Haidong's Awakened are turning out in full force. Looks like Jin Dachang is staking everything on this!"

"I wonder what his face will look like when he sees the welcome ceremony we've prepared!"

"Su Chen, do you think we're giving them a little too much credit with all these arrangements?"

A few days earlier, Zhu Yuanzheng had regarded a hundred and thirty thousand Awakened as an utterly unbeatable force.

But now, looking at Su Chen, then at the mangrove forest behind him,

Zhu Yuanzheng inexplicably felt a trace of disdain for Haidong Country.