flstandardbreds Chapter 1369 Promoting Yulong to Die for His Lord
Chapter 1369 Promoting Yulong to Die for His Lord
"I have some news to announce to everyone!"
At this point, Zhao Jie paused for a second, and in that second, the focus of countless eyes below seemed to suddenly shrink.
"Just now! The commander's only younger brother has sacrificed his life! Yes, it was the commander of the Central Plains War Zone! Gu Chengyuan, the chairman of the Zhou Bang's Last Military Commission!"
"His only younger brother, Gu Chengyun, just died on the city wall right in front of you!!!"
His voice boomed like thunder in the silent battlefield!
Upon hearing this, many soldiers visibly shuddered, their eyes behind their gas masks widening in disbelief, which flickered and solidified within them.
The commander... the commander's younger brother... sacrificed his life?!
He just sacrificed himself like that?
Or will they sacrifice themselves before us?
That legendary figure, the supreme leader who pulled them out of ruins and despair, and gave them order and hope!
His own brother... died here? Not only did he die beside them, but he even died in front of them??
Are you kidding me?! That's Number 1's own brother, just like that, dead?!
Shouldn't someone like that be under heavy protection? How did he end up on the front lines? And even stand right in front of these ordinary soldiers?
Caught off guard, a tremendous sense of absurdity and shock instantly filled the entire venue, even temporarily overshadowing the fear of the impending fungal beast tide!
Seeing the shocked soldiers on the scene, Zhao Jie did not pause, nor did he elaborate on the topic.
In his view, he was directly responsible for the sacrifice of the commander's younger brother, and he had no face to use him as a mobilization tactic.
"The first line of defense is about to fall."
Zhao Jie raised his hand and pointed to the west wall, where the gunshots had almost disappeared, leaving only the sticky wriggling of the fungal beasts and the sludge-like sound of spores falling, like the tide of death drawing ever closer.
"And this second line of defense beneath your feet, with just these sandbags, these broken bricks and tiles, and these guns in your hands..."
His gaze swept over the rudimentary fortifications and the soldiers' worn-out weapons; there was no mockery, only a cold, factual statement:
"How long can it last? Half an hour? Fifteen minutes? Or... five minutes?"
Another deathly silence fell.
The soldiers instinctively gripped their guns tighter, their knuckles turning white, and their fear deepened.
Seeing this, Zhao Jie took a deep breath, and the filter emitted a clear hiss. His next words made everyone's hearts skip a beat:
"So, I'm telling you now—"
He paused, his eyes behind the mask seeming to struggle for a moment, but were then covered by an even deeper coldness.
"Those who don't want to die here, now you can lay down your weapons and take any of the vehicles still left in the city... to evacuate!!"
These words are like a pebble thrown into a frozen lake; they don't create ripples, but rather a brief, suffocating vacuum.
Escape? Now? The brigade commander... gave his permission?
Countless gazes met, a mixture of surprise, bewilderment, disbelief, and... a more complex and incomprehensible emotion stirred by this sudden "way out."
Zhao Jie's gaze swept calmly across the area below, as if he were looking at a group of ants about to disperse.
He straightened his back, his voice suddenly rising, carrying an almost martyr-like calm and resolve:
"But I, Zhao Jie, commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou, will stay here!"
"Stand right where you are standing right now!"
"Stick right here!!"
"For the hundreds of thousands of fellow countrymen still being evacuated, let's hold on for even one more second!"
"For civilization! For this world where we've just begun to see humanity again, let us be martyrs!!"
His voice wasn't particularly loud, but every word was crystal clear, like a red-hot iron rod, branding itself firmly onto the eardrums and hearts of every listener!
The words fell.
The position fell into an even more eerie silence.
The anticipated commotion, rout, and panic as people abandoned their weapons did not materialize.
Time seemed to stretch out.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Below, the soldiers who had been terrified and shifty-eyed froze in their tracks.
They still looked up at the young brigade commander standing on the balcony, his hazmat suit fluttering in the wind.
Their gas masks concealed their expressions, but their eyes, illuminated by the emergency lights and distant firelight, underwent subtle yet dramatic changes.
The initial fear receded like the tide, not disappeared, but was pressed deep into the depths of my eyes by something hotter and heavier.
The confusion is dissipating.
Instead, a flame gradually became clearer and gradually ignited...
The flame was initially weak and hesitant, but it seemed to be ignited by the undisguised determination of "martyrdom" and the cold despair in Zhao Jie's words. It began to leap, brighten, and burn brighter and brighter!
Just then, a faint, pale light, unlike the firelight of the battlefield, seemed to appear on the eastern horizon.
Although still mostly obscured by thick smoke and spore clouds, that faint glimmer of light seemed to carry a certain symbolic meaning, shining precisely on the deathly silent and tense battlefield.
"Waaaaah..."
Suddenly, a suppressed, tearful roar broke the silence!
The voice came from behind the left-wing barricade, from a garrison soldier who was holding an old Type 82 rifle and whose body was trembling slightly.
"I'm not leaving!!!"
He almost screamed, his voice cracking, filled with endless regret and a kind of desperate madness:
"Back in Liuhe! Mutants stormed the resettlement site! I... I was so scared! I abandoned my wife and kids at home... and ran away by climbing over the wall!!!"
"Later, in that godforsaken place in Lishui! Monsters attacked the camp at night! I...I abandoned my teammates again! I drove off in the only working vehicle in the squad!!!"
"Run! Run! Run!!! All I know is how to run!!! Like a castrated dog without testicles!!!"
He burst into tears, his face streaked with snot and tears, but he gripped the Type 81 rifle tightly in his hand, slamming the butt heavily onto the ground.
"This time!!! This time I'm not running away!!! Even the commander's brother isn't afraid to die! Brigade Commander, aren't you afraid to die either!!!"
"I...I want to atone for my sins!!! I want to...be a real man...just once!! Waaaaah—"
The cries were like the first domino to fall.
"Yeah! I'm not running either!!" A sergeant with burn scars on his face on the right wing spat fiercely, his eyes gleaming.
"You're so young and already such a high-ranking official, aren't you afraid of death?! The commander's brother isn't afraid of death either!! I'm just a worthless life! What's there to be afraid of?!"
"Even if my head falls off, the scar will be the size of a bowl! Twenty years from now, I'll still be a hero! I'll fight these damned fungal beasts to the death!!!"
"Two years of the apocalypse! Hiding here and there! Living like a rat for two years!!" Another voice rang out, hoarse but firm:
"Finally, at Gucheng Lake... I've had a few decent meals and a few good nights' sleep... I feel like a normal person again!"
"Today! It's my turn to stand up!!! I'll stand right here! I'm not going anywhere!!"
"Count me in!!"
"Me too!!!"
"Third Company of the Garrison! No cowards!!!"
"We'll stay here with the brigade commander to the death!!! To avenge the commander's brother!! To avenge our fallen brothers!!"
"Fuck him!!"
……
The shouts started sporadically, but then spread like wildfire, erupting in every corner of the position!
It wasn't a uniform slogan, but a raw and bloody roar mixed with various local dialects, accompanied by sobs, shouts, and curses!
Young faces, visible through the lenses of their gas masks in the dim morning light and flickering emergency lights, were contorted, distorted, and tearful, yet there was no longer a trace of fear or hesitation!
Only the burning fighting spirit and a kind of madness that is desperate and disregards life and death!
They may be poorly equipped, poorly trained, or trembling with fear just moments before.
But at this moment, something harder than steel has been ignited and awakened deep within these souls who had once fled, feared, and become numb!
Fear is the instinct of life, courage is the hymn of humanity!
The garrison has no cowards!