Chapter 311: The Inferno Directive

Yenir turned around and let out a deep sigh as the flickering flames danced in his dark eyes.

Ignoring the stunned Military, he focused solely on his next move.

He was no deity.

Reaching this point was already pushing his limits.

There was no way to factor in the possibility of the Military sabotaging the plan—too many variables were at play.

He had to bet on the Military responding a bit slower, buying him precious extra time.

That’s why he deliberately concealed Fang Teng’s death and even deployed fighter jets to deliver nuclear missiles.

But now it seemed that man’s calculations paled in comparison to fate.

In other words, the Military’s reaction was far more intense than he had anticipated.

And that was to be expected.

During long stretches of peace, the Military’s vigilance for disasters lagged far behind their alertness for man-made crises.

It was like how, on the eve of the apocalypse, a natural catastrophe barely registered compared to a protest rally in the eyes of the authorities.

A hint of bitterness crept into his heart, yet Yenir quickly dismissed such futile emotions.

Problems were inevitable, and raging in anger at them was pointless.

Now, his focus was on minimizing losses and saving as many survivors as possible.

He had experienced too many of these scenarios in his past life.

Across hundreds of battles, a few idiots were bound to make mistakes. As the final commander, he had long been accustomed to facing all kinds of difficulties, even those man-made.

“The evacuated units have been recalled; everyone has been ‘sent’ into the air-raid shelters.”

“This means the delay must last at least two hours. In the fight against the Sea Beast landings, more lives must be sacrificed to serve as a barrier! We need to slow their advance on land to carve out a sufficient safety zone! Otherwise, if the fleeing forces don’t keep a large enough gap, these Sea Beasts will relentlessly pursue.”

“Then it won’t be just a disaster for the East Sea Safe Zone… it will devastate the entire Battle Zone!”

“So, we must create a no-man’s land stretching at least 60 kilometers!”

His eyes flickered as Yenir raced through his subsequent plans, searching for the optimal solution.

Could he continue deploying nuclear missiles?

He could theoretically request another batch of tactical nukes from a nearby Military district within two hours.

But two hours was far too long…

What about using the system trading function?

No, that wouldn’t work.

The system only allowed trading for system tools or spirit energy products. Standard nuclear warheads couldn’t be traded that way—they weren’t like the later-developed spirit energy warheads…

Besides, to annihilate that horde of monsters with nukes, you’d need an enormous quantity… or an exceptionally high yield.

Would the Military even allow that?

Yenir shook his head ever so slightly.

It would be no different from obliterating the East Sea—plus, countless survivors who hadn’t escaped in time would perish.

While Sea Beasts are indifferent to radiation, ordinary people certainly aren’t.

One idea after another was dismissed as Yenir’s mind frantically computed various “lifelines” under his considerable willpower.

“There’s only one way to obstruct them: block their path with our troops.”

“After the Sea Beasts land, elite units and High-Level Awakener clusters will engage in smaller skirmishes, gradually luring the creatures along the entire coastline!”

“Even if we can’t hold them back completely during the retreat, the scattered horde will instinctively converge…”

“Buying us extra time through that delay!”

After a few seconds of scanning the battlefield, Yenir pulled up the East Sea topographical map in his mind once more.

“The Safe Zone is positioned to the west of the defensive line, set on a flat plain. This means we can’t rely on mountainous terrain for cover.”

“So if we want to establish a safety perimeter, our only option is…”

“Fire!”

“Within two hours, summon a large amount of fuel from other Safe Zones to ignite the final 30 kilometers! If that fails, burn down the entire East Sea Safe Zone!”

“The East Sea area is densely built-up…”

“If we forcibly detonate the spirit energy nodes there—turning that place into ruins…”

In an instant, a steely glint flashed in Yenir’s eyes.

To atone for the Military’s mistakes, only a crazier move would suffice.

East Sea was expendable!

Once the Sea Beasts took over, there’d be no chance of reestablishing a Safe Zone anyway.

In the future, this area would be one of the main battlegrounds for the invaders. With continuous waves of Sea Beasts, maintaining the Safe Zone would be pointless.

Recalling news from his past life about the Military’s relentless attempts to reclaim the East Sea, Yenir made up his mind and finalized his next steps.

There was no need to win it back anymore.

In his previous life, the Military mistakenly assumed the disaster was a one-off incident, hence their dogged efforts to retake the East Sea even after the calamity struck.

Their stubborn mindset cost countless lives—as if pouring fuel on an already roaring fire, they died pitifully on the East Sea.

After all, the establishment of the East Sea Safe Zone had consumed astronomical amounts of resources, making it hard for anyone to let go.

But for Yenir, who knew what the future held, it was better to shatter the Military’s illusions once and for all!

With that thought, Yenir took a deep breath and issued his order without hesitation.

“Transmit my command!”

“Immediately notify the 23 surrounding Safe Zones and dispatch an Aviation Squadron at top speed to deliver fuel!”

“I will ignite the East Sea in two hours!”

As his words rang out, a large group of combat-ready Awakeners stared at Yenir in disbelief. When they saw the flames seemingly ignited in his eyes, terror gripped each of them.

“I-Ignite… East Sea!?”

“N-no, this isn’t right!”

“This is madness!”

“We can’t destroy the East Sea! It took ten years to build this place!!”

Instinctively, a high-level Awakener snapped back to reality, his face draining of color as he frantically objected.

Before he could rally more opposition, Yenir glared at him coldly, every word measured:

“This is an order!”

“I am the overall commander of the East Sea. How dare you defy orders?!”

A low buzzing sound filled the air.

In his scolding tone, Yenir swiftly pulled up his message panel, displaying the latest directive from the Military.

Just one minute ago, the Capital Military District had issued the newest orders.

And he was the supreme commander of this ‘campaign’.

With a swift draw of his Elemental Blade from his back, Yenir swept his gaze across the battlefield. Although he only emanated Third-Stage Beginner energy, its intensity suffocated everyone present.

“Ming Luo, you stay here.”

“Anyone who defies these orders will face military tribunal…”

“Execute them!”

Before Ming Luo could even process the command, Yenir signaled for Uncle Liang, Xiao Hai, and the others to follow him. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a streak of shadow, racing straight for the East Sea Safe Zone.

There, he had even more critical matters to attend to.