Chapter 623: Shattered Alliances and Final Strikes

Asia Region Announcement: This National War will end in thirty minutes.

After this National War concludes, the Global Confrontation will commence shortly. Please be prepared.

…

A sudden system announcement reverberated across the globe.

Countless survivors—whether locked in combat or engaged in idle chatter—looked up in astonishment toward the sky.

“Global Confrontation?! What the hell is that?!”

“The National War is over? What rank did our country finish?”

Atop a makeshift military armored vehicle in the ruins of an old city, an Awakener out searching for supplies asked his companion in shock.

He still had half a cookie in his mouth, making his words slurred and indistinct.

In his astonishment, he even forgot to swallow the cookie.

Sitting beside him, a middle-aged man in his mid-forties paused in surprise before murmuring uncertainly, as if he’d just recalled something.

“Global National War?!”

“Something like this happened when I was in my teens! Damn, how long has it been? Thirty years?”

“I thought that was a one-time thing!”

A bewildered youth, barely in his early twenties, stared blankly at his team leader. In the very next moment—before he could even swallow the crumbs from his cookie—

“Roar!!!”

Not one, but a succession of roars erupted.

In an instant, from the distant city a tidal wave of advancing darkness surged forward.

Densely packed and writhing like swarms of bugs, the sight, even under the blazing sun, sent a chill straight to the bone.

The sudden, astonishing turn of events left everyone frozen in fear.

A few seconds later, a Strength-Type Awakener riding at the front of the vehicle suddenly turned pale.

Not even bothering to stub out his cigarette, he whipped around in panic and roared in anger, as if someone had stepped on his tail:

“Damn!! The Corpse Tide! The Corpse Tide is raging!!”

“Run! Damn it, run now!!”

……

At the Capital Military District’s heavily fortified Air Force Base.

In an Underground Meeting Room.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our prediction was that the National War would end in about one week to ten days.”

“Based on our intelligence and simulations, this National War is relatively easy—with several nations opting to cooperate even before it began.”

“Moreover, having provided ample information and enough points, they will end the National War on their own.”

“Therefore, there should be no surprises this time.”

Standing before the electronic display, Lu Haishan slowly pointed at the analysis report, a mysterious smile playing on his face.

No sooner had he spoken than everyone in the meeting room burst into laughter, save for a few Third-Stage individuals whose smiles carried a bitter edge.

The so-called ease of the National War and the sufficiency of points…

That is, they had sold Huaguo’s intelligence so that, during the National War, enough of their own could be sacrificed.

After all, Yenir and Li Xuanguo’s group always finish at the bottom—destined to perish. As long as they aren’t the very last, the other battle zones eventually stop fighting.

Thus, the National War would indeed conclude at this moment.

“Haishan, what do those higher-ups mean by that?”

“We’ve said before that we should act sooner rather than later. The Demon Hunting Legion and the Southwestern garrison were recalled the day before yesterday—this clearly indicates that Li Xuanguo and his men are gearing up for action.”

“Delaying any further would be unwise, wouldn’t it?”

Inside the meeting room, a veteran Third-Stage fighter—aged around sixty yet appearing as youthful as a middle-aged man—was the first to speak.

After listening, Lu Haishan chuckled briefly and then coughed lightly:

“General Huang, we’re aware of both matters. The fact that no action has yet been taken is exactly what those higher-ups intend.”

He smiled mysteriously.

“While acting early wouldn’t be a problem, those higher-ups have decided to simply eliminate Li Xuanguo’s entire force after all.”

“Since we’re going to replace personnel anyway, let’s just start fresh—no more of this nonsense!”

“Those individuals have long been retired, enjoying their twilight years—they no longer wish to be burdened by such matters!”

“Four days from now! In four days, we’ll take action! After we clear out Li Xuanguo’s group, once news of the National War defeat breaks, we can steer public opinion in our favor!”

“If they drag on any longer, they won’t be able to pull any tricks!”

“Then…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden system announcement pierced through everything.

After two brief global announcements sounded in succession, Lu Haishan was utterly stunned.

It wasn’t just him; upon hearing that the National War had ended ahead of schedule, the meeting room filled with shocked disbelief.

What the hell!?

The National War is over already?! A new Global Confrontation?! People who just entered will be leaving in half an hour?!

It seemed the plan had been thrown into disarray.

Everyone exchanged glances, shock evident in each other’s eyes.

Although Lu Haishan believed the teams entering Huaguo would likely suffer no survivors—especially Yenir, who had individually tipped off the surrounding battle zones, placing that kid firmly on everyone’s kill list!

But…

“It ended so quickly?! Which battle zone secretly deployed top-tier forces?!”

“No, it could also be that Li Xuanguo’s faction perished too swiftly—someone played the sacrificial lamb, and every side simply decided to stand down?”

After a brief moment of confusion, the Third-Stage fighters present quickly assessed the situation.

As Third-Stage fighters, their thought processes were naturally lightning-fast.

In no time, they deduced the most logical possibility.

Their expressions grew strangely grim.

Like everyone else, Lu Haishan considered both possibilities.

But losing so fast was something he wasn’t accustomed to.

Then, as if struck by a thought, he suddenly snorted coldly:

“It looks like Li Xuanguo’s guys didn’t pull any tricks after all—they didn’t even deploy any Peak Third-Stage fighters…”

“I thought they could hold out a bit longer!”

“Damn it, they’re losing so fast. I bet India or West Asia sent in top-tier warriors; seeing no chance, the other battle zones simply called it quits.”

“But if that’s the case, Li Xuanguo’s team truly proved themselves useless— even that kid couldn’t last more than a few days!”

It’s simple logic.

In the National War, no matter how strong a battle zone is, no nation wants to lose lives for nothing. Yet everyone fears becoming the sacrificial lamb, so they fight on for a while.

For it to end this quickly, there’s only one possibility.

That is, someone acted as the sacrificial lamb, and everyone else decided to quit!

Only when it’s certain that all Huaguo Awakeners are wiped out—leaving them last in points—will the nations feel ‘secure’ enough to give up!

“Exactly, that must be it.”

“Looks like our battle zone finished dead last this time.”

“Pathetic and infuriating.”

“If Li Xuanguo and his men weren’t so foolish and short-sighted—if they had any idea of our importance, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

Seated in the front row, a veteran Peak Third-Stage fighter snorted coldly, his eyes filled with discontent.

Losing the National War is indeed to their advantage—it gives them an excuse to claim that Li Xuanguo and his men are unfit to hold their positions!

But as a member of the Huaxia Battle Zone, a loss is utterly disgraceful.

“Old Zhao, isn’t that exactly why we need to replace personnel?”

“These youngsters have no clue about their limits! Had it not been for us acting as Huaguo’s pillar all these years, disaster would have struck long ago! It’s laughable that Li Xuanguo and his men think they can break free from us!”

“Now look—Huaguo has become a laughingstock!”

“Heh, isn’t he just trying to prove that a new generation can hold their own, all because of that kid?!”

“A bunch of brats who never even experienced the apocalypse—truly naive and laughable!”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone wholeheartedly agreed.

What a load of bullshit about geniuses?

Weren’t they all geniuses back in the day?!

“Everyone, let’s set that aside for now.”

“Now that the National War is about to end, should we strike preemptively?”

“If we don’t act now, Li Xuanguo and Fang Hao’s group will most likely jump out and turn the tables on us! I even suspect they’ve already planned their defeat strategy!”

“Even if we concede a thousand steps, what if Li Xuanguo outright confesses his mistakes and claims that Yenir is dead—leaving us with no excuse to strike!?”

“National affairs are all about appearances!”

“They could say that Li Xuanguo and his men made erroneous decisions, leading the nation astray; likewise, Li Xuanguo could claim it was their unwillingness to act!”

“Whoever strikes first and controls public opinion gains the upper hand!”

“Makes sense! I think Chief Wang is right!”

“In the past, we and Li Xuanguo’s group were wary of each other, never openly clashing! They never dared to speak like this before, but that might not be the case now!”

“Heh, Fang Hao and his people surely anticipated our move. Now that the National War ended abruptly, they will undoubtedly make a final desperate stand to save themselves!”

“The problem is, our reinforcements still aren’t sufficient…”

“No worries!”

After speaking, Lu Haishan’s eyes flashed with a steely glint as he, too, recognized this fact.

“Even if we’re short on manpower, our six Peak Third-Stage fighters are already in position!”

“Six versus three—in my view, we don’t even need to call in any additional Peak fighters! After all, some of the old dogs don’t want to get involved. As long as they remain neutral, we’ll crush them!”

“Not only that, the sudden onset of the Global National War is actually to our advantage!”

“If we lose this National War, the Neutral Faction will naturally worry about the forthcoming Global National War!”

“Far more important than this National War—if we don’t act, relying on Li Xuanguo and his men is a guaranteed loss!”

“Under these circumstances, the Neutral Faction, which once troubled us, is no longer an issue!”

The more he spoke, the brighter his eyes became. Excited, Lu Haishan fixed his gaze squarely in the direction of the Capital:

“In my opinion, let’s use this as our pretext to break into the capital now!”

“As is customary, after every National War the military waits for the teams to emerge. We’ll show up as well! Once the news breaks—and once the Neutral Faction realizes that siding with Li Xuanguo’s group is a dead end—we’ll strike swiftly! Who would dare stop us?!”

“Who knows, even Li Xuanguo’s own troops might abandon the fight!”

“Everyone, this is a golden opportunity bestowed upon us!”