Tempest of the Battlefield

Many heroes had tried to rise against Patroclus, but they all failed.
Although the human world still had capable warriors such as Li Shiming and Li Ruoer, their power fell short before Patroclus.

Patroclus’ existence was a sharp knife that hung above the neck of humanity and constantly reminded the humans of their inevitable annihilation. However, with Wang Tong’s return, the humans started to see hope once again. Wang Tong was the only person who had defeated Patroclus in the past, and he was humanity’s last and only hope. The humans’ belief in Wang Tong’s special power was also shared among the Immortals. No Immortal would feel ashamed for fleeing from a battle against Wang Tong. Therefore, all the Immortals inside Boston had fled the city right after the four generals’ defeat.

Wang Tong’s presence had ensured the security of Boston. In the days that followed, he pushed away other appointments and spent most of his time with Ma Xiaoru.

“Welcome back, young master! The elders of the court are eager to see you.” A Templar said to Wang Tong.

“Is the grand master still alive?” Wang Tong asked with a smirk.

“The grand master is alive and healthy. He had told us that you are still alive when you were missing, and he said you would be back to lead the Templars and destroy the Immortals.”

“What is your name?” Wang Tong asked.

“Zhang Taihang, my lord!”

Wang Tong patted Zhang Taihang’s shoulder and asked, “The Immortals’ days are numbered. Are you willing to follow me and destroy them once and for all?”

“Yes, young master! I will follow you even through the gates of hell! My life is yours!”

“I don’t want you to die. I want you to live, so that you can fight the Immortals and liberate our homeland.”

“Kill the Zergs, retake homeland!”

“Kill the Zergs, retake homeland!”

“Kill the Zergs, retake homeland!”

The soldiers’ shout echoed throughout the city. The human race had survived the test of time and would continue to do so. Be it the Zergs or Immortals, no one could bring down humanity as long as Wang Tong was still alive.

The savior had returned home after turning the situation around on Mars and liberating millions of souls in a triumphant victory against the dark ones.

Wang Tong could not have done it all by himself; he reckoned that the hope of saving the humanity lied in not just one or two people, but in the human race itself. There was a power hidden inside every human that only Wang Tong knew how to draw out. The source of the power, as Wang Tong deduced, was the evolutionary pressure; in other words, the fear of extinction while facing a near-invincible enemy. It was this fear that had fueled the warriors to risk their lives on the battlefield, because they knew that Patroclus had no intention of coexisting with the human race as he designed to replace it with Immortals outright.

Although the Immortals had Patroclus, the humans had Patroclus’ equal: Wang Tong. Wang Tong was an exemplar of valor and wisdom, and was destined to steer the ship that was the human race to the safe shore from the current violent storm.

Ever since the age of space exploration, the human race had divided into many sub-branches, among which, the humans from their homeland Earth were the most stubborn and hopelessly bound by their sense of honor. They were fierce protectors of the old ways, and were able to resist various temptations and distractions of the modern world. The old way was the honorable way, and honor was in the blood of every Earthling.
This unique character of the earthlings explained why the Ivantians had given in to the Immortals occupation so easily while the resistance sentiment on Earth remained strong.

Patroclus was able to do as he please on the Moon but not so much on Earth. He found himself hemmed in by resistance from not only military, but all other aspects of the society as well. There were many theories that attempted to explain the unyielding character of earthlings, and a simple explanation was that the earthlings shared a much stronger affinity with planet Earth than any other human groups. To the earthlings, Earth was a sacred land, and they would resist any invaders with a religious zeal.

After the Immortals had fled Boston, they didn’t attempt to retake the city, which took the human residence by surprise as it was against their normal retaliatory behavior. There could only be one explanation: the immortals were afraid of Wang Tong.

Wang Tong could provide more security to a city than an entire army.

What Wang Tong had achieved on Mars was unimaginable. If the killing of Moye had placed him on the throne above all other human warriors, his ability to evoke the asteroid storm would have earned him a place among the gods.

Zhang Jin took advantage of the brief peace and quickly established communication with all resistance forces across the globe. The time for a full-fledged counterattack was near.

Even now, Zhang Jin was not certain as to how effective the human resistance groups’ combined strength would be during a counterattack. She was not surprised by the Ivantians’ quick capitulation; although they lauded themselves for their “perfect” genes, they were the weakest in their wills. While they surrendered to the invaders, the humans on Earth devoted themselves to the heroic act of resistance.

Zhang Jin didn’t have to wait long before she received responses from all corners of Earth. She was pleasantly surprised by the unprecedented enthusiasm; the mentioning of Wang Tong’s name was enough to heighten everyone’s spirits.

“Wang Tong, we were able to gain the support of thirty-seven underground factions, and they are all willing to fight for you.” Zhang Jin said joyfully.

“Thank you for organizing everything. I am nothing special.” Wang Tong said timidly and scratched his head. They met at the Templar’s court, where he was about to meet the core members of the court.

“I had never thought that you could be so modest!” Zhang Jin exclaimed with a broad smile. She had been in a good mood ever since she survived the Immortals’ sudden raid.

“Sister Jin, don’t praise him like that. He needs your advice and guidance.” Ma Xiaoru said gently.

“Forget it! I am not going to guide him.” Zhang Jin shrugged and answered readily.

“Sister Jin, based on the information I have gathered, it occurred to me that the power of the resistance force on Earth is still intact.”

“You are right. The morale on Earth is much better than that on the moon and Mars. By far, Patroclus’ aggression had been mild. I wager that his ultimate goal is not to destroy Earth, but to transform it into another one of his bases like the moon. This gave the resistance a lot of room to grow. Plus, the sentiment among the public also favored continuing resistance instead of capitulation, particularly after the death of Einherjar Li Zhedao. Perhaps losing him was a blessing in disguise. In addition, the number of elite Immortals was very limited for some unknown reason.”

“Do you think it was because Patroclus had restricted the reproduction capability of the queens?”

“That is likely the case, but no one knows for sure. There were still some human soldiers that were coerced to fight for the Immortals, but I bet we could win them over with a few words from you. All in all, our biggest threat is not the immortals, but only one individual: Patroclus.”

Wang Tong nodded as he knew that Zhang Jin’s words had hit the mark. The resistance forces on Earth had viewed Wang Tong’s presence a counterweight against the heavy clout of Patroclus.

“Once you think you are ready, both the earthling and the Martian forces will be under your command.” Zhang Jin announced expectantly.
Fearing the call of duty would take Wang Tong away from her again, Ma Xiaoru reached out to hold his hand before the latter could offer an answer.

Zhang Jin studied Wang Tong’s face attentively, trying to catch traces of his thoughts. Wang Tong would play a key role, and therefore, it was important to get him on board with the plan as soon as possible.

“How confident are you that anything positive is going to come out of this?” Wang Tong asked candidly.

Zhang Jin was taken aback by the question. She paused to think for a second and then replied, “It’s difficult to say… There are just too many variables. Regardless of the outcome, humans will pay a heavy price, and we are ready. This war is inevitable.”

Wang Tong nodded, “I know. ”

“Well, on that note, I have a similar question for you: how confident are you in the fight against Patroclus?”