Chapter Fifty: Collecting the Debt from Great Xia!
Those four words fell like scalding stones cast upon the still surface of a lake.
In an instant, the once-quiet scene erupted into a frenzy!
“If the city falls, we would rather die!”
“If the city falls, we would rather die!”
“If the city falls, we would rather die!”
“If the city falls…”
The soldiers who had accompanied them all widened their eyes, their faces flushed, and with voices hoarse from shouting, cried out this phrase with every ounce of their strength.
“If the city falls, we would rather die!”
This was the unwavering resolve of the people of Daxia to defend their land!
Suddenly, the clamor ceased in an instant.
Lin Fan lowered the right fist he had raised and said in a deep voice, “Return and resume construction!”
Without a moment of hesitation or wasted words.
The young soldiers turned on their heels in perfect unison and marched back in formation.
It seemed little different from before, and yet, there was something subtly changed.
If the city falls, we would rather die!
This iron fortress was both the first and the last line of defense Daxia had against the gods—for beyond this wall of steel lay their homeland.
Two hours later.
Lin Fan sat cross-legged, eyes closed, in an off-road vehicle parked beside the construction site of the steel fortress, rapidly regaining his strength.
Outside the window, workers and young soldiers labored with fervor and energy. The sudden appearance of the Corpse King, Jiang Chen, had not struck fear into them; rather, it seemed to have spurred them to even greater speed.
After what had just transpired, everyone understood.
This construction was nothing less than a war—a war for life itself, a war against gods and the uncanny.
Voices sounded from the walkie-talkie.
“Dao Wanjian, arrived at the designated area. Disciples of the Daoist Sect have begun patrol and defense.”
“Mo Buzhi, arrived at the designated area. Disciples of the Confucian Sect have begun patrol and defense.”
“Beimin, arrived at the designated area. Disciples of the Buddhist Sect have begun patrol and defense.”
“Starry Night, arrived at the designated area. Disciples of the Mo Yin Xing Luo Sect have begun patrol and defense.”
“Gongshu Ming, arrived at the designated area. Disciples of the Mo Sect are beginning…”
Lin Fan picked up the walkie-talkie. “Received. Everyone, stay vigilant. If anything goes wrong in your assigned area, report immediately.”
“Roger.”
“Roger.”
The members of the First Squad of the Godslayer Army, as Lin Fan had previously instructed, were now stationed along the two-thousand-kilometer coastline of Jiaodong, right where the steel fortress was being built.
Jiang Chen’s sudden appearance had made Lin Fan all the more cautious.
“I was careless this time,” Lin Fan murmured, guilt heavy on his face. “It could have been avoided.”
“I didn’t expect Jiang Chen to awaken so soon—he should have stayed dormant for a while longer.”
This incident served as a warning to Lin Fan.
Some things were no longer following the course of history.
His rebirth was like a stone cast into the river of time. He had hoped to stir a tiny ripple to alter the current, but instead, more and more ripples emerged.
“If that’s the case…” Lin Fan’s brow furrowed. “Then perhaps other things that should appear in the future may also come early.”
“An early arrival…”
He knitted his brows, sorting every memory, arranging each event along a mental timeline.
Suddenly.
Lin Fan’s eyes snapped open. He said coldly, “The Corpse King, Jiang Chen, was awakened ahead of time. Those espers will probably appear sooner as well!”
With that thought, he hurriedly grabbed the walkie-talkie. “Gongshu Ming.”
“Here!”
A resolute voice came through the device.
Lin Fan spoke coldly, “I know you have your ways. Send out the wooden birds to patrol Qingcheng. Also, deploy a hundred combat automatons to stand by at the Qingcheng Stadium.”
“If anything unusual happens, report to me at once.”
Lin Fan remembered well.
The first esper organization seemed to have emerged in Qingcheng.
“You mean, Qingcheng…” Gongshu Ming was taken aback.
“That’s right. Something’s off there as well,” Lin Fan said gravely.
“I’ll send out the wooden birds right away.”
With that, Gongshu Ming, who was guarding another sector, turned and entered a makeshift warehouse.
On the shelves inside, rows of small wooden birds were neatly arranged. Their craftsmanship was exquisite; even their feathers looked lifelike.
Gongshu Ming ran his hands over each bird.
As he touched them, a faint whirring of clockwork gears sounded from within, and the wooden birds began to tremble, their eyes snapping open!
A chorus of chirps filled the warehouse.
“Go,” Gongshu Ming said with a wave.
In the next instant, a dense flock of wooden birds beat their wings, shooting into the air like a torrent of sparrows, whistling as they burst out of the warehouse and soared skyward!
This was the true handiwork of Luban!
The mechanical arts of the Mo Sect!
Meanwhile.
Lin Fan exhaled, feeling a measure of relief.
For now, he needed to remain in this sector to oversee the steel fortress’s construction and could not leave. But with the Mo Sect’s automatons guarding Qingcheng, even if something unexpected happened, they could hold the line.
So long as they held out, he would have time to hurry to Qingcheng before any real harm was done.
Just as this thought crossed Lin Fan’s mind—
The phone rang.
Lin Fan glanced at the caller ID and answered, “Shang Weitian, what is it?”
Shang Weitian’s voice was complicated. “There’s good news and bad news.”
“Oh?” Lin Fan was surprised.
“The good news is, all the steel resources the other countries sold us have arrived. Customs has received everything,” Shang Weitian said, joy in his voice. “In other words, the full twenty billion tons of steel are here, enough for the complete construction of the steel fortress!”
“Excellent!” Lin Fan rubbed his hands in excitement. “And the bad news…?”
Shang Weitian sounded conflicted. “The bad news is, the ambassadors from those countries are demanding immediate payment in full.”
“Otherwise, they’ll impose joint sanctions or even consider military action.”
“Just as we predicted—these people were never acting out of goodwill. If they want a fight, Daxia won’t back down, but… refusing to pay debts gives us no ground to stand on.”
Lin Fan nodded. “No matter. Do as I taught you. I’ll be there to back you up at the critical moment.”
“All right!” Shang Weitian sounded emboldened by Lin Fan’s words. “I’ll send you the coordinates right away—it’s very close to you, just in the international waters off Jiaodong. They want to meet there for negotiations!”
Lin Fan hung up.
He had been worried about who would oversee security if he left, but with the meeting so close by, there was little cause for concern.
At the same time.
A spectacular live broadcast was underway on the international internet.
The Free State, the White Elephant of Indus, the Turtle Field, the Pasta Republic, the Land of Kangaroos… Every nation that had sold steel resources to Daxia had sent their ambassadors and journalists, determined to make this broadcast a global sensation!
Viewership had reached three billion!
The broadcast’s title: “Debt Collection from Daxia!”