ocean-life Chapter 3 Lightning Illuminates the Darkness
Chapter 3 Lightning Illuminates the Darkness
The wandering army was like a pack of migrating wolves, with no fixed territory, roaming and plundering in cities protected by various powers.
A nomadic army obeys a leader, operates without rules or regulations, and relies entirely on violence, hunger, and collective punishment.
Shi Yuan knew these things because his predecessor was a refugee who fled from the wandering army to the Survival Alliance.
And in the refugee camp where he was, nearly 90% were like this.
They knew all too well the brutality of the wandering army and feared its leader.
Because the leaders of the wandering army are all possessors of extraordinary powers, and most of them come from the infamous polluters.
The polluters are on par with the chosen ones.
One is a chosen one of God, the other is an embodiment of the abyss.
Those favored by God regard those who defile as blasphemers, fallen heretics, and filth that erodes the foundation of the world.
Polluters also look down on those favored by God, considering them a group of obedient children who always need their parents to step in and support them.
The two sides are at odds with each other.
In a short while, a dense crowd of refugees arrived outside the city walls.
Most of these refugees had blank stares, and their weapons were old and worn out.
Rusty knives, sharpened steel bars, broken steel pipes.
The only weapons that could be called weapons were the dozen or so old, worn-out pistols and rifles that they had received upon arrival.
Most of them were defective products rejected by the alliance, and the bullets allocated to them were also very limited.
On the city wall stood a row of city defense soldiers.
They were dressed in tattered armor and carried fine rifles.
Shi Yuan arrived outside the city with his hands empty, observing the darkness in the distance.
Torches lit up in the darkness, and there were quite a few of them.
Perhaps due to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Tokigen's personal senses became exceptionally acute.
With improved night vision, the number of enemies sitting in the modified vehicles was clearly visible, all of them fully armed.
"No, it's not the roving army from last time!"
Shi Yuan also went to the front line during the conflict two weeks ago.
That roving army was equipped with very outdated weapons and only had one modified vehicle, making its overall combat effectiveness extremely low.
But this time, the wandering army was vast and mighty.
Modified Interceptor, War Truck, Rock 'n' Roll Vehicle, Monster Truck, Spike Truck.
This is no roving army; it's clearly the size of a regular army!
"It's Jones's army!"
Some refugees saw the flag pattern reflected by the rider's torch on the modified motorcycle.
It was a skull wearing a tricorn hat.
Jones's Wandering Army, one of the top ten legions in the region, numbers 500, and its leader Jones is a notorious polluter.
Rumor has it that Jones possesses almost pathological desires and madness, and has hundreds of female slaves under his control. He would eat any slave who bore him a child immediately.
One-sixth of Jones's army members were his children.
The city garrison commander noticed the commotion below the city wall and shouted sternly, "Anyone who dares to take a step back will be shot on the spot!"
This statement did not have much of a deterrent effect.
For the wandering army, refugees are treated like blood packs and food. Even if they escape to cities protected by the Survivor Alliance, life is still tough, but at least their lives are guaranteed, and they have the opportunity to work and have enough to eat.
Now they are facing the infamous Jones Army, especially with such a disparity in firepower. It would shatter their last hope of survival, leaving them no way out!
"Minister of Defense, should we notify the city lord to send over the chosen ones?"
"It's no use. Those two chosen ones were seriously injured last night and went to a C-level city for treatment this morning."
"We're doomed! We can't possibly be a match for Jones!"
"Don't panic, the city lord will be here soon."
Jones' army stopped when they were within 100 meters of the city defenses, and all of them waited in place.
Soon, a modified, patchwork monster truck arrived in front.
The car door opened, and a tall figure in his sixties, with ashen skin and an aura of danger, stepped out.
Jones's cloudy yet hawk-like eyes swept over the group of refugees, and he licked the pendant on his chest.
"Has Chen Feng arrived yet?"
His voice was deep and powerful, striking the hearts of everyone present.
Chen Feng is the name of the city lord.
Shi Yuan observed Jones in the distance from the crowd and sensed something unusual.
"The city lord has arrived!"
Before long, a series of modified vehicles, spewing out exhaust fumes, drove out of the city in a grand procession.
Shi Yuan was stunned by what he saw.
Not only him, but many refugees, like him, did not understand.
Because these vehicles included supply trucks, fuel trucks, and buses, they didn't seem to be there to fight off foreign enemies; they looked more like... refugees...
The modified car stopped in front of Jones, and a tall, thin middle-aged man got out.
Shi Yuan had met him once before; he was none other than the city lord, Chen Feng.
"Where are the things?"
Jones gave a cruel smile, and then a pale-skinned boy dragged a large bag over.
"100 Tier 1 energy-rich source cores in exchange for a D-level city, Chen Feng, your alliance really knows how to do business."
The soldiers behind Chen Feng stepped forward, opened the bags, checked the number of source cores, and immediately turned around to signal after counting them.
Chen Feng said expressionlessly, "This is just a transaction. If the fighting on the front lines weren't so intense, the alliance wouldn't abandon a city for no reason."
"I need an hour."
Jones agreed: "I hate waiting, don't make me wait too long."
Chen Feng turned around and looked at the refugees and the city defense troops on the city wall not far away: "From now on, this city will be taken over by Jones' army. I hope you can understand the difficulties of the Alliance. Apart from the refugees, those of you who are willing to come with me will have one hour to catch up with the group!"
Chen Feng's voice wasn't loud, but it was more impactful than Jones's.
Is the city lord leaving?
The city was handed over to Jones for management?
Despair instantly filled the refugees' faces.
The cities managed by the alliance still have some humanity to them.
Letting a vagrant army manage them is no different from throwing them into a pack of wolves.
Helplessness, despair, wailing, and pain became the final description of the refugees.
Shi Yuan coldly watched as the two parties completed the transaction.
Watching his scavenger colleagues leave in a bus with the city lord until they completely disappeared into the night.
At that moment, he understood the desolation of being abandoned in the hearts of refugees.
I experienced the despair of going from having something to losing it.
As the anger and resentment burning within him grew ever stronger, the shackles that bound Shi Yuan to the light shattered completely at this moment.
When the city is left with only refugees and a few elderly people and children.
A cruel smile played on Jones's lips as he waved his hand. "I want young women. The rest are yours to do as you please."
"Come on, let's celebrate this rare night of revelry!"
Jones's voice echoed in the empty night, and suddenly, cheers and shouts resounded throughout the darkness.
The restless rock music further tormented the refugees' nerves.
Just then, a figure dragging lightning flashed in front of Jones, saying nothing, only with an extremely cold gaze.
Jones felt a pang of fear, a nameless dread surging from the depths of his soul.
The next second, blinding lightning gathered in Shi Yuan's hand, forming a lightning spear that pierced Jones's chest. Lightning burst forth, illuminating the boundless darkness.