Magic? My Iron Torrent will sweep it all away!

Chapter 91 War, where no one escapes death.

Zhao Gang's face was covered in dust, and his composure, once a source of reassurance, was long gone.

He stepped forward, silently patted Lin Mo on the shoulder, and explained:

"A powerful creature, suspected to be a demon leader, has broken through your defenses."

"Running towards the portal here."

"In order to deal with an emergency crisis, we have made the worst-case scenario plan, and are prepared to use nuclear weapons for defense if all else fails."

Zhao Gang's voice was hoarse as he pointed to the scorched earth around him, which had been plowed over.

"It is incredibly powerful, far beyond our human imagination."

"Its goal is to destroy the portal, and there is even a risk of going through the portal to Earth."

"And our people and equipment are coming out of the door in a steady stream to support the front lines or build defensive positions around it."

"Some of them went to support the frontline soldiers and happened to run into it head-on..."

Zhao Gang paused for a moment,

"All infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed."

"The outer defense companies also fell one after another; they couldn't stop them at all."

"It began attacking the portal, but was stopped by the Holy Humans' magical shield."

"In order to buy Archbishop Kyle time to unleash his magic, we subsequently organized mechanical dogs and drones to carry out a self-destruct attack."

"Fortunately, we succeeded..."

As Lin Mo listened, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He wasn't unfamiliar with death.

But the scene before him, combined with Zhao Gang's cold statement, formed a heavy hammer that slammed into his heart.

His mind was buzzing.

"It's a success."

Lin Mo's voice was very soft, with a tremor that he himself was unaware of.

"They... are the price of success."

He thought of something and questioned:

"General Long! Why didn't you warn them in advance that a powerful target was approaching!"

"Why did you let that demon get to the door?!"

"Don't we have drone surveillance? What about our contingency plans?!"

Long Zhan remained expressionless when questioned.

"Contingency plan?"

He finally spoke, his voice as cold as Arctic ice.

"The contingency plan is like my finger hovering over the nuclear launch button, ready to blow ourselves, the portal, and that demon into the sky at any moment."

"As for intelligence, the battlefield is constantly changing, and no intelligence can be 100% accurate."

"We anticipated the possibility of a high-level attack, but we didn't expect it to be as powerful as a superhuman, single-handedly tearing through the entire defense line."

Long Zhan took a step forward and said firmly:

"We won."

"The portal is saved, and the demon army has retreated."

That's enough.

Lin Mo was shocked by Long Zhan's cold-bloodedness.

This is the meaning of "a kind heart cannot command an army."

He found it hard to accept.

Those young faces, those vibrant smiles, flashed before his eyes again and again, finally settling into the suffocating black of the body bag.

"In war, people always die."

Zhao Gang spoke in a deep voice, patting Lin Mo's shoulder to comfort him.

His words seemed to be addressed to Lin Mo, but also to himself.

His eyes were also red.

"Lin Mo, I know you're hurting, we're all hurting."

Zhao Gang's voice softened a bit.

"I've been through that age too, and I've seen my comrades fall beside me. That feeling is something I'll never forget."

"However, you are now the commander-in-chief of the 'New Hope' project, and you are the highest-ranking person in charge of Great Xia on the Terra continent."

"You can be sad, you can be angry, but you cannot give up."

"Those brothers who sacrificed their lives are watching over us from heaven."

"What we can do for them is to carry on their legacy, walk this path to the very end, until the day we achieve complete victory!"

Zhao Gang's words made Lin Mo smile wryly.

Yes, war always results in death.

He understands this principle.

But when it actually happens in front of me, it's still hard to accept.

Textbooks and history books only record how many soldiers sacrificed their lives; that's just a number.

But when their bodies actually lay before me, I realized how shocking it was.

Deep into the soul!

Just then, a communications soldier ran up to Long Zhan and saluted.

"Reporting, General! Preliminary casualty statistics are complete!"

"One hundred and twenty-three dead, including twelve officers! Fifty-four seriously wounded! One hundred and one hundred and twelve lightly wounded!"

"Eight 'Mengshi' assault vehicles were destroyed! All 12 'Type 92' infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed! 106 'Loyal Dog' combat robots were lost! 320 'Swarm' drones were lost!"

Lin Mo remained silent after listening.

Long Zhan nodded.

"understood."

"The compensation for all fallen soldiers will be paid at three times the highest standard."

"Military Medal, posthumously awarded First Class Merit."

......

The army is on the front lines.

"Waaah—"

The deep sound of horns still echoed in the valley.

The demon army, which had been fiercely attacking just moments before, retreated like a receding tide.

Elder Muyu, riding a griffin, hovered in mid-air, looking utterly astonished.

He was pale, and his beard and white hair were disheveled.

His depleted magic and exhausted life force made him look extremely weak.

He had exhausted all his strength in the pursuit of Voraz and had to retreat to the front line to recover in an emergency using magic crystals.

He just hoped Kyle could hold out a little longer until he could get back to help.

As a result, just as he recovered some of his magic power, on his way to the portal, he saw the afterimage of Volaz fleeing in panic.

His disheveled appearance was a far cry from his previous arrogance.

Elder Muyu, fearing that Volaz might attack the elven army, could only glance hastily at the intact teleportation portal in the distance before immediately turning around and chasing after it.

Then, he witnessed the entire demon army retreating.

"We won?"

Elder Muyu couldn't believe his own judgment.

It wasn't until he saw the demon army leaving behind a field of corpses and dispersing into the distance without looking back that he finally realized it.

We really won this battle.

The allied forces of more than 20,000 men withstood the frenzied attack of nearly 100,000 demon troops on a plain with no natural defenses.

Such a record is simply an incredible miracle in the history of warfare on the continent of Terra.

"We've won! We've won! Thank Goddess Nature for your blessing—!!"

On the ground below, the surviving elves erupted in a deafening cheer.

They dropped their weapons and embraced their comrades tightly, tears mingling with blood streaming down their faces.

The joy of surviving the ordeal made every elf incredibly excited.

Elder Muyu composed himself, then commanded the griffin to land and reunite with General Adrian.

"Elder, are you alright?" General Adrian came forward, his armor riddled with holes.

"I'm fine," Elder Muyu waved her hand.

"Let the brave soldiers clean up the battlefield and tally the losses."

General Adrian nodded.

"The orders have already been given."

Just then, three wounded dragons descended from the sky.