58: Fear is a biological instinct, courage is the hymn of humanity!

Silence spread for two seconds amidst the wind and roars.

The sea breeze blew, carrying a strong scent of blood, but it couldn't disperse the gloom of despair.

Chen Yan's words were like a bucket of ice water, drenching everyone from head to toe.

Retreat?

Easier said than done.

If they retreated now, where could they go?

On this ocean submerged by death and corpses, the Jinling Defense Line was humanity's last isolated island.

If the island sank, everyone would die.

Zhou Hai and Zhao Ze's fists clenched, making 'cracking' sounds, their bodies trembling slightly from uncontrollable fear and overwhelming unwillingness.

They looked at Chen Yan's cold and emotionless face, then at the boundless, hellish sea of death in the distance, falling into an intense internal struggle.

To fight was a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

Not to fight was a ten-out-of-ten chance of death!

If they retreated, how long could they survive?

In this suffocating silence, Zhou Hai was the first to break the deadlock.

"I'm scared!"

He suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse but unusually loud, like a wounded lone wolf roaring!

"That Elite-level Floating Corpse's bone scythe brushed past my ear just now, I was scared to death! My legs were shaking!"

He pointed in the direction of the blazing flame and roared, "But what I'm more afraid of is letting down the survivors on the ship behind us, those who entrusted their lives to us!"

"I promised them I would lead them to live!"

"I, Zhou Hai, haven't read many books in my life, and I don't understand grand principles! But my dad taught me since I was little that a man lives by his word! What's said must be honored!"

"I'm not afraid to die!"

"I'm afraid of being a coward who breaks his word and betrays his promise!"

Zhao Ze silently propped his heavy Massive Hammer heavily on the Deck, emitting a dull thud.

He looked up at Zhou Hai's back, his voice low but as firm as a rock.

"I'm scared too."

"But I promised Zhou Hai I would protect this home, and the blazing flame is our home."

"As long as the home is here, I am here. I cannot retreat!"

Su Li, who had been silent, slowly tightened her grip on the knife hilt.

Her usually cold face was now flushed with excitement, and her clear voice carried a tremor she herself hadn't noticed.

"I'm afraid of death."

"But I'm more afraid of watching my companions die in front of me while I become a deserter."

"As long as you don't retreat, I... won't retreat."

The gazes of the three were like three burning torches, igniting a faint but stubborn light in the desperate darkness.

Finally, everyone's gaze converged on Lu Sheng.

They were waiting for the true backbone of the team to make the final decision.

Lu Sheng took a deep breath.

He met General Chen's scrutinizing, even somewhat oppressive gaze, without the slightest hint of retreat.

He spoke slowly, enunciating each word, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching the heart of everyone present.

"General Chen, fear is a biological instinct. We are not gods, of course we will be afraid."

"But..."

He paused, his gaze passing over General Chen and falling upon the blurred outline of Purple Gold Mountain behind them.

"Behind us are the one hundred thousand survivors of Purple Gold Mountain, the last hope of countless families, and the only remaining spark of human civilization on this land."

"If we retreat, this fire will be extinguished."

"Therefore, in this battle, we cannot retreat, and there is no path to retreat!"

As his words fell.

On the Deck, there was dead silence.

General Chen looked at the group before him, who, though somewhat disheveled, had eyes reignited with fierce flames. The coldness on his face finally slowly melted away.

A sincere, undisguised look of admiration and emotion surfaced in his eyes.

"Good!"

"Well said!"

"Fear is not shameful! Those who dare to bear their fear and still choose to move forward are the true heroes!"

General Chen dropped his testing demeanor, and the smile on his face was as bright as the midday sun.

His gaze swept over everyone in the Blazing Flame Fleet, over every excited soldier on the Deck, his voice like a grand bell, resounding across the entire battlefield!

"I, General Chen, declare in the name of the Commander-in-Chief of the Jinling War Zone!"

"From this moment on, you are my most trusted comrades!"

"Today, I fight alongside all of you!"

He suddenly raised his fist, pointing towards the endless Corpse Tide, and with all his might, let out a roar that shook heaven and earth!

"For humanity—"

"Carve a bloody path!!!"

"Kill!!"

"Carve a bloody path!!"

On the Deck, everyone's fighting spirit was completely ignited at this moment!

They roared in unison, their voices converging into a steel torrent, instantly overwhelming the howls of the Corpse Tide, rushing straight to the sky!

However!

Just as everyone's fighting spirit reached its peak!

"Screech——————!!!!"

A shriek, sharper, more terrifying than any before, as if it could tear souls apart, suddenly erupted from the deepest part of the Corpse Tide!

PS: My dear brothers, please don't criticize me. I know I didn't fully portray the power of the God-Tier Sequence earlier, but the author is already filling this plot hole. I originally intended a slow pace; it's not a 'dragon-among-men' novel where you get fat in one bite. Such a plot would be very boring. Please let me off the hook... I'm working very hard. This is the first update today.