55: Chapter 55 Why Need a Red Flag to Wrap the Corpse?

All the soldiers present, regardless of how many bandages they wore or whether their wounds split open, straightened their spines instantly, raising their right arms sharply to touch their fingertips to their brows.

Not far away, in a corner of the refugee camp.

The youth A Mu held his little sister's hand, staring blankly at the red banner soaked by the rain. He didn't understand Dragon Summer's complex military salute, but he understood what gratitude was. If the person on the stretcher hadn't been nailed there like a spike, he and his sister would have long since become rotten flesh in a monster's belly.

"Aya, kneel down."

A Mu pulled his sister and, ignoring the mud and gravel on the ground, knelt down heavily.

"That is a hero. Kowtow to the hero."

A Mu buried his head deep into the muddy water, his forehead pressed against the cold earth, not lifting it for a long time. Behind him, tens of thousands of surviving refugees knelt down in a dark mass. The patter of rain merged with countless low, suppressed sobs in this gray world, sounding louder than thunder.

...

Kunlun Palace, Meeting Room No. 1.

The main lights in the room were off; only the faint blue glow emanating from the holographic sandbox illuminated everyone's faces, making their expressions appear exceptionally grim. The air was suffocatingly still.

"Smash!"

A delicate military enamel teacup was violently thrown onto the floor, fragments scattering as the scalding tea splashed everywhere.

"Insolence! These Western bastards! Beasts!"

Long Yi, this elder who usually remained unmoved even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, now had his chest heaving violently, veins bulging on his neck, resembling an enraged male lion. His trembling fingers pointed at Zhao Tiezhu's smiling, black-and-white ID photo on the large screen; his hand shook so badly he could barely focus.

"He was only twenty-eight! He was just promoted last month! To save a few refugees, to buy his comrades a few dozen seconds to escape, he was schemed against like a white mouse, and in the end, not even a complete corpse was left!"

The elder's roar echoed in the dead-silent meeting room.

Everyone kept their heads bowed, not daring to meet the elder's eyes.

At this juncture, after finally surviving the cataclysmic changes and bringing everything back on track, even beginning to flourish, Zhao Tiezhu's death was undoubtedly a heavy blow to them.

The Minister of Civil Affairs had red-rimmed eyes, tightly clutching Zhao Tiezhu's paper file; his knuckles were white from the force. The very top of the file only contained a few lines: Only son, father died early, mother is seventy years old and suffers from an eye disease.

How was he supposed to present that light yet heavy-as-Mount-Tai martyr's certificate? How was he supposed to speak to an old mother who had waited her entire life looking into those blind eyes?

"Issue my order!"

Long Yi suddenly stood up, bracing both hands on the edge of the table, his graying hair disheveled, his eyes revealing a resolute Killing Intent. "Notify the Second Artillery Missile Brigade, lock onto the coordinate area where the 'Sewing Corpse King' appeared. I don't care if there are still people from the Ark there; I want you to scour the area! Saturation strike! I want them to know that the blood of a Dragon Summer soldier burns the mouth!"

"Not only that, the nation immediately enters Level One combat readiness. Even if it means damaging our foundation, even if it means setting us back twenty years, this old man will..."

"Elder Long, calm your anger."

A young and calm voice sounded abruptly, like a drop of clear spring water falling into boiling oil, instantly interrupting the thunderous rage about to erupt.

Everyone turned their heads in astonishment.

They saw Su Yun sitting in the corner, holding a thermos cup, his expression so calm it was completely out of sync with the tense atmosphere in the room.

"Don't rush to write the eulogy yet, and don't rush to issue the compensation either."

Su Yun put down the thermos cup; the bottom of the cup made a soft 'thud' as it contacted the tabletop. He slowly stood up, walked toward the holographic sandbox.

He stood before the flashing red dot representing Zhao Tiezhu's area of sacrifice, his gaze sweeping over the grieving and indignant faces present.

"Elder Long, esteemed Ministers. Have you all forgotten, because you are too angry, the list of skills I recently had an Awakening for, which included one skill that seemed very special?"

Su Yun's light remark was like a startling thunderclap piercing through dark clouds, instantly quieting the chaotic meeting room. Everyone's thoughts paused at that moment.

Right, among the fifteen skills Su Yun gained from this advancement, there was indeed one whose description was extremely Heaven-Defying, yet also extremely useless.

["Soul Returns"]: Summon the Nether Totem. On the battlefield, one can temporarily recall a hero who died not long ago, allowing them to continue assisting in battle as a spirit form for ten minutes.

"According to the skill's literal description, it can only recall a hero on the battlefield for ten minutes, after which their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. This is truly just a 'ghost experience card,' and could even be considered a form of blasphemy against the deceased."

Saying this, Su Yun paused, a glint flashing in his deep eyes, the corner of his mouth curving slightly.

"However, everyone, don't forget what my core talent is."

"Territory is Domain." Long Yi subconsciously replied, then his pupils contracted sharply, as if grasping an incredible possibility.

"That's right."

Su Yun's voice was not loud, but it boomed in everyone's ears, carrying a Soul-shaking power: "For ordinary Shamans or Necromancers, the Soul is like rootless duckweed floating in the air; it dissipates once it leaves the physical body. But for me now, as long as these nine million six hundred thousand square kilometers of land remain, as long as the underground Dragon Vein National Fortune remains, they are not dead—they have come home."

"Why must burial require one's native soil? A person can find green mountains everywhere. Since the blood they shed was for this land, then this land will remember their lives. Their Souls merge with the National Fortune; as long as the National Fortune does not perish, the Heroic Souls will not die."

He suddenly turned his head, his gaze burning as he looked at Long Yi, as if two fires were blazing in his eyes.

"The skill's limitations are fixed, but people are flexible. Within the territory of this nation, I am the rule."

"Chief, I don't just want to resurrect Zhao Tiezhu."

Long Yi felt as if his heart was suddenly clenched by a large hand, beating so fast it was about to leap out of his throat. He trembled his lips, seeming to guess something, yet unable to fully believe it: "You... you actually intend to?"

Su Yun took a deep breath, his voice ringing out clearly like striking metal and stone.

"Luofeng Slope Beast Tide, Dragon Summer sacrificed 3,621 soldiers."

"If they are still lingering at the gates of Hell, then I will go kick the door open."

"I think it is time for these 3,621 brave soldiers to return to the ranks!"