73: Chapter 73 isn't enough!

This order was instantly transmitted to every frontline combat unit through the "Beacon WIFI" that now covered half the planet.

If their previous advance was like a steamroller, the Dragon Summer army was now like a Formula One race car on nitro.

Southern Peninsula, outskirts of Busan Port.

Piao Dongxiu carried his five-year-old daughter on his back. He had lost one of his shoes long ago, but he couldn't feel the pain at all.

Behind him was a tide of surging darkness—not nightfall, but some indescribable shadow swallowing the light. He glanced back and saw huge tentacles dragging a derelict cruise ship into the depths of the ocean far out at sea, like a myth coming to life.

"Don't look back! Run!" an older man beside him barked, giving him a tug.

Piao Dongxiu gritted his teeth, his lungs feeling as if they were on fire.

Ahead, just ahead!

The Red-Gold Wolf Smoke rising into the sky was like a boundary line forcibly cutting between night and day. Within the range of the wolf smoke, the golden light was warm and stable, where countless Dragon Summer soldiers in exoskeleton armor were constructing a defensive line.

"Stop! This is a military-controlled zone!"

A Dragon Summer soldier raised his hand, signaling the crowd to stop.

Piao Dongxiu's heart sank. Was it over? Did they still need to do inspections? Did they still need to see passports? Who would still have those things at a time like this?

However, the soldier only glanced at the miserable state of the refugees and didn't ask for any documents. Instead, he pointed to a rapid scanner nearby.

"Everyone, line up for security! Those with no sources of infection, go to the left—there's hot soup and bread there! Those with wounds, go to the right—the medics are over there!"

No difficulties, no interrogations.

Piao Dongxiu walked through the scanner trembling, and with a "beep," the green light turned on.

He was pushed along and stumbled into the golden curtain of light.

In that instant, the cold, the fear, and the oppressive feeling of being eaten by monsters at any moment all vanished. It was as if he had stepped from Hell back into the human world.

"Daehan's dignity? To Hell with dignity!" Piao Dongxiu looked at the steaming self-heating rice in his hands, tears and snot falling into the food. He shoveled the rice into his mouth, speaking indistinctly to the daughter in his arms, "Baby, remember this taste. This is the taste of being alive."

Inside this golden light, monsters couldn't enter, and even King Yama would have to offer a cigarette at the door.

...

At the same time, another evacuation point.

Amy and her classmates were waiting in a long line.

"Out of the way! I'm an assemblyman's wife! I have priority!"

A fat woman in a mink coat, clutching a crocodile-skin bag, pushed through the students in line like a madwoman, trying to rush toward the Dragon Summer military checkpoint.

"My husband had dinner with your ambassador! Let me through first!"

The fat woman screamed, her grease-covered face distorted by fear. The surrounding refugees were furious but didn't dare speak up; after all, in the old order, such people truly held privilege.

However, those guarding the checkpoint were no ordinary soldiers.

A translucent Heroic Spirit Captain clad in golden armor slowly floated down. His eyes, burning with golden light, gave the fat woman a cold glare.

"Here, the only privilege is for the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and the pregnant."

"Cut in line again, and I'll throw you out."

The fat woman froze under that gaze. A pressure from the Soul level made her legs go weak, and she collapsed onto the ground as a foul stench spread.

Amy watched this scene, feeling incredibly satisfied. She tightly gripped the small pamphlet she had just received.

It wasn't a passport, but a temporary "Dragon Summer External Personnel ID Card." Though it was just a printed piece of paper without even a photo, only a simple serial number and a QR code.

But at this moment, this piece of paper was ten thousand times more precious than any green card or black card.

It was Amy's turn.

The young female soldier in charge of registration looked up at her and handed over a box. "Only Kung Pao Chicken flavor left. Can you eat spicy food?"

"Yes! Very much so!" Amy nodded frantically, even though she had never eaten spicy food in her life.

The soldier smiled and stamped her temporary ID with a thud. "Welcome to the protection of Shenzhou. Go on in, don't wander off. There will be transport vehicles for resettlement in a while."

Amy held the box as if it were the Holy Grail. She stepped into the golden circle and looked back outside.

The nobility, elegance, and gentlemanly conduct they used to boast about had shattered on the ground before the monsters of the apocalypse, revealing all sorts of ugliness. Yet this group of "barbarians" from the East, this army once demonized by Western media, used the simplest and most direct—even somewhat overbearing—way to give them the final shred of human decency and dignity.

So, what reason did she have to refuse to join?

...

Southeast Asia, in front of a presidential palace bunker in a small country.

A colonel from a mechanized division was looking at a pile of documents with a troubled expression.

"No, buddy, why are you giving me all these maps and mineral distribution charts?" The colonel scratched his ballistic helmet, looking at the fawning President Basong in front of him.

Basong rubbed his hands together. "Commander, this is a token of loyalty! It's all here! Our country's lithium mines, rare earths, and several ports—all for you! No need to lease, we're giving them to you! Just as long as you can let our people into that circle... even if it's just setting up tents in the outermost ring!"

Just a moment ago, Basong had seen a three-headed Hellhound rush into a neighboring country's defensive line, devouring a camp of people who didn't want to join Dragon Summer like they were snacks. Meanwhile, on the Dragon Summer side, the army just fired a few shells glowing with golden light, and the Hellhound was turned into dust.

If he didn't cling to this powerful thigh, he'd have to be insane.

"We don't need autonomy! Really!" Basong was so anxious he was almost jumping, fearing a rejection. "Even if you enlist me as a company commander... no, a platoon leader is fine too! I was an outstanding cadet back in military school!"

The colonel's mouth twitched. This wasn't a head of state; this was clearly a fare-dodging passenger desperate to get on the bus.

He helplessly contacted headquarters. "Report, the president of a certain country we just rescued insists on packaging his entire nation and giving it to us. We can't even stop him. Yes, it's that Basong. Right, I understand."

Hanging up, the colonel tucked the documents under his arm and waved at Basong. "Alright, put your things away. Higher-ups said we'll take the territory and the people. We'll provide protection."

"Thank you, thank you!" Basong was overjoyed.

...

Dragon Summer, Supreme Command Hall.

Su Yun stood before a massive holographic screen, looking at the world map.

The red areas that were originally scattered like dots were now like high-concentration red ink dropped into clear water, beginning to bleed and spread outward at a staggering speed.

Every second, thousands of people flooded into Dragon Summer's protection circle; every minute, a city on the brink of destruction raised the red flag of Dragon Summer.

As the territory expanded rapidly, Su Yun could clearly feel certain shackles breaking apart.

The concept of "National Borders" that had always restricted the range of his skills was becoming blurred and then restructuring.

[Detected a significant increase in the actual controlled area of the "Dragon Summer Federation"...]

[Detected a surge in public support...]

[Resetting the judgment range for the talent "Territory is Domain"...]

[Current skill coverage: All of Asia, parts of Eastern Europe, the North African coast...]

An unprecedented sense of fulfillment filled his heart. It was a grand sensation of resonating with the pulse of the earth.

But Su Yun did not smile.

He looked at the mythological projections on the edges of the screen, which were becoming clearer and more terrifying. The shadow of the Great Tree of Northern Europe was nearly crushing the sky, the thunder of Greece was brewing a world-ending strike, and the churning at the bottom of the Indian Ocean had triggered a global tsunami.

Those "Gods" trying to squeeze into the real world had already thrust half their bodies through.

"It's still not enough."

Su Yun whispered to himself.

The surrounding countries were heavily influenced by Dragon Summer's culture and integrated quickly. But in the regions closer to the West, although the people there were flocking over to save their lives, their eyes were still filled with panic and unease.

They didn't know enough about Dragon Summer; they didn't know if this ancient Eastern nation truly had the power to turn the tide in this apocalypse of mythological revival. Fear is contagious, and if this problem wasn't solved, Dragon Summer's expansion would always be just a physical occupation rather than a spiritual conquest.

"I need to give them a reassurance pill. One big enough to make them kneel and worship."

Su Yun closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the depths of his mind.

Since the casting range now covered more than half the planet, it was time to try that skill.

The skill capable of overturning the apocalypse and changing the world—

[Mending the Heavens and Bathing the Suns]