nycdaug Chapter 557 The final battle
Chapter 557 The final battle
Time flies like an arrow, and nearly two years have passed in the blink of an eye. On February 10, 2031, Li Chenglong, Yun Lan, and others arrived at Industrial Zone 3 to witness the completion of the last medium-sized warship.
Li Chenglong walked in front, with Li Yunhao holding his younger sister Li Yunxi's hand and following closely behind him. Behind them was Yunlan, who was holding Li Yunyue, who had just turned 100 days old.
Li Chenglong picked up Li Yunxi and asked Li Yunhao with a smile, "How is it, son? Can you keep up?" Li Yunhao patted his chest and said, "Dad, I'm six years old now, and I'm already a Level 4 Awakener. I can definitely keep up."
Today is a very memorable day, and Li Chenglong's whole family is here. In addition to the five members of the family, Li Xue and her husband Xu Qingming, Qi Guoan and his wife Qin Fangyu, Han Xiaoling and Su Qian are all present.
Of course, besides them, the main leaders of Dawn City and the Dawn Army also arrived at Industrial Zone 3. When everyone arrived, the last intermediate warship had been assembled and successfully started. All that remained was to install various weapons, which, at the current rate, would only take a week to complete.
Chief Engineer Mariana smiled at Li Chenglong and said, "Lord Li, after more than two years of hard work, with the full support of all sectors, our Industrial Zone 3 has finally successfully completed the mission of sending 5 medium-sized warships and 10 small warships, thus fulfilling our previous mission."
Li Chenglong nodded: "Due to various reasons, the number of warships to be built in Dawn City has increased compared to before, but you have still been able to complete them smoothly. On behalf of all the people of Dawn City, I would like to thank all the comrades in Industrial Zone 3 for their efforts and express my sincerest gratitude to you."
Yunlan excitedly said to Li Chenglong, "With the completion of our project, Earth's own interstellar fleet has been successfully established. Our fleet has 15 large space warships, 40 medium space warships, 140 small space warships, and countless other mechs, storm space fighters, and combat drones. We finally have the strength to fight."
Li Chenglong closed the document: "Unfortunately, with the expedition imminent, we don't have much time to test the warships. I just finished contacting the three major planets yesterday, and we expect to set off in about half a month."
After two years of effort, a total of 15 Level 14 powerhouses have emerged on Earth, including Li Chenglong. They are: Li Chenglong, Yun Lan, Zhao Wuji, Nangong Yanran, Dongfang Yunbing, and Shangguan Jingyun from China (6 in total), Syndra, the vampire queen from Europe (4 in total), and George from the Americas (5 in total).
At that time, these 15 people will lead more than 80% of Earth's level 13 powerhouses to join the Earth interstellar fleet on an expedition to fight to the death against the Awakeners in the center of the galaxy.
Li Chenglong had already made arrangements for what would happen after he and Yunlan left. Apart from the level 13 powerhouses who accompanied him and Yunlan on their expedition, Dawn City would be jointly managed by Shen Menghua, Ma Tiancheng, and Yun Qian, while the Dawn Army would be jointly managed by Zheng Yong, Feng Tian, and Qi Guoan.
On February 24th, Li Chenglong hosted a banquet for a large group of people at the Shuguang Tower Chinese restaurant that afternoon. People who had been at the First People's Hospital of Jinghai City and later in Qing'an Town were present, as were the main representatives of those who joined later.
After the banquet, the final operational meeting before the expedition was held at the headquarters of the Dawn Army. This meeting was personally chaired by Li Chenglong.
He said in front of the big screen: "Tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock, our Dawn City will send out three large space warships, including the Flying Dragon, and six medium-sized warships, including the Dawn, to join the Earth space fleet. As for the small warships, they will be housed inside the medium-sized warships that utilize space technology. This will prevent the fleet from becoming too bulky and ensure the safety of the small warships."
Li Chenglong didn't specify a long timeframe, as everything had already been arranged recently; this was simply a brief run-through of the process. In this decisive battle, Dawn City would not only provide these warships, but also send 130 level 13 powerhouses and over 4800 level 10 to 12 ability users.
However, to prevent any potential crisis, Dawn City retained essential combat forces. For example, his sister Li Xue and brother-in-law Xu Qingming, along with Han Xiaoling, Yang Liu, Wang Shuang, and others, remained in Dawn City. The other bases did the same, each leaving at least several level 13 powerhouses to oversee operations.
The next morning, Li Chenglong and Yunlan got up early and personally prepared age-appropriate food for their three little ones. Yunlan held Li Yunyue, who was not yet four months old, with great reluctance. While feeding Li Yunxi, Li Chenglong said, "I want you to stay. Our three children are still so young, and we don't know when we'll be able to come back if we leave."
Yun Lan shook her head slightly. Seeing that her daughter had stopped nursing, she put down her clothes and placed Yun Yue in the stroller. She said firmly, "No, this is probably our last battle. As a level 14 expert, I must contribute my strength to this battle. If we are still thinking about conserving our strength now, then if we lose this decisive battle, everything will be over."
A short while later, Han Xiaoling, Li Xue, and Xu Qingming arrived at Li Chenglong and Yun Lan's house. Han Xiaoling had tears in her eyes: "Brother and sister-in-law, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Yun Hao and the others. But you must promise that after the battle is over, you will return to our home safely!"
Li Chenglong nodded slightly and looked at the three of them: "Li Xue, Xiaoling, Qingming, I'm entrusting our family and Shuguang City to you. But don't worry, Yunlan, everyone, and I will definitely come back."
After giving them many instructions, the two left home and headed towards the assembly point. As soon as they stepped out of the house, Li Yunhao ran out of the living room: "Mom and Dad, I'm waiting for you to come back!" He held up his right fist: "You have to promise me you'll come back!"
Yunlan, fighting back tears, also extended her right fist and bumped it against the little boy's. Li Chenglong then reached out and firmly grasped both fists. Although neither of them spoke, their thoughts were conveyed to their son.
The same scene was also seen in every corner of Dawn City and the Dawn Army, where those about to go to war bid farewell to their families, friends, and comrades-in-arms before boarding the vehicles that came to pick them up.
Hundreds of thousands of people from Dawn City spontaneously lined both sides of Dawn Avenue to see off these heroes who were about to set off. At the departure point, tens of thousands of people were already waiting there.
As soon as Li Chenglong and Yun Lan arrived, Zhao Liying, who was to accompany Li Chenglong and the others on the expedition, ran over and saluted, saying, "Reporting to Commander Li and Deputy Commander Yun, all preparations are complete, and the soldiers have boarded the warships. Please give your instructions!"
Looking back, Li Chenglong saw Zheng Yong, Feng Tian, Qi Guoan, Qin Fangyu, Wei Lanxin, Wu Gang, Zheng Aiguo, Wang Bing, Zhao Rui, Chu Kexin, Liu Qingqing, Li Qingwan, Li Qiang, Song Tie, and many others clapping and cheering them on from afar. This was something Li Chenglong had specifically emphasized beforehand: when they set off, he must applaud and cheer them on. They needed applause, not tears, because they would definitely come back alive and return to their homeland.
After giving a solemn military salute to everyone present, Li Chenglong shouted, "All soldiers, march on!" Then he, Yun Lan, and Zhao Liying walked into the Flying Dragon.
As soon as the three entered, an alarm sounded, and then the Hiryu slowly took off, followed by the other large and medium-sized warships, which flew into the distance.
At 10:4 AM, the Earth interstellar fleet had fully assembled in the Pacific Ocean. Led by the Flying Dragon, the fleet rapidly departed the atmosphere and headed towards the center of the galaxy. According to the established plan, they would arrive at the designated location after a four-month journey to rendezvous with all the fleets of the Interstellar Alliance, where they would engage in a decisive battle with the Apocalypse.
Shuguang TV broadcast the entire event live and streamed it to every corner of the world via Crystal Networks.