webnovelvip Chapter 634 The New Era
Chapter 634 The New Era
Chapter 634 The New Era
The air was as thick as solidified as tar, and every breath carried particles of despair.
In the shadows of those makeshift tents, behind the gaps in dilapidated bunkers, and beside the mountains of discarded parts, countless small-time characters, lone travelers, and some less core members of the faction, who originally harbored the intention of taking advantage of the chaos and making a fortune, all made the most instinctive reaction at this moment—to flee!
Like startled cockroaches, they slipped away silently from the edge of the camp, from the weakest point of defense, their movements swift and clumsy, not daring to look back at the silent steel army formation and the terrifyingly clean young man in the center of the open space.
For them, miracles and ambitions were nothing but death warrants in the face of the Dragon Group's undisguised will to destroy.
Stay? Will the new gambler go on a killing spree? They can't afford the cost of such a high-stakes gamble.
However, for Iron Anvil, Holy Relic Keep, the Gear Mafia, and several other influential figures who truly controlled a part of the wasteland, fleeing was a more humiliating choice than death.
They couldn't slip away like rats; their status, their ambitions, their equally terrified subordinates watching their leader... all of this was like an invisible chain, pinning them firmly to the spot, to this land of death about to be swept away by the storm.
Then, after a brief, suffocating silence, the heavy curtains in the central tents of the largest camps were suddenly ripped open.
The leader of Iron Anvil City, Crack Rock, the burly man clad in a spiked leather coat, was the first to step forward.
He tried to straighten his back, attempting to project an imposing presence with his bulging muscles, but his deliberately raised chin and the undisguised fear in his eyes as he glanced at the Dragon Group's army revealed his inner unease. He walked to the edge of the open space, his heavy breathing condensing into white mist in the cold air.
Immediately afterwards, the Steelheart Patriarch of the Holy Relic Castle appeared, wearing a tattered robe stained with oil yet still attempting to maintain some kind of sacred ritual, half of his steel mask gleaming coldly in the dim light.
He tried his best to maintain the dignity of a clergyman, gripping the spiked hammer with its energy core tightly in his hand. He walked to a spot slightly behind the crevice, his eyes, not covered by steel, fixed on Fang Xin, filled with offended anger and a deeper sense of apprehension.
Mr. Trigger from the Gear Mafia followed closely behind. He was dressed in a relatively neat leather jacket and walked with the most relaxed gait. He even had an almost social, forced smile on his face, as if he were just attending an ordinary party, but his smile was extremely stiff.
He was still playing with the golden gear in his hand, but his speed had slowed down considerably. He walked to the open space, subtly maintaining a distance from the other two, and moved quickly between Fang Xin and the army formation behind him.
The leaders of the other smaller factions also stepped forward, some feigning ferocity as they clutched their weapons at their waists, while others avoided eye contact.
They were like trapped beasts driven into an arena, forced to reveal their last fragile dignity in the face of absolute power.
In the center of the open space, Fang Xin stood calmly as always.
He looked at these wasteland tyrants, their faces contorted with fear and pressure, with different expressions, as if watching actors in an absurd drama.
Behind him, the elite guard squad stood motionless like cold sculptures. Further away, the steel army was deathly silent, with only the muzzles of cannons and gun barrels gleaming with a cold, deathly light under the leaden sky.
Fang Xin didn't urge him or say anything more. He was just waiting, calmly waiting for these prey who had been forced to stand tall and walk up to him to make a choice.
Perhaps it would be difficult for others to maintain such composure, but Fang Xin is not a rash young man. After nearly a year of growth, he has developed a mindset that is difficult for ordinary people to reach, not to mention that he knows very well who is standing behind him.
So let alone facing this group of guys, even if it were facing the gods of the era, as long as Tang Zijun gave the word, he would dare to go up and slap them across the face.
Lieyan coughed heavily, trying to break the suffocating silence.
His voice carried a forced, suppressed grime. "The Dragon Group... what a show of power! Bringing so many people here, just to find a woman?"
"I was just doing this on someone else's behalf," Fang Xin said with a faint smile.
"Entrusted by someone?" The Steelheart Patriarch slightly raised his mace, his voice hoarse. "They're all survivors who crawled out of sticky engine oil, so there's no need for this nonsense. I've seen the surveillance footage; a scavenger like him doesn't warrant such a fuss..."
Fang Xin slightly raised her eyes. "You think I'm here to target you?"
"Isn't that so?" Patriarch Steelheart glared back. "I told you long ago that the Southern Territory couldn't accommodate too many outsiders, Fang Xin..."
"I should have killed you when you passed through my defense zone back then, instead of letting you grow to what you are now..."
"Ahem!" Mr. Trigger interrupted Patriarch Steelheart with a cough, his stiff smile widening and his voice deliberately slowing down.
"Chief Fang, we understand you need to find someone..." He shrugged, seemingly helpless. "But your forceful approach is bound to cause some friction. Why don't we sit down and talk? We can draw up some rules to put everyone at ease, don't you think?"
"I'm not here to discuss this with you."
Fang Xin's young face remained expressionless as he calmly surveyed the group of wasteland warlords before him, who harbored ulterior motives but were forced to maintain a facade of dignity.
"Patriarch Steelheart, you're right. You should have killed me long ago. If you had taken action when our foundations were unstable, things might not have turned out this way."
"you...!"
Before Patriarch Steelheart could speak, Fang Xin turned to look at Mr. Trigger.
"You're good at playing the good guy, aren't you? Yes, you have to pretend. Otherwise, why would you be standing here talking to me, Mr. Trigger... a traitor to the Church of the Era, and a traitor to the Scavengers as well. How many brothers did you betray to get your current position?"
Mr. Trigger's smile was slightly stiff, but he simply looked away without saying a word.
Fang Xin then looked at the others in front of him. "Why isn't Chief Riftrock saying anything? This isn't like you. You were quite intimidating when we first arrived in the Southern Territory and were driving us away. And Mr. Scarface, don't back down. Is it because you were causing trouble for the Dragon Group before...?"
"Oh..
'
Fang Xin shook his head slightly and let out a soft breath.
"Those standing here have all dealt with us to some extent before. You drove us to the most remote part of the Southern Territory. You restricted and even besieged the Dragon Group's development, forcing us to fight the Omnics to the death. Even our current fortress was seized from an Omnic stronghold."
"Yes, you're happy with this. Having a bunch of peasants from the North to share the burden is a scene everyone wants to see. Let these peasants fight the Omnics to the death. Anyway, no matter the outcome, you can still sit on your scrap metal throne and reap the benefits..."
"But what was the result?" Fang Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. "We stood up, the Dragon Group stood up. You think we're just a bunch of homeless refugees, but I only believe in one thing: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At least... our rise doesn't require harming our own people."
As soon as the words were spoken, many people in the room lowered their heads unconsciously, including Mr. Trigger and Patriarch Steelheart who were standing at the front.
Looking at their reactions, Fang Xin let out a soft snort.
"I gave you a chance, and you could have scurried away with your tails between your legs like those rats. Now I can give you another chance, and you can still leave unharmed."
"However, don't take anything from the camp."
Fang Xin's words were like a gentle pluck on a taut string.
There were no impassioned declarations, no threatening roars, only a calm that had settled.
But this calm was more destructive than any war cry.
After a brief, suffocating silence, the pent-up emotions erupted like a volcano, not in battle, but in retreat.
Suppressed gasps, distorted roars, and harsh urgings instantly tore through the air.
Those leaders who had been putting on a show of dignity and standing tall in front of Fang Xin just a moment ago now had their fierceness and arrogance peel off like cheap paint, leaving only their most primitive panic.
Lieyan's face flushed crimson, then quickly faded to ashen. He abruptly turned away, not daring to look at Fang Xin again, and instead forced a low, beast-like growl from deep within his throat at his men. "Retreat—!" Immediately, the Iron Anvil City troops scattered like startled hyenas, abandoning their armor and weapons, forgetting even the symbolic resistance, and scrambled towards the vehicles parked on the outskirts, engines roaring, kicking up clouds of dust, fleeing this land of death without looking back.
The steel mask of the Patriarch of Steel Heart trembled violently; his fanatical faith, before the absolute power of reality, flickered and threatened to go out like a candle in the wind.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only slammed his mace into the ground, making a hollow impact sound, carrying a strong sense of defeat and indignation. The believers of Holy Relic Castle disappeared quickly into the rocky mountain path like the receding tide.
The once crowded and bustling area outside the pass was suddenly transformed into an absurd and chaotic retreat.
Tents were abandoned, supplies were scattered all over the ground, the campfire was still crackling, and several broken-down armored vehicles were pushed over on the side of the road, emitting black smoke.
The chaos of shouts and neighing horses receded like the tide, leaving behind only a trampled mess of frozen earth, overturned oil drums, and an empty camp, which looked particularly desolate and ironic under the leaden sky. The wind swirled up the rags and scraps of paper on the ground, making a whistling sound.
Before the dust had settled, several figures remained motionless at the edge of the chaotic mess, like wooden stakes driven into the ground.
Mr. Trigger of the Gear Mafia is the most conspicuous one among them.
The carefully maintained facade of friendliness on his face vanished completely, leaving only a gloomy, frozen expression.
The arrival of the new era may come sooner than he imagined.
Now he finally understood why Fang Xin had been able to develop to this point in such a short time—because he was always ahead of people like him.
His vision, his plans, and his goals have never been limited to the wild lands of the Southern Territory. Or, one could say that long before the gods of the era fell, this guy had already begun preparing for the next war.
And such a person...
How could one possibly let one's enemy leave alive?
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