Age of Calamity in Swallowed Star

#61 - Monument to the Heroes!

Chapter 61: The Hall of Heroes!

Back at the human base.

That very night, Lin Ye received news that the War Dragon Squad and the White Leaf Team had been completely wiped out.

Upon hearing this devastating news, he was stunned, a sense of melancholy washing over him.

He inexplicably thought of Li Yunfei, the honest man who had once invited him to be his deputy commander.

This War Dragon Squad leader had ultimately defended the line to his last breath.

He and his men were all heroes!

That night, Lin Ye suffered his first bout of insomnia.

He didn't cultivate, nor did he practice his swordsmanship.

Instead, he sat on the windowsill of his martial artist's building, quietly watching the night sky all night long.

The next morning.

Just as dawn was breaking.

Lin Ye received a notification to go to the Hall of Heroes to send off the fallen soldiers on their final journey.

In front of the Hall of Heroes, a tall, square structure had been erected overnight – the Hall of Heroes Memorial.

By the time Lin Ye arrived, the foundation and body of the memorial were already complete.

Thanks to the efforts of tens of thousands of soldiers working through the night, only the inscription remained to be done on the memorial.

Xu Yong, Huang Shaoying, Mu Bingyao, and Chen Xuan, the four great War Gods, were present.

The commanders of the Iron Dragon Army, Dark Hawk Army, and Blood Wolf Army also arrived.

Including the Dark Night Mercenary Group and the chief instructors of various refuge bases, they all came to pay their respects to their fallen comrades.

Among the crowd, Lin Ye spotted Xu Qi.

She was accompanying Mo Mo, the sniper elite of the Sky Soaring Team, constantly comforting the grief-stricken young girl.

Upon seeing Lin Ye, Mo Mo ran over in tears, embracing him and wailing, "Waaahhh!"

"Lin Ye, Captain Qi Ling is gone, Deputy Captain Yang Xiao is gone, Xiao Qi and the others... are all gone, now I'm the only one left."

Her sobbing echoed continuously in Lin Ye's arms.

This left Lin Ye unsure of what to do with his hands.

Xu Qi: "..."

Seeing Lin Ye embraced by Mo Mo, Xu Qi was momentarily dumbfounded.

She wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words, and simply gave Lin Ye a deep look.

Lin Ye gently patted her shoulder, comforting her, "As long as you're here, the Sky Soaring Team will live on!"

"But the captain and deputy captain are both gone."

Next to her, the remaining eight martial artists from the Dragon Breath and Long Blade teams were all silent.

Especially the Dragon Breath Team, only three seeds survived out of twenty-nine warriors.

This was only thanks to Lin Ye's protection that they survived.

The five members of the Long Blade Team silently watched this scene, without a sound.

Covered in bandages, they exchanged glances, each seeing the longing in the other's eyes.

It had only been less than a day since they parted, and they already missed their captain...

Lin Ye comforted Mo Mo for a long time.

It wasn't until the memorial ceremony began that Mo Mo left his side.

As each name and medal number was inscribed, low sobs were heard from the send-off party from time to time.

Lin Ye quietly watched these familiar and unfamiliar names, his gaze somewhat dim.

Behind each name was the passing of a vibrant life.

Similarly, each name here represented a hero who sacrificed himself for the country.

When facing the beast tide, no one was afraid of death, no one regretted their choice.

They selflessly chose to sacrifice themselves.

Just as Lin Ye was looking at the Dragon Breath Captain's No. 017 Ember Medal, Xu Yong came to his side.

"Lin Ye, it's like this, we've always had a tradition that we don't put photos on the urns, but only engrave their medal number and name in the middle, and then in the lower left corner... we usually inscribe the numbers of a few comrades, so that the sacrificed person isn't so lonely."

"In Li Yunfei's last words, he wanted to have your medal sequence inscribed, so that he could witness the rise of a Great Xia peak powerhouse even in the afterlife..."

Hearing this, Lin Ye looked at War God Xu Yong and nodded gently, "I agree."

At some point, the members of the Long Blade and Dragon Breath teams also came to Lin Ye's side.

They looked at Lin Ye, their expressions heavy, "War God Lin Ye, we'd like to trouble you with something."

"Speak," Lin Ye said calmly, looking at them with clear eyes.

"We can't ask the captain what he wanted," This Dragon Breath member said with some sadness, "He had great respect for you, the salute he gave you before he sacrificed himself."

"The few of us thought about it and felt that it would make the captain happy if we engraved your medal number on it as well..."

"Us too!" The Long Blade member followed.

"Okay, good!" Lin Ye didn't refuse, nodding gently.

He looked at the members, somewhat dazed.

For a moment, the faces of these members overlapped with the stubborn and determined faces of the captains.

This was probably a kind of passing on the torch!

The continuation of spirit is what guarantees the prosperity of a country and a nation.

In this way, even if they encounter thousands of difficulties and dangers, they will eventually be able to overcome them.

Lin Ye thought to himself.

His mood gradually brightened, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

It was good to be able to walk alongside these martial artists!

As the inscription was halfway done, a light autumn rain suddenly began to fall.

The survivors stood in the rain, sending off their captains, members, and the entire War Dragon Squad.

The engraving was finished.

Xue Zhan stood for a while, took out a bottle of Erguotou liquor from his pocket, and placed it in front of the Hall of Heroes Memorial.

Lin Ye took out a Zhonghua cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and quietly placed it on top.

Xu Qi and Mo Mo took out the white chrysanthemums they had prepared in advance and placed them there as well.

More and more soldiers, holding prepared white chrysanthemums or cigarettes, paid their respects to their fallen comrades.

From ordinary soldiers, martial artists, the three commanders of the Dark Hawk, Iron Blood, and Wolf armies, to Xu Yong and the other four War God powerhouses.

Without exception, everyone paid their respects to the sacrificed soldiers one by one.

Throughout the entire process, no one spoke.

The entire venue was silent.

In front of the entire Hall of Heroes Memorial, there were scattered specks of light.

In the gentle breeze and drizzle, everyone was silent, quietly sending off these heroes!

The sacrificed soldiers were not only the guardians of Shancheng, but also the backbone of the Great Xia military!

"Farewell to the heroes!"

After War God Xu Yong shouted in a deep voice, he roared with all his strength:

"Everyone, salute!!"

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish...

In a uniform motion, everyone present paid their respects to the fallen heroes in the most solemn way...

It was evening when Lin Ye returned from the Hall of Heroes that day.

Lin Ye was called away by Xu Qi, her expression tinged with sadness.

"My father... War God Xu Yong wants to see you..." Xu Qi said softly,

"It's about the arrangements for the remaining members of the Dragon Breath, Long Blade, Sky Soaring, and Sharp Edge teams, my father wants to talk to you about your views."

"Okay."

Lin Ye glanced at Xu Qi and nodded gently in response.

Command Center, Office Number One.

When the door closed, there were only three people inside the office: Lin Ye, Xu Qi, and War God Xu Yong.

Xu Yong, who was writing busily at his desk, looked up, first carefully sizing up Lin Ye, and said:

"You guys sit, I won't make tea for you."

"A seventeen-year-old War God powerhouse, tsk, doesn't even blink when he slays three Lord-level monsters... Impressive, far more impressive than I was back then."

Lin Ye: "..."

Looking at the War God who seemed to be talking to himself, Lin Ye didn't speak, listening quietly.

"You're the genius War God that Qi Qi recruited, and she's my daughter, so we don't have so many formalities here."

"So, I'll get straight to the point!"

After speaking, Xu Yong looked at his precious daughter, who winked at him playfully, revealing two shallow dimples.

"Lin Ye, I called you here for nothing else, two things!"

"Please speak plainly, War God Xu!" Lin Ye nodded slightly.

"As you know, the Dragon Breath, Sky Soaring, and Long Blade three elite teams suffered heavy losses in this beast tide, especially Dragon Breath, which was almost wiped out!"

Lin Ye nodded, without answering.

"So, I called you here because I want you to integrate the martial artists from these three teams and place them all under your command."

"War God Xu... this isn't very good..." A trace of solemnity appeared on Lin Ye's face.

"There's nothing wrong with it, first, you're their comrade, a brother who has gone through life and death with them, and second, what would those sacrificed captains think?"

"They are the soldiers I brought out, they would be very happy to see a young War God leading their brothers."

Xu Yong spoke gently, unhurriedly.

"But I like to be alone, I don't want to lead a bunch of burden..."

The word "burdens" hadn't even left his mouth before Lin Ye forcibly stopped himself.

He looked out the window, not knowing what to say.

Lin Ye's eyes were stained by the deep night, dark and hazy.

Yes!

In his eyes, these warriors were not as strong as him and were somewhat of a burden.

But they were also living people!

They had thoughts, feelings, and valued loyalty and kindness...

After a while.

Lin Ye turned his head, looked at Xu Yong, and said