Chapter 893: Faith and Fervor! (1/2)

Chapter 893: Faith and Fervor!

Soldiers throughout the armada looked on with eyes red from emotion. But the surprises were not over.

Scores more mecha suites were dispatched from the twelve fleets. All four bastions released their remaining drones to join the fight as well. Every fleet and bastion had a contingent of ground troops and mechas to equip them with. Together with the drones they were a flexible and dynamic fighting force. Yet, their mission was clear in the minds of every pilot; they were cannon fodder.

In a matter of moments these brave soldiers created a ring on the outer edge of the Banishing Strategy. They arranged themselves so that the representatives of each adept army were protected as well.

Every man and woman, whether in the cockpit of a mecha suit or drone, stared grim faced and red eyed at their foes. They did not attack, for they knew that they could not positively affect this battle beyond using themselves as human shields. Every ounce of energy was poured into shields in preparation for the attacks to come.

In this moment they did not fear death.

A stifling silence hung over the worlds of man as they watched on their screens. In high-definition they saw these brave warriors preparing to sacrifice their lives for the cause. And a sacrifice it would be, for even though there were only two the soldiers knew they had no hope of defeating enemies that powerful.

Despair settled in the hearts of the ruling class, especially the politicians, and many had already fled. However there were some who remained, to wait and see what would happen. These public servants were determined to meet their fate with their constituents.

The East’s Chairman Zhou Xueguan was together with the parliament. His hands were curled into tight fists. By his side was the speaker of the parliament, and both men glared ferociously at the images of the screen before them.

The parliamentary hall was full, with every representative in attendance. They’d been invited to watch the operation together. They’d cheered Zhou Xueguan as their armies won victory after victory against the alien horde. Now however, with the ascent of Monarch and the display of his might, the hall was silent.

When the battle started to turn there were some in the room who sought to slip away. But before they could, the doors to the hall were flung open and soldiers flooded in. They were fully armed, and trained their guns on the politicians.

The speaker addressed his comrades with frigid promise, stating that they would die with their people if it came to it. No one would be permitted to leave. They would not be allowed to abandon the East.

All of this had been prepared in advance, arranged by Zhou Xueguan and the speaker. They had to assure the people, and they couldn’t do that if the political class was in turmoil. If the leadership could show steadfastness and solidarity, the people’s faith would remain strong.

The scene from the parliamentary hall was streamed along with the battle, in a small box on the bottom right corner. In a joint announcement Chairman Zhou and the speaker reassured everyone that their leaders were not going to leave them to their fate.

It had the desired affect and the people calmed. They earned no praise, but it did allay fears that they would be abandoned. In their minds if the politicians were in the same situation they were, there was still a chance things could be turned around.

Video of Eastern mechas putting themselves in harm’s way were streamed into every household. Pride and tears filled the eyes of citizens as they saw the signature yellow of the Bloodiron Khans arrayed against overwhelming odds. They weren’t afraid, and so neither were the people. Like the soldiers who fought for them they were filled with passion.

Eastern soldiers were doing right by their duty to all of humanity. They put themselves in the line of danger, putting down their lives so that their species might have a chance to fight back.

Heroes. Every single one of those brave warriors were heroes to all of mankind. Tears flowed down a countless number of faces and many citizens were out in the streets to watch the fight together on enormous screens on the sides of buildings [1. This is typical for many cities in China. Skyscrapers may often come equipped with enormous televisions. They’re used for many purposes; in the summer they have movies on some and street vendors lay out tables were people can watch a movie and have food. They’re also for propaganda and public service announcements. The world cup and Olympics are the time when these outside screens are most popular. However, I think they’re beginning to fall out of style. Here’s an example, though I don’t know why they have it censored.]