Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 147 Severe Punishment and Aftermath

According to the original plan, they would arrive at their battle positions at 11:00 AM and then launch a simultaneous attack from the east and north. To minimize casualties, Li Chenglong had already stated in the previous battle meeting that there should be absolutely no mercy; leniency towards the enemy is cruelty towards oneself. In fact, even without Li Chenglong's confession, the Fourth and Fifth Regiments had long ago sworn to avenge their comrades who had died because of Fu Sanshan's betrayal. Zheng Yong had suggested that if this vengeful sentiment continued to spread, it might have a negative impact on the troops, but Li Chenglong felt it wasn't a major problem; as long as Fu Sanshan and his men were eliminated, the problem would naturally be solved.

Meanwhile, the 16 elite special forces members who had already set off had formed combat teams of three and simultaneously infiltrated the outer perimeter of Langley Base from three directions. They eliminated all the visible and hidden sentries and temporarily replaced them to prevent Fu Sanshan from arousing suspicion. Li Chenglong, having learned from the lessons of the last major battle, believed that the special forces team could no longer conduct such large-scale legion warfare. Therefore, after discussing with Yun Lan, he eliminated more than a dozen people and properly reassigned them to other units. Although they were eliminated, most of them were level four ability users and were very popular with their assigned units. In addition, Han Xiaoling, due to her studies with Alice, was now a part-time special forces member. The special forces team, including Yang Liu and Zhao Liying, now only had 24 people. Although the number was smaller, their mobility and combat effectiveness had actually increased.

Thanks to the special forces' actions, the Fourth and Fifth Regiments were able to proceed smoothly according to plan, arriving half an hour earlier than scheduled. The Fourth Regiment is currently commanded by Zhao Gang, a Level 6 Water-type Ability User, with Yang Hu, a Level 5 Strength-type Ability User, and Li Nian, a Level 5 Wood-type Ability User, serving as deputy commanders and political commissar, respectively. The Fifth Regiment is commanded by Qi Guoan, a Level 6 Earth-type Ability User, with Liu Jianye, a Level 6 Strength-type Ability User, and Liu Jianye, a Level 6 Water-type Ability User, serving as deputy commanders and political commissar, respectively. At the time, someone asked Li Chenglong why the Dawn Army had expanded to a division-level organization instead of a brigade-level organization. Li Chenglong replied, "Because this facilitates future expansion. As we gradually expand, the population of Dawn City will definitely increase, and the number of troops will also increase. Furthermore, going directly from division to regiment makes it easier to quickly command battles."

When the Fourth and Fifth Regiments of the Dawn Army entered from two directions and came to within two kilometers of the Huaxing city wall, the soldiers guarding the city base finally noticed their arrival. They immediately sounded the alarm and began contacting their superiors. Qi Guoan, looking at the tall city wall and the numerous fortifications in front of it, said to Li Chenglong with some concern, "We currently lack heavy weapons, and the most destructive power-type and earth-type ability users have to get very close to effectively attack the wall. It seems we'll have to make some sacrifices."

Li Chenglong shook his head: "No need. This time, we will absolutely not let our soldiers make unnecessary sacrifices." As soon as he finished speaking, everyone felt two streams of energy emanating from Li Chenglong's body, and then two enormous energy wings, one golden and one red, appeared behind him. Li Chenglong's short, jet-black hair gradually turned into long, silver hair, casually draped behind him. His left eye had already turned completely golden, and from his left eye, more than a dozen golden lines covered his left cheek. After several days of arduous training, Li Chenglong had finally achieved initial control over his psionic form. This time, he released his strongest form right from the start, firstly to destroy the walls of the Huaxing base without any casualties, and secondly to intimidate his opponents and inflict the deepest despair upon them.

Li Chenglong was radiating a golden and red glow, advancing a hundred meters with each step. The soldiers guarding the city were shocked. One of the leaders immediately ordered his men to open fire, and many superhumans also released their abilities to try and stop Li Chenglong's advance. However, bullets, shells, and the various superhuman abilities released by the superhumans were all deflected within a dozen meters of Li Chenglong. This wasn't because Li Chenglong was particularly strong; superhumans and awakened individuals at level 4 could already withstand damage from bullets and ordinary shells. Now, Li Chenglong was at level 8, and even conventional intercontinental ballistic missiles couldn't harm him in the slightest.

The psionic form's duration was short, and Li Chenglong wasted no time. He suddenly flashed a red light about 500 meters from the city wall and vanished. Less than a second later, he reappeared above the city wall. "Heaven-Splitting Dragon-Phoenix Slash!" Li Chenglong roared, unleashing a dragon-phoenix sword aura that shot straight towards the city wall, causing numerous explosions of varying sizes. The thick city wall, along with several ammunition depots located there, was reduced to ruins by Li Chenglong's single strike. He then activated a spatial teleportation, retreating slightly and deactivating his psionic form.

Qi Guoan had already led his troops in a fierce charge, the bugle call resounding through the air as the soldiers shouted and surged through the breach. The siege on the other side wasn't as swift, but under the leadership of Wu Gang, a level 7 dual-elemental ability user, the Fourth Regiment only suffered a few dozen wounded before breaching the Huaxing base from the east gate. The two combat regiments attacked from opposite directions, and aside from those who had already surrendered, all those still resisting were wiped out.

Li Chenglong killed a level 5 strength-type ability user with a single strike and shouted, "Surrender and you're spared!" Immediately, many soldiers from the Huaxing base dropped their guns and knelt on the ground to surrender. The Dawn Army soldiers rushed forward and seized their weapons. Meanwhile, the Fu family was in chaos. The three brothers, Fu Sanshan, Fu Sanhai, and Fu Sanhe, huddled together. Fu Sanhe said, "The enemy has already entered the city, and our men are reporting defeats one after another. Brothers, let's retreat." Fu Sanshan's face was cold as he said calmly, "We've built up this much; it would be a waste to give up like this." Fu Sanhai said, "As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild. Let's run west, quick!"

The three continued their conversation when the adjutant came to report, "Reporting to the leader, all the crystals have been packed into crates, and the important supplies have been loaded onto the trucks." Fu Sanshan nodded and said to all the Fu family members in the hall, "Let's go quickly; the cannon fodder in front won't hold out for long." After saying that, they immediately left the Fu family mansion, where a row of SUVs and trucks were already waiting. After they got into their vehicles, they sped off towards the west gate.

By this time, Li Chenglong had led the vanguard to the vicinity of the Fu family's convoy. Yang Liu pointed into the distance and shouted, "Captain Li, they're trying to escape!" Li Chenglong smiled contemptuously, "They think they can escape? Follow me!" With that, he charged towards the convoy. As he went, Yang Liu contacted Wu Gang to see if he could hold them off ahead. Before the Fu family's convoy had gone ten kilometers, explosions of all sizes began to occur around the vehicles, sending countless fireballs, water bombs, and wind blades hurtling towards the convoy. The superhumans on the trucks also unleashed their abilities to fight against the Dawn Army, but by this time they were exhausted and were soon wiped out by the Dawn Army.

Surprisingly, the wealthy family ignored the fate of their hundreds of men behind them and instead sped off into the distance. Li Chenglong activated his psionic powers, using several spatial teleportations to arrive above the convoy: "Galactic Explosion!" Eight dazzling galactic orbs flew towards the convoy, blasting large craters in the area in front of it and completely blocking the wealthy family's escape route westward. Meanwhile, two regiments of the Dawn Army split up to attack, pursuing the remaining enemy forces that were still putting up a stubborn resistance.

Li Chenglong, Wu Gang, Yang Liu, and others arrived at the convoy, where a battalion of soldiers surrounded the Fu family. Wu Gang stepped forward and shouted, "Fu Sanshan, why have you become a coward? Don't you even have the courage to get out of the car?" A moment later, the doors of the two cars in front slowly opened, and the Fu brothers and their children emerged. However, without uttering a word, they attacked Li Chenglong directly, who and the others stepped forward to meet them.

The battle raged on. The three wealthy brothers, one level 7 and two level 6, were killed by Li Chenglong, Wu Gang, and Zhao Liying within minutes. Those who resisted were also eliminated one by one by Yang Liu and the others, leaving only some women and children at the scene. Li Chenglong was caught in a dilemma regarding what to do with these people. He wanted to eliminate them completely, as they might become a future threat; however, these people were defenseless, mostly elderly, weak, women, and children, and killing them went against his principles. Just as Li Chenglong hesitated, the vehicles exploded, killing the elderly, weak, women, and children standing nearby. Yang Liu inspected the vehicles and said, "It's a time bomb. It probably detonated five minutes ago. It seems the wealthy brothers were prepared to die when they came out."

Li Chenglong nodded: "Understood. Have some soldiers bury them. Let's go check on the Fu family." An hour later, Li Chenglong, who was resting in the Fu family's hall, heard the gunfire subside and said: "The battle should be over. You all performed very well today. Give the order that everyone come to me later to collect a few exotic beast pigs so that every soldier can have exotic beast braised pork tonight." Another hour passed, and the commanders of the two regiments came to report. Zhao Gang said: "In this operation, our Fourth Battalion annihilated 865 enemy soldiers, including 215 superhumans of various ranks, and captured 1200. We also seized countless guns and ammunition, as well as a large amount of crystals. The Fourth Regiment suffered 34 casualties and 3 seriously wounded." Qi Guoan continued: "The Fifth Regiment annihilated 1415 enemy soldiers, including 368 superhumans of various ranks, and captured 1500. The Fifth Regiment suffered 60 casualties and 1 seriously wounded."

Li Chenglong said somewhat gravely, "Register the fallen soldiers and arrange their affairs according to the standards for martyrs." Wu Gang asked, "Now that the Huaxing Base is practically destroyed, what about the residents?" Li Chenglong paused before saying, "Issue a notice: those who wish to join Dawn City can join, and those who wish to stay or leave can go as they please. As for the prisoners and former officials of the Huaxing Base, start a public trial with the residents tomorrow. Those who have committed heinous crimes will be executed, while those who wish to join us can join after passing the review. We previously estimated that Dawn City's current area can accommodate a maximum population of 12, and we currently only have a little over 3, so there is still plenty of room."

That evening, the two regiments of the Dawn Army held a victory celebration together. Besides everyone getting to eat braised pork with alien beasts, Li Chenglong also brought out a large amount of watermelon, letting the two of them share one. During this operation, the Dawn Army treated all residents with utmost respect, even sleeping in tents at night. This greatly changed the impression many residents of the Huaxing Base had of the Dawn Army, and many strongly requested to join Dawn City.

Li Chenglong stayed at the Huaxing Base for a week. During this time, he also sent a batch of crystals to Feiyun and Lanli Bases. Later, under the guidance of some people, ordinary residents of Huaxing Base and soldiers who passed the review migrated north and joined Shuguang City. Huaxing Base disappeared from the map of Donghai Province from then on.

Their arrival was warmly welcomed by everyone in Dawn City. Yun Qian sent her subordinates to the Huaxing base more than a dozen times, bringing back almost everything useful. Because of the increased numbers, the Dawn Army expanded again, from 1000 men per regiment to 1500. However, Li Chenglong also stated that there would be no further expansion for a long time, as too many troops would put too much pressure on Dawn City. On September 18th, Li Chenglong went to the central computer room, where Alice gave him a final report on Dawn City: Dawn City, area 176 square kilometers, total population [number missing], 6 Awakened, 1756 Ability Users. It possesses 6 crystal generators, 2 super alloy knife manufacturing machines, 2 identity card maker devices, 85 crystal computers, and 120 crystal communicators.

Early the next morning, Erica and Alice left through the portal. As Erica left, she said, "Let's work together. It's less than a year before the full-scale attack by the Kiel and Dane aliens." Li Chenglong and Yun Lan also decided to wait a while before releasing this information to the higher-ups of Dawn City.

After these major battles, Dawn City acquired a large amount of crystals. Li Chenglong donated a crystal generator to both the Lanley Base and the Flying Cloud Base. He also added four more crystal generators to Dawn City, solving its power problem. Currently, among the 1756 ability users in Dawn City, there are 4 Level 7, 38 Level 6, and 120 Level 5. Of the six awakened users, Li Chenglong is Level 8, Li Xue and Yun Lan are Level 7, Han Xiaoling and Zhao Liying are Level 6, and the last awakened user, Yang Zheng, is a C-level Giant Winged Bat Spirit Awakener who joined from the Huaxing Base. He has reached Level 5 and, after review, joined the First Regiment.