575 Faith

"Yes, general."

"Come with us!"

Ma Xiaoru shook her head. She wanted to be alone tonight and reflect on the last five years. When she finally returned her room, she stared at Wang Tong's picture beside her bed, where it had been for five years.

"Jerk! A*shole! " Ma Xiaoru cursed in her mind. She wanted to cry it all out, the loneliness and sorrow of the five long years.

Both Li Shiming and Li Ruoer were stunned when they heard the astonishing news. The elated cheers of their soldiers finally pulled their thoughts back to reality.

After the celebration, Li Shiming finally got a moment to reflect on the development. He marveled at the tremendous influence Wang Tong still had on the human world. In the minds of the public, Wang Tong was their only hope in defeating Patroclus, since he had done it once before.

The heir of the Blade Warrior was invincible. Whether it was real or a self-fulfilled prophecy, no one would ever know. The war against the Zergs was a long-term struggle, only perseverance and tenacity could ferry the human safely to the end of the war,

"Ruoer, are you alright?" Li Shiming noticed a strange expression on her sister's face. Li Ruoer stormed out of the room and didn't even spare her brother a glance.

When she finally arrived at her room, she slammed the door close and produced a picture of Wang Tong from a bedside table drawer. She slammed the framed picture on her bed and shouted, "You a*shole! Where had you gone? You were dead! DEAD!"

The teenage girl had matured, but she was still an Enchantress. Ma Xiaoru, Li Ruoer, and Zhang Jing were the only images that humans could seek consolation and solace in as their feminine faces harbored the spirit of caring and giving.

However, the goddesses of might and power were tearing up now. Ma Xiaoru had a good reason to be carried away by the return of Wang Tong, but what would be her reason?

She had turned down many suitors' request, and so did Ma Xiaoru. However, Ma Xiaoru had done so for a legit reason, while her refusals seemed rather out of the blue. Faced with pressures from all sides, Li Ruoer was on the verge of giving up the wait. But there he was, appearing a few million miles away, well and alive.

She stared at Wang Tong's picture as a mixture of feelings swilled in her heart. Finally, the joyful current took hold of her heart as the negative ones ebbed away.

"A*shole, I knew you would survive." A smile bloomed on Li Ruoer's face. She picked up the picture and pressed it in between her bosom. "If we ever meet again, I will let you have a taste of this!"

Zhang Jing and her lunar units also received the news; however, the joyful feeling in the Ivantians were overshadowed by the guilt of what House Dower had become. Although Wang Tong's survival was exhilarating news to them, they doubted he would be able to overcome Patroclus again after five years.

This was one of Zhang Jing's biggest problem: morale. The Lunar Front had the most powerful units among the human resistance forces, but the soldiers were so shaken by what had happened that they barely had the courage to pick up their weapons. Perhaps, Zhang Jing thought, Wang Tong's return could be a turning point in solving her conundrum. When she first saw Wang Tong on Norton so many years ago, she had never thought that the fate of human race would rest on this innocent, if not naïve, boy.

Till this day, she still remembered Wang Tong's silly smile.

…

Meanwhile in space....

"Commander, the news had been sent out to all major factions." Cao Yi reported to Samantha.

"Excellent! Thank you!"

"You are welcome, principal! Everyone was thrilled when they heard the news. I feel like we finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel!"

"Indeed! We need to give our gratitude to our friends on Mars. They had risked their lives to send us this news."

"I believe he will come back for us, principal." Cao Yi announced firmly. His words carried an unswerving conviction.

Samantha cracked a smile, "Yes, we are all waiting for that moment."

…

The volcano belt at the northern hemisphere of the Mars was an inhospitable wasteland. Not only did humans avoid this area, but also the Zergs. It was sandwiched right in between the human and Zerg territories.

"Boss, two more days and we will finally reach the Zerg area." Duo Lun said.

On this bleak landscape, a patch of tents looked out of place. It was Wang Tong's party; three hundred strong, and included top fighters such as Yin Tianzong and Xiao Yuyu.

"Order everyone to rest well tonight. We won't have the luxury of the sound sleep after we cross the line." Wang Tong smiled and said. Where they were heading would make this harsh environment feel like a comfortable bastion of safety.

Operation Wolf Strike was the name of this mission this time. The three hundred soldiers included the one hundred whom Wang Tong had trained personally inside the crystal space, and the rest two hundred were hand picked by him from amongst the soldiers in Maersa. After they reached the other end of the wasteland, they had to gear up for endless skirmishes.

This operation was the most effective step Wang Tong could take to help the war. His ability at the front line was limited; plus, the constant harassment of the dark ones meant he would have to fight on both fronts.

The raids and harassment used to be the humans' tactics. At the beginning of the war, humans had sent legendary warriors across the front line to the home base of Zergs and attacked them unexpectedly. However, after the Zergs introduced the Einherjar's Band units, these surprise raids came to a jarring halt. Soon after that, dark ones started to appear in human settlements. Everyone had to admit that Zergs were very fast learners.

Wang Tong was convinced that humans did not stand a chance on the conventional battlefield, so he had brought the fight to an entirely different field, where the ground was more leveled on both sides. In order to do that, he needed to take an extremely aggressive stance.

Wang Tong knew that the war would be lost if he sat around and waited for the Zergs to evolve and reproduce in safety. So, he decided to strike back, deep into the heart of their base.

Such heroic actions could not be performed by just anyone; therefore Wang Tong had carefully picked his warriors. Not only they needed to be physically fit, but also need to have an iron will. The small group of men and women were the best Wang Tong could gather. It would be up to them to decide the fate of this perilous operation.

Wang Tong's suicidal mission was the reason that made Lie Jian tolerate his existence. After all, what would be the point of killing someone who might as well be dead?

No one, including Wang Tong, knew what awaited them once they crossed over to the Zerg's side. Some reports had indicated that the golden dark ones were simply middle tier fighters at their home base.

Only one thing they knew for sure was that once they crossed the line, there would be no turning back.

However arrogant Lie Jian was, he could not help but admire Wang Tong's bravery. That being said, if the latter didn't have enough power to back up his ambitious plan, the operation would be nothing but a senseless, albeit glorious martyrdom.

On that note, Lie Jian was convinced that Wang Tong's operation would certainly fail. Even with all the elite soldiers of House Lie joining Wang Tong's cause, the unit would not stand a chance in the Zergs' territory.

"I have already gone over our plan many times, so I am going to keep it brief now. We cannot lose our first fight!" Wang Tong announced firmly. A good start equaled half the success. He wanted to use the very first battle to strike fear into the hearts of the dark ones.

"We need a complete victory!" Yin Tianzong put in.

"No problem! We will teach the Zergs a hard lesson!"

"Very well! Remember, you are no longer humans…You are nightmares that will trample over the Zergs' dead bodies. You are death!" Wang Tong shouted.

…

"They should arrive at the border soon," Aamir said. He was the lord protector of the Maersa City while Wang Tong was gone.

"I admire this youngster! I wish I could join them. "Marcos smiled wryly.

"I know how you feel. But, I am afraid that both of us will only become a hindrance than help." Aamir sighted deeply. Like Marcos, he also wanted to join Wang Tong. However, he knew that his talent was needed in the city.

"Do you think they will prevail?" Marcos asked. Aamir returned the question with another wry smile.