On the helicopter returning to Moonlight City, Howard was incessantly on the phone with his aide.
"What is the current situation? You must have managed to withdraw the vast majority of the soldiers by now, correct?" Howard inquired urgently, his tone reflecting a palpable sense of anxiety directed toward his aide on the other end of the line.
"General, I have exerted myself to the utmost. However, I still find myself unable to extract the vast majority of the soldiers. Two high-difficulty instances have just spawned right beside our military base.
Only a small fraction of the soldiers can evacuate through relatively safe corridors. The overwhelming majority remain trapped between the two instances.
For the time being, we are still able to rely on the facilities within the military base for defense. If we attempt a hasty evacuation from the base, we will undoubtedly be annihilated by the monsters lurking within the two instances.
In fact, during our previous operations, we have already endured severe casualties. If we act recklessly again, it is highly likely that we will encounter an irretrievable situation."
At this moment, the aide's voice came through as extremely hoarse.
In the course of the prior command, he had given his all. He had spoken at great length, resulting in his throat being in quite a poor condition.
Upon hearing his aide's voice, Howard's expression grew even more troubled.
"Do not panic just yet, I estimate that I will be able to return in approximately six hours. In the meantime, do your utmost to ensure that the situation does not deteriorate rapidly within those six hours."
Howard sensed that his aide was undoubtedly not as capable as himself.
Thus, as long as I can return in a timely manner, the situation will significantly improve.
"General, I truly cannot continue to hold out any longer. The defensive facilities of the military base have been nearly obliterated by those monsters. Within two hours, the last line of defense at the military base will surely be breached.
We cannot wait for six hours, it is simply not an option. Could you possibly arrange for others to provide us with support? I had intended to seek assistance from others previously, but I was unable to establish contact with them."
Upon hearing these words from his aide, Howard immediately thought of Jeremy and Ella.
"I will attempt to reach out for reinforcements, you just need to continue directing the other soldiers to hold on."
After ending the call with his aide, Howard promptly dialed Ella's number.
However, Ella's call did not go through, indicating that she and her Black Dragon Squad seemed to be entangled in a crisis of their own.
"It appears that I have no choice but to turn to Jeremy for assistance once more.
I wonder if he has managed to complete his own tasks, if even he lacks the time to offer help to my subordinates, then the situation will indeed become unmanageable."
Howard was aware beforehand that Jeremy was engaged in a matter of great importance.
Although Jeremy had not divulged specific details regarding the awakening ceremony to Howard, he had made it clear that it would be best not to contact him during the past couple of days.
Howard certainly valued his relationship with Jeremy, and he understood that he ought to honor the agreement they had established.
Nevertheless, the current predicament had left him with no option but to act without further hesitation.
Ultimately, Howard dialed Jeremy's number, deeply concerned that Jeremy's circumstances might mirror those of the betting point.
Although the three of them could hear the sounds of soldiers firing their weapons in retaliation, none of them saw a single soldier.
"What should we do next? Should we directly attack those exceptionally powerful monsters?"
Ritchie glanced at the situation at the military base and then at Jeremy's expression, asking in a tone that was somewhat uncertain.
"Of course, we cannot proceed in that manner, while I have awakened my abilities, the power I possess is still insufficient to confront such a multitude of monsters."
Jeremy outright rejected Ritchie's plan.
In Jeremy's view, following Ritchie's suggestion would be tantamount to walking into a death trap.
After hesitating for a moment, Jeremy dialed General Howard's number.
"General, I have arrived at the perimeter of the military base. The situation here is indeed dire. Furthermore, the strength of the monsters besieging the military base is exceedingly formidable.
I cannot simply engage these creatures head-on. Therefore, I have devised a new plan in my mind, however, this new strategy will require perfect coordination from the soldiers in order to succeed."
On the other end of the line, Howard spoke without any hesitation, saying,
"That is certainly not a problem, I will instruct the soldiers within the military base to coordinate with your actions. Please share your plan with me now."
After receiving a clear answer, Jeremy proceeded to articulate his plan.
In truth, Jeremy's plan was not particularly complex, he merely intended to utilize his talent, The King of Time and Space, to open a Portal.
Although high-difficulty instances and high-level monsters could indeed interfere with the construction of the Portal, Jeremy was confident that with the soldiers' assistance, he could create a Portal that would remain stable for a considerable duration.
"I will teleport myself directly into the military base. Once inside, I will attempt to construct a stable Portal. The soldiers can use this Portal to return to the city center of Moonlight City.
In order to maintain the stability of the Portal, the soldiers must provide me with ample support. They will at least need to fend off the surrounding monsters while I am in the process of constructing the Portal.
Furthermore, during the time I am sustaining the Portal, I hope to make use of all the resources available within the military base. After all, you should be well aware that maintaining a Portal requires a substantial amount of energy."
Jeremy's conditions were essentially twofold: the first was that the soldiers must follow his commands to fend off the monsters, and the second was that he needed unrestricted access to the supplies within the military base.
"That is certainly not a problem, I will grant you full command. Moreover, all the supplies within the military base will be made available to you.
If you truly manage to rescue all the soldiers in the military base, I will consider even the unused supplies as a gift for your efforts."
In Howard's perspective, the supplies within the military base were incomparable to the lives of the soldiers.
Even if all the supplies were completely exhausted, Howard could gradually replenish them over time.
However, if there were significant casualties among the soldiers, Howard would be utterly powerless to remedy the situation. He would not even be able to ensure the safety of Moonlight City.
Furthermore, he would have no way to justify such losses to the military headquarters.
"Since you have agreed, I will teleport directly into the military base!" Jeremy promptly declared.