Chapter 633 - 397: Black Tide War
Dawn 153rd Year, April, Wolf King Fenrir successfully escaped New Moon City and entered the Land of No Master.
From that moment, the world underwent a seismic change.
After arriving in the Land of No Master, Su Mo shared with her all the information in his mind about the Ancient Era Ruins, allowing her to uncover countless technology relics buried underground, giving her the capital to rise again.
Throughout this process, even though the World Government and the three major corporate giants exerted all efforts to annihilate Fenrir, sending top-level experts to carry out assassination missions, and even assembling heavy troops for several expeditions against the Land of No Master, the end result was still failure.
Fenrir grew stronger and stronger through countless life-and-death battles; according to the latest intelligence, her blood code has reached the highest "High Tier Black King," and her most capable operative, Hibell, is already at the "Divine Protection Level."
At the same time, Fenrir raised the banner of the Wolf Assault again and, with overwhelming force, swept through the various military forces in the Land of No Master, conquered them, and reorganized them under her command, becoming the new king of that wasteland.
Wolf Assault, the violent group that struggled to stand up from the Border Mire of New Moon City, has now ignited an unstoppable inferno in the Land of No Master.
And at the beginning of the Dawn 155th Year, with the Celestial Gate Patrol Station being attacked and falling three times in just a few years, a grand war began.
Fenrir led the Wolf Assault army from the Land of No Master to attack the World Government Territory, launching a full-scale assault on this incompetent regime that led humanity to resurgence after the doomsday war, only to fall as the puppet of the corporate giants.
Since the Wolf Assault members were all dressed in black and attacked like a surging tide, the chronicles also refer to it as the "Black Tide War."
...
Today is January 1st, Dawn 156th Year, the first day of the New Year.
Even in New Moon City, a giant metropolis known for its chaos, the New Year festival in past years was always filled with cheer, with lights and festivities everywhere.
But this year’s New Year left people with only oppression, endless oppression.
It was just past dusk, the night of late winter was exceedingly cold, and the flickering lights between high-rise buildings outlined the desolate contours on the dim streets.
Logically, at this time just after dark and on New Year’s, it would be the time for post-dinner outings, and the streets should be bustling with people.
However, most shops along the streets were tightly shuttered, dust accumulating on the display windows, indicating they had been abandoned for a long time, with only a few still barely operating.
The trash cans on the roadside were overflowing, garbage scattered on the ground giving off a nauseating smell, while a few stray cats rummaged for food with wary and hungry eyes.
The pedestrians on the streets walked with heads down, their faces covered with fatigue, their expressions tense and steps hurried, as if afraid of being swallowed by the icy night.
The streets were still patrolled by the military, soldiers in combat uniforms, holding weapons, scanning their surroundings with a stern gaze.
Drones hovered in the night sky, trailing ghostly cold light, cameras rotating back and forth, monitoring every corner of the city.
Military robots patrolled specified routes, their metallic shells reflecting cold light under street lamps, precise mechanical eyes flashing red light akin to the gaze of death, making one’s spine shiver.
On the walls of street corners, there were huge banners everywhere left by the World Government Army, with bright red and striking inscriptions:
[United, We Fight to Defend Our Homeland]
[Wolf Assault Rebels, Destined for Destruction]
[United Under the Glory of the World Government, The Honor Belongs to Our Army]
[Human Survival Above All]
Aside from the printed banners, public electronic screens also repeatedly played propaganda films, showcasing dazzling war scenes and stirring speeches. World Government’s senior leaders wore serious expressions, their powerful voices stirring people’s enthusiasm for the war.
In contrast to that enthusiasm, reality was exceptionally oppressive; pedestrians hardly lifted their heads to look at these propaganda banners and films, quickly walking past, turning a deaf ear to it all.
Occasionally, someone would whisper to one another with a heavy expression, but the soldiers not far away would coldly watch them, causing them to quickly disperse.
As of today, the Black Tide War has been going on for a year.
In the first few months of the outbreak, the World Government, relying on the advantage of fighting on home turf, could suppress Wolf Assault significantly from all sides, pushing back their onslaughts with powerful military force, even advancing the front back to the edge of the Land of No Master.
But as time went on, the war slowly turned unfavorable.
Because the people’s hearts were not on the side of the World Government.
Three years ago, during the New Moon City beast crisis, the corporate giants fled overnight, even instructing the City Council to order the shooting of refugees.
Meanwhile, under Fenrir’s leadership, Wolf Assault stepped up, building a flesh-and-blood defense line on the most dangerous front.
The high-levels of the World Government might not have realized that this seemingly "insignificant" difference, from the perspective of the bigwigs, laid the foundation for their predicament three years later.
Fenrir gained admiration and support during the beast crisis and later, in a battle at the Heaven-Reaching Tower, overthrew the branches of the three major corporate giants, pulling them off the pedestal, making the world believe there were no gods, even the supreme giants could bleed.
And when she finally went to the Land of No Master, leading her army back after many years, she did not bring the fear of war but rather a fervent anticipation.
Those suffocated by the oppressive world hoped Fenrir could succeed, just as she did at the Heaven-Reaching Tower, crushing the corporate giants and bringing a new world to everyone.
For a time, turmoil spread within the World Government Territory as people from various places responded to Fenrir, forcing the authorities to later order a military crackdown.
Because of the high intensity of the frontline war, along with instability in the rear hindering production, livelihood issues became increasingly severe.
To supply the frontline troops, people’s working hours were forcibly extended, compelled to use their health to serve the World Government.
Numerous taxes were issued, even workers earning only a few thousand a month could have nearly half of their salary taken by some bizarre tax item.
Despite all this, the situation on the frontline remained grim, and later there was forced conscription everywhere, with young and able-bodied individuals armed and trained before being sent to the front to fill ranks.
The military higher-ups even devised an extremely vicious scheme.
"Isn’t Fenrir rising from the bottom and fighting for the bottom?"
"Then I’ll specifically conscript from the bottom, form them into cannon fodder units, and send them to the front to let both sides fight to exhaustion."
Harsh decrees, oppressed living conditions, daily existential fear...
In this darkness, everyone silently bore unspeakable pain and oppression, hoping for the dawn to arrive.