I Can Control Resources

He didn’t know who he was waiting for.

But he had been waiting for decades...

Once, in battle after battle, he had personally witnessed those around him fall—family, brothers, and comrades-in-arms.

Some said Shen Fei survived because his father was a vice-commander.

Others said Shen Fei survived because the Human Alliance needed someone from the Shen Family to live on.

But only Shen Fei himself knew the truth.

He had survived because, in one battle, a person he deeply admired had died in his place.

"Brothers!" Shen Fei turned around, looking at the two thousand soldiers standing behind him, at the pairs of eyes filled with resolve.

"The time for humanity’s rise has come. Are you willing to follow me?!"

"We are!"

"We are!"

"Move out! To the North District City Gate!" Shen Fei didn’t bother with any overly emotional speeches. Gao Neng had already said everything that needed to be said.

There was no need for him to say more.

He just needed to lead this army, brimming with fighting spirit, to the Northern District Battlefield and fire the first shot of this epic battle.

"Commander!"

"General, take us with you!"

"Yeah, take us with you! We’re not leaving! This is our home! The North District... this is our home!"

The civilians now surged forward as well.

They were no longer rushing for the aircraft. They no longer wanted to leave. They had lived in the North District for decades and were unwilling to abandon their home.

"I’m sorry. We can’t take you to the battlefield. Fighting is a soldier’s destiny, but all of you now..." Shen Fei’s gaze swept over the crowd, a pang of sorrow in his heart. But he also understood the cruelty and power of the Alien Race Alliance Army.

Normally, even with a three-to-one advantage, a human army could still lose to the Alien Race Alliance Army, and that was assuming perfect coordination.

This was because the aliens’ physical constitution was far superior to that of a normal human.

The crowd of civilians before him was indeed vast.

But on the battlefield, these people would be like lambs to the slaughter...

A crowd of the old, the weak, women, and children, without even thermal weapons in their hands—how could they possibly kill the aliens? Besides being trampled to death by the Alien Race Alliance Army, they would be utterly helpless.

"No, General! We know the North District City Gate was destroyed long ago, leaving nothing but countless broken stones. We may not be able to charge onto the battlefield and kill the enemy, but we can help you build a new wall!" an old man spoke up.

"That’s right, we can help!"

"Please, General, take us with you! We’re not leaving! We’re willing to live or die with the Northern District Battlefield..."

"We beg you, General, take us!"

"We beg you, General, take us!"

"..."

Countless voices rose up.

The hesitation had vanished from the civilians’ faces. The endless confusion was gone. A blazing fire had been ignited in their hearts.

"..." Shen Fei fell silent.

His duty told him he should refuse.

But his instincts told him that these old, weak, and young people were radiating a powerful energy, and the one who had ignited it was Gao Neng.

"General, take them with us!"

"General, take them with us!"

"..."

The soldiers began to shout.

"Alright! We go together!" Shen Fei nodded solemnly. Then, raising his right hand high, he pointed toward the North District City Gate. "Forward! To the North District City Gate!"

"Charge!"

The galvanized army began to advance.

One by one, the old, the weak, the women, and the children stood up resolutely from the ground. They too began to advance. Though their pace was not as fast as the army’s, not a single one of them stopped.

Shen Fei walked at the very front of the army in his capacity as its commander.

He didn’t look back.

Nor did he make any special effort to maintain discipline.

Because he knew that in this moment, whether it was the soldiers or the civilians behind him, everyone had only one thought: to protect humanity’s home.

Humanity...

Had risen!

...

「The North District City Gate.」

This place once boasted a gate and walls a hundred feet high.

But now, there was nothing. If one had to say there was something, it was the piles of cold, white rubble scattered on the ground.

The Human Alliance had a total of one million troops stationed at the gates of its four districts.

Two months ago, the North District Fortress had a garrison of two hundred thousand soldiers. But now, two months later, fewer than one hundred thousand remained.

The city gate was destroyed.

The walls were breached.

In the distance, the horns of battle had already sounded.

An Alien Race Alliance Army of two hundred thousand was closing in, step by step.

But the Human Alliance’s garrison was already battered and bruised.

Of the fewer than one hundred thousand remaining troops, thirty percent were wounded. In addition, the thermal weapons built into the walls had been almost completely destroyed. This meant the garrison’s combat effectiveness was less than forty percent.

It was a battle with overwhelmingly disparate forces.

But still, they held on.

This was already the third day.

According to the orders from the Military Department, they were supposed to retreat today.

However, they knew there were still twenty million civilians in the North District who had not left. If they retreated, those twenty million people would become corpses under the blades of the Alien Race Alliance Army.

"Brothers! Commander Li may have fallen in battle, but the fighting spirit of our North District army lives on! We will defend this place to the last moment, repel this alien charge, and avenge Commander Li!" A soldier with a bandaged chest stepped forward, his hair stained with red blood.

The blood on it was alien.

"Avenge him!"

"Avenge him!"

"..."

Nearly one hundred thousand soldiers roared.

And in the distance, the Alien Race Alliance Army gradually came into view through the biting wind.

The RUMBLE of war drums echoed.

At the forefront of the Alien Race Alliance Army, more than thirty figures as tall as small mountains slowly revealed themselves.

Those were the ’Barbaric Beasts’ sent by the Eastern District’s Beast Race.

Each Barbaric Beast was three times taller than a full-grown elephant. Their bodies were covered in thick Ice and Snow Battle Armor, and they stood on the battlefield like mobile mountains of flesh.

"Reporting to Commander Dai! Estimated enemy numbers are thirty thousand. This is already their third charge today," a soldier quickly reported his reconnaissance findings.

"Five charges a day... Even with a two-hundred-thousand-strong Allied Army, even using a war of attrition, this has to be taking a toll on them! Brothers, this is a battle of wills! We need to buy more time for the civilians to evacuate! We cannot retreat, because our families are behind us!" Commander Dai shouted again.

"We will never retreat!"

"We will never retreat!"

"..."

The roar thundered once more.

"Commander Dai, a high command order from the Military Department!" Just then, a messenger ran over from nearby, holding a new directive.

"If it’s an order to retreat, tell Command that we can hold for one more day... no, we can hold for two more days!" Commander Dai gritted his teeth.

"No, it’s not an order to retreat," the messenger immediately shook his head.

"Not a retreat? Could it be... has the Alliance sent reinforcements? How many men?!" Hearing this, Commander Dai’s eyes narrowed sharply.

"It’s an order to hold to the death."

"Hold to the death?"

"Yes. Commander Qin personally issued the order. The North District garrison is to hold the Northern District Battlefield to the death, to resolutely let no alien escape, and to never allow the Alien Race Alliance Army to take a single step into the North District!" the messenger affirmed.

"Hold the Northern District Battlefield to the death? Hahaha... An order to hold the Northern District Battlefield to the death? Excellent! We can finally follow in Commander Li’s footsteps! This is great! We soldiers should stain the battlefield with our blood! Fight! We will never back down!" Commander Dai stood up, his expression showing not a hint of retreat.

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

"Never back down!"

The voices of nearly one hundred thousand soldiers shook the falling snow from the sky.

At that same moment, the distant Alien Race Alliance Army officially revealed itself through the wind and snow.

It was a massive alien army clad in Ice and Snow Battle Armor. They were draped in thick furs, and a bloodthirsty light glinted in their eyes.

According to ancient legends...

...there was a song of the battlefield that could stir the soul’s craving for blood and reduce the body’s perception of pain by thirty percent.

And now, that very song rose from the thirty thousand alien troops preparing to charge.

The melodious song pierced the heavens.

It caused the feet of the alien army to stomp unceasingly upon the ground.

The snow CRUNCHED under their feet.

The ice and snow released a white, frosty mist that enveloped their bodies, making the Ice and Snow Battle Armor they wore even harder.

This was a unique type of battle armor belonging to the Northern Ice and Snow Clan.

But now, this armor appeared on the thirty-thousand-strong charging army.

"WHOOO—"

The horn sounded again.

At the front of the thirty-thousand-strong charging army, tall figures appeared one by one. They were of various shapes and sizes, but they all wore the same expression on their faces.

Arrogance and indifference.

They were the high-ranking members of the alien army.

With every charge, they would stand at the very front.

"Humanity, rise!"

"Humanity, rise!"

"..."

Just as Commander Dai was about to issue the order to hold their ground, a faint shouting suddenly echoed from the distance. Moreover, the sounds were rapidly approaching.

This made Commander Dai’s body tremble slightly, and he subconsciously looked behind him.

Not far away...

...dark figures were charging relentlessly toward his position.

Closer!

Closer!

The voices could now be heard clearly.

And Commander Dai could also see the person charging at the very front with perfect clarity.

"Shen Fei?! Isn’t... isn’t he in charge of the civilian evacuation? Why has he come to the front lines of the battlefield?!" Commander Dai’s expression changed slightly.

He naturally knew that Shen Fei had arrived at the Northern District Battlefield two days ago.

However, he also knew that Shen Fei was the last line of defense for the North District’s civilians. According to their agreement, he shouldn’t be here.

But the fact was...

Shen Fei had really come.

And he had brought his well-equipped, two-thousand-man legion with him.