(Extra Story) Useless 05

Fang Zhiyi looked heartbroken. “What do you mean, I killed him? You’re the ones who killed him! You killed my governor!”

The blue-skinned alien’s expression turned fearful the moment it heard the word “governor.”

“We didn’t kill him. It was you…”

“Oh? Do you think those people over there will believe me or you?” Fang Zhiyi said with a smile, pointing into the distance.

A blue-skinned alien shouted something, and the sound of gunfire and cannon fire gradually drew closer.

The alien who had been speaking with Fang Zhiyi panicked. It shouted something in its own language, then glared at Fang Zhiyi with undisguised hatred.

Fang Zhiyi paid it no attention. “Aren’t you going to run? It’ll be too late if you wait any longer.”

“Despicable human! Despicable!” it roared.

“That’s nothing. You haven’t seen the truly despicable things I can do yet.” Fang Zhiyi grinned.

At its command, several blue-skinned aliens began surging toward the wreckage of the warship. They wanted to climb aboard and capture Fang Zhiyi.

Fang Zhiyi finished the cigarette in his hand and flicked it away. Then he turned around and pulled a laser cannon from behind him.

“I’ve never used something this high-end before.” His eyes lit up.

“Report! We’re almost at the warship! The vanguard has encountered a small group of blue-skinned aliens blocking their advance!”

“Open fire!” Hu Lie’s eyes were filled with excitement. It would be even better if they arrived to find that the governor was dead too. If another sector governor died, no one would be able to stop the Sector Army’s advance.

The sound of explosions in the distance made him look up in confusion.

The soldiers of the vanguard battalion were pouring fire into the enemy. Ever since that Gu Yuan had defected, they had gone from attackers to defenders and had hardly dared to fire at will. Today, they had finally found an opportunity.

But when they advanced to the enormous wreckage of the warship, every one of them was stunned by the scene before them.

In their impression, the governor of Sector Thirty-Two was a civil official who was not good at fighting. There were even rumors that he had only gotten the position by sheer luck.

Yet what they saw now was the frail-looking sector governor standing amid several fallen blue-skinned corpses. The power sword in his hand had pierced through the throat of one alien that was still struggling. Even with blue blood splattered across his face, the sector governor did not so much as blink.

“What kind of piece of junk is this? It’s supposed to be a laser weapon, and it only has five shots?” Fang Zhiyi cursed.

Only after the blue-skinned alien who could speak the Blue Star language had finally died did he angrily pull out his sword. Then he kicked the corpse out of the hatch.

The alien’s body landed directly in front of Hu Lie, who was piloting a combat mech. Hu Lie stared at it, momentarily dumbfounded.

He had seen this governor several times before. In his impression, the man was nothing but a useless weakling.

But now it seemed…

“What are you all standing around for? Pursue them! Don’t let a single one escape!” Fang Zhiyi shouted.

He suddenly leapt down from the wreckage and landed steadily on the ground, kicking up a ring of dust.

His shout brought many of the soldiers back to their senses. They immediately began chasing the blue-skinned aliens as they fled in all directions.

Fang Zhiyi straightened up, holding the power sword in one hand and the laser gun, already emptied of ammunition, in the other.

“You’re not going after them?” Little Hei asked curiously.

“To hell with chasing them. It’s too high up, and my legs hurt. I’m just standing here to recover. I can’t let anyone notice.” Fang Zhiyi gritted his teeth as he muttered.

“Impressive. A typical case of valuing his dignity over his life.”

“You don’t understand.”

This small-scale victory greatly boosted the morale of the Ninth Battle Group, especially after the soldiers spread exaggerated stories about Fang Zhiyi’s performance that day.

Only a handful of people, including Hu Lie, knew that the governor had not been injured while fighting the blue-skinned aliens. He had actually crippled his leg when he jumped down.

Still, no one said anything. The governor had already proven through his actions that he was no coward, and he earned the respect of most of the officers.

Compared with that, a more serious problem now faced them. After the death of the administrator, most of the Ninth Battle Group’s mid-level officers proposed launching a more intense campaign to wipe out the blue-skinned aliens.

But the battle group commander rejected the proposal.

He had already received orders from the upper echelons of the Empire: Gu Yuan’s life had to be protected at all costs.

The operation that day had probably enraged the blue-skinned aliens. It would be troublesome if Gu Yuan were caught up in the consequences.

Sure enough, reports soon arrived from the various garrisons. Large numbers of blue-skinned aliens had begun counterattacking, and it appeared that the alien Fang Zhiyi had killed that day had been someone of great importance to them.

There were also reports that the stealth mech stolen by Gu Yuan had appeared among the enemy forces.

Fang Zhiyi naturally knew whom he had killed. Strictly speaking, in terms of human relationships, that fellow should have been Gu Yuan’s brother-in-law.

He had done it on purpose.

The garrisons under attack soon received orders. They were not permitted to counterattack.

No reason was given.

After injuring his leg, Fang Zhiyi was temporarily moved to a secure zone to recover. The commander of the Ninth Battle Group came to visit him once, but his words were full of reproach. The meaning was clear: as governor, Fang Zhiyi should not have interfered in the Ninth Battle Group’s military operations.

Fang Zhiyi merely smiled and apologized, allowing the matter to pass.

However, the situation outside seemed far from optimistic. While he was recovering, reinforcements for the blue-skinned aliens arrived ahead of schedule. It was not difficult to guess why: since the king’s son had been killed by humans, the blue-skinned reinforcements had come early. Combined with Gu Yuan’s command and the deliberate inaction of the military leadership, many secure zones were overrun, and large numbers of soldiers were forced to retreat.

Everything unfolded just as it had in the original plot. Even the place where Fang Zhiyi was recovering had now been filled with wounded soldiers.

“Why aren’t we allowed to fight? Our mechs are still here, and we have enough ammunition!”

“You idiot. That young lord is on the other side.”

“Is his life really that precious? My brothers were torn apart alive by those monsters!”

“Keep your voice down. Be careful the governor’s personal guards don’t hear you.”

Some of them cautiously glanced toward Fang Zhiyi’s side, but Fang Zhiyi acted as though he had heard nothing. He simply stared blankly at the top of the tent.

The ordinary soldiers’ complaints rose and fell, and the Ninth Battle Group’s morale plummeted to rock bottom.

Everyone knew that they were nothing more than pawns in the hands of the Empire’s nobles, that their lives were cheap.

But what else could they do?

The crude communicator hanging outside the tent suddenly crackled with static.

“Notice to all units of the Ninth Battle Group. Notice: Due to battlefield losses, we have requested an evacuation from the Empire. Repeat, abandon all nonessential facilities and begin evacuation as soon as possible…”

Silence descended over the tent. Many of the wounded soldiers listened blankly to the broken transmission.

At last, one figure stood up and limped out of the tent.

The soldiers stared at the frail back as it disappeared, their minds completely blank.

Hu Lie had a bandage wrapped around his head, and his eyes were bloodshot. He viciously smashed his cup against the ground.

“We’ve never fought such a humiliating battle!”

“All right, stop complaining,” another battalion commander said. “I heard this was the decision of the higher-ups. Apparently, they have another solution.”

“A peaceful one.”