974 How Long?

The unexpected resistance from the cluster cities stalled their destruction. If the paramilitary didn't risk and laid down their lives, humanity would've received a big blow on the very first day of the war. Then, it'd have just been a matter of time before Neptune fell and erased any chances of human survival.

But the cluster cities held on. Hundreds of thousands died. Each of them was a hero. An unnamed hero.

Even if humanity survived this war and a military funeral was held, they would only receive the most basic martyr send-off. Except for their families and friends, no one would remember or even know of their sacrifices.

Unlike a level 9 powerhouse or a rising genius, their tales wouldn't be told in stories and movies. They'd be one of the many martyrs. Nameless. One in the crowd. Forgotten. Their glory wouldn't reach the people that were alive because of their sacrifice.

But these brave hearts did what they believed was right instead of asking 'Why me?'

And thanks to such people, when the reinforcements finally reached Uranus, they were able to teleport to cluster cities and use the teleportation formations there to rush to Neptune.

Once the reinforcements did reach the border planet, they rushed to the asteroid belt.

The 'reinforcements' were mostly high awakeners and were some of the best warriors humanity had to offer. They only added up to three hundred and at other times, they would be seen as a prank rather than serious reinforcement.

Which planet army would send just three hundred awakeners as reinforcement?

But now, it's the best that the human army could afford.

In fact, the men and women felt too many were being sent to this distant place. It felt unwise to leave behind their planets which were already under heavy pressure.

But as soon as they reached the asteroid belt a few hours from Neptune, they understood the high command's decision and curses left their lips without them noticing.

"Fucking hell!"

"You're kidding!"

"Son of a bitch!"

Their bodies moved in trained movements as they jumped out of the spaceship and assumed a posture of offense.

But even with their vast experience, their eyes trembled as they stared at the hundred enemies in front of them.

They had the same ash-colored skin as any abyssal, but their eyes…those were completely pitch black like orbs of night. But more disturbing was the disgusting aura around them which seemed to repel life itself.

"Undead! Weren't they all finished?" A lean man with multiple light injuries on his body asked.

In fact, he was filled with serious injuries when they first took off. He healed in the few hours they spent in travel. But even so, some of the cuts were yet to vanish.

In a sense, that was the case for every reinforcement sent here.

They withdrew from the battlefield on their respective planet when they were too injured to move and were thrown into a spaceship with a command asking them to go to Neptune's asteroid belt.

It was a ridiculous situation. But that's the best human army could do. They couldn't withdraw the soldiers that could fight from the battlefield. They didn't dare.

Thus, the current situation was formed where except for the basic introductions, the reinforcement team of three hundred members didn't even hold a simple coordination exercise.

"The Undead were hunted down to the last member, yes." The vice-commander of the reinforcement, a bulky man with golden eyes and blonde hair, said as he materialized a lightning bolt in his arm.

"Expect the biggest Undead that was suspected to be dead, yes." The commander, an elderly woman with a slightly hunched back and loose skin, said in a sharp voice.

Unlike how she looked, her voice was exceptionally sharp. But even more than her

voice, her words shocked everyone in the group.

The biggest Undead…the rumored Sovereign Undead was suspected to be dead. And now, they're seeing Undead in front of them.

What did that imply?

"Don't think too much," The elderly commander chuckled and pointed her palm at the Undead that were now rushing at them from the asteroids. "Kill!"

An invisible force spread out from her and sliced three Undead into pieces. The corpses wriggled but an invisible force hammered them into meat paste and ended any chance of their resurrection.

"Kill!"

Her heavy and more commanding pushed them to the Undead before they could even react.

The three hundred reinforcements, composed of 20 level 9s, 100 level 8s, and 180 level 7s clashed with the Undead.

To their relief, the Undead weren't too strong. They had only 15 level 9 and 85 level 8.

The reinforcements themselves were yet to fully recover. So, they didn't go all out and fought without taking too much damage.

As a result, after nearly thirty minutes, the last Undead was blasted onto an asteroid by a mean punch and a violet fireball burned his body to ashes.

The reinforcements sighed in relief after confirming every Undead was completely killed.

"Commander, if Undead are here, maybe that Sovereign Undead recovered?" The Vice Commander voiced the biggest anxiety in everyone's hearts.

"Likely," The elderly commander regarded the team of three hundred with a meaningful smile but her eyes weren't smiling. "We might have to stay here longer than expected."

"How long?" A relatively young level 7 genius asked. He just turned thirty-three and was already a high level 7.

He was the ace of his university and after enlisting, he made a name for himself. If given enough time, he was confident of hitting level 9. Even though he had no certainty, he did have a chance to try and hit the Sovereign state.

Perhaps that's why he was more confident in asking.

"Commander, My younger sister is fighting on the same planetoid I was ordered from. We don't know why, but the abyssals are now suddenly stronger and it's too dangerous to leave her alone." He expressed his worry and asked once again. "How long will the reinforcement mission be? How long will we stay here?"

The elderly woman turned around and didn't answer.

She got the message a few minutes ago. And even without the message, she guessed it from her experience.

The Undead that they killed was merely a few groups of scouts. The real Undead army was about to arrive.

They would've reached Neptune right away like how the wyverns appeared on the planetoids in the previous war.

But thankfully, Varian destroyed their teleportation formations and effectively isolated Pluto from Neptune.

Otherwise, the Undead would've been on Neptune a few hours ago and by the time they reached Neptune, planetoids would've fallen.

"Our enemy is strong," The commander said slowly as she stared into the distant dark space. There was a small red dot she could barely make out. It flickered and disappeared.

Then came two dots. And three before suddenly hundreds of red dots appeared in the distance.

"If these Undead reach the planetoids, they'll use the corpses there and multiply their strength," The elderly woman's eyes grew sharp and she ordered. "So we stop them here! We stand as the wall between them and the bodies of our martyrs! We are the obstacle stopping their success."

The reinforcements got into a standard battle formation as they prepared to fight off the incoming red dots that turned out to be the Undead in special red armor.

As she charged into the enemy, the commander's voice rang in everyone's ears. "How long will we stay here, right?"

Their hearts constricted and they gripped their weapons tighter.

"We will stay here…forever."

Blue light filled the dark space.