Chapter Sixty-Three: The Nine Provinces Have Won! The Nine Provinces Have Won!

This time, the central control system was no longer located atop the head, but had shifted to the chest cavity.

Yet the titanium alloy at the chest was the hardest of all, so tough that ordinary laser cannons couldn’t even pierce it.

“Attention! Attention! The weak point of the turret is no longer at the top of the head—it’s moved to the chest!”

“Everyone, hear my command! Concentrate your laser fire on the turret’s chest!”

“Double the charge! If twice isn’t enough, then triple it! Keep firing until the chest is breached!” Chu Xiao shouted hoarsely.

The previously panicked crowd instantly calmed upon hearing Chu Xiao’s words.

“Load up!”

“Fire!”

“Concentrate all firepower—shoot!”

At the order, explosions thundered through the air.

It wasn’t enough; the turrets were merely dented.

“Everyone, four times the charge! If that’s not enough, then five times! Blow them apart!” Chu Xiao roared.

Number One, standing nearby, aimed at a turret and fired— the powerful recoil of the laser cannon nearly threw Number One backward, but Chu Xiao caught him in time.

Number One glanced back—just behind was a drop of dozens of meters.

Chu Xiao cursed inwardly, but it was already too late; several people had fallen from that height.

“Watch the recoil! Caution with the recoil! Don’t increase the laser charge, don’t overcharge the laser! Fire in succession! Rapid fire will do!” Chu Xiao bellowed.

It was his own misjudgment that had caused these casualties.

With the turret army drawing ever closer, Chu Xiao had no time to dwell on regret.

“Fill the gaps! Get into position! Fire!”

“Water cannons, advance! Halt their progress! Don’t panic!”

Chu Xiao commanded with icy calm, his long phoenix eyes shining with determination.

The logistics team efficiently managed the bodies of those who had fallen, while the frontline warriors continued the fight.

This victory would belong to Jiuzhou in the end!

Suddenly, when no one was paying attention, a fire-spitting bird soared above the crowd, attempting to break through Jiuzhou’s defenses from overhead.

Clearly, it had underestimated Jiuzhou.

The firebird spotted an opening at the top of the fortress and eagerly plunged inside.

But in that instant, it met an even more ferocious pain— intense electric currents surged through its body, utterly destroying its internal control system in a flash!

When the firebird crashed to the ground, it was nothing but a heap of useless scrap metal.

The logistics team swiftly set about dismantling and inspecting the wreckage, ensuring no threats remained.

With the lesson of the firebird, the Underworld King sent no more machines on stealth attacks.

Clearly, the Underworld King was now afraid!

But there was no time for celebration—the turrets were ahead, drawing closer to the fortress of Mingzhu City.

If the turrets were not destroyed soon, the fortress would inevitably fall!

“Everyone, concentrate fire on the turret’s chest! Mind the recoil! Stay safe!” Chu Xiao picked up a laser cannon, doubled the charge, fired—still not enough.

Then a second shot.

Still not enough. Then a third!

A fourth.

...

Finally, on the tenth shot, the laser cannon pierced the turret’s armored shell and penetrated inside. With a thunderous boom, the turret exploded into fragments, rendered inoperable.

The destruction of the first turret ignited a surge of confidence—an unshakable faith in victory.

“Everyone, focus your fire! Don’t panic! Ten shots will bring it down!” Chu Xiao commanded, continuing his own steady barrage.

Everyone held their breath, aiming, firing—shot after shot.

The turrets were beaten back in succession.

One after another, turrets were pierced and destroyed!

At last, the Underworld King’s mechanical army retreated. Jiuzhou had triumphed!

Cheers echoed to the heavens.

All embraced each other, tears of joy streaming down their faces.

“Jiuzhou is victorious!”

“We’ve won!”

“We’ve won!”

...

Chu Xiao took it all in, as Number One gripped his shoulder tightly. “Well done!”

Chu Xiao, too, was overwhelmed, tears gushing forth like a spring.

This was Jiuzhou!

With nothing but flesh and blood, they had resisted the mechanical onslaught of the Underworld King, and achieved ultimate victory!

Jiuzhou! It would one day stand at the pinnacle of the world!

Chu Xiao sat in his office, listening to Ji Kai Cheng report the casualties.

“Three thousand dead, four thousand severely wounded—the number of minor injuries is impossible to count.”

“How many died from falling due to my misjudgment in command?” Chu Xiao did not evade responsibility, but asked directly.

Ji Kai Cheng hesitated before replying, “Five hundred.”

Chu Xiao gazed at the casualty list in silence for a long time before speaking in a low voice, “Do you think I’m unfit to command Jiuzhou? It’s my fault—these deaths are on me.”

Ji Kai Cheng shook his head. “No! That’s not true! Without you, Jiuzhou would likely have faced the same doom as America, North Sands, or Euroforce—a national catastrophe!”

“Besides, there’s something odd about these turrets. They weren’t quite as you’d foreseen.”

Ji Kai Cheng’s words stirred Chu Xiao’s thoughts.

“You mean there’s a traitor?”

Ji Kai Cheng nodded.

“Yes. Exactly.” He said no more, for with Chu Xiao’s intelligence, the suspicion in his heart had already found a target.

“Commander, what do you think?” Chu Xiao turned to Number One, who was in the study.

Number One’s brush paused. “It’s someone inside America. It couldn’t be Marcus.”

“I agree,” Chu Xiao replied quietly.

“That traitor—I’ll contact Marcus and see that justice is served, to honor the fallen souls of Jiuzhou!” Number One gripped his brush so fiercely it snapped in two.

By this time, the battle in America had also ended.

“Report: our total casualties this time are twenty thousand!” the secretary announced, reading the statistics.

Marcus suppressed his anger. “Why was the turret’s weakness different from what Jiuzhou told us? Were they toying with us?”

The secretary paused, then added, “Jiuzhou’s casualties were about seven thousand. According to information from over there, it’s because of a traitor. They wish to discuss it.”

“A traitor? Discuss what? Are they implying it’s me?”

“No—it's Harris. Harris left Jiuzhou long ago, but never returned home,” the secretary replied, pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses with a serious air.

Having a traitor in one’s own country was no honorable thing.

Marcus’s face darkened, his expression unreadable.

“Tell them we don’t believe it. Say Harris isn’t a traitor, and that he must return immediately!”

The secretary looked astonished, incredulous. “Why?”

“That’s none of your concern. Just do as I say! And when he comes back, ensure he is brought to me safely.”

“And fetch me a laser cannon, as well.”