To the people of the Inner Solar System, the news that the half-century-long war had finally concluded with the total annihilation of the Ancient Legion and humanity's decisive victory was met, primarily, with disbelief. The announcement was simply too sudden.

Although they held absolute faith in Marshal Li Yuese and the Earth Forces, believing they could secure the Twin Stars Defense Line in one major push and reclaim the territory spanning the eight planets held two years prior, the Ancient Legion had, after all, maintained its stronghold on Pluto for five decades.

Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of military logistics could see that Pluto was too distant from the Inner System for easy resupply. Pushing the Earth Forces’ supply chain all the way to the Twin Stars Defense Line had already stretched their logistical capabilities to the breaking point. Mounting an assault on Pluto in the short term was simply impossible.

In reality, humanity hadn't reached Pluto in over a decade. Who knew what kind of iron fortress the Apes had constructed there? The prevailing military consensus held that the war against the Ancient Legion would remain deadlocked at the Twin Stars Defense Line.

Only a few overly optimistic—and attention-seeking—experts and professors dared to publicly proclaim the Ancient Legion’s demise, and they were generally treated as laughingstocks.

But this time, it was the mainstream global media that declared the Ancient Legion destroyed. Every outlet with a news distribution function featured this seismic announcement on its front page.

Accompanying the news were holographic images and videos taken by frontline military reconnaissance units, revealing Pluto and Charon shrouded in the residual smoke of nuclear detonations.

When Li Yuese learned of the situation on Pluto, he had immediately dispatched reconnaissance teams. Upon receiving the firsthand intelligence, he was profoundly shocked and transmitted the data straight back to Earth Force headquarters.

Such earth-shattering news could not be suppressed. As more people became aware, it soon spread, as the saying goes, like wildfire.

The Ancient Legion had finally been eradicated; humanity had won the final victory of the war!

Following the initial wave of disbelief, the entire world ignited with elation!

Humanity had waited for this day for what felt like an eternity. Many elderly citizens still clearly recalled the very moment the war began. Now, fifty years of conflict later, after two generations had lived and breathed under its shadow, victory had finally arrived!

As the news spread, crowds of ecstatic citizens marched through the streets of every major city daily. Stock indices soared across the board, celebrations erupted one after another, and sounds of joy could be heard for miles. People unleashed the pent-up emotions that had festered within them for decades. Even the number of newlyweds had multiplied several times over compared to the previous year, leading to a noticeable surge in births ten months later.

The pervasive anxiety had finally lifted. Not long ago, the Ancient Legion had been pressing relentlessly, forcing swift retreats on the front lines, with the Apes even managing to reach the Asteroid Belt, casting a thick pall of war over the Inner System. Yet, now, they had been driven back just as rapidly, and the entire Ancient Legion was history. Faced with such a dramatic reversal, even the business of the asylums saw an unexpected boom.

However, the high-ranking officers at Earth Force headquarters were not celebrating like the populace outside. Their reaction upon hearing the news was one of sheer panic, as if a massive iron plate had fallen from the sky directly onto their heads, rendering them collectively speechless.

That was the Ancient Legion! The very force that had battled all of humanity for half a century! And the Trant Mercenary Group had not only breached their Pluto base but had reduced the entire dwarf planet to a dead zone!

In a large conference room at Earth Force HQ, the senior generals reconvened. Not long ago, they had been plotting yet another insidious scheme to deal with the Trant Mercenary Group. But after learning the details of Pluto’s orbital bombardment, many in the room began to waver.

“I withdraw from the matter we discussed last time. No amount of gain is worth losing one’s life to enjoy it. Confronting the Trant Mercenary Group is seeking death!”

“I agree completely. I consider myself absent from that previous meeting; don’t come looking for me. From this moment on, I am uninvolved.”

“Gentlemen, I have already prepared my retirement papers and submitted them to the General Staff. With the Ancient Legion gone, it’s far more suitable for me to return home and enjoy the rest of my years.”

“You gutless wonders! The destruction of the Ancient Legion’s Pluto base proves the unparalleled strategic importance of spatial jumping technology! Having such technology in private hands—how dangerous is that? More dangerous than private ownership of atomic weapons! If they suddenly appeared outside Earth and initiated an orbital bombardment, who would bear that responsibility? You?”

“Exactly. You talk about retiring to enjoy life? With the Ancient Legion gone, the Trant Mercenary Group is the potential enemy of humanity. The military still has a role to play. Such dangerous technology in their hands is better held by those more suitable—that is, us, the military, who truly represent humanity’s core interests!”

“Have you all gone mad? We can’t win against them!”

“Idiot, if handled correctly, we don't need to fight at all! War is merely the continuation of politics; the true battle is fought with comprehensive strength. Military power alone never wins; are there not countless historical examples? We represent humanity; they represent private interests. That is their inherent weakness. When have you ever heard of a private military organization defeating the entire world?”

“Look at history: those who pursue endless military adventurism are doomed to fail! If we align ourselves with the general sentiment of the human world, we stand invincible! No one can kill the entire human race!”

“But don’t forget that Yang Ying is Master Hengfeng! Even if he can’t kill everyone in the world, he can certainly kill all of you!”

“Enough!”

A sharp roar silenced the escalating argument. All eyes turned to the side, where Old Marshal Na Ken had risen, his face taut. “Those who wish to leave, go now. You are not wanted here!”

Dozens of generals exchanged glances. Only one stepped forward. “It seems the Old Marshal intends to follow this path to the end. Please excuse me; I cannot accompany you.” He turned and left the room.

“Remember not to gossip once you are outside!” Marshal Na Ken said coldly.

Seeing someone take the lead, several others offered a salute to Duncan and exited the conference room. Then more left, until only a sparse few remained—fewer than ten in total.

Marshal Duncan surveyed the remaining group and snorted in dissatisfaction. “It is good that you could stay. The Trant faction possesses things they should not have, threatening the safety of all humanity. Therefore, regardless of the personal risk, we in the Earth Forces must step forward. As protectors of humanity, the military should have accepted the certainty of death the moment they enlisted. To die on the battlefield is, for a soldier, the best possible end.”

The faces of those who remained grew awkward. Most had been drawn by the lure of power, gambling their lives on securing control over humanity’s future, rather than protecting it.

Marshal Na Ken gave his adjutant a subtle signal. The adjutant startled but masked his reaction, nodding briefly before excusing himself from the conference room.

The generals who opted to retreat and save themselves gathered their respective aides by the elevators. They divided into four cabs, descending the fifty-story tower. The elevators had been waiting on that floor, as someone had, predictably, made arrangements for their departure.

Once all the generals and their aides were inside, the doors of the four cabs closed, and they began their descent.

Na Ken’s adjutant observed this from a corner of the hallway. His eyes narrowed, and he tapped his wrist-mounted device twice. A piercing alarm suddenly blared!

In the computer center of Earth Force headquarters, the duty engineer watched in horror as a powerful computer virus infiltrated the main system.

“What’s happening?” the center director demanded.

“The system is crashing! All peripheral devices are malfunctioning!” the engineer exclaimed, typing furiously but finding himself helpless against the virus. Suddenly, he screamed, “Oh no! The elevator brakes are disengaging—all cabs are in freefall!”

Seventeen floors below ground at Earth Force HQ—a level only one degree removed from hell—a few sentry officers heard several heavy thuds, only to see the four elevators carrying over twenty generals and their aides plummeting down.

The officers forced open the elevator doors and saw a tangled heap of corpses, all clad in general’s uniforms, strewn across the cab floors. With a freefall spanning sixty stories, compounded by the simulated Earth gravity inside the structure, these generals were merely flesh and blood. None could have survived.

When the news reached the computer center, both the director and the engineer immediately fainted. A single virus had killed over twenty generals; as the staff responsible for the mainframe room, they were utterly culpable.

When the news reached the conference room on the fiftieth floor, Marshal Na Ken remained impassive. “Those who fear death on the battlefield are the first to die; deserters must be shot. Those men fled and met with misfortune, while those who held the line survived. Does this not prove that principle, gentlemen?”

“Yes! Yes!”

The generals who had remained stiffened, casting looks of sheer terror toward Marshal Na Ken. None of them believed it was an accident. Marshal Duncan’s maneuver had silenced them completely.

“Is the Old Marshal insane? We always thought he was just an old relic who rose through seniority, but we never suspected such ruthless ambition. It seems he is the one gambling his life—we are far behind him in that regard.”

“They say idealists are often more terrifying than realists. Realists yield to practical interests and won't act too recklessly. But idealists will do anything for their vision. Marshal Na Ken has gone mad. He is terrifying.”

The remaining generals thought these things silently to themselves.