“First, it must be affirmed that this was a glorious victory, an epic triumph, a victory that might become the beginning of a legend.

In the near future, if you and your successors become an undefeated Iron Army sweeping across the galaxy, this victory will surely be the beginning of all glorious history.

Gentlemen, you too will be remembered in history.”

Warrant Officer Yu Lian’s words made the soldiers a little embarrassed; they didn't have such grand ambitions of making history, but being praised like this still gave them a great sense of honor.

“Of course, I also have a few somewhat immature suggestions.

I hope that in future battles, everyone will carefully choose the timing for a charge.

If you can shoot all the enemies dead, why wield an axe and charge?

Oh, Baka, I'm not picking on you; I understand that's how the infantry manual teaches it.

But I need everyone to understand the purpose of combat.

This time it was a rout, not an encirclement and annihilation; in fact, several hundred of the enemy had lizard mounts, so encirclement and annihilation were unrealistic, but that makes it even more important to carefully preserve yourselves.

Alright, overall, it's still the same message: we won, we saved a thousand ordinary citizens, and everyone is worthy of their identity as soldiers, worthy of the Blue Star Shield emblem on their arms!” Warrant Officer Yu Lian clapped his hands, stood up under everyone's worshipful gaze, and began to assign tasks.

“Uncle Karl, Doctor Banks, you two take people down the mountain to meet with the civilians and bring them to the valley we found earlier.

Yes, that place is spacious enough and very hidden, enough for everyone to take shelter.

Baka, maintain order among everyone, but pay attention to your methods; don't scare the little ones.

Nurse, you go too; be sure to calm everyone down.”

“Youyou, Ruhr, you two go to the camp.

Yes, near the valley, set up a picket line in advance.”

“Communicator? Is the communicator here?

Yes, you.

Find a high point and continue to call Tulon using shortwave; remember to use the military secure channel!”

“Ina, come with me to scout the enemy's situation!

Oh, right, don't forget to paint two stars on your tank.”

“I'm not planning to switch to being a tank driver,” the Sergeant Major replied.

After arranging all this, Warrant Officer Yu Lian and Ina, the army's first and second Commanders, and the only two spiritual energy users, set off.

He certainly didn't know that a certain Councilor was extremely displeased because he didn't see his “highest Commander” immediately, but even if he did, he probably wouldn't care.

The spiritual energy users in power armor quickly crossed a mountain ridge and found a relatively hidden spot.

They could already see the urban area of Tulon in the distance, the huge apron of the central Starport, and the city shield generators resembling skyscrapers.

However, they also saw the densely packed Sand People barracks surrounding the city's outskirts, like termite nests.

Those indeed looked very much like large ant nests.

It should be known that New Yumen is a mountainous and arid planet, with surface water covering less than thirty percent and scarce vegetation—of course, underground water is quite abundant—the Sand People, who evolved into civilized beings in this environment, developed the means to quickly stick mud and sand into nests.

They also genuinely enjoyed living environments enveloped by earth, which could evoke memories of life's evolution.

Ina looked over, but only saw the Sand People's nests densely encircling Tulon Port on three sides—the other side being the inland sea—making it impenetrable.

The area of their camp was truly too vast, extending beyond her line of sight.

She could even see many Sand People already building high mounds in their camps, working tirelessly around them.

They were planting a local New Yumen crop called sand potato, which was the Sand People's staple food source; the high planting mounds would also host a large number of insects and earthworms, which were their important protein source.

Of course, there were also many “normal” flat fields; most of the high-yield crops from other planets had already sprouted, and only genetically modified crops could grow at such a rate.

Just by seeing this, only a fool would believe that the Sand People had no backers.

It was clear that the Sand People had prepared for a long siege.

Those huge camps, rather than military camps, were more like giant monsters formed by thousands of Sand People settlements gathered together, absurd, strange, distorted, but at this scale, they were also shocking and terrifying.

“I thought the so-called over a million was just a claim…” Ina was indeed surprised.

More precisely, three days later, on October 18, 829, the total attacking force would exceed 1.8 million.

In the cold weapon era, no civilization or political entity had such organizational capability, but the Sand People truly achieved it.

On one hand, it was because they had behind-the-scenes support, and on the other hand, they indeed possessed heroes born of the times.

Every person who fought unyieldingly for racial dignity and independence was a hero and deserved respect, but unfortunately, they were ultimately enemies of humanity…

Thinking of this, Warrant Officer Yu Lian felt a bit disheartened and sighed silently: “…Forget it, facing enemies of this scale, we are helpless for now; we can only see if we can contact Tulon.

Let's go back first.”

“Wise judgment,” Ina agreed.

She was the team's staff officer, brave but not reckless.

In reality, there were indeed ways.

Not to mention over a million, even ten times that number would only take a few minutes of orbital bombardment, but there were currently no warships capable of orbital bombardment inside Tulon Port or in planetary orbit.

This was because the Commonwealth was, after all, a member of the “Andromeda Galaxy Joint Development Treaty” and the “Andromeda Galaxy Military Expansion Limitation Treaty,” and in this New World-like galaxy, there was no powerful standing fleet.

In fact, the entire Commonwealth in the Andromeda Galaxy only had six destroyers and twelve assault ships in total, which were solely used to deal with pirates and smugglers.

Moreover, their permanent station had always been at Lushun Starport 14, at least a 7-day journey from Tulon.

Atmospheric bombing was also not a problem.

But wasn't the government's money still money?

Who would think of equipping the security forces with low-altitude combat aircraft?

Didn't they know that this type of low-altitude aircraft, which could be replaced by orbital bombardment, was already rarely produced anywhere?

If they really wanted to equip them, the cost wouldn't be the price of weapons, but the price of antique crafts!

Besides, who would they be equipped to deal with?

Native Sand People?

Ah hahahahahahaha!

Before the million-strong Sand People army gathered, everyone must have been laughing very happily like that.

Transport airships and drones could certainly also perform attack missions, but the former were too clumsy and the latter too fragile.

More importantly, the Sand People now even had tanks; would they not have anti-aircraft weapons?

“With so few of us, we really can't make a difference; we can only wait for the opportune moment,” Warrant Officer Yu Lian mused as he returned to the temporary camp.

This was a valley they found after coming out of the Enlightener Ruins and crossing the mountains; outside, sandstorms raged, but inside, it was quite humid and warm, with springs and grasslands, and the place was large enough, hidden enough, and easy to defend yet difficult to attack, naturally making it a good place to camp and rest.

As soon as he entered, he saw Doctor Banks approaching him with a troubled expression.

“Sir, how… uh, how is the enemy situation?”

“We'll wait for contact with Command HQ; we can't expect our thirty exhausted remnants to charge a million-strong enemy army, can we?”

“This, this…” The doctor's face alternated between green and red, and after a moment of hesitation, he whispered: “Well, there's something I need to tell you; please don't get angry…”

The doctor's words were immediately interrupted by a slightly overly enthusiastic, somewhat flamboyant voice: “You must be Warrant Officer Yu Lian, aren't you? So young and promising!”

Warrant Officer Yu Lian looked over at the sound, and what met his eyes was an Asian man of about forty-five or six, average height, refined and amiable, with a graceful demeanor, smiling somewhat deliberately but at least amiably; overall, he was a middle-aged man who was easy to like.

Hmm, confirmed the face, someone he didn't know.

But among that group of people over there, there was vaguely a guy who looked a bit familiar.

That dazzling bronze hair was simply too conspicuous.

Or rather, it wasn't familiarity, but an ethereal feeling that made him seem somewhat familiar.

The bronze-haired guy seemed to sense something, turned his head, and began to examine Warrant Officer Yu Lian and Ina with interest.

Hmm, confirmed the face again.

Although much younger, it was indeed that guy!

Warrant Officer Yu Lian continued to observe secretly while looking at the middle-aged man who might be a big shot, and politely saluted him: “Hello, Commonwealth Warrant Officer Yu Lian, may I ask who you are…?”

The middle-aged man instantly showed a very displeased expression, as if saying “I'm famous, how could you not know me,” but he quickly smiled again and grasped Warrant Officer Yu Lian's hand, shaking it vigorously: “With such an excellent officer like you, we are relieved.”

“Councilor Jiang Yudong! He has a lot of prestige in the colonial parliament,” the doctor whispered behind Warrant Officer Yu Lian.

“Oh… Councilor, everyone must have been startled, right?

Sorry, I'm late,” Warrant Officer Yu Lian continued to speak the saccharine diplomatic pleasantries, rolling his eyes inwardly.

Meanwhile, Ina behind him was already rolling her eyes.

Then again, it was quite normal for a colony, which was a semi-military control zone, to have a parliament.

The aura of democracy and freedom must be more important than practical problems; this was the foundation of the Blue Star Commonwealth and the people of Earth!

“Not late, not late.

Thanks to you, none of us were injured.

This is all due to your and your comrades' Wisdom and bravery!” When it came to diplomatic pleasantries and demeanor, Councilor Jiang Yudong was far more proficient than Warrant Officer Yu Lian.

“However, as you can see, there are too many elderly, weak, women, and children here, all ordinary civilians who abandoned their property and homes to seek refuge in Tulon.

They are tired, worried, and many have injuries and illnesses.

As their representative, I truly cannot bear to see them exposed to the elements outside.

And as a soldier, you must feel the same way, right?”

“Uh, I'm sorry, Councilor… Please speak directly.”

“What I mean is, do you have a way to escort us into the city?”