Dawn of a New Era

Chapter 656 630: The Greater Good

Capital City.

Early in the morning, Edson, dressed in sportswear, walked out of the villa and nodded amicably to the military police by the roadside.

No one could tell now that he was the notorious leader of the former Pantheon, Anderson, wanted by several countries.

Having fled to the Great Xia Country from Yan State like a dog that had lost its home more than two months ago, he had grown used to being watched, and his mindset gradually became calm.

Although his home, the European Union, had granted their organization amnesty, forgiving past crimes and offering better conditions, they ultimately chose the Great Xia Country.

Because among all the remaining countries, the Great Xia Country was now the strongest one.

He was ambitious, true, but he was also human. He had no desire to become a savage in another world or to convert to some deity.

...

Martial Arts Bureau.

The marble floor shone bright as a mirror.

"Mr. Edson, you've arrived." An attractive young man hurriedly approached Anderson with respect. His face was a blend of Eastern and Western features, with one blue eye and one black eye, quite unusual.

If Chen Shouyi were here, he might recognize him as the legendary recruit of the Pantheon.

"Mark!" Edson showed a faint smile, and the two shared an embrace.

"Have you adjusted to things here?" Anderson asked.

"Relaxing all of a sudden feels quite good, especially as I have half Chinese blood." Mark replied with a smile.

"You seem to be adapting better than I am!" Andre said with a chuckle, his Chinese accented strangely: "The Great Xia Country has a saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' From now on, call me by my Chinese name. I've changed it to An Haoran."

"That's a great name, who chose it?"

"The official who processed my residency let me pick one." Edson said, grinning like a child.

"I didn't change mine, it's still Mark, but now it's the Chinese Mark."

From time to time, small groups of people entered the hall, Anderson glanced at them and sighed: "There are truly many martial artists in the Great Xia Country!"

This meeting required the attendance of martial masters and above.

Half an hour remained until the meeting, and given the trend, it seemed likely there would be well over a hundred attendees. These were civilian martial artists, while the military surely had even more, perhaps ten or dozens of times more.

"God Chen has slain quite a number of True Gods. The Great Xia Country does not lack Divine Flesh." Mark said.

Anderson fell silent at those words.

It was indeed a bit disheartening.

Their organization had always aimed to become gods, struggling in Yan State through countless hardships, working tirelessly to develop faith and attempting to ignite Divine Fire to become demigods, only to find that someone not only effortlessly slaughtered demigods but had killed several True Gods.

It was said that the God of Light among them had moderate divine power.

This was truly a sad thing, almost making one question life.

His original ambitions were shattered, yet it made him realize there were alternatives to becoming a god. His coming to the Great Xia Country was partly due to this realization.

He sighed:

"Let's head into the conference room together."

...

The conference room was packed with a sea of heads.

The two Westerners stood out particularly, and many who knew their identities looked at them with reverence.

Though the number of martial artists had multiplied by thousands, there were still precious few legendary figures.

This evolutionary leap in life could not be boosted directly by Divine Blood or Divine Marrow; across the entire Capital City, including the recent breakthrough by Luo Jingwen, there were merely two, and across the Great Xia Country, there were likely no more than five.

Anderson remained indifferent as he and Mark took their seats at the front, labeled with their name tags.

They hadn't been seated long when Ye Zong approached and greeted them:

"You two are here early?"

Anderson and Mark stood up to shake hands with Ye Zong. They didn't know many people, but Ye Zong was one they did know; he had accompanied and received them upon their arrival in the Great Xia Country.

"We've just arrived not long ago!"

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while.

"Ye, do you know what this meeting is about?" Mark inquired.

Ye Zong shook his head; the evidence suggested that the Great Xia Country was urgently preparing for war, with frequent military operations. Although he had some vague guesses, such matters were best not publicly discussed.

The venue filled quickly.

At nine o'clock sharp, the Director of the Martial Arts Bureau stepped onto the stage, his expression grave.

Seeing him, everyone felt a twist in their hearts, their expressions subtly shifting.

"Hello everyone, thank you for attending this meeting. Many of you may have guessed it. Yes, according to the intelligence received, war is imminent. This is no longer a local war, nor a war of a single nation, but a war that decides the fate of humankind.

If defeated, humanity will plunge into eternal night, and all of Earth will be ruled by the Barbarian God."

...

Everyone's faces changed drastically, they didn't expect the rumors to be true, this was a motivational meeting about the war.

A stifling atmosphere filled the venue, each person's heart felt as if it carried a heavy stone.

But Anderson and Mark remained calm; after all, fleeing from Yan State to the Great Xia Country was for this reason, they had long known this day would come.

...

Chen Shouyi returned home, and before long, high-ranking officials from Zhonghai City and the commander of the local military district jointly visited him.

His influence was now so profound that his every move, every word, could impact all aspects of the nation, especially as humanity stood at the brink of peril and uncertainty, underscoring the significance of Chen Shouyi.

...

"If... I say if the Great Xia Country is defeated and utterly falls, I hope that General Manager Chen can assist in escorting humanity's spark to another world." In the reception room, Zhonghai City's high-ranking official spoke with difficulty, this was the last choice of the Great Xia Country:

"This isn't a decision from Zhonghai City; it comes from the highest power of the Military Committee. In the coming days, all national researchers will be headed to Zhonghai City. If the unmentionable occurs, we must preserve humanity's spark as much as possible; this is humanity's last hope, and supporting this hope is you, General Manager Chen."

"General Manager Chen, please prioritize the greater good, for the future of humanity, preserve yourself for future necessity." Seeing Chen Shouyi remain silent, the Zhonghai City military district commander said gravely, his face respectful.

He knew of the prophecy that General Manager Chen would heroically sacrifice himself; such sacrifice was admirable, but ultimately meaningless, even risking humanity's last hope.

Then humanity would be truly doomed.

Chen Shouyi said nothing, silence filled the atmosphere.

"Ring ring ring..." The phone suddenly sounded.

"Excuse me!" Chen Shouyi said, rising to the living room to answer the call.

It was the President.

The other side exchanged some comforting words, soon bringing up the same matter.

Chen Shouyi never thought there would be a day when someone would tell him.

He was alive for the greater good.

"I understand." He said gravely.