Counterfeit Hero

”What do you want to do?”

”Revitalize the Sect Federation!”

No beating around the bush. The old man and the young man faced each other, exchanging questions and answers rapidly, each word spoken with utmost brevity.

”Revitalize the Sect Federation?!” Old Smith murmured to himself.

He turned his head, looking behind him, his gaze passing over the Phantom Stream members, towards the road they had come from.

In the sky, the sound of artillery and gunfire was constant!

The doubts in his heart suddenly vanished. Staring at the horizon, reddened by explosions and fierce fire, Old Smith suddenly wanted to laugh out loud. Without the slightest hesitation, he handed the roster and material list of Phantom Stream into Fatty’s hands.

One flip of the hand to make a cloud, another flip to bring rain!

Old Smith had to admire this seemingly simple-minded Fatty’s tactics!

The situation in the Mars Free World had been leveraged to its very limits by him!!

He used the conflict within the Phantom Stream to gain an edge, then with the momentum of thunder, he stormed into the Tai Sect and swiftly toppled the Nine Halls, igniting the powder keg of sect conflict with a single spark.

At the brink of this impending chaos, his actions made the major sects, who were already on the verge of war, completely abandon their traditional values and start fighting prematurely.

And now, he wanted to rebuild what he had destroyed.

Rebuild the Sect Federation.

The federation was just a facade. Fatty was leveraging the traditions that had persisted for thousands of years in the Free World!

Maintaining the Sect Federation and reintegrating the Free World back into its traditional sect norms, ensuring that the sects, just as in history, stood at the top of the Free World’s pyramid—this temptation was too great for the minor sects struggling to navigate the war.

No matter their status, they were still part of this class; they still reaped the benefits of sect traditions!

As long as the Fei Alliance could uphold the situation, the sects’ loyalty was almost certain.

The members of the federation remained these civilian mecha sects.

The only difference was....the three major sects that had abandoned their traditions, easily ceded the leading role of the federation during this turbulent period!

Old Smith slightly bowed and slowly stepped aside.

The formation of Phantom Stream Knights stood before Tian Xingjian.

The Knights stood silently. Tian Xingjian looked at them, and they too stared unflinchingly at Tian Xingjian. These young men, untrained in military ways, had just traversed the bullet-riddled central city, experiencing their first baptism by war.

When passing through a district controlled by a small mercenary army, they were ambushed.

An Outer Disciple and several Guard Team members died, dozens were injured, and two heavy trucks were destroyed by fire.

To their pride, the children and elderly in the trucks were meticulously protected, preventing any tragic loss of lives.

In their growth, violence had never been absent.

Whether at school or in their home neighborhoods, violence was omnipresent.

They learned how to fight, how to struggle, how to protect themselves. But they had not yet learned about war—this kind of all-encompassing human warfare.

They were exhausted, and in their eyes, besides excitement and anticipation, there was confusion and uncertainty.

Fatty knew they were waiting, waiting for him to give them a goal, an answer, a reason to convince themselves.

”From today on, you are a part of this group.”

When Fatty straightened his chest and lifted his head, he exuded the spirit of a steely soldier. This demeanor was something even the Special Reconnaissance Group and Fierce Tiger Special Soldiers couldn’t imitate. It immediately awed the young Phantom Stream Knights! They had never seen anyone whose mere stance could make you smell battlefield gunpowder and see the fluttering war banners and blood-drenched land, seeing a piece of steel so hard it couldn’t be bent!

”I know you are waiting, waiting for me to tell you what kind of group this is and what the future holds for you!”

A gust swept through the wide and silent intersection, blowing the scattered waste paper on the ground into the air and spinning it around before it settled again, drifting far away. A torn, hanging billboard flapped against its metal frame in the wind, accompanying Fatty’s voice.

”If you still feel confused, it only means you haven’t realized what this era means to you!” Fatty looked around: ”In Old Era 5650, the Human Supreme Council announced the first isolation planet—Earth! In Old Era 6204, the second isolation planet emerged, Langri Star—the very planet we’re standing on, renamed after the Mars War God! From that moment, you were outcasts!”

After a brief stir, silence returned.

The young Knights stared intently at Fatty, their eyes shining with the kind of light that only comes when one feels understood.

”Aside from a handful, the majority of Free People aren’t allowed to reside in mainstream nations long-term. Technology, military, and thousands of materials are embargoed. This place is a hell in the universe! All criminals are gathered here, and even if it was the fault of your ancestors, you are not accepted by mainstream society.

I know you are not reconciled. In fact, your parents and grandparents were not reconciled! But you have no way to tear through that iron curtain, so you continue to kill each other and survive in these dire straits!

Perhaps some of you have already realized that this sweeping human war brings you an opportunity! But that opportunity is so slim. Scattered like loose grains, you can’t unite to seize it.

Now, I want to tell you, you shouldn’t and won’t become the cannon fodder of the two major military groups. You have a chance, in the name of the Free World, to win the war, to earn the life you deserve, the dignity your parents and grandparents never had!

The Fei Alliance might help us, but I don’t represent the Fei Alliance, nor does this group you joined belong to the Fei Alliance! This group has and only has one name—the bandit army! This was the short name the Supreme Joint Council once used for all in the Free World. Now, I will lead all of you, carrying the title of bandit, to raise your heads again and step into mainstream human society, making the iron curtain over Mars Free Port disappear forever!”

Fatty stopped, secretly swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

After having heart-to-heart talks with Weiseler, Baz, and other Tai Sect Disciples, he had prepared these words for a long time to precisely capture and utilize the mindsets of these Free Port youths. Not only to say it to Phantom Stream members now, but to other disciples of various sects in the future.

Seeing the looks in the eyes of Cosmo and others, Fatty knew he had won their hearts. For those who believed in the law of the jungle, what they feared least was risking their lives—it was almost instinctual!

All they needed was a goal!

”Grab your things and activate your mecha.” Fatty shoved Old Smith into the flying car, turned back coolly, and continued: ”Follow me, and you’ll have a magnificent future!”

The flying car swooped around stylishly, heading towards Puluo First Avenue.

Behind, dozens of Phantom Stream Mecha and heavy trucks followed.

The blood-pumped yet bewildered Phantom Stream Knights had no other thoughts.

The Director had left; where else could they go if they didn’t follow?

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.(To be continued, for more, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author, and support legal reading!)