Life Game In Other World
Chapter 1188: To Live from Death (Two Updates for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 1188: Chapter 1188: To Live from Death (Two Updates for Monthly Pass)

On the towering city walls, Owai’s gaze swept across the sky overhead, then slowly lowered, looking out at the boundless snowy plains and the rolling mountains below.

"Sometimes I enjoy coming to the very top of this towering wall to take in the view of the mountains,"

Owai turned to the young officer beside him and rasped with a smile, "This must be the best vantage point around here, right? The sky inside the city always feels constrained, but up here on the wall, it doesn’t."

"Yes."

The officer nodded lightly.

From the far-off void, a faint sound seemed to echo.

The officer lifted his head and looked toward the north. He hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "General, it seems the West Iron and Steel Mercenary Corps is really attacking North City."

"West Iron and Steel started as a heavy industry company."

The howling cold wind carried flecks of ice, whipping against Owai’s cheek. He stretched out a hand, rubbing his palms together, and sighed, "The Federation’s market is flooded with heavy mining machinery produced by them. These giant, clumsy, black monstrosities—they can be modified to breach city defenses too."

"That’s why their mercenary corps has the most siege equipment of any mercenary corps in the Federation. Judging by the past few days, they’ve even outfitted their mercenaries with B-level combat units."

"Of course, according to their claims, these weapons are meant to deal with heavy exotic beasts with strong defenses."

He clapped his hands, looking at the sky. "But as to whether the Federation even has that many heavily armored exotic beasts, no one really knows."

Scattered ice crystals were beginning to drift down from the sky, forming tiny snowflakes.

The once-clear firmament was gradually obscured by hazy clouds.

Owai reached out his hand to catch a falling snowflake. "It’s snowing again."

The officer beside him also lifted his head to watch the slowly descending snowflakes. "Do you think North City can hold out in its current state?"

"Whether it holds or not is no longer something we can decide."

Owai clenched the snowflake in his palm, letting the tiny ice crystal melt in his hand. "This is the best we can do. All we can do is set everything up and give our all."

The officer raised his head to glance at Owai and silently nodded.

At that moment, the officer’s radio crackled briefly. He looked down and said a few quick words into it before raising his head to look at Owai.

"They’re here?"

Owai asked softly.

"Yes, they’re here."

The officer nodded.

"Then let’s go meet them."

Owai smiled and walked toward the nearby elevator. "When friends come, we serve fine wine. When beasts come, we bring out the hunting rifles."

The officer quickly followed in Owai’s footsteps.

Just then, Owai seemed to remember something. He turned back to the officer with a grin and said, "You know, our city isn’t that easy to conquer."

The officer raised his head quizzically to look at Owai.

"What is Minte City known for?"

Owai asked softly.

The officer thought for a moment and shook his head. "Seems like it’s just a bit better at industry?"

"No mines nearby, uneven terrain, and dangerous mutant beasts in the surrounding mountains,"

Owai turned to face him. "Why do you think the Federation chose to build a city here and made its walls even sturdier and thicker?"

The officer pondered for a moment, gently shook his head, and still couldn’t grasp Owai’s point.

"What’s in the northern wilderness?"

Owai shook his head slightly and asked softly.

"The mountains north of Minte City?"

The officer thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up as if realizing something, his voice raised slightly. "The Northern Gate?"

"Exactly."

Owai stepped into the elevator.

——

"Minte City is the Federation’s fortress guarding the Northern Gate,"

He Ao stood on the high platform, gazing at the crowd gathered in the camp’s square below, and spoke in a calm voice. "From Minte City, it’s just ten or twenty kilometers east to the main route connecting the northeastern Federation to the eastern plains.

"A small mobile unit could slip through at any time to harass caravans and supply lines traveling southward, leaving the armies marching south isolated and cut off."

"At the same time, Minte City is also an industrial city. The Montshanto Group even runs a food factory here that can temporarily supply armies and caravans.

"For this reason, the consortiums must fully control Minte City. Whoever controls Minte City controls the north-south corridor of the Federation’s eastern region.

"This geographical advantage is the reason for today’s ’war.’

"The two major consortiums first tried to take control of Minte City. When they couldn’t gain control, they decided to surround it with heavy troops to prevent it from interfering with their northbound armies.

"And now, a military force from the Northern Country, stronger than any consortium, marches toward us.

"Today, the two consortiums we face are only the beginning. Even if we break their siege, this larger invading force will sweep through the wilderness around Minte City once they pass the Northern Gate and break the city with their own hands.

"They aim to clear the way for their supply lines and armies to advance."

BOOM——

A violent explosion erupted on the wall behind He Ao, echoing like thunder, shaking both sky and earth.

The hazy clouds spread to envelop the sky while snowflakes danced down from the firmament.

"I trust Xiya has already explained to you what we are here to do,"

He Ao looked down at the faces before him—faces not all clad in the uniforms of the City Defense Army. Most wore simple cotton jackets, their darkened skin marking them as Wilderness Wanderers.

"I will not tell you that the battle we fight today is one we will surely win."

He Ao lifted his head, looking at the soldiers before him. "The truth is, most of us will likely die out there."

He lifted his head again, gazing at the crowd. "Now, I give you one last chance. If anyone does not wish to go, step forward now, and I will allow you to leave."

He stood at the front, his gaze steady as he looked out at the crowd.

Amid the deafening roar of cannon fire, the great camp square fell into silence.

The air among the crowd grew eerily still.

In the end, no one stepped forward.

"Very well, it seems we are all prepared,"

He Ao spoke again, his gaze traversing every face. A small, scarred young man had slipped into the corner of the crowd unnoticed.

"I know why you are here. Some of you have had your families and friends killed by the consortiums. Some of you have suffered under their factories.

"We all know what will happen if the consortium’s armies enter this city and their ruthlessness spreads unchecked to the wilderness around us."

Once more, his eyes met those of everyone before him, holding their gaze for a fleeting second each.

"But I am here to tell you that this city, the wilderness around it, your families, your friends—they may survive because of your protection.

"You are not madmen driven by vengeance. You are heroes, standing to protect this city and the people living around it.

"Blood may dry, but the will of heroes will never fade."

The small, scarred young man lifted his head to look at the man on the platform. A shard of ice fell from the sky, refracting sunlight through a gap in the clouds into his eyes.

"These united consortiums can summon resources from as many as ten or even dozens of cities, wielding extraordinary, awe-inspiring wealth, equipping themselves with the Federation’s most advanced weapons,"

He Ao continued.

"Yet Minte City is just a small town. The Federation has many small towns like ours.

"The consortiums restrain themselves in major cities but show no such regard for the voices of small towns like ours.

"They can send one mercenary corps, two mercenary corps, to flatten our city and massacre everyone who resists."

"Our power disparity is great; our city gates may not withstand their pounding cannons,"

In the roar of cannon fire, He Ao gazed at the crowd. "But should we simply raise our hands and surrender? Should we let the consortiums enslave us and our families with even crueler methods?"

"No!"

The small, scarred young man roared defiantly.

"No!——"

Voices filled with fury and hoarseness erupted from the crowd almost instantly.

"No!" "No!"

Like tidal waves, the cries rose and surged until the camp square seemed to boil over.

Xiya stood to the side, stunned by the sight—a sea of flushed faces.

The icy snowflakes could not extinguish the fire burning on their faces; it was as though the entire space was ablaze within this snow-white world.

"I know what is in your hearts—you do not wish to surrender,"

The calm voice rippled through their ears like a steadying hand, gradually calming the square.

Yet the "flame" in their hearts appeared unraveled but deeply contained, clasped firmly by the man on stage.

He Ao swept his gaze across the faces on the platform, flushed with resolve.

"You don’t want your future or the futures of your children to endure the same suffering, to repeat the same fate."

"Yes, we are weak. But even an ant can leave a welt on the skin of a giant."

"A single fragile butterfly’s fluttering wings can stir storms to shake mountains and oceans."

"Our ancestors lacked the technology of today, yet they erected these walls—beacon-like marvels to defy fate—in this vast wilderness."

"There is no destiny etched in stone. The path we forge is our fate."

He grasped the hilt of the blade on his back.

"Now, the fate of this city and the people around it lies in our hands. The fate of our descendants lies in our hands."

"This city has been cornered. And we, we will seek that sliver of hope."

"Most of us will likely die in this war, but history and our descendants will remember our names."

Buzz——

The blood-red blade flashed from its sheath in an instant, vibrating fiercely, shattering the snow in the sky.

Scattered shards of ice reflected the figure on the platform and the last ray of sunlight for a thousand gazes below.

He Ao held the blood-red blade high and rasped,

"Comrades, ahead lies death. But there is no retreat. Only by drawing our blades can we seek life in death!"

"To seek life in death!"

The small, scarred young man likewise raised his arm and shouted.

"To seek life in death!!"

The crowd surged momentarily, each figure raising their arm aloft, their cries ascending like ocean waves.