Becoming an Emperor Starting from the World of The Wandering Earth

Chapter 99 For Murphy

The second batch to pass were mechanized units.

Leading the way was the Lynx wheeled armored personnel carrier, followed closely by the Badger tracked infantry fighting vehicle.

One hundred cars, lined up in a long steel dragon, slowly drove past the reviewing stand.

The third batch followed immediately.

Fifty heavy Golden Eagle attack helicopters flew in from the east side of the training ground, skimming low over the reviewing stand.

After the helicopter formation flew by, the air suddenly became quiet for a few seconds.

Then, a shadow loomed over from the west.

Leading the way were three heavy-duty unmanned reconnaissance and strike carriers.

This thing was created by Murphy using a technology pack he redeemed from the store. It has a wingspan of over forty meters, is entirely matte black, and is almost silent when it flies.

Three motherships flew slowly overhead in a triangular formation, their fuselages densely packed with missiles and rocket pods.

Following closely behind were three hundred Raven 3 drones.

These drones are much smaller than the mothership, but there are many of them; three hundred of them are crammed together, almost covering half the sky.

Just as the aircraft formation flew over the reviewing stand, it suddenly began to change formation.

Three hundred drones simultaneously adjusted their attitudes, hovering, intersecting, and combining in the air.

A few seconds later, a huge pattern appeared in the sky.

That was a face.

Murphy's face.

A giant human face image, composed of 300 drones, covered half of the training ground and hung in the gray-yellow sky for a full five seconds.

Then, the portraits scattered, and the drones regrouped, forming a neat line, and slowly flew eastward.

Outside the training ground, the citizens of the holy city who were allowed to watch the ceremony finally erupted in uproar.

"Holy Father! It is the Holy Father!"

"Heavenly soldiers! The Father's heavenly soldiers!"

"Long live the Father!"

Some people were so moved that they knelt down, banging their foreheads on the ground, and praying over and over again.

Some people desperately tried to push forward, wanting to get closer to the golden figure, but seemed afraid of defiling the dreamlike scene before them, and forcibly withdrew their hands.

The entire military parade was a bit rough around the edges, but the weapons and equipment on display were quite substantial.

Apart from the absence of the navy and the omission of some secret weapons, various heavy land combat weapons, individual soldier equipment, and different types of drones were showcased.

After a full hour, Wilson, who was in charge of the parade, finally turned around and looked at Murphy.

"Sir, inspection complete. Please give your instructions."

Murphy nodded and pressed the communicator behind his ear.

His voice was then transmitted to everyone's ears through the miniature drones scattered across the training ground.

"The Astartes, the soldiers."

"You are the sharpest sword in my hand."

Murphy paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces hidden behind masks.

"Now, it's time to draw this sword."

The audience was so quiet you could hear the wind.

"Target."

Murphy raised his right hand and pointed to the gray-yellow horizon in the distance.

"I will reclaim the remaining six cities and reunite this shattered world under my glory!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a deafening roar erupted.

"For Murphy!"

"For Murphy!!"

"For Murphy!!!"

Outside the training ground, the kneeling crowd also began to shout.

"Long live the Father!"

"Astartes!"

"Holy Father! Holy Father! Holy Father!"

The shouts grew louder and louder, even suppressing the howling winds across the wilderness.

Actually, for Murphy, conquering the other six cities wasn't difficult; the difficulty lay in their distance.

As mentioned before, the world of Exorcists has been completely destroyed due to a war that has lasted for thousands of years.

The most direct consequence of desertification is the destruction of the ozone layer, the melting of the North and South Poles, and the resulting rise in sea levels.

Some relatively low-lying continents have been submerged, and now only one continent remains in the Exorcist world, and the environment is extremely harsh.

According to the Holy City's statistics, the total population of the seven cities is currently around two million. Adding the fallen in the wilderness, or the small towns spontaneously formed by the people, the total population is no more than four million.

Let's leave aside those towns and cities for now.

The key is these seven holy cities.

When the city was first built, the first archbishops, in order to have sufficient strategic depth and resources, and to continuously suppress the vampire lairs in all directions, separated the cities extremely far apart.

Even the closest city to the Holy City, Ironthorn City, is more than 2800 kilometers away as the crow flies.

Moreover, most of the route is desert, Gobi, and saline-alkali land contaminated by radiation.

There are also wild beasts that appear from who-knows-where, or, if you're even more unlucky, you might run into a small group of vampires out hunting for food.

The difficulty of safely transporting a large army across these 2800 kilometers is unimaginable.

The logistical support alone could bankrupt the old Papacy's meager resources ten times over.

But after Murphy frantically exchanged various equipment and technologies, transforming the Holy City from a religious fortress clinging to life on faith and fear into a nascent industrial city, everything else ceased to be a problem.

"Wilson, the rest is up to you."

"Yes, sir, I will definitely complete the task you assigned me."

Wilson touched his heels together in salute, then turned and strode down from the reviewing stand, reaching the front of the training ground in a few steps.

"Everyone has it!"

Wilson's roar exploded through the external speaker.

Below the stage, the five thousand steel warriors turned their heads in unison, their eyes instantly focusing on him.

"Target: Ironthorn City! As per the pre-arranged battle plan, board the vehicles and depart!"

The once solemn and dignified parade ground quickly switched modes in the blink of an eye.

Heavy truck engines roared, armored vehicle tracks rolled over the compacted ground, and helicopter rotors began to spin faster, kicking up clouds of dust. Squads of Astartes clad in CMC power armor ran towards their respective vehicles in small groups.

The torrent of steel began to surge.

In the holy city of Iron Thorns in the north, the once solemn and majestic cathedral was now filled with noise.

Three months ago, several high-ranking priests who had escaped from the Holy City were sitting at a banquet, with fine wine and delicacies laid out in front of them.

Roast suckling pig until golden brown, stewed mutton until tender, white bread, wine, and various candied fruits and desserts, all specialties of Ironridge City.

The priests who had fled the country initially put on airs, but after a few rounds of drinks and dishes, they all revealed their true colors.

They wolfed down their food, eating like a whirlwind, their manners no different from those of refugees who hadn't eaten in eight lifetimes.

Archbishop Malcolm of Ironthorn Holy City leaned back in his gilded chair, a silver goblet in his hand, watching the group eat, a disdainful smile playing on his lips.

"Eat slowly, don't rush. Ironthorn City may not have much else, but it has plenty of food."

He swirled his wine glass, took a sip, and then slowly said, "I heard that something's happened over there recently?"

Upon hearing this, the priests froze for a moment.

-

They wanted to cry.

When Murphy arrived, many intelligent people sensed something was wrong and did not hesitate to abandon their wealth and flee the Holy City, hiding in some small towns outside the city.

Sure enough, not long after, they heard that the Holy City had begun a major purge, and all their former colleagues had been subjected to divine punishment.

They were so frightened that they fled overnight.

After many hardships, I finally arrived in Ironthorn City a month ago, originally intending to ask Malcolm for help.

As a result, Malcolm ignored them for a month.

God knows how miserable they've been this past month.

Now Malcolm has finally spoken up.

One of the older men put down his leg of lamb, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.