Chapter 161 A righteous cause finds much support

"Secretary Guan, what is the situation? We are fully prepared for an assault, equipped with heavy weapons. Let those creatures taste the power of artillery and missiles!" A military general strode into the command center and shouted loudly.

"Negative. According to their directives, we are barred from entering the fray until they secure victory, in order to minimize casualties." Guan Zhen rested both hands on the command console, his tone extremely heavy.

The footage displayed on the console was heavily blurred, yet it was clearly discernible that the sword lights and magical radiance cutting through the crimson haze had dimmed significantly compared to the beginning.

"This is absurd! Since when do they treat us as a reserve force? We are the main front!" The general was consumed by anxiety. How could a battle be fought like this? No artillery support? No troop reinforcements?

"They aren't treating us as a reserve force; they are treating us as civilians!" Guan Zhen corrected him.

The general was left speechless. They had always operated on the front lines, safeguarding the property and lives of the people. How had they suddenly become the ones needing protection?

"Secretary Guan, can't we negotiate this? Some situations call for flexibility!" the general pressed on.

"Are military orders subject to flexibility?!" Guan Zhen bellowed.

The general fell silent. Absolute obedience admitted no compromise, no matter how unreasonable the order might seem.

Realizing his tone had been too harsh, Guan Zhen softened his voice slightly. "These are the orders they were given. According to the words of the Heavenly Emperor transmitted to them, correcting an error requires going to extremes, leaving not a single loophole to exploit. Otherwise, it would be far too easy for cultivators to disregard mortal lives."

"As long as the situation remains within manageable and containable limits, mortals must be kept out of it at all costs."

The general stood in silence for a second, then slammed his fist against the table, blow after blow. It was infuriating! Never in his entire life had he felt so utterly helpless!

Others were risking their lives for them, yet he could do nothing at all. This feeling was excruciating!

"Enough! Stop pounding on the table and go evacuate the civilians! And what about that girl, Jade Cheng? Since they won't let us take risks, we must at all costs protect their younger generation!" Guan Zhen stared intently at the screen and shouted.

"Jade Cheng is currently helping comfort the children. Her comforting is proving much more effective than ours," the general replied. Initially, they had assumed Jade was just an ordinary child and assigned a few personnel to keep an eye on her, never expecting her to be so remarkably composed at a time like this.

Inside the emergency shelter, a large group of children who had temporarily lost their parents surrounded Jade. Though not the oldest, she was indisputably the undisputed leader of the kids here.

"Big Sis, are we going to win..."

"Don't worry, we're definitely going to win. I guarantee it!" Jade patted her chest with a confident expression, though deep down she was equally worried about the safety of Jackie, Uncle, and Tohru. However, she could not afford to show any fear right now.

At the edge of the battlefield, Tohru relied on the extraordinary mobility granted by the Rooster and Rabbit Talismans to repeatedly pull Jackie and Uncle out of mortal danger. They had been holding the line here for a full ten minutes, and the pressure exerted by the surrounding demons was mounting steadily.

A single step backward would take them outside the barrier, but should they retreat, the entire burden of sustaining the barrier would fall upon Zhao Ling'er. As long as they possessed even a shred of strength left, they could never bring themselves to do such a thing.

Reinforcements from the other teachers of the Huaxia Vocational Academy had also arrived long ago, dispersing along the perimeter of the barrier just like them to ensure that no demons could break through for any reason.

"Uncle, if you can't hold on, go take a break! Just hand the talismans to me!" Jackie kicked away a flame demon pressing down on Uncle.

Uncle's body, scorched by the flame demon, healed rapidly under the combined influence of the Horse and Dog Talismans. "What nonsense are you talking about? You weren't even born yet when Uncle was fighting! Uncle doesn't need a rest!"

Uncle was merely putting up a brave front. Indeed, thanks to the Horse and Dog Talismans, he was virtually immortal, but wielding the power of the talismans exacted a toll of its own, an accumulating strain heavy enough to crush a person.

At that moment, outside the barrier, a foreigner in a suit was walking forward step by step.

"Hey! Why hasn't this person been evacuated?! How was the evacuation handled?!" Guan Zhen demanded, spotting a civilian still lingering through the surveillance feed.

"That's impossible! This man is Mr. Bruce Banner, who just recently acquired Huaxia citizenship. He was among the first wave of evacuees; there's no way he should be here!" the secretary beside him said, drenched in sweat.

Bruce Banner. The name flashed through Guan Zhen's memory.

The man appeared to have been persecuted by Eagle Country and ultimately chose to seek asylum with them. The reasons for his persecution remained unknown, but he held multiple doctorates and was a top-tier expert in biotechnology and cosmic rays. His naturalization had been approved after a thorough political background check. As for the motives behind Eagle Country's persecution, investigations were ongoing, though it currently seemed related to Eagle Country's military.

It appeared they were about to discover why the Eagle Country military had persecuted this expert...

A thought flashed through Guan Zhen's mind.

Bruce Banner drew closer and closer to the battlefield, shedding his jacket and tossing it aside as he walked.

In all his years of living, he had never witnessed a scene of such profound unity between the military and the people. Moreover, Huaxia's supernatural practitioners were going to extraordinary lengths to protect even the lives of ordinary soldiers, a sight that made it impossible for him to remain a passive bystander.

"I suppose that when I finally wake up, I won't have to find myself strapped to a laboratory table," Bruce muttered to himself, dropping into a fighting stance.

Moments later, amidst the shouts of Jackie and Uncle telling him to get back from inside the barrier, Bruce looked deep into his own soul. "Hulk!"

"ROOOAR! I'M HERE!"

With a roar erupting from the depths of his soul, Bruce felt his mind flood with fury—fury toward the demons, fury toward the invaders!

His deep green skin ripped through the remaining fabric of the clothes clinging to his body. Seconds later, Bruce Banner transformed into a massive green giant, beating his chest with both fists and roaring defiantly at the demons before him.

"Oh, sweet goodness..." The secretary's jaw dropped, utterly failing to reconcile the giant before him with the mild-mannered, amiable Bruce Banner he knew.

The general glanced back at the staff officers behind him, as if silently hoping someone among them would step forward and transform just like Bruce Banner.

Roar!

With a ferocious leap, Hulk slammed directly into the barrier. Dazed by the impact, he began pounding his fists against the magical wall, seemingly demanding to know why he wasn't allowed inside.

"Tohru!" Uncle shouted, tossing a talisman outward.

Tohru swooped down in a blur, caught the talisman, and skimming low across the ground, grabbed one of Hulk's fingers to hoist him up, hauling him straight through the barrier. They desperately needed reinforcements right now, and this large fellow clearly wasn't a mortal. Since he was willing to lend a hand, there was no reason to turn him away.

"Hey, big guy, you're pretty heavy!" Tohru grunted with exertion.

"Hulk!" the giant roared. Sensing the goodwill in Tohru's heart, Hulk refrained from thrashing about; otherwise, whether a fatigued Tohru could have maintained control over him would have been a serious question.