Novel Full Chapter 537 - 436: Blizzard, Calamity Approaches
Chapter 537: Chapter 436: Blizzard, Calamity Approaches
“Effective immediately, the new appointments for cadres are officially in effect, and everyone must complete their handover of work within three hours.”
The sound of Qin Tian’s voice fell in the icehouse meeting room, and everyone present stood up in unison, raising their hands in a standard military salute, their loud response causing the ice walls to tremble slightly:
“Yes!”
As they put their hands down, the expressions in the meeting room were polarized; the old cadres who regained their positions couldn’t hide their joy, the excitement almost overflowing from their eyes, while those who had depended on Duan Guangtai were all ashen-faced, lips tightly pursed, full of resentment and unwillingness, yet not daring to voice even a single retort.
This time, Qin Tian decisively demoted all of Duan Guangtai’s placed personnel to ordinary soldiers, sending them to guard the city walls, while the old cadres who had been sidelined before were all reinstated to their original positions.
Once the meeting dispersed, the old cadres quickly rushed back to their barracks to announce the news publicly.
Soon, the Ice Extreme Pass rang with cheers one after another, the soldiers, suppressed for several months, finally able to breathe easily.
“Qin Tian!”
Duan Guangtai stood by the window of his room, listening to the commotion outside, his fingernails nearly embedding into his palm.
With a single move, Qin Tian had uprooted the network, informants, and everything Duan Guangtai had planned and laid out over months, turning all his strategies into a grand joke.
What chilled his heart even more was that the Luoho Clan would never tolerate such a failure — at this moment, Military Lord Inzaghi Luoho was likely already questioning his abilities and might even be considering replacing him.
“Damn Qin Tian, I’ll remember this debt!”
Duan Guangtai cursed in a low voice, but his gaze unconsciously drifted out the window, seeing that the accumulated snow within the pass had been cleaned up thoroughly, with even the newly fallen snow being cleared in real time, inexplicably easing his taut nerves.
At least, Qin Tian hadn’t troubled him over “clearing snow,” allowing him a temporary respite.
On the other side, Qin Tian stepped out of the icehouse, looking up toward the sky of Mingwang Planet.
At this moment, the sky was still bright; Mingwang Planet’s rotational period lasted 152 hours, with day and night each occupying 76 hours, equivalent to three days and nights on a regular planet.
During the daytime at Ice Extreme Pass, temperatures hovered between tens of degrees below zero to over a hundred below zero, barely allowing movement with adequate cold weather gear.
But once night falls, temperatures would plunge below negative one hundred and fifty degrees.
In such an extremely cold and dark environment, ordinary people without professional cold-weather gear would freeze to death instantly, and low-tier Spiritualists or Superpower Users would struggle to withstand more than ten minutes.
He knew very well that the extreme environment was the core limitation for the development of all bases on Mingwang Planet.
Without resolving this issue, Ice Extreme Pass would forever remain a remote outpost, with no possibility of developing into a real city.
Over the years, the Empire has been attempting to transform Mingwang Planet through relatively advanced planetary transformation technology, but planetary transformation is inherently a gradual process; hastily increasing the transformation intensity would only damage the planet’s stability, causing irreversible disasters like ice crust collapse and atmospheric escape.
In the short term, changing the planet’s overall environment is clearly unrealistic.
To develop Ice Extreme Pass, they must find another path, starting from the environment of the outpost itself.
Qin Tian had previously considered using a Spiritual Energy Array or a large Energy Shield to envelop the entire Ice Extreme Pass, completely isolating it from the extreme cold outside.
But upon further investigation, he found that currently, there isn’t technology mature enough to support such a large-scale, high-energy consumption scenario; neither the stability of the Spiritual Energy Array nor the endurance of the Energy Shield meets the required standards.
This path is impassable, requiring him to think of another way.
Qin Tian’s gaze swept over the Profound Ice city walls of Ice Extreme Pass, a flash of contemplation in his eyes, but the next second, he suddenly looked up at the distance, his face changing slightly.
Almost as soon as he sensed the anomaly, the alarm at Ice Extreme Pass’s command center sounded.
On the holographic screens, the meteorological monitoring station’s red warnings were flashing furiously.
“A sudden energy disturbance has occurred in the northwest direction, forming a level six snowstorm! The storm radius reaches fifty kilometers, expanding outward at ninety kilometers per hour, with Ice Extreme Pass within its trajectory, expected to arrive in twenty-five minutes!”
“Level six? Formed suddenly?”
Inside the command center, the officer responsible for meteorological monitoring’s face changed drastically.
Snowstorms often have warnings, but a sudden outbreak of a level six storm without any signs is a first.
The Profound Ice structure of Ice Extreme Pass’s city walls can withstand the ice blade winds of the storm; with the Energy Shield fully activated, it might barely resist the wind pressure, but the issue isn’t the storm itself.
On Mingwang Planet, snowstorms above level four inevitably trigger “Snow Beast riots.”
Intense climate changes disturb the snow beast tribes deep in the ice fields, causing them to migrate madly along the storm’s trajectory, with all human outposts along the way becoming targets of attack.
Previously, Ice Extreme Pass suffered significant casualties dealing with snow beast groups brought by a level four storm, and this time it’s level six…
Everyone in the command center had tense, fearful expressions.
The news of the impending level six snowstorm quickly spread throughout Ice Extreme Pass, and the soldiers, who had been exhilarated by the personnel changes, instantly changed color.
They all looked toward the northwest, and the originally clear skyline was now veiled in a layer of murky white, their faces pale, the energy weapons and cold weapons in their hands not providing any sense of safety, but instead, their bodies growing colder.
Duan Guangtai heard the news in his room and stood up abruptly.
The level six snowstorm itself isn’t considered lethal; Ice Extreme Pass’s Profound Ice city walls and basic shields can indeed barely withstand it, but the Snow Beast riot is the death sentence.
Previously, he had witnessed a beast tide triggered by a level six storm in the Crack Soul Ice Valley, where even with its complete defensive structures and numerous masters’ protection, they barely made it through, and with Ice Extreme Pass’s current strength, self-preservation is simply wishful thinking.
According to the monitoring station alert, the snowstorm would arrive in twenty-five minutes; such a short period makes retreat from Ice Extreme Pass impossible, hence this is a death trap.
“Qin Tian, oh Qin Tian, it seems there’s no need for me to act; even the heavens can’t stand you.”
Duan Guangtai suddenly sneered; the level six snowstorm was enough to bury the entire Ice Extreme Pass, and even if Qin Tian survived with his strong capabilities, as the Guardian Envoy, if his troops were wiped out and Ice Extreme Pass destroyed, his future would be completely over.
“I definitely won’t take the fall with you.”
Duan Guangtai’s eyes flashed, and he quietly left the icehouse.
As anxiety enveloped the entire outpost, a calm and steady voice suddenly rang out, piercing through the increasingly noisy wind, spreading to every corner:
“Attention everyone! Commence level one combat readiness immediately; Battalion One activates the city wall energy protection system; Battalion Two inventories cold weather supplies and ammunition, sends them to the frontline; Battalions Three and Four set up three interception lines inside the pass, focusing on snow beast impacts!”
With a slight pause, the voice carried extra reassurance, clearly reaching every soldier’s ear: “We can withstand the storm itself, as for the snow beasts, I’ll handle them.”
No grand promises, yet it was more effective than any encouragement.
The soldiers looked up at the tall black figure on the city wall, recalling the strong capabilities Qin Army Commander had previously showcased, their tense nerves gradually relaxing.
With a leader in place, they quickly sprang into action, changing into professional combat gear, activating Spiritual Energy cannons, delivering weapons to the city walls… Originally chaotic units rapidly became organized, the presence of the new Army Commander instilling them with the confidence to “make it through.”
Qin Tian stood at the top of the city wall, letting the cold wind ripple his cloak. He gazed toward the approaching storm: the murky white mass was now clearly visible, and the faint sounds of snow beasts roaring could be heard in the wind.
He did not interfere with specific command; the four battalion leaders know the defense layout of Ice Extreme Pass well, allowing them to lead the defense was more efficient. All he had to do was stand on the city wall and face the impending disaster alongside his soldiers.