97: Chapter 97 Truth? What is that?

As they looked.

On the screen, a dark shadow exceeding 140 meters towered at the very front of the Titan army.

That Titan's build was exceptionally stout, with a chest as wide as a mountain, as if a furnace were concealed within its body.

The most bizarre part was its head—

flat and wide, with a bloody maw split all the way to its ears, revealing millstone-like sharp teeth.

Even more terrifying was the depths of its throat.

Even under the bird's-eye view from high above, eerie orange-red light could be seen flickering.

"This turns out to be a fire-breathing type… Super Giant!"

Liu Guang's teeth were chattering, his voice filled with deep terror:

"That is a type that only appeared in the most ancient canons."

He continued to speak tremblingly:

"When the Great Qing Dynasty had just established the Seven Great Cities… it once encountered a Titan like this. Three thousand meters outside the city, it sprayed fire right into the city!"

"What?" A soldier couldn't help exclaiming, "Are there really fire-breathing Titans?"

"That's right, the canons record that the temperature of that flame was high enough to melt stone!"

Liu Guang's voice was close to sobbing, "The entire city wall was scorched red, melted, and collapsed within three minutes! The eight thousand defending troops didn't even have a chance to escape; they were all burned alive, and their corpses completely reduced to ashes."

The conference room fell into dead silence.

"And…" Liu Guang continued in despair, "Not only can the fire-breathing type breathe fire, but its skin temperature is extremely high, making it completely impossible for ordinary soldiers to approach! Back then, to snipe that Titan, a full three thousand Survey Corps soldiers were mobilized, attacking continuously for three days and three nights before that Titan was killed."

"And this one now…" He pointed at the screen, his voice filled with despair, "is one-third larger than the one recorded in the canons!"

Tao Zhe rapidly operated on the tablet, a trace of contemplation flashing in his eyes: "There is a furnace organ inside the body, capable of spraying high-temperature flames, and the surface temperature of the skin is extremely high. This violates biological principles."

"That's why I said!" Liu Guang shouted excitedly, "These Titans are not normal creatures at all! They are monsters! They are demons!"

"Enough."

Tao Zhe interrupted him, his hands turning into afterimages on the console as he quickly integrated the data.

"According to the computer's simulation calculations, the number of ordinary Titans is between 350,000 and 400,000."

"The number of elite-tier Titans from 30 to 60 meters is no less than 50,000."

"And the number of Colossal Giants from 60 to 90 meters should be around 10,000."

Tao Zhe's fingers stopped on the Enter key, his voice turning deep:

"Also, after Liu Guang's confirmation just now, there are 35 Super Giants above the hundred-meter class with special abilities."

Sounds of gasping in cold air echoed in the conference room.

In yesterday's battle, the largest Titan they encountered was no more than 120 meters, and there was only one.

But now… 35 of them!

"What!? Over 500,000 Titans, 35 Super Giants!" Liu Guang collapsed limply in his wheelchair, his eyes vacant, "There has never been a record of a Titan horde of this scale. The last Titan horde that wiped out the 5,000,000 troops of the Great Qing Dynasty only had 40,000 to 50,000 Titans. And now… it is ten times that of back then! A full ten times!"

Death-like silence.

"Do you understand?"

Liu Guang said hoarsely, "This is not a battle that can be won. This is a massacre—a unilateral massacre of humans by Titans."

Zhang Xuan rushed toward Su Mingyuan, grabbing his military uniform with both hands:

"I know your weapons are powerful! I witnessed it with my own eyes yesterday! Those steel behemoths, those terrifying artillery pieces!"

"However… facing 500,000 Titans, facing 35 hundred-meter-class Super Giants… no matter how strong your weapons are, it's not enough! It's simply not enough!"

His voice choked up: "While there is still time, retreat quickly! I beg you!"

"Retreat? That's not a good option."

Tao Zhe raised his head and looked at him calmly: "Because it's too late."

He pressed the remote control, and real-time data appeared on the screen: "According to drone surveillance, the moving speed of this Titan army is much faster than expected. They are not wandering blindly, but marching in an organized and purposeful manner. Average speed… 45 kilometers per hour."

Exclamations rang out in the conference room.

"According to this speed…"

Tao Zhe's fingers traced a trajectory on the screen, "They will arrive at our base within 10 hours."

"And if we start evacuating now…" He brought up another set of data, "with the existing transportation capacity, including the load limit of armored vehicles… completing the evacuation of all personnel will take at least 12 hours."

"12 hours versus 10 hours."

Tao Zhe turned around and said calmly, "We can't run away."

Zhang Xuan was utterly in despair, collapsing and sitting on the ground.

"Then… let the uninjured people go first!" Liu Guang suddenly shouted, "We wounded soldiers will stay behind to cover the rear! As long as a portion of the people can be saved…"

"No." Su Mingyuan shook his head, his voice resolute and decisive, "Daxia soldiers never abandon anyone."

"Either everyone leaves alive, or everyone dies fighting here. There is no third option."

"You guys are crazy!" Zhang Xuan laughed weakly, his laughter full of despair, "You have no idea about the power of these Titans. Although your weapons are amazing, facing this level of Titan horde…"

"Unless…" He suddenly realized something, "Unless your firepower is ten times that of yesterday's battle… no, at least thirty times! Thirty times the firepower! Only then is it possible… only then is there a sliver of hope to hold off this Titan army!"

"But that's impossible! It's simply impossible for you to have that much ammunition!"

"Thirty times the firepower, huh…"

Tao Zhe suddenly stood up, walked over to Zhang Xuan, and looked thoughtfully at the collapsing man:

"Indeed… after yesterday's battle, we consumed a full 300,000 artillery shells. Of the 300mm caliber rocket launchers, no less than 50,000 were fired. Half of all our reserve ammunition has already been consumed."

These words made a trace of hope flash in Zhang Xuan's eyes.

Perhaps… perhaps these people finally realized reality?

But the next second, the voice that drove Zhang Xuan to despair sounded again.

"However, it's not a big problem."

Tao Zhe turned around, a meaningful smile on his face:

"Although we don't have thirty times the conventional firepower."

"But…"

His voice became deep and full of power:

"We still have 'Truth'!"

"Truth?"

Zhang Xuan looked blankly at Tao Zhe, and then looked around at the Daxia military officers with smiling faces.

That smile exuded a composure he couldn't understand, as if what was coming wasn't a 500,000-strong Titan army, but a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

"Dr. Tao, what kind of weapon is this 'Truth'?" Liu Guang asked tremblingly, "Is it even more powerful than the artillery you used yesterday?"

Tao Zhe glanced at him and didn't answer.

Su Mingyuan also just shook his head.

For a civilization where even the steam engine has not been fully popularized, how can you explain nuclear fusion? Explain hydrogen bombs? Explain yield and blast radius?

That is completely casting pearls before swine.

Just like you can't explain what the internet is to an ancient person.