PFC Chapter 60: Mars Returns to the Sky Drive!
Chapter 60: Mars Returns to the Sky Drive!
A week has passed since the College of Cardinals was publicly executed.
The College of Cardinals originally maintained order on Mars by relying on papal authority, factional representatives, a censorship system, and the Covenant Army's orders. However, with the death of the Supreme Arbiter and the representatives of the four major factions, many local officers lost the legitimacy of their orders that very day.
When the lower-ranking Covenant soldiers saw the College of Cardinals being executed across the entire territory and the Royal Guard having changed its flag, they basically had no desire to continue fighting.
The remaining loyalists still tried to put up a last-ditch resistance, but they were simply powerless to resist.
The Fourth Scourge, the sharpest blade under the Skyward Commander, launched a fierce attack, routing the enemy.
Within a week, the Fourth Calamity, the Sentinel Fleet, the Skyward native forces, the Covenant forces that defected in the face of battle, and the Truth Investigation Committee under Saint Sophia's command, five forces advanced simultaneously from all directions, dismantling the military and political foundations of the old Martian regime layer by layer.
So today, a week later, Zhang Qiming, who had been staying on the main bridge of the aircraft carrier "Crimson Crown", witnessed the final declaration of victory in the global war.
[Mars Global War Progress: 100%]
[Sacrificed SkyDrive player: 287326]
[Important Order: Capture Mars – Completed!]
[All participating players will receive a basic reward: +350000 experience points!]
[Based on contributions to the war zone, capture of strongholds, support requests, kill contributions, legion command, supply transfer, casualties received, and surrender/persuasion records, additional rewards are being calculated...]
[All players who participated in this campaign will receive the War Version achievement title: Red Star Liberator!]
[Title Effects: +10% bonus experience on Mars, increased base favorability with the Skyward Organization, and additional contribution bonus when participating in subsequent Mars counterinsurgency and reconstruction missions.]
The Mars War Contribution Shop is now open.
[Exchangeable items: Special cybernetic implants, Skydrive standard weapons, war-limited camouflage, faction skill points, Guardian Fleet orbital support discount coupons, and temporary Martian medals.]
The Skyward Legion fought a very impressive battle in this Martian liberation war.
Little Pony Express, Ruby Link, and several large guilds played a pivotal role.
They recruited individual players into temporary combined arms companies, assigned communications and reconnaissance teams to report enemy positions, assigned shield guard squads to cover the front lines, assigned fire support squads to deal with armored targets, and then used the Skydrive Warfare System to request orbital reconnaissance, communications jamming, airdrop supplies, and short-range orbital strikes.
With this coordination, the players generally had an easier time fighting, while the Covenant forces became increasingly disorganized. Many local garrisons, upon discovering that the Cardinals had been purged, simply laid down their weapons and submitted ceasefire requests to the Truth Commission.
These surrendered territories are also counted in the player's contribution.
As a result, the players quickly learned another set of tactics: force surrender if possible, incorporate if possible, and take over strongholds while minimizing the destruction of warehouses.
Indiscriminate killing will only provoke resistance, and destroying equipment will reduce the value of loot, which is too much of a loss for them.
The global liberation war on Mars has also made Mars players a fortune.
Players can keep some of the rare equipment, special cybernetic devices, smart weapons, and tactical modules they capture on the battlefield.
More importantly, the experience rewards are enough to level up most participating players two to three levels, even after deducting the penalties from a week of high-intensity deaths. The main storyline experience, war zone mission experience, legion contribution rewards, and stronghold achievement rewards from the Mars Global Liberation War are sufficient for most players to level up two to three times.
Zhang Qiming glanced at the player settlement and war contribution rankings to confirm that there were no problems with the distribution of rewards to the Martian players, and then turned his attention back to the situation interface of the Gaia system.
The fall of the Holy Cardinals was only the first step; what lay before him next was a new Martian regime.
[Current Situation]
[Mars Mechanical Age Phase 1 Progress: 95% → 100%]
[Current Situation: The Mechanical Age/Mars Belongs to the Skydrive - The Skydrive organization has completed the takeover of Mars' near-orbit and orbital ship forces, core military and political nodes, public communication backbone, and the main command chain of the Covenant Forces.]
The core of the old regime of the College of Cardinals has been purged, the Truth Investigation Committee has been transferred to a temporary oversight body, and Zhang Qiming and Saint Sophia Paleologina have become key pillars of the transitional military and political system.
The old mechanical religious regime on Mars came to an end, and the Skyward Provisional Revolutionary Government gained de facto control of Mars, beginning to reorganize its administrative, military, industrial, scientific research, and foreign affairs systems.
[Branch Situation - For the Skywards, Become a Glorious Covenant Force: 100%]
[Branch situation complete!]
[You have gained 50000000 experience points!]
[You have received the following reward: 1 extra ability draw!]
……
With the completion of the branching situations, the progress bar for the overall situation of the mechanical age on Mars was also maxed out.
[The first phase of the Mechanical Age is complete!]
Between crimson Mars and the stars, humanity was once trapped in the shadow of the old sanctuary, flesh and blood forced to accept the judgment of chromium steel, technology locked into doctrine, naval cannons guarding stagnation, and censorship cabinets tailoring the future.
This path has never brought true salvation.
Sectarianism rises and falls, factional strife devours factions, every person seated high in the church claims to possess the truth, and every truth requires workers, soldiers, mechanics, and wet-brained brains to pay the price. The history of Mars has been repeatedly written with blood, cybernetic remains, and broken steel.
Now, the Skydriveers are leading Mars out of the dark ages of the old mechanical religion.
They will reforge steel with revolution, liberate technology with reason, unite the people with organization, and open the seas of space with their fleet. Mars will no longer kneel before the throne of the College of Cardinals, nor will it entrust its future to corrupt censorship and stagnant doctrine.
Integration is the way to survive; enhancement is the tool for liberation!
Moving forward is humanity's only sacred duty!
[You've unlocked a new era boost—the Cybernetic Creed!]
The effects of the era bonus are as follows:
[I. Martian native multitasking professionals receive a basic enhancement: Multitasking coefficient +2.]
[II. The success rate of judgments related to Soul Soothing, Soul Tuning, and Soul Calming is increased by 50%]
[III. Reconstruction of the Martian Native Prosthetic Adaptation System: Maximum prosthetic capacity increased by 15%, prosthetic rejection and neural load reduced by 10%.]
[The Martian government system is now operational!]
Current regime: Skydrive Provisional Revolutionary Government
[Status of Regime: Post-war Takeover/Provisional Control/Military-Political Reorganization]
[Unlocked government interfaces: Empire, Technology, Civics, Cabinet, Traditions, Species, Planets, Diplomacy, Fleet and Ship Design, Intelligence Log, Market, Megastructures...]
[Note: Mars is currently in a post-war transitional phase. Local security, industrial recovery, administrative reconstruction, the clearing out of remaining armed forces, and the handling of the Fourth Fleet will affect the stability of the subsequent regime.]
Immediately afterwards, a new era unfolded before Zhang Qiming.
On the Martian map, the platinum markings that once represented the Holy Cardinals have been extinguished, replaced by the red flag of the Skywards and the black and silver emblem of the Truth Investigation Committee.
The previous content mainly focused on the Gaia system module, but now it's the Alaya system module's turn to provide Zhang Qiming with something new.
The Dark Ages have ended, and Mars has entered the Age of Heroes. Please select the three key areas to focus your efforts during this Age of Heroes!
Different focal points will determine the future ideological trends and national ideals of "Holy Terra - Mars"!
[Note: Gold Focus Points will be converted into Intelligence Log Missions—Intelligence Log Missions involve civilization development, national strategies, military and political reforms, technological breakthroughs, and the reshaping of social structures. They can generate special missions for players, immortals, and civilizations as a whole, and provide generous rewards to individuals and civilizations.]
Zhang Qiming looked at the light screen, and the Alaya module quickly unfolded seven options in sequence: separation of religion and state, centralized power, corporate leadership, freedom of the people, super-frequency vision, network supervision and control, and wetware network.