Clearing

The detonation of a nuclear weapon with a yield of 20 million tons would be felt even hundreds of kilometres away in Leningrad.

Alex, puzzled, felt the energy emanating from the rear, then suddenly froze. He couldn't sense the presence of Lord Crazy Rick and the 800,000 reinforcements.

It was as if they had never existed.

Nevertheless, until he received further orders, he would continue to command the troops in combat.

In addition to him, the God of Death within the Nazg country also sensed the disappearance of Crazy Rick and the Dragon Knights. 

Feeling the change in his deathly power, he understood what had happened.

He roared angrily at his subordinates,

"Where is the national master? Make him roll over here immediately."

Upon receiving the command, the subordinates nervously went to summon the national master Maldoc.

Once Maldoc arrived, the Reaper immediately asked,

"National master, I ask you, what did you summon? You claimed that this human kingdom was a low-level civilization, so why is every soldier capable of single-handedly killing our Soul-Devouring Dragons?"

"Do you realize that just now, the 800,000 army I sent to Crazy Rick disappeared in an instant because of the mysterious weapons of the human kingdom?"

"I can't even sense their corpses. If it weren't for the change in the deathly power within me, I wouldn't even know if they are alive or dead."

Listening to the god of death's angry tone, Maldoc could only respond with a helpless expression,

"I deserve a thousand deaths. I don't even know what creature I summoned."

"When I first summoned it, I didn't sense any magic in this country, and I mistakenly thought it was a primitive civilization."

"It was only when our army engaged with them that I realized I was wrong."

"The weapons used by this human kingdom are beyond my knowledge, yet I sense a power in them completely different from our magic."

"In the past, when we fought human armies, as long as we killed a portion of them or broke their formation, the human army would start showing signs of retreat, leading to a rout. Then, my army could pursue them and achieve the final victory."

"However, this human kingdom called the Soviet Union has shattered my understanding of human armies."

"Their soldiers seem to be like our Undead Legion, fearless of death."

"Even if we killed the majority in a position, as long as there's one person left, they continue to fight instead of fleeing."

"I suspect that their army's ability to achieve this is due to the influence of this unknown power."

After listening, the god of death asked impatiently,

"So, have you come up with any solutions?"

"We have few Dragon Knights left, and the Undead Legion alone will struggle to secure victories without the assistance of Dragon Knights."

"Moreover, our 'Faguang' is running out. If we continue to incur losses, we'll soon have very few undead left to use."

Maldoc, not daring to admit helplessness, responded from another angle.

"Your Majesty, the current plan is to recall all Dragon Knights and undead currently engaged on the front lines to preserve more strength."

"Once we identify weaknesses in the human army, later on, we can swiftly achieve victory."

"As for the 'Faguang' we can temporarily borrow some from Octa for emergencies."

"Later, we can allocate more 'Faguang' from the Soviet Union to them."

After hearing this, the god of death also acknowledged that this was currently the best course of action.

"Very well. Bring someone and immediately issue the order to withdraw all troops from the front lines."

Back in Leningrad,

The EMP generated by the nuclear explosion also impacted Leningrad. Although the EMP rendered many electronic devices useless for the Soviet forces, surprisingly, it seemed to have a significant effect on the Dragon Knights as well.

The orders issued by Alex were not executed by the Dragon Knights fighting below, as if they were unaware.

Helplessly, he had to resort to the most primitive method of directly conveying orders to others through shouting.

However, at this moment, he noticed a human army appearing from the north. This army was naturally the 14th Army rushing to support from the border.

"Damn it, how did these humans support so quickly? Give me a little more time, and I can double the area we currently control."

He immediately dispatched a portion of the Dragon Knights engaged in ground combat to perform airstrikes on the 14th Army, causing as many casualties as possible before they entered the city.

Unfortunately, after a few hours of disappearance, the Soviet forces successfully regrouped another wave of formations consisting of over a thousand fighter jets from various war zones. Among them were two SU-24s carrying tactical nuclear missiles.

The two sides once again engaged in fierce aerial combat. As losses mounted, a few Soviet fighter jets even flew past Alex.

Helplessly, he had to mobilize more Dragon Knights from the ground to reinforce the air battle.

This reallocation also slowed down the ground offensive.

The Soviet forces had more time to repair defensive structures, replenish ammunition, and temporarily ease the integrated attacks from the undead.

Midway through the battle, Alex suddenly received an order from the god of death to immediately withdraw his forces.

Upon hearing this command, Alex felt unwilling. After suffering so many losses of Dragon Knights, he had only managed to capture half of the city, and now he was ordered to withdraw.

However, he dared not disobey the god of death's order. He ordered a group of Dragon Knights to cover the retreat, then led the remaining Dragon Knights to escape through a teleportation gate to the plains hundreds of kilometres away, and finally retreated into Nazg Nation.

On the other side of the teleportation gate, King Rauther also received the same command.

Initially considering abandoning the hundreds of thousands of undead still in Leningrad and closing the teleportation gate, he changed his mind upon receiving Alex's message, requesting permission for his Dragon Knights to use the teleportation gate.

King Rauther agreed to Alex's request, knowing that Dragon Knights were an essential combat force for Nazg.

If the god of death found out he had caused the death of these remaining Dragon Knights, he dared not imagine the consequences.

However, this decision meant that none of the undead present on that day would escape.

Even before the arrival of the fighter jets carrying tactical nuclear missiles, Gubanov in the underground command post knew about it.

Beside him, Kovalev asked,

"Comrade Commander, we have two SU-24s carrying tactical nuclear missiles that have already arrived. They are waiting for your instructions."

"Since our ground forces have been attacked by the undead coming through that portal, let them launch the missiles into that portal, and try to see if we can directly blow up that portal."

The two SU-24s receiving the command immediately began searching for an opportunity to launch the missiles into the portal.

However, the Dragon Knights seemed to sense the nuclear scent of these two aircraft, realizing that they might bring devastating damage.

They continuously besieged the planes, preventing them from finding an opportunity to launch the missiles into the portal.

It wasn't until the Dragon Knights began to retreat that the pilots found their chance.

Manoeuvring to avoid the ongoing attacks from the Dragon Knights, they followed closely behind until they were near the portal.

Pressing the launch button, the two nuclear missiles followed the last Dragon Knight into the portal.

The missiles entered the portal, yet before they could detonate, the portal had already closed.

On the other side, King Rauther immediately closed the portal after the last Dragon Knight flew in, paying no attention to the two missiles that entered.

A few seconds later, the two tactical nuclear missiles exploded almost simultaneously, releasing destructive energy.

The sky vanished in intense white light as if millions of suns were rising simultaneously.

A massive pressure wave spread in all directions, like an invisible wall, instantly devouring everything.

Flames soared into the sky. Two enormous mushroom clouds formed in the air, with orange-red flames shining within.

As the explosion fireball ascended, the surrounding air became scorching and turbulent, vaporizing and tearing apart the nearby undead.

Far in the City of Tombs, the God of Death once again sensed the change in the power of death, but could only roar helplessly at his subordinates and National Master Maldock.

Although they successfully resolved the issue of the Dragon Knights and the portal, there were still tens of thousands of abandoned undeads in the city.

However, with the arrival of the 14th Army and the successful regaining of air superiority, a large number of armed helicopters, artillery, and various vehicles began to reappear on the battlefield.

It took only a short two hours to successfully eliminate all the undead left in the City of Tombs.

The battle was over, and the Soviet forces achieved the final victory at a great cost.

From the first appearance of the Dragon Knights over Leningrad to now, just a few hours had passed, yet nearly a hundred thousand Soviet soldiers died in the city, while only a small number were injured.

The weapons of these undead were tainted with the death power of the God of Death, and any Soviet soldier touched by it would meet certain death.

Chernov was standing on top of a tall building in the Leningrad, smoking quietly, overlooking the devastated Leningrad.

The city, at this moment, resembled the aftermath of the German bombardment in 1941, with buildings along the coast mostly destroyed, and almost every structure in the city partially collapsed.

After the decisive battle at the city centre's highest point, they were urgently deployed to support other areas.

With their extremely powerful individual combat capabilities, they were treated as a fire brigade, sent wherever there was an emergency.

By the end of the fight, of the sixty-plus soldiers brought from Tashkent, there were now only a dozen or so left.

He stubbed out the cigarette, turned around to face the surviving members behind him, and an infinite sadness welled up within him.

This was the first time he experienced something akin to what his forebears had gone through. The sacrifice had passed away, and the living had to carry on with their beliefs.

He gazed at the distant wreckage – the cost of victory was the sacrifice of those vibrant lives on the ruins before him.

At least, they fulfilled the promise to defend their homeland and people.