Chapter 1228: Extinguis.h.i.+ng the Fire

War drums marked the beginning of a war between the entire nation and the mountain fire.

Fangzheng looked up into the sky. He was so tired that he could hardly breathe. The others were not any better, but the fire continued burning. It was as though it was mocking the feebleness of human strength. It could never defeat nature.

Just as Fangzheng’s eyes went blank, a shout came from behind him. “Brothers, let’s go!”

When Fangzheng turned his head, he saw a large group of soldiers rus.h.i.+ng over. There were also some other young adults among them. These people brandished their tools and quickly chopped off large trees. They managed two people per tree, quickly felling a patch of trees!

The firebreak instantly expanded!

Fangzheng was dumbfounded. Where did all these people come?

Unbeknownst to Fangzheng, more students were being held back outside. If they charged in like a swarm of bees, it would be a shocking sight.

However, the person-in-charge ultimately didn’t let these inexperienced students go in. No matter how touched they were, they had to be responsible for the children. In order to appease them, the person-in-charge gave them a mission to help in the logistics. There was no danger, but it wasn’t easy either.

Logistics did need people too. Although the students were indignant, they still followed orders.

A familiar face was spotted among the crowd that went up the mountain to fight the fire.

Zhao Datong said, “Eh? Why does that fellow who washed his face and went in again look so much like our chancellor?”

Hu Han pursed his lips and said, “How is that possible? I reckon that our chancellor is overseas hehehe…”

Zhao Datong grinned. He also found it impossible.

As the army, armed police, police, and people from everywhere joined the efforts, large swaths of trees were chopped down. The firebreak expanded rapidly, and the fire finally began to weaken.

At that moment, a large number of helicopters were sent over. The advancement of the fire was finally suppressed.

When Fangzheng saw this, he followed the crowd forward. He did not know who it was, but someone casually snapped off an extinguished tree branch and remarked, “If only they were so brittle. How nice to be able to snap it with just one chop…”

When Fangzheng heard that, he felt as though he had been enlightened! They were all so brittle? The reason why the fire spread so quickly was because of the wind blowing across the tree’s crown! What if all the trees collapsed?

No one would entertain this idea. Who would chop down trees right inside an inferno? That was unrealistic!

But to Fangzheng, this was indeed a feasible solution!

With this in mind, Fangzheng charged into the fire without anyone noticing. It was burning hot!

Fangzheng felt as though his entire body was about to be roasted. However, Fangzheng knew very well that it was only a feeling. With the White Lunar Monk Robe protecting him, he definitely wouldn’t be burnt to death. However, he still had to endure the pain.

Gritting his teeth, he swung his axe towards the nearby trees. Crack!

The tree that was as thick as a thigh was no longer st.u.r.dy because of the huge fire. The moment the axe hit it, it snapped!

Fangzheng saw that it worked!

Fangzheng was delighted as he immediately started work. Wherever he went, large trees would fall to the ground. The flames that were situated ten meters high turned into grounded flames. The fire immediately weakened.

This excited Fangzheng even more. He suppressed his fatigue as he brandished his axe and charged forward. Trees fell one after another…

The people outside were trying their best to widen the firebreak when they suddenly saw trees in the fire falling like straws as though they had been struck by a rhinoceros. They fell one by one at speeds that left one stupefied!

All of them looked at each other, puzzled as to what was happening inside the fire.

At this moment, the commander gave the order. No matter what happened inside, it was a good thing. Everyone was to speed up.

As more and more people came, Commander Lin, who originally kept complaining about the lack of manpower, switched to saying that there were too many people…

However, thanks to all the people, the man-made rain, and the planes to help extinguish the fire, the fire was quickly controlled. Once a mountain fire was controlled, it would be a matter of time before it was extinguished.

At that moment, Fangzheng was so exhausted that he did not want to move at all. He lay in the fire, panting heavily as he chuckled. “Amitabha. Keep up your arrogant act. Let’s see how long you can last!”

After resting for a while, Fangzheng suddenly sat up and looked at the burning plants around him. He suddenly exclaimed, “Aiyah! How did I forget about this!?”

Fangzheng smacked his head. He had actually forgotten about his Nature divine power! If he had used it from the beginning, wouldn’t it be much faster to have the trees retreat than him chopping them? Why did he waste so much effort?

Fangzheng slapped himself a few times in the face. His brain… had stopped working in his anxiety!

However, since he had thought of it, Fangzheng naturally had to do it himself. It was better to have the trees move than being chopped down.

After running out, Fangzheng took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to sense the surrounding plants. However… it was empty!

The feeling of him connecting with nature was completely gone.

“System Bro, what’s going on?” asked Fangzheng, perplexed.

The System said, “In the middle of winter, these plants are either faking their deaths or hibernating. With their energies still, they can barely survive the harsh winter. It’s already good enough that they can survive, so how can they have the strength to cooperate with you? Besides, the ground is frozen soil, making it even harder than steel plates. Do you think they can move?”

Fangzheng was immediately rendered speechless.

Fangzheng said, “I thought my Nature could give them greater strength…”

The System said, “That’s right, but when the conditions allow for it. In the desert where there isn’t a single drop of water, using Nature won’t be able to grow a seed into a towering tree. Nature only endows you with the power of nature, but the power is still constrained by rules and laws.”

Fangzheng was enlightened as he looked at the fire behind him. He mumbled, “So I didn’t waste all my strength. Thankfully…”

The fire was controlled, and it was extinguished three days later.

The rescue team entered the fire to carry out the final extinguis.h.i.+ng of sparks and embers.

As for Fangzheng, he never appeared in the crowd’s line of sight again. He consciously avoided people.

At the same time, people found the unharmed Cheng Hua unconscious in the fire. He was the firefighter that Fangzheng had transformed into.

Initially, everyone thought that the fire had been extinguished and that everything had ended.

When the fire was extinguished, everyone cheered in unison before a large group of people fell to the ground like dominoes.

Shocked, Commander Lin hurried over to take a look. Everyone else also wore a look of respect.

These people were people who had been fighting at the front line from the very beginning. They hadn’t slept much for the past few days. Every time they opened their eyes, they would charge into the h.e.l.l of ice and fire to extinguish the fire. Whenever they got dehydrated, they drank water before continuing the fight…

Fatigue had gotten to them. They had lasted this long by sheer will.

Now that the fire had been extinguished, their wills dissipated. They collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion, closing their eyes and falling asleep.

Looking at these people, those who were not so tired couldn’t help but show their respect.