Chapter 413 Plan
The start of the fourth cycle was perfect.
Thanks to the almost prophetic intelligence provided by Jemin, the first encounter ended within an hour.
The wizard legion annihilated the Scythe Skull Clan's meticulously arranged counterattack force at minimal cost, and even destroyed three of their key ley line teleportation nodes.
Jemin stayed in the safe zone designated by Commander Frost throughout the entire process.
He did not participate in the direct battle, but instead raced against time to immerse his mental energy into his inner sanctum, quickly browsing through the vast records left by "himself" in the previous cycle.
The timeline of the war's progress, the patterns of the Sickle Skull Clan's main force deployments, methods to counter new tactics, the characteristics and weaknesses of various variants...
Even more important are the preliminary research reports summaries on the synchronicity of "time ripples" and metamorphosis.
A massive amount of information flooded into his consciousness, but was systematically sorted and digested by Jemin's powerful mental strength.
When the order to end the battle was announced throughout the army, Jemin had a clear understanding of the full picture of the previous two months of war.
He went straight to Frost and, without hesitation, handed over all the recording crystals in his inner sanctum that represented all the important intelligence and research results from the previous cycle.
The large number of recording crystals piled up into a small mountain inside the command center.
The speed at which a level seven wizard processes information is astonishing.
Instead of reading through each line carefully, Frost used his mental power to perform a high-speed scan and extract key information.
As the runes flickered, the contents of thousands upon thousands of crystals flashed through his consciousness like streaks of light.
In just fifteen minutes, he had quickly "browsed" the crystal mountain.
"...Issue the order: All combat units shall adjust their deployment according to the 'Intelligence Packages 1-7 to 1-12' plan, and the priority of research sequence missions shall be raised to 'War Level'." Frost first issued clear instructions through the magic network.
But he did not let Jemin leave.
The commander stood still, his gaze fixed on the battlefield being cleared in the distance, his fingers unconsciously tapping the staff at his waist as he fell into deep thought.
After a moment, he turned to Jemin, his voice steady but with a hint of inquiry: "In the last round, judging from the recorded timestamps, after gaining an intelligence advantage, we completely crushed the resistance of the Scythe-Skull Clan in less than two months, bringing their civilization to the brink of collapse?"
“Yes, Commander. The records confirm that.” Jemin nodded in confirmation.
“I just discovered…” Frost’s gaze sharpened, “that much research—especially the core research on their deep connection to the time loop—has only just begun and is far from complete. Many key experiments were interrupted by the ‘premature’ end of the war, resulting in sample loss and incomplete data.”
Jemin understood what he was going to say and nodded: "You're right. As the war entered its final stages, the focus of research was forced to shift."
“Therefore,” Frost made his decision, “this time, we need to change the pace. Slow down the frontal offensive and prolong the war as much as possible.”
"There's no need to rush to destroy them; instead, we should create a 'continuous, controlled' high-pressure environment. The goal is to force them to keep reacting and exposing more information, while simultaneously buying ourselves the most time and the richest sample size for our own research."
Jemin asked from the side, "Are you planning to use war as a pressure source in an experimental field to observe their developmental changes, social structural adjustments, and... their interaction with the cycle mechanism under long-term high pressure?"
“Exactly.” Frost nodded. “The recording crystal you provided is the dashboard for us to control the progress of this ‘experiment.’ We need to apply just the right amount of pressure or relaxation at every critical juncture, keeping the pot of war at a state of just before it boils.”
Frost looked intently at Jemin: "I hope you have enough storage space!"
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency," Jemin bowed slightly, "I have more than enough space."
"good!"
The fundamental shift in strategic direction was immediately reflected in the battle situation in the following months.
The wizarding legions remain powerful and their offensives are still fierce, but they no longer pursue utter destruction.
The initiative was firmly in the hands of the wizards. With detailed intelligence support, every battle was like having a panoramic map, and any large-scale mobilization of the Scythe Skull Clan could not escape monitoring.
With detailed intelligence, the wizards continuously attacked the various resource sites and gathering places of the Scythe-Skull Clan, obtaining a large number of live samples.
As more and more live samples, especially individuals at different developmental stages, were continuously sent to the back laboratory, the research progress began to advance by leaps and bounds.
More importantly, since most of the targeted sorcery and technology for direct combat had been developed in the previous cycle, more logistics-oriented sorcerers are freed up from weapons development in this cycle.
A large number of logistics-related wizards devoted themselves to in-depth research on the nature of the Sickle-Skull civilization, its social structure, and especially its relationship with the cycle of time.
The concentration of research efforts has led to a qualitative change.
In just a few months, a breakthrough has been achieved in deciphering the pheromone language of the Sickle-Skull Tribe.
A preliminary map of their social hierarchy and division of responsibilities has been drawn, and even several prototype models for predicting "time ripples" have been established.
To obtain the best samples, Frost even took matters into his own hands.
In a meticulously planned decoy operation, he successfully captured two level-eight Scythe Skull Clan leaders alive.
When these two colossal creatures, exuding terrifying pressure and with complex runes naturally engraved on their carapaces, were sealed layer by layer and transported to the research center's highest-security laboratory, all the wizards involved in the research were in an uproar.
Jieming participated in the initial testing immediately. The energy fluctuations and genetic information extracted from them may directly reveal the degree to which the high-ranking Scythe-Skull Clan retains their "memory" in the cycle of reincarnation.
However, before long, the "boiling frog" war situation deliberately created by the wizards finally alerted the highest level of the Scythe Skull Clan.
Time flies, and a year has passed.
The wizards were immersed in increasingly in-depth research, and all sorts of groundbreaking discoveries kept emerging.
The battle situation appeared calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging beneath.
Until this day.
A piercing global alarm blared without warning throughout the entire wizarding camp, even the deepest underground laboratories were filled with deafening buzzing and flashing crimson runes.
Jemin had just peeled a piece of tissue containing fragments of the laws of time from the carapace of an eighth-level Scythe-Skull Clan sample and was preparing to conduct an in-depth analysis.
The moment the alarm sounded, his heart sank.
The MagicNet terminal automatically popped up a top-priority emergency battle report, the bright red text startlingly alarming:
[Enemy Situation Report: The remaining main force of the Scythe-Skull Clan has launched a full-scale attack, completing its assembly in the forward monitoring area a day ago. Three Level 8 life forms have been confirmed to be present. The total force is estimated to be close to one trillion, forming a full-scale assault formation. The vanguard has broken through the seventh and ninth buffer zones and is now less than one thousand kilometers from the main camp's defensive line. This is judged to be a final, civilization-preserving offensive.]
A force approaching one trillion!
Three level-eight leaders personally commanded!
For a high-energy superhuman legion of this size, a distance of less than a thousand kilometers is practically face-to-face.
After a year of silence, the other party has accumulated such terrifying power and has chosen the most decisive way to counterattack.
(End of this chapter)
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