Chapter 435 The Final Reincarnation
Following the Starforger Artorias as he stepped out of the spatial rift, Jemin returned to the core timeline world.
The scene before me was completely different from when I left.
The enormous mechanical sphere still hovered above the temple altar, but the wildly flashing energy wires on its surface had now returned to normal.
The entire sphere emitted a slightly dull, yet remarkably stable, blue-white light.
The oppressive sense of will that had filled the space had vanished without a trace, leaving only the deep hum unique to the operation of the massive machine.
Artorias stood before the sphere, his gray robes billowing, and turned to Jemin, saying, "The 'noise' inside has been cleared away. The highly biased chaotic consciousness aggregate has been erased, leaving only the underlying logical protocol that maintains the core function of the time paradox generator."
His tone was indifferent, as if he had only dealt with a trivial matter.
But Jemin could imagine what that "erasure" meant—the lingering echo of a civilization's last struggle being completely formatted.
“Next,” Artorias said, his gaze falling on the sphere, as if piercing through it to see a deeper layer of time structure, “I will initiate a time reversal while simultaneously stripping the ‘time rift world’ containing this sphere from the timeline. Let this sphere, which serves as the core control unit, with its full functionality, ‘fall’ back into the real prime plane.”
He turned to Jemin and instructed, “You need to go back and inform Frost to prepare for the next cycle, which will be the final one. When the sphere returns, the entire Time Paradox Generator will operate in its ‘complete form’ in the prime plane for the first time. Although its aggressive will has been eliminated, its basic functions will still operate according to the preset rules. We need to complete the full takeover of the entire system, test it, and perform the initial sealing in this cycle.”
Jemin nodded, understanding dawning on him.
From the information he had previously obtained, he already knew that this plane, as a "super weapon," was designed to be a closely coordinated whole between the "core control unit" (the sphere) and the "external execution unit" (the Scythe-Skull Clan and the plane environment).
However, for the sake of "safety," that fearful will forcibly removed the core unit to an independent time layer, causing the weapon system to be in a semi-paralyzed state of "control core offline" for a long time.
It can only operate inefficiently by relying on basic instincts and limited preset protocols.
Now, the core is about to return, and this time-space weapon, which has been sealed away... or rather, never truly and completely activated, will reveal its original design for the first time.
“I understand, Your Excellency,” Jemin replied in a deep voice.
Artorias said no more, raised his hand and gently made a gesture beside him, and a spatial rift leading to the wizard camp of the prime plane quietly opened.
Jemin took one last look at the smoothly operating mechanical sphere before stepping into the crack.
Jemin hadn't been gone long, but the chaos in the camp had largely subsided.
After losing follow-up command and support, the attacking Scythe-Skull Clan army was quickly wiped out by the shamans who had reacted.
At this moment, a large number of wizards are advancing deep underground to clear out the remaining digging units and repair the damaged ley lines.
Jemin quickly located Frost, who was deploying a mission at a temporary command node, and relayed the orders from Artorias the Starforger.
Upon hearing this, Frost's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Without uttering any unnecessary words, he immediately issued the highest-level combat readiness order to the entire army through the magic network.
[Attention all units, entering 'Final Agreement' preparation mode. Repeat, Final Agreement preparation mode. All units, after completing their current combat missions, immediately retreat to the main camp to establish the final defensive perimeter and await further instructions.]
The command was brief, yet carried immense weight.
All the wizards who received the order, whether they were in the midst of a fierce battle or resting, instantly became extremely solemn.
They knew that once the final agreement was triggered, it meant that this long and bizarre cycle of battle was finally about to reach its decisive moment.
Jemin returned to the research area in the center of the camp and began to systematically organize and encapsulate all the core research data and record crystals accumulated over the past fifteen rounds.
Shortly after the order was given, without any warning, that familiar pulling sensation originating from the very source of the world once again swept across the entire plane.
The sixteenth cycle has begun.
But this time, the process and feeling of reincarnation are completely different from the past.
In the past, reincarnation was like the reset of a precision clock, a stable and mechanical process.
This time, however, Jemin could vaguely "sense" that there seemed to be a slight stagnation and disharmony in the torrent of time flowing backward.
It was as if something enormous and heavy was being forcibly "dragged" down from a higher dimension and embedded into the inherent time structure of this world.
When the dizziness subsided and Jemin "reappeared" at the edge of the familiar camp, he immediately sensed the strange change in the atmosphere of the battlefield.
In the distance, the black scythe-skull tribe continued to gather, but their formation appeared more chaotic than ever before.
Instead of the clear-cut, well-organized advance of the past, they were more like headless flies huddled together, emitting a chaotic and noisy cacophony.
Even more astonishingly, above the insect swarm, the figures of the level six, seven, and even eight Scythe-Skull Clan leaders, exuding powerful pressure and commanding with composure, still hovered there.
But these higher-level creatures remained motionless, like puppets with broken strings.
The light in his compound eyes dimmed, and although his aura was still powerful, he had lost all his lively "will" and "vitality"!
The will within the spheres was erased, rendering them unconscious, leaving only their powerful bodies and energy to instinctively maintain their levitation.
"How could this be... What happened to the leaders?!"
"Quickly! Go and awaken the leader!"
Among the lower-level Scythe-Skull Clan, some of the more intelligent individuals sent out anxious messages.
They attempted to approach those high-ranking members of their kind that floated like exquisite sculptures.
However, given the vast disparity in strength between the two sides, this action was undoubtedly fatal.
Having lost conscious control, the bodies of those high-ranking Scythe-Skull Clan members operate entirely on instinctive neural reflexes and pre-set energy protection mechanisms.
Any unauthorized approach is considered a "threat".
*Pfft! Sizzle! Boom!*
Those Scythe-Skull Clan members who attempted to touch it were either pulverized by the energy shields automatically activated on the bodies of higher-ranking individuals, or sliced into pieces by their unconsciously swung, sharp limbs.
Even worse, some triggered aggressive reflexes and were directly vaporized by an instinctively released energy beam!
The lower-level Scythe-Skull Clan was instantly plunged into even greater panic and chaos.
They couldn't understand what had happened; all they knew was that the highest command they relied on had suddenly become unapproachable death statues!
Just as this chaos reached its peak...
The sky suddenly darkened.
It wasn't the clouds obscuring it, but a deeper kind of "darkness," as if the starry sky itself had lowered its shadow.
An indescribable, immense will swept across the entire battlefield, gentle yet irresistible.
It is Artorias the Starforger.
His true form seems to be looking down on and interfering with this plane from a higher level.
Immediately afterwards, under the shocked gazes of all the wizards and Scythe-Skull Clan members, the unconscious bodies of those high-ranking Scythe-Skull Clan members were pulled by invisible threads and flew towards the direction of the wizard camp at a speed as fast as a streak of light, before disappearing one by one into a slightly rippling space in the center of the camp.
They were "recycled".
At this moment, the chaos of the Scythe Skull Clan turned into utter despair and collapse.
Some of the more intelligent individuals immediately understood what was happening and let out a mournful and unwilling cry.
He collapsed to the ground, his compound eyes losing all their luster.
They understood the signal.
The highest levels were wiped out, their bodies taken away; the war is over.
They... were completely abandoned, or rather, treated as "trophies" awaiting disposal by a higher level of being.
After a brief silence, an uncontrollable commotion broke out within the wizard camp.
Artorias's figure did not appear directly, but his voice resounded clearly in the soul of every wizard, calm yet majestic:
"All the high-ranking Scythe-Skull Clan 'shells' that have been recovered will be distributed as additional spoils of war in this planar conquest. Commander Frost will formulate a distribution plan based on the military contributions recorded in past cycles."
Upon hearing this, a collective gasp filled the camp, followed by countless burning gazes!
But it's just the body of a high-ranking sickle-skull race member, at least level six!
Even if it loses consciousness, it is still an excellent research material and a powerful basis for biological weapons.
The Starforger's next command only intensified the atmosphere:
"In addition, a long-term war mission is issued: all combat wizards, while ensuring their own safety, should capture and bring back as many Scythe-Skull individuals alive as possible, regardless of their level. During the mission, I will use low-level military merits to exchange for an unlimited number of living individuals."
The commands are clear and concise.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this mission implies that the wizard Artorias intends to use these Scythe-Skull races as servant races.
That's quite normal, though. After all, although the Reincarnation Plane is a "failed" weapon, it is still a strategic weapon and has great value for further modification and enhancement.
As part of this weapon, the Scythe-Skull Clan members naturally need to be collected as much as possible.
Almost instantly after the command was given, countless figures shot out from all directions of the camp like arrows released from a bow.
After all, once this order was issued, it meant that the Scythe-Skull Tribe, who were scattered all over the mountains and fields and had fallen into chaos without unified command, instantly became walking military merit certificates!
The battle wizards, their eyes gleaming with greed, pounced on the flock of sheep like hungry wolves, rushing headlong into the black ocean of despair and chaos!
The light of magic, the roars of summoned beasts, and the excited battle cries instantly replaced the previous grim atmosphere, turning the battlefield into a bustling "harvest" scene.
Jemin did not rush out with the crowd.
Like the other logistics wizards, he stood still, but their eyes were all fixed on the Starforger in the center of the camp, filled with undisguised anticipation.
Sure enough, Artorias's voice rang out again, this time directly targeting all the wizards in the logistics research sequence:
"Issuing the highest priority research task: Establish the 'Time Paradox Generator Analysis and Control Project Team'. Conduct comprehensive research, analysis, testing, and preliminary control over the recovered core unit of the 'Time Paradox Generator' and the soon-to-be-completed dimensional system. There is no fixed military merit reward for this task."
As soon as the words were spoken, the logistics wizards' breathing became heavier, and their eyes shone with a light even more intense than when the combat wizards saw military merits!
Although this task may seem to offer no reward, everyone knows that all the knowledge gained during the task is the reward itself.
For a logistics-oriented wizard, the research permission for a complete spacetime weapon is the greatest reward!
(End of this chapter)
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