Chapter 431: The Current Situation and the Entrance
Translator: AnubisTL
“I am Artorius,” the old man’s voice, though not loud, echoed clearly in everyone’s ears. “The Commander-in-Chief of this ‘Reincarnation Plane’ expeditionary force.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire field.
“The mission briefing you received should have already explained the basic situation. However, the circumstances have now changed…”
Artorius’s voice reverberated across the wasteland, each word striking the wizards’ consciousness like cold metal.
“The enemy has already grown wary of us. At this stage, if any of our high-rank wizards go all out, it will inevitably trigger a time reversal. Therefore, except for a single seventh-tier wizard, we will not take action at any other time.”
The old man’s gaze swept over the thirty thousand newly arrived reinforcements below the platform. His eyes held a weariness and sharpness forged through countless cycles of reincarnation.
“Furthermore, after over a hundred cycles, those Scythe-Skull Race—or rather, the individuals of the Scythe-Skull Race in this timeline who have awakened and retained their memories—have become intimately familiar with our tactics, habits, and even our way of thinking.”
He paused, his tone carrying a rare gravity.
“In that cycle, they know the patrol routes of every wizard squad, can predict the law-coverage range of seventh-tier wizards, and have even developed biochemical resistant mutations specifically targeted at certain types of wizardry. Every inch of land we advance, the price we pay increases.”
Audible gasps of shock rippled through the crowd below the platform.
Jieming silently processed the implications of Artorius’s words.
Over a hundred cycles… This meant that for the Scythe-Skull Race trapped in that timeline, they had fought the same batch of wizards over a hundred times.
It was like players repeatedly challenging the same level, always finding the optimal solution.
“Therefore, you are the ‘wild cards.'”
Artorius raised his hand, his fingertips tracing thirty luminous arcs in the air.
“Thirty thousand reinforcement wizards, divided into thirty tactical battalions of one thousand each. You will not be deployed all at once—after every three cycles within the plane, we will send in a new battalion.”
“This serves two purposes: first, to introduce unpredictable new variables to the enemy; second, to allow you ‘newcomers’ to quickly grasp the battlefield’s anomalies through observation.”
He looked at everyone, his tone returning to the absolute calm befitting an eighth-tier great wizard.
“Your mission is simple: use every means at your disposal to break the time-reversal mechanism. Collect all knowledge samples of the Scythe-Skull civilization and search for any specific individuals or relics that might be triggering the reversal. If you find any signs of a potential ‘Temporal Source,’ report it immediately. Command will dispatch high-tier forces to handle it.”
The moment the words fell, the magic net terminals on everyone’s wrists vibrated in unison.
Jieming lowered his gaze as his light screen unfurled:
Combat Sequence Allocation Complete!
Battalion Number: First Tactical Battalion
Captain: Jieming (Fourth-tier Logistics Wizard)
Strength: 1,000 personnel (including 23 third-tier wizards, 477 second-tier wizards, and 500 first-tier wizards)
Attached Units: Alchemical War Puppets, Elemental Summoning Arrays, Biomechanical Behemoths…
Teleportation Coordinates Locked.
Awaiting Teleportation Command.
Captain of the First Battalion.
Jieming wasn’t surprised by the appointment. After all, there were few fourth-tier wizards among the thirty thousand present, and his “Elite Combat Unit” rating within the Military Department’s system was likely high.
But commanding a tactical battalion of a thousand men was still a first for him.
“The pressure’s on,” he muttered, but a spark of excitement flashed in his eyes.
Being the first to deploy was dangerous, but it also meant more opportunities.
Just then, Artorius raised his hand again.
The leaden-gray dome above them suddenly turned transparent, and a colossal light screen spanning the entire horizon unfurled.
The image displayed a dark red world—a real-time feed of the Reincarnation Plane.
The dense ranks of the wizard legion advanced steadily, their spells raining down like a torrent of multicolored light upon the black-and-purple insect tide in the distance.
The Scythe-Skull Race’s exoskeletons shattered under the energy bombardment, yet their numbers seemed endless. They surged from beneath the earth, from behind the mountains, and even from the spore clouds in the sky.
The battle appeared to be going well.
The wizards’ front line advanced with stability. Sixth-tier and seventh-tier wizards hovered high above, occasionally intervening to purge high-rank Scythe-Skull Race attempting to rally.
But Jieming’s brow furrowed.
He noticed several details.
The Scythe-Skull Race’s charge formation was shifting; they seemed to be predicting the spells’ impact points and scattering in advance.
Specific elemental resistance patterns were emerging on some of their exoskeletons. Even a squad of burrowing Scythe-Skull units had precisely bypassed the wizards’ vibration-sensing barriers.
So this is a battlefield that has been ‘adapted’ to… Jieming thought grimly.
Even so, the wizards maintained their overwhelming pressure and continued to advance, soon breaking through the final line of defense.
But just then, the image began to twitch.
It wasn’t signal interference—the entire plane was convulsing.
Mountains, rivers, shattered exoskeletons, the lingering aftereffects of spells…
Everything played backward like a rewinding tape, retreating into the “past” at an impossible speed.
The fallen Scythe-Skull Race rose once more. Expended wizardry energy flowed back into the bodies of its casters. Even the leveled terrain swiftly restored itself to its original state.
The entire process lasted only three seconds.
When the scene stabilized, the battlefield had returned to its “initial state”: the wizards had just completed their teleportation and assembled before the plane rift, while the main force of the Scythe-Skull Race still surged on the distant horizon, as if the hours-long, fierce battle had never occurred.
Only the grim expressions of the wizards on the ship plane proved that what had just happened was no hallucination.
“The 137th cycle is over,” Artorius announced calmly. “The 138th cycle begins.”
He turned to the thirty thousand men on the platform below.
“First Tactical Battalion, prepare for teleportation.”
Jieming took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his staff. Behind him, the wizards of his squad formed ranks, and various cannon fodder units readied themselves.
At the edge of the light screen in the sky, a massive black rift slowly tore open. Dark red streams of light surged within the rift, and the faint sounds of slaughter and energy explosions could be heard from the other side.
“Remember,” Artorius said in his final words, “you are new variables, but you are also new prey. The Scythe-Skull Race will study and adapt to you at lightning speed. With every cycle, they will understand you a little better.”
“So, don’t give them too much time.”
The countdown on the terminal reached zero.
Jieming raised his hand, his voice amplified by the formation and carried across the entire First Tactical Battalion:
“All units, attention! Follow me, charge array!”
He had eschewed a conservative defensive formation, opting instead for the most aggressive wedge charge. Since the enemy knew the “Old Wizards'” tactics inside and out, the first wave of contact had to be as unpredictable as possible to disrupt their rhythm.
A thousand wizards simultaneously activated their protective spells, their bodies glowing with a kaleidoscope of energy.
Five thousand alchemical war puppets accelerated their heavy strides, their chassis shimmering with the latest anti-bioacid coating.
The elemental summoning arrays began their incantations, and the forms of fire giants, wind-blade eagles, and rock golems started to coalesce in the air.
Behind Jieming, the Cannon Fodder Legion surged forward like a silent black tide.
“Go!”
He was the first to charge toward the black rift in the sky.
(End of the Chapter)