Chapter 441: The Plan
Translator: AnubisTL
The start of the fourth reincarnation was nothing short of perfect.
Thanks to the nearly prophetic intelligence provided by Jieming, the first skirmish concluded within a single hour.
The Wizard Legion, suffering only negligible losses, completely annihilated the Scythe-Skull Race’s meticulously prepared interception force. They even seized the opportunity to destroy three of the enemy’s critical earth vein teleportation nodes.
Throughout the battle, Jieming remained within the safe zone designated by Commander Frost.
He did not participate in the direct fighting. Instead, he raced against time, sinking his mental power into his internal grotto-heaven to rapidly review the vast records left behind by his “past self” from the previous reincarnation.
The timeline of the war’s progression, the movement patterns of the Scythe-Skull Race’s main forces, methods to counter their new tactics, the characteristics and weaknesses of various mutants…
And more importantly, preliminary research report summaries on topics such as “time ripples” and the synchronization of abnormal development.
A torrent of information flooded his consciousness, only to be methodically sorted and digested by Jieming’s formidable mental power.
By the time the order to cease fire swept through the army, Jieming had already gained a clear understanding of the entire two-month war from the previous cycle.
He went straight to Frost and handed over all the recording crystals containing the crucial intelligence and research findings from that cycle, which he had stored in his internal grotto-heaven.
A mountain of recording crystals soon piled up in the command center.
The information-processing speed of a seventh-tier wizard was staggering.
Frost didn’t read each entry one by one. Instead, he used his mental power to perform a high-speed scan and extract key information.
As runes flashed, the contents of thousands of crystals streamed past his consciousness like flowing light.
In just fifteen minutes, he had finished “browsing” the entire mountain of crystals.
“…Issue the order: all operational units are to adjust their deployments according to ‘Intelligence Package 1-7 to 1-12.’ The priority of the research sequence mission is now upgraded to ‘War-Level’.” Frost first transmitted the clear command through the magic network.
But he didn’t let Jieming leave.
The commander stood still, his gaze fixed on the distant battlefield being cleared. His fingers tapped unconsciously on the staff at his waist as he sank into deep thought.
After a moment, he turned to Jieming, his voice steady yet tinged with a probing curiosity. “Last time, based on the recorded timestamps, we completely crushed the Scythe-Skull Race’s resistance in less than two months after gaining the intelligence advantage, pushing them to the brink of collapse. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Commander. The records confirm it,” Jieming nodded in agreement.
“I just realized…” Frost’s gaze sharpened. “Many of our studies—especially the core research on their deep connection to the time reincarnation—were only just beginning, far from complete. Numerous critical experiments were cut short because the war ended ‘too soon,’ resulting in lost samples and incomplete data.”
Jieming already knew where he was going with this and nodded. “You’re right. Once the war entered its final stages, our research focus was forced to shift.”
“Therefore,” Frost declared, his decision made, “this time, we will change the tempo. We will slow our frontal assault and prolong the war for as long as possible.”
“There’s no need to rush their destruction,” Frost said. “Instead, we will maintain a ‘sustained and controllable’ state of high pressure. Our goal is to force them to react continuously, exposing more information, while securing the most ample time and richest samples for our own research.”
Jieming asked from the side, “Are you planning to use the war as a pressure source in an experimental field, observing their developmental changes, social structural adjustments, and… their interactions with the reincarnation mechanism under long-term high pressure?”
“Precisely.” Frost nodded. “The recording crystals you provided will serve as the dashboard for controlling the progress of this ‘experiment.’ We need to apply just the right amount of pressure or relief at every critical node, keeping the pot of war simmering just below the boiling point.”
Frost’s gaze burned as he looked at Jieming. “I hope your storage space is sufficient!”
“Rest assured, Excellency,” Jieming replied with a slight bow. “My space is absolutely ample.”
“Good!”
The fundamental shift in strategic direction was immediately reflected in the battles of the following months.
The wizard legion remained powerful, their offensives still fierce, but they no longer sought to utterly destroy their enemies.
The wizards now held the initiative firmly in their grasp. With detailed intelligence supporting them, every engagement felt like they were operating with a full-map view; no large-scale movement of the Scythe-Skull Race could escape their surveillance.
Relying on this comprehensive intelligence, the wizards launched continuous raids on the Scythe-Skull Race’s resource sites and gathering points, capturing a vast number of live specimens.
As more live specimens—especially individuals at different developmental stages—were steadily sent to the rear laboratories, research progress began to accelerate dramatically.
More importantly, since most of the targeted wizardry and technology used for direct combat had been developed in the previous reincarnation, more logistics wizards in this round were freed from weapon development.
A massive number of logistics wizards threw themselves wholeheartedly into the deep study of the Scythe-Skull Race’s civilization essence, social structure, and especially its relationship with the time reincarnation.
The concentration of research power produced a qualitative change.
In just a few months, a breakthrough was achieved in deciphering the Scythe-Skull Race’s pheromone language.
A preliminary map of their social hierarchy and division of duties was drawn up, and even several prototype prediction models for “time ripples” were established.
To obtain the most elite specimens, Frost took matters into his own hands.
In a meticulously planned bait operation, he successfully captured two eighth-tier Scythe-Skull chiefs. When these two behemoths—exuding a terrifying pressure, their carapaces naturally inscribed with complex runic patterns—were transported under layers of seals to the Research Center’s highest-security laboratory, every wizard involved in the project was ecstatic.
Jieming was the first to participate in the preliminary analysis. The energy fluctuations and genetic information extracted from them might directly reveal the extent to which high-rank Scythe-Skull Race members retained their “memories” across reincarnations.
However, before long, the “boiling frog” stalemate deliberately engineered by the wizards finally aroused the suspicion of the Scythe-Skull Race’s highest command.
Time slipped away. A year passed.
The wizards were immersed in their deepening research, as one groundbreaking discovery after another emerged. The battlefield appeared calm, but beneath the surface, a deadly current was surging.
Until this day.
A piercing, global alarm shrieked across the Wizard Camp without warning. Even the deepest underground laboratories were engulfed by the deafening roar and the flashing crimson runes.
Jieming had just peeled a piece of tissue containing a fragment of the time law from the carapace of an eighth-tier Scythe-Skull Race specimen, preparing for a deep analysis.
The moment the alarm blared, his heart sank.
The magic net terminal automatically displayed a top-priority emergency combat report, its crimson text startlingly vivid:
Enemy Intelligence Report: The remaining main force of the Scythe-Skull Race has launched a full-scale assault, having completed their assembly in the Frontier Monitoring Zone one day ago. Three eighth-tier lifeforms are confirmed to be present. Total force is estimated to be nearly one trillion, advancing in a comprehensive assault formation. The vanguard has already breached the seventh and ninth buffer zones and is now less than one thousand kilometers from the main camp’s defense line. Assessment: A civilization-extinction level total offensive.
Nearly one trillion soldiers!
Commanded personally by three eighth-tier chiefs!
A distance of less than one thousand kilometers was practically face-to-face for a transcendent legion of this scale and power.
After a year of silence, the enemy had amassed such terrifying strength and chosen the most desperate method of counterattack.
(End of the Chapter)