chsdbacks Chapter 603 War and Guidance
Chapter 603 War and Guidance
The enemy troops were pouring out at an increasingly rapid pace.
The crack had been torn open to the point of no return, and the spatial fragments at the edges peeled away layer by layer like broken ice shells, revealing the thick, almost solidified darkness behind them.
Countless points of light flickered in the darkness; they were the eyes of hundreds of millions of different races, driven by the same will, waiting to pass through the rift.
The vanguard's leader, an eighth-level creature, was an exceptionally large cosmic behemoth whose body spanned several planes, and with each breath it drew massive amounts of free elemental energy from the void.
Its head has no eyes, only a huge, horizontally split mouth filled with tens of thousands of teeth, each tooth covered with runes that emit an ominous red light.
It opened its mouth and let out a silent roar.
That was a pure mental shock, enough to instantly tear apart the mental sea of a low-level wizard.
"Crush them!" Its will resounded throughout the vanguard legion. "Let these arrogant wizards know that the Alliance is the true master of this void!"
Behind it, a massive army of hundreds of millions of high-level creatures simultaneously unleashed their strongest auras.
The cosmic behemoths stretched their bodies, widening the cracks; the energy aggregates spun wildly, releasing radiation powerful enough to distort space; and creatures of all shapes and sizes surged forth like a tsunami, filling the entire void completely.
They roared and howled, displaying their power, charging forward madly under the command of the star behemoth, attempting to crush the wizard's defenses into dust with sheer numbers.
Then, they crashed into the wall.
It was a wall made of flesh and metal.
Those were cannon fodder units of the four major powers, containing hundreds of millions of artificial puppets, elemental creatures, modified beasts, and combat weapons... They poured out from the positions of the four major powers, forming impenetrable battle lines in the endless chaotic void.
The wizards in the parallel world all had their pupils contract the moment they saw these cannon fodder.
Since the vast majority of those attending this gathering were high-level wizards, the quality of these cannon fodder creatures was also terrifyingly high—the lowest being level six.
The vanguard of the Multiverse Alliance rammed into them.
Level 6 against Level 6, Level 7 against Level 7... The vanguard of the Multiverse Alliance was horrified to discover that they were actually no match for the other side when they were at the same level!
What's more troublesome is that even the Alliance of All Realms wouldn't be so extravagant as to use only high-level creatures as the vanguard.
The vast majority of those creatures rolling, writhing, and roaring in the void are cannon fodder below level five.
Of course, for most civilizations, this level of quality and quantity is already enough to drive them to despair.
They were invincible in past wars because of their superior quality and quantity.
But now, facing the cannon fodder units sent by the wizard civilization, they were completely overwhelmed in both quality and quantity, which were their greatest strengths. In the vanguard of the Multiverse Alliance, the squad leaders who commanded level four and five creatures looked at the enemy composed of level six and seven creatures led by level eight creatures and felt like primitive men with sticks had run into an armored force.
The first wave of impact was crushed within seconds.
Creatures below level five didn't even have time to touch the armor of the cannon fodder before being riddled with holes by long-range fire.
Level 6 and 7 creatures barely made it to the front lines, but their attacks only sparked a string of fire when they hit the cannon fodder units, while the cannon fodder units' counterattacks could tear them apart.
Some colossal creatures roared and charged forward, attempting to crush the battle line with their sheer size.
But the largest war golems went to meet them. Although they were not as big as the star beasts, they were no weaker, and more importantly, their numbers far exceeded those of their opponents.
Almost ten puppets were entangled with a giant star beast, some responsible for restraining it, some for dealing damage, and some for repairing its damage.
Each attack from the Starry Sky Beast could only repel one or two war golems, but more golems surged up from behind to fill the gaps and pin them to their spots.
The command center of the Multiverse Alliance is suspended hundreds of thousands of kilometers behind the battle line, and is made from the back armor of a giant star beast.
Inside the command post, a dozen figures of varying appearances sat around a stone table, with live footage of the front lines projected into the air before them. The situation was dire.
The vanguard has been completely suppressed, and the cannon fodder below level five has suffered heavy losses. The level six and seven troops are also entangled in the wizard's cannon fodder army and cannot break through.
The combat effectiveness of those cannon fodder units far exceeded expectations. Their armor was ridiculously thick, their firepower was astonishingly fierce, and their numbers... just how many were there?
A lizardman commander abruptly stood up, his tail thumping the ground uneasily. "This isn't right! This isn't the wizard civilization we fought! Their cannon fodder was stronger than our main force!"
"Didn't we already say it was someone else?" A hoarse voice came from the corner.
It was a humanoid creature wrapped in a black robe, the hood pulled low, obscuring its face.
His voice was calm, with an odd gentleness that contrasted sharply with the volatile commanders around him: "Another, more powerful wizarding civilization."
"Nonsense! I know it's another wizarding civilization, but wasn't it supposed to be a parallel world? How can the combat power difference be so huge?!" the orc commander roared. "What do we do now? Have the vanguard retreat?"
"Retreat?" Another energy aggregate commander let out a piercing laugh. "Retreat where? The main force hasn't even fully passed through the rift yet. Are we going to retreat now and wait for their counterattack?"
The debate lasted for a while without reaching a conclusion.
Some advocated retreating, some advocated continuing to wear down the enemy, and others suggested splitting forces to flank the enemy.
However, each solution has its own problems.
Retreat meant exposing the unprepared main force; attrition meant resorting to piecemeal tactics; and dividing the forces meant being defeated piecemeal. Finally, the man in black robes stood up.
His movements were slow and unhurried, like a drop of oil falling into boiling water.
Everyone's attention was drawn to him.
"I have a suggestion." His voice remained gentle, but every word clearly reached the ears of all the commanders present. "The reason why the enemy's defenses are so solid is because their average level is higher than that of the vanguard."
"Since the vanguard is lacking in combat strength, why not just send out all our high-level combat forces at once and crush their defenses in one fell swoop? Don't give them any chance to breathe, don't give them any time to react..." He paused, then said meaningfully, "...and don't let them escape either."
There was a moment of silence in the command post.
Then, the orc commander slammed his fist on the table: "Alright! That's it!"
The other commanders nodded in agreement.
They did not feel that their overall combat strength was at a disadvantage; the only problem was that their army had not yet been fully deployed.
Fortunately, all the high-level combatants have arrived.
In reality, the combined combat strength of all the other armies is probably not as good as this group of high-level combatants.
We didn't press it all down before because we were worried about causing too much damage.
But now that the effects of low-level combat power are limited and such great damage has already occurred, it's better to just send all the high-level combat power at once and crush everything.
The resolution was passed with astonishing speed.
The commanders rose and flew towards their respective legions. Soon, only the black-robed man and an orc commander remained in the command post. The orc was about to leave when he suddenly stopped, turned to look at the black-robed man, and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.
"Do we...know each other?" He tilted his head, scrutinizing the black-robed man's features. "You look familiar, like I've seen you somewhere before." The black-robed man turned around, revealing half a gentle, smiling face beneath his hood.
"Of course I know him," he said. "We've worked together before."
The orc commander's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, yes! I knew it!"
He approached enthusiastically and patted the black-robed man's shoulder with his tail: "Weren't you in the Third Army during the last war? I remember you, you commanded very well!"
The man in black nodded, his smile unchanged: "You flatter me."
The orc commander laughed heartily, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then hurriedly left to assemble his troops.
The man in black stood there, watching his figure disappear into the void.
Then he raised his hand, revealing a section of his fair wrist under his hood.
On his wrist, a small, bracelet-like network terminal was faintly glowing.
"Reply: Guidance mission complete. The enemy is about to launch a full-scale attack, with all high-level combat forces deployed." He calmly reported the intelligence through his mental power.
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
Then, a voice suppressing ecstasy resounded in the mind: "Are you sure?"
"Sure."
"Good! Well done!" the voice almost roared. "Everyone, get ready!"
The man in the black robe turned off the magic network terminal and pulled his hands back into his sleeves.
He looked up at the distant battle line.
There, the army of the Multiverse Alliance is regrouping, and all level six and seven creatures are converging on the front lines.
Tens of millions of level-eight troops and hundreds of billions of level-six and level-seven troops were all deployed.
He smiled, turned and walked into the void, his black robe fluttering behind him.
Inside the Star Ring Federation's command center, the atmosphere had completely changed.
Those level-eight wizards who were just complaining about "consuming too many cannon fodder" now had their eyes shining brightly.
Some people have already started checking their equipment, some are stretching, and others are eagerly flying to the front lines.
An eighth-level wizard couldn't help but nod in admiration: "That old fellow truly lives up to his reputation of having dedicated his life to studying soul-related knowledge; he completed the infiltration and guidance in such a short time..."
"It seems that it was the right decision not to release all the level 8 cannon fodder units at the beginning. If there had been too many level 8 cannon fodder units, they might have scared the enemy away."
"A full-scale attack?" an eighth-level wizard grinned. "Then they won't be able to escape."
The weapons of war from the four major powers began to surge forward.
The level eight wizards from the four major factions lined up in the void.
However, to avoid scaring away the enemy, they did not reveal themselves completely.
Only the original 400 peak level 8 members who were originally part of the delegation showed up. Facing a massive army of level 8 soldiers numbering in the millions, they showed no fear, but instead smiled as if it were New Year's Day.
An eighth-level wizard from the Crimson Court even licked his lips: "So many materials, enough for several years."
The Star Ring Federation wizard beside him rolled his eyes at him: "Can't you be a little more dignified? That's an eighth-level creature; capturing it alive is worth more than killing it." "Who said I was going to kill it?" The Crimson Court wizard revealed a sinister smile. "Capture it alive, and use it slowly."
The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
In the void, the Alliance of Myriad Realms' army of tens of millions of level eight soldiers has been assembled.
They formed a battle line stretching for tens of millions of kilometers, leading a massive horde of level seven and level six units as they surged toward the wizards' positions. The cosmic behemoths roared silently, the energy aggregates spun wildly, and the biological tides surged like tsunamis.
They will crush everything in one fell swoop.
On the quantum entanglement flagship, Felix's projection appeared.
It looked at the overwhelming enemy, its expression as calm as ever.
"Attention all units. Enemy forces are about to enter firing range. Prepare to... fire freely."