Chapter 1363 Spring Dream Vanishes Without a Trace and The Final Preparation
Han Xiao and the others retreated from the battlefield and returned to the main base at the rear. The World Tree Army had yet to break through to here, and it was not affected by the flames of war.
The troops of the three Universal Civilizations and the various large organizations had already formed a long line. They entered different Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices and returned to the explored universe.
The group boarded an evacuating main ship and watched the real-time surveillance of the battlefield while waiting for their turn.
The three Universal Civilizations had already begun to withdraw their forces and stop their losses. The battlefront formed by the starships retreated like a tide.
Kant looked at it for a while before shaking his head. “Looks like the three Universal Civilizations have completely decided to give up on the intercepting circle.”
“Fighting to the death is useless. It will only increase our casualties, so we naturally have to retreat,” Manison said calmly.
“However, once we retreat, we won’t be able to stop the World Tree from approaching our territory. Sooner or later, we’ll have to start a war on our own territory.”
Clotti shook his head. Ever since Reeve and the others had revived, he had become more talkative and rarely acted as if he was unapproachable. The group casually chatted about the battle to calm their emotions from the bloody battle earlier.
However, Han Xiao did not join their conversation. Instead, he stood aside and watched the unsealing of Aurora.
After watching for a while, he suddenly realized that many Beyond Grade As were sweating. He could not help but ask: “How’s the progress?”
“This is strange.” Kasuyi pinched his forehead and said with a surprised tone, “We have already weakened the seal by more than 95%, leaving only the last thin layer. However, we encountered an unprecedented resistance, and the last bit of the seal crystal wall suddenly became indestructible, as if there is an infinite power supporting its existence.” “Really?”
Han Xiao raised his brows and immediately thought of the characteristics of the Illusion – Mind Lock.
It seemed like the target who was hit by this move would be trapped in a dream created by their desire. The more real they treated it as, the stronger the seal would be.
He took a closer look at Aurora. As the layers of the seal were broken, her expression was no longer blank. At this moment, she closed her eyes, frowned, and revealed a slight look of pain, as though she was saying, “Don’t disturb my daydream.”
Could it be that her subconscious had sensed that the dream was about to disappear, so she took the illusion more seriously and took the initiative to stabilize the seal and resist the unsealers?
What kind of dream did she have to make this woman wish she could sleep forever?
Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he looked away helplessly. He patted Kasuyi and said, “Then can you unseal it or not?”
“Don’t worry about that. Although the seal barrier is much stronger, with so many of us working together, we will be able to penetrate it sooner or later.” Kasuyi did not even look back.
Han Xiao could only trust him and wait patiently.
After a while, Kasuyi and the others suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. They were just about to say that they had succeeded.
However, before they could say anything, Aurora suddenly opened her eyes and woke up from her coma.
“No,”
The sharp shout shocked everyone. Even the Beyond Grade As who were analyzing the situation not far away stopped chatting and looked over in surprise.
It was originally a happy matter for the milkmaid to wake up, but everyone was shocked by this shout and was confused.
Seeing pairs of shocked eyes staring at her, Aurora snapped out of her daze and quickly shut her mouth. However, her expression was still a little dazed, as though she had not gotten used to the feeling of leaving the dream. She was trying to determine if this was real or an illusion.
However, her senses and memories gradually adjusted, and Aurora slowly confirmed that she had really woken up this time.
This time, Han Xiao walked out from the crowd and stood in front of Aurora. He touched her head and said with concern, “Your mind seal has been removed. How do you feel?”
Aurora looked up at Han Xiao, and her delicate face suddenly turned red. She quickly turned her head to the side and looked away.
“I’m fine… How are you?”
“What problem can I have?” Han Xiao saw her strange expression and could not help but be curious. “What did you dream about in the seal?”
“I… I…”
Aurora stuttered as if she did not want to speak.
This time, Hila walked over and patted her head.
“What did you dream about? Why aren’t your memories open to me?”
“D-don’t ask! Anyway, it’s nothing important…”
Aurora glanced at Hila before looking away in shock. She then recalled what she had experienced in the dream, and her face became even redder, as though she was about to bleed.
Seeing her strange behavior, Han Xiao and Hila exchanged surprised looks. However, since Aurora did not want to say it, they could not be bothered to force her. Since she was already awake, there was no need to dig into the details. Perhaps it was because she had a secret in her heart, and it was not convenient for her to say it.
Han Xiao poked Aurora and checked her status. Seeing that Aurora’s attributes had returned to normal, he did not bother about Aurora’s dream.
Seeing this, everyone stepped forward to show their concern, pushing Han Xiao and Hila to the side.
Aurora’s emotions gradually returned to normal, but she still did not dare look Han Xiao in the eye. Suddenly, she thought of something and asked with a serious expression, “You’re all here. Has the battle ended? How are the casualties?”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone’s expression stiffened slightly, and they sighed. The atmosphere quickly became gloomy, and they started to talk about the battle situation after she fainted.
Hearing about the losses this time, Aurora was shocked. Then, she said with some guilt and disappointment:
“I—I’m sorry. I was careless and fell for the enemy’s trick. I could not be of use, and more people died…”
“It’s not your fault. It’s all the enemy’s doing. You’re just a victim.” Han Xiao rubbed her head, and her soft blonde hair slid across his palm.
“But if the enemy uses this move again, I will…”
Han Xiao waved his hand and interrupted her. He smiled and said, “Don’t be afraid. The Tree King who attacked you has already been locked in Amber. He won’t threaten you anymore.” “You’re still so nice to me… cough cough.”
Aurora subconsciously opened her mouth, but halfway through, she suddenly remembered that this was not a dream. She quickly shut her mouth, lowered her head, and coughed to hide the abnormal emotions in her eyes.
However, no one paid attention to her expression.
“It’s all thanks to Black Star capturing that Tree King. If they sealed Aurora in the next battle, we would have suffered heavy casualties like today.” Milizaus shook his head.
Guzar sighed softly. “From this point of view, it’s already not bad that Black Star got rid of the future trouble. It’s just a pity for those comrades who sacrificed themselves…”
“You can’t say that. Since the enemy has this method, they will use it sooner or later, so our casualties are inevitable. When the enemy used this method for the first time, Black Star seized the opportunity to capture him. He has already done his best to minimize the cost to prevent losses in the future,” Beiger immediately said.
Hearing this, everyone thought about it and felt that it made sense.
This was the enemy’s trump card, and Black Star couldn’t prevent them from using it in advance, so they could not blame Black Star. Getting rid of this hidden danger the first time was already the best outcome.
Ames walked forward and patted Aurora’s head.
“It’s good that you’re fine. This is more important than anything else.”
“Teacher, I’m… very sorry.”
Aurora lowered her head timidly. Her face was red with guilt, and she did not dare to look up.
Ames, however, understood her and comforted her. “It’s alright, don’t blame yourself. Although you did not use your ability to protect me, it’s not your fault. I’m fine.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing this, Aurora felt even more embarrassed. She twisted her hands together and buried her head even deeper, almost like an ostrich.
It was finally their turn to leave, and everyone stopped chatting. The spaceship followed the fleet into the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, and the two huge mechanical rings began to spin. The lights connected and flickered, sending everyone back to the Flickering World.
After Han Xiao and the others retreated from the battlefield, the situation developed just as Simon had said. The defensive lines of the various war zones were broken, and the World Tree Army marched in from various areas and spread out rapidly. A vicious snowball-like cycle occurred, and the intercepting circle gradually became riddled with holes.
As there was no way to reverse the situation, the three Universal Civilizations did not continue to recruit Beyond Grade As into the battle and did not force a direct confrontation. They continued to pull their troops and equipment to recoup their costs so that they would not be completely wiped out by the World Tree fleet.
This process lasted for about ten days before the World Tree Army completely broke through the intercepting circle. The three Universal Civilizations also withdrew all the fleets and equipment that should have been taken back, and those that could not be taken away were destroyed on the spot. The intercepting circle that had been built over a year was only left with countless metal trash floating in the universe like a man-made asteroid belt.
In the explored universe, the upper echelons of the three Universal Civilizations and the command center held a follow-up battle meeting after the interception circle disappeared.
Among all the Beyond Grade As, only Han Xiao was the representative.
In the large conference room, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations listened to the military report with a straight face. As the commander-in-chief of the intercepting circle, Simon was reading out the strategic analysis.
“… The intercepting circle has been abolished. We have lost the biggest barrier stopping the World Tree from advancing. The war has entered a new phase.
In the past year, we have sent out teams of engineers to move toward the Flickering World from the interception circle, setting up traps and fortifications along the way for this day. When the World Tree moves toward our territory and enters the vast strategic zone, we can harass and obstruct them.
“Although we can’t stop them from advancing, we can at least slow them down…”
At this moment, Marbruce interrupted him, tapped the table, and asked:
“This won’t solve the root of the problem. Can you think of a way to build another blockade?” Hearing this, Simon shook his head and sighed. “Forgive me for being blunt, but before we find the World Tree’s main body, all our strategies are just to treat the symptoms… We need to invest a lot of resources to build another intercepting circle. I believe that with this experience, the World Tree will use the same method to attack next time. Our troops will be heavily damaged once again, and we will fall right into their trap.
Furthermore, choosing a location is also a problem. Most of the areas in this strategic zone are also places that we have never set foot in, so we cannot go there casually. The earliest construction team to set out will only be able to build a new interception circle a year away from the World Tree. The time is too tight.
If we send a new batch of construction teams from the border of the Flickering World, there will be plenty of time to build an intercepting circle, but…”
“But what?”
Louis asked.
Simon frowned and told the truth, “The Military Strategy Department does not agree with this plan. Through the speed and drifting time of the Kunde Race survivors, we have already calculated the approximate distance between the World Tree and us. With their speed, it will take them about eleven years to reach our territory. With our obstruction and delay, this number will be extended, but not for long.” The Pope immediately questioned.
“Eleven years… This is enough to build a stronger interception circle. Why not?” “It can be done, but the Military Strategy Department feels that it’s a better choice to strengthen defenses in the border areas. Use destructive methods to develop the Flickering World border that has yet to be fully explored, squeeze out all the planet resources in these areas, and then turn at least five Star Clusters into desolate universe belts. We will not leave a single hair behind for the World Tree and build a defense line here.
After all, this is our home ground. This way, it would not only make it easier for mobile support troops but also greatly reduce the size of the defensive line, saving the expenditure of troops. Furthermore, the battlefield is close to our home, which can also stimulate the resistance of the entire universe. Setting up a new blockade in the unexplored area countless miles away will consume too much of our forces. We will be dragged into a war of attrition that the World Tree is good at, which will be even more disadvantageous…”
nsu
Simon explained.
Hearing this, the upper echelons discussed the pros and cons of this plan.
The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations pondered for a while before turning to look at Han Xiao.
“Black Star, what do you think?”
Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I don’t have too many opinions, but it’s very necessary to strengthen our defenses. Instead of leaving those planets for the World Tree to devour, we might as well do our best and use the Planetary Shatterer to develop the planets at the border of the Flickering World so that the enemies can’t replenish themselves. That way, even if they attack, we won’t lose much.”
He had already done what he could. Compared to the terrible start in his previous life, the situation of the three Universal Civilizations at present was many times better. He could not give any more suggestions regarding the war.
After all, the direction of the war between the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree was completely different from his previous life, and he could not be sure of the final direction of each plan. The best choice now was to trust the professional military personnel.
‘In eleven years at the minimum, the World Tree will be able to invade the three Universal Civilizations… This is the final preparation period, I have to make good use of it.’
Han Xiao took a deep breath.
On the advancing route of the World Tree, the three Universal Civilizations most likely did not need high-level combatants to harass or stop them. This meant that they, as Beyond Grade As, did not have to be on standby all the time and could freely arrange the schedule.
He planned to spend some time nurturing those Beyond Grade A seeds, hoping to give birth to more Beyond Grade As and allow Karlot to grow as soon as possible.
On the other hand, he could also take the opportunity to settle down. The experience provided by the players would surely be enough for him to break through level 360 and complete his Promotion within a year. The strongest period of a Mechanic was not when they had just advanced.
The peak of a Mechanic could only be achieved after his mechanical army and equipment are completely upgraded!
The last eleven years of preparation were a rare opportunity for him to digest his advanced strength!
After these two exchanges with the Tree King, Han Xiao had already noticed his current weakness. Although he could win against Heart Tree King or Subduing Tree King in a one-on-one battle, they were all experts of the same level. They had their own explosive trump cards, so it was almost impossible for him to defeat the other party quickly. Furthermore, the battlefield environment was complicated, and the mechanical army was the biggest target. There were too many factors that affected their combat strength.
Although his energy level was very high, he was still a peak Beyond Grade A in essence, and there was no qualitative change. Only with the power of sublimation could he solve this problem.
“I hope I can give the World Tree a ‘surprise’ the next time we fight!”
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
However, these thoughts were suppressed in his heart.
He knew very well that the most important task at the moment was not these plans but to wait for Oathkeeper to gather the new Sanctum Key and enter the Sanctum again. He would use the truth of the revival to strengthen the belief of the entire Beyond Grade A group!