Chapter 404

"I am Artelius." The old man's voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly. "Commander-in-Chief of this 'Reincarnation Plane' Expeditionary Army."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the audience.

"The mission briefing you received should have already explained the basic situation. But now the situation has changed—"

Artelius's voice echoed over the wasteland, each word like cold metal knocking in the wizards' consciousness.

"The other side is already prepared for us. At the current stage, once our high-tier wizards take action with full force, it will definitely trigger time reversal, so except for one Tier 7 wizard, we will not take action at other times."

The old man's gaze swept across the 3,000 newly arrived supporters below the stage, his eyes filled with the exhaustion and sharpness accumulated from countless cycles.

"Moreover, after hundreds of cycles, those Sickle-Skull Tribe—or rather, the Sickle-Skull Tribe individuals in this timeline who have awakened and retained memories—already know our tactics, habits, and even ways of thinking like the back of their hands."

He paused, a trace of rare solemnity in his tone.

"In that cycle, they know the patrol route of every wizard squad, can predict the coverage range of Tier 7 wizard laws, and even researched biochemical resistance variants against specific wizardry. The price we pay for every inch of land we advance is increasing."

Suppressed gasps came from below the stage.

Jie Ming silently digested the meaning behind these words.

Hundreds of cycles—this meant that for the Sickle-Skull Tribe in that timeline, they had already fought the same batch of wizards hundreds of times.

Just like a player repeatedly challenging the same level, they could always find the optimal solution.

"So, you are the 'variables'."

Artelius raised his hand, his fingertips drawing thirty bright trajectories in the air.

"30,000 support wizards, divided into thirty tactical brigades, 1,000 people per brigade. You will not be invested all at once—"

Every three cycles completed within the plane, we will invest a new brigade."

"The purpose of doing this is twofold: first, to add new variables that the enemy cannot predict; second, to let you 'newcomers' quickly understand the anomalies of the battlefield through observation."

He looked at everyone, his tone returning to the absolute calmness belonging to a Tier 8 Great Wizard.

"Your mission is very simple: try every possible way to crack the time reversal mechanism. Collect all knowledge samples of the Sickle-Skull Tribe civilization, and look for special individuals or relics that might trigger the reversal. If you discover any signs of a 'time source,' report it immediately, and the command department will allocate high-tier forces to handle it."

The moment the words fell, the Magic Network Terminal on everyone's wrist vibrated simultaneously.

Jie Ming looked down, and the light screen unfolded:

【Combat sequence assignment completed】

Brigade number: First Tactical Brigade Captain: Jie Ming (Tier 4 Logistics Wizard)

Establishment: 1,000 people (including 23 Tier 3 wizards, 477 Tier 2 wizards, 500 Tier 1 wizards)

Attached units: Alchemy War Puppets, Elemental Summoning Arrays, Biochemical Giant Beasts—

Transmission coordinates locked, please pay attention to the transmission order.

First Brigade Captain.

Jie Ming was not surprised by this appointment.

After all, among the 30,000 people present, there were not many Tier 4 wizards, and his rating as an "Elite Combat Unit" in the military system should not be low.

But truly commanding a tactical brigade of 1,000 people was still the first time for him.

"The pressure is not small." He muttered to himself, but a light of excitement flashed in his eyes.

Appearing first, although the danger was not low, the opportunities were also many.

Just then, Artelius raised his hand again.

The leaden grey dome in the sky suddenly became transparent, and a huge light curtain spanning the field of vision unfolded.

The picture inside was a dark red world—it was the real-time image of the Reincarnation Plane.

One could see dense wizard legions advancing, and the light of various wizardries smashing into the black-purple insect tide in the distance like a rainstorm.

The Sickle-Skull Tribe's carapace kept shattering under energy bombardment, but their numbers seemed endless, surging from the ground, from behind the mountains, and even from the spore clouds in the sky.

The battle situation didn't look difficult.

The wizards' front lines were advancing steadily, and Tier 6 and Tier 7 wizards were hovering high in the sky, occasionally taking action to clear those high-tier Sickle-Skull Tribe individuals trying to gather.

But Jie Ming's brows furrowed.

He saw a few details.

The Sickle-Skull Tribe's charge formation was changing; they seemed to be able to predict the landing points of wizardry and disperse in advance.

Certain individuals had targeted elemental resistance patterns emerging on their carapaces, and there was even a team of Sickle-Skull Tribe underground units that accurately bypassed the vibration-sensing barriers set up by the wizards.

"This is the 'adapted' battlefield—" Jie Ming felt terrified in his heart.

But even so, relying on their powerful oppressive force, the wizards continued to advance and soon broke through the last line of defense.

However, just then, the picture suddenly began to twitch.

It was not signal interference, but the entire plane was twitching.

Mountains, rivers, shattered carapaces, wizardry aftermath that had not yet dissipated—

Everything was like a reversed video, retreating toward the "past" at a speed that violated common sense.

The fallen Sickle-Skull Tribe stood up again, the consumed wizardry energy returned to the caster's body, and even the terrain that had been razed was rapidly restored to its original state.

The whole process lasted only three seconds.

When the picture stabilized, the battlefield returned to the "initial state": the wizards had just completed transmission assembly in front of the plane crack, and the main force of the Sickle-Skull Tribe was still surging on the horizon in the distance, as if the fierce battle that had lasted for several hours just now had never happened.

Only the solemn expressions of the wizards on the ship plane proved that everything just now was not a hallucination.

"The 137th cycle, ended." Artelius's voice announced calmly. "The 138th, begins."

He turned to the 30,000 people below the stage.

"First Tactical Brigade, prepare for transmission."

Jie Ming took a deep breath and gripped the staff in his hand.

The wizards of the squad behind him lined up, and various cannon fodder units were also fully prepared.

At the edge of the light curtain in the sky, a huge black crack slowly tore open.

Dark red light streams surged inside the crack, and one could faintly hear the sounds of slaughter and energy explosions coming from the other side.

"Remember," Artelius said last, "you are new variables, but also new prey. The Sickle-Skull Tribe will study you and adapt to you at the fastest speed. Each cycle, they will understand you a little more."

"So, don't give them too much time."

The countdown to departure on the terminal hit zero.

Jie Ming raised his hand, his voice spreading through the amplification array to the entire First Brigade: "Attention everyone, follow me, charge formation!"

He did not choose a conservative defensive formation, but directly adopted the most aggressive wedge-shaped charge formation.

Since the enemy already knew the tactics of the "old wizards" like the back of their hands, the first wave of contact must use the most unpredictable way to disrupt the other side's rhythm.

1,000 wizards activated their protective wizardry simultaneously, and light halos of various energies lit up.

5,000 Alchemy War Puppets began to accelerate with heavy steps, their shells flowing with the latest anti-biochemical acid coating.

The elemental summoning array began to chant, and the prototypes of fire element giants, wind-blade flying eagles, and rock puppets condensed in the air.

And the cannon fodder legion behind Jie Ming surged like a silent black tide.

"Go!"

He was the first to rush toward the black crack in the sky.

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