Chapter 491

Just as he arrived at the edge of the Plane Nuolun workshop defense line, the magic net terminal on Jie Ming's wrist vibrated gently.

Jie Ming took a look; on it was an emergency order: 【All outer perimeter reconnaissance personnel return to the fortress group immediately, stop all external actions】.

He paused his steps slightly, then continued to move forward.

Soon, the scene of the camp ahead came into view.

The scene on the outer perimeter of the defense line was completely different from when he left; black smoke rose everywhere, elemental fluctuations showed unnaturally twisted traces, and the air remained with the scorched smell of hot energy.

Even more shocking was that on the originally flat wasteland, several overlapping giant craters had appeared out of thin air.

Each had a diameter between tens to hundreds of kilometers, the edges of the lava had not yet completely solidified, and dark red light pulsed slowly at the bottom of the craters.

Those large detection arrays and outposts that had been expanded and built outside the defense line had now turned into ruins and wreckage, leaving only twisted metal frames and curling smoke.

"This scale of destruction..." Jie Ming's eyes were solemn.

This level of destructive effect was far from what the harassing attacks of these few days could cause.

Obviously, during the time he was out for reconnaissance, a high-intensity conflict had occurred on the front line.

He displayed the magic net terminal code to the identification array on the outer layer of the defense line, and the pale golden shield opened an entrance silently.

Passing through layers of energy barriers, the closer he got to the center of the fortress group, the more obvious the traces of war became: armor plates being repaired, wizards in a hurry, and the peculiar smell of a mixture of potions and energy permeating the air.

When approaching the central command camp, a familiar figure happened to walk out of the camp gate.

"Junior brother?" Wei Aola stopped her steps, her silver-gray eyes falling on Jie Ming, sizing him up twice, "Back? Didn't lose any arms or legs, good luck."

She was more exhausted than before, there were fresh tear marks on the cuffs of her wizard robe, and her hair tips were still stained with uncleaned ash.

But the suppressed excitement deep in her eyes still existed; obviously, she had "played" very happily these past few days.

"Senior sister." Jie Ming nodded in greeting, raised his hand to point at the giant craters in the distance, "The headquarters suddenly recalled all reconnaissance personnel, plus those traces outside..."

"Same situation as you think, the enemy has strengthened their offensive." Wei Aola said concisely, "Just two standard hours ago, the Chaos Secret Sect and the Tower of Silence jointly launched a high-intensity surprise attack. More than three hundred Level 6 wizards led the team, cooperating with a large number of high-tier cannon fodder units, suddenly launching an offensive far exceeding previous harassment."

She paused, her tone calm but with coldness: "Although we beat them back, the outposts and arrays expanded on the outer perimeter were all destroyed. At the same time, the headquarters monitored that the enemy's behavioral patterns in the outer reconnaissance battle have changed."

"Changed?"

"From reconnaissance to hunting." A sharp light flashed in Wei Aola's eyes, "In the past few days, their squads would mainly focus on collecting intelligence and probing the defense line. But starting today, all enemy reconnaissance squads encountered have shown extremely strong aggressiveness, with annihilating our personnel as the primary goal."

Jie Ming's heart moved.

This information perfectly matched the two battles he encountered before returning.

Whether it was the thirteen-person hunting squad or the assassination by the crystal wizard later, the other side had no reconnaissance intention at all, purely coming for slaughter.

"It seems... the other side has also realized our intentions." He said in a low voice.

Wei Aola raised an eyebrow: "Seems you guessed quite a lot, tell me about it."

"The workshop's orders here are too obvious; what they want to do is clear at a glance, as long as one is not a fool, one can see it, right?"

Saying so, Jie Ming still sighed and honestly stated his analysis:

"So the coalition side initially sent reconnaissance squads to find the location of our 'missing' high-tier wizards, and we tried our best to intercept and annihilate their reconnaissance personnel to delay the time for them to find the target."

Jie Ming analyzed quickly: "This was originally a race against time. But now, the other side chose to hunt our reconnaissance forces in return—this is both reducing our effective strength and forcing us to make a choice."

"Either shrink our forces, give up outer intelligence control, and let them reconnoiter; or continue to send personnel, but under their targeted hunting, losses will rise sharply... very troublesome."

Wei Aola nodded approvingly: "Indeed, the other side is using an open plot. But there is a gap in the hard strength of both sides; at such a time, no matter how we choose, it won't be comfortable."

She looked at the ruins still smoking outside the defense line: "The giant craters you saw when you came back were left by the surprise attack just now. The other side clearly wants to apply pressure on two fronts—strengthening the offensive on the front line to distract our energy, while turning to hunting mode on the outer perimeter."

The two were silent for a moment.

"Do the higher-ups have any countermeasures?" Jie Ming asked.

"Discussing." Wei Aola raised her chin, signaling the command camp, "However, fortunately, the top-level Level 7 wizards are restraining each other, and the number of Level 6 wizards who can move freely is limited, so the subsequent war intensity will not get out of control... at least it won't get out of control before the decisive battle between the two sides. But for us who still have to go out..."

She didn't finish, but the meaning was clear: in this way, the danger for those of them who go out for reconnaissance will rise sharply.

Just then, the magic net terminals on both their wrists vibrated simultaneously.

A short message appeared, from Clark: 【Come to the command room.】

The command room was located deep underground in the central fortress, the space was wide, the walls were made of semi-transparent crystal material, and real-time battlefield data streams flowed on the surface.

A three-dimensional holographic projection of the war zone floated in the center, and dozens of high-tier wizards were talking in low voices around the projection, the atmosphere solemn.

Clark stood on the side of the projection, still in that simple black robe, with his hands behind his back, his gaze calmly scanning the constantly refreshing battle information.

Seeing Jie Ming and Wei Aola enter, he nodded slightly.

"The meeting of the Level 7 wizards just now has reached a conclusion." Clark got straight to the point, his voice not high but clearly transmitted into the ears of the two, "The next strategy is divided into two steps."

He raised his hand and pointed at the holographic projection in front of him, and an area was marked in dark red.

"First, solve those harassing teams outside. They harass at fixed times every day, although not fatal, they seriously consume the energy of the defense line. The headquarters plans to organize an ambush, concentrate strength to take out a few main harassing teams, and teach them a lesson. By the way, it can also deter their subsequent actions so they won't be so unscrupulous."

Beside the dark red area on the projection, several scattered blue light points lit up.

"Second, form specialized hunting squads." Clark's tone was flat, "Since the other side has turned to hunting mode, we will fight fire with fire. The hunting squads will be units of ten to twenty people, actively searching for and annihilating enemy reconnaissance personnel in the outer areas."

He paused for a moment, his gaze falling on Jie Ming and Wei Aola.

"You can choose the direction of the next mission according to your own needs."

Clark raised his hand, and four phantom mission lists unfolded in the air:

【Option 1: Participate in the ambush operation against harassing teams. Requires coordination with large-scale legion actions, suitable for those skilled in positional warfare and group wizardry coordination.】

【Option 2: Join a hunting squad, actively search for and annihilate enemy reconnaissance personnel. Requires tacit squad coordination, skilled in encounter battles and rapid annihilation.】

【Option 3: Continue to serve in external reconnaissance and search missions. Risk is extremely high, requires extremely strong independent combat and survival capabilities.】

【Option 4: Retreat into the defense line, participate in the reinforcement of the fortress group and the construction of the defense system.】

"Choose." Clark said concisely.

Jie Ming and Wei Aola looked at each other and fell into deep thought simultaneously.

The fourth option was the safest, but it was excluded by the two at the first moment.

The war intensity had not yet reached the point where they needed to shrink back and defend, and retreating to the rear now was no different from giving up growth opportunities.

The remaining three options had risks rising in tiers.

Participating in ambush operations, being in the main legion of one's own side, had the highest safety, but the combat mode was biased toward large-scale coordination, and individual performance space was limited.

Joining a hunting squad, flexibility and danger coexisted, requiring close cooperation with teammates, suitable for those skilled in team combat.

And single-person reconnaissance... had the strongest autonomy, but the risk was also the highest.

Especially in the background where the enemy had also turned to hunting mode, being alone outside was no different from being a moving target.

But for Jie Ming, this was exactly what he needed.

Although the assassination by the crystal wizard earlier made him palpitate, it also clearly showed him his own deficiencies.

In a real life-and-death struggle, reaction, judgment, and response, every link needs to be completed in a flash.

This kind of pressure is difficult to fully simulate in team combat.

"I need actual combat to verify my system." Jie Ming realized in his heart, "In a team, there will be too many constraints, and I cannot truly test my limits. And single-person action, although dangerous, is also the best whetstone."

On the side, Wei Aola had already made a decision.

"I choose the hunting squad." A trace of excitement flashed in her eyes, "Small-scale coordination is more suitable for me to perform. And... hunting those who are also hunting us must be able to feel more 'high-quality' pain."

Clark was noncommittal and looked at Jie Ming.

"I choose single-person reconnaissance." Jie Ming's tone was calm.

Clark looked at him, didn't ask more, just raised his hand and pointed at the magic net terminals of the two.

【Permissions updated】

【Wei Aola: Assigned to 'Blood Crow' hunting squad, captain authority temporarily granted】

【Jie Ming: Independent reconnaissance authority opened, dangerous area markers synchronized】

"The mission will officially begin in two days." Clark withdrew his hand, "Stop all external actions for these two days, rest and recuperate, and check equipment. The war has entered a new stage, and there will be no more tentative gentle exchanges later."

"Understood." The two responded simultaneously.

Leaving the command room, Jie Ming and Wei Aola walked side by side in the passage.

"Single-person reconnaissance..." Wei Aola turned her head to look at Jie Ming, her silver-gray eyes carrying a trace of playfulness, "Junior brother, are you really not afraid of death, or do you think you are already strong enough to deal with any situation?"

"Neither." Jie Ming shook his head, "Just feel that some things must be seen clearly when facing death alone."

Wei Aola was silent for a moment and chuckled.

"Also. The path of the wizard, after all, has to be walked by oneself." She patted Jie Ming on the shoulder, "Take care, don't die. I don't want to lose a junior brother I can chat with."

"Senior sister too... although I want to say that, but senior sister, don't forget, both of us have resurrection means."

Wei Aola's face turned black: "Let me carry another 10 billion in debt, I'd rather die!"

Jie Ming wiped his cold sweat upon hearing this, but in his heart, he somewhat agreed with Wei Aola.

With the resurrection doll, he really didn't have to worry about dying in this war.

But correspondingly, once the resurrection doll was used, it meant he lost 10 billion high-level military merits at once.

This price... was too high, so high that it was enough to make Jie Ming subconsciously try his best to ensure he lived no matter when!

After saying goodbye, the two separated at the fork in the passage.

Jie Ming walked toward his temporary lounge, his mind already starting to plan the next preparations: wizard tools needed to be checked for charging, and in the actual combat of these few days, he also found that the energy storage units of some wizard tools needed to be optimized, the storage of evil spirits and incense poison for the Profound Gang Red Dust Barrier needed to be replenished...

And those two newly obtained data crystals also had to be analyzed in a hurry.

(End of chapter)