Han Xiao and the others retreated from the battlefield and returned to the main base of the intercepting circle. The World Tree army had yet to arrive, so they were not affected by the flames of war.
The rear 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 retreated to the explored universe.
The group boarded a retreating main ship and waited for their turn while paying attention to the real-time surveillance of the battlefield.
On the screen, the three Universal Civilizations had already begun to withdraw their forces and stop their losses. The frontline formed by the starships retreated like a flood.
Kant watched for a while and shook his head. "It seems like the three Universal Civilizations have completely decided to give up on the intercepting circle."
"It's useless to fight to the death. Of course, we have to retreat," Manison said calmly.
"But if we retreat, we won't be able to stop the World Tree from approaching our territory. Sooner or later, we'll have to fight on our own territory."
Clotti shook his head. Ever since Reeve and the others recovered, he had become more talkative. He rarely displayed the cold and aloof attitude he used to have in the past.
A group of people casually chatted about the situation of the battle, calming their emotions from the bloody battle just now.
Han Xiao did not join their conversation. He watched from the side as the psychic ability users unsealed Aurora.
After watching for a while, he suddenly noticed that quite a few Beyond Grade As were sweating. He could not help but ask, "What's going on?
He could not help but ask, "How's the progress now?"
"Something's strange." Kasuyi pinched his forehead and said in a surprised tone, "We've already weakened the seal by more than 95%, leaving only the last thin layer. However, we've encountered an unprecedented resistance. The last bit of the seal crystal wall suddenly became indestructible, as if there's an endless force supporting its existence."
"There's such a thing?"
Han Xiao raised his brows and immediately thought of the characteristics of Illusion: Lock of the Heart.
It seemed like the target of this move would fall into a dream weaved by desire. The more serious it was, the stronger the seal would be.
He carefully looked at Aurora. As the layers of seals were broken, her expression was no longer blank. At this moment, her eyes were closed and her brows were tightly knitted, revealing a slight pained expression. It was as if she was saying, "Don't disturb me while I'm daydreaming."
Could it be that his subconscious had sensed the threat of the dreamland disappearing, so he took the dreamland more seriously and took the initiative to stabilize the seal to resist the one who unsealed it?
What was she dreaming about that made this woman wish she could sleep forever and never wake up?!
The corner of Han Xiao's mouth twitched. He helplessly retracted his gaze and patted Kasuyi. "Then, can you lift the seal 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 wear it down sooner or later." Kasuyi did not even turn his head.
Han Xiao could only trust him and wait patiently at the side.
After a while, Kasuyi and his group suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and were about to announce that they had succeeded.
But before they could say anything, Aurora suddenly opened her eyes and woke up from her coma. She let out a mournful cry.
"No!"
The sharp shout gave everyone a fright. 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 thing that the wet nurse had woken up, but everyone was so frightened by this shout that their hearts twitched and their heads were filled with confusion.
Seeing the pairs of shocked eyes staring at her, Aurora suddenly came back to her senses and hurriedly shut her mouth. However, her expression was still a little absent-minded, as if she had not adapted to the feeling of leaving the dream and was still trying to distinguish whether this was reality or an illusion.
However, as her senses and memories gradually adjusted, Aurora slowly confirmed that she had really woken up this time.
At this time, Han Xiao walked out of the crowd and stood in front of Aurora. He raised his hand and touched her head. "Your mind seal has been lifted. 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, avoided his gaze, and stammered, "I'm fine.
"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 of in the seal?"
"I … I …"
Aurora was speechless and hesitated, as if she did not want to say it.
At this time, Hila walked over, raised her hand, and patted her head. Her tone was dissatisfied.
"I'm asking you a question. What did you dream of? Why are you not even open your memories to me?"
"D-Don't ask! It's nothing important anyway … "
Aurora glanced at Hella, then looked away in shock. She remembered the experience in the dream again, and her face turned even redder, as if it was about to bleed.
Seeing her strange behavior, Han Xiao and Hella looked at each other in surprise.
However, since Aurora did not want to say it, they could not be bothered to force her. Anyway, she was already awake, so there was no need to delve into those details. Maybe it was a secret in her heart that was not convenient to say.
Han Xiao poked Aurora with a needle and checked her status. Seeing that Aurora's attributes had returned to normal, he did not dwell on Aurora's dream anymore.
Seeing this, everyone came forward and asked about her well-being, squeezing Han Xiao and Hella to the side.
Aurora's mood gradually returned to normal, but she still did not dare to look at Han Xiao. Suddenly, she thought of something and asked with a serious face, "Since you are all here, is the battle over? How are the casualties?"
As soon as her voice fell, everyone's expression stiffened slightly, and they sighed. The atmosphere quickly became gloomy, and they talked about the battle after she fainted.
Hearing about the casualties this time, Aurora was shocked, and then she felt a little guilty and lost.
"S-sorry, I was careless and fell into the enemy's trap. I could not be of use, and more people were sacrificed …"
"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 through his palm.
"But if that enemy uses this move again, I'll …"
Han Xiao waved his hand and interrupted her. He smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. I've already locked the Tree King who attacked you in amber. He won't threaten you anymore."
"You're still so good 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 cared about her expression and sighed.
"It's all thanks to Black Star capturing that Tree King. Otherwise, if they sealed Aurora again 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 this time. 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. Therefore, it's inevitable that we will suffer casualties. When the enemy first appeared and used this move, Black Star seized the opportunity to capture him. He's already trying his best to minimize losses in the future. His contribution is huge," Beiger immediately said.
Hearing this, everyone thought for a while and felt that it made sense.
This was the enemy's trump card, and Black Star could not have stopped the enemy from using it in advance. He could not blame Black Star, and eliminating this hidden danger the first time was already the best result.
While everyone was sighing, Ames walked forward and patted Aurora's head. She heaved a sigh of relief and smiled.
"It's good that you're fine. This is more important than anything."
"Teacher, I … I'm sorry."
Aurora lowered her head timidly. Her face was red, and her face was filled with guilt. She did not dare to look up.
Ames misunderstood and comforted her. "It's fine, don't blame yourself. Although you didn't use your ability to protect me, it's not your fault. Aren't I fine?"
"Hmm …"
Hearing this, Aurora became even more embarrassed. She clasped her hands together and buried her head even deeper. She almost wanted to bury her head into the deep ravine in front of her chest like an ostrich.
At this moment, it was finally their turn to leave, and everyone stopped chatting.
The spaceship entered the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device with the fleet, and the two huge mechanical rings began to rotate. The light 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 war zones were broken one after another, and the World Tree Army marched in from various regions and spread out rapidly. A snowball-like vicious cycle occurred, and the intercepting circle gradually became riddled with holes as if it was being eroded.
Because the interception circle was no longer able to turn the situation around, the three Universal Civilizations did not continue to recruit Beyond Grade As into the battle and no longer insisted on a head-on confrontation. They had been retracting their troops and equipment to recover 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 interception circle. The three Universal Civilizations also withdrew all the fleets and equipment that should be withdrawn, and the fortifications that could not be taken away were destroyed on the spot. The interception circle that had been built for a year was only left with countless metal trash floating in the universe, like a man-made meteorite 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, Han Xiao was the only representative.
In the huge conference room, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations listened to the military report with tense faces. As the commander-in-chief of the interception circle, Simon was reading out the strategic analysis.
"… The interception circle has been dismantled. We have lost the biggest barrier to stop the World Tree from advancing. The war has entered a new stage.
In the past year, we have sent out engineering teams to move from the interception circle toward the Flickering World. Along the way, we have been setting up traps and fortifications for this day. When the World Tree advances toward our territory and enters the vast strategic area, we can harass and stop them.
Although we can't stop them from advancing, we can at least slow them down … "
At this moment, Marbruce interrupted him and tapped on the table.
"This is treating the symptoms but not the root cause. Can you think of a way to build another interception circle?"
Hearing this, Simon shook his head and sighed.
"With all due respect, before we find the main body of the World Tree, all tactics are only treating the symptoms … Building another interception circle will require a large amount of resources. I believe that with this experience, the World Tree will use the same method to attack next time. Our troops will once again suffer a large loss, which is exactly what the other party wants.
"Furthermore, the location is also a problem. Most of the areas in this strategic area are places that we have never set foot in before. We can't go there at will. The engineering team that set off first can only build a new interception circle a year away from the World Tree. Time is too tight.
"If we let a new batch of engineering teams set off from the border of the Flickering World, we will have enough time to build an interception circle. However …"
"However what?"
Louis asked.
Simon frowned and told the truth. "The General Staff does not agree with this plan. Through the speed and drifting time of the Kunde Race survivors, we have already calculated the approximate range of the World Tree from us. With their sailing speed, it will take them about eleven years to reach our territory. Under our obstruction and delay, this number will be extended, but not for long."
The Ethereal Pope immediately questioned.
"Eleven years … That's enough to build a stronger interception circle. What's wrong with that?"
"It can be done, but the General Staff feels that it's better to use destructive methods to develop the borders of the Flickering World that have yet to be fully explored, squeeze out the resources of the planets in these areas, and then turn at least five Star Clusters into desolate universe belts. We won't leave a single hair for the World Tree and build a defense line here.
After all, this is our home ground. This will not only make it convenient for the rear to support us, but it will also greatly reduce the area of the defense line and save on the consumption of excess troops. Furthermore, the battlefield will be close to our home, and it will also stimulate the resistance of the entire universe.
If we set up a new interception circle in an unexplored area that is countless distances away, it will consume too much of our troops. We will definitely be dragged into the war of attrition that the World Tree is good at, which will be even more disadvantageous … "
Simon explained with a deep voice.
Hearing this, the upper echelons present whispered to each other, discussing the pros and cons of this plan.
The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations pondered. After a while, they turned to Han Xiao and asked,
"Black Star, what do you think?"
Han Xiao shook his head and said, "I don't have much of an opinion, but the scorched earth method is very necessary. Instead of leaving those planets for the World Tree to devour, we might as well use the Planet Smasher to develop the planets at the border of the Flickering World so that the enemy won't be able to replenish themselves. That way, even if they attack, we won't lose too much."
He had already done what he could. Compared to the terrible start in his previous life, the current situation of the three Universal Civilizations was countless times better. In terms of war, he could not give any more suggestions.
After all, the direction of the war between the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree was completely different from his previous life. He could not be sure of the final direction of every plan. Currently, the best choice was to trust the professional military personnel.
"The World Tree will be able to invade the three Universal Civilizations' territory in at least eleven years … This is the final preparation period. I have to make good use of it."
Han Xiao exhaled, his emotions fluctuating.
While the World Tree was traveling, the three Universal Civilizations most likely did not need high-level combatants to stop and harass them. This meant that the Beyond Grade As did not have to be on standby and could freely arrange their schedules.
He planned to spend some time nurturing those Beyond Grade A seeds, hoping that more Beyond Grade As would be born. At the same time, he wanted Carrott 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 was definitely enough for him to break through level 360 and complete his Promotion within a year.
The strongest time for a Mechanic was not the moment they had just advanced.
Only after using the power of the Promotion to completely upgrade their mechanical army and mechanical equipment would a Mechanic be at his peak!
The final eleven years of preparation was a rare opportunity for him to digest the power of the Promotion!
After these two battles with the Tree Kings, Han Xiao had already realized his current weakness. Although he could definitely win against the Heart Tree King or the Subduing Tree King in a one-on-one battle, they were all experts of the same level and had their own trump cards. 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 interference factors that affected his combat strength.
Although his Energy Rank was very high, he was still a peak Beyond Grade A in essence. There was no qualitative change. Only with the power of sublimation could he solve this problem.
"The next time we fight, I hope to give the World Tree a 'surprise'!"
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
However, these thoughts only flashed through his mind before they were suppressed by him.
He knew very well that the most important task now was not these plans but to wait for Oathkeeper to gather a new Sanctum key and enter the Sanctum again. He wanted to use the truth of the revival to strengthen the will of the entire Beyond Grade As to participate in the battle!
(End of Chapter)
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