I'll be right back
After sending a signal requesting support, Zagar didn't intend to wait idly.
In his mind, the longer that human prodigy lived, the greater the threat he posed to the Frontline, and the more shameful a mark would be added to Zagar's record of defeats.
"Since a fatal blow is impossible, let's slowly paralyze them with venom and then entangle them layer by layer with spider webs."
After Zagar for a while, Zagar quickly came up with a solution and swiftly issued new instructions to all Frontline units through the mental network.
"Cease the pointless mass charges. Form a standard attack wave with the Ripper Beast squad at the core, the Blade Bug swarm as cover, and the Acid Cannon Bug providing long-range suppression."
"Attack intervals have been shortened, while the intensity has been maintained at a critical point that forces the enemy to defend with all their might."
"Burrower and their own Star Core level will conduct continuous infiltration, harassment, and sabotage missions. Targets: enemy energy sources, communication nodes, and isolated units."
"Exploding locust swarms, dispersed attacks, continuously applying aerial pressure."
"All multi-eyed insects, closely monitor the energy fluctuations of that human prodigy. Report immediately upon detecting a large-scale attack and launch a full-scale swarm assault!"
The order, like invisible ripples, quickly spread throughout the entire Kunmo Race army.
Stunned by Lin Yi's attack, the insect swarm that had retreated to the outside of the plateau began to differentiate and reorganize. From a raging tsunami, it transformed into countless continuous tides carrying the aura of death, surging towards the "Helios" base in a new pattern.
--
Soon, the Star Realm Army noticed the change in the Kunmo Race's attack methods.
"Helios" base, central command fortress.
Tavik stared intently at the tactical sand table, his expression more grave than ever before.
Beside him, Lin Yi, who had received his invitation, quietly appeared.
"Commander Lin Yi, you've seen it."
Tavik pointed to the red offensive markers on the sand table that rose and fell like a regular heartbeat, yet never stopped, and said with some worry, "They've changed their strategy, abandoning their plan to achieve a decisive victory in one fell swoop, and instead engaging in high-intensity, sustained attrition warfare."
As he spoke, Tavik's fingers traced patterns on the sand table, explaining to Lin Yi and the surrounding officers, "Look at the waves and intensity of their attacks; they're precisely hitting the limits of our defensive capabilities."
"Their objective is very clear: to exhaust our manpower and resources through continuous attacks, and more importantly, to deplete our morale and your strength."
As Tavik finished speaking, his gaze turned to Lin Yi, his expression unusually serious.
An officer with burn scars on his face couldn't help but interject, "You mean, all these attacks they're launching now are feints?"
"No, not entirely." Tavik shook his head. "They are launching a real attack, but more importantly, they are probing and wearing us down. They are waiting for an opportunity—for us to be exhausted, for our defenses to falter, and even more so, for Commander Lin Yi."
He emphasized, "If Commander Lin Yi doesn't intervene, they'll keep attacking until we can't hold out any longer. But if Commander Lin Yi is forced into a corner and unleashes the same scale of clearing operations as before, regardless of the outcome, we'll inevitably enter a power vacuum or a period of decline. I can guarantee with my rank that at that time, the Kunmo Race commander hiding behind the scenes will definitely launch his long-prepared fatal blow."
"These attacking forces are both wearing us down and serving as bait to force Commander Lin Yi to make a move."
Silence fell over the command room; the officers were all aware of the seriousness of the situation.
This is a calculated move; you know it's a trap, but you have no choice but to step into it step by step.
Lin Yi listened quietly, his gaze sweeping across the sand table with profound intensity.
The relentless offensive was like an invisible net slowly tightening.
He trusted Tavik's professional judgment.
But clearly, this unseen Kunmo Race commander was also a professional, as his rapid change of tactics demonstrated a tactical mind and patience far exceeding that of ordinary Zerg.
"Commander Tavik, this is an open strategy. They have the upper hand and want to wear us down. We can only wait it out. In the end, it will all come down to strength and perseverance."
Lin Yi nodded in agreement with Tavik's assessment, but while he said this, he was already thinking about a way to break the deadlock.
Over the next two days, the "Helios" base seemed to have turned into a giant meat grinder.
The East Peak Mercenary Group has committed itself entirely to defensive operations.
More than 500 Star Core level warriors, in elite squads of ten, were deployed to the most challenging areas of the defensive line, like the most resilient reefs.
On the eastern side, behind a dilapidated fortress that had just repelled an attack, several Star Realm Army soldiers leaned against the wall, panting and injecting themselves with energy boosters.
They were covered in green insect fluid and dark red dust.
"Hey buddy, are all the guys from Eastern Edge this tough?" A young Star Realm Army soldier couldn't help but ask, watching an Spirit Race teammate next to him elegantly brushing the grime off his blade with psionic energy.
One of his arms was wrapped in a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding.
The Spirit Race member raised his head, his blue eyes calm and unwavering. "Under Lord Lin Yi's command, there are no weaklings."
His common language had a pleasant Spirit Race accent.
A burly East Peak Person soldier, who was wiping his giant battle sword, grinned and patted the young soldier on the shoulder. "Kid, don't be envious. We were trained by our Commander too. You haven't seen how ruthless our Commander is in the Special Training Camp; that's what you call insane."
"Special Training Camp?" the young soldier asked curiously.
"The Galactic Mercenary Alliance's Star Core level Special Training Camp is a place where geniuses gather."
Another member of the Eastern Edge team chimed in, his tone laced with pride, "That's a place only the top 10,000 in the Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle are qualified to go. Our Commander is a top-tier player even among them!"
"Star Core level Special Training Camp." The young soldier and his fellow Star Realm Army soldiers were all taken aback.
Although they were unclear about the specific difficulty of this so-called Special Training Camp, they knew that even the top 10,000 in the Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle Genius Battle were only the threshold for entering this so-called Special Training Camp, which sounded very prestigious.
"So, relax." The burly team member's smile faded as he looked towards the Core Zone of the base. "With the Commander here, we can definitely hold out. He's not moving now because he's looking for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to those bugs!"
Similar conversations were taking place in every corner of the defensive line.
The formidable strength of the Eastern Edge team members and the occasional revelation of Lin Yi's "legendary deeds" acted like a catalyst, circulating among the exhausted Star Realm Army soldiers and sustaining their will as they approached their limits.
However, the enemy's offensive seemed endless.
One wave is repelled, and another immediately follows.
Putting aside the soldiers' constant mental strain, even with rotations and the condenser continuously replenishing the energy source, the supply is already insufficient to keep up with the consumption.
Exhaustion began to spread like a plague.
The soldiers mechanically brandished their weapons, their eyes beginning to grow numb.
A young Star Realm Army nearly fell down a broken staircase during combat due to exhaustion, but was caught by a member of the Eastern Edge.
Thank you.
Hang in there, brother.
The Eastern Edge player patted him on the shoulder, his own voice tinged with undisguised exhaustion.
Chen Yu's arm, which was wielding the battle sword, began to ache; Andre's roar became slightly hoarse; even Liu Yuan's ever-steady sword light occasionally showed a slight hesitation; and Elizabeth's face began to turn as pale as her frost.
Lin Yi stood in the Core Zone, watching all of this, his brows furrowed.
For the past two days, he has spent most of his time standing still in the Core Zone. Only occasionally, when a local defense line is about to collapse, will he release a small amount of domain power to precisely eliminate the threat, and then immediately withdraw it, never wasting a single bit of power, to ensure that he can fully recover in a short time.
Therefore, he can focus his main energy on thinking of ways to break the deadlock.
However, Lin Yi couldn't think of a good solution.
He had tried to use it to find the command node of the Kunmo Race, but the other party was extremely cunning, and the source energy fluctuations were hidden among the many Star Core level Crimson Star, making them difficult to detect.
Time ticked by, and the soldiers were being pushed to their limits. The defensive line had already faced several dangerous situations, which were only barely stabilized thanks to his timely, small-scale interventions.
We can't wait any longer. We must find a way to break this deadlock as soon as possible.
A resolute glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.
I've been accumulating Spiritual Enlightenment Qi for two years, and this kind of minor, non- Rule Comprehension should be more than enough for half a year. To protect the base, I have to use it when necessary!
Upon realizing this, Lin Yi immediately sparsed a wisp of his mind and sank into the depths of his Soul Origin, communicating with the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi that slowly rotated like a nebula, radiating a hazy glow.
Buzz.
It was as if the first soft murmur of the universe's creation resounded deep within my soul, and the concepts of time and space instantly became blurred.
Lin Yi's consciousness was thrown into a bizarre and wondrous realm, where his Thought Speed increased a thousandfold.
Scattered fragments of battlefield memories from a past life, combined with the vast amount of knowledge systematically learned in the Special Training Camp camp in this life—<Biology and Weakness Analysis of the Myriad Races in the Star Sea>, <Advanced Tactical Command>, <Introduction to the Essence of Rules>—countless Information Flow collide, recombine, and deduce at an unprecedented speed.
The Kunmo Race, a branch of the Zerg, has a social structure similar to a beehive or ant colony, relying on a highly efficient mental network for command and coordination. This mental network has a hierarchical structure; higher-level nodes can directly command more units and have a wider coverage area, but their numbers are also fewer. Severing a high-level command node can cause chaos within its controlled area. Coordination between network nodes produces unique, synchronized mental fluctuations, much like the meshing of gears in a precision clock. These synchronization signals are extremely weak, hidden beneath the noise of individual mental activity, but can be detected with ultra-high-precision sensing and scanning, combined with comparative analysis of large-scale data streams.
A perfectly clear idea, like a lightning bolt flashing in the darkness, instantly illuminated everything!
Almost the instant the effects of the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi faded, Lin Yi suddenly opened his eyes, and countless tiny golden and emerald green rule runes seemed to flow through them like a waterfall.
He knows!
We should not search aimlessly, but actively capture the synchronization signals generated by collaboration.
This requires elevating the precision of one's soul perception to its absolute limit, like locking onto a specific chord amidst billions of noises.
This kind of signal is extremely well-hidden; it would be almost impossible for someone of equal strength to do it.
However, if one were to use a soul of Star Domain level quality to penetrate and analyze the network established by the Kunmo Race at the Star Core level...
It's worth a try!
Lin Yi closed his eyes again, and his Soul Power merged into the domain perception network with unprecedented precision. He began to scan, record, and analyze at high speed the faint mental fluctuations of every Kunmo Race unit on the battlefield to see if there was any synchronization at the fraction of a second level.
Time passed second by second, and fine beads of sweat appeared on Lin Yi's forehead, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
The amount of computation involved was terrifying, but for Lin Yi, it was still barely within his capacity.
One point. Two points. Ten points. One hundred points.
A large number of synchronization signals were captured, marked, and located.
Countless data points emerged in his mind, and invisible lines began to connect, extend, and intersect automatically.
Ultimately, all the lines, as if drawn by a magnet, pointed with unparalleled clarity to a common source.
A powerful spiritual convergence point located approximately three thousand kilometers northeast of the base, in the shadow of a massive crater.
There, like an invisible spider, it is constantly radiating outwards "threads" of coordinating commands.
Found it!
Lin Yi opened his eyes, a flash of sharp light passing through them, carrying a chilling killing intent.
He immediately went to Tavik.
"Commander Tavik, I have located the enemy's command center."
"I have decided to carry out the decapitation."
Tavik's spirits lifted upon hearing this, but he immediately asked, "That's wonderful! How can my unit cooperate? How many troops should I send with you?"
"No." Lin Yi shook his head, his tone resolute, "I'll go alone."
"What? Alone? That's too dangerous!" Tavik instinctively refused, and the other officers in the command room also looked surprised.
"This is the only way to guarantee a success rate."
Lin Yi explained, "If I bring Star Core level force with me, our actions will be easily detected by the enemy's surveillance units scattered throughout the battlefield. At the speed of an ordinary Star Core level, the enemy will have ample time to determine our route and intentions. Then, they will either deploy layers of defenses to intercept us and deplete our strength, or they will abandon our current command node and secretly move to another backup node. Once it hides, finding it again will be extremely difficult."
He paused, then continued, "Only by acting alone and utilizing my maximum speed can I catch it off guard before it can react."
Tavik fell silent. He understood that Lin Yi was referring to the calmest and most effective tactic, but he would bear all the risks himself.
Looking into Lin Yi's calm yet resolute eyes, he knew he couldn't change the young powerhouse's decision.
"Don't worry, Commander Tavik." Lin Yi saw his worry. "With my strength, they pose no threat to me. I'll be right back."
Lin Yi didn't say anything more. He moved swiftly and appeared outside the command fortress.
Then, he glanced at the northeast direction, and the source energy within his body surged like a volcano, with the power of the two rules of metal and life flowing and circulating around him.
The next moment, he transformed into a dazzling stream of light and vanished without a trace.
--
Almost at the same time that Lin Yi transformed into a streak of light and rushed out of the base, more than 300 kilometers away, at the Kunmo Race's monitoring point.
A biological unit called the "Insightful Eye Bug," which hovers low in the air and resembles a giant eyeball, instantly transmits the images and energy readings of high-speed moving targets it captures back through the mental network.
Meanwhile, the Kunmo Race's underground command center is located at the bottom of the crater.
The eerie light in Zagar's eyes suddenly froze, as if it had been frozen.
That streak of light belonged to that human prodigy!
He's here!
"How could he have found this place so precisely?!"
A surge of mental energy, a mixture of shock, anger, and fear, emanated from Zagar's core.
It immediately wanted to initiate an emergency transfer procedure, abandoning this command core that it had been operating for so long; it had even sent an immediate transfer order to the mental network.
But it was too late.
The speed of that streak of light far exceeded its expectations; it was almost as if it had performed a short-distance spatial jump.
Almost the instant it received the alarm and the thought of fleeing arose, a destructive pressure, like a tangible mountain, crashed down on the area, locking it firmly in place.
"Boom!"
The stream of light that Lin Yi transformed into was like a sword of divine punishment, crashing fiercely into the outer side of the crater, stirring up clouds of dust and rubble.
His figure emerged from the smoke and dust, his black hair slightly tossed, his cold gaze fixed on the ground beneath his feet, as if he could penetrate the rock strata and see the panicked Kunmo Race commander below.
Zagar knew he couldn't leave.
At such a short distance, being locked onto by a prodigy who has mastered the realm of terror, escape is futile.
"Humans!!"
Zagar's spiritual roar erupted from the ground, filled with the rage of a desperate man. "You will pay the price for your arrogance! Soon, you will join me!"
Lin Yi remained expressionless, showing absolutely no interest in the curse of the dying worm.
In his perception, the area beneath his feet was filled with over a hundred auras at the peak of the Star Core level.
These were clearly the personal guard of the Kunmo Race commander and other high-ranking Kunmo Race officers at this core command node.
Lin Yi had no intention of communicating with these insects. He simply raised his hand, and the power of his domain no longer pursued vastness. Instead, it focused on him, concentrating and compressing towards the ground beneath his feet, towards the locked coordinates and the surrounding area.
The next moment, centered on Lin Yi's feet, all life forms related to the Kunmo Race within a radius of more than fifty kilometers were instantly transformed into the most basic particles, as if they had been completely wiped off the face of the earth by an invisible giant hand.
Not even a speck of dust was stirred up.
At the very instant that Lin Yi's domain completely erased the command node of the crater.
Outside the "Helios" base, all the attacking Kunmo Race forces froze in their tracks.
An Star Realm Army lieutenant, who was about to swing his sword at the Ripper Beast, was surprised to find that the enemy in front of him suddenly stopped moving, the red light in his eyes fading, like a puppet that had lost its strings.
The cannon worm, which was frantically spraying acid, froze in place as if it were stuck.
The swarms of locusts in the sky seemed to have lost their way, colliding and falling haphazardly.
The underground tremors stopped, and the Burrower seemed to have lost their way.
As if their souls had been simultaneously ripped out, the Kunmo Race forces on the entire Frontline line were plunged into unprecedented chaos.
The previously orderly offensive collapsed instantly. Driven by instinct, the surviving Zerg units began to retreat in panic, trampling each other, their roars becoming chaotic and disorderly, creating utter chaos.
"Success! Commander Lin Yi succeeded!" Inside the command fortress, Tavik looked at the Zerg offensive that had collapsed instantly on the sand table and the red markers that had fallen into chaos, and excitedly clenched his fist.
The surrounding officers also showed expressions of ecstasy.
"Look! The insects are in chaos!"
"They've retreated! They've really retreated!"
On the Frontline lines, cheers and shouts of relief from the soldiers who had survived the ordeal rang out.
Many people sat slumped in the trenches, watching the retreating swarm of insects, unable to believe their eyes.
When Lin Yi's figure returned to the base like a streak of light and landed lightly in front of Vic, his face was paler than when he left, and his breathing was slightly rapid. Clearly, the extreme sprint and the highly compressed domain explosion had taken a toll on him.
Tavik immediately went to greet him, his face filled with excitement and heartfelt admiration.
"Commander Lin Yi! You... you're amazing! Are you alright?"
Lin Yi waved his hand slightly to indicate that he was alright.
"The core command structure of the Kunmo Race has been eliminated."
"Great!" Tavik exclaimed excitedly.
"Commander Lin Yi, your decapitation this time is not just about killing a commander; you have directly destroyed their core command center, which they have been operating in this area for a long time, and broken their command backbone."
He explained to Lin Yi, and also to the other officers around him, in detail. "The Kunmo Race's spiritual command network on Crimson Star is not entirely covered by a single supernode. Because it can only be commanded by Star Core level, limited by their strength, they adopt a multi-level pyramid-shaped command system."
"Higher-order nodes command the next-level nodes, which in turn command even lower-level units, and this process is passed down layer by layer."
"Now, you've wiped out the top commander at the very top, along with the other key officers who are likely gathered around him!"
Tavik clenched his fist, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "This means that the entire high-level command structure in their direction has been instantly paralyzed. These Frontline troops have lost unified coordination, dispatch, and a source of instructions. It's no wonder they're in chaos. They're like a bunch of headless flies now."
"If they want to rebuild an effective command system, they must re-identify new high-level command nodes, and then, like reconnecting a broken network, establish 'mental synchronization' with these scattered and disorganized troops at the Frontline, thus creating new command links."
"This process requires selecting suitable nodes and time for adjustment; it cannot be completed overnight."
Based on his experience, Tavik estimated, "Given the efficiency of the Kunmo Race, it would take at least four to five days to initially restore effective command and control. Commander Lin Yi, your precise and deadly decapitation strike has bought us the most crucial and precious time. You are the savior of the entire Helios Base."
After saying that, he looked at Lin Yi, "Moreover, with this precious four to five-day buffer period, our reinforcements will definitely arrive."
"Even if they try to use this attrition tactic again, we will definitely be able to hold out with our complete fortifications, rested soldiers, and arriving reinforcements. We can then rely on this base to gradually erode and retake Crimson Star, which will affect the situation on the entire surrounding battlefield."
Lin Yi had actually figured all of this out as early as when he was using his Spiritual Enlightenment Qi to think.
However, he didn't interrupt Tavik, but patiently waited for him to finish before saying with a smile, "If it can benefit the surrounding battlefields, that would be even better."