Return to the Surface

The Bloodborn's counteroffensive strategy did not unfold along any textbook path.

There was no frontal charge, no deep breakthrough, and certainly not even the slightest probing glance toward the Green Tide's core region.

After pouring out through the breach, they split into two forces, like a cleaved wedge, rapidly extending north and south along the hill belt.

Their objective was extremely clear—high ground.

Every hilltop that rose more than fifty meters above the surrounding terrain was their prey.

Ron almost immediately realized where the Bloodborn's tactical proficiency came from.

It might have originated from some genius's flash of inspiration, but for the Bloodborn's system, every flash of inspiration was accumulation.

Before the new generation of warriors set foot on the battlefield, they had already obtained all the experience accumulated by their predecessors through the Medium's "Recall."

They knew under what soil conditions Vanguard Vine spread fastest, how long Spine Tree saplings needed to grow tall enough to block out sunlight, and under what wind direction the Mother Hive Flower's chemical signaling was most efficient.

They even knew that between the Green Tide's front line and its core, there was a "delayed response zone" roughly five to eight kilometers wide.

This information was crucial.

The Green Tide's decentralized self-healing system was powerful, but the closer to the core, the faster the repair; the farther from the core, the slower the repair.

The northern and southern flanks of the hill belt happened to lie along the edge of the Green Tide's expansion.

The vegetation coverage there was relatively sparse, and its self-healing response was the slowest.

While the core region was busy repairing the western breach, defensive strength on the fringe was drawn away even further, creating a brief vacuum.

That was the window the Bloodborn had come for.

Each vanguard team