The interception operation is still in full swing. Because the opponent only brought one Sacred Tree Envoy, the other interception forces did not encounter any individual Great Powers. Therefore, only Kasuyi was deployed once, and the other Beyond Grade A units did not have a chance to act and remained on standby at the main base of the interception zone.
Inside the command center's cubicles, nearly a hundred Beyond Grade A personnel were gathered, each doing their own thing. Some were monitoring the situation, some were resting with their eyes closed, some were handling affairs, some were chatting casually, and some were even playing cards in this serious setting—it was simply incomprehensible.
"Speaking of which, it's been a while since our two groups sat down for a chat."
Kant looked at the Three Universal Civilizations descendants of the three civilizations sitting upright, his tone quite wistful.
When the Three Universal Civilizations targeted the association, Han Xiao did not allow his direct descendants' Beyond Grade A to attend regular meetings. After the blockade was lifted, various things delayed things, and the normal treatment of the direct descendants of the Three Universal Civilizations civilizations in the association has not yet been restored. Therefore, the time spent waiting at the main base is a long-lost situation where association members and their direct descendants' Beyond Grade A sit together and chat.
"Now that we're all united against a common enemy, let's not dwell on the past for now. We're all just serving our own interests." Oulu sighed, glancing with a complicated expression at Han Xiao, who was standing beside him, lost in thought (browsing the forum).
"Hey, don't lump us in with you guys. You have masters, we don't. We're all just looking out for ourselves," the Sun Hunter scoffed.
Oulu paused for a few seconds, then changed the subject, saying, "I see that not all of your association members are here. Where are the others?"
"They're still considering it." Kasuyi shook his head.
"You're fighting, and they're just watching from the sidelines and profiting? You can accept that?" Oulu raised an eyebrow.
"So you should kneel down and be grateful to us... Damn it, just thinking about it makes me feel so great." The Sun Hunter cursed.
Kasuyi explained helplessly, "Someone has to set an example. If Black Star hadn't taken the lead, we might not have come."
At this moment, Clottey, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them and slowly said:
"Are you prepared to die in battle?"
Upon hearing this, everyone paused and turned to look.
Clottey remained expressionless and spoke calmly:
"We, the loyal followers, are all prepared to fight to the death. Aren't you selfish people afraid of losing your lives? Even if the Sanctuary Revival, I doubt any of you would be willing to waste a chance to be resurrected and hand over the control of your lives to someone else."
"... You're right. Of course, no one wants to sacrifice themselves if they can survive. But everyone needs to experience the enemy's strength firsthand to know their own capabilities. So don't expect us to fight to the death for you. We're just fulfilling a deal. Coming to help is already more than enough."
The Secret Master responded calmly.
At this moment, Oulu looked at Han Xiao, who hadn't participated in the conversation, and said loudly:
"Black Star, if we, the direct descendants, die, you'll help us revive, right?"
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao turned his head and glanced at it, his words concise and to the point.
He wasn't familiar with Oulu before, but after spending the last few days with him, he realized that, just as others had said, Oulu was indeed easy to get along with.
"Meeting."
"Ha, then I'm relieved. If I die in battle and leave behind a body, please make it into a specimen using Space-Time Amber so I can take it with me after I'm resurrected, lest others covet my handsomeness and steal my body to keep at home."
Oulu made a joke, but nobody laughed.
Do you think you're funny?
The Sun Hunter rolled his eyes.
Han Xiao ignored the chattering crowd, turned his attention away, and continued browsing the forum on his own.
Currently, over 90% of the player base across the entire universe has arrived at the front lines, and the vast majority are eagerly anticipating the start of the war, their emotions running high.
Such large-scale war operations have always been a good opportunity for players to gain experience. With most legion players participating in the operation, they can gain experience more efficiently, which is beneficial for Han Xiao to accumulate experience reserves.
However, since the player base hasn't reached the version's level cap, the primary use of experience is for leveling up. Only after reaching the level cap will there be a large surplus of experience to use for other things.
This means that once most players reach the maximum level, your experience-harvesting efficiency will increase significantly; the current speed isn't the fastest.
'It's just a pity that the impact of the player base can't reach the level of its predecessor...'
Han Xiao felt helpless.
World Tree War was originally a late-game version, but due to the butterfly effect, it has been brought forward to version 5.0. In the previous version, it would have been considered a mid-game version. Players have missed out on the experience accumulated over several versions, and the level cap is now dozens of levels lower, so their effectiveness on the main battlefield is naturally not as great as in the previous version.
In its previous life, the player community held significant strategic value, with the Undying Suicide Squad, composed of advanced superhumans, making numerous contributions on various local battlefields. Now that this force is gone, it will undoubtedly have an impact on all aspects of life.
Fortunately, Hila and her sister rewrote their own fates, so the Netherland should be able to fill this gap.
"Beep beep beep..."
Just as he was pondering this, his communicator suddenly rang; it was a message from the Oathkeeper.
Han Xiao took it out and glanced at it, his expression immediately changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice:
"The World Tree is recruiting an army, estimated to number in the tens of billions, in preparation for a major offensive!"
Upon hearing this, the chatter in the room immediately ceased, and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look, their expressions ranging from solemn and surprised to wary.
Han Xiao immediately stepped out of the cubicle to share information with Simon and the others. The other Beyond Grade A also stood up and followed Han Xiao out in single file.
Simon and the other commanders, who had been overseeing the entire operation from outside the cubicle, immediately changed their expressions upon hearing the intelligence shared by Han Xiao. They hurriedly activated remote communication to report the situation to the leaders of the Three Universal Civilizations.
The figures of the Three Universal Civilizations of the civilizations appeared on the remote communication screen. The three listened to the report with solemn expressions and nodded solemnly.
"Is the World Tree Civilization preparing for a full-scale attack? Understood. We will issue orders to all army groups to accelerate their assembly at the front lines and prepare for a tough battle."
As he spoke, Mabrus let out a breath, his tone tinged with a hint of relief.
"Black Star, your message was timely again, buying us a lot of time."
The World Tree Civilization is currently still in the recruitment phase, and its fleet has not yet been fully assembled. However, the Child of Destiny has already detected this and relayed the information to Han Xiao. This is a huge advantage, as the enemy will not attack so quickly, giving them ample time to prepare.
Knowing the other side's next move in advance allows the Three Universal Civilizations to prepare a countermeasure. Black Star's intelligence channels have proven their worth more than once, and each time they have been a timely help to the leaders of the Three Universal Civilizations.
"A fleet worth tens of billions is not easy to deal with. Although I provided an intelligence advantage, you are the main force."
Han Xiao nodded.
The World Tree Civilization's deployment of tens of billions of warships is indeed a formidable force, but on the scale of a cosmic war, it doesn't qualify as a full-scale offensive. The sheer number of tens of billions doesn't yet reach a level of overwhelming power.
The mobilization capabilities for internal strife and external war are incomparable. In times without external enemies, the Three Universal Civilizations will maintain their military strength at an appropriate level, avoiding large-scale expansion to prevent excessive military spending, and focusing primarily on stockpiling strategic resources. However, once they fully enter a state of war industry, they quickly shift to a mode of aggressive militarism, with all their military factories producing troops day and night, their military strength increasing every single day.
The scale of the World Tree's current offensive is not enough to make the Three Universal Civilizations immediately abandon their interception perimeter. Unless they are completely unable to stop it, it is not the time to use their strategic rear areas to buy time.
At this moment, a staff officer stroked his chin and said, "Since the other side is still in the process of recruiting troops, should we try to take the initiative and harass them?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him, then looked away.
Simon glanced at him and shook his head, saying, "The World Tree's Information State Warning Network covers the entire territory. Encountering it means being exposed. What can we possibly harass? Moreover, any unit can move quickly within the territory, almost teleporting. Their mobility is far beyond ours. It's a natural ambush zone. Once exposed, we'll face countless fleets airborne attacks. No matter how many of us go, we'll be wiped out."
Another commander beside him steered the conversation back on track, saying in a deep voice, "The wormhole rapid support base station already covers the current interception zone. No matter which interception area the World Tree crashes into, we can initiate positional warfare and prevent the enemy from breaking through from a single point."
The interception zone is divided into multiple layers, with strategic depth zones of varying distances between different layers. Rapid support base stations serve as connecting channels, ensuring that troops in different areas can support and watch over each other both horizontally and vertically. Both the observation layer and the garrison layer have been configured accordingly, so that the main force can be quickly airdropped no matter where a strong enemy is encountered.
As for whether the World Tree's assault force will run into the interception circle, it's not a big problem. Although the interception circle is still under construction, it can be effective even if it's not fully formed. It's essentially like a race; the key is to expand faster than the enemy's detour. At the same time, the interception force is constantly setting up spatial anchoring tracks and clearing the route coordinates of exploration teams, causing the opponent's starting point to keep moving backward and trying to retreat back to its original position. This means that the next time they can only resume regular navigation, they will always be within the interception circle.
"It seems the World Tree isn't just going to give us an appetizer; it's preparing to serve us the main course... This is the first time I've experienced a cosmic war of this scale."
Oulu's eyes flickered.
At this moment, the Secret Master pinched his fingers, performed a divination, and said expressionlessly, "My death omen is flashing."
After saying that, he changed his gesture, and waves of magical energy emanated from him.
The crowd noticed and immediately looked over, their expressions curious.
What did you just do?
"I've transferred the bad luck away," the Secret Master said calmly.
"Who did it land on?"
"He."
The Secret Master pointed at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao glanced at the "Luck" status on the panel, his face full of question marks.
"Do we have a grudge?"
"No."
"Then why don't you transfer your bad luck to me?"
"Since you're not afraid, there's no way your luck can go any lower."
"..."
Han Xiao's lips twitched slightly.
So you're using me as a dumping ground? If there weren't enemies around, I'd show you right now why chrysanthemums are yellow.