https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1013-The-Reason-for-the-Depletion-of-Psychic-Energy-on-Blue-Planet/12827412/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1015-Deploying-the-Anti-Gravity-Crystal-Drills-at-Three-Springs/12827414/
Chapter 1014: Conquering Seven Springs in a Row
Chapter 1014: Conquering Seven Springs in a Row
Over the next few days, the Blue Star humans and the Skrulls engaged in a battle of wits at various Psychic Springs.
The Blue Star humans aimed to conquer all the springs as quickly as possible while minimizing their losses. The Skrulls, on the other hand, sought to delay the Blue Star humans' advance by any means necessary, setting traps and obstacles at every turn.
Both sides racked their brains, constantly devising new strategies to outmaneuver their opponents.
In the days that followed, the Blue Star humans dedicated 12 hours each day to enhancing their abilities within the game, and the remaining time was spent attacking the Psychic Springs.
At 5:00 AM on March 19th, the Blue Star humans successfully captured the Tubkal Mountain Spring in North Africa.
In this battle, the Skrulls had enhanced the small defensive shields protecting their high-ranking members and improved the "Burnout" defensive runes. These changes were highly effective, extending the time it took to breach the force fields to 23 minutes, a remarkable achievement!
The Blue Star humans, however, were not to be outdone.
At 12:00 AM on March 20th, at the Alto Peak Spring north of the capital of Brazil, the Blue Star humans tried a new approach.
Alyssa created a Strawman Doppelganger and sent it to the location of the force field. Morningstar then cast Starlight Focus, directing the light beam to stick to the Strawman.
The Blue Star mages focused their full power on the light spot on the Strawman, causing it to grow larger and eventually explode. Since the Strawman was very close to the force field, the explosion effectively hit the force field, allowing Morningstar’s Starlight Focus to work again!
As a result, at the Alto Peak Spring, the Blue Star humans breached the force field in just 11 minutes, an incredibly fast rate!
Buoyed by this new victory method, the Blue Star humans' morale soared.
With their strength quickly restored to its peak, they immediately set their sights on the next spring, advancing with renewed vigor.
The Skrulls, however, had no effective counter to this new strategy.
At 6:00 AM on March 20th, at the Aconcagua Mountain Spring in southern South America, the Skrulls attempted to destroy the Strawman Doppelganger. The base's antimatter railguns and laser weapons locked onto the Strawman.
However, Alyssa and Su Yu had anticipated this move. Su Yu had applied a Preemptive Spatial Rune to the Strawman, allowing it to teleport short distances within a small area. Additionally, the Strawman Doppelganger itself had a very high health pool, making it difficult for the Skrulls to destroy.
Thus, at the Aconcagua Spring, the force field was breached in just 13 minutes thanks to the Strawman's contributions, and the Blue Star humans claimed another victory.
The Skrulls took a step back to reassess their strategy.
At 12:00 AM on March 21st, at the Sangay Volcano Spring, the Skrulls abandoned their attempts to destroy the Strawman Doppelganger and instead focused on researching how to use the compressed psychic energy from the anti-gravity crystal to break through the elemental arrays.
...
In this manner, the two sides continued their battle of wits and strength. The Blue Star humans advanced at a steady pace, conquering two springs per day, much like a demolition team clearing the remaining seven springs.
At 8:00 AM on March 22nd, the Blue Star humans captured the Mitchell Mountain Spring in eastern North America, the last spring not guarded by a Skrull god.
With this victory, the Blue Star humans had reclaimed all 3,732 Psychic Springs, with only four remaining under Skrull control.
These four springs were the Fuji Mountain Spring in Japan, the Albert Peak Spring in the Rocky Mountains of North America, the Rainier Volcano Spring in the Cascade Range of North America, and the McKinley Mountain Spring in Alaska.
Two of these springs were guarded by two Skrull gods each, while the remaining two were each guarded by a peak-level god. Given the Blue Star humans' current strength, taking any of these springs would be extremely challenging.
"Those remaining four springs are going to be tough! I'm not sure we have the power to take them," Zhong Feng said, gazing westward from the sky above the Mitchell Mountain Spring.
"Yeah, they're going to be tough," Su Yu agreed. "But it will be at least two to three days before Chancellor Cao and Emperor Shi return, and we can't just sit idle during that time.
"So, we should try our best to take one of them."
"We should try," said the venerable Yang Jian, standing beside Su Yu. "But when we attack the next spring, we should do our best to avoid any casualties. If we have to pay a heavy price in lives to take a spring, it might not be worth it."
In the recent battles over the past four to five days, the Blue Star side had managed to keep their high-ranking mages completely unscathed.
This was a stark contrast to the earlier stages of the conflict.
During the prolonged conflict, Blue Star loses 1-3 sixth-rank and over a dozen fifth.Rank cultivators each day, trading lives for lives with the Skrull. Recently, they've managed to maintain zero casualties for four consecutive days, and it's crucial that the next battle also avoids significant losses. After all, at this stage, the lives of high-rank cultivators are far more valuable than even a massive Psychic Spring!
Su Yu, of course, understood this well. He replied, "Don't worry. Over the next two days, I'll do my best to ensure our team has zero casualties, while also putting enough pressure on the Skrull. If we can't secure the Psychic Spring, I won't push it."
After speaking, Su Yu looked at Zhong Feng and said, "Zhong Feng, we'll attack the next Psychic Spring early tomorrow. The Renier Volcano Spring in North America's coastal mountains has the weakest defenses, so let's start there."
"Agreed, let's start with Renier," Zhong Feng concurred, which aligned with his thoughts.
The two Skrull god-rank cultivators guarding the Renier Volcano Spring are Ray and Othas, the weakest among the Skrull god-ranks. Starting with this Psychic Spring gives them the best chance to ensure zero casualties.
...
Just as Blue Star humans were about to capture the Mitchell Spring, the Skrull's top-level meeting was in session.
The attendees were the same as always—Skrull's six god-rank cultivators, Emperor Maniara of the Sun Song Dynasty, and Chairman Kussman of the Runkte Council.
In the video conference room, they gathered to discuss the Skrull's short-term plans for the near future.
After the meeting began, Emperor Maniara of the Sun Song Dynasty was the first to speak, "Everyone, I just received a message from Morgan. The Song of Saints will dispatch another god-rank cultivator to our planet. This god-rank will join Mona and follow her commands, contributing to the battlefield to the best of their ability."
Hearing this news, the expressions of the attendees in the video conference room improved significantly.
"Great news! This is a rare piece of good news!" Plante smiled and said, "The 'Fair War Principle' is truly effective!"
Speaking of the god-rank cultivator sent by the Song of Saints, it all started six days ago with Celia.
Six days ago, the Skrull god-ranks discovered Celia's hideout.
That afternoon, Maniara, through his son Morgan, requested from the Song of Saints, "Celia is a pawn of the Dark Energy Rebel Army. After the exposure, she definitely can't join the war between the two planets. According to the 'Fair War Principle,' the Skrull should receive compensation to make up for this loss of strength."
Maniara made this request with a "let's see" attitude, unsure if the Song ofSaint would agree to compensate them.
Although Celia was indeed a traitor, the reason for compensation seemed a bit forced.
But today, Maniara received a message from Morgan—the Song of Saints They agreed!
The Song of Saints agreed to compensate the Skrull by sending a god-rank cultivator to be commanded by Mona.
This god-rank cultivator is slightly stronger than Celia, making up for her lack of full commitment on the battlefield.
...
Upon receiving this news, the Skrull were naturally elated! The video conference room was filled with jubilation.
The peak god-rank cultivator Plante said happily, "The Song of Saints has given us this compensation, which is highly advantageous for us in dealing with the Blue Star humans! Maniara, when will the dispatched god-rank cultivator arrive?"
"She'll be here soon. According to Morgan's message, she'll reach our Skull planet in about three hours," Maniara replied.
"Three hours... Excellent!" Plante nodded. "In three hours, I'll go with the old ancestor to welcome her. I didn't expect the Song of Saints to send another female. As for the rest of you, please continue to guard the Psychic Springs."
Maniara added, "That's right. Speaking of guarding the Psychic Springs, the Blue Star humans have already captured the Mitchell Mountain Spring.
There are two days left until the end of the final secret realm. During these two days, Blue Star humans are likely to attack the Renier Volcano Spring or the McKinley Mountain Spring. Please be prepared."
The end time of the final secret realm is not certain. The secret realm could last for 7 days, or even longer, up to 9 or 10 days.
In theory, it's impossible to determine when the secret realm will end from the outside. However, because the final secret realms have been occurring so frequently recently, the Skrull outside have started to discern some patterns.
From the outside, the external illusions of the final secret realm continuously change.
For example, the first day of the final secret realm generates an external illusion of a massive city, known as the "Sun City" to the Blue Star people.
As the days passed, the "Sunrise City" gradually deteriorated, and the illusions became increasingly unstable, causing the entire city to tremble.
Just as "Sunrise City" neared the brink of collapse, the trembling reached its peak, marking the end of the first Terminal Secret Realm. Subsequent Terminal Secret Realms followed a similar pattern; the more dilapidated and unstable the city became, the closer it was to its end.
Thus, the Skrull people discerned a pattern, allowing them to predict the end of the Terminal Secret Realm. This time, it was estimated to end in about two days.
In two days, the Terminal Secret Realm would conclude, and Cao Cao and Ying Zheng, the two most feared entities, would return to Blue Star!
...
The thought of Cao Cao and Ying Zheng returning caused the leaders in the meeting room considerable distress.
These two returning would put them under immense pressure!
Marinna III, who usually didn't speak much, now interjected, "Ladies and gentlemen, we must determine how to fortify Blue Star's defenses once the Terminal Secret Realm ends. Cao Cao and Ying Zheng will return to Blue Star, and we lack the capability to defend all four Springs."
Councilor Kusman immediately agreed, "Lord Marinna is correct. Given our strength, we can barely defend two Springs. Defending four is out of the question."
"Then why don't we go all in at once?" Emperor Marinna continued, "Before Cao Cao and Ying Zheng return to Blue Star, we should withdraw all our expeditionary forces and concentrate all our power at the Fuji Spring in Rainbow."
"After all, we'll end up defending only one Spring anyway, so a few days won't make a difference."
"Isn't this a bit premature?" Supreme being Hiber hesitated, "The final battle is still over two months away. If we start fortifying Fuji Spring now, won't it give the Blue Star people more time to build more defenses?"
"It would indeed give them more preparation time, and I admit that," Marinna nodded calmly, "But the fact is, we don't have the capability to defend two Springs simultaneously. Defending two would result in significant casualties, which we can't afford!"
"Lord Marinna is right," Kusman, the Councilor, concurred, "If we try to defend two Springs, it's like using half our strength against the Blue Star people."
"Though we have bases, force fields, and other defensive weapons, I don't think it's worth dying over one Spring just to fight the Blue Star people."
"I agree with Lord Marinna. We should concentrate all our strength at Fuji Spring and prepare for the final battle when it begins."
Marinna smiled at Kusman, "Kusman, thank you for your support."
As they interacted more, Marinna found Kusman to be calm, rational, and intelligent, fitting well with him, unlike the previous Councilor Kas.
He even thought of thanking Su Yu for assassinating the incompetent Kas and bringing in a more capable Kusman. Was Su Yu's action a case of shooting himself in the foot?
...
The Skrull supreme beings had mixed reactions to Marinna's proposal to concentrate all their strength at Fuji Spring.
Some agreed with his idea, while others thought it was too early.
Under Plangt's chairmanship, a new round of voting began.
The results were quick.
Marinna's proposal received 4 votes in favor, 2 abstentions, and 2 votes against.
The proposal was officially passed.
The Skrull expeditionary forces would withdraw from the other three Springs within two days and focus on fortifying Fuji Spring.
Seeing the voting results, Marinna smiled, "Since everyone agrees with this proposal, how should we utilize the Elbert, Rayner, and McKinley Springs? Should we use the Reverse Heavy Crystal Drill to extract more spiritual energy while we have the chance?"
"You..." Hearing Marinna's words, the leaders in the video conference room fell silent again.
Marinna actually wanted to use the Reverse Heavy Crystal Drill again. He truly wouldn't let any opportunity to use the Crystal Drill slip away!
Seeing no one responding, Marinna crossed his arms and continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, I know using the 'Reverse Heavy Crystal Drill' will significantly impact everyone's post-war benefits. But right now, our primary concern should not be post-war benefits, but how to win this war."
"Alright!" Plangt waved his hand to cut him off, "We've heard this enough. Everyone knows the stakes. Let's vote directly on whether we should use the Reverse Heavy Crystal Drill."
(End of Chapter)
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