On Jibril's side, the countdown began immediately after the Flügel Race discovered Immanity settlements and destroyed them.
This made Jibril a little excited. She didn't believe that under such conditions, she could lose.
However, the small Flügel units in the sandbox game quickly ran into trouble. They had followed the Immanity' trail and arrived in the territory of the Dwarf Race.
The Dwarves had developed the E-Bomb, causing considerable trouble for the Flügels. Jibril's instructions were simple: eliminate the Dwarves here.
Because the Dwarves in this area were numerous, they could not allow their people to be wiped out by the Flügels. The Dwarves in the core area all moved out to provide support.
[Due to the Dwarves' desperate resistance, your progress has been delayed.]
Seeing the intelligence transmitted back from the sandbox game, Jibril didn't hesitate to send Flügel units from other areas to completely wipe out the Dwarves.
But the Dwarves were not defenseless. They slowly moved the battlefield into the Elves' territory.
The Dwarves and Elves had a bad relationship, and it wouldn't do to let the Flügels weaken only the Dwarves while leaving the Elves to take advantage later.
A day passed. Two years went by in the game. Adding the previous time, it had been nearly three years.
Now, as the Flügels were delayed by the Dwarves and Elves, Ren's population and towns were steadily being established. This time, he was building on locations previously scouted by the Flügels.
Ren didn't dare relax for a moment. Although nearly three years had passed, if the Flügels discovered the Immanity' location, they could destroy everything in an instant.
As Ren frantically built residences and grew his population, Jibril's patience ran out.
Half of the allotted time had already passed, and no trace of Immanity had been found.
Instead, the Dwarves and Elves were holding her back, refusing to be wiped out.
This made her consider withdrawing to focus fully on destroying the Immanity. She had not forgotten her ultimate goal.
If the Flügels left the battlefield, the other two races would naturally comply. Over two years, they had sacrificed many of their own.
As each second passed, Jibril sent scouts to previously destroyed locations. They found only ruins and began moving in another direction.
"The hardest period is coming next." Ren issued orders for the people in the frontline towns to evacuate, leaving only ghosts to erase the traces.
Their chances of survival were slim, but for their families, they went willingly to their deaths.
In reality, only a few minutes had passed before the Flügels appeared near the evacuated town. The sky quickly darkened there, signaling that the Flügels had breached the city.
"No, retreating like this can't keep up with her attack speed. This is troublesome." Ren quickly issued several orders to the ghost.
The ghost executed them swiftly, but the Flügel Race advanced even faster. Several towns had already fallen, and casualties were mounting. There was no time left to evacuate everyone.
"So now it's a race against time," Ren muttered, watching as more people died and towns were destroyed. The situation made him feel helpless.
Fifteen minutes later, thirty percent of the population had been lost, and thirty-four percent of the towns were destroyed. They were not far from the target.
Fortunately, the Flügel Race stopped advancing and began to retreat. Ren took this chance to evacuate the nearby population, while others frantically searched for safe places to hide.
The ghost was timely as always. While exploring and gathering intelligence, he had already discovered the Flügel Race' main base, but had not used this information immediately.
The hatred level wasn't high enough yet.
Now, the hatred of the Dwarves, Elves, and Flügel Race was intense. Using it at this moment would be highly effective.
Once the Dwarves received the intelligence, they launched an immediate attack on the Flügel base with various bombardments.
Upon learning this, the Elves also used long-range magic to cause destruction.
This forced Jibril to call back some of the small Flügel troops, giving Ren some breathing room.
Ren knew this window wouldn't last long. Once the Dwarves and Elves species were dealt with, the enemy would surely attack again.
He had to use this time to expand rapidly. He even established new underground bases in caves already cleared by the Flügel Race, creating safe zones hidden in plain sight.
The Dwarves and Elves species were strong allies, buying Ren another year, while his positions became even more concealed.
With less than two years remaining, Jibril grew anxious and returned to previously explored areas to continue scouting. Luckily, the Flügel Race could fly, making exploration faster.
"According to the ghost's information, at the latest, we'll be found in two months," Ren frowned.
Two months was barely a drop in the bucket compared to the time he had left.
"Continue to lure the Dwarves and Elves? They probably have precautions," he thought. Still, he ordered the ghost to carry on with the diversion.
Any distraction, no matter how small, could buy more time. He also instructed several regular outposts to continue relocating.
Those who volunteered to become ghosts willingly faced death, guiding the Flügel Race in the right direction.
Yes, following the direction of these ghosts could lead to finding Immanity strongholds, but Ren knew well that Jibril would not do that.
The result was soon confirmed. Jibril sent the Flügel in other directions, and this stronghold was saved.
The next strongholds were the same. The ghosts would sacrifice themselves, sending false information to the Flügel, sacrificing a few to save the majority.
Only the last year remained, and his population had lost only 40%, with 50% of towns destroyed. It was already extreme, and Ren issued orders frantically.
Soon, the Flügel returned. Ren chuckled. A year of perseverance had finally paid off.
The Dwarves had developed the E-Bomb, planning to strike at the Flügel' main base to destroy the race that had been harming the Dwarves.
The Elves had also developed incredible magic, and the Flügel possessed the Heavenly Smite, though it could not be fully represented in this simulation.
Ren worked tirelessly, building strongholds and restoring towns.
Once the residents were safe and the Flügel were unlikely to return soon, Ren recalled all the ghosts and opened champagne halfway, celebrating the game's victory in advance.
Time passed quickly. When Jibril had just dealt with the Dwarves and Elves, only one month remained. Time was running out.
Even so, Jibril did not give up. She searched the entire board for Immanity, using Heavenly Smite directly on some hidden areas.
This method was devastating and effective, but Ren was too good at hiding. By the time the clock ran out, Jibril had only a 5% town destruction rate left to win.
But there was not enough time. Under Jibril's fierce attacks, Ren emerged victorious. Although 65% of his towns were destroyed, only 45% of his population died. It was an extreme number.
Ren felt he had honored the courage of those who had bravely sacrificed themselves in the game.
Overall, though the game was flawed, it was quite fun.
"Why?" Jibril did not understand.
How could the opponent keep coming back, stronghold after stronghold, when her Heavenly Smite could destroy a stronghold in one blow?
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