Translator: AnubisTL
The opportunity came faster than anyone had anticipated.
Just six months after the start of the fifth reincarnation, the Black Tide once again gathered at the horizon. With a resolve and decisiveness far exceeding any previous cycle, it surged toward the Wizard Camp.
Though surprised, Jieming and the logistics wizards quickly sprang into action upon hearing the alarm, busying themselves on the core observation platform of the legion's main formation.
Unlike the previous cycle, most of the observation instruments on the platform were now set up in duplicate.
One set consisted of the old instruments "rescued" from the last reincarnation, which had been repaired and recalibrated. The other set was newly built using materials from the "reset" cycle.
Jieming's research team had decided to conduct experiments while collecting data, so the new machinery was dedicated to data acquisition.
The old machinery, meanwhile, would be used to observe the data discrepancies generated by matter that had existed, vanished, and then reappeared during the time reversal—serving as a crucial reference experiment for paradoxes.
"Why are they in such a hurry this time?" Jieming muttered, his brow furrowed as he calibrated the macro-energy scanner before him and gazed at the Great Black Wall rising once more in the distance.
According to the experience and records from the previous cycles, the Scythe-Skull Race should have preferred a strategy of attrition and delay, using the reincarnations to continuously learn through trial and error.
Moreover, for unknown reasons, most of the Scythe-Skull Race seemed to have a strong aversion to time reincarnation. Therefore, they should have been pleased with the wizards' stalling tactics.
"I don't know," Frost's voice came through the communication rune, calm yet tinged with gravity. "Our advance completely replicated the 'boiling the frog strategy' from the previous round, but they don't seem to be cooperating this time."
"They might have sensed something... like the shift in our research focus, or that we are using the reincarnation for some kind of exploration that is more dangerous to them."
Jieming pondered thoughtfully.
The Scythe-Skull Race's aversion to time reversal was clear, yet they had now chosen this near-suicidal all-out assault.
Had they sensed that the wizards' research might touch upon the very foundation of reincarnation, driving them to act desperately?
Or was there some more ancient will, deep within their unknown decision-making network, driving them to throw themselves into the flames?
Regardless, this was a perfect opportunity to obtain high-tier specimens.
"Commander, please preserve some high-tier specimens for me during the engagement, preferably seventh- and eighth-tier individuals," Jieming immediately requested. "Dead or alive, as long as the bodies are intact or the detachable parts are complete."
"Agreed," Frost replied without hesitation. "The spoils of war will vanish after the reincarnation anyway. We might as well put them to good use. But you'd better be prepared—the pressure on the frontline will be immense."
As he spoke, the war erupted once more.
This time, the Scythe-Skull army had clearly learned the bitter lessons of the first two waves.
When the wizards habitually unleashed their targeted "Frequency Pollution Fields" and "Crystallization Disintegration Waves," patches of reverse-tuned energy shields instantly flared across the insect tide. Like countless ripples spreading over a black sea, they neutralized and canceled out most of the interference effects.1
They even deployed specialized "Scavenger" variants. These creatures sacrificed themselves to actively absorb and decompose the nano-clouds specifically designed to target their pheromone receptors.
The Scythe-Skull Race was evolving, adapting.
But the wizards had never stopped advancing either.
Even before the wizards themselves could launch a large-scale assault, the most critical strangulation missions at the very front were entrusted to the new generation of biochemical modification beasts. These monsters were engineered from the genes of captured low-tier Scythe-Skull individuals, fused with the hunting traits of creatures from various extreme environments, and embedded with dozens of lethal weakness codes specifically targeting the Scythe-Skull's physiological structure.
Their forms were hideous—some resembled armored centipedes, magnified countless times, their shells bristling with bio-energy cannon ports. Others were grotesque masses of flesh, oozing highly corrosive mucus and capable of firing armor-piercing bone spikes.
Most crucially, these bioweapons were engineered to evolve by devouring vast amounts of biomass and to reproduce through rapid fission.
As the battle commenced, the first wave of tens of millions of bioweapons descended upon the battlefield like starving wolves among sheep. Their claws and fangs tore through the reinforced carapaces of the Scythe-Skull Race with ease, while their digestive fluids rapidly broke down the enemy's tissues, converting them into energy for themselves.
Whenever a bioweapon consumed enough biomass, its surface would writhe violently before splitting into two or even three independent individuals in an instant.
The moment the black insect tide collided with this silver-gray "plague," the battle turned into a one-sided slaughter. The number of bioweapons grew exponentially, spreading like ink dropped into water, rapidly staining and engulfing everything in its path.
Soon, the silver-gray tide completely overwhelmed the black ocean. In their wake, they left only a barren wasteland of desiccated carapace fragments, stripped of all energy and biomass.
In the rear, the wizards played the roles of "support" and "reapers."
They unleashed wide-area energy storms, clearing obstacles for the biochemical beast swarm and creating opportunities.
Or they precisely assassinated high-tier Scythe-Skull individuals who attempted to organize a counterattack or unleash special abilities.
Under Officer Frost's command, numerous wizards also specialized in manipulating invisible force fields, extracting relatively intact and valuable Scythe-Skull corpses from the chaotic battlefield and transporting them back to the rear platform.
Jieming quickly entered his working state.
He wove through the continuously returned "samples," his mental power sweeping over them for rapid sorting.
First-tier and second-tier samples were stored in bulk in specific areas as basic research materials.
Third-tier and fourth-tier samples had their forms and mutation characteristics carefully inspected and categorized.
Fifth-tier and sixth-tier samples were subjected to focused screening.
All samples, according to the experimental plan, were either stored in their entirety within the grotto-heaven or carefully dissected—perhaps a limb, half a head, or a portion of internal organs was cut off, and only the severed part was stored, leaving the remaining carcass outside.
Each tier of samples was divided into multiple batches, segmented by volume percentage and stored within the internal grotto-heaven to observe changes in the next round.
Just as the sample collection work was in full swing, a sudden change occurred high in the sky!
Five terrifying waves of pressure, enough to make heaven and earth tremble, suddenly descended, crushing the sky as if by an invisible weight.
Five eighth-tier Scythe-Skull Race chiefs, their bodies far larger than normal and their carapaces flowing with dark golden runes, tore through the clouds. They led over a hundred ferocious seventh-tier guards, charging straight for the core of the Wizard Camp!
Their objective was clear: destroy the command structure and eliminate the "Researchers" who posed a lethal threat to them!
"So you've finally decided to come out?" Frost's icy voice echoed across the sky.
Without a moment's hesitation, his silver-gray magic robe billowed as he transformed into a streak of light that tore through the heavens, fearlessly charging toward the five eighth-tier auras!
One against five!
Behind him, dozens of sixth-tier wizards, who had long been unable to hold back, roared as they soared into the sky. Each selected a target and pounced on the hundred-plus seventh-tier Scythe-Skull Race.
Despite being at an absolute disadvantage in both numbers and level, the wizards showed no fear. Their eyes held only cold calculation.
The sky instantly became a destructive vortex of colliding laws and energy.
Frost's figure flickered erratically amidst the siege of the five eighth-tier experts. Every one of his strikes was concise and efficient, yet the resulting ripples of law caused space itself to groan in agony.
Single-handedly, he not only held the five higher-tier beings at bay but completely countered them!
The sixth-tier wizards' battlefields were equally successful.
They fought either alone against several seventh-tier Scythe-Skulls or formed small battle formations to overcome the enemy's superior numbers.
All sorts of bizarre and powerful wizardry bloomed. The flow of time was locally distorted, space was folded and torn, matter was deconstructed at the molecular level, and souls were assaulted on the spiritual plane... The wizards demonstrated the brutal application of knowledge to its fullest extent.
Seventh-tier Scythe-Skulls continuously fell in piercing screeches, their mangled corpses raining down.
Soon, the sixth-tier wizards who had defeated their opponents began to return to the platform. They harnessed their energy to drag the massive corpses of several, even a dozen, seventh-tier Scythe-Skulls, dumping them before Jieming.
"Quick! Before the energy completely dissipates!" the wizards urged.
"You went too hard on them! The entire specimen is nearly shattered!"
Despite his words, Jieming's mind was intensely focused, his movements as swift as a phantom.
He rapidly inspected each corpse, focusing on the special shell on their chests known as the "Honor Shell."
According to research, this shell recorded the severe injuries an individual had sustained. Each healing left a unique, unforgeable mark of color.
Because the colors produced by each healing varied randomly, in Scythe-Skull Race culture, the more scars and colors on this shell, the more extensive one's combat experience, and the higher their status in society.
Naturally, such a unique shell became the most suitable marker.
Using a specially made engraving knife, Jieming precisely cut standard circular, triangular, or square fragments from the Honor Shells of several corpses, then stored the fragments in his grotto-heaven.
As for the corpses themselves, he stored half of them intact, while for the other half, he only kept the portions where the shells had been cut.
The fierce battle in the sky was drawing to a close.
Frost severely wounded the last two eighth-tier chiefs who were putting up a desperate resistance with a "Star-Trace of Annihilation" that tore through the void. He then locked them in mid-air with a powerful binding wizardry, leaving them unable to move.
And in his hands, he already held three lifeless eighth-tier Scythe-Skull Race corpses.
He landed on the platform, set the three corpses down, and pointed to the two still bound in the air: "Keep the living ones for observation. You handle the corpses. Follow your experimental plan."
Jieming nodded and stepped forward to carefully examine the three eighth-tier corpses.
Their Honor Shells were even more massive, their mottled and brilliant colors recording countless brutal battles.
Jieming selected one of the corpses and circular fragments cut from the Honor Shells of the other two, solemnly storing them within the most core isolation area of his internal grotto-heaven.
With these markers, the next reincarnation would allow for progress in researching the time paradox mechanism generated by time reversal.
Jieming patted his chest in satisfaction.
On the battlefield, the number of the Scythe-Skull army had already dropped to a certain critical point under the combined slaughter of the bioweapons and wizards.
That inexplicably familiar tugging sensation, originating from the very roots of the world, once again swept through Jieming's senses without warning.
The elements of the entire plane began to tremble violently, and time started to rewind.
The fifth reincarnation was about to end.
In the final instant before his consciousness was stripped away, Jieming exerted all his mental power to sweep as many new instruments and recording crystals from the observation platform as possible into his internal grotto-heaven.
Darkness engulfed his vision.
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------
📖 You are reading [233] Chapters behind.
🔥 Read up to Chapter [679] now, only on 𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝕞.
📚 Read upto [14.9K+] Chapters on Site with [11.5K+] Free Chapters!
🚫 Also get FREE lifetime ad-free and join the giveaway by joining our Discord!
---------------------------