Chapter 286 - 280: The Empty Fort Strategy
Chapter 286: Chapter 280: The Empty Fort Strategy
In the thirty-kilometer buffer zone on the northern front, the scorched earth still reeked of pulverized flesh and blood.
The sympathetic detonation of four thousand tons of raw Fire Elemental Crystal Stone ore had instantly vaporized nearly two thousand Magical Beasts, taking a peak Level 2 Corrupted Giant-Horned Rhino with them.
The results were nothing short of explosive.
Unfortunately, even a rich man’s coffers would run dry with this "cash-is-king" strategy. It was a thrill they could only afford once.
"Commander, the seventh thread R&D project is complete."
Jarvis’s voice chimed in at the perfect moment. "The Demon Eye III models, equipped with magnetic anomaly composite probes, have been modified and are ready for deployment."
"Launch immediately." Allen’s spirits lifted. "Using the western and northern borders as a baseline, conduct a carpet scan extending one hundred kilometers inward and two hundred kilometers outward. Mark every life form with an unnatural metallic signature."
"Command confirmed."
Six specially modified Demon Eye III models silently departed from the workshop, fanning out like ghosts before casting an invisible net across the sky.
Just ten minutes later.
On the tactical sand table in front of Allen, special markers—purple squares—began to pop up abruptly among the red dots representing Magical Beasts.
One, ten, fifty...
Half an hour later, when the scan was complete, even with his Mechanical Mind, Allen felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at the dense cluster of purple markers on the sand table.
Three hundred and seventeen.
A total of three hundred and seventeen modified Magical Beasts, implanted with micro-transmitters, had mixed in with the subsequent Beast Tides surging from the west and north, infiltrating the border defense areas of Zone 18.
They were evenly distributed along the several-hundred-kilometer defense line. Some had even used the terrain for cover, broken through the outer fire net, and were now lying in wait in mountain hollows less than ten kilometers from the second line of defense.
The enemy’s surveillance network, composed of living monitoring probes, had long since taken shape.
Allen knew perfectly well that his current troop strength, firepower, and fortifications were being packaged into encrypted data and live-streamed to that Black Wizard.
’I’m like a prisoner in a glass house. My every move is being watched by the enemy.’
But Allen was also well aware that taking out these "eyes" now would be meaningless, aside from tipping off the enemy.
’If the Black Wizard can modify three hundred, he can modify three thousand.’
’I can still stall. The "radio control" needs to be saved for the most critical moment. I need time. I have to endure.’
The following month was the most grueling period for Zone 18 since its establishment.
The Black Wizard was extremely patient. Instead of launching an all-out assault, he specialized in attrition tactics.
Besides dealing with the regular Beast Tides, Allen had to face three to five small waves of harassing attacks every day.
Each wave consisted of over a hundred Magical Beasts, striking the western and northern defense zones simultaneously from different directions.
The intensity was perfectly calculated, just enough to push the Golem Legion’s firepower to the brink of saturation.
They would charge the front lines, burn through a wave of ammunition, and leave behind a few dozen corpses.
It was death by a thousand cuts, day and night without rest.
Allen’s Golems were like iron ingots being hammered repeatedly. Under the constant high pressure, their combat losses skyrocketed.
The logistics teams braved enemy fire to retrieve the wreckage, and the workshop ran day and night, but they still couldn’t keep up with the rate of attrition.
Under this suffocating pressure, Allen, conversely, sank completely into Meditation.
The effects of the Astral Spring surged through his Sea of Spirit, and the halo from the Deep Sea Echo Conch bathed the entire Meditation Room in a light that made it feel like the deep ocean.
The Runes of the fifth Core Matrix formed with unstoppable momentum.
The twenty-fifth.
The twenty-eighth.
The thirty-second!
Only the final four Will Runes remained before his promotion to Second-level Wizard.
But the situation outside was already on the verge of collapse.
[WARNING! Seventh Defense Legion combat losses have reached 43%! The defense lines of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Legions are showing an increasing number of breaches!]
[WARNING! Ammunition reserves below 25%! Logistical pressure at critical point! First-layer blockade interception rate has dropped below 70%!]
The reports from Jarvis grew worse and worse.
Allen knew perfectly well what was happening. The enemy was testing his breaking point, forcing him to show all his cards.
Under the enemy’s map-wide surveillance, any major move would be exposed.
The moment they confirmed he had no counter-attack capability, a thunderous, all-out assault would follow.
"Commander, the northern front’s interception rate is below 30%! Should we execute the contingency plan and contract the defensive line?"
Allen’s eyes snapped open, a blue light flashing in his pupils before vanishing.
He glanced at the nearly complete thirty-third Rune in his Sea of Spirit, then at the "crumbling" northern line on the sand table.
"No, initiate ’Radio Control’." After taking a beating for a month, Allen was finally about to play his first trump card.
’It’s time. Since you love to watch so much, let’s give you a black screen.’
’Against a cunning bastard like this, an information black hole is the best deterrent. It’s guaranteed to buy me a few more days.’
’This move is a classic Empty Fort Strategy!’
[...Confirming command.]
Immediately, an order was sent to a secret hangar deep within the workshop.
WHIRRR—
Heavy alloy doors slowly opened, and six flat-shaped Floating Ships rose silently with the low hum of their anti-gravity engines.
They didn’t fly into the sky, but instead sped through the underground transport network, arriving at six preset nodes encircling the core area of Zone 18.
"Tower of Silence, activate."
At Allen’s command, devices resembling metal flower buds unfolded within the cabins of the six Floating Ships.
Invisible interference waves radiated out from the six nodes in all directions, converging on the ground and in the sky to form a massive electronic cage spanning a four-hundred-kilometer radius.
This was a high-powered signal jammer that Allen had created after expending immense resources and computational power to reverse-engineer the long-range communication principles of the Snail Monsters.
It did only one thing—indiscriminately broadcast a massive, chaotic, and meaningless stream of junk data within a specific high-frequency Magic Power band.
Simple, brutal, and utterly unsportsmanlike.
This first move was called "pulling the plug!"
...
Twelve hundred kilometers away, deep within a dark cavern.
The Black Wizard who had killed Green in territory No. 17 stood in the center of a great hall, his hands clasped behind his back.
On the four walls of the room, a "monitoring screen" composed of hundreds of aggregated Magical Beast eyeballs floated on each.
Each eyeball reflected a real-time image.
Some showed the artillery fire on Zone 18’s northern front, others showed the deployment of Victor’s Golems, some displayed the nearby terrain, and some even captured Alchemy Servants transporting supplies in the rear.
He watched all this with great interest, as if observing a meticulously orchestrated play.
He relished the feeling of having his prey in the palm of his hand.
After Zone 17 had fallen, the fact that the defensive lines of Zones 18 and 19 had both held for a month was certainly impressive.
However, it was time for that to end. He had gathered enough information. It was time to close the net.
Just as he was about to raise his hand and give the order.
At that very moment, the images on two of the monitoring screens—each composed of hundreds of eyeballs—flickered in unison without any warning.
BZZT!
They all dissolved into blinding static.
The feed was cut instantly.
The cavern fell into dead silence.
The sardonic smirk on the Black Wizard’s lips slowly froze.
He was stunned for a moment, then a horrifying crimson light erupted in his eyes.
"I’ve... been discovered?"
He wasn’t a fool; he instantly understood what had happened.
The prey he had been watching had not only discovered his "eyes" but also possessed countermeasures he knew nothing about!
’Could the "distress" I’ve been seeing for the past month have been an act?!’
The Black Wizard was filled with alarm and suspicion, and could only put a temporary hold on the order for the final assault he was about to issue.
...
"Commander, all enemy signals have been lost." Jarvis’s voice had returned to its steady tone. "The enemy cluster on the northern front has suddenly ceased its harassing attacks."
Allen stood before the sand table, his gaze terrifyingly calm as he looked at the purple squares that had stopped blinking.
He knew that by revealing this trump card, he had ripped away the fig leaf covering their intelligence war.
The enemy’s paranoia would surely kick in, causing him to halt the offensive for now. But once he figured things out, what would follow would be the most primitive and bloody of head-on clashes.
’This is the calm before the Storm.’
Four Runes left until his promotion to Second-level Wizard.
’I must push open that door before the Black Wizard’s true body arrives.’
’And turn this hopeless game around!’