Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 828 Departure
Of course, considering the defensive capabilities and melee suppression of a master of parrying and a master of greatswords, being a stationary turret for a while doesn't really have a big impact.

Moreover, the term 'fixed turret' is just a convenient way of describing it. What is truly immovable are the teleportation array and the magic array, not the turrets themselves. Therefore, even if they encounter some unforeseen and unavoidable situation, they can simply abandon the 'Crystal Star Devouring Technique' array base and run away. As long as they are still alive, they can deploy as many of these things as they want without any problem.

Moreover, they have actually come up with some solutions to this defect, but they haven't had time to put them into actual research and verification yet.

The third drawback, including the 'Crystal Star Devouring Technique' which can only be used in the specific environment of space where the light dissipation rate is extremely low and energy and physical resistance are scarce, is that it will explode at close range. Like the second drawback mentioned above, this is a problem that does not need to be solved in a hurry, or rather... before solving these drawbacks, they actually have an even more serious problem to deal with:
—That is the hit rate of the 'Crystal Star Devouring Technique'!
Although their 'Star Devouring Bullet' has reached a speed of 1/10 of the standard ambient light speed by using the laser ammunition structure of the Star-Breaking Cannon and the principles of beam-type spells, this level of speed is still sufficient for fighting large, relatively slow-moving medium-to-low mobility units on a planetary battlefield with a spatial span of thousands or tens of thousands of kilometers. However, it becomes inadequate when encountering smaller, more mobile units.

Like the previous battle to defend the Abyss Purification Device, when they encountered the highly mobile 'Nightmare,' apart from Randy who had the ability to lock onto space, basically no one on their side could handle that thing's speed. Even with the Eye of Truth, he could only barely keep up with the speed of the creature by using 'True Tracing,' but he couldn't pose any real threat to it.

This is why Xin Lailai considers the hit rate issue to be the most serious flaw of the 'Crystal Star Devouring Technique'. As a spell specifically designed for long-range attacks, Xin Lailai can accept its high cost, fixed casting location, and ability to be used only in specific environments, but she absolutely cannot allow it to have a flaw like 'missing the target,' which would render the entire spell useless.

As for how to solve the hit rate problem of 'Crystal Star Devouring Technique', Xin Lailai actually has some ideas, which is to use the same 'space locking' technology as Randy's 'guaranteed hit'.

The Theory of Spatial Negative Wave Attraction and Spatial Locking

According to this theory proposed by a certain mage who reached the ultimate level in his youth, whether it is matter or energy, as long as it exists in space, it will inevitably produce corresponding tiny spatial ripples in the space it occupies. In essence, these spatial ripples are like the two poles of a magnetic field, a kind of positive spatial fluctuation that can be attracted and neutralized by negative spatial fluctuations of opposite frequency.

If this principle is applied in practice, and the negative space fluctuation of another object is attached to the surface of a specified object, it is equivalent to providing it with an arrow that is constantly pointing in the direction of the other object. In this way, by providing the object with a specified directional force based on this attraction, the effect of the 'tracking' ammunition that they see can be formed.

In layman's terms, all they need to do is add a structure to the "Destroy Magic Teleportation Array" and "Star Devouring Bullet Generation Array" of the "Crystal Star Devouring Technique" that "collects spatial fluctuations of a specified target and generates a reverse negative fluctuation" and a structure that "actively changes the trajectory based on the traction direction generated by the current negative fluctuation," and they can produce a relentless spatial tracking effect similar to Randy's "Spatial Tracking Bullet."

As for how these two processes should be implemented in detail?

Regarding the latter, Xin Lailai's current idea is to utilize the 'Spirit Light Diffusion Array' that they jointly developed with Dao Fa and Ming Yu in the world of Frilian. This involves adding an 'automatic enemy-locking' mechanism to the 'Star Devouring Bullet's' 'propulsion structure' and 'warhead.' As for the latter…

"As expected, we still need Randy's help..."

Inside the training space, Xin Lailai, floating in mid-air, gazed at the complex and massive magic array behind her. Her eyes flickered slightly, revealing a thoughtful expression.

In fact, spatial locking theory is already completely beyond their current level of knowledge. Moreover, this "beyond their level" refers not only to the difficulty of learning the knowledge, but also to the threshold for understanding it.

For them, whose true intelligence attribute is only 90 points and whose spell and magic mastery is only LV.20, the theories and spell models related to spatial locking are simply things that their current soul and brain structure cannot comprehend.

Therefore, all they can do right now is to simply copy those spell and magic circle models and test them bit by bit, just like a beginner who can't understand advanced mathematics problems and related calculation processes and can only mechanically apply fixed answers and formulas.

As for the result...

It can only be said that magic is still very realistic in this regard. At least judging from their test results in the past half day, their approach of trying their luck is clearly unlikely to achieve effective results in a limited time.

This is why Xin Lailai suggested asking Randy for help. Their current research and adjustment of the space locking array is entirely based on intuition, just like a poor student guessing ABCD. Whether they can find the right result depends entirely on repeated error correction and their own luck.

Since they're just guessing anyway, it's much more reliable to have Randy, who also doesn't understand these theories but has maxed-out spatial aptitude and the talent of a Wandering Hunter, help them find the problem using his intuition as a technique user, than for them to fumble around on their own. In that case, combined with their own luck, they might not get the answer immediately, but at least the time it would take them to 'exhaustively search' for the result would be greatly shortened.

With this thought in mind, Xin Lailai no longer hesitated and immediately opened the communication channel, just as she was about to ask Randy for help—

……

Sister Chris Roanna: "@All members, sirs, His Majesty the Commander has asked me to inform you that just now, the fortress successfully detected a new planet suitable as the second base in the Abyss Erosion Zone. We are expected to depart in 30 minutes. Please prepare for the expedition in time."

……

The blindfolded nun's warm and gentle voice echoed in her mind, causing Xin Lailai, who was suspended in mid-air, to pause involuntarily, then sighed softly with some regret:

"Alright, since that's the case, we can study it again when we get back."

After speaking, Xin Lailai dispelled the magic circle behind her, broke free from the elven assimilation state, stepped into the spatial portal that appeared beside her, and disappeared from the spot.

……

……

World Fortress, Command Center.

"That concludes the information for this expedition. Does anyone have any further questions?"

Twenty minutes later, in the command room projecting a huge star map, the major, sitting at the control panel with his back to the screen, looked at Xin Lailai and the others before him. He gently pushed up his round-framed glasses with his right hand and asked with a smile. His expression was completely different from that of a fanatical war believer when commanding the war. "Well~ I don't have anything to ask this time. Anyway, we need to go with the fleet to find that planet that's planned to be used as base number 2, wipe out the abyssal creatures inside, and protect the abyssal suppression device at the same time, right?"

"Bingo! Lord Randy understands very quickly!"

Randy, standing to the side, shrugged and said casually, while the major, upon hearing this, snapped his fingers, placed his other hand on his round-framed glasses, and smiled with unusual satisfaction:
"That's right, that's exactly what you all need to do: drive the enemy deep into their belly like nails, tear open their flesh, and then bring them war and destruction. That's the essence of this operation!"

The description, filled with brutality and bloodshed, was followed by a slight nod from those present, including Xin Lailai, who said nothing more.

Go to war.

Unlike the defense of the outposts, if the defense battles were merely a temporary cosplay of the tasks of those top-tier contractors who would arrive here in the second phase, then accompanying the legion fleet to the abyss to conquer planets and worlds and seize them as their own outposts was a truly high-risk mission that only those of the outposts could undertake.

As for why it's necessary to directly delve into the abyss and conquer the world, instead of waiting for the abyss purification device to expand the elemental barrier to a point large enough to encompass the target world, this involves a very practical issue:
Efficiency and resources.

Using the Abyss Purification Device to expand the territory on the Astral side in a spherical shape outwards in all directions seems like a wonderful and safe proposal. However, anyone with a little mathematical knowledge can see that if the purification rate of the Abyss Purification Device remains constant, expanding outwards in a spherical shape will result in a decrease in the amount of resources and time consumed as the expansion progresses, which will become increasingly disproportionate to the maximum distance the front line can advance.

Therefore, in order to reclaim those lost worlds and astral territories in the abyss with the best efficiency, the expedition mainly adopted the spearhead expansion method that they had already learned about at the first operational meeting.

In simple terms, after capturing the first stronghold, the legion dispatches an expeditionary force to infiltrate the abyss and capture the second stronghold. They then deploy an abyss suppression device, and through the elemental resonance of the abyss suppression device between the two strongholds, they create a narrow, elongated elemental barrier. Finally, they use an abyss purification device to expand this elemental barrier, which appears as a thin line on the star map, thus opening up a completely new area within the abyss erosion zone.

Once the first passage is opened, the remaining task is as discussed at the initial expeditionary operation meeting: using Outpost 2 as the center, expand the entire Abyss Erosion Zone, using thin, elongated elemental isolation zones to cut out the Abyss Erosion Zone located behind it, and then turn around to encircle and exterminate the Abyss creatures inside.

Compared to mindless spherical expansion, this two-point-one-line, line-encircling-area-style recapture method is not only hundreds or thousands of times more efficient in advancing the battle line, but also far surpasses the horizontal push approach in terms of resource utilization. The only drawback is that it places extremely high demands on the command and combat capabilities of the commander and his subordinate units. Therefore, until the rise of the Warlord of Watchtower, few factions in the entire astral plane dared to use such a combat method.

After all, while efficiency has increased, the risks of this combat mode are undoubtedly high. Just the task of venturing deep into the abyss to seize a point alone is impossible to accomplish without sufficient strength.

Not to mention that during the process of dividing the Abyss Erosion Zone and deploying the battle lines, they also had to deal with the continuous attacks from the Abyss creatures in the divided Abyss Erosion Zone from within, and they also had to maintain the stability of the entire battle line under such circumstances.

It can be said that if it weren't for the emergence of the military leader, the Star Realm would probably still be using the most traditional and cautious approach to advance, caught in a cycle of balancing interests, ideological conflicts, and old grievances between different factions, repeating the same cycle where the abyss wouldn't actively erode the forces, and the side would never take the initiative to advance.

Instead of, as they are now, obediently uniting under the Legion's almost terrifying suppression to launch expeditions, repeatedly reclaiming lost territories from the Astral Plane in an incredibly aggressive manner, and then obediently distributing the reclaimed worlds according to the established rules.

"If those good-for-nothings were in command, they would probably just concentrate all their forces on a few so-called most important strongholds, then cram everyone from the ninth rank to the strongest into one battlefield, watch helplessly as the abyss encroaches, and then raise the so-called banner of unity to fill the abyss's void with their lives, using the so-called casualty rate to boast to future generations about how tragic this war was."

"The Void Tree? Paradise? They care about the survival of the Astral Plane, not the lives of you worthless trash. In the end, how can something bound by rules truly understand the war that arises from breaking those rules?"

"All you know is sacrifice, and you make no progress. If your minds and will were even half as firm as your determination to die, the Astral Plane wouldn't have fallen to this state today."

These "outrageous remarks" from the military leader are still recorded in various biographies related to him. Countless people have criticized his words and deeds in the past, feeling that it was too arrogant for him to say something like "The Void Tree and Paradise don't know anything about war."

However, as it turns out, compared to the ten legions and massive expeditions brought by the other side, the so-called Abyss Erosion Defense Wars that the Astral Plane had previously waged were indeed just child's play, and the harsh words spoken by the other side have indeed been proven true over the long course of time and the progress of the era.

Of course, these things aren't really relevant to them right now. For them, there's only one most important thing right now—

That is to conquer Reef 1 World, which was designated as the second outpost!
[Attention all members! 4 minutes and 59 seconds remaining until the expeditionary force's deployment. All personnel are requested to immediately proceed to their designated areas and await orders!]

[To reiterate! There are 4 minutes and 59 seconds remaining until the expeditionary force's deployment. All personnel are requested to immediately proceed to their designated areas and await orders!]

"In that case, let's head to the fleet and await orders."

A cold announcement suddenly broke the silence in the command room. Under the vast star map, Xin Lailai said goodbye to the major and then opened the spatial portal with Yamu and the others, striding towards the Blackthorn Legion expeditionary ship on the other side of the portal.

"So--"

The major at the control panel nodded slightly, then turned around, gazing at the fleet neatly arranged in the starry sky on the screen. He grinned, a frenzied fervor and anticipation gleaming in his dark golden eyes.
"May you all have great success in your military endeavors!"

"Let us... tear their flesh apart with war, and revel in their cries of agony under the gunfire!"

……

(End of this chapter)