Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 358 Leave it to me, trust me (Seeking votes at the end of the month)

Twenty-five standard days later.

The Shadow Shuttle smoothly entered the fortress airport.

Without pausing, Lin Yi went straight to the Stardust Tavern.

When he arrived, Yueming and the other two were already waiting in their usual booth.

When Mingluo saw Lin Yi's clone, whose appearance hadn't changed much, but whose aura was noticeably deeper and sharper, her eyes lit up. She stepped forward and patted Lin Yi's shoulder forcefully: "Goodness! This feeling is definitely different. Has the spatial law broken through 30%?"

Lan also showed a look of curiosity.

Lin Yi smiled slightly: "There has been some progress. As for the specifics, you'll all find out when we deal with the Shadow Locusts. In short, I definitely won't let you down."

After all, his progress is quite significant. If we talk about it now, his teammates will have to verify it in actual combat. It's better to let the facts speak for themselves and give everyone a surprise.

Upon hearing this, Yue Ming smiled and said, "It seems you've made quite a bit of progress. Here's the arrangement: during the Shadow Locust mission, we'll stick to the same strategy as before. Ming Luo will be in charge of the frontal assault, Lan will handle defense and control, I'll provide support and deliver the fatal blow, and Lin Yi, you'll continue with your support and disruption. We can adjust the division of labor for subsequent missions based on your newfound strength. How does that sound?"

This is a prudent move, Lin Yi nodded and said, "I have no objection."

"The mission briefing and tactical plan have been sent to you. The Star Silence will depart in six standard hours," Yueming said.

"Yes, Captain."

Six standard hours later, the Star Silent Ship, carrying the four members of the Star Silent Squad, departed the fortress and entered the warp drive toward the XT-7783 star sector.

XT-7783 sector.

This is an area located on the edge of the territory controlled by two major powers.

The starry background is dim, the stars are sparse, and the spatial parameters are relatively stable, but occasionally subtle unnatural spatial folds can be detected, which are traces left by the activity of the Shadow Locust.

The Star Silence shut down most of its external signals and entered stealth mode.

Based on mission intelligence and Lan's detection, they quickly located an area with unusually active spatial fluctuations.

“The detected large amount of bio-space signals belong to the guard swarm of Shadow Locusts. The mother swarm’s signal is well hidden, but it should be in the central area,” Lan said.

"Proceed according to plan," Yueming ordered. "Lan, launch a wide-area attack to control the area, covering the outer perimeter of the suspected nest. Mingluo, clear out the approaching swarms. Lin Yi, you and I will flank from the side and search for the queen. Be careful, stay alert, we're near the edge of the Eclipse Clan's activity zone."

"Understood," the three replied in unison.

The hatch of the Star Silent Ship opened, and four figures rushed out.

Lan's wings of light unfolded, scattering countless points of light that quickly wove together into a giant net of light, which began to contract and compress inward.

Wherever the light net passed, the translucent, giant locust-like locust offspring, which were extremely fast and whose claws and teeth shimmered with a spatial tearing light, were all slowed down and burned.

Minglu roared and swung his giant axe into the densest part of the insect swarm. The dark golden, sharp axe blade cut through everything in its path, and a large number of guarding locusts were shattered.

Yueming and Lin Yi, like two ghosts, cut in from the folds of the side space.

The Moonlit Law of Life and Death spread silently, precisely stripping away the life force of the insect swarm ahead, clearing a path for the two.

As usual, Lin Yi took on the lightest task.

Although he was eager to prove himself, he wasn't in a hurry since the captain had assigned the task this way.

Therefore, he simply stayed close to Yueming's side, his Sky Shuttle circling around him, easily eliminating any who slipped through the net.

Soon, the group broke through the outer swarm of insects and saw the true appearance of the nest.

It was a semi-transparent, sac-like structure made of viscous spatial energy and biological tissue, attached to a huge meteorite remnant. Inside, a huge, constantly writhing shadow could be vaguely seen, emanating a restless aura.

"Found you." Yue Ming's eyes turned cold, and he raised his hand to unleash a killing move.

Just then, something unexpected happened!
The Star Silence spaceship's intelligent alarm sounded in the minds of the four members of the team: "Warning! High-energy reaction detected at an ultra-long distance. Five divine-level auras are rapidly approaching from the D-7 position. According to data comparison, they are the Eclipse Clan's divine squad."

The distant starry sky.

Five figures exuding a violent aura were speeding through the void.

The leader was a Eclipse Clan creature whose carapace was covered with dark gold and mysterious patterns, and whose compound eyes gleamed with a cold, rational light. The pressure it exuded was at the level of a powerful god. Behind it were four Eclipse Clan gods of different forms, all of whom were ordinary gods.

"Captain, there's a strong energy fluctuation ahead—it's the Shadow Locust's nest area, and there's a battle going on!" reported a Eclipse Clan deity resembling a giant moth.

The eyes of the Eclipse God flashed, instantly receiving and analyzing the information transmitted by the team members: "Oh? Someone beat us to the Shadow Locusts we were trying to subdue. It was a team from the Pan-Spirit Alliance."

"Four gods. Hmm? That mechanical god-like body is the Fearless War God!"

Its compound eyes instantly locked onto the silver-gray figure in the Star Silence Squad and immediately recalled the relevant information.

"According to intelligence, the only person controlling the Fearless War God who has been active in this star field recently is Lin Yi of the human race. The so-called number one genius is actually at the Star Vortex level. He barely reached the threshold of an ordinary god by relying on his mechanical god body."

The soul fluctuations of the Eclipse God resonated in the consciousness of the four team members, carrying a hint of greed and killing intent.

"Destroying a fearless war god is equivalent to permanently banning a god-level being!" another scorpion-shaped god hissed in response.

The Eclipse God quickly made a judgment: "The opponent is the Star Silence Squad. There are four gods in them. The captain, Yue Ming, is a bit stronger than me. Although he is troublesome, he is not too difficult to deal with. As for the other two ordinary gods and that rookie Lin Yi, I will hold off Yue Ming. You four should deal with the other three as soon as possible, especially that Lin Yi! Prioritize destroying the Fearless War God, and then join forces to surround and kill Yue Ming!"

As it spoke, it took out a black hexagonal crystal that emitted strange ripples, crushed it without hesitation, and an invisible but powerful spatial disturbance wave swept out.

Using such a precious, one-time-use item was painful, but the Eclipse Clan deity only saw cold calculations. "As long as we can capture them all, destroy the Fearless War God, and kill Lin Yi and Yue Ming, the battle merits and clan rewards will more than compensate for the cost. This deal is worthwhile!"

"I've already used the Chaotic Crystal to try and keep them all!"

"Yes!"

The other four deities echoed in unison, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

The five figures increased their speed again, carrying undisguised killing intent, tearing through the starry sky and heading straight for the Star Silence Squad.

The Star Silent Squad was suddenly caught in a dangerous situation, being ambushed by a powerful Eclipse Clan god squad.

Yueming, Lan, and Minglu's expressions changed drastically.

“It’s the Sharp Devouring Squad of the Eclipse Clan.” Lan smiled bitterly. “We’re really unlucky that we had to fight the Shadow Locusts right at the same time.”

Lin Yi's expression was also very solemn. "I just sensed that the surrounding space has been disturbed, and the accuracy of long-distance space travel will be affected."

Minglu chopped down several locust guards that were charging at him with an axe, and said in a deep voice, "They should be treasures like the Chaotic Void Crystal. Captain, what do we do now?"

Lin Yi immediately understood upon hearing this.

He knew about the Chaotic Void Crystal. It was a one-time treasure created by the gods of space laws with great effort. Its only function was to cause a slight spatial shift in a large area. This slight spatial shift would hardly have any effect on short-distance teleportation, but it would cause great interference to precise spatial jumps over extremely long distances.

Because if the distance is too great, even a slight error can lead to a huge mistake.

After the enemy uses the Chaotic Void Crystal, even if our own spatial law deities are willing to expend a large number of deities to provide support over extremely long distances, they will not be able to pinpoint the location accurately and will need to spend a lot of extra time calculating and sorting out the position.

Yueming's gaze swept over the five rapidly approaching Eclipse Clan figures, then glanced at the swarm of guardian insects that were launching a frenzied attack and the locust queen that was staring intently at them with her compound eyes. A cold glint flashed in his pale purple eyes.

"Mission aborted! I'll cover your retreat. You all immediately disengage from the battle and leave at full speed."

Upon hearing Yueming's words, everyone's expression changed.

Everyone was smart enough to understand Yue Ming's meaning perfectly: she was going to stay behind alone to cover the retreat, while also holding back the enraged Shadow Locust Queen and drawing away the approaching Eclipse Clan squad, thus buying time for the other three to evacuate.

This is almost tantamount to sacrificing herself.

"Captain!" Lan immediately objected, "If we're going to leave, we'll leave together!"

Mingluo also got anxious: "Yes, Captain, let's give it our all."

“It’s too late.” Yueming shook his head. “The mother locust has locked onto us. If we don’t suppress it for now, none of us can leave. Only I can deal with it alone. The Sharp Devourer Squad will be here soon. Once we get entangled with them, together with the mother locust and the swarm of insects, we will all be trapped here.”

Her gaze swept over the three team members, and she spoke rapidly: "I've already sent a distress signal to the fortress, but the surrounding space is being disrupted, affecting the accuracy of long-distance teleportation. Even if a deity skilled in spatial laws were willing to come to our aid, in my experience, it would take nearly three standard hours. We can't hold out that long!"

"My battle merits are enough to cover the cost of one resurrection. You all leave immediately, that's an order!"

The news that reinforcements would take three standard hours to arrive weighed heavily on Lan and Mingluo's hearts.

At these three standards, in the current situation, it's practically equivalent to having no reinforcements.

Clearly, the captain was willing to risk his life to give them a chance to survive.

As a powerful deity, if it were to remain, it would inevitably become a priority target for the opposing side.

Although he knew that Yueming was talking about the optimal solution based on the current situation, Lin Yi had no intention of letting the captain cover the rear while he fled for his own life.

He quickly asked in his mind, "Xuanji, what is the specific strength composition of this Sharp Devouring Squad that has arrived?"

“Master, according to the Pan-Spirit Alliance battlefield public intelligence database, the Sharp Devourer Squad is a god squad of the Eclipse Clan operating in this star field. They have quite a reputation. The captain's strength is assessed as mid-level powerful god, and the other four members are all ordinary god-level.” Xuanji quickly replied.

"One powerful god, four ordinary gods. I see."

A flash of silver light appeared in Lin Yi's eyes, and the last trace of doubt in his heart dissipated.

"Captain, if I can take down this mother locust, can you hold off the Sharp Devourer Squad for now?"

Upon hearing this, both Mingluo and Lan were taken aback and looked at Lin Yi in surprise.

Even Yue Ming raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in her pale purple eyes. After a moment's thought, she said in a deep voice, "It's possible. The captain of the Sharp Devourer Squad is only slightly weaker than me. We are outnumbered three to five, which is a clear disadvantage, but if we only hold them off, we won't collapse at the first touch. However, even if we disregard the loss of divine power and unleash our full power, we can only hold them off for less than a standard hour at most."

A standard timeframe, in a battle at the god-level, is neither long nor short.

“That’s enough!” Lin Yi said immediately. “It won’t take that long. I’ll deal with the mother locust and kill her. I’ll come back to support you right away.”

"Killed?" Mingluo blurted out, "This is a Shadow Locust Queen with the strength of a peak ordinary god, brother, you..."

Although Lan didn't say anything, she kept her eyes fixed on Lin Yi.

Not long ago, Lin Yi was struggling to deal with the Void-Eating Jellyfish and needed the captain's help.

How long has it been?

He went back and changed his clone, and now he dares to say he single-handedly killed a peak-level ordinary god-level mother worm?

Knowing the situation was urgent, Lin Yi immediately abandoned his previous idea of ​​giving his teammates a surprise and replied, "My current strength can barely be considered as that of a powerful god."

"Leave this Shadow Locust Queen to me, trust me."

A powerful god-level being!
Mingluo and Lan were immediately shocked. Judging from Lin Yi's previous performance, he must have made great progress, but they never expected that it would be so shocking!
It went from being a weak point that needed to be taken care of to becoming a being with powerful god-like combat strength!

"Brother, you're amazing! This... this is the rate at which the number one prodigy improves?" Mingluo instantly became excited. "Does that mean we have a chance to turn the tables on them?"

What was originally a desperate escape has suddenly turned into a potential counterattack against the enemy. Even with the composure of veteran deities like Mingluo and Lan, the difference is so striking that it excites them greatly.

Unlike Mingluo, Yueming did not react violently. She simply took a deep look at Lin Yi, her pale purple eyes seeming to pierce through the body of the fearless war god and see into his soul.

She didn't ask for details, nor did she have time to.

On the ever-changing battlefield, one of the captain's responsibilities is to make judgments and decisions, and she believed that Lin Yi would not joke about such a thing.

"Okay." Yue Ming only uttered one word, then immediately adjusted the command: "Ming Luo, Lan, change formation, with me as the core, Lan defend the front, Ming Luo roam and provide support, we go in and hold them off!"

"Yes, Captain!" Mingluo and Lan responded in unison, their fighting spirit instantly soaring.

After all, if we could kill a few, that would be a huge harvest!
"Lin Yi, the mother insect is yours. Finish this quickly!" Yue Ming gave Lin Yi one last look, then his moon-white battle robe shone brightly, and the gray-white halo of the Law of Life and Death spread out like a tide.

She transformed into a streak of light and rushed towards the five rapidly approaching figures.

At the same time, Lan's wings of light suddenly unfolded, and countless solid points of light flew out, rapidly constructing layer upon layer of light barriers in front of the three. Ming Luo let out a low roar, and the Breaking Edge Law on his dark golden giant axe condensed to its limit, closely following Yue Ming's side.

Like shooting stars moving against the current, the three of them took the initiative to meet the enemy head-on.

Lin Yi's clone watched the three leave, a multitude of thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.

Since Captain Yueming said he could hold out for nearly a standard time, this judgment should not be too far off.

After all, unlike him who had just been released from the secret realm, the other gods had been fighting for five thousand years and knew each other's information quite well. And at the god level, it was rare for them to make such a big leap forward in a short period of time.

The Sharp Devourer Squad is one of the more well-known squads, and its combat information was recently updated in the intelligence system. Yueming made this judgment based on that information.

The reason he volunteered to stay behind and deal with the mother locust alone, rather than confront the enemy, was not out of cowardice, but because he had a clear understanding of his own and his team's current situation.

What are his weaknesses?
It's god-like combat experience and a high level of tactical coordination with teammates.

If Captain Yueming, with his most experience and strength, were to deal with the Mother Locust, while Lin Yi, along with Mingluo and Lan, faced an attack from a powerful deity leading four ordinary gods, Captain Yueming might be able to defeat the Mother Locust faster. However, given his current level of teamwork with his teammates, he would likely be defeated before that could happen. Then Captain Yueming would be caught in a pincer attack.

On the contrary, it would be the best solution under the current circumstances for him to take on the relatively "simple" mother locust alone, while letting the well-coordinated Yueming and his two companions hold off the more cunning and cooperative Eclipse Clan team.

In this way, he can use his powerful divine strength and his familiarity with the laws of space to quickly eliminate the mother locust, and then join the main battlefield to bully the ordinary gods of the Devouring Squad.

Therefore, while strength is important, tactics are equally important.

"We must act quickly."

Lin Yi muttered to himself, casting his gaze toward the enormous, semi-transparent nest not far away.

It seemed that the sudden departure of Yue Ming and the other two, as well as Lin Yi's act of leaving alone, was seen as a provocation by the Shadow Locust Queen, or perhaps it saw an opportunity. The Queen Locust in the nest let out a furious hiss, and the remaining guard locusts around her went crazy and rushed towards Lin Yi from all directions.

the other side.

The captain of the Sharp Devourer Squad, leading four members, was rushing towards them with murderous intent, his soul power already locking onto the figures of the four members of the Star Silence Squad.

According to its estimation, the opponent will most likely leave one to cover the rear while the others flee in panic. Then, it will quickly gain a victory and then pursue and kill them, especially Lin Yi, whose invincible war god body must be destroyed.

However, what happened next caused a flicker of surprise in the compound eyes of the captain of the Sharp Devourer Squad, which quickly turned into a furious outburst of being slighted.

The Star Silence Squad did not flee; instead, they split up!

The captain, Yue Ming, along with the Holy Radiance Clan and the burly human, actually took the initiative to greet them.

Their primary target, Lin Yi, who carried the fearless war god, was left behind alone, facing the enraged Shadow Locust Queen and her swarm.

"Insanity!"

The captain of the Sharp Devourer Squad was stunned for a moment, then it released its soul power to the fullest extent, scanned the surroundings, and after confirming that there were no other Pan-Spirit Alliance reinforcements nearby, it immediately flew into a rage.

Its soul fluctuations instantly exploded in the minds of the four team members. "Do they think they can stall until reinforcements arrive? Or do they think they can intimidate us and then go help Lin Yi? They're courting death!"

To the captain of the Sharp Eater Squad, this was an absolute joke.

It was well aware of the Star Silence Squad's intelligence, and in its view, honestly admitting defeat and cutting off its tail to survive was the most correct choice.

As for the lords, they all have their own important duties and usually don't interfere in battles at the god level. If they do interfere, they'll just have to accept their fate; there's no escaping it now.

"Captain, they're looking down on us!" hissed the scorpion-like erosion god.

"Since they want to die, then grant their wish!" The captain of the Sharp Devourer Squad was filled with murderous intent. "Change the plan. First, crush Yue Ming and his two companions as quickly as possible, and then I will personally crush Lin Yi's Fearless War God!"

"Yes!"

The five Eclipse Clan gods surged with power and collided violently with Yue Ming and his two companions who were coming from the opposite direction.

boom!!!
The clash of laws erupted instantly.

The Moonlit Sea's laws of life and death transformed into countless gray-white threads, like a net covering the heavens and the earth, first enveloping the leader of the Devouring Squad, while simultaneously diverting some of its power to interfere with the actions of the other four Devouring Gods.

The light barrier of the storm lit up layer upon layer, and the purifying light clashed fiercely with the corrosive energy of the Eclipse Clan, producing a hissing sound.

Minglu roared, wielding his giant axe. Dark golden blades of light crisscrossed the air as he forcefully cut into the enemy formation, attempting to disrupt their coordination.

The battle intensified the moment they made contact.

The three of Yueming were clearly employing the most extreme defensive delaying tactics, not seeking to kill the enemy, but only to delay and interfere with the opponent to the greatest extent possible.

Yueming almost single-handedly held off Captain Fengshi and another deity, while Lan and Mingluo joined forces to barely hold off the remaining three opponents.

Just as Yueming had predicted, three against five was a huge disadvantage.

Lan's light barrier shattered and reformed repeatedly, and Yueming's life-and-death threads were constantly severed by Captain Fengshi's sharp saw blade.

However, thanks to their rich experience and tacit cooperation, they did not collapse at the first touch, but rather, like a reef in a storm, stubbornly resisted wave after wave of fierce attacks from the Sharp Devourer Squad.

While Yueming and the other two were struggling to hold off the attack, Lin Yi faced the Shadow Locust offspring that were frantically swarming in from all directions, as well as the mother locust whose aura was constantly rising, with a cold look in his eyes.

"Perfect, I'll use you as my starting point."

With a slight thought, Lin Yi's Sky Shuttle, which had been surrounding him, suddenly shone brightly with silver light and converged instantly.

However, it was not the somewhat crude giant spear-like form of the previous ones. Instead, it interlocked with each other in an extremely mysterious trajectory, transforming into a silver wheel with spacetime runes flowing on its surface and its edge space constantly collapsing and repairing itself.

Sky Shuttle - Wheel of Time!
This was the first transformation form he independently deduced after reaching 80% mastery of the spatial laws, combined with a deeper understanding of the Sky Shuttle. It incorporated preliminary effects of spacetime cutting and freezing.

At the same time, a hazy halo, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, quietly spread out from Lin Yi, enveloping the entire battle area.

It is precisely a veil of delusion.

Under the influence of the illusory veil, Lin Yi's law fluctuations were quite ordinary in the soul perception of the distant Sharp Devourer Squad, which made them more certain of their judgment and their killing intent intensified.

Meanwhile, the nearby mother locust was also affected by the distorted spacetime information of the illusory veil. In her perception, Lin Yi's aura was far inferior to hers, which made her even more irritable.

"go with!"

Lin Yi gave a soft shout, and the silver roulette wheel flew forward silently. It seemed to be moving slowly, but it was as if it ignored the distance in space and instantly cut into the swarm of insects.

Wherever the roulette wheel passed, space was like a thin sheet of paper sliced ​​by the sharpest razor, leaving behind fine, irreparable black cracks.

Those swarming Shadow Locusts, whether ordinary offspring or elites at the Transcendent Realm level, would instantly stiffen upon touching the edge of the roulette wheel or being swept by its spacetime fluctuations, and then silently break in two.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror, so smooth that it didn't even have time to explode.

With just one rotation of the silver Wheel of Time, nearly a hundred guard locusts were wiped out, far more efficiently than before.

The mother locust in the nest seemed to sense a threat, letting out an even sharper and more furious screech, and her massive body suddenly burst out of the translucent sac-like structure.

It was a strange giant insect covered in a silver-gray carapace, shaped like a locust.

Twisted spatial runes naturally grow on its carapace, its compound eyes are like two swirling silver vortexes, its six pairs of blade-like forelimbs gleam with a cold light that tears through space, and its two pairs of translucent wings on its back tremble slightly, stirring up spatial ripples around it.

"hiss!"

The mother locust flashed and arrived in front of Lin Yi. As her six pairs of forelimbs slashed at Lin Yi, her huge mouth opened instantly, and a silver-gray spatial blade, refined to the extreme, instantly formed and slashed towards Lin Yi.

The power of this attack far surpassed that of the previous attack from the Void-Eating Jellyfish.

However, faced with this terrifying blow that could severely injure an ordinary god, Lin Yi merely raised his right hand slightly.

His divine power surged wildly, his eyes shimmered with silver light, and the laws of time and space resonated in a wondrous way at this moment.

Then, Lin Yi pointed his fingers like a sword and gently slashed at the incoming spatial blade and the mother locust behind it.

(End of this chapter)