Time flew by, and a week had passed. During this time, Rena Tower City gradually received messages from the major main cities that had been attacked by the Westerners— the armies that had assaulted their main cities had also ceased fire and retreated to positions far from the main cities. According to intelligence provided by other major cities, the timing of the Westerners' cessation of attacks elsewhere was consistent with their cessation of the attack on Rena Tower City. Since no other Westerners' military regions had experienced assaults by unknown forces, it could be preliminarily concluded that the sudden cessation of attacks in other regions might be related to the situation at Rena Tower City.
"It seems that the Westerners attacking other main cities were forced to stop because the Westerners attacking us suffered heavy losses," Eva said as she looked at the information compiled by the intelligence analyst.
"Yeah, that's probably the case. It looks like the surprise attack we launched that night really put a lot of pressure on the Westerners," Dr. Chu added.
"But how long can the Westerners' fear last? After all, since that night, that force hasn't launched another surprise attack on the enemy," a senior staff officer asked anxiously.
"Perhaps the Westerners could attack us again at any moment?! Perhaps it's precisely because we've been guarding our Westerners' barracks so tightly that this mysterious force dares not launch another attack on the Westerners again?! But if we don't do that, how can we keep track of the Westerners' movements at all times? After all, we can't rely solely on that mysterious force! Ah! It's frustrating to be constantly restrained by the Westerners like this! Anyway, our situation right now is really passive!" Eva said helplessly and pounded the meeting table in frustration.
At that moment, Elsie and her entourage entered the command center and witnessed Eva's outburst. Elsie pretended to be surprised and jokingly commented, "Wow? It's early in the morning, why are you so fired up?"
Seeing Elsie and the others enter, Eva quickly withdrew her fist from the table and said somewhat flustered, "Lord Elsie, you're back!"
Since accurately predicting that the Westerners would not launch an attack on Rena Tower City for some time after the incident, Elsie had stationed herself and the Salvationists at the Observatory built atop the Rena Tower Mountain Range. There, they began temporary seclusion activities to utilize their stargazing techniques to more accurately calculate the timing of the lighthouse in Terreleh City about to be lit. Due to the complexity and age of the stargazing procedures, the Salvationists would remain in seclusion for quite some time each time they engaged in stargazing. This was why Eva was somewhat surprised to see the Salvationists return to headquarters after only a few days of seclusion.
Elsie gently patted Eva's surprised face and asked, "So? Any new movements from the Westerners these days?"
"Lord Elsie, the Westerners are still in a state of standby in their original positions. It seems that tonight will be another peaceful night!" Eva hurriedly replied respectfully.
"Very good. It seems that the deterrent effect of our last surprise attack on the Westerners was not small! If this continues, the Westerners should not pose a threat to us in the short term! We can also seize this rare opportunity to start the next step of action as soon as possible!" Elsie nodded and said.
"Lord Elsie, does that mean—have you already determined when the lighthouse in Terreleh City will be lit?" Eva brightened up at Elsie's words.
"If our recent observations of celestial changes are correct, the lighthouse in Terreleh City will be lit in about a week. Moreover, I have a strong feeling that the light columns appearing this time may contain the information we need. With the data from this light column appearance, perhaps we can crack the 666th code and compile a sequential decryption code!" Elsie said seriously.
Due to their trust in the Salvationists and the accuracy of their predictions, no one questioned Elsie's judgment. So after hearing Elsie's speech, everyone in the command center immediately became excited. They celebrated and high-fived each other from time to time, as if they had already successfully obtained the 666th code and used it to form a password that could open the gate to the Westerners' headquarters.
With a smile on her face, Elsie looked at the crowd celebrating for quite some time before raising her hand to signal everyone to quiet down. Then she continued, "Although my intuition is strong, everyone must remember not to be blindly optimistic. Otherwise, we might neglect our vigilance and give the enemy a chance. After all, the Westerners' army has broken its usual pattern for over ten thousand years, which forces us to be more vigilant against possible changes in the situation! More importantly, after the Westerners have broken their usual routine, we also need to re-examine whether our abilities can continue to accurately predict their movements!"
Elsie's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly calming the fervent emotions of the crowd. Indeed, as Lady Elsie said, the Westerners' sudden attack on the human main cities, the cessation of their attacks due to being ambushed, and their semi-dormant state even during the day all seemed extremely abnormal. Because these abnormal behaviors of the Westerners had seriously exceeded the expectations of the Salvationists, the human defenders now had to act more cautiously to avoid falling into a greater passive state if the Westerners used unconventional tactics again.
Seeing everyone calm down, Elsie spoke again, "Furthermore, we have also sensed that the reason why the lighthouse in Terreleh City is about to be lit this time may be related to the severe damage suffered by the Westerners' mothership from unknown forces. The mastermind behind the Westerners may want to use the lighthouse in Terreleh City to reissue combat orders to the Westerners' military forces stationed in this region, ensuring that they can better cope with possible future surprise attacks. Therefore, we must now mobilize all the citizens of Rena Tower City and accelerate the construction of defense works so that our defense system can face the Westerners' possible imminent attacks in a better state."
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Eva's words brought the atmosphere in the command center to below freezing point. Everyone understood Lady Elsie's implications: the Western Provinces were likely to launch another large-scale military operation against Lena Tower upon receiving new orders. Moreover, they would probably alter their previous tactics. Therefore, if Lena Tower's defenders didn't adequately prepare, they would quickly find themselves unable to adapt to the enemy's new approach, leading to a passive and potentially catastrophic situation on the battlefield.
After absorbing Lady Elsie's analysis, everyone fell silent. Eva, furrowing her brow, broke the silence: "Actually, we do have a chance to mitigate this crisis. Haven't we all forgotten? Even if we gather and decipher 666 codes, we might still not open the gate to the Western Provinces' headquarters. But if we manage to unlock just one latch on that gate, we can force those Western Provinces out!"
Upon hearing Eva's suggestion, Dr. Chu couldn't help but slap his bald head in realization: "Right! How could we forget that? Didn't the great Flying General inadvertently trigger a highly deterrent command when he unlocked one latch of that gate with the deciphered password, forcing the Western Provinces army attacking his main city to retreat?"
"Oh? Yes! Such a miracle did occur in human history! If I recall correctly, that happened around 8,300 years ago!" another officer chimed in agreement. The military personnel present then resumed discussing the exploits of the Flying General from that era.
The situation where both the gate latch to the Western Provinces headquarters and the human main city were simultaneously under attack has occurred only once. Therefore, the event where the Western Provinces army was compelled to retreat by unlocking the gate latch has also occurred only once. This made Eva inevitably concerned about whether the method that unexpectedly ended the Western Provinces' attack by the Flying General would still be applicable today. With these questions in mind, Eva once again looked at Lady Elsie with an inquiring gaze.
Lady Elsie responded with an appreciative smile towards Eva before saying, "I also remember vividly the Flying General's action that repelled the Western Provinces' attack. Although to us it seemed like a stroke of luck, and since then, we haven't encountered a situation where we had to simultaneously decipher the password to the gate and face a Western Provinces attack on a human main city, we couldn't validate what the Flying General accomplished back then. But since we might face a similar predicament now, we should indeed include that stroke of luck in our strategy."
Pausing briefly, Lady Elsie continued, "Therefore, to ensure the smooth execution of the observation column mission this time, I've decided to personally participate in the observation task. This way, while obtaining observation data, we can attempt to decipher the 666th code on-site and utilize all 666 codes to crack the final password! Even if we only manage to get the password to unlock one latch of that gate on-site, we can at least force the Western Provinces army to retreat and alleviate the current crisis in major cities!"
From Lady Elsie's cautious tone, it was evident she couldn't guarantee that this operation would replicate the miracle the Flying General achieved. Nevertheless, the assembled officers and soldiers continued to gaze at Lady Elsie with confidence. Because they always believed that the saviors would indeed turn the tide and resolve this crisis invisibly.
Eva approached Lady Elsie, stood straight, and spoke with determination, "Please rest assured, Lady Elsie! The Skull Special Forces' most important mission is to execute the observation task! Not to mention that this mission is likely to affect the life and death of Lena Tower City! So, as long as we can drive back the Western Provinces' army, even if the chance is only one in a million, even if we need to go through fire and water, our Skull Special Forces will never back down!"
Now that everyone had finalized the next action plan, Eva did not linger in the command center but went straight back to the Skull Special Forces to make preparations. However, before the formal start of the operation, Eva reiterated the importance and danger of this mission multiple times and democratically allowed team members to choose whether to participate in this operation. After all, invading a city controlled by the Western Provinces during a large-scale attack would highly likely expose them to enemy attacks in a state of readiness. And once they started fighting the enemy this time, their mission to Teraie City might well become a one-way journey without any return!
The members of the Skull Special Forces naturally understood the high risk of this mission after hearing Eva's explanation. However, despite this, not a single member chose to retreat. Because from the moment they joined the Skull Special Forces, they had already put their personal life and death aside. They only cared about how to effectively accomplish the tasks assigned by the saviors and how to drive the Western Provinces out of their homeland, allowing humanity to regain its precious peace.
Seeing the heroic spirit of their teammates, who were always ready to bravely face death, Haoyun and the others couldn't help but be impressed. At the same time, they read from the information that the saviors were personally participating in this operation the severity of the current situation and the importance of this mission. Otherwise, Lady Elsie and the others would definitely stay in the command center as they did before, waiting for the special forces to bring the information they obtained to them.
"It seems that Lady Elsie and the others are taking a big gamble this time. If they all go to Teraie City with us, the defense command capability of Lena Tower City will definitely drop a lot. Once the Western Provinces launch another attack at that time, it's estimated that Lena Tower City will have a hard time resisting for a long time with its current defense works!" Haoyun worried in the private chat channel of the system.
"But even if Lady Elsie and the others stay here, how long can Lena Tower City hold out this time? Moreover, once the Western Provinces launch another attack, how will Eva and the others deliver the observation data they obtained to Lady Elsie and the others? Could it be that they have to break through the Western Provinces' front lines and return to Lena Tower City? Or wait for Eva and the others to get the observation data and Lady Elsie and the others again to break through the Western Provinces' battlefield to go to Teraie City?" Dream Jia asked in return.