"What's going on?! Haoyun, what did you just do?" Dao Lao and Dream Jia exclaimed as they watched the swirling light codes dancing on the system interface.
Haoyun sighed heavily before replying, "Ah! I simply infused the incantation I obtained earlier into those light codes, nothing else. I never imagined that the incantation I kept hearing in my dreams would grant us access to this segment of the light codes!"
"Yes! This is truly a case of finding what one seeks without any effort! However, what secrets are hidden within these light codes? Although I can understand each character forming these messages, I have no clue about their meanings," Dream Jia puzzledly remarked after quickly scanning through the information within the light codes.
"These messages seem to be an encrypted document composed in divine script, so besides its intended reader, anyone else would need to decrypt it to understand the information," analyzed Dao Lao.
"In that case, why don't you try again with the help of that incantation, to decrypt the flaws in this encrypted document—Haoyun? Haoyun!" Dream Jia immediately thought of this possibility, but as she turned to ask Haoyun, she found him fainting again unexpectedly.
It was the first time Haoyun had experienced consecutive fainting spells within a short period. Dao Lao and Dream Jia immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation. Although Haoyun had not yet been promoted to an official priest, the system's enhancements and multiple missions had endowed him with a physique approaching that of a pure divine body. Unless under extremely special circumstances, he should not be fainting so easily, let alone multiple times in a short span. Therefore, to both of them, Haoyun's repeated fainting episodes were undoubtedly related to the remnants of Mold Spirit energy fragments lingering within him. This likely meant that Haoyun's body had suffered quite severe damage under the influence of the Mold Spirit energy fragments.
Fortunately, Haoyun only fainted briefly this time and quickly regained consciousness. After shaking his head vigorously to signal Dao Lao and Dream Jia that he was fine, Haoyun proceeded to tell them that his recent fainting spell was related to the activation of those active light codes. He had suddenly felt a call from the radiance and briefly established a mysterious connection with it.
Finishing his explanation, Haoyun rubbed his head in confusion and looked towards the distant lighthouse, saying, "Although I don't know how I connected with those light codes or how to decrypt the encrypted information within them, I seem to understand what to do next. If my feeling is correct, repairing the flaws in that password should no longer be a problem. However, we cannot repair the flaws in that password ourselves, nor can we use that lock to open the gate leading to the Xibo headquarters. I feel I must unite with Elsie and the others to crack the lock on that gate."
Pausing briefly, Haoyun continued somewhat uncertainly, "Although I can't guarantee my feeling is completely correct, this inexplicable intuition strongly suggests I should attempt something. Moreover, I sense that once we succeed this time, there's a very high probability we can open the gate leading to the Xibo headquarters."
Dao Lao patted Haoyun on the back and said, "Given the current situation, I think we can't afford to have too many reservations. If we still want to trace the mastermind behind the disaster brought to Earth NX, we must seize any possible opportunity to take action. Even if this may lead to us revealing our identities to Elsie and the others, as long as we have a chance to open the gate to the Xibo headquarters and explore inside, I believe it's worth a try."
"Moreover, once these Xibo act again, the main cities of humans will inevitably fall into dire straits shortly after the battle tonight. Even though our strength is sufficient to crush the Xibo, considering that the enemy can replenish their forces indefinitely and in numbers difficult to estimate, and also because our strength cannot effectively recover due to suppression, if the Xibo launch a preemptive attack on the main cities of humans, we will have no way to stop the global offensive launched by the Xibo, nor can we continue to withstand the Xibo who can replenish their troops indefinitely. As a result, human civilization on Earth NX will inevitably collapse."
"Exactly. Although you're unreliable in your actions, I still agree with your proposal. After all, since you hear that incantation every time you enter the dream, it means that incantation must be extremely important. And the ideas you've grasped based on that incantation are also likely to have very high reference value," Dream Jia declared.
"Good! Since everyone has no objections, let's prepare to take action! Anyway, if Elsie and the others really want to open the gate to the Xibo headquarters, there's no other way but to cooperate with us! So, even if they intend to harm us, they can only wait until after we open that gate!" Seeing that both Dream Jia and Dao Lao believed it was necessary to take the risk and contact Elsie and the others, Haoyun immediately made up his mind.
"Humph! Since Elsie and the others are not high-ranking priests, we actually don't need to worry too much about them! After all, although we are of lower rank, we are not pushovers to be bullied by others! So, if they really want to harm us, this lady will definitely make them understand the power of a lifelong product!" Dream Jia asserted resolutely. For such a fierce goddess of war, war was never something to be feared!
Regardless of the plans Haoyun and the others would execute next, they had to accelerate their pace of action. This was because shortly after tonight's battle began, the Xibo once again adjusted their attack pace. Now, the Xibo's attacking forces had changed from two routes to four. As a result, the Skeleton Squadron had to allocate forces to defend each of the four sides of the stadium separately, causing the already small unit of just over a hundred soldiers in the Skeleton Squadron to suffer severely from the dispersed forces affecting the intensity of single-point defense firepower.
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Chapter 373: A Critical Decision
The Xibo continued to expand their assault routes towards the Gladiator Arena, yet their slow and methodical infantry strategy remained unchanged. Despite the Skeleton Squadron splitting their firepower into four, their concentrated central firepower allowed them to inflict significant casualties on the advancing Xibo forces and maintain suppression outside the safe perimeter.
However, the morale among the Skeleton Squadron's officers was far from jubilant. They realized that if the Xibo could escalate from one assault force to four, there was a high probability of further increases in the number of attacking forces. Eventually, the Xibo would likely besiege the Gladiator Arena completely. Even with heavy firepower deployed in this operation, how long could they endure?
Adding to their woes, the substantial Xibo forces still stationed around the lighthouse seemed to be moving towards the Skeleton Squadron's concern. As the Xibo attacked the arena, those stationed around the lighthouse began to mobilize once more. They not only regrouped slowly in positions far from the lighthouse but also noticeably increased their mechanized combat units. It appeared that the Xibo were preparing to gradually dispatch more powerful aircraft and tanks in the upcoming assaults on the arena.
Everyone understood that if the Xibo's mechanized units joined the attack directly, the defense works built around the Gladiator Arena by the Skeleton Squadron would face an even greater challenge. Even the stoutest of structures would likely falter under sustained bombardment from heavy enemy firepower. Once the solid cover was lost, the Skeleton Squadron would inevitably fall into a more defensive position and soon be completely overwhelmed by the enemy's encirclement. Nevertheless, despite the unfavorable turn of events for the Skeleton Squadron, the members remained composed. For those already prepared for the worst, as long as they could hold off the Xibo and ensure the Salvation Walkers avoided detection, they could continue their work of decrypting the lock securely.
In contrast to the officers of the Skeleton Squadron, whose every action aimed to buy more time for the Salvation Walkers, Hao Yun and his companions not only sought to ensure the Salvation Walkers could successfully decrypt the lock but also to preserve the lives of the Skeleton Squadron's officers and soldiers as much as possible. After all, for them, eradicating evil, maintaining peace in the world, and saving the creatures of the lower realms were all sacred responsibilities bestowed upon them by the spiritual realms. Therefore, Hao Yun and his team could not afford to make sacrifices in one aspect for the sake of achieving another. Their lofty moral principles forbade such actions, as did their status as priests. Otherwise, they would not live up to the sacred duties of priests in the spiritual realms.
Thus, after quickly assessing the current battle situation with Dao Lao and Dream Jia and ensuring that the Skeleton Squadron's defenses would not collapse tonight, the three decisively decided to hurry to Eva's hiding place before the Xibo completely surrounded the Gladiator Arena. They needed to quickly assist Elsie and her team in decrypting the gate lock.
Having swiftly planned their next course of action, Hao Yun cast a stealthy glance at Karl, who was focused on blocking the enemy, and silently apologized in his heart: "Ah! Karl, my friend! Just get a good rest for now! We'll come back for you once we've sorted everything out!" With that thought, Hao Yun raised his hand, preparing to knock Karl unconscious. During the fierce battle between both sides, he planned to leave the arena via a path where the Xibo had not yet been detected and promptly reach Eva's location.
However, just as Hao Yun was about to strike Karl, a sudden urgent voice reached his ears: "Ayun, my friend! The Boss might need your help!"
Startled by the voice, Hao Yun quickly withdrew his hand, which had been poised behind Karl's head, and turned towards the direction from which the voice had come. There, he was astonished to see that, at some point, Wang Defa had squeezed next to him in the trench.
"Wang Defa? How did you get here?" Hao Yun asked, feeling both awkward and puzzled.
"The Boss just sent a message saying that things aren't looking good over there. So, she asked me to come find you guys quickly and see if there's any way the three of you can help us out of this predicament," Wang Defa replied, paying no heed to Hao Yun's questions and not asking why Hao Yun seemed so determined to knock Karl's head. Instead, he quickly explained his purpose. It was worth noting that Wang Defa's face no longer bore the sly and sinister aura he had earlier. Not only was his tone of speech calm and powerful, but his entire demeanor had become mature and composed, even exuding a leadership quality that Hao Yun sensed.
"Wang Defa, this is—what exactly has happened?" Dao Lao couldn't help but ask, seeing the complete change in Wang Defa's demeanor.
Of course, Wang Defa knew why Hao Yun and the others looked so surprised to see him, but he didn't explain much. Instead, he continued in an anxious tone, "The Boss just sent me a message, saying the Salvation Walkers have encountered new problems while trying to decrypt the lock. This has stalled their decryption work there. According to the Boss's analysis, at the current rate of progress, who knows how long it will take for the Salvation Walkers to unlock that gate's encryption! Moreover, judging by the continuous strengthening of the Xibo's offensive, our Skeleton Squadron surely won't hold out until the Salvation Walkers successfully unlock the encryption. In fact, if the Xibo continue to reinforce their attack on our forces, our defenses may completely collapse within three days!"
Wang Defa took a deep breath and continued, "Phew! Although our Skeleton Squadron came here with a resolve to die if necessary, the Boss and I don't really want to watch our brothers give up their precious lives. Therefore, once things go beyond our expectations and start moving in a direction that's highly unfavorable to us, I must find a way to lead the Skeleton Squadron in an early retreat. This is also why the Boss left me behind this time. Another reason is that the Boss also hopes I can seek help from you three powerful individuals in case of any unexpected changes during the mission, so as to better solve the crisis we may encounter in this mission."