Chapter 1698
Chapter 1698 - 1694: The Defector
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7 min read
War is the game of nations.
Plane War is a life-and-death game between two worlds.
Unlike the heroic legends in mythical novels, even though individual strength far exceeds the average, war in this multi-universe is still a game of "expenditure".
It’s not that individual power isn’t important, but if you’re strong enough, you will always encounter stronger opponents, unless you’re so powerful that you’re a God Above Gods, comparable to the Twelve-Pillar. In the wars among races and planes, you are still just a chess piece.
Chess pieces are naturally expendable.
The war has entered its ninth day, but in fact, the Western Allied Forces have been fighting for ten days, and after two rotations of personnel, both sides’ advanced combat power has been replaced countless times.
Quasi-Gods and even Deities have fallen in double digits.
If we’re talking about casualties, humanity actually has a slight advantage because there has been no Deity level downfall, and the number of fallen Quasi-Gods is far fewer than the opposing side.
This is not only because the quantity advantage of the lower-tier combat power often forces high-tier combat power to engage early, bearing the absolute disadvantage in intelligence and opponent selection, but also because they are always fighting in an Exotic Realm. "The world" is their biggest enemy.
Deities who are unable to connect with the world naturally cannot arbitrarily rewrite "rules" or bestow "privileges (Divine Grace)" that require the world’s support.
Humanity has an intelligence advantage. Lower-tier combat power takes a numerical advantage with unmanned equipment, and with Divine Grace fights against opponents with ability restraint. If they still lose under such circumstances, it’s probably just bad luck... Wars always have accidents, intelligence always has leaks, and those Strongmen also have a lot of hidden resources. Mistakes are definitely possible.
But, with the initiative on their side, in many cases, it is possible to send help.
Humanity’s organizational structure holds a tremendous advantage. The feudally divided lords always fight their own battles... It’s impossible for them to fight for colleagues with whom they have no relations, let alone risk rescuing.
Only under the command of more powerful lords do they behave like an organization... And while individual overseers always have limits, in places they cannot observe or directly interfere with, the middle and lower echelons remain in disarray.
"Since it’s a confrontation between two races and two civilizations, then, naturally, we have to consider the organizational capacity of society..."
Exceeding everyone’s expectations, the previously thought insignificant organizational level and sociology play a real role even among the top combat forces, affecting everyone involved.
The other side of feudally divided lords fighting their own battles is that they not only bear the consumption of weapons and logistics themselves, but when they are injured and seek help from other Senior Professionals in medical fields, they also have to pay an exorbitantly high treatment fee.
This also means they really can’t afford the expenditure... Others’ medical abilities come with a cost, why should they provide services to you for a low price or even for free?
On the human side, providing treatment to injured soldiers is more or less a matter of common sense. It can’t even be counted as a welfare benefit but as one of the most basic duties.
The side with organizational and societal advantages can convert national power into combat power more effectively, maximize the value of combat power, and at the same time reduce wear and tear...
𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"The exchange rate is around 1.5 to 5."
To have advanced combat power yield such a number, even with intelligence and logistics advantages, is still gratifying. This means that three of our advanced combat forces can take out ten of the enemy’s!
Therefore, as the battle goes on, if our side has more remaining advanced combat power, we will naturally win the battle.
A massacre of low-level combat power by advanced combat power? That generally doesn’t happen, because once a side’s advanced combat power is depleted, the losing party would usually have surrendered by then.
"... However, their total combat power seems to have increased."
The good news is that we have secured a favorable exchange ratio in combat, but the bad news is that the enemy keeps multiplying...
Unlike Earth’s newborn civilization, which was still largely closed off a decade ago, the Octopus occupies too many universes and worlds. When it needs to alleviate pressure or transfer combat power, more reinforcements naturally pour through their Plane Gates from other realms.
"...Still within an acceptable range."
And as long as it’s a war of attrition, who’s afraid of who?
This is always Earth’s home ground; as long as our casualties are significantly lower than the enemy’s... their advanced combat forces will eventually have second thoughts.
The invaders’ high-level combatants have a noticeably weaker will to fight, having grown accustomed to the long lives and lifestyles akin to those of kings.
Fighting to the death? In an Exotic Realm that’s unrelated to me? Am I being foolish?
In fact, those among the enemy with a stronger will to fight are usually the lords who have claimed territories. However, due to intelligence leaks, humans have prepared several sets of tactics against them, often resulting in their swift demise.
Explosions and roars fill the air, the seismograph waves surge up and down, and bursts of divine energy erupt in all directions.
Even Lu Ping’an got a bit rattled from the bombings. Over the past few days, he’d taken action several times, but luck was on his side as he hadn’t sustained any serious injuries... His revival ability seems to be among the strongest in Senior Professionals, which gave many of his followers a considerable sense of relief.
Death continues unabated, and within the ranks of visitors from the Foreign Domain, deserters have finally appeared... When a Quasi-God voluntarily vanishes from the battlefield, it signifies that a bloodbath seems imminent.
In reality, there have always been deserters from both sides, but previous deserters were typically executed on the spot... This time, the deserter is of significant importance, and no one can stop him if he chooses to flee.
This is, undoubtedly, a terrible scene for the visitors from the Foreign Domain.
During the daytime battle on the following day, the human side discovered that their enemies had been reduced by thirty percent... Clearly, some had fled overnight, and their organizers failed to stop them.
Just when the human side is about to revel in their fortune, hoping to take the opportunity to recapture lost ground, the enemy’s decision-makers can no longer sit idle.
"Ugh... this feels terrible."
A sudden, profound pressure sweeps across the battlefield, and even Dragon Moon Island, still tens of kilometers away, feels the inexplicable oppression.
The island sinks over a meter, some areas become submerged... and the most outrageous part is that all of this isn’t even caused by the enemy’s main force, but merely the overspill of their power.
"...Is this the power of a God Above Gods?"
In that moment, Lu Ping’an seems to understand something.
His "Eye of Truth" sees a "Sun," a great Sun much more powerful than any of the Gods in the sky.
This is the hidden danger facing humanity.
Facing the existence of a Rule-level God, humanity may have equivalent combat forces, but against a civilization of Transcenders like the Octopus, those legends that transcend Deities... How does one deal with these so-called "Eleventh Tier" beings?
"It has begun to interfere with our world, the sea level has already risen by a meter, floods are happening all over the world! The icebergs are starting to melt... It alone is enough to destroy the world!"
— End of Chapter 1698 —