No one knows when it started, but the Death Energy in the air of the Ashen Day World began to diminish little by little.
In its place was a more oppressive sky.
Both sides of the war could sense the atmosphere of an impending storm engulfing the entire world.
"The weather is about to change," a Wizard murmured to himself.
"Crown Throne, this is the attack plan we have drafted."
After three days of discussion, the old Wizards at the General Command reached a consensus from the Observer Wizards’ report—they must attack before the ash snowstorm.
The plan of attack took shape during this discussion, with most of it being laid out.
Looking at the plan handed over by the Absolute Zero Great Wizard, Richard skimmed through it and left his mark on it.
"Alright, let’s go with this."
Watching Richard swiftly leave his mark, a sense of envy arose in the heart of the Absolute Zero Great Wizard.
In his view, this was a manifestation of Richard’s power.
Even if a war was botched, for someone like a Crown Throne, losing this world was not a major issue.
The immense power allowed Richard to handle everything with ease and grace.
But what he didn’t know was that Richard was still trapped in the limitations of a Great Wizard.
"Having the Staff Department assist is really great; these old Wizards’ plans are truly flawless," Richard mused to himself.
Richard seemed so casual, not because he had the power to cover any outcome, but because he knew that his war experience was far inferior to these Staff Officers.
As a leader, one’s own abilities are actually secondary.
The only talent a leader needs is the ability to use people and trust professionals.
In this complex world, perhaps there are Wizards who are indeed all-rounders, but Richard was certain that he was not one of them.
So he never meddled in areas where he lacked competence.
As for power to cover outcomes... that indeed existed, but Richard never considered that issue.
He never considered the possibility of failure.
"Furthermore, Crown Throne, according to the monitoring Wizards’ report, the duration of this ash snowstorm is likely to exceed the one we faced when we invaded this world."
"Oh? Is it that large?"
Richard raised an eyebrow, no wonder those Staff Officers at Command could come up with a plan so quickly.
If this ash snowstorm lasts so long, waiting to attack post-storm could result in greater losses for the Wizards than the loss from a failed operation.
"Yes, the monitoring Wizards suspect that this storm might be related to the Galaxy Mayfly."
Richard frowned slightly, "...Celestial Weaponry, huh? I’ll be cautious."
In the technology Richard acquired from the Previous Civilization, there was some information about Celestial Weaponry. In the Supreme’s records, Celestial Weaponry was even treated as conventional weapons.
Under these circumstances, it’s not surprising that the Galaxy Mayfly unearthed one or two Celestial Weapons.
On the other side of the world, the Expedition Nest.
"Your Majesty Quasi-Emperor, the Celestial Weaponry countdown has begun. The response of this world to the Celestial Weaponry is exceptionally smooth, and barring unexpected events, the ash snowstorm will erupt in four months."
Listening to the subordinate’s report through the Mind Network, the Mayfly Quasi-Emperor’s antennae trembled slightly.
"Exceptionally smooth?"
Although he didn’t often command wars, as a Quasi-Emperor, he knew what information he needed to know.
Celestial Weaponry relied on going with the flow, and the most effortless method was to trigger an impending disaster prematurely.
However, for the vast majority of worlds, this condition is impossible.
Therefore, in the Galaxy Mayfly’s experiments, Celestial Weaponry had never been smooth.
"Yes, Your Excellency, we suspect that the Abyssal Pollution has stimulated the World Origin, causing it to generate a Defense reaction."
The Mayfly Quasi-Emperor’s antennae moved slightly, transmitting this information through the wormhole of the Expedition Nest to the rear.
Although he had never studied Abyssal Pollution, his intuition told him that this conclusion should be correct.
As a creature of Physique Evolution, the Mayfly Quasi-Emperor had an almost superstitious belief in his intuition.
"Your hypothesis has been sent to the rear, and if confirmed correct, your clan will receive a world as a reward."
"Thank you for your grace! The Red Claw Clan is willing to go through fire and water for you."
Ignoring the excited mental waves of his subordinate, the Mayfly Quasi-Emperor’s vast consciousness withdrew from the Mind Network and re-entered his body.
In the Expedition Nest, the Mayfly Quasi-Emperor’s massive body had fully recovered, and compared to before, this new body was even more formidable.
Vast Strength surged within him, and just the slightest leakage would instantly shatter the entire Expedition Nest.
His compound eyes turned to the East, filled with vigorous battle spirit.
He knew that at this moment, Richard was also watching him.
Both sides were waiting for an opportunity, a chance that could change the course of the war.
"Acceleration Array!"
The legion’s orders rang through the Mind Network, resonating in each Legion Wizard’s ears.
The next moment, the dense Wizard Army began their precise mechanical transformation.
The Wind Element gathered like a flock of birds, making the Wizards donned in Alchemy Power Armor even lighter.
In the sky, the air legion flew low, providing optical invisibility for the army.
Directly ahead of the Wizards, Abyss Demons rode on Nightmare Demons; under the gloomy sky, they charged toward the Galaxy Mayfly Earth Vein Node like a black crossbow bolt.
Although the Galaxy Mayflies are numerous, they cannot spark warfare at every point on the battlefield.
The greatest advantage of the Galaxy Mayflies lies in their troop numbers and strategic initiative.
These advantages allow them to concentrate superior forces to break through the Wizards’ defenses at strategic points regardless of the cost.
However, if they, like the Wizards, deploy equal forces across every war zone, that would be tantamount to abandoning strategic initiative.
Of course, the Galaxy Mayflies can indeed flood every war zone with a sea of bugs, but the width of the battlefield is limited, which means the number of Mayflies any battlefield can accommodate is also limited.
Excess Mayflies not only fail to attack but become a burden to their own side.
Because these Mayflies, unable to participate in battle, still consume the Galaxy Mayflies’ resources.
Even if they manage to control the number of Mayflies in each war zone precisely, they still face another issue.
The losses from an all-out assault are certainly larger than those from targeted attacks.
When even a corner of the defensive line is breached, the whole line’s strength diminishes.
Yet in an all-out attack, this point offers no opportunity for leverage.
Except for the unique situation in the 2456 world, the Galaxy Mayflies could never use such a foolish tactic.
A series of deep explotions echoed across the plains; that’s Abyss Demons dealing with the Galaxy Mayfly patrols.
After the first successful probing attack, the Galaxy Mayflies resumed setting up patrols around the nodes.
The disappearance of these patrols was sure to alert the Galaxy Mayflies, but unfortunately, the speed of the Wizard Army far exceeded their reaction pace.
On this battlefield, the window for optimal handling often has to be calculated by the second.
Because both sides possess formidable mobility, a decision delayed even by a second could render a battle passive.
In the Earth Vein Node, the Mayfly General noticed the patrol’s disappearance.
"Strange? Why have so many vanished today?"
The Mind Network isn’t immune to interference; in this high-intensity battlefield, long-distance Mind Network disconnections are common.
"Something feels off; could the Wizards be attacking?" asked another Mayfly General.
"Impossible, right? Higher-ups said the Ash Snow Storm will break out in a month; attacking now—aren’t the Wizards afraid they’ll encounter the storm halfway through?"
"You fool, we know the exact time, but the Wizards don’t. Hurry and defend; maybe the Wizard army is already charging at us..."
The Molten Rock Meteor summoned by Legion Witchcraft rains down onto the defense of the Earth Vein Node.
Immediately afterward, the dense Abyss Demons broke through the Horned Mayfly’s defense circle around the node, arriving at its front.
The next moment, the Instant Death Sword overloaded, its dark blade drove fiercely into the node’s Energy Shield.
Under the bombardment of Legion Witchcraft, the node’s Energy Shield collapsed instantly.
Abyss Demons spewed green magic fire, grinning savagely as they harvested the lives of Galaxy Mayflies. The next moment, they heard the Legion Commander’s voice in their ears.
"You fools, stop killing, keep pushing! Our mission is only to push forward; leave these minor pests to the trash behind us to clean up."
Behind them, the elite Wizard Army had reformed the Acceleration Array.
And behind them, the dense ordinary Wizard Army began filling in the gap created by their breakthrough.
"Crown Throne, the initial assault is proceeding smoothly."
In the main command, the Absolute Zero Great Wizard smiled as he whispered beside Richard.
In front of them, a massive map depicted several black arrows representing attacks.
These attack arrows curved, forming encirclements—classic pincer tactics.
"Hmm." Richard nodded slightly, "How are the Mayflies reacting?"
"As we predicted, continually attempting to block the spearhead but continually getting split by it."
Richard tilted his head toward him with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Looks like our staff officer’s new tactics are quite effective."
After changes to the command system, quite a few Wizards have begun thinking more actively.
They realized this era is a time of transformation; they can no longer rely solely on past experience.
During this attack plan, a staff officer proposed a seemingly radical tactic.
This tactic involves concentrating elite forces on the Mayfly defense line for a strategic breakthrough, then having the elite forces not defend but continue to advance, exploiting information relay delays and the elite’s high combat effectiveness and mobility to perpetually breach the Mayfly defenses and continuously widen the battle line gap.
The defense of the battle line and flanks is entirely handled by the ordinary Wizard Army following behind.
When Richard heard the description of this tactic, he couldn’t help but pause, then gave a knowing smile.
With the proposer’s consent, he named the tactic—Blitzkrieg.