319: Chapter 254: Encountering a Nemesis, the Rules of the Machine God Domain Suppress

On the virtual battlefield, time had entered the fourth day.

The brilliant victory of the Civilization Labyrinth Formation did not make Lin Zhou relax in the slightest. He knew the attackers would never give up, especially the arrogant Michael Shenghui. Sure enough, after a brief adjustment, the attackers' offensive became more organized and targeted. They no longer tried to concentrate their forces on a single point but used their numerical advantage to apply pressure at multiple points, constantly testing the various nodes of the defenders' line to find weak links, while strengthening the strangulation of the defenders' logistics supply lines and rangers, attempting to wear them down through a war of attrition.

Under Lin Zhou's command, the defenders relied on favorable terrain and pre-constructed fortifications to stubbornly resist wave after wave of attacks. Zhao Hao's Dragon Clan guerrilla units performed exceptionally well, constantly harassing the attackers' flanks; Wang Meng's Behemoths and Undead strongpoints stood like reefs, enduring the frontal impact; the long-range firepower from the Mage Tower and the Elven Divine Kingdom provided reliable coverage. Although the entire defensive line was under immense pressure, it remained stable.

However, the uneasy premonition in Lin Zhou's heart grew stronger. The attackers' tactics seemed scattered, but they always gave him a faint feeling of gathering strength, as if they were brewing some true killing move. The frequency of Michael's Angelic Divine Court appearing on the front lines had decreased, and it was mostly holding down the rear, which was very unusual.

"What are they waiting for? Or what are they preparing?" Lin Zhou's Divine Thought was like the most precise radar, constantly scanning the entire battlefield, analyzing every energy fluctuation and data stream.

Until the afternoon of the fourth day, a sudden change occurred!

Within the attackers' formation, a divine kingdom projection that had previously been inconspicuous—silver-gray in appearance and resembling a combination of precise geometric bodies—suddenly detached from the main array. With an exceptionally stable and efficient trajectory that belied its clunky appearance, it drove straight toward a "joint" in the defenders' line—the connection area between Lin Zhou's divine kingdom and the Elven Divine Kingdom on the right!

The way this divine kingdom moved was very peculiar. It did not rely on intense energy propulsion but seemed to precisely calculate and utilize every faint gravity slingshot and energy ripple in space. Its path was cold and straight, with no redundant movements, and its speed was astonishingly fast! Even more striking was that wherever it passed, the surrounding Void Realm seemed to become "quiet." Chaotic energy fluctuations were smoothed and straightened by an invisible force, presenting a deathly silent "Order."

"Is that... the 'Logical Fortress'?" In the defenders' communication channel, a knowledgeable student exclaimed, "It's the 'Mechanical Divine Domain'! The attackers actually have such a rare God Domain! Its controller is 'Controller of Logic' Karls! A madman who only believes in data and logic!"

Lin Zhou's pupils constricted slightly. He had heard of the Mechanical Divine Domain; it was an extremely rare development path that abandoned traditional biological dependents and centered on mechanical creations and artificial intelligence. Its greatest characteristic was that all actions were based on rigorous logical calculations and optimal solutions, almost unaffected by "irrational" factors such as emotions, morale, or fluctuations in faith. While its advantages might not be obvious in frontal assaults or wars of attrition, it could often produce miraculous effects when executing specific tactics, especially against specific rule systems.

And his Hundred Schools of Thought civilization system—whether it was the Confucianists' "Vast Righteous Qi," the Legalists' majesty of Law, the Military School's morale boosting, or even the spread of the entire Way of Civilization—deeply relied on "non-logical" forces like thoughts, emotions, and beliefs! The opponent choosing to push forward at this time and place had an obvious goal—they were coming for him, Lin Zhou! They were implementing a decapitation tactic, using the rule characteristics of the Mechanical Divine Domain to counter and destroy him, the core of the defenders' command!

"All units attention! 'Logical Fortress' Karls's divine kingdom is pushing toward our joint! The target is likely our command node!" Lin Zhou immediately warned in the communication channel, "Elven Divine Kingdom (Student B), contract your defensive line and close in on me! Zhao Hao, deploy a Red Dragon squad to attempt flank interference and test its reaction! Wang Meng, watch the frontal pressure to prevent Michael from taking the opportunity to launch a strong assault! Everyone else, hold your respective lines!"

The Orders were quickly executed. However, when one of Zhao Hao's Red Dragon squads (three Red Dragon projections with some dragonmen) pounced from the flank toward that silver-gray divine kingdom and breathed out scorching Dragon Breath, a shocking scene occurred!

When the Dragon Breath approached the surface of the divine kingdom, it did not trigger a violent fluctuation or explosion of the energy shield as usual. Instead, it was as if it hit a layer of invisible, constantly flowing data stream barriers! The violent flame energy and dragon pressure contained in the Dragon Breath were actually rapidly analyzed, disassembled, and categorized the moment they touched the barrier, then silently annihilated as if thrown into a shredder! The remaining small amount of energy impacted the surface of the divine kingdom, only stirring up faint, water-like energy ripples before being completely absorbed.

Simultaneously, countless tiny holes opened on the surface of that divine kingdom, firing thousands of incredibly precise high-energy laser beams and guided missiles! These attacks were not aimless; they were rigorously calculated, each pointing to the Red Dragon squad's energy nodes, predicted flight paths, and defensive weak spots! The Red Dragon squad was caught off guard and instantly covered by the dense fire net. Although their dragon scale defense was powerful, they were still beaten into a sorry state. One Red Dragon projection was even hit in the same spot by several missiles consecutively, its wings were injured, and it was forced to retreat.

What made Lin Zhou's heart sink even more was that when that divine kingdom entered a range of about a hundred kilometers from the joint between him and the Elven Divine Kingdom, an invisible, cold, and absolute rule field rapidly spread out with that divine kingdom as the center!

[High-intensity rule suppression field detected!]

[Rule Characteristic: Absolute Logic (Domain)]

Range: Radius of approximately 150 kilometers (moves with the divine kingdom).

Core Effect: Within the Domain, all skills, divine arts, talents, and rule effects driven or enhanced by non-purely logical factors such as "emotion," "faith," "will," "conviction," "inspiration," and "chaotic randomness" have their power severely suppressed! The degree of suppression depends on the skill's deviation from logic, generally between 30%-70%, with an average of about -50%!

Specific Manifestations (Taking Lin Zhou's divine kingdom as an example):

Literary Heart Elves: The effect of the [Vast Righteous Qi] Domain is halved, and the extra damage bonus against evil/chaotic units is reduced from 300% to 150%. Mental protection effects are weakened. Skills like [Subtle Influence] and [Enlightening All Sentient Beings], which require strong emotion or conviction to drive, have their casting success rate and effects significantly decreased.

Creation Dwarves/Tiangong Dwarves: The trigger chance for temporary equipment modification and whimsical skills that rely on "ingenuity" and "inspiration" is reduced. However, construction and forging skills based on rigorous blueprints and logic are less affected.

Tianxian Mermen: The rule definition and judgment effects of the [Net of Law], because they are based on "conviction in Order" and legal majesty, are also suppressed; the range is reduced, and the definition success rate decreases.

Fire of Civilization Resonance: The resonance intensity between the Fire of Civilization and the dependents' faith Power Of Will weakens, leading to a slight decrease in the output efficiency of civilization Divine Power and a weakening of the overall civilization atmosphere bonus of the divine kingdom.

Lin Zhou's own divine arts: Divine arts like [Civilization Enlightenment], which are based on the opening of wisdom and the sparking of inspiration, have the same consumption but significantly reduced effects. The manifestation of the [river of civilization] consumes more, and the civilization will impact contained within it will be partially "analyzed" and "diluted" by the logical Domain.

Bonuses for the Mechanical Divine Domain itself: Its mechanical units receive a small boost to calculation speed, shooting accuracy, and energy utilization efficiency within the Domain (approximately +10%).

Way to break: Unknown. Requires overriding with a higher level of logic or forcibly breaking the Domain core with absolute power.

"This is trouble!" Lin Zhou's heart skipped a beat. This "Absolute Logic" Domain was practically the natural enemy of his Hundred Schools of Thought civilization system! Over 70% of the power of his dependents and divine arts was built upon "non-logical" factors like thoughts, convictions, emotions, and inspiration. Now that it was suppressed by half, his overall combat power plummeted instantly! Moreover, this suppression was area-of-effect; it didn't just affect him, but also the neighboring Elven Divine Kingdom (the elves' nature magic and faith-based archery similarly relied on emotional resonance with nature and a heart of faith).

The divine kingdom known as the "Logical Fortress" became even more unscrupulous after the suppression field unfolded. Its surface transformed, extending countless turrets and missile silos, and began precise and efficient point-by-point clearing of Lin Zhou's divine kingdom's outer defenses. Each round of volleys prioritized energy nodes, defensive weak points, and gathered dependent troops. Under the suppression, the defensive fire of Lin Zhou's divine kingdom (mainly composed of Literary Heart Elves' rune arrows and a small number of Mohist Ballistae) saw a huge decrease in accuracy and power, leading to low interception efficiency and rapidly increasing losses.

"Lin Zhou! I'm also being affected here! The tracking and magic-breaking effects of the arrows have weakened a lot!" Student B from the Elven Divine Kingdom reported anxiously.

"My Red Dragons don't dare to approach that area; their Dragon Breath and dragon might are being suppressed heavily!" Zhao Hao also sent a message.

At the front, Michael seemed to sense an opportunity. The light of the [Angelic Divine Court] blazed brightly once again, and the pressure applied suddenly increased, pinning down Wang Meng and other defending units, making them unable to effectively return to help.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse! This "decapitation" combined with "pinning" by the attackers was executed with extreme precision and ruthlessness! The Mechanical Divine Domain student, Karls, was like a cold scalpel, stabbing straight into the defenders' most lethal yet most fragile "heart"—Lin Zhou's civilization system that relied on thoughts and convictions!

"Don't panic!" Lin Zhou forced himself to calm down, his brain working at an unprecedented speed. Fight head-on? With his rules severely suppressed, the chances of winning a head-on confrontation against this heavily armed and precisely calculated mechanical divine kingdom were extremely low. Retreat? Once his divine kingdom was forced back or destroyed, the defenders' command center would collapse, and the entire defensive line would instantly disintegrate.

He had to find a way to break or bypass the suppression of this "Absolute Logic" Domain!

"Logic... Absolute Logic..." Lin Zhou stared at the approaching fortress emitting a cold silver light, his eyes flashing rapidly. "Its core is 'logic,' and it rejects all non-logical factors. So, what if I use 'logic' to fight 'logic'? Or... create a 'paradox' that it cannot process with its existing logic?"

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning!

Mohism! In addition to "Non-Aggression" and "Universal Love," the core of Mohism also includes "Will of Heaven" and "Understanding Ghosts." Its ideological system itself contains extremely strong logical reasoning and empirical spirit! Especially the "Names and Debates" studies of Late Stage Mohism, which also have commonalities with the School of Names, being most adept at logical deduction and conceptual analysis!

Perhaps... he could try to temporarily manifest the logical rules contained within Mohist thought, forming a logical subdomain that was similar in nature to the opponent's "Absolute Logic" Domain but with a different core, to conduct local interference and weaken the suppression effect? At the same time, combining the School of Names' sophistry of "Conjoining Differences" and "Separating Hardness and Whiteness" to create logical chaos and interfere with the opponent's calculation core?

And the School of Miscellaneous! "Drawing from the strengths of all," could he quickly analyze and simulate the operational mode of the opponent's logical rules to find possible "loopholes" or "preset premises"?

"Everyone hold on! Give me a little time!" Lin Zhou said in a deep voice over the communication channel, while simultaneously sinking all his Divine Thought into his divine kingdom's core, communicating with the Tiangong Workshop and the Temple of Civilization.

"Mohist Heroic Spirits (if any), help me! Tiangong Dwarves, concentrate all computing power, using Mohist 'Names and Debates' logic as the foundation, combined with my observation data of the enemy Domain, to construct a temporary anti-logic suppression model!"

"Wenxin Elf Scholars, fully deduce the application possibilities of the School of Names' 'Conjoining Differences' and 'Separating Hardness and Whiteness' in this situation, and form an interference plan!"

"School of Miscellaneous Library of Miscellaneous Works, retrieve all records regarding mechanical logic and rule confrontation to assist in the analysis!"

"Fire of Civilization, prepare to resonate, providing Origin support for all logical deductions and rule reconstructions!"

The entire divine kingdom's intellectual power was mobilized by Lin Zhou. Inside the Tiangong Workshop, a massive array of calculation runes operated at full power; in the academy, elf scholars rapidly flipped through ancient texts and debated fiercely; inside the Library of Miscellaneous Works, streams of knowledge light flickered. The Fire of Civilization swayed slightly, emitting the light of wisdom enlightenment.

This was a race to the limit of thinking and rules! At the critical moment when the mechanical divine kingdom's gunfire was closing in and the outer defenses were being stripped away layer by layer, Lin Zhou tried to find a glimmer of hope in the "logic" field that the opponent was best at!

Could he succeed? Facing this Mechanical Divine Domain that could be called his nemesis, could the Hundred Schools of Thought show their inclusive and adaptable side and find a way to break through in a desperate situation?