356: Chapter 291: Inter-civilizational Warfare, Simulated Battle Against the Zerg Queen

The preliminary formation of the “Hundred Schools Battle Array: Five-Person Basic Chapter” was like a shot in the arm for the entire academy. Over the next two months, the special training entered a phase of rapid iteration and deepening. The new version of the “Resonance Guidance Art” significantly improved the stability of synchronization among team members, and the proficiency of solidified formations became increasingly refined under Zhao Hao’s “inhumane” repeated drills.

However, Lin Zhou knew that merely circling within familiar frameworks was not enough. The enemies in the “All-Universe Academy Championship” were by no means the familiar classmates within Xinghai University, nor were they the rigid, data-driven fixed templates in the simulation System. The true threat came from races deep within the Universe that had developed completely different civilizational forms, possessing strange rules and terrifying war potential.

“Multi-Civilization Rule Confrontation” training must be pushed from a superficial “experience” to “extreme pressure” that is closer to actual combat, or even surpasses it!

On this day, the atmosphere in the “All Heavens Battlefield” Advanced Simulation Zone deep within the Hundred Schools Academy was particularly solemn.

The huge circular viewing stands were filled with core members of the academy allowed to observe, as well as some outstanding reserve members. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the gigantic holographic battlefield projection, over a hundred meters in diameter, suspended in the center.

The projection displayed not the familiar starry sky or continent, but a bizarrely writhing, purplish-red nebula composed of biomass. Inside the nebula, countless pipes, chambers, incubation nests, and energy networks pulsating like blood vessels were faintly visible. The entire environment exuded an unsettling clamor of life and the oppressive feeling of a collective will.

Simulation Battlefield Loaded: Zerg Ecological Nebula (High Fidelity)

Enemy Configuration: Simulated Zerg Matriarch 'Star-Devourer Sharbrina' (Overall Rating: LV950, Mid-Tier Divine Power Peak), and its derived standard Zerg swarm combat units (Quantity: approximately three million, Rank Range: LV20-LV80, including various mutated forms).

Battlefield Characteristics: High biomass concentration (all Zerg unit attributes +15%, recovery speed +200%), Mental Network coverage (all Zerg units share perception, coordinate without delay, under absolute domination of the Matriarch), Environmental Erosion (non-Zerg units continuously suffer weak life erosion and mental pollution).

Victory Conditions (Training): Hold the 'Civilization Beacon' (simulated) for 72 hours under the Zerg swarm and Matriarch attacks, or severely wound the Matriarch’s core (deal more than 30% Origin damage).

Defeat Conditions: 'Civilization Beacon' is destroyed, or all team members are 'eliminated'.

Participating Team: Lin Zhou’s Core Squad (five people).

Seeing this configuration, a collective gasp of cold air swept through the viewing stands.

“A LV950 Matriarch?! And three million Zerg swarm?! How...how can we possibly defend against that?”

“A Mid-Tier Divine Power Peak! And it’s the Zerg, the most troublesome war race!”

“Mental Network sharing... this means all the Zerg are commanded by one collective brain, it’s too terrifying!”

“Last time, a squad from the Honghuang Academy simulated a battle against a LV900 Lich Monarch, and they collapsed in less than ten hours...”

“Can Captain Lin Zhou and his team... do it?”

Even Li Mo, looking at the detailed enemy data refreshed on his terminal, couldn't help but push up his glasses, his tone solemn: “Boss, the data model shows that the win rate for a direct confrontation... is infinitesimally close to zero. The Zerg swarm's attrition capability and the Matriarch's mental attacks are our absolute weaknesses.”

Zhao Hao grinned, Battle Intent burning in his eyes: “What’s there to be afraid of?! This is a good chance to see if our battle array is tough enough!”

Qin Qing tightened her grip on her sword hilt, the Law’s radiance faintly flowing as she tried to “define” the uncomfortable rule aura in the projection, searching for possible entry points.

Su Yueyao’s cool eyes stared at the purplish-red nebula, moonlight faintly gathering at her fingertips: “The Zerg... are extremely xenophobic, their life forms are singular but highly efficient. The Mental Network is an advantage but also a potential weakness. Their rules are built upon ‘devouring’ and ‘evolution,’ almost completely opposite to our ‘Civilization’ and ‘Inclusivity’.”

Lin Zhou stood before the control panel, his gaze deep as he scanned every data detail. In his mind, sporadic records about the “Zerg” from the river of civilization (derived from absorbed legacies) flashed by. Combined with the current intelligence, a bold and risky tactical prototype gradually became clear.

“Conventional tactics will surely lead to defeat,” Lin Zhou slowly began, his voice calm but with an undeniable resolve. “The core of Zerg swarm tactics lies in ‘quantity’ and ‘unity.’ The Mental Network is the embodiment of their ‘unity’ and also their command center. Efficient biomass utilization is the Foundation of their ‘quantity.’ To break this deadlock, we cannot engage in a head-on confrontation; we must disintegrate them from within, cutting off their support.”

He turned to Li Mo: “Li Mo, activate the ‘civilization resonator (Team Type)’ at maximum load mode, focusing on strengthening the monitoring and analysis of ‘abnormal mental fluctuations’ and ‘life energy flow’.”

“Yes!” Li Mo’s fingers flew across the control panel, operating rapidly.

“Yue Yao, your Moonlight Purification, focus on preparing to counter potential mental pollution and targeted life-eroding toxins.”

“Qin Qing, the Net of Law will attempt to define ‘unnatural mental links’ and ‘predatory life proliferation’ as illegal battlefield behaviors, interfering at the rule level. We don’t aim for complete prohibition, but to increase their operational cost and instability factors.”

“Zhao Hao, you are responsible for frontal containment and mobile counterattacks, but remember, your primary task is not the number of kills, but to protect the formation and create a casting environment and time for our ‘special means’.”

Finally, he looked at everyone, sparks of wisdom flickering in his eyes: “In this battle, I want the School of Names and the School of Agriculture to be the protagonists!”

Everyone’s hearts trembled, then they understood. The Mohist Schools Art of Argumentation excels at confusing concepts and disrupting logic; the School of Agriculture’s techniques control abundant harvests, and can also cause crop failures and famine! These two Schools, in previous training, focused more on support and logistics, but at this moment, facing the Zerg, an enemy reliant on collective will and biomass predation, they might just achieve miraculous effects!

“Enter the battlefield!” Lin Zhou commanded.

The five figures simultaneously vanished from before the control panel, and the next moment, they appeared at the edge of the purplish-red nebula in the holographic projection. Behind them was a diamond-shaped “Civilization Beacon” emitting a stable glow of Civilization.

Almost simultaneously with their appearance—

“Hiss—!!!”

An invisible mental shriek surged from the depths of the nebula like a tsunami! It wasn't a sound, but a collective will impact directly affecting the Soul, filled with hunger, devouring, and assimilation desires! At the same time, the purplish-red “ground” and “sky” within sight suddenly boiled! Countless Zerg units of various forms, like erupting volcanic lava, poured out from every corner and chamber, forming destructive torrents that swept towards the five individuals!

Alert! Undergoing 'Matriarch's Will Impact'! All personnel undergo Will Check!

Alert! Detecting large-scale Zerg swarm assault! Vanguard consists of 'Speedling (LV35)', 'Hydralisk (LV50)', 'Ultralisk (LV75)' mixed cluster! Estimated quantity: five hundred thousand!

The battle instantly entered a white-hot stage!

“Battle Array, activate!” Lin Zhou growled.

The five instantly formed a battle array (Civilization Arrowhead), and the phantom of the river of civilization unfolded, enveloping the squad in a pale golden radiance, barely resisting the aftershocks of the first mental impact. Zhao Hao roared, his half-Dragon transformed body expanding, Dragon Might mixed with battle array amplification surged forward, and a scorching Dragon Breath fire wall temporarily blocked the nearest Zerg swarm vanguard. Su Yueyao’s moonlight flowed like silk, precisely targeting and eliminating flying units, “Scourge (LV40),” attempting to flank them. Qin Qing’s Net of Law had already spread, pale golden rule lines attempting to cut into the Zerg swarm, defining their “indiscriminate devouring” behavior. The effect was subtle but indeed caused a slight hesitation and confusion in the charge of some Zerg.

However, the sheer number of the Zerg swarm was overwhelming! They completely disregarded casualties, pressing forward relentlessly. The corpses of fallen Zerg were quickly devoured and decomposed by the incoming swarm, transforming into new biomass raw material. Even more terrifying, their attacks were extremely coordinated; often, a feint would be followed by several genuine killing moves from incredible angles, clearly demonstrating the efficient command of the omnipresent “Mental Network.”

In just ten minutes, the squad was under immense pressure. Divine Power and stamina were rapidly depleting, the defensive perimeter was continuously compressed, and the Civilization Beacon suffered several remote acid and bone spike attacks, causing its barrier to violently shake.

“This won't do! If the Mental Network isn't broken, we're like blind men fighting a swarm of bees, passively taking hits!” Zhao Hao parried an Ultralisk’s massive maw, panting as he roared.

“Found it!” Li Mo suddenly shouted, data streams flashing wildly in his eyes. “The Resonator has captured an abnormally dense cluster of mental fluctuations! At least seventeen of them! Distributed deep within the Zerg swarm in different directions! Suspected to be ‘Broodling’ nodes or Matriarch will relay stations! But the fluctuation frequency is extremely complex, and there’s a self-protection mechanism, making forced interference extremely difficult!”

Lin Zhou’s eyes narrowed. Nodes indeed! He commanded the battle array to resist another wave of attack while rapidly thinking. The Hundred Schools of Thought, specifically the School of Names, excels at “Conjoining Differences” and “separating hardness and whiteness,” confusing concepts and blurring boundaries...

“Yue Yao, Qin Qing, buy me thirty seconds! Zhao Hao, protect the flank! Li Mo, use all the Resonator’s computing power to help me lock onto those seventeen nodes and simulate their mental fluctuation frequencies!” Lin Zhou quickly ordered.

“Understood!” Everyone responded, instantly adjusting their formation to a more defense-oriented “Square Formation.” Su Yueyao and Qin Qing unleashed their full power, while Zhao Hao stood like a bedrock in front of Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou then took a deep breath, his mind sinking into the river of civilization, fully activating the ripples representing the Hundred Schools of Thought within it! He formed a peculiar hand seal, muttering softly, not an offensive incantation, but a Mohist Schools Art of Argumentation containing the philosophy of “confusing right and wrong” and “blurring similarities and differences”!

“That is one right, this is one wrong... When one is born, one dies; when one dies, one is born... All things are one, how can Zerg and I be separated?”

As he chanted, an intangible, formless wave, yet one that seemed capable of twisting perception and logic, emanated from him. Amplified and guided by the civilization resonator, it accurately shot towards the seventeen locked mental nodes!

Divine Art Cast: School of Names · Concept Confusion · Mental Network Version

Principle: Briefly blurs and redefines fundamental concepts such as “individual and collective,” “enemy and self,” “survival and destruction,” injecting them into the target mental link.

Target: Zerg Mental Network key nodes.

Expected Effect: Disrupt information transmission between nodes, create logical contradictions, reduce overall network coordination, with a probability of causing localized Zerg swarm command disorder or self-conflict.

Cost: Immense Mental Energy, requires high concentration and Fire of Civilization support.

The first wave of fluctuations hit the nodes!

Initially, the Zerg swarm’s offensive merely paused slightly, seemingly puzzled. But soon, a surprising (for Lin Zhou’s side) change occurred!

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

A portion of the Hydralisks suddenly turned and sprayed acid at the nearby Zerglings! Several squads of Ultralisks saw their charge paths cross and collide strangely! The Scourge formations in the air also began to fall into chaos, with small-scale infighting even occurring!

Static and erroneous commands appeared in the Mental Network!

"It's working!" Su Yueyao's beautiful eyes lit up. Taking the opportunity, her Moonlight cleared away a swarm of insects that had stalled due to the chaos.

However, the good times did not last. From deep within the nebula came an even more furious and piercing mental screech! The fluctuations at those seventeen nodes suddenly intensified as they began to attempt to "overwrite" and "correct" the confusing information Lin Zhou had injected. Meanwhile, although the insect sea's attacks were no longer as precise or coordinated, their numerical advantage remained terrifying. Furthermore, the Broodmother seemed to have adjusted her strategy, ordering the swarm to consume their strength more frantically while dispatching more variants with long-range attacks and special abilities to harass them.

"The nodes are adapting and resisting! The confusion effect is fading!" Li Mo reported urgently. "The Broodmother's intervention is too strong! Our interference isn't enough!"

Fine sweat broke out on Lin Zhou's forehead. The continuous high-intensity mental spellcasting was putting pressure on him as well. He knew that relying solely on the School of Names to cause disruption could only buy them a temporary window; it couldn't fundamentally weaken this terrifying insect sea. The Foundation of the Zerg lay in their nearly infinite capacity for biomass conversion and plunder!

It was time to use his second card—the School of Agriculture!

"Switch targets!" Lin Zhou gritted his teeth, maintaining the School of Names divine technique while splitting off a portion of his mind to connect with the river of civilization once more. This time, he drew upon a spray of water representing the Hundred Schools of Thought of the School of Agriculture, filled with the vitality of the earth and the rhythm of withering!

The School of Agriculture governed not only fertile soil and bountiful harvests but also famine and desolation! When things reach their extreme, they must reverse; the Dao of endless life also contained the principles of solemn withering!

He stretched out his other hand, fingers splayed, pointing at the "earth" of purple-red biomass below that was frantically surging, devouring everything, and transforming everything, as he shouted in a low voice:

"The earth is not your private property, and life is not for you to enjoy alone! To seize the vitality of heaven and earth for selfish desires and defy the principles of nature—you shall be punished!"

"Domain of Harvest Failure—Open!"

Following his shout, a strange force field—gray, desolate, and seemingly capable of stripping away all life vitality and synthesis capabilities—erupted outward with Lin Zhou's palm as the center! This force field merged with the radiance of civilization but carried a completely different solemn tone, quickly covering an area of several kilometers and continuing to spread slowly but firmly!

[Divine Technique Casting: School of Agriculture · Domain of Harvest Failure (First Combat Application)]

Principle: Reverses the School of Agriculture's principles of fertile soil and abundance, extremely strengthening concepts such as "barren land," "severed vitality," and "synthesis inhibition" to form a rule-level Domain.

Effects:

Biomass Synthesis Efficiency Inhibition: Within the Domain's range, all synthesis, transformation, and regeneration efficiency based on biomass (flesh, energy, organic matter) is reduced by -70% (affected by the opponent's rule resistance, actual effect is approximately -50% to -65%).

Life Activity Decay: The natural recovery ability of non-allied life units is significantly decreased, and their maximum health slightly decays (approximately -0.5% per minute).

Environmental Inertia: Free-floating life energy is "inertized," making it difficult to absorb and utilize.

Range: Initial diameter of five kilometers, can slowly expand with the injection of Divine Power (maximum estimated diameter of fifteen kilometers).

Consumption: Continuously consumes Divine Power and Mental Energy to maintain the Domain's existence.

Note: This Domain is extremely effective against races that rely on high-efficiency biomass cycling (such as the Zerg, certain plant civilizations, flesh Puppets, etc.).

The moment the "Domain of Harvest Failure" unfolded, the battlefield situation underwent a visible and dramatic change!

Those Zerg units that were originally fearless and could quickly absorb the corpses of their comrades or environmental biomass to recover after being injured suddenly seemed to have their source of vitality drained away! Their wound healing speed became extremely slow, the speed at which newly hatched insects crawled out of their chambers significantly decreased, and some smaller units even became sluggish in their movements and lost the luster of their carapaces due to insufficient energy supply!

More importantly, throughout the area covered by the Domain, the purple-red earth that writhed as if alive began to turn dim and gray. The frequency of its pulsations dropped significantly, and the "vascular" network that transported biomass and energy to the surroundings showed signs of atrophy and blockage!

The charging momentum of the insect sea came to a halt! Although their numbers were still vast, the terrifying sense of oppression of being "endless" and "growing more numerous the more they were fought" suddenly lessened a great deal!

"Haha! Good! This move is ruthless enough!" Zhao Hao's pressure was greatly reduced, and he took the opportunity to counterattack. His Dragon Breath swept across, clearing a large area of the insect swarm that had become weakened due to "hunger."

Su Yueyao and Qin Qing also felt their spirits lift, seizing the chance to expand their gains and clear away surrounding threats.

Deep within the nebula, the Broodmother "Sabrina" let out a roar of extreme rage! It clearly felt that its subjects' "blood-making" ability and battlefield sustainability were being frantically suppressed by a loathsome rule-based power! This was a strike that touched its very Foundation!

"Hiss—! (Lock onto the source of interference! Destroy it at all costs!)"

Even more violent mental shocks, curses, and mental piercings targeted at Lin Zhou rained down like a storm! Simultaneously, the insect sea changed its strategy. No longer spreading out completely, it concentrated all its elite forces to form several incredibly sharp "daggers" that, regardless of casualties, frantically bored toward Lin Zhou's position! Clearly, the Broodmother had judged that this human releasing the "Domain of Harvest Failure" was the greatest threat!

Pressure surged back once more like a landslide or a tsunami! And it was more concentrated and more lethal than before!

"Protect the captain!" Qin Qing shouted sharply. The Net of Law contracted, fully defining "concentrated attacks on Lin Zhou" as the highest priority illegal act, performing rule-level deflection and weakening. Su Yueyao's Moonlight also transformed into the sturdiest shield, enveloping Lin Zhou. Zhao Hao and Li Mo fought desperately to hold back the tide-like surge of elite Zerg.

Lin Zhou was at the center of the storm. While maintaining the two massive Divine Power-consuming techniques, "School of Names Confusion" and "School of Agriculture Harvest Failure," he also had to endure the Broodmother's focused mental strikes and distract himself to command the battle array. His face was already as pale as paper, and a trace of blood even leaked from the corner of his mouth. But his eyes remained as calm as an abyss, the Fire of Civilization burning fiercely deep within his pupils.

"Hold on! Its consumption is even greater than ours!" Lin Zhou transmitted his conviction through the battle array link. "The insect sea has been weakened, and its Mental Network is disrupted. It's impossible for it to sustain such high-intensity attacks and command for long!"

Time passed minute by minute in the extremely tragic struggle between offense and defense.

One hour... two hours... five hours...

Under the continuous weakening of the "Domain of Harvest Failure" and the constant interference of "Conceptual Confusion," the insect sea's offensive, while still fierce, no longer had that initial sense of hopeless, endless continuity. The replenishment speed of elite Zerg clearly could not keep up with their consumption. The frequency of the Broodmother's mental attacks also began to show unstable fluctuations.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhou's squad, relying on the stubborn resilience of the "Hundred Schools Battle Array," a rational distribution of duties, and the support of Su Yueyao and Qin Qing, who did not hesitate to deplete their Origin at critical moments, actually managed to hold out! Although the barrier of the Civilization Beacon flickered, it remained standing!

When the simulation time reached the eighth hour, after the Broodmother launched a hysterical "Ultimate Mental Blast" that nearly drained the life force of all Zerg in the vicinity, its aura visibly withered, and the insect sea's offensive suddenly dropped by over sixty percent!

"Now is the time!" A sharp light burst from Lin Zhou's eyes. Forcing out the last of his Divine Power, he worked with the other four to activate the battle array's strongest combined attack—[Sword of Civilization · Judgment]!

A brilliant sword light, condensing the combined conviction of all five, the power of the battle array, and the projection of the river of civilization, tore through the thinning insect swarm, crossed the distant space, and slashed fiercely into the largest mass of life in the depths of the nebula (the Broodmother's simulated body)!

Although they did not achieve the pre-set high-difficulty goal of "damaging the core by 30%," this strike indeed heavily damaged the simulated Broodmother's external defenses and part of its mental structure, triggering a judgment from the simulated battlefield System—

[Warning: Zerg Broodmother 'Star-Eater Sabrina' (Simulated Body) has been heavily damaged. Overall combat power has dropped to 65%, and it has entered a brief 'Berserk Disorder' state.]

[Judgment: The training team has achieved the secondary victory condition of 'defending the Civilization Beacon for over 72 hours' (achieved early)!]

[Simulation Combat Ended. Result: Defending Side (Lin Zhou's Squad)—Tactical Victory!]

With a flash of light, the five were teleported back to the spectator stands.

Lin Zhou's steps were unsteady, and he was quickly supported by Su Yueyao and Qin Qing. Zhao Hao plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, with several broken scales on his body. Li Mo's face was pale, but his eyes behind his glasses flickered with an excited flow of data, clearly recording the combat data from just now with fervor.

The entire venue was silent for a moment.

Then, a thunderous burst of applause and cheers erupted, mixed with shock, respect, and fanaticism!

They had witnessed a near-miraculous battle of the weak against the strong! They saw the astonishing power of those seemingly "unpopular" schools of the Hundred Schools of Thought when unleashed on specific battlefields! Even more, they saw Lin Zhou's stunning tactical layout and on-the-spot command!

"School of Names disruption... School of Agriculture harvest failure... That was brilliant!"

"So a battle can be fought like this!"

"Captain Lin Zhou's use of the Hundred Schools of Thought is simply masterful!"

"Can we... can we also try to develop battle methods for the schools we're good at?"

Lin Zhou caught his breath and looked at his companions, who were equally exhausted but had shining eyes, revealing a gratified smile.

This battle, though only a simulation and won with great difficulty—even through some clever tricks—validated a crucial path: when facing powerful enemies from different civilizations, The Way of the Hundred Schools possessed extremely rich tactical choices and potential for counterplay!

"Complete the data recording, tactical review, and effect evaluation as soon as possible," Lin Zhou said to Li Mo. His voice was weak but carried an unquestionable strength. "Especially the actual data of the 'Domain of Harvest Failure' and its specific influence coefficients on different Zerg units. This will be one of our key potential means when facing Zerg civilizations in the future."

"Yes!" Li Mo nodded heavily.

Su Yueyao looked at Lin Zhou's pale profile, a hint of heartache flashing in her eyes, but more than that, it was a sense of pride and recognition. Qin Qing silently handed over a bottle of recovery potion.

Zhao Hao scrambled up and chuckled. "Next time we simulate, can we find an opponent that isn't so disgusting? These bugs make my whole body feel uncomfortable."

Lin Zhou smiled, but his gaze once again turned toward the battlefield projection that had not yet completely dissipated; the purple-red nebula was slowly fading.

The Zerg... they were just one of the many bizarre civilizations in the Universe.

Future challenges would only be more numerous and more dangerous.

But today's battle had lit a beacon for The Way of the Hundred Schools in dealing with "alien civilization rules."

The special training continued. And their arsenal was becoming richer and more lethal at an astonishing speed.