376: Chapter 311: The First Day of Bloodshed, Legalist Law Network Stabilizes its Position

The chaotic slaughter and cruel attrition, amidst the intertwining of light and dark, Order and Chaos, stretched time incredibly long, yet it also felt as if it were being consumed and accelerated by the swarming chirps of the insect tide and the explosions of energy.

The first day (time within the dungeon, roughly equivalent to three hours in the outside world), amidst the torment of blood and fire, finally reached its end.

The afterglow of the setting sun (perhaps a simulated celestial phenomenon, or an anomaly produced after the world rules were eroded to a certain extent) cast a tragic and beautiful blood-red hue over the scarred ruins of the City of Holy Radiance. The offensive of the insect tide did not stop; instead, as night (?) fell, it became even more frenzied and eerie. However, the suffocating wave of the first comprehensive push seemed to have temporarily concluded, turning into a more continuous, multi-point penetration War of attrition.

In the temporary communication channel, Elios's voice—still cold, yet carrying an imperceptible trace of fatigue and sluggishness—was summarizing the battle situation of the first day:

“The first day of operations has ended. All defense sectors report casualties and the status of your defense lines.”

After a brief silence, the team captains reported in sequence.

Mechanical Divine Domain Academy Captain (synthetic voice): “The left-wing Psionic Hub defense line is stable. The damage rate of the automated defense System is 11.3%, and backup modules have been activated. The logical firepower net is estimated to have crushed 1.27 million Zerg units, with self-energy consumption at 47%. No personnel (referring to core subordinate units) losses, and combat efficiency is maintained at 98.7%. Detected Zerg attempting to use 'Phase Stealth' units for penetration; detection frequencies have been adjusted to respond.”

Phantom Sound Academy Female Captain (voice noticeably weak): “The right-wing Earth Vein Eye defense line... held. Spiritual Vein stability has dropped to 72%, and seventeen breaches appeared in the Mental Barrier, which have been urgently repaired. Estimated Zerg crushed: approximately 890,000. Our side... lost 8% of our Spiritual Sound Singers (core subordinates), with many auxiliary units killed or wounded. The Zerg's 'Psychic Scream' attacks are causing us great interference...”

Star Hunter Academy Scar-faced Burly Man (panting heavily): “Peripheral reconnaissance and hunting missions... average completion. Killed about twenty special bugs trying to pull some tricks, including three 'Void Lurkers.' But there are too many bugs; our range of activity has been pushed back to less than five kilometers from the temple. I also lost 12% of my good men. Dammit, these bugs are simply endless!”

Finally, everyone's attention focused on the eastern front, which had not yet reported—the Xinghai University defense sector—and... the western front (the temple core area and parts of the periphery) where the Eternal Divine Court personally held the line.

Elios's voice rang out first, carrying a near-frozen coldness: “Eternal Divine Court, western front (temple core and peripheral Holy Light Barrier zone). Estimated Zerg units crushed: 2.03 million. The temple core area is fine. Three thousand seven hundred Rule-Erosion Points appeared in the peripheral Holy Light Barrier, two thousand nine hundred of which have been purified and repaired. The Immortal Heroic Spirit Legion...” He paused, as if confirming a displeasing figure, “suffered 15% losses.”

15%!

A collective gasp echoed through the communication channel!

Those were Immortal Heroic Spirits! Top-tier subordinates who were legendary for being nearly eternal and having extremely high resistance to holy and Order-based attacks! On the western front core area, which was held by the Eternal Divine Court, reinforced by part of the temple's defensive arrays, and theoretically should have had the least pressure, they actually lost 15% on the first day?! This was simply inconceivable!

Elios's voice continued, like grinding ice: “The Zerg specifically used 'Filth Blood' self-destruct units (containing strong Chaos and desecration rules), as well as small-scale 'Rule-Erosion Maggots' specifically targeting the Order structure of the Holy Light Barrier. Some Heroic Spirits were dragged into rule turbulence while purifying erosion points... To maintain 'Eternal Order,' these were necessary sacrifices.”

His explanation was cold and rational, attributing the losses to the Zerg's 'targeted' attacks and 'necessary sacrifices.' However, everyone could hear that a 15% loss was by no means a figure the Eternal Divine Court could easily ignore. More importantly, this exposed a major hidden danger in Elios's tactics—which relied on fixed defenses, emphasized absolute Order, and lacked flexibility—when facing the Zerg's bizarre and ever-changing attack methods: the enemy could always find the 'Order nodes' of your defense System for targeted destruction, and a rigid deployment struggled to respond quickly and effectively to such changes.

For a moment, no one spoke in the channel, only the slight hum of processors from the Mechanical Divine Domain captain's side could be heard, as if he were re-evaluating something.

Then, everyone's attention, including Elios's cold gaze (which seemed to pierce through the communication channel), turned toward the eastern front.

Lin Zhou's voice rang out at the right moment—steady, clear, and carrying a hint of hoarseness from the fierce battle, yet without panic or weakness: “Xinghai University, eastern front Observation Tower Base defense line. The first day of operations has ended.”

He paused and reported the data: “Estimated Zerg units crushed: 3.86 million.” This number caused the channel to fall silent once again! The number of Zerg crushed on the eastern front was almost the sum of all other defense lines combined! The pressure it had endured was evident.

“Defense line status: The first Ruin Delay Zone is basically defunct, but it successfully delayed and consumed a large number of Zerg vanguards. In the second main defense line (Turret Array and Spell coverage area), the turret damage rate is 42%, of which 28% are repairable; the Mage Corps' average mana consumption is 65%; the Tiangong Dwarves Engineering Corps participated in the front-line defense, with 12% light injuries, 3% heavy injuries, and 0.5% killed in action; the Literary Heart Elves Sword Cultivator reserve force lost 2%; Law Fishmen auxiliary units lost 1%.”

A series of figures specific down to the percentage demonstrated the stubbornness and resilience of the eastern front's defense System. Although nearly half the turrets were damaged and mana consumption was huge, the casualty rate of the core subordinate legions was kept at an extremely low level!

Finally, Lin Zhou reported the most critical total loss: “On the eastern front, the total casualty rate for various subordinates: approximately 3%. Not a single core hero unit was killed in action; only some sustained light injuries and are in good condition.”

3%!

Compared to the Eternal Divine Court's 15% on the western front, Phantom Sound Academy's 8%, and Star Hunter Academy's 12%... the eastern front, while enduring the greatest pressure of the insect tide, crushing the most enemies, and being 'denied support' by the commander-in-chief, actually had the lowest casualty rate! It was unbelievably low!

The communication channel fell into an even longer dead silence. The captains of Phantom Sound Academy and Star Hunter Academy were stunned, and the processor hum from the Mechanical Divine Domain captain's side seemed to stutter. Even Elios was silent for several seconds; within his cold mental fluctuations, a clear and incomprehensible stagnation appeared for the first time.

“...How did you do it?” Finally, it was the captain of the Mechanical Divine Domain Academy who broke the silence. His synthetic voice carried a rare hint of inquiry. “Under conditions where the eastern front endured the maximum pressure and the number of enemies engaged per unit of time far exceeded other defense lines, maintaining such low casualties requires extremely high defensive efficiency, precise damage sharing, and effective damage avoidance and healing. Your tactical model... please share the data.”

This question voiced the confusion in everyone's hearts.

Lin Zhou did not keep it to himself; this was not about showing off, but for better subsequent collaboration (if any). He explained calmly: “The core lies in the 'Order defense line constructed by the Legalist Net of Law,' and the 'Dynamic Layered Defense' and 'Precise Countermeasure' Systems based upon it.”

He began to elaborate in detail: “Before the battle, our Legalist hero unit, Qin Qing, used her Law divine office as a Foundation, combined with an analysis of core Zerg characteristics like 'disordered consumption' and 'chaotic erosion,' to lay down a special [Net of Law · Defined Domain] in key areas of the defense line.”

“Within this Domain, we used our principles of civilization as proof to temporarily define: 'unauthorized, purely instinct-driven disordered consumption behavior,' 'chaotic erosion targeting ordered life and rule structures,' and 'large-scale, indiscriminate spread of mental pollution'—as 'illegal' in this place!”

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"At the very moment the definition took effect," Lin Zhou's voice carried a hint of coldness, "after the Zerg rushed into the area covered by the Net of Law, their famous 'Devouring' trait was directly weakened at the rule level! The overall 'Devouring' efficiency (including energy devouring, material assimilation, and rule erosion speed) is estimated to have dropped by 20%! The mental interference and synergistic amplification effects brought by their 'Chaos' attribute were also significantly suppressed by Law · Order!"

Weakening the Zerg's core traits by 20%! This was undoubtedly an astonishing effect! No wonder the eastern front was able to withstand such immense pressure!

"Not only that," Lin Zhou continued, "the Net of Law is like the most precise monitoring and scheduling System. It can perceive in real-time the pressure changes at each node of the defense line, the concentrated direction of Zerg attacks, and the appearance of special units. Based on this information, we can achieve:"

Dynamic Firepower Allocation: Whichever section of the defense line faces high pressure, the firepower of turrets and mages is prioritized to cover and reinforce it; wherever elites or special units appear, Zhao Hao's Dragon swarm or Elven Sword Cultivators are immediately directed to perform precision hunts.

Elastic Defense Depth: It is not a rigid defense of a single line. When a cluster of turrets is about to overload or be destroyed, part of the defensive force is withdrawn to reserve positions in advance, while guiding the Zerg swarm into new crossfire zones, avoiding the collapse caused by the defense line being pierced at a single point.

Focused Purification and Protection: Guided by the Net of Law, Su Yueyao's Moon Radiance Purification Domain can most efficiently and effectively purify contaminated areas caused by special attacks like infection spores and vile blood, and prioritize the treatment of the severely wounded, greatly reducing combat casualties and non-combat losses.

Early Warning and Restriction of 'Void Devourers': The Net of Law is extremely sensitive to abnormal fluctuations at the rule level. When those three Void Devourers hidden deep within the Zerg swarm attempted to approach and began to brew their unique 'Rule Devouring' attack, the Net of Law issued a strong warning immediately. We instantly activated the [Small Energy-Rule Deflection Barrier] temporarily constructed by Li Mo, based on the base's energy circuits and collected crystals, and concentrated firepower to suppress them remotely, successfully forcing two of them to retreat. The devouring attack launched by the other was also deflected by the barrier, with most of its power neutralized, failing to cause fatal damage to the core of the defense line."

A complete defensive System based on the "Legalist Net of Law" that is flexible, precise, and efficient was clearly outlined by Lin Zhou. It does not rely on some fixed "invincible barrier" or "infinite firepower," but perfectly integrates various links such as intelligence, scheduling, defense, counterattack, treatment, and purification, forming an organic, self-adjusting defensive organism!

"Of course," Lin Zhou added at the end, "this also cannot be separated from the heroic fighting of all vassal units, the excellent command of hero units, and the inclusive and flexible characteristics of our Way of Civilization. Confucian Righteousness stabilizes military morale, Mohist Mechanisms provide firepower, the School of Military's strategy guides tactics, Daoist nature aids recovery, and the School of Agriculture... well, our logistics also utilized debris Materials for efficient replenishment."

The communication channel fell silent again. But this silence was completely different from before. It was no longer shock or skepticism, but a silence filled with deep contemplation, and even... a hint of admiration and self-reflection.

The female captain of the Phantom Sound Academy murmured, "Defining 'illegal'... weakening core traits... dynamic adjustment... how did we not think of this..."

The scarred, burly man from the Star Hunter Academy muttered, "Good grief, you can play like that? No wonder they could hold out..."

The captain of the Mechanical Divine Domain was silent for a moment, then a synthesized voice sounded, "Logic deduction... this tactical System, when facing non-logical, high-quantity, and highly variable enemies like a 'Zerg swarm,' has an efficiency 37% higher than the preset model. Data has been recorded, requesting to share more details later."

Elios, however, fell into a longer silence. The aura on his side remained cold as ever, yet it felt as if something was surging violently beneath the ice. The tactics Lin Zhou described were completely different from the "Absolute Order," "Eternal Barrier," and "Optimal Deduction" he believed in, and could even be said to be diametrically opposed. However, the cold, hard reality of the data was right there—lower casualties on the eastern front, higher kill efficiency, and... in fact, it had shouldered the greatest pressure for the entire temple defense line, avoiding the terrible consequence of the Zerg swarm possibly breaking through from the eastern front and directly flooding the temple.

After a long time, Elios's cold voice sounded again, devoid of emotion, "Data recorded. The eastern front's tactics... have their adaptability under specific conditions. But excessive reliance on 'flexibility' and 'variables' will expose the weakness of an unstable Foundation when facing higher-level, subversive rule-based strikes. The losses of the Eternal Divine Court are the price paid to maintain a higher level of 'Order.' All defense zones, rest for three hours (in the instance), replenish consumption, and repair fortifications. The next wave of Zerg offensives will arrive before dawn (estimated), and the intensity will be higher. Be prepared to deal with the appearance of 'Dominator-level' units."

He offered no praise, nor did he criticize further, simply attributing the eastern front's success to "specific conditions" and reiterating his "higher level of Order." But anyone could tell that his once unquestionable authority and absolute confidence had already developed a subtle crack.

The communication fell temporarily silent.

Behind the base of the eastern observation tower, in the dilapidated but still standing defense line. Lin Zhou withdrew his focus and looked at his companions, who were equally exhausted but had bright eyes. Su Yueyao was guiding Moon Radiance to perform deep treatment for several severely wounded Dwarf Warriors; Qin Qing sat cross-legged, eyes closed, recovering the mental energy heavily consumed by maintaining the Net of Law; Li Mo was munching on an energy bar while rapidly recording and analyzing all the data from the first day of battle; Zhao Hao had turned back into human form, leaning against a piece of metal wreckage and panting heavily, with several bone-deep wounds on his body being slowly healed by the Moon Radiance.

"Well done." Lin Zhou's voice was a bit hoarse, but with a smile, "The first day, we held, and we held very well."

"It's all thanks to the Captain's excellent command!" Bronzebeard wiped the blood and grime from his face, grinning, his warhammer bearing several new dents.

Wen Yuan also nodded slightly, "The Legalist Net of Law and the cooperation of various schools complement each other perfectly. This battle has been quite enlightening."

Qing Ye wiped her long sword, the Sword Intent in her eyes not yet faded, "Although there are many bugs, they are not invincible."

Lin Zhou nodded and looked to the east. There, the hissing of the Zerg swarm had temporarily subsided, but the deep purple shadows remained heavy, as if brewing an even more terrifying storm. The "Dominator-level" units mentioned by Elios made him vigilant.

"Seize the time to rest. Li Mo, focus on analyzing the data of those 'Void Devourers,' looking for their attack patterns and possible weaknesses. Qin Qing, try to establish a shallow link between the Net of Law and the star observation rules remaining in the base to see if you can get wider-area early warnings. Yue Yao, treatment is the priority, you need to recover too. Zhao Hao, Bronzebeard, Wen Yuan, Qing Ye, take turns on guard duty and rest."

Orders were issued, and everyone busied themselves.

Lin Zhou walked to the edge of the base, overlooking the mountains of Zerg corpses and a small number of vassal remains below, his heart calm. The victory on the first day proved the resilience and wisdom of Way of Civilization when dealing with this kind of extreme War. But it also exposed the problems of huge resource consumption and the test faced by sustained combat capability.

Divine Power reserves, after maintaining large-scale vassal projections, Divine Kingdom blessings, and assistance at critical moments, had dropped from full capacity to 168,000/200,000. Nearly half of the turrets were destroyed and needed repair or replacement, magic power reserves needed time to recover, and although the proportion of fallen vassals was low, it was still a precious loss.

"Six more days..." Lin Zhou looked at the stubbornly burning firewood in the central temple, his eyes firm, "No matter what, the spark must be guarded."

The news that the eastern front had survived the first day's bloody battle with 3% casualties spread quietly among the other four teams like a thunderclap. The magic of the Legalist Net of Law and the flexibility of the civilization tactics began to truly attract the attention and contemplation of these proud Geniuses.

And the smoke of the struggle for command had not dispersed, but had only shifted from the surface into a deeper contest regarding paths and philosophies. Before the dawn of the second day, a greater storm was brewing in the darkness.