357: Chapter 358 One Hundred and Ninety-Seven Days and "Universal Conscription"

After deciding to take a stand, New Homeland switched from "Homeland Construction" mode to "War Preparation" mode in just three days.

The landmark event of this switch was Wang Wu posting a notice at the entrance of the Contribution Hall. The notice was simple, containing only three lines:

First, all Materials will be centrally allocated; private hoarding is suspended.

Second, everyone between the ages of sixteen and sixty, whether Cultivator, Mortal, or Yao Race, must undergo basic combat training.

Third, those who fail the training will have their contribution points halved.

On the first day the notice was posted, a long queue formed at the entrance of the Contribution Hall. It wasn't a protest; it was for registration.

"I've spent half my life farming; what if I don't know how to fight?" an old farmer asked.

"As long as you can dig holes," the Cultivator in charge of registration replied without looking up. "Defensive fortifications need people to dig trenches. If you dig well, your contribution will still count."

"I'm a tailor..."

"The Logistics Department needs to rush the production of battle robes and first-aid kits. Needlework also counts as a contribution."

"I... I just had a baby and I'm still in confinement..."

"Come back after your confinement is over. During this time, if your man works for you, it counts as double contribution."

As the registrations continued line by line, no one complained, and no one haggled.

Wen Youyi stood in the distance watching this scene, suddenly feeling as if all the efforts of the past three years were for this very moment.

It wasn't about winning the war—no one knew if they could.

It was so that when facing war, a hundred thousand people wouldn't scatter in flight, but would instead stand in line and ask, "What can I do?"

The Council established the "Wartime Command Center." Wen Youyi served as the Commander-in-Chief, Luo Chen as the tactical advisor, Zhao Iron Pillar as the Captain of Ground Defense, Senior Brother Zhang as the head of technical equipment, Mu Wanqing as the head of medical services, and Wang Wu as the head of logistics. On the Yao Race side, Mountain Roar Lord led a group of hunters skilled in tracking and ambushing, integrated into the reconnaissance unit; Blood Fiend Old Demon and the Sword Maniac volunteered to lead the "High-Threat Target Disposal" team—to put it bluntly, if any enemy powerhouses broke through, the two of them would step up.

Lin Jiang was invited into the command center to serve as the "Heavenly Court Tactical Advisor." In her memories from three hundred years ago, there were many details about the Creation Heavenly Court's combat patterns: what Formations they liked to use, what distances they were skilled at firing from, how they adjusted strategies when meeting resistance, and whether there would be reinforcements if they were defeated... "This intelligence will save many lives," Luo Chen said seriously. "Miss Lin, your contribution will be remembered by the entire New Homeland."

Lin Jiang didn't speak; she just nodded.

The 197-day countdown officially began ticking from that day.

The first week: a comprehensive inventory.

Senior Brother Zhang led the technical team, turning the entire inventory upside down: usable weapon blueprints from the Star People's legacy, defensive cases of other civilizations recorded in the memory banks, energy signatures of the Heavenly Court Fleet captured by the echo telescope, and even what role Little Girl's "glowing leaf telescopes" could play... The results were both encouraging and alarming.

The encouraging part was that there were more usable things than expected. The Star People's legacy contained seventeen methods for constructing "Defensive Law Fields." Although most required special Materials, three could be substituted with local Materials from New Homeland. The "luring the enemy deep and dividing to surround" tactic recorded in the memory banks fit naturally with the jungle ambushes the Yao Race excelled at. Data from the echo telescope would at least allow them to know the exact arrival time of the Heavenly Court Fleet thirty days in advance.

The alarming part was that time was too tight. In 197 days, they had to complete the construction of the Law Fields, train 100,000 people in basic combat skills, establish a complete command and communication system, and stockpile enough Materials for a protracted war—each of these was a project that would normally take three to five years.

"Then we'll compress three to five years into 197 days," Wen Youyi said. "We have to do it even if we don't sleep."

The second week: site selection for the Law Fields.

The principle of the Law Field was to cover the entire surface of New Homeland with a special frequency energy field, causing continuous interference to any enemy units entering the atmosphere. Unlike the memory protection field, it didn't target consciousness but rather "Law-level existences"—such as the Star Lord-level powerhouses of the Heavenly Court who had mastered parts of the Heavenly Dao Laws.

The criteria for site selection were very strict: it had to be where the leyline energy was most abundant, it had to be a natural depression (to facilitate energy convergence), it had to be far from residential areas (to prevent accidental injuries), and it had to be hidden enough (to prevent being prioritized for destruction by the enemy).

Senior Brother Zhang led the exploration team for five days and finally selected three locations: an extinct volcano on the East Coast, a natural basin in the West Wilderness, and a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Lake in the Northlands.

"Three Law Fields will cover the entire territory," he reported to the Council. "But they need to be activated simultaneously, otherwise there will be blind spots."

"Simultaneous activation requires three Control Cores," Luo Chen frowned. "Once a core is exposed, it can easily be taken out by the enemy in a targeted strike."

"So we must hide the cores," Wen Youyi looked at Silver Thorn. "Can they be camouflaged?"

Silver Thorn's silver humanoid form thought for three seconds: "Yes. But it will require a large amount of energy and Materials. The estimated consumption... is equivalent to three months of New Homeland's total energy output."

"Give it," Wen Youyi said without hesitation. "Having no energy for three months is better than being annihilated in three months."

The third week: universal training.

Zhao Iron Pillar became the busiest person in all of New Homeland. He rose every day before dawn, leading a group of training instructors (chosen from the Cultivators and Yao Race), running from the East Coast to the West Wilderness and then back to the camp, shouting until his voice was hoarse.

"Stand straight! Yes, you, the farming elder, straighten your back! The way you hold that hoe, yes, treat it as a weapon!"

"Yao Race youngsters, don't just focus on chasing rabbits! Learn to distinguish directions! If you get scattered on the battlefield, you need to know where to retreat!"

"Cultivators, pay attention! Your flashy Spells might not be useful on the battlefield! Practice basic sword techniques! Practice them a thousand times!"

There were jokes every day on the training grounds.

A Mortal auntie was assigned to the "Long-Range Throwing Group," responsible for practicing throwing a specially made explosive clay jar. Her accuracy was startling, hitting nine out of ten times, but after every throw, she would instinctively bow and say, "My apologies, my apologies." The instructor didn't know whether to laugh or cry and could only let her be.

A group of Yao Race youths was assigned to the "Infiltration and Reconnaissance Group," practicing stealth in the forest every day. As it turned out, they were too good at hiding; several times they even "lost" their training instructors. In the end, they had to give each youth a bell that tinkled as they walked to solve the problem.

Several old Cultivators were assigned to the "Formation Group," responsible for setting up defensive Formations at key locations. They had studied Formations their whole lives but never thought they would one day "serve society" in this way. They worked exceptionally hard, even taking the initiative to suggest "improving the Formations to reduce costs."

The most ridiculous one was Little Girl. She was granted special permission not to participate in training, but every afternoon she would appear by the training ground holding the Bright Fur Ball, watching silently. Once, a young man couldn't get the "clay jar throwing" movement right. After watching for a long time, Little Girl suddenly said:

"Big brother, when you throw it, think of it as a big chubby kid, and it won't go crooked."

The young man tried it skeptically—and hit the bullseye.

Word spread, and during every training break, people came to Little Girl for "guidance." Little Girl didn't refuse; she just held the Bright Fur Ball, watched them practice for a while, and then said, "Think of it as..." From then on, the training ground gained countless strange mnemonics: "Think of it as a big chubby kid," "Think of it as a shiny little umbrella," "Think of it as a bouncing Iron Brother"... After Wen Youyi heard about this, he was silent for a long time before saying to Yun Zhi, "Keep her well-protected."

Yun Zhi nodded.

The fourth week, fifth week, sixth week... 197 days passed at a visible rate.

Law Field construction progress: 37%.

Universal training completion: 62% (the first batch to pass the assessment had already been integrated into the formal defense forces).

Material stockpiles: enough for three months (if production could continue after the war broke out, it could last longer).

Rift growth speed: 0.4 light-years per day, expected to reach the three core nodes in 220 days—twenty-three days later than the earliest arrival time of the Heavenly Court Fleet.

Twenty-three days. If the Heavenly Court Fleet arrived in 197 days, they would need to use their own strength to hold out for twenty-three days until the Rift "took effect."

"Can we hold out for twenty-three days?" Wen Youyi asked in the command center.

Everyone fell silent.

Twenty-three days, facing the battle-hardened elites of the Creation Heavenly Court, relying on a group of farmers who had just learned to throw bombs, Yao Race youths, and old Cultivators, on three half-finished Law Fields, and a pile of "Hedgehog Weapons" that might or might not work... Luo Chen was the first to speak: "According to standard tactical simulations, if we give our all, the first defensive line can hold for seven days, the second for three days, the third... two days. After twelve days, the enemy will break into the core area."

"And then?" Zhao Iron Pillar asked.

"Then it's street fighting," Luo Chen looked at the map. "Using every street, every house, and every living person to trade for the enemy's lives. That way... we might hold out for another ten days."

Twenty-two days.

Still one day short.

"I'll find a way for that one day." A voice rang out.

Everyone turned to see the Blood Fiend Old Demon standing at the door, leaning on a cane.

He behind him stood the Sword Maniac, the Heaven Swallowing Ancestor, and several other old monsters who had fought their way out of the Ranch World.

"This old man has lived for seven hundred years and killed more people than you've ever seen," the Blood Fiend Old Demon said slowly. "Back then in the Tianyuan Realm, I was suppressed by the spirit net and couldn't use my full strength. Now that there is no spirit net here, I want to see how many Heavenly Soldiers I can kill at full power."

The Sword Maniac held his sword and said coldly, "One sword, one kill. It shouldn't be a problem."

The Heaven Swallowing Ancestor grinned. "I haven't made a move in thirty thousand years. It's time to stretch these old bones."

Wen Youyi looked at these old fellows and suddenly understood.

The "one day" they spoke of was the final day.

It was the day after all defensive lines had collapsed and everyone had given their all, when they would rush out and trade their lives for that day.

"Senior..." He wanted to say something.

The Blood Fiend Old Demon waved his hand. "Don't get sentimental. I'm not dying for you; I'm doing it for myself. I've lived for seven hundred years, killed those who needed killing, hated those who needed hating, and learned the new things I needed to learn. To be able to have one last glorious battle is worth it."

He paused and looked out the window at the Mortals still practicing throwing bombs on the training ground.

"Besides, if those farmers, rabbit herders, and tailors can risk it all, how can I, an old devil, be more of a coward than them?"

No one else spoke in the command center.

Outside the window, the setting sun was blood-red.

In the 197-day countdown, 113 days remained.

(End of Chapter)