201: Chapter 201 An Attempt Under the Twilight

Chen Aoyun's Judgment was never aimed at the abilities granted by the wonder itself; rather, he used Judgment to expose the shamelessness and moral depravity of Sakura Country during the Old Era to the entire world.

After realizing this, Saku Kenichi was so furious that his lungs felt like they were about to explode.

"My great Sakura civilization is a magnificent civilization.

Even if some peculiar things were indeed done in history, those were choices made out of necessity at that time and in that era.

That Dragon Country is willing to sacrifice its National Fortune just to initiate a Judgment destined to fail; this is deliberately exposing the shortcomings of my Sakura Country!"

After leaving the Land of Judgment, he could still see Chen Aoyun outside the map of the 'Tower Defense Game'. Saku Kenichi looked at Chen Aoyun with icy eyes and thought to himself,

"Chen Aoyun, everything you do today will be settled after the [National War]. Just you wait!"

Then, Saku Kenichi's peripheral vision swept over to Toslev, and he thought,

"What an idiot, he really treats a Dragon Country person as an honored guest?

Claiming that war legends of Heroic Spirits are the prerequisite for locking onto other countries' Towers—little does he know, Chen Aoyun's analysis is fundamentally wrong!

This is just as well... The changes in the rules exceeded my expectations. I will just go along with their guess; perhaps I can better achieve my vision through this misjudgment!"

Chen Aoyun and Toslev's speculation about USA dropping Towers was spoken quietly under the nightfall, yet Saku Kenichi not only knew about their conversation but also pointed out with sharp insight that this speculation was wrong!

...

Audiences around the world pointed fingers at the entries Sakura Country had written, such as ["Nanyang Sisters" Overseas Brothels] and [RAA Special Facility], but this did not affect Sakura Country's use of these entries to earn extra resources from the 'Wave Demon'.

Another ten waves of demons were cleared. Using the extra resources, Sakura Country had completely brought the quantity and strength of its Towers up to the first tier, with almost no significant gap compared to Russia and the USA.

The thick nightfall descended once again.

Chen Aoyun and Toslev entered it together; this time, they were going to test their previous hypothesis!

The categories of 'Special Targets' appearing under the nightfall had changed, but the handling method had not.

Toslev used Towers to deal with the white Special Targets. After successfully resolving the white Special Targets, Russia would not have its total points deducted.

As for the black Special Targets, after killing them, one could choose any country to deduct one total point. Just like the last time during nightfall, Toslev used the resources in the crystal to place a Heroic Spirit Manifestation and used the power of the Manifestation to slay it.

Toslev said,

"The rules are still the same as before. Although the color of the Special Targets has changed, they still follow the principles of origin and attribute restraint.

The black Special Targets are similar to the previous golden Special Targets and must be locked onto with the Heroic Spirit Manifestation of Fantasy origin.

The white Special Targets are consistent with the previous red Special Targets and must be dealt with using Heroic Spirits of Legend origin.

Both Special Targets can also be attacked by Towers simultaneously, it's just that..."

Toslev looked up at the huge countdown numbers in the nightfall. Under the nightfall, it was impossible to see the situation on other paths; only the countdown number for the end of the nightfall overhead was very conspicuous. Even the visibility under the nightfall was provided by this huge and bright countdown number.

The countdown number overhead showed that there were three minutes left until the end of the nightfall. After glancing at the countdown number, Toslev turned back and said to Chen Aoyun,

"Have you noticed that the Special Targets this time are starting to become harder to kill?

The duration of the nightfall is twenty minutes. If the Special Targets cannot be killed within twenty minutes, they will disappear after the nightfall ends.

Last time the nightfall descended, I used the Heroic Spirit Manifestation to kill the Special Target, and there were five minutes left until the end of the nightfall after the kill. But this time, there are only three minutes left."

Chen Aoyun had also noticed this situation,

"It takes longer to kill the Special Target with the Heroic Spirit Manifestation, and the Towers are slower!

Last nightfall, right after the Heroic Spirit Manifestation killed the Special Target, the numerous Towers were soon able to deal with the other Special Target as well.

But right now, the Special Target on the Towers' side has not been cleared yet!

Switch to another Heroic Spirit Manifestation to support?"

Different Special Targets require different origins of Heroic Spirit Manifestations to target them, and under the rules, only one Heroic Spirit Manifestation can exist at the same time.

When dealing with the black Special Target, Toslev used a Heroic Spirit of Fantasy origin. If he wanted to support the Towers' side at this moment, he would have to replace the Fantasy origin Heroic Spirit with a Legend origin Heroic Spirit.

Toslev just observed for a moment and then said,

"No need.

Switching Heroic Spirits consumes resources in the crystal; let's use the limited resources to test your hypothesis instead.

As for the Towers' side, it is a bit slow, but it should be able to deal with the other Special Target before the nightfall ends."

After all, it was Russia's own defensive path; Toslev had his own Judgment, so Chen Aoyun did not meddle in this matter.

Letting the Towers continue to focus fire on the other Special Target, Toslev began to test Chen Aoyun's previous hypothesis.

"According to your hypothesis, to lock onto another country's Tower as a target under the nightfall, besides it having to be a True Martial Heroic Spirit, there must also be a corresponding war.

Among the countries that have not been eliminated yet, the USA poses the greatest threat.

Do you have any suitable Heroic Spirits to recommend?"

A Russian asking a Dragon Country person what kind of Russian Heroic Spirit he should play?

It was fortunate that this scene under the nightfall would not be broadcast; otherwise, it would really make audiences around the world drop their jaws.

Toslev stared blankly at Chen Aoyun, expecting his answer.

But he did not expect Chen Aoyun to shake his head directly without even thinking, saying, "None!"

Toslev looked incredulous, "None?"

Chen Aoyun: "Yes, none! If your target is the USA's Towers, then Russia does not have any Heroic Spirits that meet the conditions."

Toslev: "Are you kidding me? Even I know that in the Old Era, my Russia and the USA were rivals! We had constant friction for hegemony in the Old Era.

I can find one or two corresponding Heroic Spirits myself, yet you say there are none?"

For a moment, Toslev even began to doubt Chen Aoyun's ability.

Was Chen Aoyun really as many [Strategists] guessed, familiar with Dragon Country's legends and also clear about the lost history of other countries?

Could all the previous things just be coincidences?

Otherwise, how could it be that even for Heroic Spirits he himself had in mind, there wasn't a single suitable one in Chen Aoyun's words?

Hearing this, Chen Aoyun smiled slightly, revealing a patient yet unfathomable expression to Toslev, and explained,

"Half-understood history is the most terrifying. I advise you not to waste limited crystal resources playing the Heroic Spirits you have in mind!

In the Old Era, your Russia and the USA were at daggers drawn because of the struggle for world hegemony; this period was called the 'Cold War'.

Since it was called the 'Cold War', it was not a 'Hot War'.

This is not nonsense, but rather that although Russia and the USA had various camp confrontations, mutual infiltration/counter-infiltration, proxy wars... in the Old Era, and several times were about to flip the table and fight, in the end, no direct conflict occurred."

Toslev was suspicious,

"Your hypothesized rule is: it must be a True Martial Heroic Spirit with a war legend to lock onto the corresponding country's Tower.

And now you are telling me that Russia and the USA never fought a war in the Old Era?

I treat you as an advisor and a friend; you aren't playing me, are you?

If you want me to change the target of the attempt to Sakura Country, you can just say so; there's no need for this..."

[Strategists] are all shrewd; it is difficult to build true trust between them. Toslev did not believe Chen Aoyun's words. Chen Aoyun had explained what he should, so he said bluntly,

"If you don't believe my words, you can try it; anyway, for Russia, the resources in the crystal are not few."

Now it was Toslev's turn to hesitate. The resources in Russia's crystal were not few, but it depended on who you compared them with.

The rule for obtaining resources by clearing Wave Demons is: the faster you kill, and the further away from the crystal you kill the Wave Demons, the more resources you get for clearing each wave of demons.

This is also why every country has not missed a single wave of demons so far, but the amount of resources obtained varies.

Compared to other countries, the resources in Russia's crystal are indeed a lot, but if compared to the USA, which also started with many high-strength Towers, the resources in Russia's crystal are just barely on par.

And don't forget there is also Sakura Country, which is catching up from behind!

Toslev did not want to waste resources for no reason, but after some thought, he still did not heed Chen Aoyun's advice and played a True Martial Heroic Spirit targeting the USA on his own.

Such a move was both a reasonable choice by Toslev for the current situation and a test of trust.

Chen Aoyun did not say much, crossing his arms and watching from the sidelines.

A moment later.

After Toslev showed an expression of failure, Chen Aoyun spoke,

"Perhaps there is a problem with the rule I guessed?

You can try Heroic Spirits targeting Sakura Country.

Give me some True Martial Heroic Spirits you think can target Sakura Country, and I will pick the one with the least issues for you."

In the Old Era, there were quite a few conflicts between Russia and Sakura Country, and there were many eligible Heroic Spirits.

However, regarding historical legends of the Old Era, if the character had never appeared as a Heroic Spirit, Chen Aoyun's words about these characters would be swallowed.

That is why Chen Aoyun asked Toslev to list the Heroic Spirits himself, and he would pick. He could help confirm whether those Heroic Spirits had really fought against Sakura Country in the history of the Old Era, and could provide appropriate popularization of legends after Toslev proposed these Heroic Spirits, enhancing trust between the two.

Regarding the secrets of his country's Heroic Spirits, Toslev didn't list many; he listed three Heroic Spirits. Chen Aoyun determined one of the famous ones from them... [Zhukov]!

Needless to say how strong [Zhukov], who received four 'Gold Star Medals of Hero', was; the key was that he had the legend of encircling and annihilating the Japanese army in the 'Battle of Khalkhin Gol'.

Since [Zhukov] is both a True Martial Heroic Spirit and has a corresponding battle, as long as Chen Aoyun's guess about the rule is correct, he must be usable to lock onto Sakura Country's Towers!

Toslev did not immediately make the attempt on the rule, but instead discussed this Heroic Spirit with Chen Aoyun as much as possible.

This could be considered the first time Chen Aoyun completely used his own historical knowledge to help a [Strategist] from another country. In addition, [Zhukov] had no legends threatening Dragon Country, so Chen Aoyun told a bit more.

From the 'Military God of the Red Empire' to 'Fireman', 'Battlefield Savior', 'Legendary General'...

The details of each of [Zhukov]'s battles, the glorious moments of the Heroic Spirit [Zhukov]—Toslev listened with eyes shining like light bulbs!

Many were legends Toslev didn't know. If these legends were carefully pondered and understood, they might be constructed into [Zhukov]'s exclusive skills!

The previous suspicion was gone. As a [Strategist] of Russia, Toslev could feel that these legends told by Chen Aoyun were correct!

Chen Aoyun stopped a few times, and Toslev asked again and again, asking until Toslev himself felt a bit embarrassed, and until the nightfall countdown was about to hit zero. Only then did Toslev let Chen Aoyun go and began to use [Zhukov] to verify the previously guessed rule.

The Heroic Spirit Manifestation of Fantasy origin previously used to kill the Special Target was dispersed by Toslev. Then, mobilizing the resources in the crystal, Toslev played the Heroic Spirit Manifestation of [Zhukov].

Chen Aoyun stood with his hands behind his back, watching from the sidelines.

A moment later.

A beam of light shot out from the Tower where the [Zhukov] Manifestation had been placed. The direction of the shot was not at the Wave Demons under the nightfall, nor at the Special Target that had just been annihilated, but cut across a long arc and disappeared into the nightfall.

"It worked! So, our guess is correct!" Seeing the trajectory streak across the sky, Chen Aoyun said after hitting his fist into his palm.

"It worked?" Toslev's expression was a bit strange, "Strange, truly strange. After I played the Manifestation of [Zhukov], I only had a slight movement of thought, and I didn't realistically lock onto any specific Tower of Sakura Country, yet this trajectory flew out directly..."

"Perhaps it's because the Towers of Sakura Country cannot be seen under the nightfall, so the locking method can only be by country, not by a specific Tower?" Toslev was the executor; Chen Aoyun could not fully understand his specific feelings and could only guess this way.

"Can you fire another shot?" Chen Aoyun asked. This was an attack targeting Sakura Country's Towers; of course, the more, the better.

Toslev's eyebrows were still knitted together, "No, it seems that each time nightfall descends, one can only use the Heroic Spirit Manifestation to attack another country's Tower once."

From beginning to end, 'Rules Skipped' never appeared in Toslev's mind.

"Usually, for hidden rules that need to be tested, if the attempt is correct, the rule will automatically pop up.

But right now, no rules appeared in my mind..."

Toslev himself also said that it was usually the case that 'Rules Skipped' would appear.

Some hidden rules, even if tested correctly, would not automatically pop up. Some hidden rules even have uniqueness; they can only be viewed by one party. Once someone finds or verifies this rule a step ahead, others can no longer see this rule.

"Blind guessing is meaningless. Whether that shot just now was effective or not, we will know when the nightfall ends." Chen Aoyun patted Toslev's shoulder and said.