Chapter 609: Ineffective
A few days later, the interference predicted by the mages arrived as scheduled. Many soldiers awoke from their slumber to find their surroundings shrouded in a hazy veil.
A faint purple hue permeated nearly every corner of Mars, adding a mysterious aura to the ochre planet.
It was as if a spring breeze had arrived overnight, blossoming a thousand trees and ten thousand purple flowers.
This layer of resistant mist, stirred by the Spirit of Nature and stemming from Mars's indigenous life, cast numerous negative and positive "auras" upon the invaders and defenders standing on Martian soil, respectively.
......
"Indeed, it's an electronic interference mist," Mai Hao Li, the commander-in-chief of Mars, remarked from atop a lookout tower, surveying the boundless, pale purple haze below.
Thanks to the divination team's warnings, the military had long prepared for potential signal interference. This move by the Spirit of Nature didn't achieve the effect it had envisioned.
"It also comes with three negative statuses: accelerated stamina consumption, weakened attacks, and occasional dizziness," the senior mage advisor added.
"Why does it feel like a game? We just got hit with a multi-layered negative aura right from the start."
"Heaven's Will? Is it even worthy? Just a pitiful worm imprisoned by faith. True Heaven's Will would at least be on his level."
"Seventh Tier... Alas, I'm still a long way from even the Sixth Tier, a legendary mage." The mage leader accompanying the army gave a bitter smile.
......
"And if that's the case, the enemy army should correspondingly have three positive auras: increased stamina, enhanced attacks, and doubled concentration?" Seeing the conversation nearing a dead end, Mai Hao Li somewhat awkwardly steered the topic elsewhere.
"Most likely."
"Too bad it doesn't know that humanity has never triumphed solely through physical combat strength. Our greatest advantage lies in knowing how to use tools."
"If only we had more 'Little Raccoons,' we could even take the initiative to attack."
To counter the predicted maneuvers the Martian side might employ, the Federation's military headquarters urgently transported a batch of special military vehicles equipped with "Raccoon Interference Devices" from the Moon's main warehouse.
These combat-incapable vehicles were initially developed to counter the interference with technological weapons exerted by Earth's Four Great Mystical Realms in the past, preparing the military for an all-out assault on the mystical realms.
However, before they could be widely deployed to the army, the Land of White burst forth and occupied the mystical realms, causing the plan to die in its infancy. The other combat-incapable Raccoon Interference Vehicles were cast aside, gathering dust in the "cold palace."
Later, these Raccoon Interference Vehicles, having lost their original purpose, were serendipitously discovered by other research teams and underwent deeper modifications, transforming them completely into potent weapons against Xuanhua Stage Spirit Energy cultivators.
......
The Xuanhua layer had always been a super-strong "turtle shell" protecting Xuanhua Stage cultivators. This invisible, heavy defense could even allow them to withstand the blast of low-yield nuclear bombs head-on.
This abnormal defensive power, sufficient to resist some nuclear weapons, marked a crucial dividing line between the Fourth Tier and Fifth Tier.
However, the modified Raccoon Interference Vehicles possessed a terrifying effect: the ability to interfere with the generation of the Xuanhua layer within a certain range. Paired with special assassination weapons, this gave ordinary people a slim chance to ambush and slaughter "gods" stripped of their strongest defense.
Of course, the "Little Raccoons" in the Mars base now weren't there to kill, but to counter interference.
Silent and invisible, special Spirit Energy ripples continuously spread outwards from dozens of "Little Raccoons," ensuring that the interior and surroundings of the Mars base remained unaffected by the purple mist.
......
"Praise the Holy Light!" A unified cry resounded through the sky!
A large group of Luminous Holy Church priests emerged from the military camp, chanting slogans and unleashing the power of Holy Light to completely counteract the negative auras enveloping the soldiers.
As part of the accompanying mage corps, they, along with the military doctors, jointly bore the heavy responsibility of logistical support. For curses, which modern medicine had yet to address, the priests' power proved miraculously effective.
Ever since the madness over twenty years ago that caused the One-Wheel Cult's overnight collapse, wide-area curses, as special weapons of mass destruction, had become a research priority for various nations.
And humanity, tirelessly dedicated to researching both "courting death" and "counter-courting death," saw the teams researching anti-curses grow day by day in order to deal with increasingly terrifying curse mages.
Leading the charge in this field were the priests of the Luminous Holy Church.
With the power of Holy Light, they could weaken or even nullify most curses. What happened with the One-Wheel Cult last time would be difficult to repeat in the future.
......
"Leader, should we still advance?" The Martian army, ambushed on the side, preparing to launch a surprise attack as per the divine oracle, couldn't help but feel a little timid despite having a Sixth Tier leader, as they watched the distant, still orderly Moon people.
The overwhelming artillery fire they had faced during their previous frontal assault had already scarred the mid- and lower-tier warriors psychologically. That despair was something no amount of hot-blooded bravery could change.
Without even touching a single hair on the enemy, the Martian warriors charging from the ground were thoroughly riddled with bullets and artillery fire that seemed to cost nothing.
Low-tier Martian soldiers, on the battlefield, served only as cannon fodder, wasting the Moon army's ammunition.
After two or three such attempts, no matter how much the village chiefs, tribal elders, or city lords within the tribes tried to cajole them, they couldn't muster many warriors willing to directly charge the enemy's positions.
Because all the brave ones had already been gunned down by the enemy on the battlefield.
"Retreat." The Nuo You leader uttered the word as if it cost it all its strength.
As a staunch proponent of war, the cruelest thing was to discover, through continuous combat, the despair-inducing gap in strength between their side and the enemy.
"Yes!" Hearing their leader's reply, the group behind him visibly relaxed.
If the leader had refused to abandon the plan and insisted they forcefully charge the enemy's main base, likely few of them present would have survived.
As for deserting on the battlefield? Before the imposing presence of a Sixth Tier powerhouse, those who retreated would only die faster than anyone else.
Nuo You, ghost-like in appearance, watched the reactions of the others, its sense of helplessness deepening.
In recent days, it had dealt with quite a few defeatist elements spreading seditious rumors within the tribe. Yet, the deteriorating war situation inevitably propagated despair.
"Is Heaven truly determined to destroy me?"
As a super-powerful tribal expert qualified to challenge Ying Huo, the Spirit of Nature, the "Heaven" it spoke of was clearly not that impostor, but a more elusive, mystical existence.
After a brief sigh of emotion, it secretly took out a small pamphlet titled "Path of Transfiguration," circulated from other tribes, glanced at it twice, then resolutely stuffed it back into its pocket without flipping through its contents again.
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