Published at 7th of June 2026 7:18 am

Chapter 7509 Flawed Work

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The activation of the new defensive spell array successfully freed most of the human servicemen from the dangers of the outside environment.

An invisible protective bubble had formed around the entire combined fleet.

Within this fairly generous sphere, the dark miasma found no purchase anymore. They could get in no matter how persistently they pressed against the newly appeared boundary.

The weak but extremely numerous deathborn also found themselves kicked out. Though they tried their damnest best to claw and bash their way through the barrier, only for nothing to happen.

"You're a lifesaver, Andrea. I don't need the protection, but almost all of the soldiers do. They will be able to sleep easier and prepare for the upcoming battle with greater confidence."

"I would not celebrate so soon if I was in your place, Ves." The female formation master softly replied.

That caused Ves to drop his smile. "What is the issue?"

"On the surface, the defensive spell array is working as intended. However, our adversaries have not given up on trying to attack us. Even as we speak, millions of deathborn are constantly trying to claw their way past the boundary. Their ceaseless attacks put more pressure on our qi formation. This has multiple consequences, of which the most concerning is the increased wear and tear on the formation anchors."

"I was meaning to ask you about this." He said with a frown. "From my understanding, formation anchors are supposed to be quite durable. They should easily be able to last on a scale of years, decades or even centuries. How come your latest work can only last for a few weeks at most? Is it just because of the rushed design phase and the lack of fitting materials?"

Andrea Vos looked at Ves with a measured expression. "The design is flawed. That is unavoidable. The limited selection of materials in our fleet is another hindrance. What truly bothers my colleagues and I is the source of energy that sustains our qi formation."

"Ah. I was wondering about that as well." Ves said. "It is quite remarkable that you guys are already able to defend against this corrosive energy by using it as your fuel source. However, your tone suggests that your method is not as perfect as you wish."

"Correct. Our databases contain many references on how to harness the power of common attributes such as fire and lightning. We do not have as many records or research on the less common ones such as the death attribute. This is a shortcoming of the Red Collective, and one that must be corrected as soon as possible."

"I don't blame you guys. As far as I know, the only reliable way to produce death energy is to kill a lot of sentient beings in the same location. That is not something you can do lightly against fellow human beings. The only ones you can kill without fault are aliens, but they won't go down lightly. It is a lot of trouble to prepare any experiments related to death energy on a dangerous battlefield. Not many researchers possess the courage and drive to apply for them. Most will want to remain safely in the rear where the dangers of the Red War have a hard time reaching their positions."

A contemptuous expression appeared on her face. "There are many qi cultivators within the Collective that ascribe to the theory that we must be more active with using the powers that we have gained through our efforts. Only by practising what we have learned in real scenarios will we be able to leave a mark in the fabric of reality, causing us to gain more weight relative to other beings. I happen to ascribe to this theory as well. I am happy to serve alongside you as you are the living embodiment of a human that has single-handedly changed all of our lives."

That sounded very familiar to Ves. "Are you referring to the Myth Reproduction Theory?"

"Yes. It originally emerged as a way to explain the difficulties of ace pilots trying to bridge the enormous divide to godhood, but we believe it applies to all cultivators regardless of their methods. Trying to play it safe and remain confined within your lab may allow my more risk-averse colleagues to deepen and expand their foundations, but I believe that persistent lack of action will only solidify their current states, thereby making it increasingly harder for them to break through and achieve major progress in the future."

That was exactly what Ves thought as well about mech pilots and mech designers!

He had read many biographies of god pilots and Star Designers during his younger years.

It was very rare for these gods in human forms to live uneventful lives.

Many of them experienced legendary journeys.

In fact, the ones that did not have a noteworthy story probably did a lot of exciting stuff, but managed to keep the details secret from the public!

Whatever the case, Ves was glad to hear that Andrea agreed with his philosophy.

"Now that you and the Moloch Squadron have served with me for a while now, have you noticed any differences between your group and that of your colleagues in the rear?"

"Possibly." The female cultivator responded with a modest smile. "I know that many of the formation masters that have opted to stay behind have expanded their knowledge and refined their existing methods to a greater degree than myself. In contrast, I have made substantially greater progress in accelerating my qi cultivation. My practical capabilities have also improved by a strong degree. I am quite certain that none of my colleagues back in the rear could have designed and deployed the defensive spell array under the current circumstances. Their chances of failure are greater, and they would need at least twice or thrice as much time to complete the same amount of steps."

Ves looked impressed. "That does sound like a huge improvement. I hope that you will be able to distinguish yourself even better in the future."

"Thank you, sir, but let us get back to the original topic." She said. "As much as I am proud of my capabilities, my understanding and familiarity of death E energy has not reached a satisfactory level. We had to make inferences based on limited contact and convoluted theories from ancient records. Even with the assistance of a think tank of the Red Collective, we had to make far too many assumptions in the process of designing our defensive spell array. Even if we have managed to achieve a relatively high hit rate, that is still very short of the ideal state. The formation anchors that are responsible for diverting and shaping some of the energies from the dark miasma were never meant to last forever, but if we had optimised it further, it should have been able to last a month even when subjected to increased pressure."

"What exactly is wrong with the formation anchors?" Ves asked.

"There are too many reasons to mention, but one of the ones I am concerned about is that our qi formation is largely designed to defend against static and consistent forces. It works better if the dark miasma and the deathborn maintain constant activity and only gradually change their activities. The situation becomes much less optimistic when there are larger shifts. For example, if the deathborn become more organized and launch concentrated attacks, then the qi formation will now be able to endure nearly as well. There is a chance that the bubble will deform, thereby putting assets that were previously safe in acute danger. Strong shifts also induce greater stresses on the components of the formation anchor, causing their more fragile and vulnerable components to wear down much faster than normal. None of this is ideal."

"You did the best you could under the circumstances. You said so yourself. I am highly familiar with the compromise that you need to make if you have to do everything in a hurry under field conditions."

The Farseer still looks upset. "You do not need to console me, sir. I am merely irritated because my latest work is grating on my professionalism. If we had been granted much more time, we would have been able to take additional variables and changes into account. If we had access to more suitable materials that are much more resistant against death energy, our formation anchors would not be wearing down so quickly."

"You can always dream about enjoying ideal conditions, but these fantasies never come true. In my opinion, it is pointless to think in this direction. What I enjoy a lot more is trying to get the most from the least. The true test of a craftsman is how to create a masterwork under highly restrictive circumstances. If you can navigate through all of the limitations and exceed everyone's expectations, then you have proven yourself to be a true master."

"Then it is clear that I am still far from reaching that standard." The Farseer sighed.

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