Chapter 159: Azure Gold Empire's Unusual Activity, Resolving Distance Issues
As Su Nan entered Autumn Moon, the autumn aura gradually intensified. The plains surrounding Flash City were painted a pale yellow. He advanced smoothly and without obstruction into the Royal Palace, where he arrived at the central palace.
While passing through the courtyard, he spotted three adorable children, resembling jade carvings, playing amid more than a dozen maids. Upon noticing Su Nan, the eldest boy shouted, “Uncle,” and clumsily ran towards him, hugging Su Nan's leg tightly. The other two—another boy and a girl—followed suit, gazing at Su Nan with curiosity.
"Lord!" the maids accompanying them all bowed respectfully. Su Nan waved his hand, knelt slightly, and smiled as he patted Abbott’s head.
"Where's your father?"
"Father is in the Council Hall," Abbott replied briskly. Su Nan smiled again and then turned to the two children standing behind, a boy and a girl.
"You must be Wes and Adela."
Wes was Ke Yi's second son, and Adela was his first daughter.
"How do you know our names?" Wes asked, tilting his head in confusion. Adela, still very young, didn’t speak much; she simply sucked on her finger, staring intently at Su Nan with her large, dark eyes.
"Because I’m your uncle."
Su Nan chuckled but didn’t answer. He patted the little one on the head and turned to the maids.
"Take good care of them."
After giving that instruction, Su Nan turned and left. Only after he had walked a considerable distance did Abbott reluctantly withdraw his gaze and then turned to pat his younger brother’s head.
"Silly, uncle is father's younger brother. Everyone says uncle is a very powerful person."
Wes seemed to grasp the concept but soon became distracted by a butterfly fluttering past, prompting him to chase after it. When Su Nan arrived at the Council Hall, he found Ke Yi engaged in discussions with his ministers. From the original Black Rock City to today's Starry Sky Empire, Ke Yi’s forces had expanded significantly, and there were many new faces that Su Nan did not recognize.
The dozen or so people seated in the Council Hall were all high-ranking nobles of the Grand Duchy. Su Nan recognized only a few of them, such as Brad, Jordon, and Starry. Compared to ten years ago, Brad and the others appeared much more weathered, with more silver strands in their hair. Even the power of a Grand Knight couldn't defy the passage of time. Fortunately, years of indulgent living had kept their complexions rosy and their spirits lively.
Amidst ministers in their forties and fifties, Ke Yi looked quite young. Having just turned thirty this year, he was in the prime of his manhood. With his legendary level of strength, he showed no signs of aging.
"Lord Su Nan!"
Upon seeing Su Nan enter, everyone rose to their feet and bowed in greeting. Ke Yi smiled and waved to the crowd. "That's enough for today; we will discuss the rest tomorrow. You may all leave now."
Brad and the others nodded in agreement, understanding the situation, and soon the hall was empty, leaving only Ke Yi and Su Nan. After the servants brought in red tea and placed it on the coffee table before departing, Ke Yi smiled and said, "It's been several months since you've been here. Have you been busy with the new Base?"
Su Nan had informed Ke Yi about the relocation of the Base. While Ke Yi felt some regret, he respected Su Nan's decision. Besides, Base Number 1 would not be entirely abandoned; it would continue to serve as a transfer station. As long as that place remained, the people of Flash City would feel a bit more secure.
"It's almost done," Su Nan replied, picking up the red tea. He took a sip, then set it down and shifted the topic. "I read the Gazette; it seems the Azure Gold Empire hasn't been behaving lately?"
Though Su Nan spent most of his time in the Underworld, he had not ignored the events in the surface world. Each month, the Starry Sky Empire compiled the most significant recent information into a Gazette, distributing it to high-ranking nobles, with a copy also sent to Su Nan's study.
"According to the Gazette, the Azure Gold Empire has been conducting frequent military exercises in the border cities adjacent to the Starry Sky Empire for the past two months. Advisors of the Royal Family speculate that the Azure Gold Empire is likely using these actions to conceal some military deployments.
'The existence of the duchy already threatens the Azure Gold Empire's rule in the Southeast Region. It's not surprising that Your Majesty, the emperor, would take action against the duchy,' Ke Yi said calmly.
Any other ruler in a different country, upon learning that their nation was being targeted by the Azure Gold Empire, would undoubtedly find it extremely troublesome, even if they weren't living in constant fear.
But Ke Yi was different.
Because the Starry Sky Empire had Su Nan.
Others might not realize this, but Ke Yi understood the immense power of the Star Alliance that Su Nan had established in the Underworld.
In truth, the military strength of the Star Alliance was even greater than that of the Starry Sky Empire.
With such a reliable ally, Ke Yi had no reason to worry.
However, this was also the main reason why the Azure Gold Empire had targeted the Starry Sky Empire.
With Su Nan, the Starry Sky Empire was like a young lion with great potential.
Unless the Azure Gold Empire was foolish, they wouldn't just stand by and watch the Starry Sky Empire grow stronger, challenging them for dominance in the Southeast Region in the future.
Indeed, Ke Yi was acutely aware that if not for their fear of Su Nan, the Azure Gold Empire would likely have already sent troops to attack the Starry Sky Empire.
'What are you planning to do?' Su Nan asked.
'Although I haven't made full preparations, if the Azure Gold Empire seeks to start a war, I will stand ready to accompany them,' Ke Yi said with a chuckle, confidence radiating from his tone.
'The only issue is the Azure Gold Royal Family's Wizard—his name is Scepter. Is he part of the same Wizard organization as you?'
'Yes,' Su Nan replied calmly. 'I'll find an opportunity to speak with him.'
If Scepter truly intended to support the Azure Gold Empire in starting a war, then there was nothing more to discuss—they could merely meet on the battlefield.
Even though they were both members of the Secret Forest Hut, he wouldn't show mercy.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Frostfall Moon arrived.
The first snow had finally come.
Pure white snowflakes blanketed the land, and the cold wind howled."
Long Lin was as warm as spring, with a pleasant climate that held steady.
Dragon Bone Tower, Thirteenth Level, Breeding Room No. 3.
Though referred to as a breeding room, it actually utilized space folding technology, making the effective area nearly one square kilometer—one of only three large breeding rooms in Dragon Bone Tower.
The entire breeding room had been transformed into a dark cave environment.
Su Nan floated next to an upside-down stalactite, watching the young Dragon Antelopes happily scampering around the vast cave.
Upon deciding to establish a Dragon Antelope ranch, Su Nan immediately began implementing his plan.
However, creating a ranch was not as simple as merely capturing a group of Dragon Antelopes.
The temperaments of adult Dragon Antelopes were already set, making them extremely difficult to tame. Thus, Su Nan planned to start cultivating them from a young age.
He directly captured a batch of Dragon Antelopes that were only a few days old from the wild, placing them in the breeding room for personal cultivation and taming. His intention was to release them into the outside ranch once they were fully grown.
After a few months, the results were satisfactory.
The young Dragon Antelopes, fed constantly by his apprentice, were still a bit wild, but they were not as resistant to human approach and touch.
It would have been absolutely impossible for adult Dragon Antelopes to achieve this level of comfort in just a few months.
“With two or three more years of cultivation, they should be able to overcome their wild instincts, and then they can be released into the outside ranch,” Su Nan thought to himself.
Leaving the breeding room, he teleported to the workshop.
After this period of cultivation, his spiritual power had reached the standard required to fuse with a Level 4 Magic Pattern Core.
His physique had also been enhanced to 55 points long ago by consuming Dragon Blood Fruit, meeting the necessary requirements as well.
With that, Su Nan swiftly synthesized a Level 4 Magic Pattern Core and fused it into his body.
As expected, the power of the upgraded Level 4 Magic Pattern Core had increased dramatically.
When used at full power, the storm of metal spikes generated by the Magic Pattern Core was capable of reducing a Mithril Golem to a riddled mess in less than half a minute.
It was important to note that this was a strengthened Mithril Golem, a genuine Third Circle Legend Puppet, unlike the original version of the Mithril Golem he had encountered at the gate of the Eweigni Laboratory.
"If it were a Second Ring Legendary Puppet, I believe they could defeat it in a single move."
"In terms of defense, if converted into defense points, it's around 6,500 to 7,000, which is roughly equivalent to stacking six or seven layers of Extreme Protection Ring defense."
"With such high defense points, even a Formal Wizard would find it challenging to break through."
"Beneath the level of Formal Wizard, unless one’s Spiritual Power is completely depleted, it's practically impossible for anyone to breach it."
"And the consumption of Spiritual Power, which Su Nan was most concerned about, hardly increased at all."
"With my current Spiritual Power, I can sustain it for about four minutes."
"In high-intensity combat, it shouldn't be a problem to last for three minutes."
It's worth mentioning that Su Nan has already figured out the last two substitute metals needed to refine the Magic Pattern Core.
In other words, he has almost achieved freedom in refining the Magic Pattern Core.
As long as he wishes to, he can refine the Magic Pattern Core in batches at any time.
What currently restricts him, aside from the cost, is his own Spirit and Physique.
The fusion requirement for a level 5 Magic Pattern Core is a Spirit of 58.65 and a Physique of 71.24.
As for a level 6 Magic Pattern Core, Su Nan estimates he won’t be able to fuse it before advancing to Wizard.
That said, this is still good news for Su Nan.
The Magic Pattern Core is not only one of his current trump cards but also key to his future advancement to Wizard.
This is why he insisted on researching substitute metals, even though he knew there was a limit to the synthesis level of the Magic Pattern Core.
After spending half a day in the workshop creating a batch of Magic Pattern Constructs, Su Nan returned to his study.
He hadn’t been sitting long when Karolina came looking for him.
"Master."
Karolina gave a graceful bow.
Since joining Su Nan's ranks, this Sphinx noble has consumed a significant amount of Dragon Blood Fruit and various enhancement potions, and now her power has already broken through to the Second-Ring Legend level, making her stronger than the former city lord of Youhu City, Yusula.
"What is it?" Su Nan asked, not looking up, his eyes fixed on the book in his hand.
Karolina replied respectfully, "Master, the location for setting up the Spatial Channel has been chosen."
Su Nan finally lifted his head, thought for a moment, and then rose to leave the study.
"Lead the way."
"Yes, Master."
Inspired by the Long Lin Teleportation Array, Su Nan planned to establish a Spatial Channel between the three City States of Lake of Gloom, Matu, and Olsen, connecting them to one another so that he wouldn’t have to travel hundreds of kilometers each time.
The reason he hadn’t established a Teleportation Array was that he lacked the necessary technology.
Moreover, teleportation had always been the domain of Wizards. Even as a Wizard Apprentice, he would be unable to establish a Teleportation Array, even if he had access to the technology.
So, Su Nan devised a clever workaround.
Just like the connection between Base Number 1 and Base 2, he would create a Spatial Channel leading to Long Lin in each of the three City States, using Long Lin as a transfer point to connect them.
In this way, although real-time teleportation wasn’t possible, he could achieve half the effect of a Teleportation Array, significantly shortening travel distances.
After making several trips, Su Nan quickly set up a Spatial Channel in each of the three City States.
The other side of the passage connected to a designated open space carved out of Dragon Forest Area 3, serving solely as a transfer point, without access to other areas of Long Lin.
"With these three Spatial Channels, I won’t have to make long journeys anymore."
After testing them with a Stone Golem to confirm that all three channels were functioning properly, Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.
The Underworld was sparsely populated, with far fewer City States than the surface world, and each City State was extremely distant from the others.
The complex terrain also hampered the use of transportation, like carriages, so most people had to travel on foot or ride beasts.
This was why national-level powers rarely emerged in the Underworld.
In addition to the numerous races in the Underworld, the lack of efficient transportation and communication systems limited the exchange of information and materials between City States, making it difficult for a cohesive entity to form.
But now that the Star Alliance had the Spatial Channels, distance was no longer an issue.
In addition to solving the long-distance travel problem, these three Spatial Channels could also provide timely support in times of war.
In less than half an hour, a small Golem Legion could traverse the Spatial Channel and arrive from one City State to another.
He could even go further and place a mobile Golem Legion directly at the transfer point.
"Once any City State erupted into war, they could swiftly open a Spatial Channel to provide support, taking even less time.
No matter how meticulously the enemy planned, they would never anticipate that another army could suddenly appear within their City State.
After all, in the current Starlight Continent, no other Wizard Apprentices constructed Teleportation Arrays.
Aside from Su Nan, who wielded Long Lin, no other force could offer such rapid support!
Karolina understood these principles well.
From the moment Su Nan suggested establishing the Spatial Channel, she recognized the immense benefits it would bring to the Star Alliance.
It could be said that with the Spatial Channel, Star Alliance's most pressing challenge in expanding its territory in the future had been resolved!
As she gazed at Su Nan's back, a hint of awe flashed in Karolina's eyes.
Within the entire Star Alliance, her position was one of the closest to Su Nan.
Yet even so, she still hadn't fully grasped his true nature.
The more she interacted with him, the more she sensed the unfathomable depths within Su Nan; he often accomplished incredible feats, making him hard to define.
If earlier she had felt a twinge of reluctance and frustration at being subordinate to someone else, those emotions had long since dissipated, replaced by a profound sense of relief.
Following this man, she might even witness the day when the Star Alliance conquered the entire Underworld.
Comments