Chapter 199: The Key is Still Su Nan
With the capture of Spider City, the entire Southeast Region of the Underworld fell completely under the control of the Star Alliance.
The conflict in the Southeast Region subsided and shifted toward development and exploitation.
Throughout the Southeast Region, the Star Alliance faced virtually no external threats. Consequently, apart from maintaining a small garrison, most of its military forces were gradually redeployed to the front lines in the Northwest Region.
In the Dragon Bone Tower, Su Nan was reviewing the latest war reports.
The battles in the Northwest Region were progressing smoothly. After enduring a string of devastating defeats, the Falling Star Alliance had effectively collapsed, now existing only in name and fighting independently.
All that remained was to eliminate them one by one.
At most, it would take four or five years to fully conquer the Northwest Region.
Once that was achieved, the entire Underworld would be firmly within the grasp of the Star Alliance!
The thought filled Su Nan with a smile.
It was even more significant than the surface world.
The abundant resources of the Underworld, especially various types of metal, were vital for establishing the Wizard Tower.
The Wizard Tower would essentially serve as a large fortress that could house tens of thousands for both residence and cultivation, necessitating an enormous amount of basic construction materials.
Various types of stone and metal would be needed in quantities of tens of thousands of tons.
Without sufficient financial support, even the 'outer shell' of the Wizard Tower could not be constructed, let alone the various large facilities that would follow.
In the era of Wizards, those who could afford to build a Wizard Tower typically controlled at least one private base, or rather, a colony world.
Su Nan's plan was to transform the Underworld into his private base, providing various resource materials for his future development.
As for the surface world, at this stage, it served as a dumping ground for the Star Alliance's goods and a territory supplying a steady stream of resources to Starlight Academy.
It is worth noting that the war on the surface world was also advancing smoothly.
The unification war launched by the Prosperous Star Empire had reached its final stages. Now, only three or four countries remained in a desperate struggle, but their defeat was only a matter of time.
According to the war reports, the Prosperous Star Empire was expected to conclude the conflict in the Southeast Region within two years.
After closing the battle report and setting it aside, Su Nan looked up at the Secret Puppet Girl standing guard on either side of the desk.
The battle against the Demispider Godspawn had already demonstrated the combat strength of the Secret Puppet. Although it had been on the losing end from the start, the opponent was a formidable God-Favored Creature capable of confronting a Wizard directly. In truth, the Secret Puppet Girl had performed admirably.
After all, even Su Nan himself had needed Engraved Gemstones and Black Thunder to defeat the Demispider Godspawn.
However, the battle also revealed a critical weakness in the Secret Puppet—its insufficient defense.
A body composed of diamonds was nearly indestructible against foes below the Wizard level. But when facing higher-level beings, its limitations became apparent. Otherwise, the Secret Puppet wouldn't have lost an arm to the Demispider Godspawn.
A method to enhance the Secret Puppet's defense needed to be found; otherwise, this deficiency would remain a fatal flaw in future confrontations against opponents of similar strength.
"Synthesizing Magic Diamond with a higher hardness to replace the current body materials is too inefficient and would dramatically increase costs."
"Adding a defensive Enchantment Rune… No, the current Enchantment Rune is already at its limit. Unless I can find a material of higher grade than Mithril, I cannot add any more runes."
Several ideas crossed Su Nan's mind, but he quickly dismissed them. The key condition for realizing these concepts involved upgrading and replacing materials.
Using the Synthesis Cube, accomplishing this wasn't particularly difficult, but the costs would skyrocket. In the end, the expenses could reach a million Gold Coins.
This was something Su Nan could not accept. Even with control over half of the Underworld, he couldn't afford to be extravagant and wasteful. He still needed resources to construct a Wizard Tower, so he couldn't squander too much on this matter.
—Of course, the primary reason was that the cost-effectiveness was far too low.
After pondering for a considerable time, Su Nan suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Since he couldn’t start with the body’s structure, he would need to explore external solutions.
Like Magic Items.
"Secret Puppet does not possess Spiritual Power and cannot activate Magic Items. However, Magic Items can be embedded within the Secret Puppet, allowing their activation methods to be altered so that the Secret Puppet can utilize Energy Particles to activate them.
To draw an analogy, it's akin to an external device for a robot.
In fact, both Secret Puppet Girls have an Extreme Protection Ring embedded within them.
If it weren’t for the Wizard Artifact's high level making it incompatible with the Secret Puppet's body, Su Nan would have even considered installing a Forbidden Zone, which would have significantly boosted its defensive capabilities.
Though implementing a Forbidden Zone is not feasible, attempting to use a Magic Pattern Core is a possibility.
The Magic Pattern Core itself is a powerful Magic Item that merges offensive and defensive capabilities. If the Secret Puppet can fuse with the Magic Pattern Core, its defense will be greatly enhanced, and its attack methods will diversify.
Historically, the primary difference in combat power between a Secret Puppet and a Wizard lay in the absence of innate abilities. The Magic Pattern Core can undoubtedly bridge this gap, narrowing the disparity with Wizards.
The more Su Nan contemplated this idea, the more promising it appeared.
The only hurdle is that the Magic Pattern Core relies heavily on the consumption of Spiritual Power, and its energy source must be adapted for the Secret Puppet’s use.
This task is not simple.
However, if successful, the combat power of the Secret Puppet could potentially be enhanced to rival that of a Demispider Godspawn.
Without further ado, Su Nan updated his future plans to include the improvement of the Magic Pattern Core. It was destined to become another time-consuming study.
After that, Su Nan glanced at the black branch in his hand.
This branch is called the Black Key, which, as its name implies, unlocks the Black Forest.
After studying it for a while, Su Nan roughly understood how to use the Black Key.
At the same time, he discovered that the Black Key was continuously absorbing Energy Particles from the air around it.
It is estimated that it will take about three years to fully charge.
Based on this, Su Nan speculated that the Black Forest likely operates similarly to the Star Tower, opening only at specific intervals.
The next opening of the Black Forest is expected to occur in three years.
“Hopefully, it will provide me with some surprises,” Su Nan muttered to himself, his eyes glinting.
Following the Star Tower incident, he no longer held any illusions about the so-called Wizard Inheritance."
Black Forest was likely a facility where some Wizard power forcibly recruited individuals, cultivating their strength in preparation for their eventual return.
To obtain the resources within, a great battle might be unavoidable.
Although he had already advanced to Wizard and his strength was far greater than when he was at Star Tower, Su Nan would not underestimate Black Forest.
After all, it was a Wizard Inheritance, and anything related to Wizards should be approached with caution. No one knew what dangers lay hidden within.
More importantly, Black Forest was highly likely to be connected to the Spider God Queen.
The Felier Family had held onto clues about Black Forest for many years, and Su Nan didn't believe the Spider God Queen would be even slightly uninterested.
Perhaps she had already extended her influence into Black Forest.
Furthermore, the reason the Spider God Queen could interfere in the Starlight Continent could very well be tied to Black Forest.
Although this was merely speculation, Su Nan would not overlook any potential risks.
"Before entering Black Forest, I need to make thorough preparations."
Su Nan's expression was one of deep contemplation.
In just three short years, without the opportunity to absorb a large quantity of Divine Energy, there was no way his Spirit could have refined itself significantly; he would have to seek solutions from external objects.
"Once the research on the Magic Pattern Core is complete, it would be best to refine a few more Secret Puppets."
"I should also prepare some more Engraved Gemstones. With the current refinement of my Spirit, I should be able to attempt synthesizing about twenty pills."
"And I should manufacture a few more Black Thunders."
In the battle where he defeated the Demispider Godspawn, the power that Black Thunder demonstrated greatly satisfied Su Nan.
At this stage, Black Thunder was arguably the strongest attack method he possessed.
Even Liquid Metal, in terms of instant damage, couldn’t compare to Black Thunder.
The more powerful trump cards he had, the better.
However, Su Nan only had two Black Thunders on hand.
To create more Black Thunder, he would need a large quantity of Thunder Stones.
"It seems I'll have to take a trip to the Lightning Elemental Plane soon."
Among the various Elemental Planes, the Fire Elemental Plane and the Lightning Elemental Plane were the two most dangerous and inhospitable to life.
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For example, the Fire Elemental Plane was a sea of flames, where the terrifyingly high temperatures could instantly turn even a Knight to ashes upon entry.
The Lightning Elemental Plane, on the other hand, was filled with countless layers of thunderclouds, with dense bolts of lightning striking from the sky every moment. One could be struck by lightning just from walking around.
Without adequate protective measures, one would hardly get far in the Lightning Elemental Plane before being reduced to ashes by the relentless bolts of lightning.
In addition to that, the Spirits of the Elements in both the Fire and Lightning Elemental Planes were exceedingly troublesome entities.
If it had been when he had just advanced, Su Nan would never have dared to enter the Lightning Elemental Plane.
However, now equipped with multiple trump cards such as Forbidden Zone and Black Thunder, and with his Spirit Condensation level exceeding 40%, he possessed sufficient strength to attempt exploring the Lightning Elemental Plane.
As long as he avoided the core areas and remained cautious, he should be fine.
Aurora Kingdom, in the capital city of Aurora.
When Triff Ginji walked into the Council Hall, he discovered the spacious chamber was already filled with people.
In addition to the Royal Family, many prominent nobles of the kingdom had gathered there.
"It seems the pressure from the Prosperous Star Empire is immense," Triff observed, his eyes flickering.
Among those present were individuals who were typically mortal enemies, ready to draw swords at a moment's notice. Yet, at this moment, they sat across from each other quietly. This clearly demonstrated the tremendous pressure exerted by the Prosperous Star Empire, compelling them to momentarily set aside their animosities and unite against a common foe.
Triff understood the gravity of the situation.
Aurora Kingdom was positioned on the edge of the Northwest Region, bordering the Southeast Region, making it the closest nation to the rapidly rising empire across the border.
If war were to erupt, Aurora Kingdom would bear the brunt of the assault. It was no exaggeration to say that they had reached a critical moment of life and death.
"Triff, thank you for coming in person," the Aurora King, seated at the head of the table, said as he rose to greet him.
The previously noisy nobles fell silent, standing to welcome him.
As the only Level Three Wizard Apprentice in Aurora Kingdom, Triff Ginji held an esteemed position in the realm. Even His Majesty the King regarded him with great respect and dared not treat him lightly.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Triff took a seat next to the king.
Once he was settled, King Aurora couldn't wait to speak.
"Triff, you must have heard about the situation in the Southeast Region. What are your thoughts?"
Triff chose his words carefully and said, "Your Majesty, the actions of the Prosperous Star Empire demonstrate their immense ambition. That empire will certainly not be satisfied with just the Southeast Region. Once they've fully taken control of their newly conquered territories, they will undoubtedly turn their sights toward our Northwest Region."
"I figured you'd think so too," King Aurora sighed, his face revealing great worry.
In truth, anyone with eyes could see the Prosperous Star Empire's intentions.
If any nation found itself in the Prosperous Star Empire's position, with the power to conquer the Starlight Continent, it would likely make the same choice.
"Triff, what do you believe we should do?" King Aurora asked, concern evident in his voice.
The members of the royal family and nobles present also turned their expectant gazes towards Triff. They had debated for ages yet come up with no viable solution. Now, they could only hope that this wise sage, known for his resourcefulness, could guide them towards a clear path.
Faced with their hopeful looks, Triff remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that surrendering to the Prosperous Star Empire may not be a bad option."
As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone's expressions shifted dramatically.
Triff seemed unbothered and continued, "When the Thorn Flower Principality in the Southeast Region surrendered to the Prosperous Star Empire, its royal family members were not eliminated; instead, they were granted titles as dukes. The nobles beneath the royal family largely retained their territories. I believe our kingdom could follow a similar path."
The hall fell into an awkward silence.
King Aurora and the other royal family members displayed mixed expressions.
Though the title of Duke was not without merit, it paled in comparison to ruling a kingdom. Once they surrendered, their status and power would undoubtedly diminish, a notion they found difficult to accept.
The other nobles looked hesitant as well.
Even though most of the nobles in the Thorn Flower Principality had kept their lands, no one knew if they would belong to that 'majority.'
Furthermore, there was no guarantee that the Aurora Kingdom would receive the same treatment as the Thorn Flower Principality.
After a long while, the Aurora King broke the silence, his voice strained. "Are there any other options?"
Triff sighed inwardly, aware that the Aurora King still couldn't let go of his power and status.
He had mentally prepared for this, so he revealed the second method he had considered.
"The military strength of the Prosperous Star Empire is formidable, but if the nations of the Northwest Region were to unite, they might not be without a chance of victory."
"The key is still Su Nan!"
The name "Su Nan" seemed to hold some sort of magic, causing everyone in the hall to change their expressions at once.
By now, the name of Su Nan had spread across the entire continent, especially within the circles of Wizard Apprentices, the royal family, and the upper aristocracy.
Everyone knew that the Prosperous Star Empire had produced a Formal Wizard. Upon his initial advancement, he had used thunderous methods to kill more than ten Level Three Wizard Apprentices from the Truth Council, revealing the terrifying power of a Wizard to the entire continent!
When this news first reached the Northwest Region, it caused a huge uproar!
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