Chapter 209: Wizard Tower Construction
The second part of the Wizard Tower involves space planning.
As the name suggests, this section focuses on the layout of the internal space of the Wizard Tower.
A complete Wizard Tower's internal space includes, but is not limited to, a Laboratory Area, Planting Area, Meditation Area, Cultivation Area, Warehouse Area, Living Area, Workshop Area, and detention rooms.
These areas are not merely basic divisions.
The Laboratory Area must be safeguarded with protective magic to prevent accidental explosions from destroying the Wizard Tower.
The Planting Area must incorporate an Energy Gathering Array to collect Energy Particles and enhance the growth of Magic Plants.
The Meditation Area should be arranged with Energy to activate the Magic Array and improve meditation efficiency.
Even the simplest Cultivation Area must be reinforced and protected, equipped with a magic target capable of detecting Energy strength so that apprentices can gain real-time insights into their spell control status.
However, the most crucial aspect is utilizing Dimensional Space technology to expand the space.
This particular feature alone requires a substantial amount of star sand, which is also the primary material for manufacturing space-type magical items.
The final combat device is equally vital to the Wizard Tower.
Combat devices are mainly divided into two categories: defense and attack.
The defensive aspect primarily involves the Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field.
Even a basic Small Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field can easily withstand the bombardment from dozens of Level One Wizards for twenty-four hours.
As long as the instantaneous attack strength does not exceed the Energy Field’s protection limit and the Elemental Pool Energy is sufficient, it is extremely difficult to breach the Energy Field.
Generally speaking, unless faced with a War Creation of the same level, it is quite challenging for biological entities to penetrate the Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field.
When attacking the Tower of Stars, Su Nan managed to break through from within; the Tower of Stars's Energy Field was never activated. Otherwise, even with the Golem Legion, it would have been impossible to conquer the Tower of Stars in three months.
It is worth noting that the Council of Truth spent over two full years continuously attacking every day, yet they failed to breach the Tower of Stars's Energy Field.
The standard Small Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field's defensive power was simply incomparable to the knock-off Energy Field like the Tower of Stars.
Similar to the Elemental Pool, the Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field is classified into Small, Medium, and Large. The higher the level, the stronger the defense, and naturally, the greater the cost. If possible, Su Nan also desired to construct the central Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field.
However, the cost in Gold Coins was not the main concern; the real issue was that some materials were simply unavailable in the Starlight Continent. "Perhaps I could consider synthesizing them," Su Nan mused, his face reflecting deep contemplation.
If the materials required for building Medium facilities were lacking, it might be wiser to obtain them by synthesizing Small facilities. However, this would inevitably lead to a significant increase in costs. Based on past experience, the cost of synthesized items was bound to be much higher than that of artificially manufactured products.
After a moment’s thought, Su Nan shook his head and decided to temporarily shelve this idea. It would be better to reconsider this issue once construction actually began.
In terms of offense, there were subdivisions for the Ultra Long Range Strike Device and the dispatched Legion. The former generally consisted of various Energy weapons, such as the Spell Turret in the Tower of Stars.
The Spell Turret was the most basic Energy weapon construct, capable of firing energy light rays to attack specific targets. It was the fundamental ranged strike device in the Wizard Tower. Progressively, more powerful weapons included the Disintegration Cannon, Plasma Cannon, and Pulse Cannon, among others.
The firepower of the Disintegration Cannon was roughly equivalent to a six-ring spell of Disintegrate, sufficient to break down a Level One Wizard into its most basic molecular units. Generally speaking, the Disintegration Cannon represented the ultimate weapon sequence of Small Wizard Towers. The Plasma Cannon and Pulse Cannon served as the final weapon sequences for Medium and Large Wizard Towers, respectively.
In Floating Cities, the striking devices were typically phase weapons, like the Magic Crystal Superconducting Pulse Cannon.
"The Spell Turret is adequate for dealing with Wizard Apprentices, but it's somewhat weak against Formal Wizards unless hundreds or even thousands fire together," Su Nan noted. "It would be best to use Cube Synthesis to enhance the power of the Spell Turret. And I also need to manufacture a few Disintegration Cannons."
Su Nan had made up his mind. As for the dispatched Legion, it generally referred to the Golem Legion, but other creatures were also included.
Some Wizard Towers, for example, like to maintain groups of creatures that they can dispatch to battle when the time comes.
Any creature stationed long-term within a Wizard Tower and capable of leaving to fight during wartime falls into this category.
However, the primary force most Wizard Towers deploy consists of various Golems, primarily mid to high-tier Golems.
Low-tier Golems, such as Flesh Golems, Clay Golems, and Stone Golems, are considered unworthy by formal wizards; they serve only for menial tasks and their combat effectiveness is inferior to that of several Spell Turrets.
The backbone of the built-in Golem Legion in the vast majority of Wizard Towers begins with Steel Golems.
Even powerful variants like Mithril Golems are regarded as regular troops within a Wizard Tower.
Only high-tier Golems like Shadow Steel Golems and Vajra Golems, which possess the ability to contend with wizards, are classified as high-tier combat units.
However, the production cost of these types of Golems is astronomical.
Su Nan didn't even know if the Starlight Continent could still gather the materials necessary to manufacture Shadow Steel Golems and Vajra Golems.
If that can't be accomplished, they would have to resort to synthetic methods to create Golems of equivalent strength.
Above Shadow Steel Golems and Vajra Golems exist even higher-level Supreme Golems.
Supreme Golems are the original form of Arcane Constructs.
These so-called Arcane Constructs, also known as legendary constructs, include but are not limited to Arcane Guardians, Mana Mechas, Tower Spirit Constructs, and Mithril Sages.
All of these legendary constructs possess overwhelming combat strength equivalent to that of Level 3 Wizards, and the more powerful among them can even confront True Spirit Wizards directly.
However, due to their extremely high costs, very few Wizard Towers can afford them, so they typically exist as part of Floating City's combat forces.
Although Supreme Golems are not as formidable as true Arcane Constructs, they are still far stronger than Shadow Steel Golems and Vajra Golems, and even within Large Wizard Towers, they are usually considered the final combat force.
One Supreme Golem can easily take down more than a dozen Level One Wizards in a head-on clash.
"So, the Golem Legion, huh?"
Su Nan's eyes flickered with thoughtful light.
If he had the choice, he would definitely prioritize quality, valuing excellence over quantity.
The built-in Golem Legion would need to start with at least a Mithril Golem.
With the Mithril Golem as the main force, it could be supplemented by a small number of Shadow Steel Golems.
However, this approach would undoubtedly incur astronomical costs.
"At least, problems that can be solved with Gold Coins aren't really problems; I can always accumulate them gradually. Materials, on the other hand, can’t be conjured out of thin air," Su Nan mused silently.
In addition to the three major components—Energy Supply, Space Planning, and Combat Devices—Tower Spirits are also vital to the Wizard Tower.
They are highly advanced artificial intelligences responsible for the integrated operation of the Wizard Tower, combining functions such as terminal computing, data recording, battle command, and experimental assistance.
Generally, a Wizard Tower requires at least one Tower Spirit. However, if the budget allows, having more Tower Spirits is preferable.
The computing power of a single Tower Spirit is limited, and sometimes deploying two or three large-scale tasks can exhaust all of its processing capacity.
The greater the number of Tower Spirits, the smoother and more expansive the operation of the Wizard Tower.
Ideally, a Wizard Tower should house three Tower Spirits, each tasked with combat command, daily operations, and experimental assistance, respectively.
Tower Spirit Constructs, which are more advanced than regular Tower Spirits, can even materialize and assist the Wizard in combat.
To create a Tower Spirit, one needs a legendary-level Soul Crystal.
This is not a concern for Su Nan, as it can be synthesized from Miniature Soul Crystals.
During the previous war to conquer the Underworld, he accumulated a vast quantity of Soul Crystals, more than enough to synthesize several Legendary Soul Crystals.
"Now that I have gathered plenty of materials, it's time to begin constructing the Wizard Tower."
Su Nan reached out, and a panoramic three-dimensional model of Long Lin appeared in the air before him.
As he scanned the model, he began to select a location for construction.
Considering the charging needs of the Clay Golem and the transportation of materials, it’s best to choose a site for the Wizard Tower within Long Lin.
The Space Channel, which stretches across the Underworld and the Prosperous Star Empire, can transport various materials to Long Lin at any time.
Finally, Su Nan selected a spacious area of woodland in Zone 2 as the construction site.
The Area 2 expanse was vast, and even though the high-level Subdragon Clan and the Large Magic Plant Garden occupied less than half of it, the remainder was empty, perfectly suited for utilization.
"First, establish the task of constructing the 'Wizard Tower,'" Su Nan commanded.
[Recording of the Wizard Tower blueprint has begun. Recording successful.]
[The task of 'Constructing the Wizard Tower' has been established.]
[Please set the number of laborers.]
"One thousand Clay Golems," Su Nan decided after a moment of thought.
That number of Clay Golems would be sufficient. Any more would only hinder efficiency.
Moreover, such a large contingent of Clay Golems would only be necessary for the initial construction of the tower's base and structure. When it came to building the internal space, far fewer Clay Golem laborers would be required – around a hundred would suffice.
The vast majority of the layout and facilities within the Wizard Tower must be handled by Wizards themselves.
After all, Clay Golems couldn't draw Fulus and Magic Arrays.
This was the main reason why the construction of a Wizard Tower often took a century.
Of course, one could also hire other Wizards for assistance or purchase Levitation Rings, Spell Turrets, and Golem Legion facilities from various sources, thus significantly shortening the construction time.
However, very few Wizards would take that route.
The Wizard Tower was a Wizard's core secret. Not many Wizards would permit others to interfere in the construction of their Wizard Tower. If someone were to leave a hidden mark, they might suffer great losses in the future.
Wizards would prefer to build their Wizard Towers slowly by themselves rather than rely on others.
The construction of the tower's base and structure was relatively straightforward and could be managed by Butler Number 1. Su Nan only needed to occasionally check on the progress.
After setting up the task, he left Dragon Bone Tower and returned to Youhu City.
Red Widow had sent a message three days prior, stating that they had captured members of the Russell Family and were escorting them to Youhu City.
Since the situation in the cities that the Prosperous Star Empire had captured from the Northwest Region hadn’t completely stabilized, no Space Channels had been established. Much of the journey had to be made via Puppet Flights, which would take some time.
Judging by the timeline, they should be arriving in Youhu City soon.
Sure enough, the moment he returned to Base 2 of Youhu City, Red Widow was there to report to him.
"Master, the four Level Three Wizard Apprentices from the Russell Family, including the current clan head, Fakado Russell, are now in the Reception Hall, guarded by Puppet 1 and Puppet 2."
Red Widow stood respectfully in front of the desk, his body slightly bowed, showing none of the casualness and flippancy he displayed around others.
Only when he looked at Su Nan did a fiery hint of flirtation occasionally flash in his eyes.
Su Nan praised, “Well done.”
Red Widow’s face lit up with joy, and he subtly glanced at Carolina, who stood beside him.
Her expression remained unchanged, but the hands clasped in front of her abdomen clenched imperceptibly.
Ignoring his two subordinates' small actions, Su Nan walked straight outside.
Inside the Reception Hall, the four Wizard Apprentices from the Russell Family sat on the sofa, looking rather restless, frequently glancing toward the entrance.
Two Secret Puppet Girls stood aloof on either side of the entrance, like door gods.
Fakado glanced at them, his gaze complicated.
During the escort to this place, thoughts of escape had crossed his mind. However, on one hand, he knew he couldn’t break free from the two Secret Puppet Girls, and on the other, he felt that even if he managed to escape, it would be pointless.
The entire Starlight Continent was on the verge of falling under the control of the Prosperous Star Empire and the Star Alliance. Even if he fled to the ends of the earth, he wouldn’t escape their influence.
Though hiding wasn’t impossible, he couldn’t live in seclusion forever, could he?
Not to mention whether he could adapt to such a life; even if he could, without a steady supply of resources, it would be difficult for him to continue improving his strength.
Was he supposed to give up on advancing to Wizard?
Compared to death, Fakado found the thought of this even more unacceptable.
“Clan head, why do you think that person wants to see us?”
A voice interrupted Fakado's thoughts.
He turned to see Innocent Russell, the strongest Level Three Wizard Apprentice in the family aside from himself.
Innocent had been injured in the previous battle and had not yet fully recovered; his face looked rather pale.
"I don't understand it either," Fakado said, shaking his head.
Yet, deep down, he harbored a vague suspicion.
If there was anything within the Russell Family that could capture the interest of a Formal Wizard, after careful consideration, it could only be that.
But the real question was: where had that person learned this secret?
Within the entire Russell Family, only the clan leader was privy to this knowledge.
Besides him, not only were outsiders oblivious, but even the family members themselves remained unaware.
As he pondered this, Fakado suddenly sensed something amiss. He turned his head and noticed an unexpected figure in the hall, though he couldn’t recall when they had arrived.
It was a young man who appeared no older than his early twenties.
His looks could be described as handsome, but what truly captivated attention were his eyes—deep and vast like the starry sky. Just making eye contact gave one the eerie feeling that their very soul might be drawn in.
In an instant, Fakado identified the person standing before him.
The Controller of the Star Alliance!
The only Wizard on the Starlight Continent for a thousand years!
Su Nan Arnett!
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