Chapter 244: All Is Ready
Sunlight spilled across the azure sea, casting a shimmering expanse of light.
Three enormous metal ships sliced through the waves, sailing against the wind as they pursued a Dragon Whale.
In the Rainbow Sea, the Dragon Whale was among the most powerful creatures at the top of the food chain; yet, before the three metal behemoths, it could only flee in panic.
Its massive body was riddled with wounds from cannon fire, blood pouring from them in torrents, leaving streaks of red in the water as it swam.
Boom!
A thick beam of light shot forth like an arrow, covering hundreds of meters in an instant and piercing the Dragon Whale's head.
The powerful sea monster's body shuddered violently, creating a surge of waves before it floated motionless on the surface.
A conch shell sounded, and a group of Deep Sea Naga emerged from the water, their blades drawn as they began to dissect the Dragon Whale.
High above, Tanna watched the scene with interest.
Following that, the wandering wizard’s curiosity got the better of him. He began to explore the entire continent, first visiting the surface world, then venturing into the Underworld, and finally arriving at the Rainbow Sea.
What he had seen and heard during that time had given Tanna a deeper understanding of the Star Alliance.
After learning about the state of Starlight Continent over the past millennium, he was genuinely impressed and amazed at how Su Nan had managed to single-handedly establish the Wizard Faction that was the Star Alliance.
It was simply unbelievable!
In a resource-deficient environment with limited Elemental Desert Plane, where even ascending to Wizard was incredibly difficult, Su Nan not only ascended to Second Level Wizard but also created a proper Wizard Faction. It was utterly inconceivable!
"To think that such a genius could emerge from an ordinary, isolated plane!"
Tanna secretly marveled at how the universe was indeed vast and full of wonders.
“The Star Alliance seems quite accommodating. I might as well cultivate here for a while and then explore once the plane has recovered."
Exploring planes requires sufficient strength as a guarantee; otherwise, a single misstep into a dangerous plane could easily result in losing one’s life. It is better to take this opportunity to focus on improving one’s strength and explore to one’s heart’s content later.
“It’s fortunate that the Star Alliance has enough Construct Potions and is willing to trade with me.”
Construct Potion is not Tanna's forte; in the past, he always traded Construct Potions with various Wizard Factions. Unfortunately, Construct Potions have always been in short supply, and those Wizard Factions tended to be very stingy during negotiations.
Unlike the Star Alliance, which is quite domineering—providing valuable information allows one to exchange for resources without limits.
Thinking this way, being trapped in the Starlight Continent doesn’t seem so unacceptable.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Slender silver needles hovered in the air, delicately carving the final stroke on the surface of the gemstone at a precise angle.
As the stroke landed, the complex patterns on the gemstone instantly closed. After a flash of faint light, the entire gemstone suddenly exuded an indescribable charm.
Observing the successfully refined Inscribed Gem, Su Nan's lips curled into a smile.
After more than a year of intermittent effort, he had finally completed the improvement of the Inscribed Gem.
Due to the limitations of the Puppet itself, although the number of synthesized Inscribed Gems had increased, the total was only sixty-three.
However, the power of their detonation is more than enough to kill a First-Level Wizard. Even a Second-Level Wizard, if careless, could suffer serious injuries.
“Let’s call it the Self-Detonation Gem.”
Su Nan made this decision immediately. All the Puppets of the Witch Hunter Legion, as well as the Wizard-level puppets of the Starlight Wizard Tower, must be equipped with Self-Detonation Gems.
If they encounter a powerful enemy they cannot defeat, they should directly detonate the Self-Detonation Gem inside their bodies, perishing together with the enemy—or at the very least, inflicting significant damage and ensuring they do not become mere casualties.
"The number of Puppets in the Witch Hunter Legion is also approaching two hundred. In another seventy or eighty years, we should be close to realizing our goal."
Thanks to advancements in Sub-mana technology, the productivity level of the Starlight Continent has significantly increased, and along with it, the income of the Star Alliance has skyrocketed.
“It’s a pity that rare metals like this resource don't increase with the growth of productivity. If it weren't for the limitations imposed by materials, the Witch Hunter Legion would have completed its initial formation goals long ago.
“Sub-mana technology is already widespread. Next, it's time to promote magic technology.”
Su Nan glanced at the pile of sub-magestones in the corner of the workshop.
Although a terraced mining method had been adopted, Star Alliance's current output of sub-magestones was still excessive.
After discussing it with Lize, Su Nan decided to use some of them to synthesize magic stones, which would be used to promote magic technology in Gold Rock Province and give it a head start.
Once the plane blockade is lifted and a new magic stone mine is found, the Starlight Continent can immediately ramp up the promotion of magic technology and transition from the sub-mana era to the mana era as quickly as possible.
“The plane blockade will likely last until around the year 2000 of the Starlight Calendar, but the arrival of the Gloomy Throne will happen more than ten years earlier.”
Su Nan recalled the time in his memory when the first batch of wizards invaded the Starlight Continent; it seemed to be in the year 1983 of the Starlight Calendar.
As for the specific month, he wasn't sure.
But Su Nan didn’t mind.
As long as the Gloomy Throne entered the Starlight Continent and utilized their spells, Star Eye would be able to detect their energy particle fluctuations and lock onto their position immediately.
Thus, knowing the approximate time of their invasion was sufficient.
Shaking his head, Su Nan focused his thoughts and continued to manufacture self-detonation gems.
The current number of wizard-level puppets in the Star Alliance wasn't high, totaling only about three hundred, so the number of self-detonation gems needed wasn't excessive either.
After spending more than half a month manufacturing self-detonation gems and installing them on all wizard-level puppets, Su Nan dedicated himself to condensing spirit.
To improve the efficiency of wizards collecting elemental crystal dust, Su Nan allowed them to temporarily hire the Golem Legion at a lower cost to eliminate the spirits of the elements.
Thanks to this strategy, the amount of elemental crystal dust collected by the wizards had skyrocketed in recent years.
However, the mystery of why Su Nan placed such importance on elemental crystal dust was growing among the wizards.”
Though she had her doubts, Lize didn't question much and instead helped Su Nan suppress the issue.
Ignoring the outside world, Su Nan, with a sufficient supply of Divine energy, noticed that his Spiritual Condensation was advancing much faster than he had anticipated.
Time spent cultivating always seemed to fly by.
In the blink of an eye, it was the year 1930 of the Starlight Calendar.
Thanks to the Star Alliance's generous allocation of resources, the Witch Hunter Legion had finally been completed.
"With three hundred Tentacle Puppets and fifty Secret Puppets, this number of Wizard-level Puppets should be sufficient to handle the advance team of the Gloomy Throne," Su Nan said with a smile after reviewing the documents in his study.
Lize glanced at him and said, "How does it seem like you already know how many people are in the Gloomy Throne advance team?"
Su Nan casually replied, "Just a guess. With the Dimensional Barrier not fully repaired, the number and strength of those from the Gloomy Throne who are entering the Starlight Continent ahead of schedule will be greatly restricted."
In reality, not only did he know how many were in the Gloomy Throne advance team, but he also understood their specific strengths.
He simply wasn't sure if the events that would unfold would mirror those in his memory.
After all, with his existence acting like a butterfly flapping its wings, the current state of the Starlight Continent was already drastically different from what he remembered, and the future was likely to change as well.
Lize nodded, refraining from asking further questions.
In fact, she largely agreed with Su Nan's assessment.
With the Star Alliance's current strength, unless the Gloomy Throne dispatched dozens of Second-Level Wizards at once or mobilized a Third-Level Wizard, they would be unable to pose a threat to the Star Alliance.
However, neither of these scenarios seemed particularly realistic.
The unrepaired Dimensional Barrier would not permit Third-Level Wizards to pass, nor would it allow dozens of Second-Level Wizards to enter simultaneously.
Moreover, on deeper reflection, Gloomy Throne was unaware of the true state of the Starlight Continent; they most likely still believed there wasn't even a Wizard residing there and would not send a particularly strong Wizard force.
By the time Gloomy Throne recognized the true strength of the Star Alliance, it would probably be too late.
"In another fifty or sixty years, the advance team of the Gloomy Throne should arrive. The Star Alliance needs to prepare early. I will go into seclusion next, and the specifics of the arrangements will be up to you. Once you discover any members of the Gloomy Throne,"
"Tell me immediately," Su Nan instructed.
"I understand," Lize replied with a nod.
She appeared calm about Su Nan's return to seclusion for another breakthrough. After witnessing Su Nan's astonishing speed of improvement, she had become accustomed, or perhaps numb, to it. If Su Nan's strength were to increase gradually, she would be the one surprised.
On the top floor of the Wizard Tower, Su Nan noticed Hidden Dragon resting beside the Elemental Pool, looking half-asleep. Amy was sprawled on its back, idly licking her paw. When Hidden Dragon spotted Su Nan, it perked up, leaping over ten meters in an instant to land on Su Nan’s shoulder.
"Meow, Su Nan! Why did you take so long? Hidden Dragon and I have been waiting for you!" Amy exclaimed.
The clear cry roused Hidden Dragon, who opened its eyes and nudged its head against Su Nan, letting out a low growl. Su Nan smiled and patted Hidden Dragon's head.
Dragons naturally grow stronger with age, and thanks to Su Nan's years of providing it with synthesized Dragon Blood, Hidden Dragon’s strength had far surpassed that of an ordinary dragon. Its power was now comparable to that of a First Grade Crystallization Wizard. In the entire Star Alliance, Hidden Dragon was the strongest after Su Nan.
"Why did you suddenly want to find me? Is something the matter?" Su Nan asked Amy, knowing she typically respected his busy schedule and rarely interrupted him. Most of the time, she stayed with Hidden Dragon and occasionally visited Lize.
Having experienced the Wizard Golden Age thousands of years ago, Lize and Amy had much in common. Lize's presence provided another friend for Amy to converse with, and the little creature was quite happy about it. Lize, intrigued by this Magical Pet that lacked combat abilities yet could perform space travel, often seized the opportunity to inquire about Amy's mysterious master during their chats. Thus, the human and the cat got along remarkably well.
"Is the Dimensional Barrier of the Starlight Continent about to recover, meow?" Amy asked expectantly.
"Who told you that?" Su Nan replied.
"Sheman told me, meow!"
"That is indeed the case."
"Su Nan didn't hide anything; he knew that Amy longed to see her master.
"In about seventy years, the Dimensional Barrier should be completely repaired, and then the Starlight Continent will return to its state from thousands of years ago."
Amy perked up immediately, "Then can I see my master, meow?"
"Of course," Su Nan replied with a smile. "Even if your master hasn't returned to the Starlight Continent by then, I will help you find them."
Amy had helped him a great deal, and he was determined to fulfill this wish for her.
"Master will definitely come back for me, meow!" Amy exclaimed without hesitation. The little creature firmly believed that her master had not abandoned her intentionally; there must be unavoidable reasons behind it.
Su Nan smiled and nodded, going along with the notion.
Amy had left behind many Magic Items at the place where she had initially slumbered, indicating that she hadn't had time to retrieve them. So, the little one's theory still held some possibility.
However, Amy's master was a True Spirit Descendant and quite powerful at that. What kind of emergency could have caused her master to leave in such a hurry, without even bringing her along?
Or perhaps, had Amy's master intentionally left her behind to keep her safe from danger?
Su Nan didn't dwell on this for long. He would uncover the truth once he located Amy's master.
With Su Nan's confirmation, Amy's mood soared, and she took Hidden Dragon off to play again, unaware of where they would go this time.
Su Nan simply smiled, unfazed by their departure.
As a Dragon, Hidden Dragon did not need to cultivate. Aside from sleeping and the occasional Bloodline fusion, it spent the rest of its time idling and daydreaming. Having Amy to play with was a welcome distraction, keeping it from tormenting the inhabitants of the First District and Area Two's Sub-Dragon.
"Tower Spirit 1, scan the Wizard Tower's status."
[Received command. Commencing scan... Scan complete.]
A three-dimensional holographic model quickly materialized before him.
Since the Starlight Wizard Tower was constructed, Su Nan had not made any major upgrades due to the limitations of materials and resources. However, he continuously implemented minor improvements.
For example, the Levitation Ring synthesis upgrades, which significantly enhanced the Wizard Tower's mobility.
There were also improvements to Spell Turret Type II and Disintegration Cannon Type II, primarily aimed at reducing energy consumption."
With Tower Spirit 2 as his experimental assistant and having received ample advice from Lize, the improvements to his experimental results were substantial.
Originally, the number of Spell Turret Type IIs was already quite excessive—three hundred in total—placing a considerable burden on Energy.
However, after the improvements, a single volley from the three hundred Spell Turret Type IIs now consumed only about 10% of Energy, significantly reducing that burden.
In addition, the Energy consumption of the Disintegration Cannon Type II had also decreased to less than 8%, a reduction of around one-third compared to the original—a notable enhancement.
"Once the Plane blockade is lifted, I need to start gathering the manufacturing processes for the Plasma Cannon and Pulse Cannon to enhance our long-range firepower."
Su Nan waved his hand, dismissing the three-dimensional holographic model, and sat down cross-legged beside the Elemental Pool, taking out an Elemental Crystal Core to begin absorbing its energy.
His Spiritual Condensation had already surpassed 70%, and at the current rate, he estimated it would take at most another seventy or eighty years to break through to Second Level Crystallization.
By then, even if the Gloomy Throne managed to send over a Level 3 Wizard, he would not fear them in the slightest.
Now, everything was prepared; all that remained was to wait for the enemy to arrive.
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