Chapter 262: An Exceedingly Pleasant Surprise, Biological Nest
"That’s a very powerful technique," Maiisha commented, a hint of amazement flashing in her eyes. She recognized that the Alchemy Imprint Su Nan had triggered was the Talent Specialization, which enhanced an Innate Ability. Even without the enhancement of the Talent Specialization, the Innate Ability he had just demonstrated was incredibly powerful—stronger than any Superior Talent Ability she had ever witnessed.
"Did he develop it himself? Or did he obtain it from some Wizard Inheritance?" she wondered. Two thousand years ago, the Starlight Continent had been home to a large gathering of Wizard Factions. It was possible that some special Talent Crystal Model had been accidentally left behind during those expeditions. Even Maiisha herself wouldn’t dare claim to know everything.
In any case, the surprise that Su Nan had brought her far exceeded her expectations. Initially, she hoped that the Star Alliance would be able to repel Youxi's attack. However, Su Nan not only repelled them but also counterattacked the Wolf Tide Plane, killing Youxi, which was beyond what she could have imagined!
It could only be said that Su Nan and the Star Alliance possessed greater potential than she had anticipated. When Su Nan was engaged in battle with Youxi, the Gloomy Throne group of Wizards had already been routed by the Tentacle Puppet and Secret Puppet. The self-destructive abilities of those Puppets had inflicted heavy casualties.
With Youxi defeated, the remnants of the Wizard group immediately lost their will to fight and turned to flee in panic. However, they were soon caught by Su Nan, who slaughtered them in a whirlwind of destruction, leaving no one alive. With this, the war could be considered truly over.
Having lost their main force of Wizards, the wolf pack of the Wolf Tide Plane could not possibly withstand the assault of the Star Alliance. Conquering Wave Plane was only a matter of time.
With a faint smile on his face, Su Nan flew toward Maiisha and Cyril, having noticed their arrival long ago. "Lord Maiisha, who is this?" he asked, looking at Cyril.
Before Maiisha could introduce her, Cyril quickly said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Su Nan. My name is Cyril Stewart, a senior Scholar of the Wisdom Codex."
Before meeting Su Nan, Cyril had harbored a sense of superiority stemming from his position in the Large Wizard Faction. However, that sense of superiority completely vanished upon witnessing Su Nan's power.
An advanced Scholar? That was precisely the case.
Su Nan smiled and nodded at Cyril before turning to Maiisha. Understanding the unspoken message, Maiisha returned the smile and said, "You have demonstrated sufficient strength. Upon our return, I will submit a proposal to the Wisdom Society. Here, we welcome you to join the battle lines of the Wisdom Codex."
"Thank you." Su Nan replied with a genuine smile.
Recognizing that Su Nan still had many matters to attend to, Maiisha didn’t linger and soon left with Cyril.
Not long after, ear-splitting battle cries erupted from the direction of the Plane Channel. The forces of the Star Alliance had invaded!
Leading the charge were over a dozen Dragons, with Hidden Dragon at their forefront. Hidden Dragon, possessing power that could faintly rival a Second Level Wizard, plowed through the wolf pack like a tank, leaving a storm of shattered limbs and blood in its wake.
Su Nan observed this scene with a wry smile. Hidden Dragon had lived peacefully within Long Lin for hundreds of years and had not engaged in battle for a long time. Now that it was on the battlefield, it seemed to be unleashing its true nature.
Watching it revel in the fight, Su Nan didn’t intervene. Instead, he passed through the Plane Channel and returned to the Starlight Continent.
Lize was still inside the Starlight Wizard Tower. When he saw Su Nan return unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"How did it go?"
"It's all settled. Not a single one escaped."
Although Lize had anticipated this outcome, hearing Su Nan confirm it caused his face to light up with joy. With those Wizards eliminated, the Wolf Tide Plane was essentially under the control of the Star Alliance.
The Star Alliance becoming an affiliated organization of the Wisdom Codex was now a foregone conclusion. And with the Wisdom Codex backing them, they would have ample time to conquer the Wolf Tide Plane.
"Looks like we're going to be busy," Su Nan remarked.
Lize smiled brightly, "I wouldn't mind if we were this busy more often."
Su Nan chuckled, nodding in agreement. "You've got a point."
While the threat from the Gloomy Throne had been temporarily neutralized, there remained a great deal of work to be done. Conquering the Wolf Tide Plane was only one aspect; the recovery of the Star Alliance was equally crucial. Although the Star Alliance had emerged victorious from this unprecedented Plane War, their losses were significant.
Two days later, a battle damage report was presented to Su Nan.
"The losses of the Flying Fleet were the most severe in this war. Four fleets were completely destroyed, nearly annihilated, while the remaining ten fleets suffered varying degrees of damage. After reorganizing, I barely managed to assemble five fully operational fleets. Total combat losses stand at nearly sixty percent," Lize explained softly as Su Nan flipped through the report.
Su Nan wasn't surprised by the numbers. After all, the Flying Fleet had been directly engaged with the Wizard Towers, their initial task being to weaken the Energy and Mystic Lock Defense Field of the Gloomy Throne's five Wizard Towers. Heavy losses were to be expected, and Su Nan had long prepared for the worst.
In fact, had the Flying Fleet not weakened the enemy's forces beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to pilot the Starlight Wizard Tower and destroy the enemy's five Wizard Towers so effectively. He had even mentally prepared himself for the complete annihilation of the Flying Fleet. Still, a casualty rate of nearly sixty percent was far better than he had anticipated.
"Next are the Golem Legion. After reorganizing, the eight Large Golem Legions were reformed into roughly four full Large Golem fleets and two central Golem fleets, with losses approaching fifty percent."
"Over ten thousand official Magic Knight Order soldiers died in battle, and more than fifty thousand reserve soldiers fell. The Wyvern Knight forces, having joined the battle later, suffered minimal losses."
"The Wizards also reported no casualties."
"As for Starlight Academy's Wizard Apprentices, since they were responsible for logistical support, they too suffered almost no casualties."
However, the losses of the Witch Hunter Legion and the Starlight Wizard Tower's Wizard-Level Puppets were quite severe. Three hundred sixty-two were completely destroyed beyond repair, and over a hundred more sustained significant damage. The repairs alone will require a considerable amount of resources.
Su Nan nodded, closing the file, having gained a solid understanding of the situation.
Honestly, this war dealt a significant blow to the Star Alliance, destroying at least thirty percent of the military strength it had painstakingly built up.
In particular, the Wizard-Level Puppets, along with the eight hundred or so Tentacle and Secret Puppets that had taken centuries to accumulate, suffered devastating losses, with more than two-fifths destroyed—a loss amounting to nearly two hundred million gold coins!
Yet, Su Nan wasn't heartbroken.
After all, behind the staggering battle losses lay equally significant gains.
The greatest triumph, ranked highest among them, was undoubtedly the Wolf Tide Plane.
This would be the second plane controlled by the Star Alliance.
"Tell me about the situation with the Wolf Tide Plane."
Lize nodded slightly, replying, "According to reconnaissance, the Wolf Tide Plane is an Alien Beast Plane, slightly smaller than the Starlight Continent, roughly only two-thirds its size. Most of it consists of land."
"The Wolf Tide Plane has no humans, demi-humans, or bipedal humanoid races. Almost all its inhabitants are Exotic Beasts, the primary race being the Black Wolf clan."
"This race is quite unusual. They don’t expand their population through reproduction; instead, they are born from nests."
Su Nan's expression shifted slightly. "Nest creatures?"
"That's right," Lize confirmed with a nod.
Su Nan's eyes lit up immediately.
Alien Beast Planes were not uncommon in the Multiverse, but those that contained nests were extremely rare.
In a small number of Alien Beast Planes, there is a slight chance that certain special locations will appear. These locations can absorb free-floating energy particles from the plane, creating living beings from nothing and entirely bypassing gestation and growth processes.
These locations are called nests.
The living beings born from nests are referred to as nest creatures.
Nest creatures often mature fully at the moment of their birth, possessing considerable strength. Because they only need to consume small amounts to sustain lengthy periods of life activity, they naturally sit atop the food chain of the plane.
"And so, if an Alien Beast Plane were to give birth to a Nest, it wouldn't be long before the creatures hatched from this Nest would likely become the dominant race of the entire Plane.
Unless this Plane had a species with power far surpassing that of the Nest Creatures, any weaker species would be worn down by the nearly endless onslaught of Nest Creatures with their incredible combat endurance, ultimately leading to their destruction.
It could be said that to the other species inhabiting this Plane, Nest Creatures were a hated and malignant tumor.
However, to the Wizard controlling this Plane, Nest Creatures were undoubtedly a powerful fighting force.
"No wonder that Wizard can control such a large-scale Black Wolf army."
Su Nan had suspected before that the Black Wolves were indeed Nest Creatures.
After all, the Mental Rune Seal required to control so many Exotic Beasts would undoubtedly be astronomical.
If they were Alchemic Creatures created in a Wizard Laboratory, that number would also be quite exaggerated.
Only the existence of Nest Creatures provided a reasonable explanation.
As long as they controlled the Nest that hatched the Black Wolves, they could naturally command them as easily as moving their own arms.
Those Twilight Wolves were mostly hatched from Nests as well.
"The Wizard named Youxi is quite lucky to have conquered an Alien Beast Plane," Lize remarked.
Su Nan didn't deny it.
While an Alien Beast Plane certainly had high war potential, its weakness lay in its limited resource development capabilities.
After all, Nest Creatures wouldn't cultivate resources.
The Star Alliance had conducted a cursory exploration of the Wolf Tide Plane and discovered many undeveloped metals, mines, and magic stone deposits.
This indicated how slow Youxi's progress in developing the Wolf Tide Plane had been.
Unlike the Star Alliance, Youxi didn't have a large number of Wizard Apprentices at his command. To develop the mines, he could only purchase slaves or golems from elsewhere.
Developing the resources of an entire Plane was undoubtedly a time-consuming and costly endeavor.
The reason Youxi, who controlled a Plane, had only constructed five Wizard Towers after several millennia might be attributed to this challenge.
But this didn't concern Su Nan. The task of resource development could be entrusted to the Star Alliance, while the Black Wolves could serve as his Exotic Beast army."
The best way to quickly gain control of the Wolf Tide Plane is to locate the Nest of the Black Wolf and refine it. This strategy will allow you to control the wolf pack naturally, without needing to deploy a large number of troops to engage them in battle.
"Our next priority should be to search for the Nest. Once you pinpoint its location, inform me immediately, and I will come to investigate personally."
"Understood."
Lize nodded and then shifted the topic.
"What are you planning to do with the five Wizard Towers?"
Su Nan had already made up his mind. He responded without hesitation, "Let's issue a mission to repair the Wizard Towers."
Now that the Star Alliance has secured internal trading rights with the Wisdom Codex, we can obtain Resources from them to continue upgrading the Wizard Towers in the future. There's no longer any need to dismantle the seized Wizard Towers for Materials.
Moreover, the damage done to the five Wizard Towers left behind by the Gloomy Throne isn't severe. With some repair and modifications, they can be restored to functionality.
Except for the Medium Wizard Tower, which is more complex to repair and requires my personal attention, the other four Wizard Towers can be entrusted to other Wizards for repairs.
Once they are ready, they can be listed for exchange, allowing other Wizards to redeem them.
This will also serve as an incentive for them.
After all, the Contribution Points needed to exchange for a Wizard Tower will be substantial. Without making an effort to complete more missions, they shouldn't even think about redeeming one.
"Once they've been repaired, place the four Small Wizard Towers on the exchange list."
"As for the Medium Wizard Tower," Su Nan glanced at Lize, "consider it a gift to celebrate your achievement in Reshaping the Body."
Lize was taken aback, his expression a mixture of surprise and gratitude. "You're giving me a Medium Wizard Tower just like that? That's quite a grand gesture."
Su Nan replied calmly, "You deserve this gift."
For the past few hundred years, Lize has been overseeing the daily affairs of the Star Alliance.
The Star Alliance has developed to its current stature, and Lize's contributions have been invaluable.
Su Nan didn't intend to be stingy with rewards for those who have served diligently.
Lize truly deserved a Medium Wizard Tower.
Feeling touched, Lize said softly, "Thank you."
"There's no need for formalities between us," Su Nan replied, waving his hand dismissively.
"Overall, the gains from the Wolf Tide Plane and the Wizard Tower alone were more than enough to cover Mi's battle losses and then some!
Especially the Wolf Tide Plane. Once this plane is under control, the Star Alliance will not only gain an additional Exotic Beast Legion force but also an ultra-large resource point that is just waiting to be developed.
Regaining his composure, Lize returned to the main topic.
"Although we have the protection of the Wisdom Codex and the Gloomy Throne should not invade on a large scale again, we still need to expand our Golem Legion and Flying Fleet as soon as possible, just in case."
"Additionally, developing the Wolf Tide Plane will require a significant investment in Clay Golems and mining equipment, and the resources needed will be substantial."
While the Wolf Tide Plane is rich in resources, they cannot be utilized in their current state.
The resources required to expand military strength and prepare the mining personnel can only be obtained from other sources.
Su Nan smiled slightly. "Don't worry. As soon as we receive approval from the Wisdom Society, we can immediately trade resources with the Wisdom Codex."
"Now, we just wait for good news from Maiisha."
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