Chapter 272: Poisonous Undead Monarch, Star Alliance's Greatest Advantage
"A Divine Corpse?"
Lize felt a flicker of intrigue.
A Divine Corpse was even rarer than a God. To have one fall into the Material World was an event with a probability lower than that of a True Spirit Wizard dying at the hands of a Level 3 Wizard.
However, Su Nan's expression was unusual.
In his memory, the spark that ignited the Wizard Civil War seemed to involve a Divine Corpse.
"Which God fell?" he asked.
"Poisonous Undead Monarch!"
Su Nan's heart raced.
That was right; it was indeed this one. The Divine Corpse he remembered triggering the Wizard Civil War was none other than the Poisonous Undead Monarch. Yet, he distinctly recalled that the Poisonous Undead Monarch was supposed to fall more than three hundred years from now. How could it have happened at this moment?
A wave of suspicion washed over Su Nan.
Even though he was still far from attaining the True Spirit Wizard's level and, in theory, should not be able to influence matters within the Realm of Truth, he knew that a single nail could bring down an empire. Many significant events often stemmed from seemingly inconsequential actions. Perhaps, because of his protection of the Starlight Continent, the layers of influence had built up over time, ultimately resulting in the Poisonous Undead Monarch's untimely demise.
Contemplating this, Su Nan couldn't help but feel a sense of dark irony.
"Which Plane did the Divine Corpse fall upon?" he inquired.
"Earth Crystal Plane."
A trace of sadness flitted across Tanna's face.
"The Earth Crystal Plane was originally a barren realm with scarce resources. The Earth Crystal People who inhabited it were a weak race, lacking even Wizard-level combat power. However, the emergence of the Poisonous Undead Monarch has tainted every living creature on that Plane, turning them into venomous beings. Their abilities have surged, but they’ve also transformed into irrational monsters, driven only by the instinct to kill."
"The entire Earth Crystal Plane has become a hellish landscape!"
"After all, it was an evil-attribute God," Su Nan remarked without surprise.
From the god's very name, it was evident that the Poisonous Undead Monarch wielded powers over poison and death. Its followers—Envoys, Acolytes, and Divine Beings—were predominantly undead creatures infused with venom.
While the Poisonous Undead Monarch was technically a weak Divine Power and ranked second to last in the divine hierarchy—only slightly stronger than a mere feeble Divine Power—it was still, ultimately, a God.
It was not unusual for the Divine Power that lingered after death to contaminate a Small Plane.
Gods were infamous for being highly contaminating beings!
"Why doesn't the True Spirit Wizard who killed the Poisonous Undead Monarch reclaim the Divine Corpse?" Lize asked curiously.
"I'm not too sure myself," Tanna replied after a moment of hesitation. "I heard there were some unexpected developments during the ambush. Some factions were unsatisfied with the initial distribution, so after some discussion, the True Spirit Wizard decided to let members from their respective Wizard Factions enter the Earth Crystal Plane to compete for the Divine Corpse, while they would simply observe and not interfere."
Su Nan’s lips twitched slightly.
That was precisely the kind of thing the True Spirit Wizard would do.
Rather than risk their own lives, they would have their subordinates fight and kill one another, indifferent to the loss of some Wizards.
The Divine Corpse of a weak Divine Power was far more valuable than any low-level Wizard.
Tanna glanced at Su Nan and continued, "The Wisdom Codex is also determined to acquire the corpse of the Poisonous Undead Monarch. They should be informing all their subsidiary organizations soon, summoning everyone to enter the Earth Crystal Plane to search for the Divine Corpse. You should prepare yourself in advance, Master Su Nan."
Su Nan fell into thought for a moment before snapping back to attention and smiling at Tanna, nodding in acknowledgment.
"I understand. Thank you for the information."
"You're welcome, as long as the information proves useful to you."
Knowing that Su Nan would soon be busy, Tanna wisely stood up to take his leave.
As he watched Tanna leave, Su Nan’s eyes flickered with contemplation.
This information about the Divine Corpse was certainly not given to him alone. Other Wizard Factions with good relations with the City of All Things likely received the news as well.
Even so, he had to acknowledge the favor from the City of All Things.
Being informed a few days ahead allowed for better preparation.
"What do you plan to do?" Lize’s voice pulled Su Nan from his reverie.
Su Nan shrugged and replied, "We don't really have a choice. We can only participate."
As an affiliated organization of Wisdom Codex, Star Alliance was obligated to respond to their summons and participate in battles when required. Should they refuse without a valid reason, Wisdom Codex would terminate their affiliation. Therefore, Star Alliance was set to engage in this operation.
Su Nan, however, did not have strong feelings about it one way or the other. In truth, the Divine Corpse held little significance for him, at least for the time being. Even if he were to possess a Divine Corpse, the most he could do was absorb its divine energy, which he already had in abundance. Beyond that, he would only be able to conduct some experiments that, while they might pique his curiosity, were not particularly valuable.
Researching the Divine Corpse necessitated a certain level of strength as a prerequisite. Its true potential could only be realized in the hands of a True Spirit Wizard. Moreover, with so many Wizard Factions vying for the Divine Corpse, Su Nan would be powerless to contend for it, even if he wished to. It was wiser to use this opportunity to acquire resources from Wisdom Codex and train his troops.
The only Plane War Star Alliance had experienced so far had been against the Wolf Tide Plane, and their experience in Plane Wars was still scant. Looking ahead, they needed to focus on troop training. The pursuit of the Divine Corpse would inevitably entail clashes with other Wizard Factions, marking it as an excellent opportunity.
Additionally, knowing that this expedition for the Divine Corpse was tied to the onset of the Wizard Civil War only fueled Su Nan's desire to observe it closely, allowing him to prepare adequately for what lay ahead.
Determined, Su Nan turned his head and asked, “What are the test results for the Star Fortress?”
“Very good,” Lize replied, a smile spreading across her face. “Its performance aligns with our predictions. I’ve compared it to the Silver White Tower we acquired from Wisdom Codex. Our Star Fortress, in terms of both performance and combat capability, is on par with the Silver White Tower and even surpasses it in firepower!”
“How does it compare to the Small Wizard Tower?” Su Nan inquired.
“If seven Star Fortresses work together, they should be able to contend with a standard Small Wizard Tower that hasn’t been enhanced.”
“What about the cost?”
"The cost is one-fifth that of a standard Small Wizard Tower, but considering that many of the materials used to construct a Small Wizard Tower are quite rare and difficult to obtain, along with the time involved, building a Star Fortress is actually more cost-effective."
"That’s true, but the Wizard Tower has many functions that the Star Fortress cannot achieve, such as the active effects of Plane Travel and the Energy Particles from the Elemental Pool."
Overall, both the Star Fortress and the Wizard Tower have their own advantages and disadvantages, and neither can fully replace the other. Just like a competent army needs diversity—both charging generals and numerous soldiers.
"How many Star Fortresses have been built so far?" Su Nan asked.
"Fifty-three."
Su Nan nodded slightly. "That's enough for now, but construction shouldn't stop. We need to build even more Star Fortresses."
"I understand."
"Who has exchanged for the four Wizard Towers on the exchange list?"
"Scepter, Rose, and Fakado. There’s one left, but after checking, the Contribution Points of Sheman and Coley are nearly enough. The last Wizard Tower should be exchanged by one of them."
"That's good. All Wizard Tower owners will participate in this operation."
"Okay."
"What is the construction progress of the new Wizard Tower?"
"Currently, three Small Wizard Towers are being built simultaneously. It's estimated that it will take another twelve years to complete."
"Twelve years, huh... That's pretty fast."
Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.
Normally, the Wizard Faction would have their Wizards collect resources themselves to build the Wizard Towers. However, in the Star Alliance, Su Nan decided that the Alliance would construct Wizard Towers and then place them on the exchange list for their subordinate Wizards to exchange for.
This approach would significantly shorten the time required for their subordinate Wizards to build Wizard Towers, thereby rapidly enhancing the strength of the Star Alliance.
Furthermore, the exchange price was actually less than the value of the Wizard Tower itself. The price difference was borne by the Star Alliance, but as long as it could quickly bolster their strength, Su Nan didn’t see this cost as an issue.
After all, the Star Alliance could now extract a great deal of profit by synthesizing Magic Stones, so they didn’t mind this minor loss. If they developed step-by-step like a typical Wizard Faction, they wouldn’t know how long it would take to become a Large Wizard Faction.
The Wizard Civil War was approaching, and there wasn't enough time for the Star Alliance to develop at its own pace. They needed to take decisive measures to accelerate their progress.
In Su Nan's plan, once he broke through to Level 3 Crystallization and no longer needed to absorb Divine energy, all the synthesized Elemental Crystal Cores could be used to empower his subordinate Wizards.
By lowering the required Contribution Points for exchanging Elemental Crystal Cores, they could significantly enhance the speed at which his subordinates improved their Wizard strength.
After several hundred or even thousands of years, the number of Second Level Wizards in the Star Alliance would undoubtedly see a substantial increase.
The notification from the Wisdom Codex arrived even faster than expected.
On the third day after receiving the information from Tanna, Cyril arrived and announced the mobilization order from the Wisdom Codex.
"The operation is scheduled for three days from now. At that time, the main force of our organization, along with all affiliated armies, must enter the Earth Crystal Plane. The period for initiating the Plane Channel to transport troops is 24 hours. After that, the Earth Crystal Plane will enter a state of lockdown, and no one will be able to enter or leave."
Once he finished delivering the mobilization order, the solemn expression on Cyril's face faded, replaced by a smile.
"This mobilization came rather abruptly. As compensation, all participating affiliated organizations will be exempt from paying a certain period of affiliation fees, depending on their size and strength. For example, Star Alliance will be exempt from paying fees to the Wisdom Codex for the next twenty years, as long as you participate in the operation."
Twenty years—that amounted to ten million Lower Magic Stones.
Though marketed as compensation, it was essentially a reward for deploying troops.
Honestly, this amount wasn't particularly high.
If the conflict escalated, the casualties the Star Alliance might suffer could easily surpass the value of the exemption.
Su Nan and Lize both understood that the Wisdom Codex wouldn’t use this as a mere ruse, so they remained silent, awaiting Cyril's next words.
Sure enough, Cyril continued, "Additionally, if you discover any God Corpse Fragments from the Poisonous Undead Monarch in the Earth Crystal Plane, you will also receive a reward based on the size of the fragments you submit."
Su Nan's expression changed. "God Corpse Fragments?"
Cyril nodded and explained, "When the Poisonous Undead Monarch's corpse fell into the Earth Crystal Plane, it was already in pieces, with God Corpse Fragments scattered throughout the Plane. This is the main reason why the Earth Crystal Plane became so quickly and completely infected."
Su Nan understood. The decision of those True Spirit Wizards to send troops into the Plane to contend for the Divine Corpse was likely influenced by this very factor.
Collecting the Divine Corpse fragments scattered across the entire Plane would undoubtedly require a large number of people to search for them.
"Which Wizard Factions entered the Earth Crystal Plane this time?" Su Nan asked after some thought.
Cyril replied, "Basically all of the Large Wizard Factions are participating. In addition, the Sea King Whale, Black Suo Tower, Pale Mask, among others, contribute to a total of seventeen Second Rate Wizard Forces involved."
One of the generally accepted standards for a Second Rate Wizard Force is the possession of a True Spirit Wizard.
It was clear that the True Spirit Wizards behind these dozen or so Second Rate Wizard Forces were all involved in the ambush against the Poisonous Undead Monarch.
As for the Third Rate Wizard Factions and those below them, they are likely affiliated organizations of the Wisdom Codex.
The current strength of the Star Alliance barely qualifies it as a Third Rate Wizard Faction. Compared to established Third Rate Wizard Factions like Steel Construct, there is still a significant gap.
Not to mention the difference when compared to the Large and Second Rate Wizard Forces.
Participating in a war that gathers so many Large and Second Rate Wizard Forces poses a considerable challenge for the Star Alliance.
After Cyril left, Lize expressed her concerns, saying, "The risks of this operation are significant."
Su Nan smiled slightly. "The risks are indeed considerable, but they aren't as high as you think."
Lize looked at him with surprise. Having spent many years together, she quickly grasped his meaning.
"Did you come up with something?"
Su Nan smiled knowingly and responded thoughtfully, "All Wizard Factions have only 24 hours to transport their troops. In such a short time, no Wizard Faction can move all their main forces into the Earth Crystal Plane; they can only bring a small portion."
Lize's expression shifted slightly.
With the limited time for troop transport, the competition comes down to which faction can achieve higher transport efficiency.
"It all comes down to who can construct more and larger Plane Channels within the limited time available.
In this regard, the gap between the Large Factions, the Wizard Factions, and the third-rate Wizard Factions is not particularly significant; at least, it is not as vast as the disparity in their actual strength.
This observation undoubtedly helps to narrow the combat power gap among the Wizard Factions.
However, if that were the only factor, Su Nan shouldn't appear so confident.
There must be other reasons.
After pondering for a moment, Lize seemed to come to a realization, and her eyes brightened.
She recalled the moment when Su Nan had inexplicably caused Falling Star City to vanish into nothingness.
Noticing her realization, Su Nan offered a slight smile.
That’s right—he also had the Magic Cube.
He could easily store Puppets in the Magic Cube and then pass through the Plane Channel to enter the Earth Crystal Plane.
The Magic Cube had a total of one hundred slots, with each slot capable of holding up to ninety-nine Puppets of the same type, allowing him to store a total of nine thousand nine hundred Puppets at once.
Twenty-four hours was more than enough time for him to travel back and forth between the two planes several hundred times.
This would be more than sufficient to transport all of the Star Alliance’s Puppets into the Earth Crystal Plane!
This was his greatest trump card and the significant advantage that set the Star Alliance apart from other Wizard Factions!"
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