Chapter 284: The Trump Card to Open the Situation
"The Dragon Corps remains unchanged, still at fifty-eight."
Lize continued, cutting into Su Nan's thoughts.
Su Nan snapped back to attention, not surprised. After all, it had only been two short years; it was normal that no high-level Sub-Dragons had broken through to evolve.
"What about the Magic Knight Order and the Witch Hunter Legion?" he asked.
"Following the God Corpse Contention, we acquired a large amount of materials from the Wisdom Codex to manufacture Magic Pattern Constructs. As you instructed, we increased production, and progress has been excellent. The official members of the Magic Knight Order have now exceeded 100,000, with the total number of reserve members rising to over 700,000."
One hundred thousand official Magic Pattern Knights were equivalent to 100,000 legendary combatants. In a less developed small plane like the Starlight Continent a thousand years ago, that would have been enough to conquer the entire realm. Not to mention the more than 700,000 reserve members at the Knight and Great Knight levels.
In terms of combat power alone, the current Magic Knight Order was equivalent to three or four army corps.
Lize added, "As for the Witch Hunter Legion, the current total number of puppets is around 2,300."
Su Nan's target for the Witch Hunter Legion was ten thousand, so 2,300 puppets were still a long way from that goal. However, considering it had only been two short years since the end of the God Corpse Contention, the Witch Hunter Legion had already doubled in size, which was impressive.
In total, the Star Alliance now held more than three thousand Wizard-level puppets, far surpassing that of an ordinary third-rate Wizard faction. Such remarkable growth in just two years was primarily due to the Star Alliance investing most of the gains from the God Corpse Contention into this expansion.
After hearing Lize's summary of the Star Alliance's military growth, a satisfied smile appeared on Su Nan's face. Overall, compared to their participation in the God Corpse Contention, the military strength of the Star Alliance had indeed improved significantly.
"Regarding the attack on Black Suo Tower, what are your plans?" Lize asked seriously. "Although the Star Alliance army has expanded considerably, attacking three planes at the same time is still quite taxing."
Su Nan pondered for a moment before responding, "We'll concentrate our main efforts on Ulan Plane while keeping the other two planes in check. Once we capture Ulan Plane, we can then deal with the remaining two."
Lize, discerning Su Nan's intention to defeat them one by one, asked in surprise, "Are you really planning to take all three planes?"
Su Nan smiled and replied, "Opportunities like this don't come around often. It would be a waste not to seize the chance and expand the Star Alliance's territory."
From a purely pragmatic standpoint, the best course of action for the Star Alliance would have been to contain the forces of the three planes—Wulan, Xige, and Manro—preventing Black Suo Tower from drawing troops from them for the war, rather than engaging in an all-out battle.
After all, Wisdom Codex’s request was only to contain the three planes, not to conquer them.
This approach would also result in fewer losses for the Star Alliance.
However, it meant that the Star Alliance could not expect to gain substantial benefits from the war, which contradicted Su Nan's original goal of using the conflict to strengthen his forces.
Countless planes exist in the Multiverse, but those with a high concentration of Energy Particles and abundant Resources are few and far between, predominantly controlled by various powers.
Under normal circumstances, the Star Alliance would have to persistently search for suitable new planes to expand its territory—a challenging task.
With so many forces watching, any newly discovered resource-rich plane would quickly attract competition from various factions.
The alternative would be to seize territory from other powers.
Every one of the twenty-two planes controlled by Black Suo Tower was, without exception, a plane rich in Resources and abundant in Energy Particles.
Typically, it would be impossible for the Star Alliance to snatch planes from Black Suo Tower's grasp.
But right now, there was an unparalleled opportunity.
With the Thousand Headed Bird restraining most of Black Suo Tower's forces, the Star Alliance could fully capitalize on this moment to seize the three planes of Wulan, Xige, and Manro.
Once successful, the Star Alliance would control five Planes, and after the Wizard Civil War concluded, there would be a high probability of joining the ranks of the Second Rate Wizard Forces.
Lize understood this principle as well, but taking down three Planes from Black Suo Tower was no easy task, and the risks were significant.
Nevertheless, since Su Nan had already made her decision, she chose not to voice any more concerns.
After all, Su Nan had never disappointed her in the past.
Lize took charge of coordinating the preparations for war, while Su Nan went to the laboratory to begin planning the next steps.
The issues that troubled Lize were all too clear to her as well.
Even against just the three Planes controlled by Black Suo Tower, the Star Alliance's combat strength could hardly be considered an advantage.
If they wanted to avoid a stalemate in the upcoming war, the Star Alliance needed a trump card capable of breaking the deadlock on the battlefield.
Looking at the current combat power of the Star Alliance, the only contender that might meet this standard was Starlight Wizard Tower.
After Su Nan's continuous upgrades and modifications, Starlight Wizard Tower's Tower Spirit, Elemental Pool, Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field, and long-range firepower had surpassed the capabilities of an ordinary Large Wizard Tower.
Even in a direct confrontation with two Large Wizard Towers, Su Nan was confident it could emerge victorious.
But even that level of power was insufficient!
"It would be best to enhance Starlight Wizard Tower by another level!"
Su Nan summoned the three-dimensional model of the Wizard Tower, gazing at the virtual light and shadows as he fell into deep contemplation.
At this juncture, further improving Starlight Wizard Tower proved to be quite challenging.
The primary reason for this challenge was the limitation of Energy.
Both the Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field and the long-range firepower had already reached the maximum that the Wizard Tower could accommodate.
While further upgrades were technically possible, they would exceed the Wizard Tower's Energy capacity, leading to more disadvantages than advantages.
As for the Elemental Pool, it was also nearing its limits due to the size restrictions of the Wizard Tower, which made further synthesis and enhancement difficult.
Unless he implemented a more efficient Energy power supply device.
Like the Elemental Furnace!
In fact, Su Nan had previously contemplated creating a rudimentary version of the Elemental Furnace.
The two most crucial materials for crafting the Elemental Furnace are the Essence Mother of Magic Stone and the Element Source Crystal. He could easily synthesize the former himself. The latter, however, could only manifest its essence when the Elemental Giant Elder and Death were involved, with a certain probability. Although the chance of obtaining it was extremely low, with his current strength, venturing deep into Element Space to acquire it was only a matter of time.
The real challenge he faced was the lack of a design blueprint for the Elemental Furnace. Su Nan had been constantly searching to see if anyone at the City of All Things or the Starry Sky Tower would offer the Elemental Furnace as a wager, but so far, nothing had come up.
"It seems I can only start from the Wisdom Codex side."
"Su Nan!"
As soon as they met, Amy leaped onto Su Nan's shoulder, wrapping its two little paws around his neck and happily meowing. "It's been so long! Why didn't you come see me, meow?"
In response to the little one's complaint, Su Nan smiled slightly, patting its head as he said, "The Wisdom Codex headquarters is not a place outsiders can easily enter. In the future, if you want to find me or Hidden Dragon to play, just come to Starlight Continent."
After calming Amy, Su Nan turned to look at Maiisha. "Maiisha, it's been a while."
"It has been a while."
After more than two hundred years apart, Maiisha seemed not to have changed at all, still appearing like a quiet young girl. As his strength increased, Su Nan could increasingly sense the terrifying energy hidden beneath Maiisha's serene and composed exterior. Just standing before her gave him the illusion of facing the boundless starry sky. This was the True Spirit Wizard, an existence powerful enough to rival a deity!
"I heard from Cyril that you have business with me?"
"Yes." Su Nan's expression grew serious. "I urgently need the design blueprint for the Elemental Furnace. I wonder if Maiisha could assist me with this. I am willing to offer a suitable reward."
As a True Spirit Wizard and a Great Scholar of the Wisdom Codex, Maiisha held an extremely high position. If it weren't for the previous connection between Su Nan and her, along with his status as a Controller from an affiliated organization, securing an audience with her would have been nearly impossible. Therefore, he chose not to beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"You want to buy the design blueprint from the Wisdom Codex through me?"
Maiisha's eyes flashed with a peculiar light; she hadn't expected Su Nan to seek her out for something like this.
However, she quickly composed herself.
She was aware of the plan for the Star Alliance and the Thousand-Headed Bird to join forces against Black Suo Tower, and she immediately understood that Su Nan wanted the Elemental Furnace as preparation for the upcoming war, likely intending to upgrade and modify the Wizard Tower.
The Starlight Wizard Tower, part of the Star Alliance and even more powerful than the Large Wizard Tower, was no secret within the Wisdom Codex.
Su Nan's accomplishments in the realm of Magic Item Creation were so profound that even a place like the Wisdom Codex, with its extensive foundations, had many who greatly admired him.
"That's right," Su Nan admitted frankly.
Maiisha pondered for a few seconds before shaking her head slightly. "The blueprints for the Elemental Furnace are a core secret in any Wizard Faction and are not easily sold to outsiders. Even if they are sold, only finished products are available, and at a significant cost."
Hearing this, Su Nan's eyes flickered slightly.
Of course, he understood the immense value of the Elemental Furnace.
While the Star Alliance could potentially purchase it, the price would undoubtedly be astronomical.
With war on the horizon, spending a large sum of resources on an Elemental Furnace was not a wise choice.
Moreover, even if they acquired an Elemental Furnace, it couldn't be installed on the Starlight Wizard Tower.
Only something as large as the Floating City’s War Creation could truly accommodate a real Elemental Furnace.
Of course, if they could obtain a finished Elemental Furnace, they could reverse-engineer and imitate it.
Creating an identical replica was impossible—without hundreds of masters well-versed in Magic Item Creation dedicating thousands of years to meticulous research, success was simply out of reach. However, creating a diluted version with diminished effects had a good chance of success.
As long as they could successfully replicate a knock-off, no matter how weak its effects were, Su Nan could use Cube Synthesis to upgrade it to a level suitable for the Starlight Wizard Tower.
However, the research and replication process would take a significant amount of time, and whether they could achieve success during the war remained uncertain.
After a moment of contemplation, Su Nan tentatively inquired, "If it's just a supply device with a structure similar to the Elemental Furnace but with a much weaker function, does the Wisdom Codex happen to have any?"
Maiisha was slightly startled and asked, "What are the specific functional requirements? Are there any standards?"
Su Nan replied seriously, "It's acceptable if the functionality is a bit weaker than the Elemental Pool."
Work output and efficiency are two different matters. What he desired was the high efficiency of the Elemental Furnace. As for work output, a slight decrease was fine, as he could always enhance it through synthesis.
Maiisha glanced at Su Nan in surprise, feeling a bit confused.
What was the use of an energy supply device with weaker functionality than the Elemental Pool?
It wouldn’t enhance the Wizard Tower's combat power at all.
Though puzzled, Maiisha chose not to ask further. Instead, she mused, "The Wisdom Codex doesn’t have a similar item, but if that's all it is, I do have some experimental data here. These results stem from my previous research on inferior substitutes for the Elemental Furnace. Although I didn’t manage to produce a usable finished product, it should provide you with some inspiration."
Su Nan's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Then I thank you in advance, Lord Maiisha."
"You are a benefactor to Amy; assisting you with this small matter is no trouble at all."
Maiisha waved her hand, and more than ten thick books appeared out of thin air, floating toward Su Nan.
Su Nan didn’t examine them closely and simply put them away.
"I heard from Cyril that you will launch an offensive in half a month?"
"That's correct."
Su Nan was open about it. Not long ago, he had met with Gavin of the Thousand-Headed Bird to discuss and finalize a plan for a simultaneous attack on the Plane under Black Suo Tower's command in half a month.
Suddenly, Su Nan's expression changed, and he tentatively asked, "I heard that the Wisdom Codex will send two True Spirit Wizards to deal with Black Suo Tower. I wonder who they are?"
Maiisha smiled faintly. "One is me, and the other is His Excellency Darus Ward."
Indeed! Su Nan understood. He also had some familiarity with Darus Ward. This True Spirit Wizard happened to be the father of Ronin Ward.
"Then I wish Lord Maiisha a triumphant return."
"Thank you for your kind words."
As Su Nan left the Holy Tree Plane, he couldn’t help but feel a bit fortunate. He was glad he had taken Amy in back then, as it had helped him gain favor with Maiisha.
Having a True Spirit Wizard to manage affairs and connections with the Wisdom Codex would make many things much more convenient.
Just like this time; if it weren't for Maiisha, he would have first had to purchase ready-made Elemental Furnace items and then study how to replicate a lower-grade substitute.
The costs would have been enormous, not to mention the significant waste of time and effort.
Even so, convincing the Wisdom Codex to trade for the Elemental Furnace wouldn’t be easy.
"With this experimental data, I should be able to develop a lower-grade substitute for the Elemental Furnace in a short amount of time. Then, I can synthesize and enhance it."
Su Nan felt a surge of optimism. If this plan worked, the Starlight Wizard Tower could continue to upgrade and transform, becoming the Star Alliance's trump card on the front lines!
Upon returning to the Starlight Wizard Tower, Su Nan immediately immersed himself in researching the experimental data.
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