Chapter 256: Expanding the Armies, Synthesizing Spirit Orbs

Chapter 256: Expanding the Armies, Synthesizing Spirit Orbs

October 26, 2024

In Su Nan's memory, after the year 2000 of the Starlight Calendar, the Dark Throne's massive invasion of the Starlight Continent did not involve True Spirit Wizards or large Wizard Towers.

Reflecting on it now, perhaps as Meisha suggested, the Dark Throne had invested most of its efforts into conquering a second cluster of planes, leaving little attention for a single plane.

However, Su Nan vaguely remembered that the Dark Throne had mobilized an entire plane's worth of war power, ultimately leading to a large-scale plane war.

Even so, this was still a good outcome.

At least the Star Alliance controlled an entire plane, giving them the strength to resist.

"How's the expansion of our military forces?" Su Nan asked.

Lize, well-versed in the details, replied without hesitation, "The eighth large golem army is currently being formed and should be completed before the plane lockdown is lifted."

"The Magic Pattern Knights' official membership has increased to 58,000, and the number of reserve members without Magic Pattern Constructs has surpassed 500,000."

"The core Wyvern Knight force has expanded to 8,500, with a new batch of wyverns just out of the ranch and currently being distributed. They are in the adaptation phase, and we expect the entire force to reach 9,000 next year."

Ever since the Starlight Wizard Tower was completed, the Star Alliance focused its resources on expanding its military strength to prepare for the Dark Throne's invasion.

The golem armies and Magic Pattern Knights, as the core military forces of the Star Alliance, were naturally the top priorities for expansion.

A large golem army consists of 125,000 golems.

Eight such armies total one million golems.

In other words, by next year, the Star Alliance will have a million golems.

If we include the local garrisons guarding the various cities and resource points in the Underworld, the number of golems could increase by another 300,000 to 400,000.

A total of 1.3 to 1.4 million golems, even if most are stone golems and dual-blade spiders, is still an astonishing number.

It was only because the Starlight Academy had cultivated a large number of wizard apprentices over the past few centuries, providing the necessary labor to create these puppets, that such a feat was possible. Otherwise, Su Nan alone would never have been able to produce so many golems, even if he worked himself to death.

As for the Magic Pattern Knights, the number of official members is relatively small.

But don't be fooled by the number being less than 60,000; they are all elite.

The minimum standard for a Magic Pattern Knight is a High Grand Knight, and with their Magic Pattern Constructs, their combat power invariably reaches the level of a Legendary Knight.

In other words, this is an army of 58,000 Legendary Knight-level fighters!

The Wyvern Knights, as the ace core, are the cream of the crop among Legendary Knights, acting as an unstoppable blade on the battlefield.

In terms of combat power, three large golem armies combined would not be a match for the Magic Pattern Knights!

Moreover, the Magic Pattern Knights have over 500,000 reserve members.

Although these reserves lack Magic Pattern Constructs, they are all Knights or Grand Knights, making them more than sufficient for regular armies, and they are not much inferior to the golem armies.

"Raise the rewards for manufacturing Magic Pattern Constructs. We need to produce as many as possible, aiming to break 60,000 official members in the Magic Pattern Knights by next year."

Su Nan gave the order, and after Lize acknowledged it, he changed the subject.

"What about the fleet?"

Lize replied, "Considering the low probability of naval battles, we have currently established five naval fleets. They should be sufficient unless we encounter a large-scale naval battle."

Su Nan nodded slightly. Naval battles are rare in plane wars unless the target plane is predominantly oceanic, which is highly unlikely.

Even if such a situation arises, the Star Alliance's logistical capabilities would allow them to quickly mobilize several naval fleets.

While the naval fleet has not expanded, another type of magic ship has become a priority for the Star Alliance.

These are flying magic ships!

These ships have a wide range of uses, suitable for naval, land, and air battles, and can also be used for rapid troop transport.

On the Starlight Continent, the Star Alliance can efficiently and quickly transport troops through the teleportation network, but this advantage disappears when attacking other planes.

Considering this, Su Nan ordered the formation of a flying fleet.

There is another, more important reason: flying fleets can counter Wizard Towers.

Before the Starlight Wizard Tower is upgraded to a large Wizard Tower, Su Nan does not plan to build a second one.

He intends to invest any extra resources into the Starlight Wizard Tower.

However, this leaves the Star Alliance somewhat weak in large war constructs.

Previously, this was less of an issue because the plane lockdown prevented the Dark Throne from simultaneously deploying multiple Wizard Towers to invade the Starlight Continent.

Once the planar blockade is lifted and the Dark Throne launches a full-scale invasion, Su Nan is certain that more than just one wizard tower will come!

Relying solely on the Starlight Wizard Tower would be a daunting task, so he must find a way to increase his forces.

The flying fleet is the result of his careful consideration.

Magical ships with flight capabilities and long-range firepower are undoubtedly the best armed force to counter a wizard tower at this stage.

While their overall strength is far below that of a wizard tower, their advantage lies in numbers, allowing for a sea of ships tactic.

Moreover, developing flying magical ships is not difficult. It just involves adding a makeshift, ultra-miniature levitation ring to the existing magical ships and enhancing their long-range firepower.

To date, the Star Alliance's flying fleet has already taken initial shape.

Additionally, Su Nan plans to research a war fortress that lies between a flying magical ship and a wizard tower, to serve as the Star Alliance's standard large-scale war construct for future planar wars.

However, this idea is still in the conceptual stage, and he doesn't have the time to focus on it in the short term. He can only wait until the current crisis is over before he can act on it.

"Currently, we have formed twelve flying fleets, each on the same scale as a naval fleet, consisting of five third-tier magical ships, twenty-five second-tier magical ships, and two hundred fifty first-tier magical ships."

"Additionally, the thirteenth and fourteenth fleets are in the process of being formed. If we speed up the construction, they should be completed next year."

Su Nan nodded inwardly.

Fourteen flying fleets should suffice.

Unfortunately, time is short, and resources are limited. Otherwise, if he could form a hundred flying fleets, even if the Dark Throne sent five or six small wizard towers, he would have the confidence to ensure they never return.

The Golem Army, Magic Rune Knights, and the magical ship fleet, combined with the Starlight Wizard Tower, form the core of the Starlight Empire's military strength. While the Starlight Empire's military is somewhat weak, it still counts as a significant force.

In summary, the Starlight Continent's current power far exceeds that of many secondary planes and isolated planes!

This is the difference between a plane with and without a wizard force.

If the opponent were any other ordinary plane, the Star Alliance's current strength would be enough to crush them.

"Good, continue along this trend," Su Nan smiled. "I'll leave the rest to you."

"You sure are taking it easy as the boss," Lizze rolled her eyes.

Despite her words, she knew Su Nan wasn't idle.

Whether it's upgrading the wizard tower or filling the talent crystal model, both require a significant amount of time and energy.

Strictly speaking, the importance of Su Nan's tasks surpasses her own, so there's nothing to complain about.

After leaving the meeting room, Su Nan returned to the elemental pool to continue his cultivation.

Whether they can withstand the Dark Throne's first wave of attacks after the planar blockade is lifted depends not only on the expansion of the Star Alliance's military forces but also on the upgrade of the Starlight Wizard Tower and his own advancement to a third-tier wizard.

Especially the latter.

It's clear that the Dark Throne's attack a year from now will involve third-tier wizards.

If it's a third-tier Air Wizard, it would be manageable, but if it's a third-tier Liquid or Crystal Wizard, with his current strength, it would be challenging. He must advance to a third-tier wizard as soon as possible.

Although the deal was made, due to the planar blockade, Maisa had to expend considerable effort to enter the Starlight Continent.

It took a month for her to bring the promised fifty Spirit Pearls.

"Good doing business with you."

Su Nan took out the five hundred magic crystals he had synthesized over the past few days.

These five hundred magic crystals had almost drained the Star Alliance's secondary magic stone reserves.

"Good doing business with you," Maisa said, putting away the magic crystals and giving Su Nan a deep look. "May you advance to a third-tier wizard soon."

"Thank you for your good wishes."

Both having straightforward personalities, they parted ways after the transaction.

The Starlight Continent is about to become a battlefield, and Maisa is concerned about Amy staying here. She plans to take Amy back to the Codex of Wisdom.

Although Amy is very reluctant, she has no choice but to follow her owner.

"Su Nan, you must defeat those bad guys and come see me in the Codex of Wisdom, meow!" Amy said with a heavy heart.

"I will," Su Nan smiled and nodded.

After watching Maisa and Amy leave, Su Nan returned to the wizard tower to prepare for the absorption of the Spirit Pearls.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Su Nan held a Spirit Pearl in his palm, closed his eyes, and began his cultivation.

He filled the talent crystal model with spirit energy while absorbing the Spirit Pearl.

Time gradually passed.

Less than half a day later, Su Nan opened his eyes, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Just 0.4% from a single Spirit Pearl?"

Su Nan sighed, somewhat disappointed.

He wasn't entirely surprised by this result.

When he had first filled the first Talent Crystal model, a single Spirit Pearl had only contributed less than 2% of the required mental energy.

Now, with the third Talent Crystal model, which required significantly more mental energy, a mere 0.4% increase was to be expected.

After all, he was constructing a Super Talent Crystal, which required far more mental energy than a regular one.

While a Spirit Pearl was highly effective for ordinary wizards, its impact on him was much less immediate.

However, he couldn't be too disheartened. The progress was equivalent to about three years of cultivation, which wasn't insignificant.

"Fifty Spirit Pearls can save me about a hundred and seventy years of cultivation time."

"But that alone won't be enough to advance to the Third-Rank Wizard before the plane lock is lifted."

"Is there any other way to restore mental energy more quickly?"

Su Nan sat there, deep in thought.

Soon, an idea began to form in his mind.

His greatest advantage over others was his Synthesis Cube.

To improve his cultivation efficiency, he needed to focus on this.

The solution was clear—synthesize Spirit Pearls!

Although the Synthesis Cube was named for its synthesis capabilities, its fundamental effect was to enhance objects.

By combining similar items, it could significantly boost their power.

This could also apply to Spirit Pearls.

It was worth a try!

Su Nan's eyes lit up, and he immediately opened the cube, placing a Spirit Pearl inside.

[Spirit Pearl: A highly condensed crystallization of mental energy, used to restore mental energy. Contains 14,394 standard units of mental energy.]



He then placed the remaining forty-eight Spirit Pearls into the cube one by one, checking their information.

The amount of mental energy in each Spirit Pearl varied slightly, ranging from 14,000 to 15,000 standard units, with only a few hundred units of difference.

Su Nan randomly picked two and placed them in the cube. The synthesis interface flashed, and a new message appeared.

[Spirit Pearl: A highly condensed crystallization of mental energy, used to restore mental energy. Contains 38,285 standard units of mental energy.]



"Indeed, it works!"

Su Nan's face lit up with joy.

As he had suspected, synthesizing Spirit Pearls significantly boosted their effectiveness, increasing their power by over 20% to nearly 30%.

He continued by adding a third Spirit Pearl, and the resulting mental energy soared to over 57,000 standard units, a boost of over 30%.

Buoyed by this success, Su Nan continued the synthesis process.

However, he was cautious, testing each new synthesis to see if he could still absorb the mental energy.

Past experience had taught him that there were limits to synthesis. Just like with Element Crystals, once they reached a certain strength, he could no longer absorb the divine energy they contained.

Initially, the divine energy in Element Crystals was like a stone he could slowly grind into powder with his mental energy. Later, it became like hardened iron, impervious to his efforts.

Spirit Pearls likely had a similar limit.

This hypothesis was quickly confirmed.

When the synthesis reached twenty-three Spirit Pearls, Su Nan felt a significant resistance when trying to absorb the mental energy.

Recognizing this, he wisely stopped the synthesis.

At this point, the mental energy in the Spirit Pearl was more than five times the total of the twenty-three individual pearls!

Holding the now even more luminous and brilliant Spirit Pearl, Su Nan smiled with immense satisfaction.

He also felt a twinge of regret.

If he had thought of this method when he first absorbed a Spirit Pearl, he could have saved at least two years of wasted time.

Shaking off these thoughts, Su Nan focused on absorbing the mental energy from the Spirit Pearls.

He absorbed the two maximally synthesized Spirit Pearls first, then combined the remaining three and absorbed them as well.

By the time he had absorbed all the Spirit Pearls, the filling progress of his Talent Crystal model had soared to 99.88%, just a hair's breadth away from completion.

"The rest is just a matter of time!"

Su Nan took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and continued his cultivation.

Advancing to the Third-Rank Wizard was now within reach.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end