Chapter 284: The Ace to Turn the Tide

Chapter 284: The Ace to Turn the Tide

November 15, 2024

"The Dragon Army currently remains unchanged, still consisting of fifty-eight dragons."

Li Ze continued, interrupting Su Nan's deep thoughts.

Su Nan snapped back to attention, not surprised.

After all, with only two short years, it was normal for no High-tier Dragonkin to have evolved.

"What about the Sigil Knight Order and the Hunter Wizard Legion?"

"After the Divine Corpse Battle, we procured a large amount of materials for manufacturing Sigil Constructs from the Codex of Wisdom, as per your instructions, and have increased the production of Sigil Constructs. The official members of the Sigil Knight Order have now surpassed one hundred thousand, and the total number of reserve members has also increased to over seven hundred thousand."

One hundred thousand official Sigil Knights were equivalent to one hundred thousand legendary combat powers.

In some less developed small planes, such as the Starlight Continent a thousand years ago, this force would have been enough to conquer the entire plane.

Not to mention the additional seven hundred thousand reserve members, all at the Knight or Grand Knight level.

In terms of combat power alone, the Sigil Knight Order could now rival three to four Army Groups.

Li Ze then added, "As for the Hunter Wizard Legion, the current total number of puppets is around two thousand three hundred."

Su Nan's expectation for the Hunter Wizard Legion was to reach ten thousand puppets, and the current number of two thousand three hundred was still far from that goal.

However, considering that only two short years had passed since the end of the Divine Corpse Battle, and the number of puppets in the Hunter Wizard Legion had already doubled, it was already quite impressive.

Moreover, the Star Alliance had more than just the Hunter Wizard Legion as their Wizard-level puppet force; they also had the Integrated Puppet Army of the Starlight Wizard Tower.

The number of Wizard-level puppets in the Integrated Puppet Army had also increased to over seven hundred, including the Supreme Golem, a Third Tier Wizard-level combat power.

In total, the Star Alliance now possessed over three thousand Wizard-level puppets, far surpassing the average third-rate Wizard forces.

This was the result of investing a large portion of the gains from the Divine Corpse Battle into the puppet forces.

After hearing Li Ze's summary of the Star Alliance's military expansion, a satisfied smile appeared on Su Nan's face.

Overall, compared to when they participated in the Divine Corpse Battle, the Star Alliance's military strength had indeed improved significantly.

"Regarding the offensive against the Blackthorn Tower, what are your plans?" Li Ze asked seriously. "Although the Star Alliance's forces have expanded significantly, attacking three planes simultaneously will still be quite challenging."

Su Nan contemplated and replied, "Let's focus our main efforts on the Ulam Plane first, while maintaining a holding pattern on the other two planes. Once we conquer the Ulam Plane, we can then deal with the other two."

Li Ze was surprised by Su Nan's intention to defeat each plane individually, "Do you really plan to take over these three planes?"

Su Nan smiled, "With such a rare opportunity, it would be a waste not to expand the Star Alliance's territory."

In reality, the safest approach for the Star Alliance would be to merely contain the forces of the Ulam, Xig, and Manro planes, preventing the Blackthorn Tower from drawing forces from these planes to join the battle, without engaging in an all-out war with them.

After all, the Codex of Wisdom only required the Star Alliance to contain these three planes, not to conquer them.

This way, the Star Alliance could minimize their casualties.

However, this strategy would also mean that the Star Alliance couldn't expect to gain much from the war.

This clearly didn't align with Su Nan's initial goal of strengthening their power through warfare.

In the multiverse, there were countless planes, but those with high energy particle concentration and abundant resources were few and far between, and most were already controlled by various factions.

Normally, if the Star Alliance wanted to expand its territory, it would have to persistently search for suitable new planes.

This was no easy task.

With so many factions keeping a close eye, the discovery of a new resource-rich plane would immediately spark intense competition.

The alternative was to seize territories from other factions.

The twenty-two planes controlled by the Blackthorn Tower were all high in energy particle concentration and rich in resources.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for the Star Alliance to snatch these planes from the Blackthorn Tower.

But now, they had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

With the Thousand-headed Bird tying down most of the Blackthorn Tower's forces, the Star Alliance could take advantage and conquer the Ulam, Xig, and Manro planes.

If successful, the Star Alliance would control five planes, and after the Wizard Civil War, they would likely rise to the ranks of second-rate Wizard forces.

Li Ze also understood this logic, but taking over three of the Blackthorn Tower's planes would be a challenging and risky endeavor.

However, since Su Nan had made his decision, she didn't say more.

Despite not having disappointed her up until now, Su Nan was well aware of Li Ze's concerns. Even if they were only up against the three planes controlled by the Blackthorn Tower, the Star Alliance's strength still couldn't be considered advantageous.

If they didn't want the impending war to become a stalemate, the Star Alliance must possess a trump card that could turn the tide of battle.

Looking at the Star Alliance's current strength, the only one that barely met this standard was the Starlight Wizard Tower.

After Su Nan's continuous upgrades and modifications, the Starlight Wizard Tower, whether it was the tower spirit, the elemental reservoir, the Mystic Lock's protective energy field, or its long-range firepower, was a cut above ordinary large wizard towers.

Even in a head-on battle against two large wizard towers, Su Nan was confident of victory.

However, this wasn't enough! "It would be best to enhance the Starlight Wizard Tower by another level!"

Su Nan summoned the three-dimensional model of the wizard tower, gazing at the illusory light and shadows before him, deep in thought.

At this point, it was already difficult for the Starlight Wizard Tower to reach new heights.

The reason was still energy constraints.

Whether it was the Mystic Lock's protective energy field or long-range firepower, they had already been upgraded to the limit of what the wizard tower could bear.

Further upgrades were possible, but doing so would exceed the tower's energy capacity, with more drawbacks than benefits.

As for the elemental reservoir, due to the tower's size limitations, it was already at its limit, making it challenging to further synthesize and strengthen it.

Unless a more efficient energy supply device was used.

For example, the Elemental Furnace!

In fact, Su Nan had previously considered creating a rudimentary version of the Elemental Furnace.

The two most crucial materials for manufacturing the Elemental Furnace were the Magic Stone Essence and the Elemental Source Crystal.

He could easily synthesize the former himself.

The latter could only be formed with a certain probability when an Elemental Elder died and its essence was condensed.

Although the 'drop rate' was extremely low, with his current strength, entering the depths of the elemental space to obtain it was just a matter of time.

The real challenge was the lack of an 'Elemental Furnace' design.

Su Nan had been keeping an eye out for any wizards in the City of Plenty's Starlight Tower who might use the Elemental Furnace as a stake, but none had been discovered so far.

"It seems I can only start with the Codex of Wisdom."

"Su Nan!"

Amy immediately pounced, landing on Su Nan's shoulder, her paws hugging his neck, and meowed happily.

"After such a long time, why didn't you come to find me?"

Facing the little one's complaint, Su Nan smiled slightly, stroking her head and saying:

"The headquarters of the Codex of Wisdom isn't a place that outsiders can enter casually. If you want to find me or play with the Hidden Dragon in the future, just come to the Starlight Continent."

After soothing Amy, Su Nan turned to Maisa.

"Lady Maisa, it's been a long time."

"It has been a long time."

After not seeing each other for over two hundred years, Maisa appeared unchanged, still looking like a quiet young girl.

As his strength increased, Su Nan also felt the incredible energy beneath Maisa's serene and composed exterior.

Just standing before Maisa, he felt as if he were facing the boundless starry sky.

This was a True Spirit Sorcerer, a top-tier existence that could rival divine beings!

"I heard from Cyril that you have something to discuss with me?"

"Yes," Su Nan's expression turned serious. "I urgently need the design of the Elemental Furnace. I wonder if Lady Maisa can help, and I'm willing to pay the corresponding compensation."

As a True Spirit Sorcerer and a senior scholar of the Codex of Wisdom, Maisa held an extremely high position. If it weren't for Su Nan's previous acquaintance with her and his status as the leader of an affiliated organization, it would be challenging to meet her.

Therefore, he didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

"You want to purchase the design from the Codex of Wisdom through me?"

A flash of surprise crossed Maisa's eyes, not expecting Su Nan to approach her for such a matter.

However, she quickly realized the situation.

She was also aware of the plan for the Star Alliance and the Thousand-Headed Bird to join forces against the Blackthorn Tower. She immediately understood that Su Nan wanted the Elemental Furnace to prepare for the upcoming war, most likely intending to upgrade and modify the wizard tower.

The Star Alliance's Starlight Wizard Tower, which was even more formidable than a large wizard tower, was no secret within the Codex of Wisdom.

Su Nan's profound expertise in the field of magical item creation was well-known even within the Codex of Wisdom, and many scholars held him in high regard.

"That's right." Su Nan acknowledged without hesitation.

Maisa paused for a few seconds, then shook her head slightly and said, "The design of the Elemental Furnace is a core secret for any sorcerer force, and it's not something they'd readily sell. Even if they did, they'd only sell the finished product, and the price would be exorbitant."

Su Nan's eyes flashed at her words.

He was well aware of the value of the Elemental Furnace.

While the Star Alliance could afford to purchase it, the cost would undoubtedly be astronomical.

With war on the horizon, investing a substantial amount of resources into buying the Elemental Furnace wasn't a wise decision.

Moreover, even if they acquired the Elemental Furnace, it couldn't be installed on the Starlight Wizard Tower.

Only a colossal war construct like the Floating City could support the true Elemental Furnace.

However, if they could obtain a finished product, they could attempt reverse engineering and replication.

Creating an exact replica with the same functionality was highly unlikely—without hundreds of masters in magical item crafting dedicating centuries to the task, success was impossible. But replicating a counterfeit with significantly reduced capabilities had a much higher chance of success.

As long as he could replicate a counterfeit, no matter how weak its effects, Su Nan could use Magic Cube Synthesis to upgrade it to a level that the Starlight Wizard Tower could handle.

The research and replication process would take a considerable amount of time, and whether it could be completed during the war was a concern.

After a moment of contemplation, Su Nan asked tentatively, "If I wanted a device similar in structure to the Elemental Furnace but with significantly weaker functionality, would the Codex of Wisdom have any information on that?"

Maisa was taken aback and asked, "What are the specific functional requirements? Are there any standards?"

Su Nan replied solemnly, "It's fine if it's a bit weaker than the Elemental Reservoir in terms of functionality."

Efficiency and work done were two different things. He desired the high efficiency of the Elemental Furnace, and a slight reduction in work done wasn't an issue; he could always enhance it through synthesis.

Maisa looked at Su Nan with surprise, a bit puzzled.

What use was an energy supply device with weaker functionality than the Elemental Reservoir?

It wouldn't enhance the combat power of the Wizard Tower at all.

Despite her confusion, Maisa didn't ask further. She pondered for a moment and said, "The Codex of Wisdom doesn't have anything like that, but if that's all you need, I do have some experimental data from when I was researching a lower-tier alternative to the Elemental Furnace. Although I couldn't produce a practical finished product, it should still provide you with some inspiration."

Su Nan's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "In that case, I'd like to thank you in advance, Lady Maisa."

"You've shown kindness to Amy, and I'm happy to help in any small way I can."

Maisa waved her hand, and over a dozen thick books materialized in mid-air, floating towards Su Nan.

Su Nan didn't examine them closely but collected them right away.

"Cyril mentioned that you'll be launching an offensive in half a month?"

"That's correct."

Su Nan didn't hide the fact.

He had recently met with Gavin of the Thousand-Headed Bird to discuss and finalize their plan to attack the subordinate planes under Blackthorn Tower in half a month.

Suddenly, Su Nan's expression shifted, and he asked tentatively, "I heard that the Codex of Wisdom will be sending two True Spirit Sorcerers to deal with Blackthorn Tower. May I ask who they are?"

Maisa smiled faintly, "One is me, and the other is Lord Darus Ward."

Just as he thought!

Su Nan's heart understood.

He was also familiar with Lord Darus Ward, who happened to be the father of Ronnin Ward.

"In that case, I'd like to wish you a victorious return, Lady Maisa."

"I appreciate your kind words."

After leaving the Sacred Tree Plane, Su Nan couldn't help but feel relieved that he had taken Amy in, which allowed him to connect with Maisa.

Having a True Spirit Sorcerer as an ally and being in good terms with the Codex of Wisdom would make many things much easier.

Like this time, if not for Maisa, he would have had to purchase the finished Elemental Furnace and then research a lower-tier alternative through replication.

Not only would this have been extremely costly, but it would also have wasted a lot of time and energy.

Even with that, convincing the Codex of Wisdom to trade the Elemental Furnace wouldn't have been easy.

"With these experimental data, I should be able to develop a lower-tier alternative to the Elemental Furnace in a short time, and then I can proceed with synthesis enhancement."

Su Nan's spirit was invigorated. If this approach succeeded, the Starlight Wizard Tower could continue its upgrade and become the Star Alliance's trump card on the front lines!

Upon returning to the Starlight Wizard Tower, Su Nan immediately immersed himself in studying the experimental data.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end