Chapter 290: The Star Alliance's Unforeseen Strength)

Chapter 290: The Star Alliance's Unforeseen Strength)



"The Star Alliance has conquered the Ulam Plane."

Upon hearing this news from Bryce, Gavin's expression turned complex.

In fact, ever since he heard of Luk's death in battle, he had suspected that the Star Alliance would eventually take over the Ulam Plane.

But when it actually happened, he couldn't help but sigh.

Initially, when they collaborated with the Star Alliance, Gavin had only hoped that they could restrain the forces of Ulam, Manro, and Xig Planes. However, not only did the Star Alliance accomplish this perfectly, but they also exceeded expectations by directly invading and capturing the Ulam Plane.

Bryce's expression was equally filled with astonishment. He sighed, "I never thought the Star Alliance could conquer the Ulam Plane. At the beginning, they didn't have a numerical advantage, and they were even slightly at a disadvantage. Who would have thought they could turn the tables in the end?"

"The Star Alliance's strength has grown too rapidly," Gavin said with a hint of admiration in his eyes. "While others weaken during war, the Star Alliance becomes stronger. With this disparity, the Ulam Plane gradually became no match for them."

Bryce asked, puzzled, "Is it because the Star Alliance has a large supply of Mana Stones that they can develop and expand so quickly? But where did they get so many Mana Stones?"

Gavin contemplated, "Perhaps they discovered a rich Mana Stone vein in some plane."

There had been instances in the multiverse where a sorcerer force had the fortune of finding abundant Mana Stone veins in a plane, propelling their rapid development.

Bryce agreed, thinking it was most likely the same reason.

"Regardless, the Star Alliance's conquest of the Ulam Plane is also beneficial to us."

"When this news reaches the Blackthorn Tower headquarters, it will likely prompt them to deploy more troops to the Xig and Manro Planes. This will make things easier for us."

A hint of schadenfreude appeared on Gavin's face.

"I can already imagine the ugly expression on Lucius' face."

As Gavin predicted, Lucius was in a terrible mood.

He had considered the possibility of the Blackthorn Tower losing a plane in this war and had prepared for the worst.

But he never imagined that the first plane to fall to the enemy would be conquered by the Star Alliance, a force he had once looked down upon!

This news left him both shocked and furious.

The atmosphere in the council chamber was as frozen as ice.

The Blackthorn Tower's high-ranking members either furrowed their brows or wore solemn expressions, all of them silent.

At the beginning of the war, they had not considered the Star Alliance a significant threat and unanimously decided to deal with the Thousand-headed Bird first.

However, the course of events slapped them in the face. It was the least regarded Star Alliance that struck the Blackthorn Tower hard first.

After a long silence, Lucius finally spoke, "Let's hear your thoughts. What should we do next?"

A sorcerer cleared his throat and said, "I suggest we redeploy some of our forces to support the Xig and Manro Planes. Even with the Star Alliance attacking three planes simultaneously, they managed to conquer the Ulam Plane. Now, with only two planes left, they are most likely not a match for the Star Alliance."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately objected.

"I disagree. We've barely managed to suppress the Thousand-headed Bird. If we redeploy some of our forces, they might seize the opportunity to counterattack, and the situation could spiral out of control!"

"But if we don't provide support, and the Xig and Manro Planes are conquered, the Star Alliance might turn their attention to the Thousand-headed Bird, and the situation will become dire!"

"In my opinion, we should directly mobilize our main forces to deal with the Star Alliance first, and then focus on the Thousand-headed Bird."

"No, that's a recipe for chaos. The Thousand-headed Bird isn't foolish. They must have anticipated this move. If we redeploy our main forces, they will undoubtedly intensify their offensive, and we might find ourselves in a situation similar to the fall of the Ulam Plane."

"Then what do you suggest?"

The discussion among the group quickly turned into an argument.

Listening to the commotion, Lucius's expression darkened, and he felt a sense of helplessness within.

He suddenly realized that the Blackthorn Tower was at a loss against the small Star Alliance!

No matter what they did, the situation seemed destined to worsen.

The once insignificant third-rate sorcerer force that he had scorned now gave him a massive headache.

"Enough! All of you, shut up!"

Lucius's impatient roar silenced the entire hall.

He scanned the room with cold eyes and said, "Redeploy some forces to support the Xig and Manro Planes. Heim and Kuiwen, hold the planes. If the Xig and Manro Planes fall into the hands of the Star Alliance, don't bother coming back."

"As for the main forces, continue to deal with the Thousand-Headed Bird!"

The Star Alliance was indeed a headache, but the Thousand-Headed Bird posed an even greater threat to the Blackthorn Tower.

If they lost their footing and gave the Thousand-Headed Bird an opportunity, the Blackthorn Tower might face the risk of annihilation.

At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing one or two planes.

Regardless, the threat of the Thousand-Headed Bird could not be overlooked.

To put it another way, as long as they could gain an advantage on the front lines against the Thousand-Headed Bird, they could redeploy some forces to support the Xig Plane and Manro Plane.

Lucius believed that the Blackthorn Tower could achieve this.

The prerequisite was that the Xig Plane and Manro Plane could hold out until then.

Ulam Plane, Ulana City.

In the study of the city lord's mansion, Su Nan sat behind the desk, listening to Li Ze's report on the recent situation.

After conquering the Ulam Plane, the Star Alliance did not rush to engage in the Xig Plane or Manro Plane. Instead, they took their time to consolidate their gains, integrate the Ulam Plane, and only redeployed a portion of their forces to support the Staff and Fachardo.

After half a year of consolidation, the Star Alliance had essentially taken control of the entire Ulam Plane, eliminating all traces of the Blackthorn Tower's influence.

As one of the main planes controlled by the Blackthorn Tower, the Ulam Plane's resources far exceeded those of the Wave Plane. Its resources were gradually recovering and were even more abundant than the Starlight Continent, which had been developed and cultivated by the Star Alliance for a long time.

Not to mention, the two medium-sized mana stone veins and one small mana stone vein were particularly exciting.

Aside from that, the most valuable asset of the Ulam Plane was its human race.

Whether it was cultivating sorcerers or building knight legions, the primary prerequisite was having a sufficient population.

Therefore, in the sorcerer world, planes with human civilizations were often more valuable than planes of the same scale inhabited by non-human races.

For example, the Wolf Tide Plane had the advantage of the Creature Nest, a powerful weapon in war. But if given the choice, Su Nan would prefer a plane of similar size with a human race.

The latter often indicated a larger number of sorcerers (apprentices) and Runesword Knights.

"Although the Blackthorn Tower exploited the Ulam Plane severely, they were quite generous with their investments."

Li Ze put down the file in her hand and said with a smile:

"The overall quality of the human race in the Ulam Plane is excellent. On average, there are seven or eight knights per thousand people, and three to five sorcerer apprentices per ten thousand."

The Star Alliance established numerous knight academies on the Starlight Continent, extensively cultivated and improved Dragonfruit, and promoted them across the continent. After a thousand years of management, the knight ratio had only reached two to three per thousand.

The sorcerer apprentice ratio was even lower, barely reaching one in ten thousand.

In comparison, the average quality of the human race in the Ulam Plane was quite impressive.

However, upon closer inspection, this was quite normal. Unlike the Starlight Continent, which had only been unsealed for a few hundred years, the Ulam Plane had been developed by the Blackthorn Tower for thousands of years, resulting in a more superior overall environment.

"If we manage the Ulam Plane well, in a century or two, the Star Alliance's sorcerer numbers will definitely show significant growth!" Li Ze said with a smile.

The Star Alliance currently had no shortage of resources. With a sufficient population, they could quickly cultivate a large number of sorcerer apprentices.

With an increased base of sorcerer apprentices, the number of sorcerers could naturally grow rapidly.

"How's the restoration of the captured sorcerer towers going?"

"They've all been completely restored, and as soon as they were added to the redemption list, they were all redeemed. Many people couldn't get their hands on them and are clamoring for us to quickly advance into the Xig Plane and Manro Plane to capture more sorcerer towers."

Su Nan couldn't help but chuckle.

Indeed, war was the driving force for development.

"What about the upgrades and modifications to the sorcerer towers?"

"That's going smoothly too. Basically, all sorcerer towers have undergone upgrades to their elemental reservoirs and long-range strike firepower. The people below are very enthusiastic about this because it directly affects their ability to earn more contribution points in the upcoming wars."

"The Enigma Lock Protective Energy Field devices are a bit less common, with only about a third of the people redeeming the enhanced versions. Even fewer have redeemed the other facilities."

Su Nan nodded slightly.

Given the short time frame, the number of enhanced sorcerer tower facilities was still a bit low, insufficient to cover all the Star Alliance's sorcerer towers.

Even so, the combat power of the numerous sorcerer towers had increased significantly.

The Star Alliance now had a total of forty-four sorcerer towers, and the number of Star Fortresses had increased to sixty-eight.

The flying fleet had suffered significant losses in the recent war and had not yet recovered, leaving only twelve fleets remaining.

In terms of War Constructs, the Star Alliance has already far surpassed the Xig Plane and the Manro Plane.

"We must continue the development of the Ulam Plane; we can't fall behind."

"However, it's also time to advance into the Xig Plane and the Manro Plane."

Li Ze asked, "Which plane should we focus on next?"

Su Nan had already made up his mind and replied without hesitation, "The Xig Plane."

Unlike the Ulam Plane, the Xig Plane does have a human race, but their numbers are limited, and they are not the dominant species.

The dominant race in the Xig Plane is a demi-human race called the Draconids, who possess both dragon and beastman bloodlines.)



Mature Draconids possess the strength of a Knight Rank, making them exceptionally fierce and powerful.)



They are a race well-suited to be soldiers.

The drawback, however, is their low power ceiling.

Due to the weakness of their dragon bloodline, Draconids can only reach the Fourth Circle Legendary Realm, and there has never been a Bloodline Knight or Elemental Knight among them, let alone a Wizard Rank.

In the past, some Wizards had attempted biological modification experiments on Draconids to break their power ceiling and reach the Wizard Rank.

But these experiments were abandoned halfway through.

The reason was simple; to break the power ceiling of Draconids, one must first increase the concentration of their dragon bloodline.

But then, why not simply breed a dragon from a Wyvern?

The latter might even be a more cost-effective approach.

In summary, Draconids are a race with limited potential but still quite useful.

The dominant races in the Manro Plane are various types of giants, such as Plateau Giants, Sand Giants, Hill Giants, Forest Giants, and Swamp Giants.

These giant races can generally reach the Great Knight Rank and even the Legendary Knight Rank.

A few leader-level giants possess formidable strength that can rival Wizards.

However, their reproduction rate is low.

According to the Staff's report, the total population of giant races in the Manro Plane does not exceed twenty million, and only about half of them are warriors.

Additionally, the environment in the Manro Plane is relatively harsh, and its resources are not as abundant as the Xig Plane, let alone comparable to the Ulam Plane.

The Xig Plane at least has two small Mana Stone veins, while the Manro Plane has none.

After comprehensive consideration, Su Nan decided to make the Xig Plane the second target for invasion.

By capturing this relatively resource-rich plane early on, they could also start development sooner.

Seeing that Su Nan had made up his mind, Li Ze raised no objections.

Upon receiving the orders, the Star Alliance forces sprang into action.

As a precaution, Su Nan left behind three Sorcerer Towers, eight Star Fortresses, one Automaton Army, and two Sigil Knight Regiments to guard the Ulam Plane.

Additionally, they dispatched three Sorcerer Towers, ten Star Fortresses, and two Flying Fleets to support the Manro Plane.

The remaining forces all advanced into the Xig Plane.

After nearly a decade of war, the Staff had not gained the upper hand in the Xig Plane, but they had established a foothold and secured a territory of over 50,000 square kilometers.

With a sufficient buffer zone, the Star Alliance forces entering the Xig Plane no longer needed to rush the transportation of troops.

Upon arriving in the Xig Plane, Su Nan's first stop was the Star Alliance military base.

The Staff and his team of Sorcerers were already waiting in the council chamber.

"My Lord!" The group bowed in respect.

Su Nan waved his hand, indicating that they need not stand on ceremony, and after taking his seat, he immediately inquired about the situation in the Xig Plane.

The Staff was well-prepared and calmly replied, "The de facto ruling power in the Xig Plane is an empire established by the Draconids, with Draconids as the primary ruling class. However, in my opinion, it's more like a massive tribe, with an estimated population of at least twenty million, and a formal military force of three to four million."

Given that mature Draconids possess Knight Rank strength, this means that all three to four million soldiers are of Knight Rank.

However, those present were not overly concerned.

After all, with the troops about to be transported in, the Star Alliance would have three Automaton Armies in the Xig Plane, totaling three million Knight Rank soldiers.

Not to mention the Sigil Knight Order and the Black Wolf Pack.

More importantly, the Draconids couldn't possibly deploy all their forces for warfare; they would need to retain some troops to guard their home base.

Having three million soldiers available for battle against the Star Alliance was already quite impressive.

In terms of ground troops, the Star Alliance was no weaker than the Draconids.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end