Chapter 292: Haste Makes Waste

Chapter 292: Haste Makes Waste

November 23rd, 2024

Ulam Plane, Ulana City.

After more than three decades of development by the Star Alliance, the city has expanded to more than four or five times its original size, becoming a massive military factory.

Every day, various puppets and War Constructs flow out of Ulana City, joining the ranks of the Star Alliance's forces.

Enormous resources continue to pour into the city, nurturing the military might of the Star Alliance and contributing to its growth.

At the very heart of Ulana City, the Starlight Wizard Tower stands tall and majestic.)



In his study, Su Nan sits behind his desk, reviewing reports on military expansion.)



It has been almost a decade since the conquest of the Xig Plane.

The Star Alliance deliberately slowed down its offensive pace for two reasons. Firstly, they wanted to avoid provoking the Blackthorn Tower further, preventing them from diverting more attention to the Star Alliance. Secondly, they needed more time to develop and fully absorb the gains from the Ulam and Xig Planes.

It is undeniable that capturing the Ulam and Xig Planes has significantly boosted the Star Alliance's development.

In just over a decade, the number of Wizard Apprentices in the Star Alliance has almost doubled.

If not for the short time frame, the number of Wizards would have also shown a noticeable increase.

Additionally, the expansion of their territory has provided the Star Alliance with more resource points, including various metal veins and the magic plantations left behind by the Blackthorn Tower.

Simultaneously, the Star Alliance has been artificially developing numerous Secondary Mana Veins in both planes.

With ample resource supplies, the Star Alliance's military forces have expanded rapidly in recent years.

Just three months ago, the Star Alliance's seventh Automaton Army Group was established, and they are now working on the eighth group.

The number of Sigil Knights has surpassed 200,000, and they have officially implemented the Legion Formation.

The original Corps Formation has been modified to consist of 10,000 official members and 40,000 reserve members.

Every five corps form a legion, comprising 50,000 official members and an additional 200,000 reserve members.

In total, four legions were formed.

The excess reserve members were temporarily assigned to external legions, awaiting the allocation of more Engraved Constructs to be included in the regular forces.

Calculating the numbers, the number of reserve members in the Sigil Knight Order has surpassed one million!

"For the next period, we should focus on increasing the production of Engraved Constructs to transform as many reserve members into official members as possible," Su Nan said, looking up at Li Ze sitting across from him.

Li Ze pondered for a moment, "Currently, we have a lot of manufacturing tasks, and our logistics are already operating at full capacity. In the short term, it's unlikely that we can spare more resources for producing Engraved Constructs. If we want to obtain more, I suggest we procure them from external sources."

"You mean the City of Plenty?" Su Nan asked, stroking his chin.

The Codex of Wisdom's external trading list includes Engraved Constructs, but during the war, they are also facing resource shortages and would not allow the Star Alliance to purchase in large quantities.

There's no need to mention other Wizard factions.

Currently, in the entire multiverse, the only entity capable of selling large quantities of Engraved Constructs is the City of Plenty.

Li Ze nodded, "I've inquired, and the major merchant guilds in the City of Plenty, especially the House of Plenty and the True Law Pavilion, have a considerable stock of Engraved Constructs. We can procure them from these guilds, but the only issue is the higher price."

The prices of goods in the City of Plenty are already higher than the internal trading prices of the Codex of Wisdom, and with the ongoing war, the prices of various materials have skyrocketed.

Procuring Engraved Constructs from the City of Plenty will cost significantly more than trading with the Codex of Wisdom.

However, this is not a problem for the Star Alliance.

Su Nan waved his hand and decided, "It doesn't matter; we'll procure them from the City of Plenty."

The Star Alliance currently has an abundance of Mana Stones.

In a few decades, when the Secondary Mana Veins in the Ulam and Xig Planes are fully cultivated and produce a large number of Secondary Mana Stones, the Star Alliance's Mana Stone reserves will become even more abundant.

"Don't worry about the Mana Stones. Procure the Engraved Constructs and establish another Sigil Knight Legion as soon as possible."

"I understand."

Su Nan withdrew his gaze and continued to review the reports in his hands.

Over the years, he has focused his energy on cultivation, upgrading the Starlight Wizard Tower, and manufacturing enhanced Wizard Tower facilities, leaving no time to further upgrade Dusk Valley. As a result, the incubation limit of the Creature Nest remains unchanged.

After more than a decade, the Black Wolf Pack, which suffered significant losses during the war, has recovered to its numerical limit.

On the other hand, the Dusk Wolves, due to their longer incubation time, currently number just over four hundred, still far from the limit of six hundred and two.

Meanwhile, the number of Hunter Wizard Legions has finally surpassed two thousand, reaching two thousand two hundred and eighty-two.

With the addition of the Integrated Puppet Armies within the Star Alliance's Wizard Towers, the number of Wizard-Level Puppets currently exceeds three thousand.

Even among second-rate Wizard factions, this number of Wizard-Level Puppets is quite impressive, greatly compensating for the Star Alliance's shortage of Wizards.

"In another two or three hundred years, when the population advantage of the Ulam Plane fully manifests, the number of Wizards in the Star Alliance can at least double."

Su Nan thought to himself.

"By then, the number of Wizards in the Star Alliance will barely be able to catch up to those of second-rate Wizard factions."

In terms of War Constructs, the Star Alliance currently possesses a total of fifty-six Wizard Towers.

Among them, only four Wizard Towers, including the Starlight Wizard Tower, were built by the Star Alliance themselves, while the rest were acquired through war and then repaired and modified.

Among the numerous Wizard factions, the Star Alliance is unique in this regard.

In wars between ordinary Wizard factions, there are usually losses and gains on both sides, and it is rare for a faction like the Star Alliance to increase their number of Wizard Towers through warfare, almost as if they are prospering through war.

In terms of the number of Wizard Towers alone, the Star Alliance can be said to have far surpassed third-rate Wizard factions and is comparable to some weaker second-rate Wizard factions.

Not to mention that the Star Alliance's Wizard Towers are all enhanced, and their combat strength is unanimously superior to that of Wizard Towers of the same level!

As for outside the Wizard Towers, the Star Fortresses and Flying Fleets have also been the focus of the Star Alliance's massive resource investment in recent years.

Currently, the Star Alliance possesses a total of one hundred and three Star Fortresses, nearly double the number before the war.

The number of Flying Fleets has also skyrocketed to twenty-three.

The reason for focusing resource investment on these two types of War Constructs is also due to Su Nan's considerations.

One reason is that the construction time of Star Fortresses and Flying Magic Ships is far shorter than that of Wizard Towers, allowing for a rapid increase in the Star Alliance's War Construct combat strength.

Another reason is to acquire more Wizard Towers.

The Star Alliance's ability to capture so many Wizard Towers is entirely based on the extremely high combat losses of Star Fortresses and Flying Magic Ships!

In the past wars, the Star Alliance could be said to have exchanged Star Fortresses and Flying Magic Ships for Wizard Towers.

Every captured Wizard Tower was inevitably accompanied by the destruction of a large number of Star Fortresses and Flying Magic Ships.

However, in Su Nan's opinion, this 'trade' is entirely worth it.

If not for this, the number of Wizard Towers in the Star Alliance would not have increased so quickly.

Flipping to the last page, Su Nan's expression flickered slightly.

"One hundred and twenty-five dragons, growing so fast?"

Li Ze smiled faintly, "In recent years, the number of high-grade Wyvern evolutions has noticeably increased, indicating that they have entered a period of rapid growth."

Su Nan nodded thoughtfully.

The high-grade Wyvern bloodline enhancement plan has been in place for over a thousand years.

The accumulation can be said to be very profound.

Considering the timing, it's about time for a quantitative change to lead to a qualitative change.

It is estimated that more and more high-grade Wyverns will evolve and break through in the future.

In a few hundred years, the Star Alliance might be able to form a true Dragon Legion.

"Since that's the case, we can allocate more resources to the Dragon Forest to accelerate the evolution of high-grade Wyverns," Su Nan said.

Li Ze nodded, "I was planning to make such a proposal."

After further discussing the details of military expansion, Su Nan put down the file and spoke solemnly, "The Star Alliance has rested enough; it's time to take the next step."

"With our current strength, conquering the Manro Plane is no issue." Li Ze paused slightly, "The key is, what's next after conquering the Manro Plane? Should we support the Thousand-headed Bird?"

The Star Alliance's ambitions are not limited to just three planes, and conquering the Manro Plane will not be the end.

However, the subsequent plans must be carefully considered.

Supporting the Thousand-headed Bird is not a problem, but the key question is how to distribute the benefits?

The Thousand-headed Bird has invested a massive amount of troops and resources in the war over the years. If the Star Alliance intervenes at this time, will the Thousand-headed Bird be willing?

Even if the Thousand-headed Bird is willing, how should the benefits be distributed?

How much pressure will the Star Alliance have to bear?

These are all matters that need to be negotiated between the two sides in advance.

After a moment of thought, Su Nan quickly came up with a plan.

"After conquering the Manro Plane, we won't rush to support the Thousand-headed Bird; let's observe their situation first."

Li Ze immediately understood his intention and raised her eyebrows, "You want to wait for the Thousand-headed Bird to ask for help?"

Su Nan smiled meaningfully, "Being too eager is not a good deal."

Li Ze deeply agreed.

Unlike the Star Alliance, the Thousand-headed Bird has been on the receiving end of suppression throughout the war with the Blackthorn Tower.

Even though the Star Alliance has consecutively conquered two planes, forcing the Blackthorn Tower to divert some of its forces to support the Manro Plane, it has only temporarily relieved some pressure for the Thousand-headed Bird. As time passes, the Thousand-headed Bird still shows signs of fatigue.

Perhaps in time, the Thousand-headed Bird will have no choice but to seek aid from the Star Alliance.

By then, the Star Alliance, as the one being sought for help, can demand a higher price.

And they can do so without any pressure.

After all, the Star Alliance's original task was to contain the Ulam, Manro, and Xig Planes, and they have already exceeded their goals. They have no obligation to further assist the Thousand-headed Bird.

If the Thousand-headed Bird wants their support, they must offer sufficient benefits.

Even the Codex of Wisdom cannot interfere with the Star Alliance's actions.

During this time, the Star Alliance can also consolidate the Manro Plane, further strengthening their power.)



For the current Star Alliance, what they lack the most is time.

With each passing day, the Star Alliance's strength grows.)



Given enough time, they believe they can even crush the Blackthorn Tower in the future.

"Pass the word, prepare to advance into the Manro Plane," Su Nan ordered.

After Li Ze left to attend to her duties, he returned to the top of the Sorcerer Tower.

During this period, he had been gradually upgrading the Starlight Wizard Tower, including enhancements to the tower spirit, Mystic Lock Protective Energy Field, floating rings, central crystal energy transmission system, and various cannons.

The current Starlight Wizard Tower has far surpassed the level of a Large Wizard Tower; it is in a league of its own.

Even in a one-against-five situation, facing five Large Wizard Towers simultaneously, Su Nan believed that victory would ultimately be his.

On the front lines, unless a True Spirit Sorcerer intervened, the Starlight Wizard Tower was an unstoppable war machine!

The Star Alliance's formidable strength in war constructs can be largely attributed to the Starlight Wizard Tower.

"Unfortunately, the simplified version of the Elemental Furnace has reached its limit, and further upgrades in energy supply are impossible. The Starlight Wizard Tower has also reached its maximum potential at this level."

Su Nan sighed with some regret.

To progress further, he could only wait until he advanced to the True Spirit Sorcerer rank and began constructing a Floating City.

In the year 2309 of the Starlight Calendar, the Star Alliance launched a full-scale invasion of the Manro Plane.

In just three days, the Star Alliance forces crushed the Manro garrison, breaking through the encirclement and spreading out like an ant colony. They began a swift and relentless campaign of conquering cities and territories.

The dominant races in the Manro Plane were various Giant Races, and the population was scarce, with only about a million capable of fighting.

Despite their formidable individual strength, they were gradually consumed by the Star Alliance's overwhelming numbers.

The Golem Legion and War Constructs stationed in the Manro Plane by the Blackthorn Tower were far inferior to the Star Alliance in every aspect.

After several direct confrontations with the Star Alliance, the Golem Legion and War Constructs of the Blackthorn Tower suffered heavy losses, and the Star Alliance even captured seven Sorcerer Towers.

In the year 2313 of the Starlight Calendar, the Star Alliance conquered the stronghold of the Golden Giant Clan, known as the Giant King Clan, successfully defeating the Giant forces in the Manro Plane.

During this process, the Blackthorn Tower's Manro garrison seemed to have vanished, never appearing from start to finish.

In the year 2316 of the Starlight Calendar, the Star Alliance completely occupied the Manro Plane, bringing it under their control.

With this, the Star Alliance achieved a resounding victory!

The news caused a significant stir in the Sorcerer World.

Less than fifty years into the Sorcerer Civil War, the Star Alliance had conquered three planes, doubling their territory, and they did so by snatching it from the jaws of the Blackthorn Tower. Their displayed power and strength commanded respect.

After conquering the Manro Plane, the Star Alliance changed its aggressive stance and did not invade other planes of the Blackthorn Tower. Instead, they focused on developing the three conquered planes, disappointing those who had hoped to see the Blackthorn Tower's downfall.

In contrast, the Thousand-headed Bird's situation became increasingly difficult.

Upon realizing that they couldn't stop the Star Alliance's advance, the Blackthorn Tower decisively abandoned the Manro Plane, preserving their valuable forces and redirecting them to the battlefield against the Thousand-headed Bird.

As a result, the Thousand-headed Bird's pressure only intensified.

Especially after the Star Alliance halted their advance and focused on consolidating their gains, the Blackthorn Tower seemed to sense something and intensified their attacks on the Thousand-headed Bird without hesitation, as if they aimed to crush them during this opportunity or, at the very least, significantly weaken their strength.

Under these circumstances, the Thousand-headed Bird couldn't hold out for long.

Less than three years after the Star Alliance conquered the Manro Plane, the Thousand-headed Bird sought them out.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end