Translator: AnubisTL
It wasn't until Jieming truly faced the high-rank wizards from other factions, who made no effort to suppress their overwhelming aura, that he suddenly realized the immense gap between himself and high-level wizards.
It was an unbridgeable chasm, a gulf as vast as that between mortals and spirits.
And he, at this moment, was merely a tiny speck on the edge of that abyss.
No one could sense the turmoil in Jieming's heart. During his moment of stunned silence, the sixth-tier wizard had already descended to hover above the assembled crowd.
Wizards were among the most rational and ruthless species in the multiverse.
Every action they took was driven by the pursuit of truth, knowledge, and resources.
Under the wizards' standardized training system, they understood why they fought and what they sought on this expedition.
Therefore, a large-scale wizard expedition differed greatly from those of other races.
There were no lengthy, rousing pre-battle speeches, no sentimental oaths, and none of the morale-boosting chants common among mortal armies—everything was simple and efficient.
This time was no different.
When the imposing sixth-tier wizard appeared, he wasted no words, simply and calmly announcing his affiliation:
"I am Augustine from the Tower of Annihilation, one of the leaders of this expedition."
His voice, deep and resonant, pierced through the clamor of tens of thousands of wizards, amplified by mental power resonance to echo clearly throughout the hall.
He offered no words of encouragement, nor did he paint a picture of future victory. After introducing himself, he issued a concise and direct command: "All participating wizards, board your vessels within fifteen minutes. Depart!"
At his command, the tens of thousands of wizards surged toward the hall's exits like a tidal wave, soaring toward the vast, desolate continent looming in the sky.
Some wizards cast their specialized flight magic, elemental currents swirling around them as they transformed into streaks of light.
Others mounted their tamed flying steeds—giant vultures, winged magical beasts—and roared into the heavens.
Still others piloted bizarre vehicles: ancient-looking airships, floating platforms carrying alchemical golems and bioweapons, or even rode aloft on their own cloaks.
Even without explicit direction, the wizards ascended in orderly formation, maintaining proper spacing as they rose into the sky.
Above the junction point, the air instantly transformed into a vast, sky-obscuring torrent of wizards.
Jieming and Viola rose into the air with the crowd.
The Floating Cannon Array silently orbited behind Jieming, accompanying his flight.
Viola, meanwhile, gracefully sat sideways atop a faintly glowing, long-handled staff, her posture elegant.
She turned her head to glance at Jieming, a hint of amusement flickering in her eyes.
"Don't be nervous," she murmured, though a barely perceptible excitement tinged her voice. "This is just boarding the 'ship.' The real spectacle is yet to come."
Jieming nodded, feeling his blood surging faster, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
This wasn't fear, but the exhilaration of facing the unknown and the challenge ahead.
As they ascended higher, crossing a critical threshold, Jieming distinctly sensed a subtle shift in gravity.
The familiar downward pull vanished, replaced by a sensation of falling upside down—headfirst, feet pointing skyward.
They were no longer flying toward the heavens, but rather slowly plummeting toward a vast, independent continent suspended below.
Jieming reacted instantly, adjusting his posture and controlling his descent to land gently and steadily on the scorched, desolate "ship."
This bizarre shift in gravity was a direct manifestation of the distorted laws of space, marking the transition from one "world" governed by physical laws to another independent "world."
The barren plane stretched endlessly, its surface pockmarked with craters and strewn with charred rocks and cracked earth. The air carried a faint scent of sulfur and the stillness of death.
As the last wizard touched down, Augustine, the sixth-tier wizard from the Tower of Annihilation, suddenly radiated a brilliant light.
He hovered in the plane's sky, arms outstretched and eyes narrowed slightly.
Vast mental power surged forth like a tidal wave, instantly connecting with the barren plane's core.
He wasn't manipulating the plane's laws, but rather, like a skilled captain, imprinting his will—encoded with the plane's spatial coordinates—deep within the "ship" plane's core.
"Set sail."
Augustine's voice, deep and resonant, seemed to merge with the plane's own humming resonance.
At his command, the massive expanse of barren land looming over the junction point's sky began to stir.
To the wizards and alien shopkeepers still in the borderland, the barren plane that had loomed overhead suddenly contracted inward like an overstretched rubber band snapping back.
The entire plane began to warp and fold visibly from its edges, its once-smooth spatial structure crumpling like a crumpled piece of paper.
Then, with a silent roar, the colossal landmass vanished instantly from everyone's sight.
It was as if it had never existed, leaving only the chaotic void that had once filled the sky above the junction point.
Such a spectacular and unimaginable sight for mortals was, to the wizards and aliens within the borderland, merely a commonplace occurrence.
They glanced up briefly to confirm the "Ship" had departed, then resumed their bustling lives and noisy trading.
After all, such planar shifts had happened countless times before, long since losing their novelty.
Within the plane itself, ordinary low-tier wizards felt little change.
Jieming, however, with his Universal Eye, could "observe" the plane's various parameters rapidly shifting.
"This is the power of high-rank wizards," Viola murmured beside Jieming, her eyes filled with a hint of longing. "They can manipulate and command entire planes."
As a third-tier wizard, she was qualified to access spatial forces and could clearly sense the plane's shifting energies.
Inside the "Ship" Plane, which Augustine was manipulating to move, tens of thousands of wizards had gathered. Yet, compared to the vastness of a complete plane, the interior felt eerily empty.
The wizards scattered across the desolate landscape, each busying themselves with their own tasks.
Jieming observed that this emptiness wasn't accidental but deliberately maintained by the wizards.
He noticed that many wizards, immediately after landing, began summoning bioweapons and golems from their spatial equipment without delay.
These artificial constructs varied wildly in form: colossal beasts with thick hides, armored mechanical constructs, and humanoid puppets radiating strange energy pulses.
Once summoned or released, they immediately arranged themselves into cold, disciplined legions according to their programmed commands.
It was clear that these bioweapons and other artificial constructs were the first wave of cannon fodder in the invasion of other planes.
Vast in number, tireless, and fearless of death, they were perfectly suited for exhausting enemy forces and even directly breaching their planar defenses.
Only after this initial assault would the Combat Department wizards launch their main assault to break through enemy lines.
As logistics wizards, Jieming and Viola didn't need to participate in these pre-battle preparations.
Their primary tasks lay in mid-plane combat, post-breach cleanup, resource management, and planar transformation. During the initial assault, their focus would be on self-preservation.
Having just settled into the "Ship" Plane, Jieming eagerly pulled out his magic net terminal.
The terminal interface had already updated with information about the plane they were about to invade.
However, the information was remarkably sparse yet strangely detailed.
The entire briefing consisted of just two points:
First: This plane is home to two sixth-tier creatures.
Second: This plane exhibits peculiar elemental imbalances. The fire and water elements are exceptionally active, while the earth and wind elements are remarkably inert, almost dormant.
Apart from this, there was no information about the plane's races, terrain distribution, or living creatures—not even a simple map. Jieming found this odd.
"How was this information obtained?" he asked Viola, who was standing beside him. "Didn't they conduct any thorough reconnaissance?"
Viola, clearly anticipating his question, carefully explained: "This information indicates that the sixth-tier wizard who discovered the plane never actually entered it. He merely observed its external manifestations from the chaotic void, conducting remote observation."
"As I told you before, a plane is essentially a miracle—a chance accumulation of elements with specific patterns. The internal elemental composition, energy circulation, and even the operation of its laws are ultimately reflected through the planar barrier."
She continued, "From the outside—the chaotic void—one can naturally observe the plane's elemental composition. For example, the unusually high activity of fire and water elements are surface manifestations of the plane's inherent characteristics."
Jieming understood this, but another crucial question immediately arose: "Then how can we determine the strength of beings within a plane? For example, those two sixth-tier creatures? That can't be purely from external observation, can it?"
Viola nodded. "You've hit the nail on the head. It's indeed impossible to ascertain their strength through mere external observation. This involves the unique characteristics of high-rank creatures."
She paused, her tone becoming more solemn. "Sixth-tier creatures—whether wizards, divine beings, or otherworld entities—possess an innate connection to the plane origin."
"Their very existence is deeply intertwined with the plane's laws. Their power permeates the plane's deeper layers, resonating with the plane origin. This resonance makes them far more conspicuous in the chaotic void, like two blazing lighthouses in the pitch-black night sky."
"Of course, I don't fully understand the specific mechanisms behind this. After all, this knowledge falls within the domain of sixth-tier wizards, or even higher-level practitioners," Viola added.
Jieming fell into deep thought.
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------------------------------------
Continue Reading (WIZARD) on CinderTL• ⓒⓞⓜ
Read Ahead to Ch280 • Free Chapters • No Login
---------------------------------------------------------