Chapter 614: Sweeping Away All Obstacles
“This is the Mobile Fortress. This is the Mobile Fortress. The targets have reached 500 standard Astral Plane units (one unit being the diameter of the Wizard Multiverse as manifested in the Astral Plane). The targets have suddenly accelerated. Suggest our side retreat slightly and first lure the opponent into the control range of the Invisible Magic Net.”
In the pitch-black void of the Astral Plane, thirty-four bizarre sub-planes emitting specks of light were rapidly approaching the Wizard Multiverse. These sub-planes had various shapes; most were in the shapes of various exotic beasts, and a few were in the shapes of flowers and plants.
Like streams of light, they suddenly accelerated, piercing the silence of the pitch-black Astral Plane void.
“Warning, warning. The targets’ speed has accelerated to forty-five percent of the speed of light. The structures of their sub-planes have mutated, spawning sharp offensive weapons. Suggest deploying an Elastic Nodal Net within the Magic Net’s control range to prevent them from penetrating into the world.”
The Wizard Multiverse appeared spherical in the Astral Plane, somewhat like a basketball, and had countless flagella. These seemed to be flagella, but actually, each one was a sub-light-speed navigation propulsion engine, simultaneously serving as a Magic Net base point within range.
The movement method of the World-Swallowing Worm had already been phased out. It was now omnidirectional magical engineering propulsion, employing small-scale nuclear fusion technology. It hadn’t been fully deployed yet; from an engineering perspective, only about one percent of the flagella had just been deployed.
Therefore, the greatest use of the current flagella was as blind-spot-free Magic Net base points. The derived Invisible Magic Net roughly covered a spherical surface with a radius of thirty standard Astral Plane units, which was the optimal defensive counterattack range for the Wizard World.
The wizards’ sub-planes were like beautiful bubbles. A total of twenty-one were deployed in the end. The artificial sub-plane Mobile Fortress was located right in the center, with the other twenty bubbles surrounding it.
Bayen sat in the command room of the Mobile Fortress. With the technical support of holographic magical imaging, he could view the entire battlefield from a top-down perspective.
“Ten squads, scatter immediately and link to the Magic Net. The Mobile Fortress will activate the space-based Elastic Nodal Net. We cannot let the enemy penetrate our world; stop them outside the world.”
Bayen stopped stroking his long beard, slapped his hand down forcefully to call for silence, and spoke loudly to the forty wizards from the twenty sub-planes.
Although within the world, five hundred sub-planes, over five hundred Legendary Immortal Wizards, and thirteen thousand Mythical Wizards were already in position, it was better not to do something that exposed their strength just yet.
Being able to strike the enemy with a small amount of force and causing the enemy to make certain misjudgments made it more likely to achieve ultimate victory in this war.
The bubble-like sub-planes quickly scattered. The Legendary Immortal Wizards clenched their jaws as they received signals sent through the Eye of the World.
Lucilu was slightly nervous; a trace of fine sweat actually appeared on His palms.
“The first time fighting against ‘deities’… it truly makes one both expectant and nervous.”
The invaders from the True Name World communicated with each other through Holy Light’s mirror surfaces. They were currently full of surprise and slightly uneasy.
“Twenty-one sub-planes! I originally thought my observation was mistaken. Now it seems the Wizard World is indeed a grave threat.”
A Named One said to the Angel of Holy Light with an ugly expression.
“Don’t worry about them. We will follow traditional tactics. Use the sharp Spears of the Planes to directly pierce their world crystal wall and destroy all possible vitality of the world. Maximize the destruction of the Wizard World’s potential Mythical and Legendary Wizards, directly depriving them of their war potential.”
The Angel of Holy Light understood the Wizard World extremely well. He knew that the mid-to-high-level forces like Mythical Wizards and Legendary Wizards were the greatest danger in the future. Therefore, He formulated this combat tactic: first charge into the world, destroy the opponent’s potential forces as much as possible. As long as this could be achieved, even if this battle failed, the opponent would have already failed strategically.
This was the wisdom the Angel of Holy Light obtained when He was still a mortal. At that time, He was still called Anthony, serving as an army chaplain sweeping through the nomadic tribes of the grasslands with a battalion of a thousand men.
The battalion commander was a young man who looked gentle and refined. Both of them had very high cultural attainments and often conversed freely in normal times.
After the war began, the battalion commander led the troops in a flanking maneuver to attack the rear of the nomadic tribes, crushing their tribes, burning the grasslands, killing all males taller than a cartwheel, leaving behind some wailing women and children.
Anthony was somewhat unable to bear it and once asked the battalion commander if this was necessary. The battalion commander said this:
“Anthony, this is war. There is no justice or otherwise between us two sides; actually, it’s all fighting for living space. If possible, I also want to live in peace with the barbarians of the north, but we cannot do it.
“If we cannot do it, war is inevitable. What we can do is destroy the opponent’s war potential as much as possible. Killing males taller than a cartwheel means the opponent has no possibility of invading again for at least twenty years.
“Burning the grasslands means their cattle and sheep have no food and will only starve to death. This winter, more than half of these women and children will die.
“Through this method, we can stifle the opponent’s potential to the maximum extent, while simultaneously satisfying a trace of intolerance in my heart. Some say this is crocodile tears, but it is indeed so.”
The Angel of Holy Light looked at the thirty-three mirror surfaces and said loudly: “Honored Named Ones! Do your utmost to destroy the opponent’s war potential. Let us try to capture an intact Wizard World, and extract the nutrients of their civilization for our use!
“War is not only for destruction, but even more so to make us stronger. Merely plundering resources is not enough to make us stronger; absorbing the advantages of the opponent’s civilization will make us stronger with every battle.”
A strategy had gradually formed in Holy Light’s heart. He did not report to the Radiant Sun, but took action on His own. He wanted to use the Wizard World as an experiment: absorbing the opponent’s civilization’s advantages, and annexing other worlds through integration.
The mirror surfaces disappeared one by one. The Angel of Holy Light flapped His sixteen wings, shrouded in a milky-white halo, looking so holy at this moment.
“If I truly want to become a Lord of Time, how can I not have my own unique qualities? The Wizard World, with which I have deep historical entanglements, is the best experimental field. Perhaps in the future, I will be the patron of wizards, the Time’s Lord of Magic.”
His eyes were bright. Relying on His understanding of the Wizard World, the Angel of Holy Light’s line of thought was already clear. Such a civilization with potential was most properly held in His own hands, and was also His greatest driving force for advancing to a Lord of Time.
The thirty-four bizarrely shaped sub-planes raised forward thrusting spikes, sharp and terrifying. The twenty-one bubbles on the Wizard World’s side also scattered into a ring, emitting waves of halos.
Crackle, crackle!
Like glass shattering. Bayen stood within an extremely complex magic array, while Ace watched from the side. The magic array was activated, the Invisible Magic Net pulsed, and rapidly formed a thin membrane.
One layer, two layers, three layers… The thin membranes rapidly increased, reaching over a hundred layers in the blink of an eye, and spread open rapidly. From a top-down perspective, the thirty-four bizarrely shaped sub-planes, like streams of light, charged straight into the large net like fish entering a net.
“Impact force 300,000 units. Pierced through 45 layers of the Elastic Nodal Net. Suggest accelerating proliferation.”
Alpha One’s voice transmitted. Bayen didn’t hesitate, directing the twenty-one sub-planes to jointly inject energy. One hundred layers, two hundred layers… With the injection of energy, the elastic net had formed nearly a thousand layers in the blink of an eye.
The impact of the opponent’s sub-planes was forced to stop. The Elastic Nodal Net was like a sticky spiderweb; the sub-planes of the Named Ones were like bugs trapped on the web. The more They struggled, the tighter the net bound Them.
“What is going on?”
Heavenly Feather Mirrors emerged one by one. This was the first time the Named Ones had encountered such a situation, and They were actually somewhat at a loss.
“These wizards really gave me quite a few surprises. It should be a special magic based on their Magic Net. Truly remarkable, to actually be able to bind sub-planes.
“Everyone, let us go out first to sever these spider threads before charging again.”
The Angel of Holy Light said loudly.
“Good! In a bit, I’m going to poke all those bubble-like sub-planes of theirs!”
A Named One said viciously.
Thirty-four Named Ones and thousands of Pseudonymous Ones all flew out. In an instant, brilliant light shone in all directions. Various powers were activated, severing the threads.
Standing in the center of the magic array, Bayen continued to stabilize the Elastic Nodal Net and transmitted a message to the other Legendary Immortal Wizards: “Groups of four, ten groups strike together. Mythical Wizards will act subsequently. Proceed according to plan. I am responsible for imprisoning their sub-planes.”
The twenty-one sub-planes of the Wizard World flashed with halos. The Legendary Immortal Wizards, in groups of four, instantly appeared in the void. Within the range of the Magic Net, the wizards’ movement and mana recovery were greatly enhanced.
Whether Mythical Wizards or Legendary Immortal Wizards, They all possessed complete space-time curvature data from both inside and outside the Wizard World, and each person was equipped with an auxiliary multi-functional computer produced by Warren and Thales.
Specifically assisting with curvature jumps, they scattered almost instantly, launching surprise attacks on the enemies from the True Name World.
The targets were extremely clear. The enemies were quickly locked onto. The Mythical Wizards each cast their magic. They were not yet sufficient to use powerful nuclear fission spells, but powerful lethal spells like electromagnetic orbital cannons and laser magic were very easy.
Not only that, many Mythical Wizards proficient in Transfiguration Magic even directly transformed into terrifying Titan Giants and World-Swallowing Worms, slaughtering wantonly.
Lucilu ‘s group found two Named Ones. They were very cautious. One Legendary Immortal Wizard used the Ninth Ring Legendary Immortal spell “Legendary Mind Blast” to directly impact the divine souls of the two, causing brief confusion. Another Legendary Immortal Wizard then used the Ninth Ring spell “Time Stop.”
It was called Time Stop, but actually, according to relativity, time only possesses relative stillness; there is no absolute stop.
This was twisting the inertial frame of reference to create a state approaching relative stillness. Perhaps calling it “Legendary Time Stagnation” would be more appropriate.
In short, before the other party had time to use any miraculous abilities, They were imprisoned by the wizards. Lucilu and another wizard approached from the left and right. Lucilu carefully released a somewhat unstable micro black hole, while the other Legendary Immortal Wizard directly fired a Sunset Afterglow.
The explosion caused by the small-scale nuclear fission, with a core temperature approaching 100 million degrees, directly vaporized the two Named Ones, heavily injuring Their divine souls. The micro black hole then drifted over; its powerful gravitational twisting absorbed everything, including the residual souls.
“Lucilu , this magic you chose is truly formidable. We also have to be careful not to get sucked in.”
“Haha, it’s fine. You still have a Fruit of Immortality, right? If worse comes to worst, you can resurrect using the fruit.”
“That’s not funny. I don’t want to fall into a long slumber.”
Seeing that They easily defeated the enemies, Their moods also became relaxed, and They started joking with each other.
The battle continued. It was an almost one-sided battle. The invading angel army from the True Name World withered rapidly. Seventeen Named Ones were killed in the blink of an eye, more than half of the Pseudonymous Ones died, and the remainder unconsciously gathered in the direction of the Angel of Holy Light.
“They are too powerful! Is this really a newly advanced world?”
“I heard wizards came from another world, they originally weren’t from this world. Could it be they have helpers?”
“Holy Light, what should we do?”
The Angel of Holy Light’s expression was pained. He roared in a low voice: “Retreat! Everyone gather to my sub-plane, abandon everything else! Push speed to the maximum, escape back, and report to the Majesties of Time!”
On the other side, inside the Mobile Fortress, Bayen saw the gathering of the Named Ones through the top-down perspective. He directly spoke to all the Legendary Immortal Wizards through the multi-functional computer: “The opponent has gathered. Immediately start activating the Heat Death Cage; we want them alive!”
The eyes of Legendary Immortal Wizards like Lucilu lit up. The Heat Death Cage—a magic that could imprison deities for tens of thousands of years—was exactly appropriate to use at this time.
“We don’t need to eliminate Them anymore. We just need to imprison them in the cage, and we can research Them slowly. Moreover, the Heat Death Cage is a pure isolated system, which means the inside cannot possibly have any connection with the outside.”
Lucilu clapped His hands and shook the micro black hole, turning it into a white hole. Countless matter and energy spewed out under His control, like setting off an earth-shattering salute.
“This power… seems even more powerful than nuclear fission. I need to save up exchange points to learn this magic.”
A Legendary Immortal Wizard muttered, looking at the terrifying energy-matter impact stream flying towards the void.
Mana vibrated. Forty Legendary Immortal Wizards simultaneously activated the Legendary Immortal Magic Scrolls in Their hands. A giant cube enveloped all the remaining enemies. Like the end of the world arriving by Their side, a slight scorching heat made the Named Ones, including the Angel of Holy Light, agitated.
They transformed into streams of light, wanting to charge out of this cage, only to see another layer added to the cage, and this inexplicable heat wave and agitation also swept over Them.
There seemed to be a hazy mist, making the Named Ones feel waves of unease.
The Angel of Holy Light said: “We can’t just wait like this. Let us concentrate our power and use an Overlimit Strike!”
The others nodded in agreement. They condensed Their Divine Power together. The Angel of Holy Light’s body was shrouded in a milky-white halo as He chanted softly: “Great Radiant Sun, You are the midday sun, judging the world. Please grant us Overlimit power—Judge!”
No reaction. After this halo spread, it actually disappeared without a trace, and the environment grew even more scorching.
“Information cannot be transmitted out?”
Frowning, the lack of the Radiant Sun’s unseen blessing made Holy Light very uneasy. He raised the holy sword in His hand high and threw that light out like a shooting star. The energy within that shooting star was extremely powerful, charging towards the hazy outer wall.
“There’s a high-energy reaction inside. It seems energy approaching the Overlimit has gathered. What do we do?”
Lucilu shouted loudly through external observation.
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
Ace suddenly descended. He placed His hand on the crystal wall of that cube, emitting waves of ripples: Comprehend!
Understand the structure. Foundation: the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Increase the mechanical loss of the energy stream. Stretch the internal space-time, prolonging the attack time.
Under Ace’s manipulation, the mechanical consumption of that energy stream increased massively, radiating an excess amount of heat energy, actually disappearing without a trace a millisecond before touching the crystal wall.
Inside the cage, the environment was even hotter.
“What is going on? Even without His Majesty Radiant Sun’s blessing, how could an Overlimit Strike gathering the power of the seventeen of us dissipate in an instant?”
“There’s something wrong with this environment. It seems to be absorbing my power, and it’s getting hotter and more agitated. The temperature has increased by at least several hundred degrees.”
“This damned place. My perception cannot exceed five hundred meters. I must fly around and see.”
Saying this, a Named One directly picked a direction and flew out. Before long, He vanished without a trace. The other Named Ones wanted to look for Him, but also quickly got lost. There seemed to be a very bizarre environment here; perception and information transmission were massively reduced.
The Angel of Holy Light had to tether the remaining ten Named Ones together with a feather rope, exploring this area together.
Outside the Heat Death Cage, Ace snapped His fingers and closed the screen.
“Unless there are special, unforeseen circumstances, we should try our best not to directly observe the situation inside. When we observe, the isolated system generates information interaction with the outside world, which is actually detrimental to heat death.”
Ace turned and said to the wizards. The Mythical Wizards had already captured all the remaining enemies. Ace arranged for Betty and others to use the ring They invented to solidify this temporary Heat Death Cage and tow it back inside the world. Then He adjusted His state and began to ascend dimensions.
In four-dimensional space-time, Ace quickly drifted to the thirty-four four-dimensional micro-particles corresponding to the sub-planes, a smile appearing at the corners of His mouth.
“Actually, to a world, these sub-planes are also a kind of resource. A Level 3 world is a particle cluster composed of four-dimensional particles, just like an atom in the microscopic world. And a Level 4 world is like a molecule in the microscopic world.
“Sometimes, I keep wondering, is this infinitely vast Astral Plane universe of ours actually just a single cell of some four-dimensional creature, or is it itself a virus or bacterium?”
Ace didn’t process the four-dimensional particles immediately. Instead, He continuously pondered and fantasized in His mind. He had never forgotten that He had transmigrated here. How exactly did He arrive in this world? Why did the phenomenon of transmigration exist? What was the truth of the world?
He wanted very much to look far into the distance, but like those bound humans in the Allegory of the Cave, He could only see His own shadow.
“Jumping out of one cage, perhaps what appears is an even larger cage. Initially, having no magic was a cage. Later, a short lifespan was a cage. Later still, three dimensions was a cage. And now, looking far into the distance, the rising and falling ocean of four-dimensional curvature—how is it not another cage?
“How can I get closer to the truth of the world? How can I truly cognize this world?”
Amidst His sighs, Ace’s four-dimensional state resonated with the Wizard Multiverse. The power of the Controller was activated. A rhythm shrouded these thirty-four micro-particles. A massive suction force appeared. The micro-particles abruptly disappeared, appearing within the core of the world.
(Chapter finished)
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