Chapter 508: First-Stage Form

This wind dragon’s rank is at least fifth-tier, and certainly an “elite monster” within the fifth-tier.

Although rank cannot be directly observed, most of the mages present quickly reached a judgment.

Because this wind dragon could single-handedly stand firm against the Auklan magic crystal cannon.

More than its power or appearance, what truly concerned every mage was that, through its semi-transparent, glass-like body, they could clearly see a blue crystal core lodged in its head.

This blue crystal core was no longer composed of wind elements—it had solidified into a tangible substance.

“It wants to become a physical being,” said Mage Theodore on the Thorn Crown, staring at the dragon’s terrifying eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately.

Upon hearing this, Count Roland’s expression changed.

Looking again at the dragon’s cold, emotionless pupils, this time they seemed to hold a hint of greed.

A greed for the Mage Plane.

All confusion and unease found explanation the moment the wind dragon appeared.

Gao De had long been puzzled by one question:

Why were these wind element beings so desperate?

Even if the wind vortex fully formed and opened a passage between the Mage Plane and their native secondary plane, it would bring them no benefit.

Wind element beings, as energy entities, required only wind element energy to survive.

Though the Mage Plane contained abundant wind element energy, their own plane had more than enough—why go through the trouble?

In fact, their own plane was even better suited to their survival.

As a material plane, the Mage Plane contained too complex an energy mix—too many useless impurities for wind element beings.

Now, everything had a reasonable explanation.

It was because the strongest wind element being in this secondary plane had reached the stage of evolving into a physical being.

To truly transform into a physical being, it could not do so within a pure elemental secondary plane.

It had to enter the real material plane of the Mage Plane.

Even the emergence of the wind vortex was likely driven by this wind dragon.

Over countless attempts across a vast span of time, the wind dragon—nearly immortal—finally found a weak point where its native plane met the Mage Plane.

This was luck.

With its immense power, it successfully breached this weak point.

Unfortunately, this weak point lay too close to Auklan City.

Had it been 180 kilometers away instead of 800, perhaps by the time the wind vortex stabilized, Auklan City would still have known nothing.

And if it had been 800 kilometers away, the Auklan mages would not have needed to destroy the wind vortex.

At that distance, the wind vortex posed no serious threat to Auklan City.

But there was no “what if.”

For the wind dragon to cross this gate and gain true flesh and blood, it must preserve the wind vortex, then enter the Mage Plane once it stabilized.

For the Auklan mages to protect their city, they must destroy this wind vortex.

Both sides had irrevocable reasons not to retreat.

It would come down to who had the harder fist.

BOOM!

The golden beam of the magic crystal cannon and the blue vortex spewed by the wind dragon clashed violently, top and bottom, locked in stalemate.

The energy released tore the sky into a yin-yang split.

General against general, soldier against soldier.

If the magic crystal cannon and the wind dragon were the generals of their respective planes,

then the wind element beings surging endlessly from the wind vortex were the dragon’s “soldiers.”

The mages aboard the ships were the soldiers of the Mage Plane.

And now, on both the general and soldier levels, the Mage Plane side was at a disadvantage.

It wasn’t that the Auklan magic crystal cannon, a war-grade alchemical weapon, was weaker than the wind dragon—it was that the cannon required continuous consumption of Aureka crystals’ magic power.

But the wind dragon, while spewing its blue vortex, was simultaneously absorbing the abundant wind element energy from the plane through its blue crystal core.

It wasn’t a perpetual motion machine, but with a steady energy supply, the Auklan magic crystal cannon would be drained first.

On the other side, the mages’ combat power far exceeded that of the wind element beings, which were at most third-tier.

But the problem was the same.

Whether attacking or defending, both required magic power and Aureka crystal energy.

The wind element beings, however, poured forth endlessly, backed by an entire plane—seemingly infinite in number.

The only good news was that both the formation of wind element beings and the dragon’s breath consumed wind element energy from the secondary plane.

Thus, visibly, the wind vortex’s stabilization had halted—the spatial rift no longer expanded.

If this stalemate could persist, the wind vortex would collapse on its own.

The question was: could they hold out?

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

All warships rocked violently from the residual shockwaves of the blue vortex and golden beam colliding.

The light shields covering the ships rippled continuously under wave after wave of wind element assaults.

BOOM!

Another wave of wind element beings slammed into the shield; the ripple of energy spread along the ship’s conduits, shaking the hull.

Onboard, mages gritted their teeth and cast spells relentlessly.

Evocation and Conjuration spells were clearly the mainstream.

Fireballs and ice spikes erupted from their palms, striking the wind element beings in the air.

No one held back their magic power—they gave everything.

Though these wind element beings seemed endless, each one’s formation consumed wind element energy from the secondary plane.

Once killed in the Mage Plane, the wind element energy composing their bodies did not return to the secondary plane—it was brutally absorbed and consumed by the Mage Plane.

If this continued, the wind element energy in the secondary plane would steadily decrease, and the wind vortex would slowly dissipate.

The only problem was: this wasn’t a game, so there was no progress bar.

No one knew how many wind element beings needed to be slain before reaching the critical threshold to collapse the vortex.

The defeated wind element beings dissolved into wind element energy; most of the blue aura dissipated like mist, absorbed into the Mage Plane.

But a small portion was absorbed by the Wild Soul.

“Blue: 96.7% → 97.5%”

In Gao De’s Mandora Magic Eye, the proportion of blue on the Wild Soul’s body was nearing one hundred percent.

In truth, precise numbers weren’t needed—the transparent portions of the Wild Soul’s soul-body were visibly being devoured and stained by blue, gradually vanishing from sight.

In the next instant, strange glowing patterns flashed across the Wild Soul’s surface and vanished.

Gao De’s Mandora Magic Eye scanned the Wild Soul repeatedly, but could no longer detect even 0.1% of transparency.

This meant the Wild Soul had absorbed sufficient wind element energy—it was entering its first-stage form, completing its transformation from Wild Soul to Storm Soul.

A powerful surge of magic energy radiated from the Wild Soul’s body.

Fine streams of blue light rose along its soul-body, spreading upward from its feet.

Where the light passed, the previously ethereal soul-body gradually solidified, as if infused with life, becoming a solid form with a glassy luster.

At first glance, it bore a resemblance to the terrifying wind dragon coiling behind the vortex.

But unlike the dragon, stuck halfway between ethereal and physical, the Wild Soul transitioned seamlessly into full materialization.

The blue light surged upward.

When it swept over the Wild Soul’s head, the Wild Soul—now Storm Soul—opened its eyes.

Its pupils were no longer void—they had become two solidified storms, containing strange, indescribable emotions.

This was the Storm Soul’s first-stage form.

But with the battle raging, Gao De had no time to explore the Storm Soul’s abilities.

Yet the next moment, the Storm Soul revealed its extraordinary nature in this form.

It opened its mouth toward empty air, inhaling with a hiss.

An unusual suction force spread outward from the Storm Soul.

Not only on Gao De’s warship, but also on the three or four nearby vessels, the dissolving wind element beings’ energy surged like boiling water toward it.

The instant this wind element energy entered the Storm Soul’s body, it transformed into blue patterns that traced across its surface, sharpening its outline.

This absorption efficiency wasn’t just doubled—it was easily tenfold!

See one spot, know the whole.

If its “eating” speed increased this much, its other abilities couldn’t possibly be weak!

Some rejoiced, others despaired.

While Gao De was delighted by the Storm Soul’s first-stage transformation, the atmosphere aboard the Thorn Crown was grim.

“This can’t continue,” muttered Mage Theodore, staring at the wind vortex above.

The standoff persisted.

No one could tell whether the Aureka crystals’ magic power would be depleted first, or whether the wind vortex would collapse from the rapid depletion of wind element energy.

If it was the latter, that would be ideal.

But if it was the former, a catastrophe awaited them.

Not only would the entire fleet be annihilated with no survivors, but after the Wind Network stabilizes, Oakland City will cease to exist.

Therefore, we cannot gamble—we must take action.

“All wizards of the Fourth Circle, prepare and follow me to the Wind Network, to face the Wind Dragon directly.” After careful deliberation, Wizard Theodore still gritted his teeth and made this difficult decision.

Just as the Wind Dragon cannot transform into a material being within the pure energy plane, material beings entering the pure energy plane will also suffer various discomforts, even erosion by energy, becoming energy beings.

Thus, this wind elemental secondary plane is absolutely a death zone for human wizards—unsuitable for prolonged stay.

Even at the entrance of the spatial passage, one must endure erosion by wind elemental energy.

Not to mention there is a wind dragon of such immense power within.

But now, they have no choice.

To achieve victory, they must take the risk.

Wizard Theodore’s decision quickly spread throughout the entire fleet.

Yet in reality, most Fourth Circle wizards were still concentrated aboard the Thorn Crown, while other warships either had one or two Fourth Circle wizards serving as overall commanders, or none at all.

For instance, the warship Gao De was on had no Fourth Circle wizard whatsoever.

All Fourth Circle wizards, whether willing or not, answered the call.

Even Lord Roland stood beside Wizard Theodore, ready to launch.

—As the nominal lord and chief administrator of Oakland City, his wizard rank was also as high as Fourth Circle.

Within the Jin Quehua Dynasty, during such dangerous missions, nobles had no privileges—they were expected to lead from the front.

Lord Roland acted with full awareness.

Whether for the doctrine in his heart or for his family’s honor and future, he could not evade this charge.

“All Fourth Circle wizards, prepare! Follow behind me!!” Wizard Theodore’s voice rang over the storm-tossed fleet.

Hearing his voice, the Fourth Circle wizards immediately activated their spell models.

With magical fluctuations, soft light emanated around their bodies, accompanied by faint whispers of wind.

Under the spell’s enhancement, they became incredibly light, levitating into the air.

[Flight Spell].

[Flight Spell] is a Third Circle alteration spell, like the First Circle [Tongue Knowledge], a mandatory spell for all Third Circle wizards—nearly everyone knows it.

Its effect, as the name suggests, grants wizards the ability to fly.

Thus, from the Third Circle onward, wizards can begin to soar through the skies.

Of course, this is not enough—besides [Flight Spell], they must also pre-apply various protective spells upon themselves.

“For Oakland, charge!” Seeing all were ready, Wizard Theodore shouted again.

No sooner had the words left his lips than he raised his obsidian staff and surged forward like lightning, diving straight into the ocean of wind elemental beings.

As he flew at high speed, brilliant rings of flame erupted around Wizard Theodore’s body.

Even as wind elemental beings surged like tides and engulfed him, the crimson glow of the flame rings remained unmistakable.

These wind elemental beings, at most Third Rank, no matter how numerous, could not possibly stop a Fifth Circle wizard.

Any wind elemental being that so much as brushed against Wizard Theodore’s flame rings instantly ignited and vanished in an instant, reverting to raw wind elemental energy.

Lord Roland followed closely behind, then came the other Fourth Circle wizards, whose speed was clearly inferior to Wizard Theodore’s—by more than a little.

Each of them glowed with dazzling, colorful spelllight, differing in pattern and hue, yet all pulsing with powerful magical energy.

Level suppression in this world’s supernatural system is extremely strict.

With a Fifth Circle wizard as the spearhead and Fourth Circle wizards forming the formation, the wind elemental beings could not even slow them down, let alone hinder them.

Everyone understood this clearly.

The true danger of this operation lies only after reaching the Wind Network.

(End of Chapter)