Chapter 192

Another year passed without realizing it.

In this year, the war situation of the entire Flame-Frost Plane did not undergo major changes.

The Wizards and the monster communities of the Flame-Frost Plane fought fiercely, with both sides still engaged in small-scale friction and probing along the long border line.

The Wizard legions were like iron beasts rooted in scorched earth, constantly consolidating the camp and radiating influence outward.

Meanwhile, the Lava Giants and Snow Monsters relied on their familiarity with the local environment to put up stubborn resistance.

Although the battle line was retreating step by step due to the Wizards' strength, the monsters did not seem to be in a hurry, even appearing somewhat accustomed to it.

Everything seemed to have fallen into a delicate balance, but Jie Ming knew this was just the calm before the storm.

Today, for a rare occasion, he did not stay in his laboratory.

Instead, he accepted Wei Aola's invitation to chat in her office, which was located in the upper levels of the camp and overlooked the entire scorched plain.

"You must have heard the latest news, right?" Wei Aola leaned comfortably on the soft sofa, holding a cup of blue liquid emitting wisps of cold air, forming a sharp contrast with the scorching heat of the Flame-Sun Realm outside the window.

"Does the senior mean... that matter regarding the changes in the plane's geological structure?" Jie Ming sat opposite her, his expression calm.

"That's right." Wei Aola sipped the liquid in her cup, a sharp light flashing in her eyes, "Just yesterday, the frontline exploration team submitted the final report. The bold geological hypothesis proposed in the previous few meetings has been thoroughly confirmed."

Jie Ming's mind stirred slightly.

The so-called geological hypothesis was precisely the matter that Wei Aola and Jie Ming had discussed before.

It refers to the fact that after the Lava Giant and Snow Monster races warred with each other over long years, the territory of the winning side would expand accordingly, and the actual border line between the Frost-Dark Realm and the Flame-Sun Realm would also undergo macroscopic changes.

At that time, Jie Ming was just preparing to head to the Flame-Sun Realm, and this matter had attracted considerable attention from the logistics Wizards.

It could even be said that it was precisely because of this matter, which focused the camp's main attention on geological surveys, that allowed Jie Ming to break free from heavy research tasks and have enough time to go to the Flame-Sun Realm.

"After a year-long geological survey and energy flow analysis, we can now confirm the authenticity of this matter one hundred percent." Wei Aola continued, her tone carrying a trace of excitement.

"The results of this investigation are even better than we initially expected. Through energy residue analysis of ancient strata samples, the camp discovered that in the endless war history of this plane, when the gap between the two sides' territories was at its largest, the area suitable for survival possessed by the losing side was once compressed to less than one-tenth of the total area of the entire plane!"

"Less than one-tenth..." Jie Ming repeated this number, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

What did this mean?

This meant that whether it was the Lava Giants or the Snow Monsters, either of these two indigenous races had once faced a desperate situation of near-extinction.

Their homeland was compressed to the limit, and their living space was deprived, but they eventually survived and were able to turn defeat into victory in subsequent wars, pushing the border line back.

Jie Ming also couldn't help but feel a bit excited: "This is excellent news for us."

Wei Aola put down her cup, leaned forward slightly, and her gaze became extremely oppressive: "That's right! This means that these two elemental races both possess quite strong civilizational resilience and stress-resistance capabilities."

In ordinary racial wars, such character and stress-resistance would definitely be an advantage.

But for the Wizards whose goal from the beginning was the plane itself, such racial characteristics instead became an advantage for the Wizards.

"This means that in the upcoming total war, we can adapt to some more aggressive and cruel means," Jie Ming added, "without worrying too much that the other side will have a mental breakdown in a short time and choose to perish together with us, such as the final resort of detonating the entire plane."

"Exactly right!" Wei Aola nodded in approval, "A civilization capable of withstanding the pressure of near-extinction has a social structure and spiritual will far more resilient than we imagined. We can use more efficient and direct ways to disintegrate their resistance without having to be tied down."

She paused, her voice lowering a few degrees: "I have already received internal news that Master Augustine, the commander-in-chief of this expeditionary force, has officially sent a highest-level communication request to the 'Junction Point,' demanding... reinforcements!"

Reinforcements!

Jie Ming subconsciously pursed his lips.

He knew that this seemingly calm year was just the Wizard civilization accumulating strength, waiting for a reason sufficient to let them cast aside all scruples and launch a total offensive.

And now, this reason had been found.

A will capable of withstanding a ninety-percent loss of territory meant that by the time the Lava Giants and Snow Monsters wanted to detonate the plane's origin, the Wizards would have already weakened the plane's origin to a point where they could control it themselves through the mass slaughter of the world's living beings.

A bloody storm, unprecedented and sweeping across the entire Flame-Frost Plane, was about to erupt completely in the near future!

After the chat with Wei Aola ended, Jie Ming's mood was not stirred by it.

Compared to grand wars and his personal cultivation goals, the latter were clearly more important.

He declined Wei Aola's invitation to have lunch together, turned and left the command tower, and returned to his exclusive laboratory in the camp.

As this year passed, the area of the Wizard camp was also constantly expanding outward.

Countless alchemy puppets and engineering wizardry worked day and night, and more defensive towers, energy hubs, and functional buildings rose from the ground.

By now, the scale of the camp had expanded nearly three times compared to a year ago, and resources were becoming increasingly abundant.

Every logistics-series Wizard was finally able to be assigned an independent laboratory that belonged entirely to themselves.

Hiss...

The metal door slowly closed behind him, isolating all the clamor of the outside world.

The interior of the laboratory was brightly lit, and the air was filled with an aura mixed with disinfectant, metal, and a faint scent of frost.

On the central operating table, metal restraint straps firmly secured a huge figure.

It was a Snow Monster.

Its size was smaller than the Tier 3 Lava Giant Jie Ming had encountered before, but it was still massive.

Its pure white fur had now become mottled and unsightly, mixed with dried bloodstains and traces of unknown chemical agents.

Its limbs were pierced by rune chains and fixed to the operating table, and its eyes, which should have been filled with wildness and cold murderous intent, now held only endless weakness and numbness.

Its body was covered with dense incisions and sutures, and some muscle tissue had even been stripped away, revealing the cold-emitting bones and surging energy meridians beneath.

This Snow Monster was already on the verge of death.

Jie Ming walked calmly to the operating table, his eyes devoid of the slightest pity, holding only calmness and scrutiny.

He reached out his hand, and several alchemy probes flickering with faint light automatically extended from the nearby instrument, gently piercing into the Snow Monster's body to read the final life data.

A light screen unfolded before him, and lines of complex data flowed past.

"Energy core activity is below 3%, soul fluctuations are about to dissipate, elemental regeneration ability has completely collapsed... hmm, the last experimental sample has also reached its limit."

Jie Ming looked at the data on the light screen and shook his head gently.

Over the past year, he had obtained three live Snow Monsters as research subjects through various channels.

He did not rush to head to the Frost-Dark Realm, but instead chose the most secure way to conduct a thorough and in-depth analysis of this brand-new creature in his own laboratory.

He dissected their bodies and analyzed their elemental composition and energy circulation methods.

Through careful study of the three live specimens and numerous experiments, Jie Ming soon integrated all the knowledge and intelligence he had collected regarding Snow Monsters.

And now, the last experimental subject had also completed its mission.

Jie Ming did not hesitate any longer and started the cleaning program built into the operating table.

A high-intensity energy beam shot down from above, instantly vaporizing the dying Snow Monster completely, leaving not even a trace of ash behind.

Before dying, the tortured Snow Monster even revealed an expression of relief.

Subsequently, he skillfully decomposed and high-temperature sterilized all the "experimental equipment" on the workbench that had been stained with blood, including scalpels, energy extractors, and rune engraving needles, one by one.

After doing all this, he started the laboratory's self-cleaning array to thoroughly sweep the entire room clean.

Ensuring that the entire laboratory had been cleaned and not a single trace of biological matter remained, he then turned and left the place.

All preparatory work had been completed by this point.

He had mastered enough first-hand information about the Snow Monster species.

He had also tailor-made a full set of alchemy equipment capable of coping with the extreme environment of the Frost-Dark Realm.

The news brought by Wei Aola let Jie Ming know that with the Wizard legion's upcoming strategic total offensive, the situation of the entire Flame-Frost Plane was bound to fall into unprecedented chaos.

Therefore, he had to complete his "experiment" before the total war started.

He returned to his dormitory, took one last inventory and organized all the supplies, wizarding tools, and newly refined magic potions he needed to carry, and then placed the crystal recording the detailed map of the Flame-Frost Plane in the most accessible position.

"It is basically certain that the Lava Giants cannot provide Red Dust Qi." Jie Ming stood before the window, gazing into the distance at the blurry horizon, where the boundary between the Flame-Sun Realm and the Frost-Dark Realm lay.

"Then, let me see..." his eyes flickering with worried light, "how things are over in the Frost-Dark Realm."

After thinking for such a long time, Jie Ming had also figured it out.

He was no longer worried about his Red Dust Qi problem, but instead worried about another more troublesome matter.

"If Red Dust Qi cannot be collected in the Frost-Dark Realm either, then that would be... too troublesome..."

Jie Ming took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

(End of chapter)