Chapter 200: Changes and Communication (5,000-word long chapter)

Immediately, Clark quickly changed the subject and pulled his attention back to business.

His expression began to become serious, and his voice deepened a bit:

"You can handle Jie Ming's side; back to the topic, I am communicating with you this time to tell you that the reinforcement application for Augustine's side has been approved."

Master Clark's face was solemn: "The intersection point just passed the approval and agreed to provide another 30,000 wizards to the Flame-Frost Plane as support."

"Are there reinforcements?"

Hearing this, Viola's expression didn't relax; instead, she became serious: "This is troublesome."

"Yeah, for a long time to come, your side will probably be very dangerous." Master Clark said, his tone becoming even heavier.

There were only a few ways to send wizards to other planes on a large scale, and two years was too short to allow this camp to establish a stable teleportation device.

So the best way at the moment was to let the "Ship" plane return to the intersection point and bring these supporting wizards back to the battlefield.

"This is really troublesome; it seems there is only Augustine, this one Tier 6 Wizard, in the expedition team this time, which means only he himself can pilot the plane." Viola couldn't help but shake her head.

"If he does this..." Clark's voice was clear and logical, "For a long time to come, the highest combat power of this Flame-Frost Plane war will completely leave the battlefield."

This meant that during the time Augustine returned, the Wizard Legion on the Flame-Frost Plane would lose their supreme leader and also lose the most top-tier suppression power.

"And—" Master Clark's tone carried a trace of solemnity, "because the Ship plane is lost as a transit and support, your communication link with the high-level main plane will become extremely fragile, and I'm afraid even conventional communication will not be able to function normally."

"Even, if the Ship plane is not there, the wizards currently on the Flame-Frost Plane will also lose their only retreat!"

The Ship plane was not just a transport tool; it was a mobile energy hub and communication relay station.

If there was no Ship plane, all wizards would be trapped in this different plane, losing the possibility of returning to the main plane or requesting reinforcements.

This meant they would become an isolated army!

"Judging from the chaotic time flow between the two planes, the time for a round trip is enough for the Flame-Frost Plane to pass ten years after the Ship plane detaches. Viola, you and Jie Ming must be careful." Clark warned his student with a sigh.

"Understood, Mentor." Viola replied calmly, "However, Mentor, are you not letting us leave with the 'Ship'?"

Clark looked at her expressionlessly: "Will you let go of such a good opportunity?"

After a moment of silence, Viola suddenly revealed a brilliant smile: "It's rare to be able to see such a desperate and painful scene of so many wizards, of course, I can't miss it!"

Clark shook his head as expected regarding her answer: "Your character is still as bad as ever—forget it, I can't contact Jie Ming, that kid; remember to tell him about this after he returns."

The communication then disconnected.

The light screen extinguished, and the office fell into silence again.

Viola didn't immediately enter a state of rest; she lay on that soft sofa, thinking about the things behind.

But only after a while, she couldn't help but sit up straight abruptly.

Her slender and long body leaned forward slightly, with a trace of undisguised intoxication on her face, her eyes burning as she looked at the door of the laboratory.

Just now, she felt a touch that made her heart flutter not far away.

Viola was very familiar with this feeling; she knew that it was her genius junior who had returned.

Not long after, accompanied by "Knock, knock—"

Two slight and rhythmic knocks, a figure appeared at the door of the laboratory.

He looked as usual, although carrying some imperceptible fatigue, but seemingly nothing abnormal.

It was Jie Ming!

Viola's lips finally couldn't help but bloom with a perfect and satisfied smile.

After Jie Ming saw the magnificent and creepy "Sea of Evil Energy," he decisively flew outward quickly.

He increased his body speed to the limit, runes lit up around his body, offsetting the terrifying pressure from the depths of the earth.

While flying upward quickly, Jie Ming didn't forget the "entrance" he had created with his own hands.

Spiritual power flowed at his fingertips, and he used alchemy to change the shape of the surrounding strata.

That huge deep pit he had blasted open so roughly now began to "knead" and "close" visibly with his will.

The earth itself had the concept of "bearing," and the thick rock layers and permafrost, with their inherent inertia and toughness, could withstand unimaginable pressure.

Theoretically, as long as the soil layer was thick enough, it could completely serve as the top-tier seal, completely covering everything below.

However, the process of "kneading" all the torn rock layers and mud back together piece by piece was as painful as the process of digging was fast and refreshing!

This was not just a massive consumption of spiritual power, but an extreme test of mental strength.

Jie Ming had never felt that twisting rocks was so difficult.

After the project reached a certain amount, he needed to calculate the gravity and structure of each rock, perceive the tremor of the earth's veins, and repair this huge deep pit with a diameter of several hundred meters and a depth of several hundred kilometers bit by bit from the inside out until it was completely closed!

"Hiss—"

Jie Ming's brain felt bursts of stinging pain.

He felt that his spiritual power was like a wrung-out sponge, being squeezed to the limit again and again.

Whenever his spiritual power was about to dry up, he would swallow recovery magic elixirs without hesitation and then throw himself into this massive repair project again.

Finally, after Jie Ming had exhausted his spiritual power several times, this "restoration" project finally neared its end.

With his release of the last round of alchemy, this ice-sealed land under his feet completely returned to its original state in silence.

The earth was as if it had never been torn, and no trace of his bombing could be found anymore.

But Jie Ming knew that was just the appearance.

Below, there was a sea of evil energy capable of causing high-tier wizards to fall.

He stood on the restored ground and let out a long, turbid breath.

Immediately, he thought for a moment and somewhat uneasily took out several high-quality energy crystals from his internal space and ground them into powder.

With this as a base, Jie Ming exhausted all the True Essence in his body and pinched a magic formula specifically for stabilizing evil energy.

"Go!" He cast this magic formula, which exhausted all his True Essence, toward the "trace point" he had re-covered under his feet.

The magic formula entered the earth like an invisible nail, completely "nailing" that area.

Jie Ming knew clearly that such a single magic formula could not curb the overall change of that bottomless "Sea of Evil Energy."

But combined with the thick soil layer seal he had created before, as well as the seal he released at the hole initially,

it could at least allow the Yin Evil Energy in this small area to temporarily calm down and no longer dissipate from here.

As for the Yin Evil Energy erupting elsewhere, that didn't matter.

After all, for Jie Ming, as long as it didn't erupt in his area and expose his unauthorized exploration, there was no problem.

The Wizard Legion could be abnormal, but that had nothing to do with him.

After handling all the loose ends, Jie Ming sorted out his mindset.

Afterward, he returned to the relatively safe outpost from before as if nothing had happened.

There, he simply registered the mission log and then returned to the main Wizard camp with the help of the teleportation array inside the outpost.

Walking out of the teleportation array, the familiar chaotic energy flow rushed toward him, forming a sharp contrast with the ice cold of the Frost-Dark Realm.

Jie Ming came to his dormitory, and until he took out his Magic Net terminal, he discovered that there was actually a communication request that could not be connected due to insufficient signal.

He clicked to check and found that this communication request was from his mentor—Clark.

"Uh..." Jie Ming scratched his head.

He had turned off the terminal to keep secrets in the Frost-Dark Realm, not expecting that someone would contact him.

He thought for a moment; if the mentor couldn't contact him, he should also contact Senior Sister Viola.

Conducting cross-plane communication in other planes had to rely on the camp's own contact system, and this thing was often—very expensive!

Instead of contacting back at a high price, it was better to go to Viola's laboratory and take a look.

Anyway, he had cleared out an entire Snow Monster city and obtained some intelligence, so he could communicate by the way.

Having made up his mind, Jie Ming turned around and walked toward Viola's laboratory, which was located in the core area of the camp, on the top floor.

Arriving at the door of the laboratory, Jie Ming knocked lightly on the door.

The door slid open silently, revealing a neat and spacious space inside.

Viola was sitting on her armchair, holding a cup of mysterious blue liquid, her posture perfect as always.

She looked up at Jie Ming, her ice-blue eyes deep and calm, as if she could see through everything.

However, the moment Jie Ming met her eyes, he still subconsciously felt somewhat uncomfortable; even though he had seen countless big scenes, in the depths of this senior sister's eyes, he always felt there was something else—that was not normal concern, nor was it simple appreciation.

It was a bit like a biologist observing a "rare experimental subject" with special abilities that was in a critical growth period.

This feeling of being scrutinized made every cell in his body resist imperceptibly.

"Coming to find me as soon as you return, it seems you have quite a 'harvest' in the Frost-Dark Realm." Viola's voice was soft, carrying a trace of imperceptible smile.

"Senior sister is joking." Jie Ming sighed in his heart and squeezed out a tired smile, "I just saw that the mentor had a message for me, but the signal in the Frost-Dark Realm was too poor, and I didn't get through. I thought since the mentor was looking for me, he might also contact you."

"Master Clark did contact me." Viola nodded, put down the cup in her hand, and signaled Jie Ming to sit down, "He inquired about your recent situation and also mentioned some important changes in the plane recently."

The two sides then communicated about the news of Master Clark.

"This situation is indeed somewhat concerning." Jie Ming frowned, his tone carrying a trace of solemnity.

"Both sides acted at the same time, and withdrew high-tier combat power on such a large scale; no need to think, one knows that there must be some action hidden behind this. But if high-end combat power and retreat routes leave now, even if they can suppress the opponent in combat power, it is not safe at all."

"Lord Augustine should also already know about the things that happened in the Flame-Frost Plane; making such an action choice now is really..." somewhat inappropriate.

Jie Ming paused slightly when he said this, and finally chose a more tactful way of saying it; he actually wanted to say that this guy was probably a fool...

Anyway, in Jie Ming's view, even if he chose the most passive response—maintaining the status quo until the opponent made a move—it was more appropriate than rushing to leave to call for reinforcements... at least pass this round of offensive first!

Viola, however, appeared unexpectedly calm, with a trace of different "excitement" on her face:

"Since Master Clark has already sent the message, the matter of going back to call for troops should have been decided. However, you don't have to have such great resentment; the height at which high-tier wizards stand and the amount of information they obtain are not at the same level as ours at all; seemingly strange actions are very likely to contain other reasons."

Jie Ming thought carefully after hearing this and shook his head regretfully.

With the intelligence and information he currently mastered, he really couldn't think of any good reason for doing so.

At most, he could only think that Augustine might be luring the enemy deep, using the wizards in the camp as bait to attract the living beings of the Flame-Frost Plane to launch a total offensive.

But even thinking like this still had huge flaws, the most important of which was the chaotic time flow.

The problem of the chaotic time flow on the outer layer of the Flame-Frost Plane far exceeded normal circumstances; even a second of delay could skip several days.

However, after Viola's reminder, Jie Ming also understood.

Not many people who could become high-tier wizards were fools; Augustine's side must have their own considerations.

"Sigh—I hope this wizard won't be too ruthless, otherwise the danger for us wizards left here will be too great."

"Crisis, naturally it is a crisis. But for us, it also means opportunity." Viola gently stroked her fair chin, her gaze through the window, as if she could see the bloody scene of the Flame-Frost Plane in the future.

"What you said is not wrong; the battles behind will inevitably be much more tragic than before." She said softly, but there was no worry in her tone, instead carrying a trace of eagerness to try.

For a long time, she came back to her senses: "However, the danger is relatively controllable, after all, those three deputy commanders will stay this time."

Hearing this, the unease in Jie Ming's heart subsided slightly.

Three Tier 5 wizards joining forces were indeed enough to deal with most crises.

"However, I am somewhat surprised." Viola's gaze turned to Jie Ming again, carrying a trace of playful exploration, "Hearing such a strategic change that affects the overall situation, and knowing that Master Augustine is about to be transferred from the Ship plane, you don't intend to leave with the Ship plane? This should be the best way to avoid falling into danger."

Jie Ming looked at her without answering directly: "There are many reasons why I am not leaving. But the reason why you don't intend to go back, senior sister, is simple and clear."

Jie Ming's tone was calm, but the words he said were as sharp as a blade, unsparingly revealing Viola's essence: "You intend to stay and watch at close range the pain revealed by those wizards in the infinitely tragic war situation that is about to come, right?"

Viola's smile not only didn't stiffen in the slightest, but instead laughed even more brilliantly.

"Hehe..." Viola laughed softly, the laughter like ice crystals colliding, crisp yet carrying a trace of eeriness. "You saw through me, junior. That's right, that's it." She didn't hide her true purpose at all, and even showed a trace of pride.

"That kind of extreme bloodiness, that kind of wizards struggling to survive in extreme despair and pain while in a desperate situation, the 'sparks' that can erupt from the depths of their souls—this is one of the 'art pieces' I want to appreciate most in my life."

Seeing Viola so unmasked, and even morbidly proud, Jie Ming couldn't help but sigh long and hard.

"I have now started to doubt your purpose when I first met you..."

"Oh? Was it discovered?" A light that was hard to describe flickered in Viola's silver-grey eyes.

"Really?" Jie Ming's face twitched.

Viola tilted her head: "Of course it's true; I knew you were not on the same path as those two little guys after you took out that magic elixir, so that's why I had the intention to help you at that time—"

Jie Ming felt that he seemed to understand this person's logical thinking and couldn't help but cover his face:

"So at that time, you wanted to see the pain in their hearts when Amy and the others realized their shortcomings and took the initiative to separate from me?"

"You are very smart!"

Jie Ming shook his head, and what flowed in his eyes was a kind of genuine helplessness.

"Senior sister, your personality is really too bad." He evaluated.

However, hearing Jie Ming's evaluation, Viola was not ashamed but proud!

She even stood up slightly, as if showing off a priceless treasure, her voice carrying deep pride: "My honor."

Jie Ming shook his head and didn't say anything more.

He knew that arguing about good and evil with such a person was meaningless.

After all, no matter how much this senior sister liked watching pain, in essence, the other party had never truly harmed the interests of other wizards.

In a sense, Viola was quite caring toward him.

Under these circumstances, Jie Ming had no position or qualification to point fingers at Viola's personal hobbies or say anything more.

Or rather, the feeling of entanglement revealed by anyone who knew her true nature was also the pain the other party wanted to see. "Thank you, senior sister, for informing me. I still have some things to deal with, so I will take my leave first."

Jie Ming stood up, nodded slightly toward Viola, and then left her laboratory.

Can't afford to offend, goodbye!

The metal door behind him closed silently, isolating Viola's smile that carried morbid satisfaction. ===== CHAPTER 201 =====