Chapter 202: War Precursor and Departure

At the same time, in a certain deep underground cave extremely far from the wizard camp,

almost approaching the core area of the plane, a completely different scene was unfolding.

This cave was extremely huge, and its existence itself was a geological miracle.

The cave was deep and vast, and its interior was perfectly divided into two areas by scorching lava flows and cold ice crystals.

In these two areas, dense Lava Giants and Snow Monsters were currently gathered here, clearly separated.

Their numbers were staggering.

More importantly, looking around, among the Lava Giants with huge bodies and the Snow Monsters draped in ice armor in the cave, not a single one was lower than Tier 3!

With so many powerful creatures gathered in such a small area, every breath carried the unique pressure of high-tier elemental creatures.

And besides these monsters waiting quietly like a tide inside the cave, outside the cave, closer to the dividing line, there were even more Tier 2 Snow Monsters and Lava Giants hidden in their respective areas beneath the ground.

The forces of these two monsters were like two floods about to breach their banks, waiting in full battle array.

Clearly, those high-tier Snow Monsters and Lava Giants that "disappeared" in the eyes of wizards, including Tier 3, Tier 4, and even higher levels,

were actually all gathered here!

This was the essence of the two civilizations, their entire backbone strength!

Between the Lava Giants and the Snow Monsters, these two diametrically opposed groups, on that invisible dividing line formed by the red and black intertwined lava and the crystal-clear white frost, two burly figures stood facing each other from afar.

One was a king composed of pure fire and rock, with scorching magma patterns like cracks all over his body—the Lava Giant King "Kalamus."

The other was also several feet tall, his body exuding a cold pressure that froze everything, and every inch of his tendons was filled with the overlord of explosive power—the Snow Monster King "Agolon."

These were the supreme rulers of the Flame-Frost Plane, the two major indigenous civilizations, and also the concrete embodiment of the core combat power of both sides.

Their gazes met in the air.

It was well known that Snow Monsters and Lava Giants were mortal enemies.

This hatred had lasted for ten thousand years, and had even integrated into the instincts deep in their blood, branded in the deepest imprints of their souls.

Even with the orders of their own kings, letting them stop attacking each other temporarily.

The high-tier powerhouses of both sides gathered here at this moment were still glaring like tigers, their eyes filled with intense killing intent and disdain.

The atmosphere in the air was abnormally tense; if not for the two kings sitting in charge, they would have already drawn swords against each other.

However, what made people feel incomparably bizarre was that as the supreme representatives of this "mortal enemy," Snow Monster King Agolon and Lava Giant King Kalamus performed abnormally calmly.

There was no hostility in their eyes, nor was there a trace of hatred, as if the person they were facing was just an ordinary acquaintance,

and they were conducting a routine talk.

After the two sides met, there were no hypocritical scenes of pleasantries, and they went straight to the point.

"Agolon, the assembly of our Lava Giants is all in place. The earth veins have been adjusted, and we are ready to help start... charging." Kalamus's voice was low and majestic, like the pulsation of a volcano.

"Very good. The Snow Monster troops have also gathered in full." Snow Monster King Agolon's voice carried a texture like metal friction.

"However, because we need to withstand higher energy intensity, our 'strategic weapon' still needs to be readjusted. This will probably take half a cycle."

The so-called "cycle" was a time calculation method unique to the Flame-Frost Plane.

Because there was no change of sunrise and sunset, the local living beings' way of calculating time was based on the pulsation of elements.

One cycle referred to one entire elemental pulsation period, roughly equivalent to four standard years of the Wizard Plane.

Lava Giant King Kalamus listened calmly without any surprise, and without any dissatisfaction.

Those scorching eyes just flickered slightly; it seemed he had already known about this delay.

"Half a cycle, acceptable." Kalamus nodded indifferently, appearing very tolerant.

After all, looking at the lifespan of elemental creatures, two years was just a snap of the fingers for them.

The communication between the two monster kings ended so calmly and briefly.

No arguing, no hesitation, the efficiency was high to the point of being bizarre.

Just as they were each preparing to take their subordinates and retreat toward their respective territories, Snow Monster King Agolon finally couldn't completely suppress the trace of unease surging in the depths of his heart.

His huge body paused slightly, he turned his head, and his emerald-green eyes stared at the rolling magma inside the Lava Giant, with a trace of imperceptible depth in his eyes.

But after a moment of silence, he just said in a deep voice: "I hope our plan can succeed."

Lava Giant King Kalamus's deep voice didn't stop at all, and a kind of near-barbaric absolute confidence came from his hot chest:

"That is natural; we... absolutely do not allow failure!"

Just as the two monster kings were taking their respective troops and slowly retreating.

In the Snow Monster team, a Snow Monster that looked extremely inconspicuous, with a body even "thinner" than the other Snow Monsters around it, suddenly lowered its head.

It completely covered its blue eyes under thick hair, avoiding leaking any trace of thoughtful light.

This Snow Monster was not a real Snow Monster, but an experienced spy disguised as a Snow Monster by a soul-type wizard sent by the camp!

His luck was good; he had already mixed into the Snow Monster group very early, and had just witnessed the entire communication process between Snow Monster King Agolon and Lava Giant King Kalamus from beginning to end.

"Cooperation between the two sides is not a very surprising thing; before this, the high-level wizards had already expected it."

The soul-type wizard pondered silently in his heart.

It was a logical strategy for these two races to join forces temporarily when facing a common external threat.

"However..." He recalled some details in the dialogue between Agolon and Kalamus, especially words like "strategic weapon" and "saving the world."

"Is the Snow Monster civilization's 'strategic weapon' that powerful?" He felt a sense of genuine confusion.

"Actually entrusted with the hope of being able to 'save the world'? Although it sounds like it needs the cooperation of the Lava Giants, since they have seen the power of wizards and still have such confidence, that thing is absolutely not simple—"

However, compared to the destructive power of the strategic weapon whose specific situation he didn't know yet, he was more confused by the attitude of the two monster kings.

"I always feel it's very strange; there must be something I don't know inside." He thought for a moment, used wizardry to weaken his presence, and detached from the Snow Monster group without moving a muscle.

"Just in case, let's notify the camp of this news first and let them make preparations in advance..."

Two years, for mortals, was enough to make the seas change into mulberry fields.

For wizards, it was just the interval between a few rounds of meditation and experiments.

During these two years, under the overall planning of Master Augustine, the wizard camp had been thoroughly strengthened and expanded.

The towering defensive towers were like steel giant fingers, piercing straight into the sky, and the complex composite barriers were like indestructible iron barrels, perfectly wrapping the entire camp.

The energy core was reinforced by multiple rune formations, capable of withstanding the full impact of a Tier 5 wizard.

The area of the camp had expanded several times, and the facilities inside were becoming more and more perfect, enough to accommodate more batches of reinforcements.

Jie Ming had spent these two years safely in the camp.

According to the plan, he participated in the task of building defensive array nodes in the camp while conducting research in his laboratory.

What made him even more satisfied was that in the two years before Augustine left, the anxiety and anticipation of the wizards in the camp continuously provided him with a large amount of Red Dust Qi.

However, no matter how perfect the preparations were, they could not stop the established progress.

On this day, the entire camp was shrouded in an oppressive and solemn atmosphere.

Augustine, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, was finally ready to leave after completing all the handovers.

Jie Ming stood on an observation tower high in the camp, looking up at the lead-grey sky of the Flame-Frost Plane with many other wizards. There, a huge, twisted crack like a wound.

In the past four years, it had been the only channel for communication between the wizard camp and the outside world.

The circular light vaguely visible in that crack was the shell of the "Ship plane."

It hung quietly above the firmament of the Flame-Frost Plane like a huge "eye" in the sky.

However, the pupil of this "eye" was currently shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Whoosh...

Accompanied by a low roar that seemed to be able to distort the space itself, the huge crack began to shrink slowly.

The light constituting the pupil gradually dimmed, and the crack that looked like an eye was also irreversibly closing slowly.

The Ship plane was detaching from the Flame-Frost Plane.

Jie Ming could clearly feel that as the Ship plane carrying Master Augustine moved away, the discomfort on his body became heavier and heavier.

An invisible repulsive force from the plane rule level, like an omnipresent tide, began to wrap around his body.

At first, it was just a slight pressure, but as the crack closed, this pressure continued to increase, as if the entire Flame-Frost Plane was consciously repelling him, this "outsider"!

Inside his body came a kind of faint sluggishness; the flow of blood seemed to be hindered, and his spiritual power also became not so smooth.

"It's like the discomfort of wearing autumn clothes inside out, and the inside of the clothes also has many hairballs—" In Jie Ming's mind, such an absurd description emerged inappropriately.

He felt uncomfortable everywhere, with a kind of awkward feeling, as if every cell under his skin was complaining.

Until the crack in the sky closed completely and the light disappeared, and the sky returned to its lead-grey oppressive original color,

that feeling of plane repulsion also reached a brand-new peak.

Jie Ming released alchemy to feel it for the first time; he mobilized the spiritual power in his body and, according to the principles of alchemy, tried to manipulate the elemental fluctuations in the surrounding space.

He immediately discovered that the difficulty of releasing wizardry had increased by a full notch compared to before.

The elemental extraction and energy construction that were once as easy as moving his arms and fingers now became somewhat sluggish.

Moreover, what made him even more troublesome was that the effect of wizardry also seemed to be affected; his manipulation leverage ratio of the surrounding elements dropped by nearly 30%!

This meant that the combat power he could actually exert in the Flame-Frost Plane was reduced by 30% for no reason!

All wizardry consumption would be greater, and the power would be smaller!

"Heh, understand now?"

A soft yet proud laugh came from not far away.

Viola appeared beside Jie Ming at some point, her gaze sweeping over Jie Ming with a trace of playfulness, seemingly finding his discomfort very interesting.

"This is plane repulsion." Viola's voice told Jie Ming softly, untying his confusion, "The reason why we didn't feel this degree of discomfort before was because there was Lord Augustine, this Tier 6 Wizard, who solidified his own rules and spread them to all of us wizards in the Flame-Frost Plane, forming an invisible 'protection'."

She slowly raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching the sky, as if she could feel the edge of some invisible rule.

"But now, as he leaves, the 'protection' formed by the rules also disappears. Wizards on the scene can clearly feel the disadvantage that 'attackers' have to bear in a proper plane war!"

Plane repulsion was a dilemma that could never be avoided when attacking a different plane.

The indigenous living beings fighting on their home field could naturally obtain the blessing of the plane's will

Wei Aola's gaze turned toward the wizards in the camp below, who were also wearing expressions of discomfort and even a degree of disbelief.

The corners of her mouth curled upward, and her eyes shimmered with an unusual light.

"What a truly intoxicating sight—," she whispered to herself, her voice carrying an undisguised sense of satisfaction.

Watching the complexions of the wizards around her gradually turn ghastly, and observing the invisible "pain" brought on by that visceral, physiological discomfort, a flush of abnormal excitement even surged onto Wei Aola's face.

Jie Ming paid no mind to her morbid delight. He furrowed his brows deeply and turned his gaze, filled with worry, toward the core region of the Flaming Sun Realm.

Augusten, this Level 6 wizard, had actually left so decisively, not even hesitating to let the entire camp fall into a predicament.

It could basically be confirmed that there was certainly some deeper-level plan behind this.

"Whether he intends to lure the enemy deep or has other, more daring and risky ideas—," Jie Ming sighed inwardly, "I only hope this Wizard Augusten has a shred of humanity; otherwise, the situation for us wizards left behind by him will be dangerous."

Having lost their highest combat power, being weakened by thirty percent due to plane repulsion, and compounded by the plane's mutation...

All of this signaled that the coming war would be far more brutal than they had imagined!