Chapter 341: Joining the Battle

Despite having great confidence in his own preparations, facing a bizarre plane that had silently swallowed a million wizards along with the first wave of reinforcements, Gao Jie Ming dared not harbor the slightest negligence or underestimation.

In the final moments before departure, he raced against time to carry out his last enhancements.

He expended immense mental effort to refine high-purity liquid adamantium once more, further integrating it into his protective magic treasure, the 【Mystic Red Dust Barrier】.

His aim was to endure a little longer when confronted with unknown mental erosion.

Immediately afterward, without pause, he prioritized engraving the spatial teleportation technique he had preliminarily mastered onto the cores of more Black Giants.

This work was extremely delicate and mentally draining, but he understood it might be the key to preserving these precious combat forces at a critical moment.

At the same time, he began screening his troops.

Although the space within his body had expanded to rival a modern city, there were simply too many things to accommodate: vast automated factories, mountains of various raw materials, the level-five large elemental pool occupying the central position, and the "Nest" responsible for reshaping the Black Giants... the space remaining for the Black Giants to station themselves had become exceptionally precious.

The Black Giants were massive; adult level-three individuals generally stood over twenty meters tall, resembling moving five- or six-story buildings.

Individuals of higher levels grew even larger, their size increasing exponentially.

After precise calculations, ensuring other functions operated normally and accounting for the need to retain a certain number of "Shuttlers" to handle complex environments like aerial or naval battles, Gao Jie Ming ultimately determined he could only bring slightly over fifty thousand of the most elite Black Giants.

After over a hundred years of reproduction and devouring evolution, those two level-five Black Giant leaders had still failed to break through their bottleneck, yet the number of level-four Black Giants had already surpassed the hundred-thousand mark.

Gao Jie Ming carefully selected from among them, taking only the outstanding individuals of each rank.

Finally, the day for assembly arrived.

Gao Jie Ming checked his own condition one last time; confirming there were no issues, he properly arranged follow-up matters for the Purgatory Sulfur Plane and his laboratory, ensuring the Incense God Path could operate automatically during his absence.

Then, taking a deep breath, he stepped into the teleportation array leading to the assembly point.

With a flash of light, Gao Jie Ming appeared directly in a square inside Nuo Lun Academy No. 147.

A level-one wizard who had been waiting there confirmed his identity and then respectfully guided him toward another, even larger teleportation array with more complex runes.

The instant he stepped into the array, an intense sensation of spatial pulling surged forth.

When his vision cleared again, a wave of sound mixed with countless fluctuations of spiritual sense and low murmurs hit him like a solid wall!

Gao Jie Ming focused his gaze and realized he was in an immensely vast space.

All around, densely packed teleportation arrays lit up continuously like a honeycomb, as figures stepped out from them one after another.

Above and below, as far as the eye could see, the space was almost entirely filled with the figures of wizards!

The flow of people was like a tide, endless and continuous.

Gao Jie Ming immediately moved with the instinctive flow of the crowd, dispersing quickly toward the periphery to make room for those still teleporting in.

His figure flashed, and he hovered halfway into the air, finally gaining a comprehensive view of the situation.

Beneath his feet lay a cold metal floor extending to the limit of his vision, while above him was a simulated firmament.

He immediately understood—he had been teleported directly onto the "Ship" plane.

He carefully sensed the wizards around him, feeling a slight chill in his heart.

The average rank here was terrifyingly high; everyone was above level three!

Among them were no shortage of level-five and level-six existences emitting overwhelming pressure.

What made Gao Jie Ming secretly even more vigilant was that even those level-three wizards surrounding him gave him a clear sense of threat.

Undoubtedly, every single person here was an elite among elites, far from ordinary.

At the same time, other wizards were also silently observing their "companions" all around.

Where their gazes met, there were no greetings, only scrutiny; a silent solemnity permeated the air.

A few minutes before the scheduled assembly time, the light from the teleportation arrays scattered everywhere finally dimned one by one, and no new figures appeared.

Gao Jie Ming swept his gaze over this boundless sea of people and roughly estimated that the number of wizards assembled here had likely approached one million!

"One million elites..." Gao Jie Ming's expression grew increasingly grave.

Such a large-scale second reinforcement indicated, on one hand, the Federation's emphasis on the fallen wizards, and on the other, it highlighted that the value and bizarre nature of that target plane had risen to a level requiring such immense power.

He could imagine that if this second batch of one million elites also fell, the total number of wizards trapped in that plane would reach an astonishing two million, most of them elites!

At that time, the scale of wizards sent to handle the aftermath would likely be unimaginably huge.

Facts proved his intuition was entirely correct.

Not long after, a pressure that made one's soul tremble descended without warning.

Immediately afterward, a group of figures appeared on the high platform at the front of the assembly area.

Gao Jie Ming took just one glance and felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

There were over a hundred level-seven wizards!

They merely stood there calmly, yet the aura naturally emanating from their bodies seemed to distort the surrounding light, making them impossible to look at directly.

And standing proudly in front of this group of level-seven wizards were more than ten figures!

Their presence felt as tangible as reality, like mountain ranges, like abysses; merely having their gaze sweep over made Gao Jie Ming feel his own insignificance and fragility.

Level-eight wizards!

And more than ten of them!

Gao Jie Ming was horrified in his heart.

If this force acted together, let alone a single plane, even a large cluster of planes before them would likely turn to ash in an instant!

Leading them was a level-eight wizard with an ancient countenance, his eyes seeming to harbor the birth and destruction of star seas.

He had no intention of introducing his name; his figure slowly floated into the air, looking down upon the million elites below, his voice calm yet clearly transmitting into the mind of every wizard:

"We are about to arrive at the target plane. After you signed up, you should have received relevant intelligence and learned of the bizarre situation ahead. Therefore, I hereby explicitly inform you of the Headquarters' psychological bottom line..." He paused, his tone brooking no argument, "Ten years."

"If after ten years you still have not transmitted back any effective information, we will no longer wait and will forcibly intervene."

His gaze swept over the silent crowd below as he continued, "However, regarding forced intervention, the degree of resistance cannot be estimated; the plane itself may then produce violent rejection or even collapse, and casualties will likely be unavoidable. Considering the risks involved, Headquarters has decided to give you all one final chance to choose."

"If you feel this battle is not your forte, or if you have doubts in your heart, you may leave now; no one will blame you."

As his voice fell, the vast assembly platform fell into a brief silence.

A million wizards were all calmly weighing their options.

Moments later, figures silently turned one by one, stepping back onto the arrival teleportation arrays; amidst flashing light, they quietly departed.

In the end, the number of wizards who chose to leave exceeded thirty percent.

Gao Jie Ming and the other wizards who chose to stay calmly watched them depart; there was no clamor, no mockery, only rational deliberation.

As wizards in pursuit of truth, clearly recognizing one's own limits and avoiding unnecessary risks is likewise a manifestation of wisdom.

Staying requires courage and confidence; leaving requires self-awareness and reason.

Both are practices of the Wizard's Dao.

(End of Chapter)