Chapter 1077: Summoning the Great Army

Lei En emerged from the Furnace Temple and went to Axi Na's house.

Axi Na was talking with her mother and younger brother, recounting her experiences over the years; Meidis was both worried and relieved, Bolosi listened with rapt imagination, his eyes kept turning to the Extreme Warrior standing in the courtyard, wishing he could also follow his sisters to the Prime Material Plane.

As he wondered how to speak to his sister, he saw the Extreme Warriors suddenly salute in unison.

A figure wearing a crown walked in.

"Your Majesty!"

Meidis hurried to rise and meet them at the door, Bolosi also respectfully called out, his eyes showing awe toward Lei En, and his heart felt a bit uneasy.

When Lei En first visited the house, he had given Lei En a cold stare, believing that this human had taken his sister away.

How could a human possibly match a Storm Giant?

Now he wouldn't dare think that way at all.

These years, his sister often sent news back, almost every time mentioning Lei En, giving the mother and son a deeper understanding of the Prime Material Plane and Lei En's many deeds.

The person before them was the emperor of the Oriense Empire!

His wisdom, his achievements, his power, his status already stand at the pinnacle of the Prime Material Plane; even Elder Suolim falls short, and now the crisis facing the Storm Giants and the Temple also requires him to save them.

"No need for formalities within the family; just call me Lei En."

Lei En gave a gentle smile, walked in, and his stature grew to be about the same as a few Storm Giants, then sat at the table.

Bolosi quickly brought a glass of juice, his face showing a flattering expression.

"Thank you."

Lei En lifted the cup, took a sip, and smiled, "Axi Na, what were you just talking about?"

Axi Na, not as nervous as the family, replied, "We were talking about you; mother and brother are curious how you became emperor."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. When Axi Na told us, it startled me," Meidis sincerely felt joy for her daughter.

Lei En smiled.

Bolosi said wistfully, "The Prime Material Plane is far more exciting than the Storm Plane; I truly hope that one day I can go to the Oriense Empire, visit those great Holy Soul Wizards, and ask them about magical knowledge."

He is a rare Giant Mage, specializing in wind and thunder elements.

These years, he changed his meditation method and, from the books Lei En sent, mastered more magical knowledge; his rank rose by one level, and now he is a thirteenth‑level mage—significant progress—but the Storm Temple lacks better teachers and spell‑researchers, leaving him with many unanswered questions.

Bolosi stared intently at Lei En; before his eyes stood a Holy Soul Wizard, one of the most powerful in the world!

Lei En read his thoughts and said, "There will be a chance."

"Really?"

Bolosi's eyes lit up, and Axi Na also seemed thoughtful; if Lei En could take his brother as a student, that would be wonderful.

However, Lei En had no interest in teaching a Giant Mage, saying, "Having eliminated the enemy and reclaimed the Storm Plane, Elder Suolim should not stop you from leaving. When the time comes, you can come to the Empire at any time; I will arrange for you to enter Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng."

Bolosi was initially a bit disappointed, but upon hearing he could enter Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng, he immediately became excited.

"May I meet Master Anxiwodasi?"

"Of course you may."

Lei En examined Bolosi carefully; his talent was top‑tier, his strength already at Legendary Mid-stage, but he lacked training and his temperament was not steady enough, so he said, "I will introduce you to the teacher, but I cannot guarantee the teacher will accept you as a student."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Just meeting Master Anxiwodasi satisfies me," Bolosi said, though inside he was brimming with confidence.

Meidis also thanked repeatedly.

She had heard of Anxiwodasi's reputation, the greatest Holy Soul Wizard among humans today; Axi Na just said that Master Anxiwodasi recently invented the Ascension Formation!

Lei En stayed at Axi Na's house for one night.

The next day, a loud horn sounded in the Storm Temple, and many giants gathered in the plaza; Axi Na's family all received orders. Moments later, over three hundred Storm Giants stood on the plaza, awaiting Elder Suolim's command, the atmosphere solemn.

Lei En floated down beside Suolim, standing side by side, then looked toward the giants on the plaza.

In the northern Temple there were over four hundred Storm Giants.

Except for those too young, pregnant, or injured and thus unable to fight, all other giants were here. Every adult Storm Giant, regardless of gender, possessed at least the power of a High‑rank Transcendent, averaging about five meters in height, their strength nearing Legendary.

The stronger the giants, the larger their bodies and the taller they grow.

Legendary giants stand over six meters tall; Legendary High‑rank can reach eight meters, and if they advance to Titan Giant they become even taller.

Besides Suolim and Axi Na, three Titan Giants were present, but not all Titan Giants are Saint Rank; one of them is Legendary High‑rank, whose strength lagged far behind the other four and appeared very young.

Lei En gave a rough scan; about a quarter of the over three hundred Storm Giants were Legendary.

Four were Saint Rank, the leader being a demigod; the overall strength of the Storm Temple in the Prime Material Plane is not to be underestimated.

Moreover, the Storm Giants are only the core force, not fighting alone.

Beyond the Temple, the territories controlled by the Storm Giants host numerous vassal races and armies; they are not permitted inside the Temple, so they are unseen here.

Lei En sized up the giants, and the giants observed him; the Star Destroyers hovering outside the Temple and the Extreme Warriors around the plaza made every giant revere this human emperor, they had already guessed the upcoming battle and felt exhilarated.

"Annam above!"

Suolim's booming voice echoed through the Temple, "Children of the Storm, for over ten thousand years we have not spent a day without longing to reclaim the Storm Plane and restore the giants' glory."

"Today is the day we have waited for tens of thousands of years. With the aid of our allies, the Oriense Empire and His Majesty the Emperor, we march on the Storm Temple to reclaim the glory belonging to the children of the Storm, to the giants!"

"May Anhe Luozi protect the children of the Storm!"

Suolim roared loudly.

The Storm Giants each felt their blood boil, and followed the elder, shouting, "May Anhe Luozi protect the children of the Storm!"

The roar even drowned out the raging wind and thunder, resonating through the heavens.

Boom—

As the giants shouted, the dark clouds above the Temple churned violently, and four massive forms leapt from the void, hovering high and casting huge shadows over the Temple below, almost completely covering the sky.

All the Storm Giants were stunned, their faces pale with shock.

All four of those vessels were Star Destroyers!

Thus, there were five Star Destroyers in the sky in total; the one in the middle was the most striking, its size nearly ten times that of the others, stretching from one end of the Temple to the other!

The Augustus, a Victory-class Star Destroyer.

Except for Asina, the other giants were beyond shocked; Elder Suolim stared at the massive ship in the sky, remaining speechless for a long while. After the agreement was reached yesterday, Lei En had said he would dispatch five Star Destroyers, but when Suolim saw them with his own eyes, he was still astonished.

A flash of fervor passed through Elder Titan's eyes; if giants could also possess Star Destroyers, not only the Storm Plane but the entire giant race could hope for revival!

Huh…

Suolim inhaled deeply and shouted, "Let's go!"

He led the Storm Giants out of the plaza toward the platform at the edge of the Storm Temple, where the Albert Bay was already hovering with its gates open.

The giants boarded the Star Destroyer and, upon entering the hangar, found a Transcendent Army already present.

Five thousand human warriors clad in golden-forged armor, masks covering their faces, massive soul cannons at their waists, warhammers on their backs, stood in perfect ranks; they uttered nothing, yet the murderous aura they exuded left the giants breathless.

The Storm Giants sensed the humans before them, each seemingly as strong as themselves, perhaps even slightly stronger!

With equal strength, the numbers differed by tenfold.

The giants exchanged glances; they had never seen such a terrifying legion, and if every Star Destroyer carried a Transcendent Army like this…

The giants could not imagine.

Soon, over three hundred Storm Giants boarded the Albert Bay, and the Star Destroyer rose instantly, forming a fleet that vanished into the clouds. After the Star Destroyer departed, the Storm Temple unfurled a massive shield, enclosing the entire temple and barring any entry or exit.

On the bridge of the Augustus, Suolim watched the dark clouds streaking by at high speed, his eyes unable to hide surprise and curiosity.

"Lei En, how many did you send?" Asina asked.

"Twenty‑five thousand," Lei En replied with a smile. "All Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, five thousand per Star Destroyer."

In fact, he hadn't told the whole truth.

The Storm Plane's environment is unique, unsuitable for the Imperial Defense Army, and enemies of the wind‑element plane excel at aerial combat and are powerful; if the Imperial Defense Army entered, massive casualties would be inevitable, so only Thundercast Celestial Soldiers were deployed.

However, among those twenty‑five thousand Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, five thousand Thundercast Divine Soldiers had been mixed in.

Thundercast Celestial Soldiers are secondary avatars, high‑rank battle mages;

whereas Thundercast Divine Soldiers are primary avatars, possessing Legendary High‑rank power. They look identical, with similar weapons, gear, and aura, yet their strength differs by dozens of times. One Thundercast Divine Soldier can match a platoon of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers!

A Thundercast Divine Soldier wielding Titan divine power could fully impersonate a Storm Giant, and they are all Titan Giants.

But doing so would arouse Suolim's suspicion.

Nevertheless, when Lei En mentioned twenty‑five thousand Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, Suolim was deeply shaken and could not speak for a long time. With his keen sight, he could naturally discern the strength of the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers and the five Star Destroyers; this battle could not be lost under any circumstance.

Even if Manuo intervened, Lei En assured that a more powerful deity would stop him!

At that moment, the fleet broke through the perpetually lingering clouds.

The full vista of the Storm Plane unfolded before them: beneath thick clouds, endless mountain ranges rose amid howling gales, cliffs and jagged rocks, all blanketed in white snow, clearly indicating a frigid temperature.

Gale, lightning, ice, mountains!

These elements compose the Storm Plane's endless theme, and scattered across this harsh, icy land are small settlements of intelligent races.

Within five hundred li north of the temple lies the domain of the Storm Giants; the races that submit to them are scattered across this territory, guarding the temple.

The five Star Destroyers split apart, heading in different directions.

Guided by Elder Suolim, the Augustus landed among a range of mountains, where a Frost Giant tribe dwelled in the canyon below.

A Storm Giant had arrived here yesterday, bearing Elder Suolim's orders to gather the Frost Giants of the tribe. Over a thousand Frost Giants stood on a clearing in the canyon, looking up at the Augustus as it approached slowly, their faces showing shock and fear.

Only when Elder Suolim appeared in person did the Frost Giants calm down.

They quickly boarded the hangar.

From the bridge, Lei En observed the Frost Giant tribe; Frost Giants are also high‑rank giants, their leader having advanced to a Titan Giant and attained Mid‑stage Saint Rank, making him extremely powerful.

Around the canyon were several Frost Giant Troll tribes, numbering over a hundred thousand, forming an elite troll army of ten thousand men. These Frost Giant Trolls are quite formidable, averaging Mid‑stage Transcendent strength, with shaman priests riding various fierce mounts, well‑trained and clearly experienced in battle.

However, whether Frost Giants or Frost Giant Trolls, upon entering the hangar and seeing the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, they were instantly stunned.

The Extreme Warrior made them shiver even more.

One by one, they sat obediently on the floor, daring not to make a sound.

The Augustus lifted off, flying toward the next tribe. The five Star Destroyers circled within the Storm Giants' domain, picking up a hundred thousand troops and entering the hangar.

Frost Giants, Stone Giants, Mountain Ridge Giants, and One‑eyed Giants together number over six thousand, forming a powerful giant legion.

In addition, there are fifty thousand Frost Giant Trolls and twenty thousand Hill Dwarves.

The rest are Ice Throat Beastmen!

These over twenty‑thousand beastmen belong to the Ice Throat Clan, followers of the God of Winter and North Wind, Yuriel, stranded in the Storm Plane and forced to attach to the Storm Giants. Ice Throat Beastmen are taller and sturdier than ordinary beastmen, each fierce and robust, clad in beast pelts, wielding massive axes and spears; half ride Ice Throat Bears, the other half ride tall, swift Winter Frost Wolves, making them extremely combat‑effective.

According to Elder Suolim, the subordinate races of the Storm Giants comprise dozens of tribes, with a total population of about one million.

Frost Giant Trolls are the most numerous, making up roughly seventy percent.

Aside from the Ice Throat Beastmen, giants, trolls, and dwarves all worship the giant deities.

At the same time, they are required to pray to them.

Although they are merely shallow believers, offering only a small amount of faith power, Elder Titan, through centuries of accumulation, has attained immense divinity, pushing his strength to its current level—just a spark of divine fire away from ascension.

"Divine Ascension!"

Asina was suddenly informed of the elder's plan and was instantly shocked.

Lei En heard longing in Suolim's words, nodded lightly, and said, "Elder, rest assured, I will obtain that divine fire for you."

Boom—

The five Star Destroyers reconvened and simultaneously initiated a jump!

(End of Chapter)