"Orange represents level-four creatures, while yellow, green, and blue represent levels three to one. Are there any obvious errors in the marked areas on this map?"
Adam glanced over it and, finding no discrepancies with the intelligence he had submitted, replied, "The map's markings are correct. However, Mage Amy, the capture of the monster lord will shake things up. Our old info might not be so right now."
Mage Amy smiled, "Close enough is good. A battlemage who can't handle a bit of change isn't cut out for the plane wars."
Their talk caught everyone's attention. Amy, a level-four mage and Priscilla's right-hand, had a lot of clout in the command center. She'd never been this friendly with any mage before.
"That's the Explorer for this mission?" someone whispered.
"Yeah, a top-notch new mage. He alone pushed through the last war's trials. Ceylon Island is still barren, I heard the Tower's given up that trial site," a chatty mage said quietly, watching the newcomer.
"He found both worlds this time. Heard that he not only did the exploration, but also the infiltration, speeding up the war and helped catch a transcendent creature."
Some in the crowd had mixed feelings, like the twin sisters and Lilith.
After the trials, they chose to be Leaders, AKA combat strategists.
The impact of Adam's shadow on them was too strong. Lilith, always aiming for command, and the twins, once yearning for combat and infiltration roles, chose to be Leaders without second thoughts when the Tower mages asked. Their faith in their own fighting skills was gone.
This was their first mission as mages. They knew from the start that Adam would handle the exploration, and had seen his crucial role in the war's early stages in the Tower's files. This left them a bit uneasy.
Back in training, they were all equals, the brightest stars of their class. But now, though all were mages, Adam was being called 'a very impressive person.'
The gap, it seemed, had widened too quickly for them to catch up.
...
"Should we go say hello?" Hailey softly tugged at Shirley's sleeve.
Shirley patted her sister's hand and shifted her gaze from Adam, continuing her work. "Let's not."
'*Who would accept a traitor again?*' she thought silently.
Adam saw many familiar faces, nearly all the battlemages who were promoted with him were participating in this war.
When his gaze fell on the twin sisters, he showed no change in expression. He had no idea that after killing Ignas and parting ways with the twins, his information was quickly betrayed.
Even if Adam knew that, however, he wouldn't care. His indifference was simply because he never felt they had any real connection.
Suddenly, Adam remembered his only friend Elliot, Frank, and a few acquaintances; he wondered if they had advanced too.
...
Adam didn't stay long at the command center. Combat strategists have their specific methods and patterns for formulating plans. Adam, merely an Explorer and an outsider, had neither the right nor the interest to get involved. He declined Amy's invitation and left the command center.
Though the war hadn't officially started, high-level mages following the transdimensional mage had begun their initial preparations.
Large numbers of creature samples were transported to starships for specialized mages to dissect and study, hoping to find their weaknesses for adjusting mage armor and recruiting mages interested in joining the war.
Adam also had a research report. The energy characteristics of the radiation species were similar to what he had studied. The most effective against them was his electromagnetic magic. Additionally, alchemist mages with Elemental Trueself were also strong contenders against them, while mages specializing in potion studies had less to contribute here.
The report contained data Adam couldn't gather: the reproduction abilities and timing of the radiation species, their common characteristics, specific data of different levels, and the magical power needed for a direct kill. Such data required mass dissections for verification.
Priscilla sent a contract through the Mage Network. The contract stated that if Adam agreed, during the war, the Mage Network would adjust other mages' armors to include magnetic field properties. This adjustment didn't involve core knowledge; mages only had usage rights. Moreover, each mage would pay Adam 0.5 units of ether crystals daily.
Adam gladly signed the contract, seeing it as a no-loss, high-gain opportunity. This might even make electromagnetic magic more popular. With more mages involved in its study, this type of magic could evolve faster than ever.
Adam was happy about this development. In the Mage Network, mages might clash over interests, but they didn't hoard their findings. They knew from the moment they became mages that only by growing stronger together could they access more knowledge and power.
Those who failed to grasp this concept were eliminated during their apprenticeship.
...
For Adam and the other mages, the pre-war preparations seemed brief. However, for the two worlds, the end seemed frighteningly close.
The conflict between Cthulhu and the Dragon Plane had ceased. All eyes from every race and creature in the Dragon Plane were fixed on the starships standing boldly above the crystal wall and the sky. They were filled with unease, unable to comprehend what this sudden, uncommunicable, terrifying entity meant.
For the first time, the dragon race united as one. After deliberation, some overconfident high-ranking dragons foolishly tried to attack the starships.
They were effortlessly killed or captured by passing mages. This blatant display of power sent the races of the Dragon Plane into a frenzy of fear, scattering in panic like common animals during a disaster.
In contrast, many heroes rose among the other mortal races. Ancient alliances were reformed, choosing to band together against this new, more terrifying foe.
The Cthulhu, meanwhile, went into full battle readiness. With Lord Nasanir captured, it was an all-out war with their foes. The remaining lords returned from the void, rallying their kin, gearing up for the looming war.
Yet, the monster lords felt not fear, but excitement. The mages' arrival ignited hopes of evolution for their entire race. The endless stream of pure, advanced energy made every lord drool with desire.
They had missed the chance to aid Lord Nasanir in the battle with the transdimensional mage, which ended too swiftly. However, they had witnessed from afar that Lord Nasanir was not without power. They believed that if not for the invaders' cunning ambush, Lord Nasanir would never have been defeated.
In the days that followed, the lords restrained themselves, observing the invaders' strength from their territories. They noted that only five invaders matched their energy levels.
Even without Lord Nasanir, there were still six lords. The remaining invaders seemed trivial, their numbers far too small compared to the radiation species. They were confident that once the war truly began, they would never be at a disadvantage.
...
On the third dawn, five starships aligned in the void, completing the final docking with the dimensional hub.
The immense energy emitted from the starships intertwined like a tornado in the void, bursting forth like fireworks, creating a massive protective shield, as if a new plane was born between the Dragon Plane and Cthulhu.
Everyone paused their tasks and stepped outside. All the first wave of mages felt the primal force coursing through their bodies from the energy channels of the Mage Network. Their mage armors appeared and magnetized instantly.
The five transdimensional mages stepped out of the starships, extending their hands to slowly open a portal as large as the dimensional hub.
After a few breaths' delay, waves of battlemages arrived through the portal.
Floating in the sky, they silently activated their mage armors, summoned soul servants, and then raised a hand high, their magic power surging and converging, blazing fiercely.
Meanwhile, the grand voices of the five transdimensional mages echoed in the ears of countless beings across both worlds:
"I, Winifred."
"Whittier."
"Clemens."
"Lind."
"Priscilla."
"In the name of the Heart of the World, we declare war against Cthulhu and the Dragon Plane."
"Where the origin descends, we shall prevail!"
"Where the mage's blade points..."
The floating battlemages, including Adam, simultaneously struck their chests with raised arms, roaring naturally:
"We are invincible in battle!"
The war declaration of the mage world was starkly simple. They disdained to disguise their roles as aggressors or predators, nor did they cloak their war acts in names like justice or salvation. It was a blunt message to the invaded: we have come, your end is near.
"I see, I conquer."
"I fight, I win."
That was the creed of all battlemages.
After the declaration, all participating mages took their positions according to the contract and command center, executing their tasks. Adam returned to his room to prepare for his journey to the Dragon Plane.
Although he discovered and explored these two worlds, he was merely a level-one mage. In the massive war between worlds, his power was insignificant.
There were five transdimensional mages overseeing this war. Four of them were dealing with Cthulhu, and only one, Lind, took a small group of battlemages to the Dragon Plane, intending to quickly finish the battle there before aiding the other world's warfront.
Lind's command team called upon Adam, who knew the Dragon Plane best, to join their mission. They aimed to swiftly cleanse the entire plane.
...
Inside Lind's starship, in the operations room...
"It's quite a weak world. If the energy we're sensing now is this plane's maximum, then transcendent beings couldn't possibly emerge here," a level-three mage near Adam said, sounding disdainful.
"This plane isn't large. Also, the Refinement Art mentioned in our files keeps damaging its primal source, causing it to shrink. The command wants us to act quickly, halt their continuous depletion of the origin, and then set up a magic array to sacrifice this plane," another mage read out the mission brief, then turned to Adam. "I hear the resistance they set up has something to do with you?"
"Yes, Mage Evans."
Adam looked a bit uneasy mentioning this. He hadn't expected that the slave camp he set up in the Makalu Mountains before leaving the Dragon Plane would become the main base for the new racial alliance, with Lina as one of their leaders.
"What do you think of it then?"
Adam shook his head, replying, "Even if the origin's last surge created several transcendent beings among them, they're still too weak compared to us. We don't need a strategy, just overpower them."
Evans, looking at the continuous intelligence reports, agreed. "Your reports say many races here are suited to be soul slaves?"
"Yes. Including dragons, the races of the Dragon Plane resemble the Mage World's magical beasts but are more intelligent and have a higher affinity for elements. With some adjustments to their bodies and reproductive abilities in the Mage World, they'd be high-value cannon fodders."
Evans zoomed in on the Dragon Plane's map, highlighting the Makalu Mountains. "Given that, direct killing and destruction would be too wasteful. They are like living ether crystals now, and each loss means a dent in our interests."
He looked at Adam, saying, "I'm assigning this task to you. I hope you can convince them to stop their needless resistance. Of course, this isn't a strict rule. If they remain obstinate, I think the mages would be very happy to have so many test subjects, even if they're dead."
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