Chapter 197: Chapter 93: New Gameplay, Star Realm Gate
Crimson dawn carried the sound of crashing waves as it washed over the Ancient Porcelain Holy City.
Blood Flower Porcelain Street, Blood Glaze District.
While enjoying a breakfast unique to the Ancient Porcelain Holy City,
Zorn read the daily paper from the Steam Realm.
The six districts of the Ancient Porcelain Holy City, each with a distinct style, were named for the unique refining methods of their respective Mother of the Source Furnace.
For instance, the Blood Glaze District, where Zorn was located, was best known for producing porcelain with a blood-red glaze that resembled fresh blood.
’The situation on the front lines doesn’t look very promising.’
He rubbed his brow after finishing the newspaper.
When winter had set in, it was difficult for either side to advance on the front lines.
Now, with the snow melting and the weather clearing up, the steam-powered armies of the Saintisman Empire were beginning to make their push.
Bombardments from the Saintisman Empire’s Steam Airships.
Surprise attacks from squads of Transcendents acting as the tip of the spear.
A military force that vastly outnumbered the Otan Grelle Steam Empire.
And their steady, methodical style of consolidating territory after each advance.
All these factors combined had forced the Otan Grelle Steam Empire’s front lines to fall back, again and again.
Establishing a united Steam Empire was the right path for the Northern Border Region to survive.
But faced with the Saintisman Empire’s relentless advance,
it was hard to say if they could hold on.
Zorn knew the Saintisman Empire had its own internal troubles.
But they had to hold out long enough for the enemy to implode from within.
If the Saintisman Empire first destroyed the fledgling Steam Empire in the Northern Border Region, consolidated the north’s resources to quell its own internal crisis, and then marched south to crush the Imperial Alliance...
well, they might actually succeed in establishing a vast, unified continental empire.
The chances were extremely low, but it wasn’t impossible.
’If the Saintisman advance is still this aggressive by summer, it will be necessary to make them suffer an Evil Spirit Calamity.’
Zorn thought to himself.
’The Demon Gate has already opened in the depths of the ocean.’
’The continent is in turmoil, with war raging in both the north and south. The major Evil God Organizations and other clandestine powers are constantly interfering in the world.’
’Without leveraging the power of the Steam Empire, the efficiency of my Leveling will be drastically reduced.’
’This fledgling Steam Empire must stabilize so I have room to grow.’
After finishing breakfast,
Zorn went down to his basement.
WHOOOO...
The low, melodious, and ethereal sound of a steam whistle echoed through the basement, like a playful sprite flitting about.
Not far away, a Steam Arch made of pure vapor stood silently.
To the left of the Steam Arch was the sizable Steam Ritual Platform that Zorn had constructed.
To its right was a Star Realm Gate, carved from marble and magically solidified by ritual.
Zorn’s gaze swept carefully over the three structures.
He stepped into the Steam Arch.
The moment he entered, he was inundated by a thick, boundless, majestic wave of steam and a deafening roar.
His physical body was still within the archway,
but his Sequence Spirituality had already entered the Steam Spirit Realm, a plane constructed by Otan Grelle’s Steam Kingdom Ceremony.
At the very heart of the majestic, boundless Steam Spirit Realm
stood a majestic Steam Tower with a Mysterious Core, soaring a full 36 stories high.
A core that might be "Mysterious" to others
was not so mysterious to Zorn.
He suspected it was a Steam Magic Ring Seed, one that possessed its own Life Force.
The Hidden Wilderness Sect also sought to anchor itself more deeply to this world for greater profit.
Compared to more extreme factions,
their methods were relatively gentle and easier to accept.
Besides the central tower,
there were eight surrounding positions for the Steam Ceremony Towers built by the major powers.
Around the Steam Ceremony Towers were many hazy, illusory shadows.
These were manifestations of various industrial steam powers—Steam Factories, Steam Towers, steamships, and the like—all constructed in hazy, vaporous forms.
It was precisely because of Ogrande City’s own substantial industrial steam power
that it qualified to be one of the eight major powers hosting a Steam Ceremony Tower.
By now, the other Steam Ceremony Towers had already grown to a considerable size.
The tallest one was already nine stories high, with its tenth floor under construction.
Most of the others stood five, six, or even seven or eight stories tall.
Zorn’s tower, however, had only just completed its first floor, with the second now under construction.
Compared to the other factions, his progress was lagging far behind.
Even so, Zorn calmly and deliberately continued to channel ritual resources into his Steam Ceremony Tower’s structure.
In fact, its current height of one and a half stories was mainly due to the ritual operating on its own, a spontaneous accumulation.
Just as Zorn was meticulously examining the framework and details of the energy flow on the first floor...
"Senator Zorn!"
Another Spirit Body within the Steam Spirit Realm had come to visit Zorn’s Steam Tower.
Zorn pulled his focus away and looked over.
What met his eyes was the Spirit Body of a Level 7 [Wizard].
A stern and rigid Old Wizard from the Saint Grelle Traditionalist Faction.
This fellow loved to wander around the Spirit Realm, inspecting the various Steam Towers and checking up on everyone’s progress.
He’d even nitpick others’ work, offering unsolicited advice on what they should be doing.
Especially when it came to young fellows like Zorn Corick.
This rigid Old Wizard scrutinized him as if through a magnifying glass.
