Chapter 214: Chapter 169: Mad Witch Lite
"Are we just going to watch?" a young man in a blue Wizard Robe asked resentfully, a grim look in his eyes.
"Don’t do anything rash. We can’t withstand such a ferocious onslaught." The black-haired woman leading them glanced at the young man and warned coolly, "Let’s go. You lost this time."
The young man gritted his teeth, but ultimately sighed and turned to leave with them.
Yes, he had lost...
The young man’s name was Soron Robert. As an Arcanist, his talent wasn’t outstanding; in fact, you could say he had no talent to speak of!
As things stood, he had no chance of ever breaking through to Tier Two.
For him, this was even worse than having no talent at all!
But fate always leaves a door open!
Just as he was despairing, he read about the deeds of the Mad Witches in the Truth Association’s library—a group of people with no talent for Magic Power whatsoever who, through extraordinary courage and wisdom, had managed to wrest their future from the hands of the Outer Gods!
This deeply fascinated him, and so, a bold idea formed in his mind. ’He... perhaps he could do it too?’
Once the idea took root, it spread like wildfire, quickly consuming his thoughts!
However, he wasn’t as bold as the Mad Witches; he didn’t dare deal with the Outer Gods. ’Those things are just too crazy.’ He also hated powers that were beyond his control.
So, after a meticulous selection process, he finally chose to deal with the Divine Species.
Divine Species were, in essence, the same as Deities. The only difference was their level of power. Naturally, they could also grant him power, just not very much of it.
But that didn’t matter at all. Divine Species weren’t strong—at least, not compared to the Truth Association. In fact, they were far, far weaker.
This meant that as long as he handled the contractual part correctly, he could steal power from the Divine Species with impunity!
It was precisely this method that had allowed him to successfully break through to Tier Two, and he was now making great strides toward Tier Three.
His participation in the War in the Itra Kingdom was also for the purpose of making a sacrifice, and he was planning to go big!
He planned to advance to the rank of Grand Arcanist in one fell swoop!
A pity...
...he had to run into Isaac, a guy who hogs everything for himself.
Soron took one last look in Isaac’s direction before leaving with his companions, following behind the black-haired woman. As for whether he had truly given up...
...only Soron himself knew.
BOOM!
As the last flash of Magic Power faded, the battlefield fell into silence. Only a few wisps of smoke and the shattered earth proved that a great battle had just taken place here...
"That’s it?" Isaac scratched his head in confusion. He turned to look at the peaceful Roton Fortress and exchanged a glance with Harmon. Both saw the confusion in the other’s eyes. ’With our home base that big sitting right there, they didn’t even think to launch a sneak attack?’
Unable to figure it out, Isaac decided not to dwell on it. He flew back to the fortress with Harmon.
’Whatever. We’ll deal with whatever comes our way. Besides, what’s wrong with the enemy being a little weak? Why fight when you can get an easy win? It’s not like I’m a masochist.’
Back at the fortress, Isaac saw Lorna and Angel, both on high alert.
"It’s over?" Angel looked at the spotless Isaac in surprise.
’Dude, seriously... wasn’t that a little too easy for you?’
She knew Isaac would be strong, but did he have to be *this* strong?!
’Bro, didn’t you already send out your Great Sword Ghost Legion?’
"Yeah, it’s over. How about on your end? No trouble, right?"
"None." Angel shook her head. "I felt us being watched a few times, but the feeling would disappear before I could lock onto their position. They’re very cautious."
Hearing this, Isaac frowned slightly. ’That’s not right. If someone was spying on us, it means the enemy isn’t so incompetent that they’re unaware of the situation here. They had the idea to hit our base, so why didn’t they?’
Isaac looked at Angel. "Did you change history and avert their attack on the fortress?"
"I don’t know." Angel shook her head briskly. "When I use the Chronicles of Time to alter the past, it overwrites my own memories as well. So, I have no idea what my future self might have changed. All I can be sure of is that the resulting world is the one most favorable to me."
"The ultimate power of time, huh?" Isaac shook his head in resignation. There was nothing to be done.
’Still, it’s not all bad,’ he thought. ’At least I don’t have to worry about the ritual failing for now. After all, the two of us are in the same boat.’
"Then let’s stick to the original plan and focus on defense."
"Right."
"Understood."
After their brief exchange, the three went their separate ways: some to inspect the defenses, some to help the residents, and others to research Magic. For the moment, the fortress fell quiet once more.
But it was a time of mixed fortunes. While Isaac and his companions were enjoying a moment of peace, Philo’s group was beginning to struggle.
For one thing, as they occupied more and more territory, the defensive pressure began to mount. After all, the Artificial Human army was not a conventional one; it lacked Transcendents interspersed within its ranks.
This weakness was manageable on the offensive. With her and Remington present—and especially with her Alchemy Puppets—they could largely compensate for the low number of Transcendents. This was particularly true since the enemy’s Artificial Human army also lacked Transcendents. All things considered, they actually held the advantage.
But once they were on the defensive, this weakness was rapidly magnified!
The enemy would only need a few Transcendents to cut right through an Artificial Human army that had none at all!
In a world where great power resides within the individual, the gap between a Transcendent and an ordinary person was vast. This was one of the reasons conventional armies needed Transcendents integrated into their ranks. Only a Transcendent could fight a Transcendent.
But you couldn’t form an army composed solely of Transcendents. After all, the cost of training one was quite high, and most factions couldn’t afford to support too many.
The lack of Transcendents was one problem Philo faced. Another was that she was short on people...
Not Artificial Humans, but real, flesh-and-blood people!
After all, according to their pre-arranged plan, these Artificial Humans were all expendable, destined to be fed into Isaac’s sacrificial ritual. But if they were all sacrificed, who would be left to guard the territories she had conquered?
Once the Itra Royal Family was gone, the entire Itra Kingdom would be up for grabs. At that point, it would belong to whoever acted fastest. The other powers wouldn’t show her any deference just because she was the Eldest Princess of the Terra Empire.
Therefore, she had to establish de facto rule over Itra before the final day arrived. And for that, she needed people. Lots and lots of people.
An army was the most urgent need. Administrative personnel were less of a concern; while the kingdom was rotten to the core, even a wreck has salvageable parts. She could probably scrape together enough staff to get by.
But an army...
’Conscripting locals? Their combat effectiveness would be no different than cannon fodder. Bringing them in from the outside...’
’It seems bringing them in is the only option...’
Philo’s gaze flickered. After a quick word with Remington, she immediately set off for Roton Fortress. She needed to discuss the feasibility of her plan.
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