Jie Ming briefly recalled and calculated that the number of logistical wizards in this expedition was just over 270.
Compared to the total of over 30,000 wizards, logistical wizards made up less than 1%!
“So few logistical wizards?” Jie Ming couldn’t help but exclaim, then realized something, his expression darkening. “Does that mean…”
Viola nodded in agreement, finishing his thought. “There’s plenty of work ahead for you, so cherish this ‘easy’ time while it lasts! I suggest stocking up on a few vials of energy potions…”
Watching Viola walk away elegantly, Jie Ming’s mouth twitched. “This… is ‘easy’?!?”
If he remembered correctly, he hadn’t slept in days, had he?
If this was “easy,” what would “busy” look like?!
Wait!
That meant…
He’d come to fight in a campaign, so how had he unknowingly become a workhorse again?!Was being a workhorse the ultimate fate of logistical wizards?!
Leaving the shaken Jie Ming aside, as time passed, logistical wizards uncovered more discoveries.
In just a few days, they identified over a hundred rare resources!
This fully confirmed Master Erwin’s intelligence—this plane was indeed a vast treasure trove!
Even energy crystals used as universal energy in wizard civilization—like pure elemental cores and mana crystals—were practically ubiquitous in the Flame-Frost Plane!
Nearly every lava vein or icy spring harbored unmined clusters of raw crystal, their energy density astonishing, making every harvesting wizard’s eyes gleam.
Beyond researching these precious resources, the logistical wizards’ primary task was analyzing local creatures and elemental data.
This supported frontline combat wizards and provided high-tier wizards with a basis for long-term strategic planning.
Due to the severe shortage of personnel, even a lower-tier wizard like Jie Ming, specialized in Alchemy Technique and rune studies, was assigned a seemingly simple but critical task—analyzing the biological data of captured lava giants.
He needed to dissect, analyze, and study them thoroughly.
Their weaknesses, physiological structure, elemental affinities, and even social behaviors.
“Bring it in,” Jie Ming said through the internal communication rune.
Soon, a team of alchemical puppets and low-tier wizards escorted a bound, unconscious lava giant into his temporary lab.
Even in its coma, the giant radiated stifling heat.
Standing seven to eight meters tall, its broad shoulders resembled small hills.
Its body was formed of twisted, solidified red rock, riddled with irregular edges and cracks, like a demon born from a volcano.
Thin streams of molten lava flowed slowly across its surface, snaking through crevices like veins, emitting faint sulfur and charred odors.
Its limbs were thick as pillars, with only three fingers and toes, each tipped with robust black nails, sharp as iron shovels.
Its eyes were pure energy, like smoldering embers, glowing faintly red even when closed.
Steam wisped from its mouth and nose, proof of its persistent internal heat.
Despite being captured and subdued, each breath made the air scorchingly dry.
Jie Ming donned special rune gloves, the All-Purpose Eye flaring brightly in his gaze.
He aimed to unearth every secret hidden within this lava giant’s body.
Activating the All-Purpose Eye, his vision transcended physical appearances.
The world transformed in his sight.
The soft glow of Blazegrass, the energy ripples within Iceburst Crystal, and the microscopic movements of the lava giant’s tissues became vividly clear.
“Begin analysis,” Jie Ming murmured, activating the nearby recorder.
As he engaged the All-Purpose Eye, he employed Alchemy Technique, his mental force surging like a tide, permeating the giant’s body with penetrating insight.
Starting with the external tissues, the surface appeared as solid rock. Through the All-Purpose Eye’s microscopic vision, Jie Ming discovered they weren’t mere mineral deposits but highly active skin and tissue!
This “rock skin” was composed of dense, elastic mineral crystals. Even under microscopic scrutiny, tiny energy veins flickered within.
When struck, these crystals partially disintegrated, rapidly drawing energy from within to reform, granting terrifying self-repair capabilities.
More astonishingly, the flowing lava on its surface was another form of its skin!
Not mere secretions, it was the external manifestation of the giant’s living plasma blood.
Rich in fire elements, this plasma liquid fueled the body and exchanged heat with the environment, maintaining a stable core furnace.
Normally, this living lava thinly coated the “rock skin,” giving the giants their iconic red glow and fearsome heat.
Recording these findings via the recorder, Jie Ming shifted focus to the giant’s overall physical condition.
“Good thing I’m versed in rune studies, or this would’ve been impossible to calculate,” he muttered.
By analyzing the giant’s energy fluctuations and system efficiency, he found that even this ordinary adult specimen, assessed via the All-Purpose Eye for energy density, strength matrices, and elemental circulation, far surpassed typical creatures.
Unexaggeratedly, even the average adult lava giant reached the level of a first-tier being.
Elite individuals, like those clashing with wizard cannon fodder, could reach second-tier strength.
He delved deeper, probing the giant’s sensory and physiological systems.
Their visual system was entirely unlike humans’.
Their eyes weren’t lenses and retinas but two glowing “molten cores.”
Through the All-Purpose Eye, Jie Ming found these were highly sensitive to elemental energy and heat fluctuations.
They could “see” heat flow trajectories, lava pulse frequencies, and even distant elemental array radiation.
Requiring minimal visible light, their vision relied on pure fire element perception, seeing clearly in darkness as long as heat or fire elements were present.
Their auditory system was even stranger.
Jie Ming found no obvious ear structures, but internal resonance cavities and mineral crystals in the head captured vibrations.
Insensitive to high frequencies, they excelled at detecting low-frequency infrasound and ground tremors.
Lava giants could sense distant armies, volcanic lava activity, or impending geological shifts with ease.
This was a highly adapted seismic or vibration-sensing ability for volcanic environments.
Most surprising was that, despite their elemental nature, lava giants had a complete digestive system!
Under Alchemy Technique and All-Purpose Eye analysis, a complex, efficient digestive tract emerged, formed of layered molten rock, capable of breaking down minerals.
They didn’t rely solely on elemental energy, even consuming fleshy creatures—Jie Ming found undigested biological remains in its esophagus.
This upended his understanding of elemental beings.
This system allowed them to draw energy from diverse sources, supplementing pure elemental energy.
He noted that, despite appearing as moving lava and rock, they required breathing.
Even in a magically induced coma, hot waves and faint airflow moved rhythmically through cracks in its head and torso, indicating breathing was essential.
This wasn’t for oxygen but for heat pumping and elemental conversion, stabilizing the core furnace and expelling metabolic impurities.
Unsurprisingly, lava giants excelled at fire-based attacks.
Their surfaces could conjure scorching lava and flames, igniting surroundings with a single strike.
Naturally immune to fire, heat, and most heat-based toxins, their core furnace converted fire energy into strength, making fire spells akin to nourishment.
Through deeper study, Jie Ming uncovered a startling racial trait.
In prolonged high-heat environments, like volcanic cores or under sustained fire spells, lava giants underwent a qualitative shift into a semi-liquid molten state.
Their “rock skin” softened and flowed, losing fixed form, rendering physical strikes nearly ineffective as attacks passed through or were absorbed.
Even if part of their body was destroyed, they could regenerate by drawing nearby lava or through remarkable natural recovery!
Their tissues could switch between “rock solid” and “molten liquid,” adapting freely.
By absorbing external lava, they could drastically boost strength and regeneration speed temporarily.
This adaptive ability made them near-invincible in fiery environments.
Moreover, focusing the All-Purpose Eye on their heat stabilization, Jie Ming was shocked to find they weren’t immediately vulnerable to cold!
When hit with extreme cold, like snow-beast frost breath or wizard ice spells, their surface “rock skin” rapidly cooled, forming a porous insulating layer.
Like thermal expansion and contraction, their internal living lava retracted to the core, while the exterior formed a hard, porous shield to insulate the molten core.
This allowed temporary resistance to freezing damage, making small-scale cold attacks less effective than imagined.
But this resistance came at a cost.
In extreme cold, this “low-temperature rigidity” didn’t destroy them but slowed their life energy cycle.
Their potent regeneration weakened significantly, and mobility slowed, resembling dormancy or stiffness.
This discovery made Jie Ming’s eyes gleam.
“Record: Hypothesized effective killing methods based on research…”
He swiftly drafted a preliminary tactical analysis on his magic network terminal:
“Employ cold attacks first!” Jie Ming recorded. “Use ice spells or other low-temperature attacks to force the lava giant’s surface skin into an insulating ‘rigid’ state. In this state, their regeneration is greatly weakened. Then, physical attacks can efficiently kill them!”
Ordinary fire attacks were nearly useless, and pure physical strikes were ineffective in their liquid or regenerating states.
Combining cold and physical strikes bypassed their two main defenses.
“Additionally, suffocation spells could be surprisingly effective, though not lethal, slowing their actions temporarily.”
However, most suffocation spells targeted respiratory channels, likely ineffective against the giants’ physiology.
Still, with the vast array of wizard spells, suitable ones could be found.
“Also, high-frequency sound waves could deal effective damage…”
He uploaded the analysis to the magic network, sending it to the warzone’s senior commanders.
“As expected, every creature has its weaknesses.”
Rubbing his weary forehead, Jie Ming’s lips curved slightly as he deactivated the All-Purpose Eye.