When most wizards followed their mission orders and entered those metal-forged fortress nodes,
And integrated their mental power into the cores, taking over control authority,
Jie Ming was astonished to discover that the “ship plane,” which had always borne them and seemed utterly ordinary, was beginning to “deform.”
That grand and profound rumbling was not coming from the outside, but erupting from the plane’s very depths, from within outward!
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
The barren plain beneath his feet began to shake violently, cracks spiderwebbing out in all directions. Then!
The central ground of the ship plane was torn apart as if by an invisible giant hand.
Blazing rune lights erupted from the torn abyss, illuminating the entire sky!
In Jie Ming’s shocked gaze, a super-giant cannon made entirely of unknown metal, inscribed with densely packed complex runes, slowly rose from it like a prehistoric behemoth.
The main cannon’s barrel mouth alone had a diameter of over ten kilometers, like a gaping abyssal maw!Its barrel extended to depths unknown within the ship plane.
During the cannon’s ascent, terrifying energy fluctuations distorted the surrounding space, emanating an aura of destruction capable of annihilating all things.
Besides this super-giant cannon with its ten-kilometer-wide mouth and indeterminate length as the main weapon, countless other armaments emerged one after another from various parts of the plane, sprouting like new life breaking through soil!
From space-annihilation cannons that directly obliterated matter through spatial distortion, to shield generators capable of withstanding plane-level attacks, to elemental field suppressors that could inhibit enemy elemental control…
And innumerable energy railguns, rune missile bays, even floating fortresses hidden in the high-altitude cloud layers.
In mere seconds, the entire ship plane transformed from its originally mundane barren surface into a war fortress bristling with weapons like a porcupine.
Its form, its energy fluctuations, all proclaimed its true identity.
What ship was this?
It was clearly a war fortress built upon a plane’s foundation, modified by wizards!
Jie Ming stared at the scene before him, dumbfounded.
He finally understood why the plane’s surface was a wasteland, without even proper cities or ecosystems.
It was simply because the entire plane had been armed and modified, with all internal energy concentrated in core areas to power these terrifying armaments!
The ship plane itself, from the very beginning, was no mere “transport vessel,” but a thoroughly refitted, armed-to-the-teeth super warship!
“Isn’t it a surprise?”
A voice laced with a teasing smile rang in Jie Ming’s ear.
Viola appeared beside him like a ghost, silent and undetected, her silver-gray eyes now gleaming with excitement!
“This is Wizard Augustine’s… trump card against a miraculous creature like the Flame and Frost Plane.”
Viola’s voice still carried that sickly pleasure, but now it was laced with a bone-deep pride.
She explained to Jie Ming: “After Augustine learned the truth about the Flame and Frost Plane from the information provided by the two monster kings, El and the others, he began designing a comprehensive plan.”
“Forcing a withdrawal from the Flame and Frost Plane back to the boundary point for reinforcements wasn’t just to lower the living plane’s guard and land a heavy blow on it.” Viola paused, her gaze flicking toward the lava giant and snow monster legions hovering above the ship plane. “It was also because the current number of wizards was far from enough to fully operate this ultimate war fortress. To get this behemoth fully moving requires a massive wizard legion coordinating in battle!”
Viola’s explanation set Jie Ming’s mind racing, and he realized another key issue: “So… when did Master Augustine learn the truth about this plane? And did you… know about all this in advance too?”
He looked at Viola with burning intensity.
Viola admitted it without hesitation, even with an expression of “you’ve finally figured it out.”
“The truth about the Flame and Frost Plane was already obtained from the two monster kings—Snow Monster King Aglon and Lava Giant King Karmos—right after we landed and Master Elwin first clashed with them,” Viola explained. “From that moment on, all wizards at level three and above knew the relevant information and began secretly preparing for today’s situation.”
“As for why only level three and above knew…” Viola flashed a mischievous smile. “Naturally, because only wizards who have reached level three have truly mastered their own rule powers.”
“Only wizards of that level can prevent their information from being probed by the plane’s origin. Low-level wizards can use some other tricks, but they can’t achieve deeper ‘falsehoods.’ So, to avoid alerting the enemy, keeping low-level wizards in the dark was only natural.”
Jie Ming couldn’t help but sigh at this, realizing that all wizards at level two and below had essentially been treated as cannon fodder in this conflict.
But he also acknowledged that what Viola said was correct.
The wizard ranking system did have its profound considerations.
Unlike the myriad complex conditions for advancing to level one or two wizards, advancement from level three to six had only two hard requirements:
First, mental power intensity meeting the standard;
Second, the mastery percentage of any “rule.”
If fully comprehending all knowledge and operations of a single rule was considered 100% progress, then a level two wizard, upon reaching the mental power standard, could advance to level three by achieving the minimum threshold for wielding rule power in some domain.
That is, mastering 0.1% of a single rule.
Level four wizards required 1% mastery.
Level five wizards required 10% mastery.
And only by completely mastering all mysteries and knowledge of an entire rule could one ultimately advance to “level six wizard.”
At that point, the wizard’s very existence became the embodiment of the rule!
Dealing with a powerful entity like a living plane required utmost caution; any leak could lead to total failure.
“Indeed… strength is everything.” Jie Ming exhaled.
Soon, he realized another issue: “Since level three wizards already knew these secrets and participated in the plan… then when we were discussing the geological issues back then, you were actually acting?!”
“Yeah.” Viola’s eyes narrowed in laughter.
Especially sensing the tangled aura emanating from Jie Ming upon hearing her answer, it made her laugh even more brightly.
“This is…” Jie Ming didn’t know what to say.
He still remembered how, during their discussion back then, Viola had seriously speculated about possible special technologies in the two monster groups.
“Is this the acting prowess of the older generation? I have to admit, it was seamless, even fooling your own people.” In that instant, Jie Ming even felt a sense of defeat.
After a moment’s thought, he changed the subject: “Then you… Senior Sister Viola, why are you here with me? You’re a level three wizard; you should have a more important mission, right?”
Viola shrugged at his words, her face once again showing that slightly cynical yet confident smile.
She nodded, indicating that yes, she did.
“Oh? So what’s your mission?” Jie Ming asked curiously.
“My mission…” Viola smiled meaningfully, then pivoted with a line that left Jie Ming speechless. “It’s extremely important, so… I’m actually quite free right now.”
“You…” Jie Ming started to retort, but Viola interrupted him.
“Get ready, dear Junior Jie Ming!” Viola patted his shoulder. “Your mission is about to begin!”
Jie Ming blinked, too preoccupied to continue chatting with Viola about her riddle-like mission.
Because, just as the ship plane fully completed its “transformation,” the mouth of its massive main cannon began gathering terrifying energy capable of ending planes!
At the same time, the living plane below let out an earth-shattering roar of fury!
The two planes had officially gone to war!
Boom!!!
The battle between planes transcended any conventional understanding—simple and brutal, yet grand to the extreme!
The ship plane’s super main cannon fired first, unleashing a void-shaking roar.
A blazing white beam over ten kilometers thick, composed of pure energy, tore through the void with the might to melt all matter, passing through the spatial rift to bombard the living plane below!
Wherever the beam passed, space twisted and annihilated, even the rift connecting the planes seeming to wail in sorrow.
But the living plane showed no weakness.
Its “magma mouth” suddenly gaped wide, unleashing thick torrents of magma laced with destructive fire element rules and countless scorching rock meteorites as ammunition, counterattacking like a storm of fury!
At the same time, its “eyes”—the red and blue giant gas clusters symbolizing the Blazing Sun Realm and Frost Dark Realm—began spinning madly, ejecting beams of extraordinarily fearsome energy!
One was a high-temperature beam brimming with incinerating power to burn all things, the other a time-distortion beam that instantly aged targets to withered bones.
Buzz buzz buzz!!!
The shield generators around the ship plane activated in an instant.
A transparent energy barrier of composite runes rapidly expanded around the hull, blocking the vast majority of attacks!
Yet even so, each impact from the magma torrents, each projection from the eyes of time, made the ship plane’s body groan deeply.
Mountains on the plane’s surface collapsed in the aftershocks of energy clashes, icebergs vaporized in an instant!
This was no longer a war between wizards and monsters, but a clash between two intelligences and lives unfolding in the void!