Call of war sounded sooner than Jie Ming had anticipated.
Less than a month after registering at the Junction, a sharp alert from the magic network terminal announced the summons to assemble.
The efficiency far exceeded Jie Ming’s expectations.
He swiftly checked all arrangements inside and outside the Golden Garden, ensuring everything was in order, then contacted Viola via the magic network’s communication rune.
Viola’s voice carried a faint thrill, confirming she’d received the same notice. They agreed to meet at the designated spot in the Junction.
Stepping onto the teleportation array, Jie Ming and Viola materialized amidst the warped spatial fragments of the Junction.
The place retained its surreal charm—vertical streets, floating shops, and bizarre otherworldly creatures and servants, all frozen in a strange harmony, like a still oil painting.
Yet, the air now carried not just vibrancy but a palpable tension and solemnity of impending war.
“Ready?” Viola’s voice rang out. She wore a sleek black leather outfit designed for mobility, two metallic staves crossed on her back, her face adorned with a confident smile.
“Anytime,” Jie Ming nodded.Clad in a black wizard robe, six floating cannon arrays hovered behind him like faint wings.
Viola’s smile faded slightly as she turned to him, her tone growing serious. “Jie Ming, in the war plane, aside from the native inhabitants, be extra cautious of wizards from the Tower of Annihilation and the Chaos Secret Cult.”
“Though our Noren Workshop collaborates with them, we’re not under the same faction. On the battlefield, profit comes first. It’s no surprise they’d do something extreme to seize spoils.”
“They won’t stab you in the back openly, but underhanded tricks are common.”
“Never fully trust your back to a wizard from a different faction,” Viola said, her words concise and direct.
Jie Ming’s expression hardened, and he nodded solemnly. “Understood, Senior Sister. I’ll be careful.”
He knew the pragmatism of wizards. Their rationality meant that sufficient profit could drive them to act decisively.
The two waited at the Junction for two more days.
In that time, wizards from the three major factions poured in, filling the hall with a cacophony of voices that roared like thunder.
Most wizards wore standard or custom robes, adorned with various magical artifacts.
Their bodies emanated distinct elemental fluctuations, their mingled auras creating a peculiar oppressive force.
Finally, the moment of assembly arrived.
Tens of thousands of wizards packed the registration hall, spilling onto the “streets” outside.
The majority were first- and second-tier wizards, the cannon fodder and executors forming the backbone of the wizard legion.
Third-tier and above high-tier wizards were rarer, typically serving as squad commanders or elite forces for strategic points.
Fourth-tier wizards were exceedingly scarce, each drawing the crowd’s attention.
As the wizards awaited orders, the sky above the Junction, usually a backdrop of chaotic void, was suddenly shrouded by a massive shadow.
The sky darkened abruptly, and an indescribable colossal outline, like the body of a prehistoric beast, slowly emerged from the void.
It was a barren land, covered in scorched mountains and deep chasms, exuding an ancient, primal aura.
“That’s the war plane leased by the Junction,” Viola explained, looking up at the continent floating in the void. “It’s our ‘ship’ for this campaign.”
“Ship?”
Jie Ming recalled his rare trips to other planes—one via teleportation, another by being thrown in by a high-tier wizard from the workshop.
“The Elosia plane was an exception. Normally, beyond each plane lies the infinitely vast chaotic void,” Viola began, educating him.
“Though called a void, it’s not a true vacuum devoid of energy or matter. On the contrary, the chaotic void teems with abundant scattered elements, far richer than any plane’s interior. The key lies in the ‘chaos’ part.”
She paused, pointing to the barren plane in the sky and the faint, wavering forces around the Junction’s spatial fragments. “The fundamental elements we know—earth, fire, wind, water—are governed by rules within a plane, stably forming matter, energy, space, and time.”
“But in the chaotic void beyond, extreme disorder reigns. It’s not just filled with scattered, complex matter and energy—time and space are chaotic too. Time may speed up or slow down, space may twist and fold, and rules shift constantly.”
“For ordinary beings exposed to the chaotic void, the distorted time, space, and rules would tear them apart, reducing them to nothingness,” Viola warned. “Only sixth-tier wizards and above can roam outside planes.”
Jie Ming nodded thoughtfully, already aware of this.
Sixth-tier wizards could survive the chaotic void because they mastered law stabilization techniques.
This technique, applicable to objects and themselves, allowed them to maintain a temporary stable zone in the void, enabling brief stays.
“But even sixth-tier wizards can’t linger long in the chaotic void,” Viola continued. “Beyond the distorted laws, time, and space, the chaotic matter and energy constantly erode a wizard’s existence. Even sixth-tier wizards can’t withstand that endless attrition for long.”
“Planes, in essence, are rare miracles in the infinite chaotic void,” Viola said, pointing to the vast barren continent above with a hint of awe.
“When certain elements align perfectly by chance, they form a plane’s embryo. When these element clusters exceed a certain mass, they spontaneously form a plane barrier.”
“A plane barrier can assimilate and absorb all chaotic elements from the void into the plane, maintaining its stability and growth. It’s a natural assimilation ability born from amassed elements, actively excluding all foreign chaotic matter and energy.”
Viola’s explanation clarified things for Jie Ming.
“And we low-tier wizards can’t breach the chaotic void or plane barriers on our own,” Jie Ming responded instinctively. “But high-tier wizards need our strength as cannon fodder and executors. So, they use a ‘plane’ as a ‘ship’ to carry us through the void and break the target plane’s barrier.”
“Exactly! Not bad for a student Mentor Clark values—you’re sharp!” Viola smiled approvingly. “But high-tier wizards needing low-tier wizards’ strength typically don’t own their own planes. If they did, they’d form their own vassal legions, no need to share spoils with us. That’s why the Junction offers plane leasing.”
Jie Ming marveled silently.
Viola’s words resolved many of his lingering questions.
No wonder sixth-tier wizards, despite their immense power, lived like workhorses.
Leasing war planes to traverse the void and hiring wizards for expeditions cost real resources and knowledge.
Even after conquering a target plane, transforming it, building wizard towers, and establishing energy networks demanded more resources.
Mentor Clark, with his own wizard tower and private plane, was a pinnacle existence among wizards, his wealth and power beyond imagination.
As Viola spoke, all wizards in the hall turned their gazes to the barren continent above—their warship.
At that moment, four figures descended from the floating plane.
They hovered in midair, like four towering mountains, exuding indescribable might.
Three were fifth-tier wizards.
Their auras were profound yet restrained, faint law fluctuations rippling around them. Though merely natural emissions, they made most low-tier wizards below struggle to breathe, awestruck.
The fourth, leading the group, was the sixth-tier wizard initiating this campaign.
Not tall, he was the center of the world.
He emitted no deliberate pressure, yet his mere presence made the surrounding space feel stagnant.
Each subtle movement seemed to align with universal laws, exuding an irresistible, incomprehensible strength.
Though Jie Ming often interacted with Mentor Clark and Noren Academy’s high-tier wizards, facing fifth- and sixth-tier wizards from other factions still tightened his chest.
It was a visceral reaction, a primal fear in his soul when encountering an overwhelming superior.
Even the three fifth-tier wizards beside the leader were enough to make Jie Ming’s body tremble involuntarily.
He realized he’d grown accustomed to the restrained demeanor of Noren Academy’s mentors, mistaking their subdued power for the norm.
It was like seeing a tiger in a zoo behind thick bars, dismissing it as lazy or clumsy.
But encountering a real tiger in the wild, unarmed, even if gaunt and lean, its predatory aura would still make one’s heart quake and legs weaken.