Translator: AnubisTL
Clark quickly changed the subject, steering the conversation back to the matter at hand.
His expression turned serious, and his voice deepened slightly as he said, "You handle Jieming as you see fit. Getting back to the point, I'm contacting you to inform you that the reinforcements for Augustine's forces have been approved."
Master Clark's face grew grave. "The junction point just approved the transfer of an additional 30,000 wizards to the Flamefrost Plane."
"Reinforcements?" Viola's expression didn't relax; instead, it grew even more serious. "This is... problematic."
"Indeed. Your situation there is likely to become much more dangerous for some time to come," Master Clark said, his tone becoming even heavier.
There were only a few methods for mass-transferring wizards to other planes, and two years was too short a time to establish a stable teleportation formation at this camp.
Therefore, the best current option was to reactivate the "Ship" Plane and bring the reinforcements back to the battlefield.
"This is really troublesome," Viola said, shaking her head. "Augustine seems to be the only sixth-tier wizard on this expedition. That means he's the only one who can pilot the plane."
"If he does that..." Clark's voice was clear and methodical, "the highest combat power in the Flamefrost Plane war will be completely removed from the battlefield for a long time."
This meant that while Augustine was away, the wizard legion on the Flamefrost Plane would lose its supreme leader and its most potent suppression force.
"Moreover..." Master Clark's tone grew grave, "without the ship plane as a transit hub and support base, your communication links with the main plane's leadership will become extremely fragile. I doubt even regular communication will function properly."
"Worse still, if the ship plane is gone, the wizards on the Flamefrost Plane will lose their only escape route!"
The ship plane wasn't merely a transport vehicle; it was a mobile energy hub and communication relay station.
If not for the Ship Plane, all the wizards would be trapped in this otherworld, losing all possibility of returning to the main plane or requesting reinforcements.
This would mean they would be completely isolated!
"Based on the chaotic time flow between the two planes, once the Ship Plane departs, the time for a round trip would be enough for the Flamefrost Plane to experience ten years. Viola, you and Jieming must be extremely careful," Clark warned his students with a sigh.
"Understood, Mentor," Viola replied calmly. "But why aren't you letting us leave with the 'Ship'?"
Clark stared at her impassively. "Would you really pass up such a golden opportunity?"
After a moment of silence, Viola suddenly flashed a brilliant smile. "It's rare to witness such despair and anguish among so many wizards. How could I possibly miss this!"
Clark didn't comment on her answer, merely shaking his head as if he had expected it. "Your character remains as vile as ever... Never mind. I can't reach Jieming. When he returns, make sure you tell him about this."
The communication cut off abruptly.
The light screen flickered out, and the office fell silent once more.
Viola didn't immediately enter a resting state. She lay on the soft sofa, contemplating what lay ahead.
But it wasn't long before she couldn't help but abruptly sit up.
Her slender, graceful body leaned forward slightly, an unmistakable look of intoxication on her face as she gazed intently at the laboratory door.
Just moments ago, she had sensed a stirring sensation nearby—one she knew all too well.
It was the return of her genius junior brother.
Soon, two soft, rhythmic knocks echoed at the door, and a figure appeared in the doorway.
He looked as he always did, though a barely perceptible weariness lingered. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss.
It was Jieming!
A perfect, satisfied smile finally bloomed across Viola's lips.
After witnessing the magnificent yet terrifying Sea of Fiend Qi, Jieming decisively and swiftly flew upward.
He pushed his body to its absolute limit, runes flaring around him to counteract the crushing pressure emanating from the depths of the earth.
As he soared upward, Jieming didn't forget the "entrance" he had created.
Mental power flowed through his fingertips as he used alchemy to reshape the surrounding rock and soil.
The massive pit he had violently blasted open now began to visibly "knead" and "close" according to his will.
The earth itself possessed the concept of "bearing." Thick layers of rock and frozen soil, with their inherent inertia and resilience, could withstand unimaginable pressure.
In theory, any sufficiently thick layer of earth could serve as the ultimate seal, completely burying everything below.
However, the process of "kneading" all the torn rock strata and soil back together was as agonizing as the earlier, exhilaratingly swift, and unrestrained excavation had been!
This was not merely a massive drain of mental power; it was an ultimate test of his mental fortitude.
Jieming had never imagined that twisting rock could be so difficult.
As the scale of the engineering project grew, he had to calculate the gravity and structure of each stone, sense the tremors of the earth meridian, and painstakingly repair the colossal pit—hundreds of meters in diameter and hundreds of kilometers deep—from the inside out, until it was completely sealed!
Hiss...
Sharp pains shot through Jieming's brain.
He felt his mental power being squeezed dry like a sponge, repeatedly pushed to its absolute limit.
Whenever his mental power was about to run out, he would unhesitatingly swallow a magic potion to restore it, and then throw himself back into the monumental repair work.
Finally, after Jieming had drained his mental power several times over, the "Restoration" project finally neared completion.
As he released the final round of alchemy, the frozen earth beneath his feet silently returned to its original state.
The land looked as if it had never been torn apart, and not a single trace of his earlier bombardment remained.
Jieming knew this was merely an illusion.
Beneath the surface lay a Sea of Fiend Qi vast enough to annihilate high-rank wizards.
Standing on the repaired ground, he exhaled a long, turbid breath.
After a moment's thought, he still felt uneasy. He retrieved several high-quality energy crystals from his internal space and crushed them.
Using these as a base, Jieming drained all the true essence from his body and cast a specialized spell designed to stabilize the Sea of Fiend Qi.
"Go!" he directed the spell at the "trace point" he had re-concealed beneath his feet, a spell that had drained all his true essence.
The spell sank into the earth like an invisible nail, completely pinning down that area.
Jieming knew that this single spell could never truly contain the vast, bottomless Sea of Fiend Qi.
But combined with the thick earth seal he had previously created and the seal he had initially placed at the cave entrance,
At least this small area's Yin Fiend Qi would temporarily calm down, preventing further seepage.
As for the Yin Fiend Qi, its eruption elsewhere didn't concern Jieming. As long as it didn't erupt in his territory and expose his secret exploration, everything was fine. Even if the wizard legion acted unusually, that had nothing to do with him.
After tidying up all loose ends, Jieming composed himself. He then casually returned to the relatively safe outpost. There, he briefly logged the mission details and used the outpost's teleportation formation to return to the wizard main camp.
As he stepped out of the formation, the familiar surge of chaotic energy washed over him, a stark contrast to the icy cold of the Frostdark Realm.
Jieming went to his quarters. Only when he pulled out his magic net terminal did he notice an unread communication request, marked as failed due to poor signal. He opened it and saw it was from his mentor, Clark.
"Huh..." Jieming scratched his head.
He had turned off his terminal in the Frostdark Realm to maintain secrecy. He never expected anyone to try and contact him.
He thought for a moment. If his mentor couldn't reach him, he would likely contact Senior Sister Viola.
Interplanar communication in other worlds required using the camp's own communication system, and that system was often... very expensive!
Rather than paying the exorbitant cost to contact them, he might as well go to Viola's lab and check on her.
Besides, after clearing out the entire Snow Monster City, he had gathered some intelligence he could share with her.
Having made up his mind, Jieming turned and headed toward Viola's lab, located on the top floor in the camp's core area.
When he reached the lab door, he knocked lightly.
The door slid open silently, revealing a neat and spacious interior.
Viola sat in her armchair, holding a glass of deep blue liquid, her posture as perfect as ever.
She looked up at Jieming, her ice-blue eyes deep and calm, as if they could see through everything.
Yet the moment their gazes met, Jieming still instinctively felt a pang of discomfort.
Even though he had witnessed countless grand spectacles, Jieming always sensed something else in the depths of Senior Sister Viola's gaze—not ordinary concern, nor simple admiration.
It was more like a biologist observing a rare, specially-abled "precious experimental subject" during a critical growth phase.
This feeling of being scrutinized made every cell in his body subtly resist.
"You rushed to find me as soon as you returned. It seems you had quite the 'harvest' in the Frostdark Realm," Viola said softly, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"You jest, Senior Sister," Jieming sighed inwardly, forcing a weary smile. "I just saw my mentor had messaged me, but the signal in the Frostdark Realm was too poor to connect. I thought if he'd contacted me, he might have reached out to you as well."
"Mentor Clark did indeed contact me," Viola nodded, setting down her cup and gesturing for Jieming to sit. "He asked about your situation and mentioned some significant recent developments in the planes."
The two then began exchanging news about Mentor Clark.
"This situation is indeed concerning," Jieming said, his brow furrowing slightly, his tone grave.
"Both sides acting simultaneously, and such a massive withdrawal of high-rank combat forces... it's obvious there's some hidden operation behind this. But if we withdraw our top combat power and our retreat routes now, even if we could suppress them in a fight, it would be far from secure."
"Lord Augustine must be aware of the events on the Flamefrost Plane. Making such a decision now... it's really... inappropriate."
Jieming paused slightly before choosing his words carefully. He actually wanted to say, "Is this guy an idiot?"
In his opinion, even the most passive response—maintaining the status quo until the enemy made their move—would be more sensible than hastily withdrawing to request reinforcements. At least let's get through this current wave of attacks first!
Viola, however, remained surprisingly calm, a peculiar "excitement" in her eyes.
"Since Mentor Clark has already sent word, the decision to recall troops has likely been finalized. But don't hold such a grudge. High-rank wizards operate on a completely different level of understanding and information than we do. What seems like a strange move might actually be part of a larger, hidden strategy."
Jieming pondered this carefully and shook his head in disappointment.
With the intelligence he possessed, he couldn't fathom any logical reason for such a decision.
At best, he could only speculate that Augustine might be luring the enemy deeper, using the wizards in the camp as bait to draw the creatures of the Flamefrost Plane into a full-scale assault.
But even this theory had glaring flaws, the most critical being the chaotic temporal currents.
The temporal distortions outside the Flamefrost Plane were far beyond normal. Even a one-second delay could skip over days of time.
However, after Viola's reminder, Jieming began to understand.
Few high-rank wizards were foolish. Augustine must have his own reasons.
"Sigh... I hope this wizard doesn't push us too far. Otherwise, the rest of us left here will be in grave danger."
"Crisis, naturally, it is a crisis. But for us, it also means opportunity," Viola said, gently stroking her fair chin as her gaze drifted through the window, as if she could already see the blood-red future of the Flamefrost Plane.
"You're right. The battles ahead will inevitably be far more brutal than before," she murmured, her voice devoid of worry, instead carrying a hint of eagerness.
After a long pause, she finally turned back to Jieming. "However, the risks are relatively manageable. After all, those three deputy commanders will remain behind this time."
Jieming's unease eased slightly at this. Three fifth-tier wizards working together would indeed be sufficient to handle most crises.
"Still, I'm rather surprised," Viola said, her eyes returning to Jieming with a playful, probing look. "After hearing about this major strategic shift and learning that Master Augustine is about to leave the Ship Plane, don't you plan to leave with it? That would be the safest way to avoid the danger."
Jieming glanced at her without answering directly. "There are many reasons why I won't leave. But as for why you're not returning, Senior Sister, that's quite simple."
Jieming's voice was calm, but his words were as sharp as a blade, mercilessly exposing Viola's true nature. "You're planning to stay and witness firsthand the agony these wizards will endure in the upcoming, infinitely brutal conflict, aren't you?"
Instead of stiffening, Viola's smile grew even more radiant.
"Heh..." Viola chuckled softly, her laughter like the collision of ice crystals—crisp yet tinged with a chilling edge.
"So, my junior brother has seen through me. That's right." She made no attempt to conceal her true purpose, even showing a hint of pride.
"That ultimate bloodshed, those wizards struggling for survival in the face of utter despair and agony—the 'sparks' that erupt from the depths of their souls... those are among the most exquisite 'art' I've ever longed to behold."
Seeing Viola's unashamed, even proud, obsession with such morbid things, Jieming couldn't help but sigh deeply.
"I'm beginning to doubt what your true intentions were when we first met..."
"Oh? Have I been discovered?" A complex light flickered in Viola's silver-gray eyes.
"Really?" Jieming's face twitched.
Viola tilted her head. "Of course. The moment you produced that magic potion, I knew you and those two youngsters weren't on the same path. That's when I decided to help you..."
Jieming felt as though he finally understood her twisted logic and couldn't help but cover his face.
"So... you wanted to watch the pain in their hearts as they realized their own shortcomings and decided to part ways with me?"
"You're quite clever!"
Jieming shook his head, genuine helplessness in his eyes.
"Senior Sister, your personality is... truly awful," he said.
Yet Viola didn't seem ashamed; instead, she took it as a badge of honor.
She even rose slightly, as if displaying a priceless treasure, her voice filled with deep pride. "It is my honor."
Jieming shook his head and said nothing more.
He knew arguing with such a person about good and evil was pointless.
After all, even though Senior Sister Viola enjoyed watching suffering, she had never actually harmed the interests of other wizards.
In a way, Viola had even shown him considerable care.
In this situation, Jieming had no standing or qualification to criticize Viola's personal preferences or say anything more.
Or rather, the conflicted emotions displayed by anyone who knew her true nature were exactly the kind of suffering she wanted to see...
"Thank you for telling me, Senior Sister. I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
Jieming stood up, gave Viola a slight nod, and left her laboratory.
Can't afford to cross her. Time to go!
The metal door behind him closed silently, sealing away Viola's smile of morbid satisfaction.
(End of the Chapter)
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