Translator: AnubisTL
This wasn't actually a very advanced technology, just the most basic application of spatial knowledge—short-distance matter teleportation.
But for Jieming, this technology held immense strategic significance.
"If this technology could be miniaturized and integrated into the Black Giant's core... then in the future, when the Black Giant executes a self-destruct tactic, it could safely retrieve the most core 'life crystal core' through spatial teleportation at the instant the explosion ends!"
His eyes gleamed with anticipation. "No more worrying about the core being damaged in the explosion, or captured by the enemy and leaking our technological secrets!"
The thought of his terrifyingly numerous Black Giants—especially those two fifth-tier leaders—all becoming reusable "suicide trucks" sent a surge of excitement through Jieming. This would undoubtedly grant him immense tactical flexibility and deterrent power.
But after the excitement faded, a hint of worry clouded his expression.
"With this core recovery technology, combined with the Black Giants' near-infinite production potential backed by the seventh-tier elemental pool... the 'Shuttle Hunter' and 'Nest' cannon fodder units I researched before will be far less useful."
At least the "Nest" could still be kept in his internal space as a rapid reconstruction factory for the Black Giants.
But the "Shuttle Hunter," which purely pursued speed and destructive power, paled in comparison to the Black Giant army—which could revive infinitely and possessed absurdly high self-destruct power. In terms of numbers, destructive force, and functionality, it was now completely overshadowed and nearly obsolete.
"It seems I'll have to find a way to upgrade and strengthen the 'Shuttle Hunter' and the 'Nest'..." Jieming rubbed his chin, already brainstorming new design schemes.
He was used to this by now.
Such was the path of a wizard's growth: each major advancement demanded a complete overhaul of their knowledge and a revolution in their combat style.
Old tools would be discarded, but on their foundation, even more powerful ones would be forged.
"But time is of the essence." He glanced at the countdown on his magic net terminal. Only a few short years remained before he had to depart for the planar battlefield.
"I'll have to prioritize the installation of the spatial recovery modules on the black giant cores for only the most elite units. The two fifth-tier giants get priority, followed by a few high-potential fourth-tier ones."
Jieming didn't wait until the final deadline of his mandatory military service. Two years early, he submitted his application to participate in the planar war through the magic net terminal.
Almost the instant his application was confirmed, a highly encrypted war report was transmitted to his terminal.
Contrary to his expectations, it wasn't a briefing on the target plane's characteristics or the factions involved. It was merely an urgent intelligence report on the current state of the war.
After reading only the first few lines, Jieming's pupils constricted, and a wave of shock crashed through him.
The report's contents were horrifying: the planar battlefield he was being deployed to was not receiving its first wave of reinforcements—it was already on its second.
What was even more shocking was that the entire expeditionary force, led by multiple high-rank wizards, along with the first wave of reinforcements, had all fallen into that plane—and not a single word had been heard from them since.
If they had merely suffered heavy losses, it could be attributed to the enemy's overwhelming power.
But the situation described in the intelligence that followed carried a bone-chilling eeriness.
First, from the moment the expeditionary force stepped into that plane until the intelligence was sent, no useful information had been transmitted back.
No battle reports, no environmental data, no distress signals—even the pre-installed Emergency Communication Runes had vanished without a trace, like stones dropped into the ocean.
That plane was like a silent, gaping maw, swallowing everyone who entered, its stillness maddening.
Yet, in stark contrast to this deathly silence, the results of the remote life-sign monitoring—conducted through the Eternal Contract imprinted on every wizard's soul upon their initiation—revealed something else.
The contract's feedback showed that, aside from three confirmed-dead unlucky souls, all one million wizards trapped in that plane were alive!
Moreover, their life signs were impossibly stable. The data suggested they might not even have a single scratch on them!
This was too abnormal!
It defied the basic logic of planar warfare!
Even in the plane Black had encountered, which was renowned for its illusion magic, sporadic messages and warnings had managed to break through despite the initial difficulties in transmitting intelligence.
Moreover, the life signs of the wizards trapped in that illusionary realm had slowly deteriorated over time, and the death toll, in absolute numbers, was far from low.
But this plane?
One million trapped, only three dead, zero injuries, zero intelligence leaks!
It was as if they hadn't gone to war, but had instead fallen into a collective, dreamless slumber, or were being "preserved" intact by some mysterious force.
If Jieming hadn't confirmed that the ninth-tier wizards had already eliminated all planes possessing ninth-tier power while advancing the front lines, he would have assumed from this intelligence alone that a ninth-tier creature was hiding within this plane.
It was precisely because of this eerie state that the Star Ring Federation's higher-ups had not yet taken the most extreme measures—such as forcibly deploying multiple eighth-tier wizards.
Even if such a move might drive the indigenous inhabitants to desperation, forcing them to self-destruct the plane and take everyone down with them, resulting in a total loss, they would still have to intervene.
After all, as long as they could rescue these one million wizards, the loss of a single plane's benefits was not unacceptable.
But their patience had its limits.
Jieming understood perfectly. If this second wave of elite reinforcements met the same fate as the first two—vanishing into the plane while their life signs remained intact—the Thunderous Wrath of an eighth-tier wizard would descend in the next instant. They would tear through the plane's camouflage at any cost.
"As expected of a mission designed specifically for elite combat units..." Jieming set down his terminal, his brow furrowed. "The intelligence alone reeks of something sinister..."
He began rapidly analyzing every possibility in his mind.
Truthfully, his first instinct was that a ninth-tier power might be hidden within the plane. But he knew he wasn't the only one to reach this conclusion; the eighth-tier wizards commanding the operation would have already scanned for such a presence.
Since they had found nothing, there had to be another explanation.
"A super-tier illusion or a Mental Cage capable of completely blocking all information transmission? But what kind of illusion could trap a million wizards—including high-tier beings who can see through falsehoods—while keeping them all in near-perfect health?"
"Or is the plane's spatial structure uniquely complex? Perhaps there's an inner dimension isolated from the main plane, trapping the entire expeditionary force inside?"
"But with the knowledge and skills of the senior wizards in the expeditionary force, they shouldn't have failed to recognize a spatial trap. At the very least, they should have been able to send out a warning..."
After thinking it over, the most reasonable explanation was also the most troublesome one: what they were about to face was an unknown enemy or phenomenon that lay beyond the current scope of wizard civilization's knowledge.
"Fortunately... for now, there seems to be no immediate danger to my life." Jieming took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. "This is a rare opportunity to see firsthand what kind of thing could make a million wizards 'quietly' vanish."
The unknown often meant immense risk, but it could also hide unprecedented knowledge and opportunities.
For a wizard pursuing the truth, such a temptation was irresistible.
Of course, seeing was one thing, but he would never go in completely unprepared and just wait to die.
Fortunately, Jieming was quite confident in his own preparations.
"Whatever is in there," Jieming's eyes flashed with a strange light, "it won't be so easy to keep me there silently as well."
(End of the Chapter)
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