Chapter 247: The whole army was wiped out on the first day

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dull, thunderous strikes echoed through the sky, occasionally accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering bone.

Under the relentless assault of the dark, writhing tentacles, Milton's bone armor quickly began to crack and disintegrate, scattering fragments that rained down like a snowstorm. The rate of regeneration couldn't keep up with the pace of destruction.

In just a few breaths, the once-thick armor was in shambles, riddled with so many cracks that Milton's figure could now be glimpsed through the gaps.

"Damn it!"

Milton's face twisted in anger and frustration. Letting out a sharp, furious roar, he detonated the remnants of his bone armor, the shards exploding outward in all directions.

These bone fragments seemed to carry a corrosive energy, leaving dents and pits on the sturdy metal tentacles they struck.

Piece by piece, the black tentacles were riddled with holes, and several even snapped entirely.

Hiss!

The tentacles quickly recoiled.

Milton finally managed to catch his breath. It was only now that he got a clear look at his ambushers.

They were four colossal squid-shaped puppets. Their dark metal bodies gleamed ominously under the sunlight, exuding a chilling, foreboding aura.

"Touched Puppets! How are relics of the Starfall Society here?"

Recognizing the origin of the puppets, Milton couldn't help but feel startled.

The Starfall Society had supposedly been wiped out in an internal conflict over two thousand years ago, with all their knowledge and relics lost alongside their city of Starfall. So how could these puppets still exist?

But reality didn't afford Milton the luxury of pondering. The mechanical puppet-girl attacked again, swiftly closing in.

At the same time, the four Touched Puppets emerged fully from the ruins of nearby buildings. Their tentacles had already regrown, now glowing with an array of colorful magical auras.

Seeing this, Milton's heart sank to rock bottom.

Five mage-level puppets. Even two of him combined wouldn't stand a chance!

---

In the mage tower, beside the Elemental Pool, Su Nan sat cross-legged on the floor, holding an elemental crystal in his hand, absorbing and assimilating the divine energy within.

After what felt like an eternity, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled deeply, his gaze filled with joy.

"Finally broke through."

It had taken nearly three centuries, but he had finally reached the crystallization stage.

Within the depths of his mental sea, the second talent crystal was now surrounded by condensed crystal grains of spiritual power, forming a flowing ring of starlight that shimmered with breathtaking beauty.

"My spiritual power has grown significantly."

A satisfied smile spread across Su Nan's face.

With this, he could further refine and strengthen his engraved gemstones and mage tools.

Talents like Specialization and Mental Capacity could also be enhanced further—or he could imprint a third mental sigil.

But all of these were secondary. The most critical outcome of breaking into the second-circle crystallization stage was clear.

"I can now construct my third talent crystal model!"

A glint of excitement flashed in Su Nan's eyes.

He had long planned for his third talent. He intended to design a talent with unparalleled offensive power.

Over the years, he had been studying and refining various talent crystal models.

After more than five centuries of research, the design for his new talent crystal model was complete.

It was inspired by the advanced Starfall Society model known as Falling Star. Using it as a base, Su Nan integrated ideas from other talent crystals and magical artifacts, eventually crafting a new model through painstaking effort.

Though its exact effects would only be known after successful construction, Su Nan was confident it would exceed his expectations.

He had named it Meteor Rain.

As a super-tier talent crystal model, Meteor Rain was no less complex than his previous creations, Liquid Metal and Absolute Domain—if not even more intricate.

However, with an ample supply of construction potions, Su Nan estimated he could complete the model within two years.

The real challenge lay in the final stage: filling the crystal with spiritual power.

The amount of spiritual energy required to fully activate the third talent crystal would far exceed what the previous two had needed.

Even with the Starlight Continent's now-restored energy density and the added bonus of a massive elemental pool, Su Nan estimated it would take four to five hundred years—or perhaps even longer.

"But once the dimensional barrier is lifted, we'll be able to trade resources with other mage factions. Maybe I'll find something to expedite the process and won't need to wait as long."

Su Nan felt a wave of anticipation.

After calming himself from the excitement of his breakthrough, he took a deep breath and prepared to start constructing the talent crystal model.

But just as he was about to begin, a flicker of alarm crossed his face. His figure disappeared in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was in his study, his gaze locking onto Lize, who was seated behind the desk.

"What's happened for you to summon me so urgently?"

Lize didn't answer immediately. Instead, she gave him a once-over, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"You've broken through, haven't you?"

"That's right," Su Nan confirmed with a nod. "I just achieved it before your message reached me."

"Congratulations."

Lize wasn't overly surprised.

Her understanding of cultivation had been shattered and reshaped countless times by Su Nan's feats.

His breakthrough felt almost inevitable at this point.

Steadying herself, Lize got straight to the point.

"The mages of the Obsidian Throne have arrived."

Su Nan's eyes sharpened. "How many?"

"According to Star's Eye, there are fourteen energy fluctuations. The Witch-Hunter Corps has already been deployed to capture them, so we should have concrete results soon."

Just as she finished speaking, Artiel entered the room.

"Teacher, Lord Starfall," Artiel greeted with a bow.

Lize immediately asked, "Do we have an update?"

"Yes," Artiel said, his tone full of excitement. "The Witch-Hunter Corps reports that out of the fourteen detected energy fluctuations, eleven belong to mages of the Obsidian Throne. The remaining three were unrecorded third-circle mage apprentices."

"Including the one we caught earlier, that makes twelve mages." Su Nan's eyes glimmered. "What's their power level?"

"All are first-circle mages, with the strongest being a first-circle crystallization mage."

Su Nan's heart settled. The number and strength of the intruders were exactly as he remembered, unchanged.

Lize smiled with relief. "The Obsidian Throne probably never expected the Starlight Continent to produce someone like you—a monster who built a mage faction from nothing. They underestimated the difficulty of conquering this place and sent only this small group."

Su Nan said nothing, only smiling faintly.

In truth, a force of twelve first-circle mages would be sufficient to conquer many weak planes.

From the Obsidian Throne's perspective, the Starlight Continent—just emerging from an era of elemental desolation—was one such weak plane. Their judgment wasn't entirely wrong.

But the Obsidian Throne's plans extended far beyond this initial wave.

"Don't let your guard down. This is only the first wave. The truly formidable ones are yet to come."

Lize frowned. "You mean second-circle mages?"

"Not just them." Su Nan smiled faintly, but didn't elaborate further. Instead, he turned to Artiel. "Where are they?"

"They've all been captured by the Witch-Hunter Corps and are currently detained in the secure facility."

"Let's go take a look."

The detention zone.

In the cold, silent confinement chamber, Andrew sat limply on the floor, his face ashen with despair.

This specialized mage prison was built with floors, walls, and ceilings engraved with formations to seal spiritual power and weaken physical strength.

In addition, he wore enchanted shackles that completely suppressed his magic.

The spiritual energy within his mental sea was utterly dormant, leaving him unable to mobilize even a trace of power.

At this point, Andrew was barely stronger than a knight. He stood no chance against the guards outside and couldn't even break through the reinforced cell door.

Andrew still hadn't fully processed the events.

He had initially thought this invasion of the Starlight Continent would be an effortless achievement. Who could have imagined that there would be mages on the continent—not just one, but many—completely throwing him off guard?

"Those two must be high-ranking members of the Star Alliance!"

Andrew recalled the two mages who had defeated him.

Both wielded medium-level talent crystals and mage tools—rare commodities even in the wider mage world.

Such valuable assets were usually reserved for the core leadership of even the weakest mage factions.

Since those two possessed such resources, their status within the Star Alliance must be significant.

This realization filled Andrew with regret and frustration.

If he had known the Star Alliance possessed such powerful mages, he would never have split up from his companions.

Fortunately, they had arrived in a group of twelve, including Evan, a crystallization-stage mage. It was a formidable lineup.

Surely, they would soon notice his disappearance and come to his rescue.

Andrew refused to believe the Star Alliance could withstand the combined might of eleven mages.

As he mulled over these thoughts, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway outside.

Andrew frowned, assuming the Star Alliance was sending someone to interrogate him. A sneer crept onto his face as he looked up.

What he saw, however, made his eyes widen in shock.

One by one, steel golems approached the cell, dragging along pale, battered figures who were clearly severely injured.

To his astonishment, Andrew recognized every single one of them.

Milton, Wilson, Hargreaves, Caspar—even Evan, who he had placed his hopes in.

Every single mage from the Obsidian Throne's first wave was here.

Andrew's face turned deathly pale. His chest filled with a mix of dread and disbelief.

He could hardly comprehend it. Their group had arrived on the Starlight Continent full of ambition, only to suffer a complete defeat on the very first day. Every single one of them had been captured.

What was going on?

For a moment, Andrew felt as though he were trapped in some bizarre dream.

With a clang, the iron gate swung open. The steel golems tossed the Obsidian Throne mages into the cell one by one before closing the door and leaving at a leisurely pace.

The eleven mages were already severely wounded. With the added suppression of the formations and enchanted shackles, their physical conditions had deteriorated further.

The rough handling left them sprawled on the ground, barely conscious. It took them a long time to recover and struggle to their feet.

The twelve captives exchanged glances, their expressions heavy with despair. None of them knew what to say.

Finally, Evan broke the silence, his voice hoarse.

"How did you all get captured?"

Milton let out a bitter laugh. "I had just entered the city when I was surrounded by a group of steel golems and adamantine golems. Not long after, five mage-level puppets appeared. I couldn't fight them off and was captured."

Andrew's eyes widened in shock.

"Five mage-level puppets?!"

What was going on?

The answers from the others only deepened his shock.

"I was the same. I'd barely entered the city when five mage-level puppets ambushed me."

"I didn't even make it to a city. I was still in the wilderness when I was attacked by five mage-level puppets."

"I had it worse. There were seven mage-level puppets attacking me."

After a brief exchange, the cell fell into an oppressive silence once more.

The atmosphere grew so heavy it felt suffocating.

Everyone's faces turned grim.

It was now clear that they had all been attacked almost simultaneously.

This indicated that the enemy had enough forces to launch coordinated attacks against all of them at once.

A rough calculation suggested that the enemy had deployed around sixty mage-level puppets in this operation.

That was an absolutely staggering number.

This also strongly implied that a proper mage faction had emerged on the Starlight Continent.

Only a mage faction could possibly have the resources to create so many mage-level puppets.

Yet what baffled them was how such a faction could have arisen. For over a millennium, the Starlight Continent had been a desolate place for elemental magic, where even producing a single mage was nearly impossible.

How had a mage faction managed to emerge here?

It was beyond their comprehension.

Of all of them, Andrew was the most shaken.

He had assumed the Star Alliance had, at most, a handful of mages. But now, it was clear they possessed far more—along with a staggering number of mage-level puppets.

The most alarming part was that crafting so many mage-level puppets suggested the existence of a second-circle mage within the Star Alliance.

It was now evident that Andrew's earlier assumptions had been wildly inaccurate. The two mages who had defeated him weren't high-ranking members; they were likely just ordinary members of the Star Alliance.

The Star Alliance's strength was far greater than he had ever imagined.

Seeing Andrew's prolonged silence, Evan turned to him and asked, "Andrew, how did you get captured?"

Snapping out of his daze, Andrew replied in a strained voice, "I was ambushed by two mages."

He then remembered the information he had extracted from Viscount Karen and quickly shared it.

By the time he finished, the others' faces had all turned pale.

Unlike Andrew, they hadn't had the chance to gather any information before being captured. Until now, their understanding of the enemy was limited to conjecture. This was their first clear picture of the Star Alliance.

"Thousands upon thousands of mage apprentices, and even a mage academy. How could this Star Alliance have so many resources?"

"I bet the Star Tower was destroyed by them."

"What on earth happened on the Starlight Continent over the past thousand years?"

Their minds swirled with confusion and unease.

At that moment, light footsteps echoed from the hallwa

y outside.

These weren't the heavy, metallic steps of golems.

Alert, the mages all looked up to see a man and a woman leisurely approaching their cell.

"Greetings, mages of the Obsidian Throne."

The man spoke with a faint smile, his eyes gleaming with a playful glint as he surveyed them.

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