Chapter 256: Armament Expansion, Synthetic Spiritual Pearl

In Su Nan's memory, after the year 2000 in the Starlight Calendar, the Obsidian Throne's large-scale invasion of the Starlight Continent did not involve True Spirit Wizards or large Wizard Towers. Upon reflection, perhaps as Myesha mentioned, the Obsidian Throne was investing most of its resources into conquering a second planar cluster, leaving little attention for a single plane.

However, Su Nan vaguely recalled that the Obsidian Throne mobilized the full war capacity of an entire plane, eventually resulting in a large-scale planar war.

Even so, this was already a relatively favorable situation. At least the Star Alliance also controlled an entire plane, providing a foundation for resistance.

"How's the military expansion progressing?" Su Nan asked.

Lize, well-prepared for the question, responded without hesitation, "The eighth large Golem Legion is currently being assembled. It should be completed before the planar seal is lifted.

"The Runic Knight Corps now has 58,000 official members, with over 500,000 reserve members who haven't yet been equipped with runic constructs.

"As for the elite Dragon Knight Unit, the total number has expanded to 8,500. A new batch of draconic beasts has just been released from the breeding grounds and assigned. They're currently adapting, and by next year, the unit is expected to grow to 9,000 knights."

Since the completion of the Starlight Wizard Tower, the Star Alliance had funneled resources into expanding its military forces, preparing for the Obsidian Throne's assault.

As the core of the Star Alliance's military might, the Golem Legion and Runic Knight Corps were the primary focus of this expansion.

A single large Golem Legion consisted of 125,000 golems. Eight such legions meant a total of one million golems.

Including local defense forces stationed in the underground cities and resource points, the number of golems could increase by another 300,000 to 400,000.

Over 1.3 million golems—a staggering number, even if most of them were stone golems or double-blade spiders.

This was only possible thanks to the Starlight Academy's centuries of training wizard apprentices, providing enough manpower to manufacture the golems. Otherwise, relying solely on Su Nan's efforts, he could never produce so many.

As for the Runic Knight Corps, its official members were fewer in number but comprised only elites.

Though numbering less than 60,000, all of them were exceptional warriors.

The baseline requirement for joining the Runic Knight Corps was the strength of a Senior Knight. Equipped with runic constructs, their combat power invariably reached the level of Legendary Knights.

In other words, the corps represented 58,000 Legendary-level combatants.

The elite Dragon Knights were even more formidable among Legendary Knights, serving as an invincible force on the battlefield.

In terms of combat strength alone, three large Golem Legions combined could not match the Runic Knight Corps.

Moreover, the corps boasted over 500,000 reserve members. Although they lacked runic constructs, they were all knights or Senior Knights, sufficient to serve as a formidable regular army comparable to the Golem Legion.

"Increase the reward for manufacturing runic constructs," Su Nan instructed. "Prioritize producing as many as possible to ensure the Runic Knight Corps surpasses 60,000 official members by next year."

Lize acknowledged the order, and Su Nan shifted the topic.

"What about the fleet?"

"Considering the low likelihood of naval warfare, only five naval fleets have been established," Lize replied. "Unless a large-scale sea battle occurs, they should suffice."

Su Nan nodded slightly. Planar wars rarely involved naval engagements unless attacking a predominantly oceanic plane, a relatively low probability.

Even in such a scenario, the Star Alliance's logistical capabilities could produce additional naval fleets quickly.

While naval expansion was limited, the focus had shifted to another type of magical vessel: flying warships.

These vessels were highly versatile, capable of engaging in naval, land, and aerial combat while also serving as rapid troop transport.

Although the Starlight Continent's teleportation network enabled efficient transportation of forces, this advantage would vanish during inter-planar warfare.

With this in mind, Su Nan had ordered the formation of flying fleets.

An even more critical reason was their utility against Wizard Towers.

Until the Starlight Wizard Tower was upgraded to a large tower, Su Nan didn't plan to build a second tower. Any surplus resources would be invested in the existing tower.

This decision left the Star Alliance somewhat lacking in large-scale war constructs.

Previously, the planar seal had restricted the Obsidian Throne from deploying multiple Wizard Towers simultaneously.

However, once the seal was lifted, Su Nan was certain that more than one tower would arrive in their invasion force.

Relying solely on the Starlight Wizard Tower to defend against them would be a struggle, necessitating additional support.

The flying fleet was the result of careful consideration.

Capable of flight and armed with long-range firepower, these magical ships were currently the best option for countering Wizard Towers.

Although their overall strength fell short of a tower, their numbers compensated, enabling swarm tactics.

Additionally, developing flying ships wasn't overly complex. They merely required the addition of a rudimentary, miniature floating ring and enhanced firepower to existing magical ship designs.

To date, the Star Alliance's flying fleet had taken shape.

Moreover, Su Nan envisioned a war fortress that would serve as a hybrid between flying ships and Wizard Towers, forming the backbone of the Star Alliance's future inter-planar warfare.

This, however, remained a concept for now. Su Nan lacked the time and resources to pursue it amidst the current crisis.

"Currently, twelve flying fleets have been established, each comprising five Tier-3 ships, 25 Tier-2 ships, and 250 Tier-1 ships.

"The thirteenth and fourteenth fleets are under construction and should be completed by next year if expedited."

Su Nan nodded approvingly. Fourteen flying fleets would suffice for the time being.

If only there were more time and resources, forming over a hundred fleets would ensure even five or six small Wizard Towers from the Obsidian Throne wouldn't stand a chance.

With the Golem Legion, Runic Knight Corps, magical ship fleets, and the Starlight Wizard Tower in play—plus the military forces of the Starry Empire, albeit weaker—the Starlight Continent's power now far exceeded many secondary planes and standalone realms.

This was the stark contrast between planes with and without wizard factions.

Were the opponent anyone but the Obsidian Throne, the Star Alliance's current might could easily dominate.

"Good," Su Nan said with a smile. "Continue along this trajectory."

"Sometimes I wonder how you manage to be such a laid-back leader," Lize quipped, rolling her eyes.

Despite her words, she knew Su Nan wasn't idle.

Upgrading the Wizard Tower and filling his talent crystal model demanded immense focus and effort, arguably surpassing her responsibilities in importance. There was little to complain about.

Leaving the meeting room, Su Nan returned to the Elemental Pool to continue his cultivation.

Whether the Star Alliance could withstand the Obsidian Throne's first post-seal offensive depended on military expansion, the Starlight Wizard Tower's upgrades, and his advancement to Tier-3.

The last factor was especially crucial.

A Tier-3 wizard would undoubtedly join the Obsidian Throne's offensive. A Tier-3 Gaseous wizard might be manageable, but a Liquid or Crystalline one would pose a serious challenge. Su Nan needed to reach Tier-3 as soon as possible.

A month later, Myesha delivered the fifty Spirit Orbs she had promised.

"Pleasure doing business," she said.

Su Nan handed over 500 magic crystals he had synthesized over the past few days. These crystals had nearly depleted the Star Alliance's lesser-grade magic stone reserves.

"Pleasure indeed," Myesha replied, giving Su Nan a meaningful look. "I hope to hear of your Tier-3 advancement soon."

"Thanks for the encouragement."

After parting ways, Myesha decided to take Amy back to the Codex of Wisdom for safety, given the impending conflict on the Starlight Continent.

Though reluctant, Amy had no choice but to leave with her master.

"Su Nan, you'd better beat those bad guys and visit me at the Codex of Wisdom!" Amy said tearfully.

"I will," Su Nan assured her with a smile.

Watching Myesha and Amy depart, Su Nan returned to the Wizard Tower and began absorbing the Spirit Orbs.

Sitting cross-legged, he gripped an orb in his palm, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.

As he funneled mental energy into his talent crystal model, he absorbed the Spirit Orb.

Time passed.

In less than half a day, Su Nan opened his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

"One Spirit Orb only increases progress by less than 0.4%?"

He sighed in mild disappointment. However, he wasn't entirely surprised by the result.

When he had filled the first talent crystal model, a single Spirit Orb had provided less than a 2% boost in spiritual energy.

Now, working on the third talent crystal model, which required a far greater amount of spiritual energy, the reduced rate of progress was understandable.

The problem lay in the fact that he had constructed a superior talent crystal, requiring vastly more spiritual energy than a standard one.

What worked wonders for ordinary wizards had a more muted effect on him.

Or, perhaps that wasn't entirely fair—this progress was equivalent to over three years of regular cultivation. In truth, it wasn't a negligible amount.

"Fifty Spirit Orbs might save me about 170 to 180 years of cultivation time.

"But even so, that won't be enough to advance to Tier-3 Wizard before the planar seal is lifted.

"Is there a faster way to recover spiritual energy?"

Sitting cross-legged, Su Nan pondered deeply.

Before long, an idea began to form in his mind.

Compared to others, his greatest advantage was his Synthesis Cube.

If he wanted to improve his cultivation efficiency, the solution naturally lay in leveraging this unique tool.

Following this train of thought, the solution became clear—he could synthesize Spirit Orbs!

The Synthesis Cube, while bearing the name "synthesis," was fundamentally a tool for enhancing objects.

It could drastically improve an item's properties by merging similar objects.

This principle could theoretically be applied to Spirit Orbs as well.

It was worth a try.

Su Nan's eyes lit up with excitement as he immediately activated the Cube and placed a Spirit Orb inside.

[Spirit Orb: A crystalline concentration of highly condensed spiritual energy. Can be used to recover spiritual energy. Contains 14,394 standard units of spiritual energy.]

He proceeded to insert the remaining 48 Spirit Orbs into the Cube, inspecting their details.

Each Spirit Orb contained slightly varying amounts of spiritual energy, ranging from 14,000 to 15,000 units, with only minor differences.

Selecting two orbs at random, Su Nan placed them into the Cube. The synthesis interface flickered, and a new result appeared.

[Spirit Orb: A crystalline concentration of highly condensed spiritual energy. Can be used to recover spiritual energy. Contains 38,285 standard units of spiritual energy.]

"It works!"

Su Nan's face lit up with joy.

Just as he had hoped, synthesizing Spirit Orbs significantly enhanced their effects. The improvement was substantial—nearly 30%.

He added a third orb. This time, the synthesized product contained over 57,000 standard units of spiritual energy, an increase exceeding 30%.

Energized, Su Nan continued synthesizing.

However, he exercised caution. After each synthesis, he tested whether the resulting orb was still absorbable.

Past experiences had taught him that synthesis wasn't limitless—it had an upper threshold.

For example, when synthesizing elemental dust into elemental cores, he found that beyond a certain point, he could no longer absorb divine energy from the cores.

If earlier the energy was like a stone that could be ground into powder and absorbed, then after exceeding the threshold, it became like hardened steel, impervious to his efforts.

He suspected a similar limit might apply to Spirit Orbs.

This hypothesis was soon validated.

When the synthesis reached 23 Spirit Orbs, Su Nan began to encounter noticeable resistance while attempting to absorb the resulting energy.

Recognizing the limitation, he wisely stopped.

At this point, the synthesized orb contained more than five times the total spiritual energy of 23 individual Spirit Orbs combined.

Holding the now radiant and crystalline Spirit Orb in his hand, Su Nan couldn't suppress his delighted smile.

At the same time, he felt a pang of regret.

Had he realized this approach earlier and avoided consuming the Spirit Orbs too hastily, he might have saved himself at least two years of effort.

Steeling himself, Su Nan brushed aside the regret and resumed absorbing the Spirit Orb.

After absorbing two fully synthesized orbs, he synthesized the remaining three and absorbed them as well.

When he was done, his talent crystal model ha

d reached 99.88% completion—just a step away from advancement.

"The rest is just a matter of time!"

Taking a deep breath to calm his excitement, Su Nan refocused on cultivation.

Advancing to Tier-3 Wizard was now within his grasp.

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