Chapter 272: The Poisonous King, the Star Alliance’s Greatest Advantage

"A divine corpse, huh?" Liz murmured, her expression slightly shifting.

Divine corpses were even rarer than gods themselves. The fact that one had appeared in the material world was a probability lower than a Level 3 wizard defeating a True Spirit wizard.

Sunan, however, wore a peculiar expression. In his memories, the origin of the wizard civil war was tied to a divine corpse.

"Which god fell?"

"The Plague Sovereign," Tanner replied.

Sunan's heart skipped a beat.

That confirmed it. The divine corpse that triggered the wizard civil war was indeed the Plague Sovereign's.

But according to his memories, the Plague Sovereign's demise was supposed to occur three hundred years later. Why had it happened now?

Could his presence have altered the timeline?

Sunan was filled with doubts.

While he was far from the level of a True Spirit wizard and shouldn't have been able to influence events in the Realm of Truth, small changes could ripple outward. Perhaps his defense of Starlight Continent set off a chain reaction that ultimately led to the Plague Sovereign's early fall.

The thought left Sunan both amused and bewildered.

"Which plane did the divine corpse land in?" Sunan asked.

"The Earth Crystal Plane," Tanner answered, his face tinged with solemnity.

"The Earth Crystal Plane was originally a barren realm, its native Earth Crystal people so weak they didn't even have wizard-level power. But the Plague Sovereign's arrival corrupted every living being there into plague-ridden creatures. Their strength surged, but they lost all reason, reduced to mindless killing machines.

"The entire plane is now a hellscape."

"It's only natural for a god of such an evil alignment," Sunan said, unfazed.

The Plague Sovereign, judging by its name, governed the domains of plague and death. Its followers, divine agents, and creatures were often poisonous undead.

Although the Plague Sovereign was a lower-tier god, ranked just above the weakest gods, it was still a divine being. Its residual divine power upon death could easily corrupt an entire small plane.

Gods were notoriously potent sources of contamination.

"Why didn't the True Spirit wizards retrieve the divine corpse themselves?" Liz asked, curious.

Tanner hesitated but eventually said, "There was a dispute during the ambush over the distribution of the corpse. After some deliberation, the True Spirit wizards decided to have their respective factions send representatives to the Earth Crystal Plane to vie for the corpse while they observed from the sidelines."

Sunan's lips twitched.

That was typical True Spirit wizard behavior—using others as pawns while avoiding personal risk. The death of a few wizards meant nothing to them when weighed against the value of a divine corpse.

"A divine corpse of a lower-tier god is worth far more than a few lower-level wizards," Tanner added, glancing at Sunan.

"Even the Codex of Wisdom covets the Plague Sovereign's corpse. They'll likely inform their affiliate organizations soon and summon them to the Earth Crystal Plane to search for it. Lord Sunan, it would be wise to prepare."

Sunan pondered for a moment before nodding at Tanner with a faint smile.

"Thank you for the information."

"It's my pleasure. I'm glad it's useful to you," Tanner replied, bowing slightly before tactfully excusing himself.

After Tanner left, Sunan's eyes glinted thoughtfully.

It was likely that the information Tanner provided had been shared with other factions close to the All Things Association. Still, their early notice was invaluable and deserving of gratitude.

"What do you plan to do?" Liz asked, pulling Sunan from his thoughts.

Sunan shrugged. "We don't have much choice. We'll have to participate."

As an affiliate of the Codex of Wisdom, the Star Alliance was obligated to answer their summons for war. Refusing without a valid reason could result in their affiliation being revoked.

Sunan wasn't particularly opposed, though.

To him, the divine corpse held little immediate value. While it could provide divine energy for absorption, Sunan already had more than enough. Other uses were either minor or experimental and required greater power to fully exploit.

Furthermore, with so many factions vying for the corpse, even if Sunan wanted it, he lacked the means to secure it.

Instead, he saw this as an opportunity.

The Star Alliance's experience with planar warfare was limited to their conquest of the Wolf Tide Plane. They needed more practical experience for future conflicts, and this mission promised ample opportunities for battle.

It was also a chance to observe the seeds of the wizard civil war firsthand, allowing him to prepare accordingly.

Having made up his mind, Sunan turned to Liz. "How are the results of the Stardust Fortress tests?"

"Excellent," Liz said with a faint smile.

"I compared it to the Silver Spires we purchased from the Codex of Wisdom. Our Stardust Fortresses are equal in performance and firepower, even surpassing them slightly in certain areas."

"And compared to a small wizard tower?"

"Seven Stardust Fortresses working together could match the power of an unenhanced standard small wizard tower," Liz replied.

"What about costs?"

"The cost is about one-fifth that of a standard small wizard tower. Considering the rarity of materials for wizard towers and the time required to build them, Stardust Fortresses are more cost-effective."

"Still, wizard towers have unique capabilities, such as planar traversal and the particle activation effect of elemental pools," Liz noted.

Overall, Stardust Fortresses and wizard towers complemented each other. Neither could fully replace the other, much like how a diverse army required both commanders and foot soldiers.

"How many Stardust Fortresses have been built so far?"

"Fifty-three," Liz replied.

Sunan nodded. "That's sufficient for now, but production must continue. We'll need even more in the future."

"I understand," Liz affirmed.

"Who has redeemed the four wizard towers on the exchange list?"

"Wand, Rose, and Fakado have redeemed theirs. The last one hasn't been redeemed yet, but I checked. Sheman and Corey's contribution points are almost enough, so one of them will likely redeem the last tower."

"Perfect. All the wizard tower owners must participate in this operation."

"Understood."

"How is the construction progress on the new wizard towers?"

"Currently, three small wizard towers are being built simultaneously. It's expected to take another twelve years to complete."

"Twelve years? That's fairly quick."

Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.

In typical wizard forces, individual wizards would collect resources and build their towers. However, in the Star Alliance, Su Nan decided to have the organization construct the towers and put them in the exchange list for its wizards to redeem.

This significantly shortens the time for wizards to build their towers, thereby quickly boosting the Star Alliance's strength. Moreover, the exchange price is lower than the actual value of the towers. The Star Alliance absorbs the difference, bearing the cost.

But to Su Nan, this investment is worth it. With the Star Alliance generating significant profits through the synthesis of magic stones, this small loss is negligible. If the Star Alliance developed step by step like regular wizard forces, who knows how long it would take to become a major power.

The looming Wizard Civil War leaves no time for slow development. Certain measures must accelerate growth. Su Nan envisioned that once he advanced to Tier 3 Crystallization and no longer needed divine energy, he could allocate all synthesized elemental crystals to the wizards under his command.

By then, reducing the contribution points needed to redeem elemental crystals would significantly boost the speed at which the Star Alliance wizards grew in strength. Within a few hundred or a thousand years, the number of Tier 2 wizards in the Star Alliance would undoubtedly surge.

The notification from the Wisdom Codex arrived faster than expected. Just three days after receiving the intel from Tanna, Cyril arrived to deliver the summons.

"The operation is set for three days from now. All our main forces and affiliated organizations will enter the Earth Crystal Plane. The dimensional portal will remain open for 24 hours. After that, the Earth Crystal Plane will be sealed, and no one will be able to enter or exit."

After delivering the summons, Cyril's solemn expression relaxed, replaced by a smile.

"Due to the rushed nature of this operation, as compensation, all participating affiliates will be exempted from tribute fees for a certain period, depending on their scale and strength. For the Star Alliance, participation will waive your fees for the next twenty years."

Twenty years of waived fees amount to ten million lower-tier magic stones. This compensation is essentially the reward for sending troops.

Honestly, this amount isn't particularly high. If the conflict becomes intense, the losses in manpower and resources might surpass this value. Both Su Nan and Lize knew the Wisdom Codex wouldn't stop at such a paltry reward, so they stayed silent, waiting for Cyril to elaborate.

Sure enough, Cyril continued. "Additionally, if you recover fragments of the Corpse of the Poison King from the Earth Crystal Plane, the fragments can be submitted for rewards based on their size."

Su Nan's expression shifted slightly. "Corpse fragments?"

Cyril nodded. "When the Poison King's corpse entered the Earth Crystal Plane, it was already in a fragmented state. The scattered fragments infected the entire plane, which is why it descended into chaos so quickly."

Su Nan understood. The reason true spirit wizards decided to send troops to the plane was likely due to the need for manpower to search for these fragments scattered across the entire plane.

"Which wizard forces will be participating in this operation?" Su Nan asked.

Cyril explained, "Most of the major wizard forces are involved, including Sea King Whale, Black Chain Tower, and Pale Mask. Altogether, there are seventeen second-tier wizard forces."

A second-tier wizard force is defined as one with a true spirit wizard in its ranks. Clearly, these seventeen forces were led by the true spirit wizards who participated in the ambush against the Poison King.

Below them are third-tier and unranked forces, likely all affiliates of the Wisdom Codex. With its current strength, the Star Alliance barely qualifies as a third-tier force and is still weaker than long-established forces like Steel Construct.

Facing a conflict involving so many top-tier and second-tier wizard forces would undoubtedly test the Star Alliance.

After Cyril left, Lize worriedly said, "This operation carries considerable risks."

Su Nan smiled faintly. "The risks are real, but not as severe as you think."

Lize glanced at him in surprise. After years of acquaintance, she quickly grasped his hint. "You have a plan?"

Su Nan smiled meaningfully. "Every force only has 24 hours to transport troops to the Earth Crystal Plane. In such a short time, no force can send their full strength; they can only send a fraction."

Lize's eyes lit up.

With limited time for transportation, efficiency becomes the deciding factor—specifically, how many and how large of portals each force can construct. This narrows the gap between powerful and weaker forces, at least in terms of initial deployment.

However, this alone didn't explain Su Nan's confidence. As Lize thought further, she suddenly recalled the time when Su Nan seemingly made Starfall City disappear into thin air.

Su Nan smirked. She had guessed correctly.

He still had the Rubik's Cube. With it, he could store his automaton army and transport them through the dimensional portal. Each grid in the cube could hold up to 99 identical automatons, with 100 grids available. That meant up to 9,900 automatons could be stored at once.

In 24 hours, Su Nan could make hundreds of trips between the planes,

enough to transport the entirety of the Star Alliance's forces into the Earth Crystal Plane.

This was his greatest trump card—an advantage no other wizard force could replicate.

--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there 

patreon.com/LegendaryTL

Thanks!