Chapter 370: Pre-Battle Meeting

The far northern lands of the Nightmare World had undergone a dramatic transformation under Richard's management. Within the city projections created by the Blood Moon's rules, millions of Nightmare creatures were harvested by Richard to obtain Nightmare Power.

Through this daily accumulation, Richard's Nightmare Power had grown to a terrifying level.

So much so that Richard had to abandon his original Nightmare body and create a new one for daily use.

A pitch-black door appeared out of thin air, and Richard's soul flew out from within.

The Nightmare Gate opened into a lavishly decorated room, though the interior was sparsely furnished, containing only a black coffin.

Richard opened the coffin and entered the Nightmare body stored inside.

Soon, a figure clad in black robes appeared in the northern city of the Nightmare World.

"Master, you've returned."

Outside the mayor's residence, a Nightmare creature resembling a white ape greeted Richard respectfully.

Due to the development of the northern lands, Bone had been appointed by Richard as a Nightmare Knight, while this white ape managed the northern city in his stead.

"Secretary, how much Nightmare Power is stored in the city?" Richard asked with authority.

The white ape pondered for a moment before replying, "Master, there are currently about twenty million units of Nightmare Power in the city."

Richard mused, "Twenty million... that's more than enough."

Richard only needed about four million units of Nightmare Power to enhance his mental strength, so twenty million far exceeded his requirements.

"Take me to the storage room, and also, summon Bone."

"Yes, Master."

It took Richard roughly ten days to refine four million units of Nightmare Power.

After ten days, Richard's mental strength stabilized at 299.9.

This was the limit of a mortal's mental strength. If nothing unexpected occurred, Richard's number would likely remain unchanged for thousands of years.

Exiting the storage room, Richard immediately spotted a black knight standing five meters tall, clad in black armor, and mounted on a majestic nightmare steed.

"Boss, you called for me," the black knight dismounted and knelt on one knee before Richard.

This black knight was none other than Bone, who had become a Nightmare Knight.

Richard nodded, "Yes, I need to embark on a long journey and won't be back for some time. During my absence, you will temporarily oversee the territory."

Although the Nightmare Gate allowed Richard to freely enter the Nightmare World, once he left the Wizard World, the Nightmare Gate would become inaccessible.

Even if forcibly opened, what lay beyond would not be the Nightmare Wizard World.

However, Richard sensed that this phenomenon was due to his insufficient strength.

The reason Richard's Nightmare Gate could accurately open near his Nightmare body was because of the soul seed acting as his beacon.

But once Richard traveled to other worlds, this soul connection would be obstructed by some unknown barrier.

Richard conducted simple tests on this phenomenon and concluded that the stronger his mental strength, the weaker the obstruction.

If his mental strength could surpass the mortal limit, overcoming this barrier would no longer be an issue.

"Yes, Boss!"

...

Time flew by, and soon the day of the expedition arrived.

The expedition level of the Tower of Truth remained unchanged, with its cold metallic floor evoking a sense of weariness in Richard.

He suddenly recalled his last war—the Crimson Sun World Expedition. Back then, he was a Second Circle Wizard, serving as a military advisor for the Richard Jolod Merchant Guild.

At that time, he had stood on this same metallic ground, waiting with other Wizards for the arrival of the Floating City.

Back then, Vladimir was still alive, and on this cold metallic expanse, he had told Richard about the costs of a Great Wizard's plane expedition.

Now, Richard stood once more on this metallic ground, but Vladimir, who had once shared his knowledge, was no longer there.

"Why are you standing here?"

A voice sounded behind Richard. He turned to see Stio, his iron-gray skin holding a hammer-like staff, looking at him curiously.

"If I'm not standing here, where should I be standing?" Richard was puzzled. "Isn't everyone waiting here?"

Stio paused, then suddenly realized, "Oh right, this is your first plane expedition since becoming a Third Circle Wizard."

Richard asked curiously, "Do Third Circle Wizards have any special privileges during expeditions?"

Stio smiled, "Other academies might not, but ours does."

Then he added with some confusion, "Didn't you know?"

Richard honestly shook his head.

"Never mind, Jimmy probably forgot. It's fine, just come with me."

Following Stio, Richard arrived at a room below the expedition level.

Here, the war machines of the White Wizards were being activated, preparing to ascend to the upper platform.

Stio skillfully navigated through the fleet of war airships and soon found a particularly large one.

Opening the airship's hatch, Richard discovered that it was filled with hundreds of Third Circle Wizards.

"Stio, Richard, you're late," Jimmy greeted them with a smile. "If you'd been any later, we'd have already entered the Floating City."

Stio laughed heartily, "Got delayed on the way."

The two took their seats, and Richard looked around curiously at the Wizards inside.

All of them were Third Circle Wizards, holding positions at least equivalent to vice-deans in the academy. There was a time when Richard was far removed from this echelon, looking up at them with awe.

Now, he was one of them.

As everyone settled in, Jimmy began the meeting.

"The world we're about to expedition to is quite extraordinary. According to the Dean's judgment, it should be a battlefield from the ancient times, where the Lost Ones fought against a certain civilization.

Moreover, in this war, the Lost Ones were likely the defending side.

So, if nothing unexpected happens, we should encounter the war machines of the Lost Ones' civilization."

With that, Jimmy took out a bundle of scrolls from his pocket and distributed them to everyone.

"These scrolls contain the academy's research on the Lost Ones over the years. Take a look; it should be helpful. Also, if any of you have your own research on the Lost Ones, now would be a good time to share it.

The more information we have, the better our chances of survival on the battlefield."

Everyone took the scrolls and began reading carefully.

Soon, a Third Circle Wizard spoke up, "I've encountered a weapon of the Lost Ones. Its material resembles crystal, and its shape is a polyhedron.

This weapon can autonomously track enemies, likely using sound and light for targeting. In its normal state, it's optically invisible, but once activated, it emits a dark red light and fires high-energy impacts with energy levels between three thousand and three thousand five hundred."

As he spoke, the Wizard took out a crystal ball from his pocket, inside which was sealed a dark red polyhedron.

"I've seen something like that too," a Wizard who looked like an Alchemy Golem said. "This thing can self-destruct if necessary, with a power of about eight thousand energy levels.

Physical attacks are most effective against it; a blunt force of one thousand energy levels can shatter it.

But it has an energy barrier around it, making elemental spells below two thousand energy levels basically useless."

The Wizards nodded, committing this weapon's data to memory.

"I've also seen a weapon of the Lost Ones," another Wizard chimed in. "It was a massive black crystal golem, shaped like a spider.

This golem has strong resistance to both elemental and physical attacks, but its only mode of attack is physical.

However, this golem seems to function as a mother unit, releasing many of the weapons we just discussed.

If you encounter this enemy, I suggest running. Unless, of course, any of you know disintegration spells."

As soon as this Wizard finished, another spoke up, "I've seen a weapon too, a crystal tower..."

In this critical moment concerning their lives, the Wizards no longer held back their research, sharing all they knew about the Lost Ones.

The various strange and bizarre things mentioned opened Richard's eyes.

From these accounts, he seemed to glimpse a great civilization that loved to manipulate crystal.

"...If you encounter this weapon, I suggest using shockwave-like attacks."

Another Wizard shared his knowledge of the Forerunners. After he finished, the airship cabin fell silent, as if all the information had been shared.

Seeing that no one else spoke up, Richard finally said, "I also have some information to share."

"Oh?" Jimmy looked at Richard curiously. "Richard, I believe this is your first expedition since becoming a Third Circle Wizard.

Have you encountered the Lost Ones' weapons before?"

The Wizards in the cabin turned their attention to Richard.

The Lost Ones' artifacts were not easy to come by. Every piece of information shared here was backed by the lives of several, if not dozens, of Wizards.

Moreover, even if Richard had seen them, seeing and sharing information were two different things.

Sharing information required corresponding research.

Sharing unverified information wouldn't help others; it might even mislead them.

Richard shook his head slightly, "What I've seen isn't a weapon of the Lost Ones, but a weapon used by their vassal army."

With that, he took out a projection crystal ball from his pocket. Under Richard's control, the crystal ball projected a three-dimensional image of a Sacred Armor.

"This is something I encountered during my last expedition. It's a weapon the Lost Ones equipped their vassal army with. The armor's shell can withstand at least five thousand energy levels of spell attacks and has multiple targeting mechanisms, including the ability to detect shadow rifts.

This armor comes standard with a weapon I call a Chainsaw Sword, which has strong anti-magic properties. It can tear through a four thousand energy level magic barrier in an instant.

Besides that, it has multiple functions, but due to the urgency of the situation, I didn't have time to study it thoroughly.

All I know is that it can self-destruct, and the explosion is extremely powerful."

Hearing Richard's account, the Wizards were momentarily stunned.

Such a thing would be a challenge for them to handle. How had Richard survived encountering it?

But before they could fully process this information, Richard's next revelation made their hearts skip a beat.

Richard said quietly, "If you encounter this, I suggest you run immediately and don't engage. Because the last time I encountered it...

There were ten of them."

(End of Chapter)