Chapter 26: Riding the Tides of the Era
Moments later, the passage returned to calm.
The Abyss Titan, with only one arm remaining, used the half-severed Instant Death Sword to cut off the last Shepherd Star Titan's head.
Beside him, his comrade and the Shepherd Star Titan had gradually turned into a pool of black mucus.
He leaned powerlessly against the wall, a profound fatigue enveloping him.
Although the Abyss Titans, by bloodline, were superior to these Shepherd Star Titans, and they had specifically trained in tactics against them,
they were, after all, a group of rookies.
The gamble between life and death left him mentally exhausted.
Looking at everything before him, suddenly, an irresistible emotion welled up from the depths of his heart.
It was his most primal instinct.
He wanted to kill, to destroy, to vent the boundless rage in his heart.
Under the impact of this instinct, the factors that had kept him calm suddenly transformed into frenzy factors, threatening to turn him into a beast.
The Abyss Titan knelt down, his whole body convulsing. His four eyes widened, his teeth almost crushed, and the armor on his hands deformed from clenched fists.
This was the first time he had endured the backlash of his wild instincts.
Suddenly, the teachings of Talal Peak echoed in his ears.
"Restrain your instincts. Fail to restrain them, and you are a beast. Beasts are unworthy of being Titans!"
As this voice appeared, the sound of an iron whip cutting through the air also reached his ears.
"No!"
Upon hearing the sound of the iron whip, Titan's rationality suddenly took the high ground. The impact of his wild instincts receded like a tide.
Titan stared blankly at his surroundings and suddenly shivered.
What was he spacing out for? This was a battlefield.
After feeling out his body's condition, he suddenly realized that his control over his body had become smoother, as if even his talent abilities had strengthened a bit.
However, exploring these matters was for later.
He silently picked up his severed arm, placed it on the stump, and watched as flesh wiggled and rejoined the arm.
Then he opened his communication system and whispered, "Report, passage twelve is cleared. Killed five enemies, lost two, and one slightly injured."
"...Copy that. New orders: proceed to passage fifteen and continue fighting."
"Understood."
Within the gigantic fortress, clashes between veteran and rookie Titans were continuously occurring.
After one mission, all Shepherd Star Titans were annihilated, with the entire battle group of three hundred and forty-two dead. Meanwhile, only one hundred and fifty Abyss Titans died, most of the casualties occurring at the battle's start.
As the battle went on, the bloodline advantage of the Abyss Titans quickly manifested into combat strength.
Just as the Shepherd Star Titans crushed ordinary Wizards, Abyss Demons, and Holy Knights, the Abyss Titans, after Abyss integration, also crushed Shepherd Star Titans in the Abyss World.
With the battle over, the Titan battle group regrouped.
Their combat data was immediately transmitted by the headquarters back to the Great Abyss World.
This data would be key for adjustments at Talal Peak.
...
While the frontlines burned with intense warfare, the logistics in the rear were naturally not idle.
With the implementation of some technological sharing principles, the technologies of the gods, Abyss Demons, and Wizards began to rapidly fuse.
These technologies were not only available for the Alchemy School to learn; other schools could also learn. The newly established Physique School and Miracle School benefited the most.
The Divine Arts technology of the gods greatly advanced Miracle Witchcraft, turning it from a framework into something fleshy and substantial.
The biotechnologies of the Abyss Civilization further fueled an explosive growth for the Physique School.
New transformation surgeries, new enhancement magic potions—almost daily—were being produced, and existing technologies advanced by leaps and bounds.
The entire Wizard Civilization was becoming full of vitality.
At the Evolution Road Research Institute, Ali stood before the test bench, looking solemnly at the cell in front of her.
Stimulated by energy, this cell displayed nearly perfect adaptability. No matter the increase in attack power or type of attack she used, this piece of flesh adapted perfectly.
Bluntly put, although Ali was on the verge of becoming a Six Rings Great Wizard, as long as she didn't use Curse Witchcraft, even with her full strength, she couldn't harm this piece of flesh in the slightest.
"Unbelievable adaptability," Ali murmured to herself.
"As expected of a remnant domineering force, to be this powerful."
Suddenly, an energy wave brushed across Ali's perception. She turned her head and saw a three-dimensional projection suddenly cast from the crystal ball beside her.
The projection was a small elf, who respectfully said, "Honorable Abyss Dragon, your machine has arrived."
Abyss Dragon was Ali's title. She didn't possess Richard's strength, so naturally, she had adopted a title early on.
Ali nodded slightly.
"Understood, please bring it over."
"Alright, please receive it."
After finishing her words, a huge glowing dust circle appeared behind Ali. Immediately afterward, something resembling jelly wobbled down from the dust circle.
A small elf holding a scroll came up to Ali.
"Please sign for it."
She glanced at the machine and then left an imprint on the scroll.
Seeing this, the little elf happily put away the scroll and said with a grin, "Thank you for using Elf Express."
The Elf Express, a new-age Wizard Commerce, primarily focuses on fast delivery within the world.
This express service replaced the old magic pet transport as soon as it appeared, becoming the primary intra-world delivery method in Wizard Civilization.
With the establishment of the Civilization Alliance, this express method is currently expanding towards the gods and the Abyss.
Of course, any commerce capable of achieving civilization-level monopoly surely has the shadow of the council behind it.
The president of this commerce is an obscure little figure named Kayang. However, his other identity explains to many Great Wizards why he can hold such a high position—he was formerly a branch president of Richard Jolod's Commerce.
After the little elf left, Ali immediately unsealed her new machine.
The jelly-like appearance was merely packaging. Once stripped away by Magic Power, the true form of the machine inside was revealed—a Power of Abyss stimulator.
Undoubtedly, this thing is indeed a product of the Miracle School.
Richard's experience in creating Shan Hai was quickly put into practice by the Miracle School, and the conclusions drawn were quite surprising.
As long as it can activate Abyss Demon Armor, it can perform Fusion Spirit operations; only the intelligence level of the magic equipment spirit varies.
Upon confirming this, the Miracle School reached an agreement with the Alchemy School to jointly develop this technology, with both sides sharing the results.
There's no way around it; this thing lacks technical complexity, and once it appears on the market, a Great Wizard from the Alchemy School can guess it with just one glance.
By working together, they can even benefit from the Alchemy School's technology without any expense.
After finding a place in the lab, Ali immediately unsealed the machine's sealing.
In an instant, Ali felt that her Bloodline was stirred by the machine. The moment the machine was unsealed, it exhibited astonishing activation, constantly drawing the energy from the air, subsequently converting it into the power to erode the environment—
The magic equipment spirit of this machine is quite intelligent. It noticed that the surrounding is not an Abyss environment, so it intends to change this environment.
Looking at the machine in front of her, which seemed almost like a living being, Ali couldn't help but exclaim, "What a bizarre machine. Exotic civilization technology is truly an eye-opener."
Then, she ignited the Spiritual Fire, merging a wisp of her soul into the machine.
After the Fusion Spirit ended, the machine instantly ceased its erosion.
Feeling this wondrous sensation, Ali again exclaimed, "Wonderful, truly wonderful. Who made this thing? Such a genius!"
...
"Hmm?"
In the Endless Dimension, Richard suddenly had an inexplicable feeling, as if someone was talking about him behind his back.
"Strange, who would be mentioning me at this time?"
Although the war at the front line was intense, this was merely the battlefield for the lower and middle layers. At the Dominator Level battlefield, both sides were uncommonly harmonious.
The three Divine Kings of the Gods Civilization, along with Beelzebub and Samuel, were all at the front line right now. Except for Samuel, who was always looking for someone to fight, the other four Dominators had no conflicts throughout the war.
But they could all sense that the claws of the Civilization Devourer hadn't disappeared.
As long as they dared to leave, these claws could instantly tear their defenses apart.
Undoubtedly, this harmonious scene was a signal—the Civilization Devourer had found a new civilization to devour.
However, knowing the signal was of no use.
This unknown civilization was located at the fringe of this World Community, just perfectly isolated by the Civilization Devourer and the Wizard Alliance.
This isolation prevented any material exchange between this civilization and the Wizard Alliance. No matter how powerful the interdimensional travel method, it could not cross the domain of a civilization for teleportation.
Therefore, the fate of this civilization is already sealed.
However, a sealed fate does not mean they are worthless.
Richard at this moment was about to traverse the Endless Dimension to reach that civilization's area and engage in technological exchange.
This could not only provide the alliance with new technology but also help this civilization last longer, further depleting the Civilization Devourer's strength.
In the lonely starry sky, Richard transformed into a stream of light, reaching a speed of ten thousand times light-speed.
At this terrifying speed, it would only take him a little over a year to traverse the entire Wizard Civilization.
Suddenly, Richard's speed sharply decreased.
His eyes scanned the Void, and soon, an illusionary dimensional creature appeared before him.
This was a very peculiar dimensional creature. Its body looked quite comical, with a large head and a small body, and it was riding a unicycle. On its large head, it wore a ghost mask that looked quite fierce.
"What great Dominator, do you have any business?" the illusionary creature stammered.
To a Dominator, these illusionary creatures with peculiar abilities were no different from creatures of the Material World. If Richard wanted, he could pinch this little guy to death at any moment.
"Yes, indeed there is."
Looking at this dimensional creature, Richard's pupils subtly changed, and in his eyes, the core of this dimensional creature was fully revealed.
And at its center, there was something Richard was very familiar with.
"A small Star Vengeful Ghost Power Furnace, the methods of you ghosts are not simple."