Translator: AnubisTL
Jieming was highly satisfied with the results of the Shuttle Hunter's series of tests.
This "living missile," designed for extreme speed and single-use destruction, perfectly filled the gap in his aerial assault and rapid-strike capabilities.
Next, following his planned roadmap, he turned his attention to another critical area in need of reinforcement: cannon fodder units for naval warfare.
However, unlike the relatively smooth development of the aerial combat units, the design and implementation of the naval cannon fodder proved exceptionally challenging.
In the end, it consumed a full fifty years of Jieming's time before he finally produced the final version.
Now, within a specially constructed giant bio-cultivation tank in the laboratory, lay a massive, slowly undulating entity that nearly filled the entire chamber.
Its body was a deep, inky black, with a texture resembling viscous crude oil.
The overall impression was that of some colossal slime, lacking a fixed form and simply surging and flowing unconsciously.
Holding a high-precision bio-scanner in one hand and activating the Universal Eye with the other, Jieming simultaneously conducted final parameter scans of the behemoth.
The data stream flickering across the screen remained stable and robust, and all parameters detected by the Universal Eye met or even exceeded his expected design values.
He slowly set down the instrument, deactivated the spell, and exhaled deeply, his face a complex mix of relief and satisfaction.
"Finally... it's complete."
In truth, the initial concept for developing naval warfare cannon fodder wasn't particularly challenging.
The problem arose after Jieming meticulously completed the Shuttle Hunter. His researcher's heart, driven by a relentless pursuit of perfection and the ultimate, began to stir restlessly throughout the process.
A constant stream of wild ideas and layered functionalities emerged, leading to repeated revisions of the design goals.
The final creation had long transcended the realm of mere "cannon fodder," evolving into the monstrous entity before him:
A comprehensive maritime combat platform integrating survival, defense, attack, and production capabilities!
Its fundamental form was this seemingly clumsy, black slime-like body.
Its combat methods were both flexible and bizarre. By separating portions of its body, it could mimic various aquatic creatures for attacks or harassment.
When facing formidable enemies, it could rapidly reassemble its dispersed mass, causing its size to swell dramatically.
It could transform into a mountain-sized behemoth, unleashing devastating physical crushing attacks or energy blasts.
Beyond its purely physical assaults, the creature's offensive and defensive tactics were relatively straightforward. It primarily relied on its internal energy core to fire energy cannons of various elemental properties and to maintain a resilient energy shield.
However, the true terror of this creation, constantly refined by Jieming, lay in two key aspects.
First, its absurdly efficient resource transformation and energy absorption capabilities.
The Void Domain Plane was notoriously resource-scarce, forcing its inhabitants to evolve extreme survival adaptations in the barren environment.
Jieming had fused the decomposition abilities of several representative Void Domain creatures, allowing this "slime" to digest virtually any organic matter it came into contact with.
Whether algae, fish, or even the corpses of enemy units, it could efficiently convert them into nutrient-rich biogel within its body, using it for self-maintenance, growth, or as ammunition reserves.
Simultaneously, it inherited the Black Giant's energy absorption system, continuously drawing thermal energy from its surroundings and converting it into its own power.
Its deep black coloration was a visual manifestation of its hyper-efficient absorption of energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Secondly, and Jieming's proudest design, was the built-in biological incubation platform.
Inspired by the lava giant's hatchery, this feature transformed its body into a miniature, highly efficient incubation chamber.
By channeling its own collected energy and biological gel into the chamber, it served as a rapid frontline incubation nest for Shuttle Hunters!
This meant that on the ocean battlefield, the "Nest" itself was a mobile "living missile" production base, capable of continuously manufacturing Shuttle Hunters for both aerial reinforcement and underwater attacks.
Although the Shuttle Hunters' underwater speed was significantly reduced, their combat effectiveness remained formidable.
Even more ingeniously, the incubation platform could temporarily function as an "emergency station," providing critical energy to recovered black giant cores after self-destruction, accelerating their bodily reconstruction!
Jieming's mind teemed with even more fantastical ideas, such as integrating reconnaissance units and adding spatial jump capabilities.
Unfortunately, limited by his internal space capacity and his own knowledge, he had to reluctantly halt at this current "half-finished" state.
"This thing's codename... let's just call it 'Nest'!" Jieming casually declared, settling on a name.
He commanded the laboratory's automated puppets to begin supplying the nascent "Nest" with massive amounts of basic biomass and pure energy, ensuring its initial growth and stability.
Having completed these tasks, Jieming settled back into his familiar work chair, leaning back and indulging in a rare moment of absentmindedness, letting his thoughts drift freely.
He clearly recognized that, at this stage, he had essentially reached the limit of qualitative improvements he could make to his personal combat strength and legion composition, given his current resources and knowledge.
The Black Giant Legion, the Shuttle Hunter air force, and the Nest navy had formed the initial framework of a unified land, sea, and air cannon fodder system.
Magic treasures, rune-imbued magical artifacts, and various spells had also been updated.
What remained was merely accumulating quantity over time and refining details through optimization and polishing.
This meant that for at least the next fifty years, while he would still have vast amounts to learn, experiment with, and research, his overall combat power would not undergo any further revolutionary leaps.
For a moment, he felt a sense of disorientation, unconsciously calculating various tactical combinations, legion deployments, and minor adjustments to his personal combat style.
Before he knew it, a profound weariness washed over him.
Jieming didn't resist, letting himself sink into a pure, thoughtless sleep—one that required neither meditation nor contemplation.
Rest, at times, is also a part of cultivation.
The next day, as the dim "sun" of the Elosia Plane rose as usual, Jieming had already regained his usual composure and focus, immersing himself once more in his methodical research routine.
Over the next fifty years, Jieming systematically began to relinquish his various duties at Noren Academy No. 147.
He communicated with Dean Avery Knight, explaining that he was facing a forced dimensional expedition and needed to prepare and hand over his responsibilities in advance.
The dean understood his situation.
Soon, a wizard from the Alchemy Logistics Department, recently rotated off another planar battlefield, was assigned to replace Jieming.
The handover process was remarkably simple—after all, the Alchemy School still had no new apprentices.
The main tasks involved routine maintenance and inspection of life-saving artifacts and the monitoring system for the graduation trials held every five years, as well as occasionally refining low-tier spell artifacts or potions for other students in the academy.
For another experienced alchemy wizard, these administrative tasks would have been effortless.
Thus, Jieming maintained his cultivation and research while smoothly completing the handover of his duties, spending his final fifty years before the mandatory dimensional expedition in peace.
When the deadline finally arrived, Jieming used the interdimensional teleportation array to return to that familiar yet alien place—the assembly junction point for the Wizard Civilization Expeditionary Force.
This time, his luck seemed to be in his favor.
Having just finished registering, he happened to arrive as a large-scale expeditionary force was gathering.
After registering, he immediately flew to the designated assembly plaza.
However, when he saw the scene on the plaza, even Jieming, with his renowned composure, couldn't help but gasp.
As far as the eye could see, the vast plaza was completely filled with countless wizard figures!
Wizard's robes of every color, bizarre magical accessories, contracted magical pets of all shapes and sizes, and war constructs hovering in mid-air... formed an endless sea of humanity and an ocean of radiant energy.
Jieming swept the crowd with his mental power, his heart pounding in shock. The number of wizards gathered here likely exceeded one million!
This figure was utterly staggering.
Typically, a mid-grade dimensional expedition mobilized around one hundred thousand wizards. Even when facing formidable planes requiring sustained sieges, the scale rarely exceeded two or three hundred thousand.
But this scene—a million wizards assembled in one place—weighed heavily on Jieming's heart.
This was no ordinary expedition. The Noren Workshop clearly had grand ambitions, and the battle they were about to face would likely be unimaginably arduous.
He silently found a relatively quiet corner on the periphery and landed, discreetly pricking up his ears to gather intelligence from the surrounding wizards' conversations.
"...This mobilization is insane! I've been on five expeditions and never seen so many people before!"
"All we can say is that the target plane must be exceptionally special, but so far, no information has leaked out."
"Still, such a formidable enemy should offer substantial military merits and resources, right?"
"...Before we get ahead of ourselves, we should probably focus on whether we can survive first."
However, the surrounding wizards seemed just as clueless about the specifics as he was.
Yet the heavy, almost feverish atmosphere permeating the air clearly conveyed a shared understanding: whatever had compelled the wizard civilization to deploy such a massive expeditionary force, the coming battle would undoubtedly be an unprecedentedly brutal war.
To increase their chances of survival in the impending carnage, numerous makeshift recruitment points had spontaneously sprung up across the plaza.
Wizards loudly proclaimed their areas of expertise and weaknesses, seeking complementary partners to form temporary combat contracts and small teams to face the unknown dangers together.
(End of the Chapter)
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