Chapter 1496
"Uncle-Master, you mean we should prepare for the worst and block the passage first? That way, even in the worst-case scenario, we can at least trap the undead creatures inside the corridor, right?"
Alonzo nodded repeatedly.
Leon pondered for a moment. In truth, neither of their approaches was wrong—they each had their own logic.
If we want to sever and seal off this corridor space, the Hexagram Formation has to work as intended. If it's incomplete, there might be cracks or flaws left behind.
Even if the Hexagram Formation manages to cut off and seal this space, if it's not complete, it's possible that beings from the Undead Plane or the Leviathan Realm could still enter this corridor.
As time passes, or if someone deliberately sabotages it, the seal might collapse sooner rather than later. Since the separation of space is already incomplete, once the seal fails, this corridor will become permanently fixed. At that point, the Hexagram Formation will be that much easier to break, and the two planes will merge into one. The Leviathan Realm being devoured is inevitable—no one will be able to stop it.
But if we wait until the entire Hexagram Formation is set up before activating it all at once, that's a whole different set of problems. We'd have to drive all the undead out of this corridor space first. And when it comes time to build the Bastion Nodes, we'd need to split our forces to protect them from being destroyed by the undead. If even one is lost, the Hexagram Formation won't be complete.
That way, the further we advance, the fewer resources we have to draw on, but the resistance just keeps getting stronger. With the time we have now, there's no way we can pull this off.
And once this corridor space is completely stabilized, it'll be impossible to sever and seal it again. The connection between the Leviathan Realm and the Undead Plane will be permanent, and the Leviathan Realm will inevitably be devoured by the Undead Plane.
Professor Agalon, Uncle-Master Alonzo, I think you two might be overthinking this...
Leon hesitated, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind. He blurted out the line, not committing to either side yet...
Alonzo and Agalon stayed silent, just watching Leon. Leon gathered his thoughts and continued explaining his idea.
I don't agree with either of your ideas, but I also agree with both of you. You both make sense, so why don't we plan for both contingencies?
If we activate half the Hexagram Formation first, there's a big chance its power won't reach expectations. But if we wait to activate the whole thing after it's built, in the chaos of the undead tide, that's nearly impossible.
So let's activate half first. The real challenge is building the Bastion Nodes for the other half, right? Once we've calculated the position, we need to design and build the nodes ahead of time, and each one takes a week to construct. If interrupted or miscalculated, the entire layer of nodes needs to be recalculated and rebuilt.
But if we can solve the one-week construction problem—if we can build a Bastion Node in an hour, half an hour, or even less—wouldn't that fix everything?
We can advance step by step, build a layer and activate it, gradually consuming this corridor space. Once a layer is activated, the undead can't do anything. We push forward a thousand kilometers, then build the Bastion Nodes in an hour and activate them, integrating them into the Hexagram Formation. Wouldn't that make things much simpler?
Agalon and Alonzo stared blankly at Leon. Agalon frowned.
That's theoretically possible, but building a Bastion Node in an hour is impossible. Each layer has at least ten nodes, and even if we split the work, we can't finish in time.
Alonzo shot Agalon a cold smile.
I called you dumb and you still won't admit it. If Merlin dares to say it, he's already thought of the solution. Just let him speak.
Merlin, go on, ignore that old fool.
Leon kept his composure, ignoring their bickering.
If we build directly on the ground, it's impossible to finish in an hour. But these Bastion Nodes aren’t real fortresses—their main function is to serve as nodes for the Hexagram Formation.
We can swap out some materials, add metal, and pre-build them elsewhere. The whole Bastion can be made as a unit, just like setting up an alchemical array.
Once we've picked the location, we pre-make the Bastion Nodes and just install them in place. That way, we can build all the nodes for a layer in an hour or even half an hour, then activate that part!
Hearing this, Agalon and Alonzo were stunned—not because the idea was too hard, but because they finally understood why Leon said they were overthinking.
This massive Hexagram Formation is, at its core, just an alchemical array. The process isn’t so different from normal array setups.
Everyone forgot that those huge Bastions are really just key array materials for normal alchemical setups. Normally, you don’t build the nodes piece by piece on site.
When Leon explained, Agalon and Alonzo finally got it. With metal added and the Bastion made as a whole, the result is much better.
Just ordinary steel is enough. Add a bit of magisteel or other magical materials—even the lowest grade—and the Bastion’s effect doubles.
If every Bastion Node is built this way, the combined effect will make the Hexagram Formation twice as powerful as expected.
Is steel valuable? To mages, it’s just foundation material. Magisteel? The cheapest magic metal in Northend, with huge reserves. Even a magic apprentice can buy tons of purified magisteel.
For Sky Rank mages, building a city out of purified magisteel is no big deal—it’s just that cheap.
Half the price of purified magisteel is for refining it. Of the rest, only 20% is material cost, the other 30% is mining, transport, and so on.
But for Bastion Nodes, we don’t need pure magisteel—mostly steel with a bit of magisteel is fine. Even magisteel ore works, and it won’t affect the result.
Even if we need thousands of Bastion Nodes, the cost is less than what the Gilded Rose makes in a week.
It’s not that pure magisteel can’t be used, but there’s no need. It would only boost the effect by 50% and take much longer.
Sky Rank mages all have demi-planes, usually used like spatial rings. For Agalon and Leon, their Natural Semi-Planes are so large, they can build a factory inside, then drop the Bastions in place.
When Leon explained, Agalon and Alonzo finally got it. With metal added and the Bastion made as a whole, the result is much better.
Just ordinary steel is enough. Add a bit of magisteel or other magical materials—even the lowest grade—and the Bastion’s effect doubles.
If every Bastion Node is built this way, the combined effect will make the Hexagram Formation twice as powerful as expected.
Is steel valuable? To mages, it’s just foundation material. Magisteel? The cheapest magic metal in Northend, with huge reserves. Even a magic apprentice can buy tons of purified magisteel.
For Sky Rank mages, building a city out of purified magisteel is no big deal—it’s just that cheap.
Half the price of purified magisteel is for refining it. Of the rest, only 20% is material cost, the other 30% is mining, transport, and so on.
But for Bastion Nodes, we don’t need pure magisteel—mostly steel with a bit of magisteel is fine. Even magisteel ore works, and it won’t affect the result.
Even if we need thousands of Bastion Nodes, the cost is less than what the Gilded Rose makes in a week.
It’s not that pure magisteel can’t be used, but there’s no need. It would only boost the effect by 50% and take much longer.
Sky Rank mages all have demi-planes, usually used like spatial rings. For Agalon and Leon, their Natural Semi-Planes are so large, they can build a factory inside, then drop the Bastions in place.