Chapter 983: The Odin Factions
Skyhold Fortress, that enormous city floating in the sky, is their greatest achievement in alchemical arrays. Countless floating fortresses and war bastions—all are Skyhold's weapons of war.
All of these require immense mastery of alchemical arrays to accomplish.
Most mages in Skyhold Fortress know at least something about alchemical arrays. In fact, when Skyhold trains apprentices, talent in alchemical arrays is one of the most important factors considered.
Anyone recruited from outside is basically a specialist in alchemical arrays. Mages are almost never brought in from the outside; they're all trained internally.
Twenty years ago, Skyhold Fortress discovered a new demi-plane. Supposedly, it's a small Hurricane Demi-plane, home to a Sky Rank hurricane elemental lord—exceptionally powerful, and it cost Skyhold dearly.
In that kind of demi-plane, even Sky Rank mages would have a hard time killing that hurricane elemental lord. Skyhold's efforts to develop that plane stalled, and losses kept piling up.
Finally, out of sheer frustration, they gathered hordes of alchemical array specialists and, using Skyhold Fortress as a foundation, spent a year constructing a super alchemical array cluster. They directly siphoned power from that demi-plane to fuel Skyhold Fortress.
Power from that small Hurricane Demi-plane has been continuously extracted for twenty years. Its energy has plummeted by several tiers, and that Sky Rank hurricane elemental lord has dropped three levels.
At this rate, in a few decades, the plane will collapse entirely. But with that energy reserve backing them, Skyhold Fortress is stronger than ever.
Their alchemical array expertise has reached the pinnacle of the Odin Kingdom—downright frightening, really.
If you run into Skyhold Fortress's floating bastions in the Blazeforge Battlefield, do yourself a favor and don't pick a fight...
Joey spilled all the detailed intel on Skyhold Fortress—especially some secrets that made Leon raise his eyebrows.
To forcibly siphon power from a plane with alchemical arrays—even with an army of alchemists and a year of work—is telling enough.
This approach might not match Bill George's sky-high power, but for a faction—not even Odin's top dogs—it shows just how deep their alchemical mastery runs.
Joey and Heron both knew this trip to the Blazeforge Battlefield was a gamble. Forget the spoils—just facing the Blazeforge Orcs and Odin Kingdom could spell disaster if things went south.
But skipping the Blazeforge Battlefield wasn't an option. If you don't fight for your slice, you're just edging closer to real defeat.
With fortress affairs settled, Leon gathered his people and set out alongside Heron and Joey.
The entrance to the Blazeforge Battlefield sits in the bleakest stretch of the Death Sea within the Blazeforge Demi-plane.
They call it a sea, but there's not a drop of water—just endless wasteland and desert, almost no resources, and an environment that's absolutely brutal.
During the day, it's so hot you could cook an egg on the sand—hotter than the fiercest summer noon in the Blazeforge Demi-plane. At night, it gets colder than the deepest winter, and the wind cuts like knives.
Even the Black Iron Orcs, with all their toughness, could freeze to death out here at night.
That's why nobody claims this place—it's barren, dangerous, and if the entrance to the Blazeforge Battlefield weren't here, nobody would bother coming.
Legend has it the Blazeforge Battlefield is anchored here, draining power from the Blazeforge Demi-plane. That's supposedly what turned this place into the lifeless Death Sea, but nobody really knows for sure.
When Heron and Joey brought Leon here, all the Odin Kingdom factions had already arrived. Some of the Black Tower and Cloudspire Tower elites had even come early.
Everyone was spread out, with a clear line drawn between the Odin Kingdom and the Andalusia Kingdom.
Once they arrived, Heron took the initiative to introduce Leon to the people here.
"Our Andalusia Kingdom only has four factions. Besides the royal family led by the Azure Sword Saint, there are just our three forces left."
"Across from us are the six factions belonging to the Odin Kingdom."
"See those tents with the violet flower emblem? That's the Odin royal family. Their strength is hard to gauge. When they attacked the orc fortress, they only sent their royal guards—just two Ninth-Rank Mage Lords made a move. Rumor has it one of the princes is here."
Still, nobody dares underestimate them. The Odin royal family inherited treasures from the Third Dynasty, and no one knows what trump cards they're hiding—especially the royals, who all seem to have some powerful life-saving ace up their sleeves."
From afar, Leon could see several large tents, their canvases covered in runes. Not only did they offer powerful protection, but they also blocked all magical detection. The biggest tent even had a faint spatial ripple—clearly, it wasn't just a tent.
Around the tents stood warriors clad head to toe in armor, their eyes hidden behind visors, looking more like silver statues than actual people.
As he spoke, Heron pointed toward a group of mages in dark red robes not far from the Odin tents.
"Those guys distorting the air around them are from the Burning Tower. They're currently top of the leaderboard and masters of fire magic—every kind of fire variant you can imagine. When they attack a fortress, most places end up burned to ash, and even the orc slaves rarely survive; almost all are incinerated in battle.
Their combat explosiveness is way beyond the other factions. Their mages are all about fighting—almost every single one is a battle maniac. It's rare to find a mage faction so obsessed with war."
Then he pointed at the next group—mages in loose gray robes, hoods pulled low, faces mostly covered except for a pair of deep, watchful eyes.
They looked the least imposing, almost like a bunch of humble pilgrims, but everyone kept their distance.
Heron's tone was full of wariness and caution.
"Those are the Dunespire Tower people. Rumor has it their fighting style is heavily dependent on the environment, but anyone who thinks that way is in for a gruesome end."
The founder of Dunespire Tower was called a god-demon who walked the earth. As long as his feet touched the ground, he was invincible—his spells could reshape the environment, turning everything into a sea of sand. Even mountains would collapse, swallowed by endless dunes.
Here, with nothing but desert and wasteland, the mages of Dunespire Tower can fight at least one rank higher.
In a place like this, unless you're a Sky Rank mage whose foundation is the laws of earth, even most Sky Rank mages can't kill a Ninth-Rank Mage Lord from Dunespire Tower.
And a Ninth-Rank Mage Lord of equal rank, in this environment, would be completely crushed by a Dunespire Tower mage."
Heron pointed again at a cluster of floating fortresses in the distance—Leon knew instantly those were Skyhold Fortress mages.
"That's the Skyhold Fortress group. They're busy cracking the Plane Path. I've already introduced Skyhold to you—aside from the Odin royal family, these three factions are the strongest here: Burning Tower, Dunespire Tower, and Skyhold Fortress. If you leave out the Sky Rank powerhouses, their leaders are all a bit stronger than me and Joey.
Extraordinary powers can't be used in the Blazeforge Battlefield, so those three are our biggest enemies this time."
With that, Heron pointed to another group—a mage faction that looked loaded. Their robes, staffs, rings, necklaces, and all their magical gear were top-tier.
The main thing is, it's not just a few individuals—every single mage is armed to the teeth with magical artifacts.
"That's the Henry Family. They've got tons of holdings in the Odin Kingdom, controlling more than a dozen planes. They're basically the rich family of the realm—their wealth rivals the oldest mage factions in Odin."