Chapter 1506
Even a Pyro Mage, when faced with the suppression of an entire world's power, can at best hope to survive—sometimes, not even that.
The Natural Semi-Plane is Leon's greatest source of confidence. As long as its development proceeds smoothly, without deviation, there won't be any major problems.
The moment I left the Natural Semi-Plane, I felt the surrounding mana turn violent. Soaring into the sky for a glance, I saw everyone in the fortress rushing about. Mages landed one after another, some flying out toward the front lines. The sky above the front had changed color—a mass of black clouds swirling into a giant vortex.
Spelllight flared continuously there, stretching across a thousand kilometers. The real battle was hidden from view, but just seeing those flashes was enough to know how fierce the fighting was up front.
Despite the battle spanning a thousand kilometers, here I felt no trace of mana fluctuations. It almost seemed as if the front lines were impossibly far away. But when I looked at the metallic sheen of the fortresses ahead, I suddenly understood.
Agalon and Alonzo had done exactly as they'd said. The newly built fortresses were half the size, but far sturdier than the ones mages had previously conjured with spellwork.
Every fortress was constructed from steel mixed with Magisteel, its surface covered in dense spellmarks and runes. With a few mana crystals added, each one was essentially a hulking magical stronghold.
This was only the fortresses’ defensive capability. As key nodes in the massive Hexagram Formation, these new fortresses played an even greater role than their predecessors.
The lack of strong mana fluctuations here was due to the staged activation of the Hexstar Array formed by these fortress nodes, slowly coming online, inch by inch.
In these past days, the front has advanced over a thousand kilometers. The sea of fire that once blocked the central passage is nearly extinguished, and the Northend Allied Forces have crossed it, claiming the land where flames once raged. Fortress after fortress of steel now stands rooted here, each with a unique shape.
I flew out from the fortress beneath me, heading toward the front lines. Before I even arrived, I saw six floating citadels towing a steel fortress forward.
This steel fortress was less than two kilometers in diameter, shaped like a half-sphere missing a segment—only the upper half remained, while the lower half was a flat plane, from which six steel spikes, each over a hundred meters long, jutted downward.
These spikes were crafted from Magisteel blended with other magical metals, covered in dense glyphwork. With a quick glance, I could already deduce their purpose.
When the steel fortress landed, those six massive spikes would pierce deep into the earth. Once the fortress was secured, the pre-set alchemical arrays on the spikes would activate. With the mages’ control, the spikes could shift and reshape, locking the fortress in place. At least five kilometers of ground around would be seized—no one could move the fortress or lift it again…
The flat underside of the fortress was also etched with dense alchemical patterns, spellmarks, inscriptions, and runes…
Combined, these gave the fortress a special ability: once it touched the earth, it could never be moved again. The Earth Pulse Link Array bound the fortress to the land itself, making it part of the terrain. Unless the earth itself collapsed, the node would never fail—at least not as a Hexagram Formation nexus.
Drawing on the earth’s own power, the fortress’s defenses would be boosted to another level…
I didn’t rush to the very front, but instead joined the convoy transporting the steel fortress, continuing forward.
Around this fortress, the defensive ring stretched for hundreds of kilometers, at least five layers thick. The undead could hardly hope to break through, and even the nearest skirmishes were five hundred kilometers away.
The floating citadels carrying the steel fortress were surely the work of Skyhold Fortress, yet I could see traces of seven or eight other factions in its construction.
After flying over a hundred kilometers, I found Dean Gandalf already waiting there. I didn’t disturb him—just watched quietly and helped keep watch.
The six floating citadels lowered the steel fortress slowly, with Dean Gandalf personally adjusting its direction and position.
The ground had already been cleared into a flat, mirror-like surface, marked with six special symbols—each indicating where a steel spike would pierce.
The fortress descended, the spikes aligned with the six marks, and as the floating citadels lowered it, the fortress’s weight drove the massive spikes effortlessly into the earth.
As the fortress neared the ground, the six floating citadels shifted to its sides, guiding it gently down.
With a muffled roar, the fortress settled fully onto the earth. Once stable, the alchemical arrays activated automatically, fusing fortress and ground into one—the base seemed to grow straight from the land itself.
Within seconds, this connection spread out over more than ten kilometers. As time passed, the range would only increase. When the other fortresses landed and activated, they’d link together—no one could pull a single fortress free again.
A Rockmaster rushed up to activate some of the fortress arrays, while a steel mage from the Rodney Family began powering up the pre-installed alchemical arrays. As the steel’s power awakened…
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Countless runes flickered in my gaze, as if I could see straight through the earth—down to the six steel spikes driven deep below.
Beyond those spikes, massive steel ingots had already been buried deep underground. Spellmarks etched on the spikes began to activate, and suddenly, like a burst of quills from a hedgehog, smaller spikes shot out from the main shafts.
When these spikes touched the buried ingots, the steel seemed to come alive, shifting and reshaping—like a metal tree growing beneath the earth.
The six thickest spikes were the trunks of six giant iron trees, while the buried ingots served as their nourishment. The trunks split into branches, and those branches split again—an endless cycle.
Soon, all the underground steel ingots vanished, and beneath the steel fortress, the iron roots stretched out, spreading for more than ten kilometers and reaching depths of four or five hundred meters. The complex steel roots devoured every trace of iron in the earth—combined with the fortress above and the alchemical arrays in play.
The ground here grew harder than stone, and the transformation continued with each passing moment—even I was a little stunned.
In the wars beyond Northend, the brilliance of mage civilization finally erupted: human cooperation and mage wisdom, displayed to the fullest.
From its first forging to its final emplacement, alchemists were indispensable to this steel fortress. Those skilled in alchemical arrays and magical devices handled vital components; engineering golem specialists built key sections; and the seemingly useless Grandmaster's Elixirs were, in fact, crucial here.
Alchemists skilled in elixirs didn’t just brew potions—their knowledge ran deep. Many spellmarks, inscriptions, and runes were within their domain. And for this fortress to truly fuse as one, Grandmaster's Elixirs were absolutely essential.
Not all elixirs are meant for mages. Many possess special properties: Fusion Reagents, Soladin Catalysts, Physic Modulation Draughts…
Alchemy is the science of mage civilization. To truly separate one discipline from another is impossible; people just prefer to classify alchemists by their final results.
Beyond the essential alchemists, building this fortress required Pyro Mages, Frost Mages for construction support, Earth Mages for activation, even Rockmasters—and most crucial of all, steel mages from the Rodney Family to assist with activation…
Transport was another major challenge. Skyhold Fortress and many other factions excelled at it, so they joined the convoy.
Earlier, I’d joked about having Agalon toss fortresses out of the Natural Semi-Plane, but he, Alonzo, Dean Gandalf, and mages of their caliber could all pull it off.
But there were simply too many fortresses needed here—they couldn’t manage every single one. That’s where mage cooperation shone, and the explosive power of teamwork was enough to leave me stunned.
Reading accounts of the peak era, I’ve always felt it was the age of mage-driven industry taken to the extreme—efficiency so high it was almost frightening.
Watching this unfold, I suddenly realized that Northend World has already begun sprinting toward its own peak. The changes I hoped for are finally here—even those sluggish mages have started chasing efficiency.
Once they see the benefits, there’ll be no slowing them down…