Chapter 322 Wizard Norn and the Purification Agreement (Part 2)

A brief silence fell over the battlefield as the last piece of loot tainted with the aura of the Triangular Plane was discarded.

The wizard army and the two level-seven wizards stood there, looking at the mountain of harvest before them, their expressions somewhat bewildered and stunned.

What was originally a victory has now turned into an ominous pile of garbage. This rapid shift from ecstasy to horror takes even the most experienced wizards some time to process this inexplicable turn of events.

Only Dixon, after confirming through his perception of fate that the ominous cloud that had enveloped the entire army in its rapid descent had dissipated and the line of fate had returned to a stable or even slightly upward positive value, truly breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately used the soul link to quickly communicate his findings and deductions with Obolos and Meliste, who was far away in the ship dimension.

Although it is known that the crisis originated from the spoils of war, the specific reasons and the nature of the invisible force influencing thinking remain shrouded in mystery.

When faced with the unknown, the safest approach is to wait.

Fortunately, the support from high-level wizards is extremely efficient.

Just minutes later, Meryl Streep, who had been on edge monitoring the entire situation, suddenly heard a gentle and calm voice asking beside her:

"What happened here? They've activated the highest emergency signal."

Merlister was shocked. With her level seven wizard's senses, she hadn't even noticed when the other party had appeared!

She turned her head sharply and saw a middle-aged wizard dressed in a simple gray robe, with a refined demeanor and a gentle face, who had quietly appeared in the control room at some point, looking at her with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

Upon seeing the person's face clearly, Meliste's eyes flashed with disbelief and astonishment, which quickly turned into absolute respect.

She immediately bowed and gave a rapid and clear report of everything that had happened—from the awakening of the fungal master, to the bombardment of the ship's main cannons, to Dixon's warning of fate, and the order for the entire army to discard the spoils of war.

The refined wizard listened quietly, his face showing little emotion, only nodding slightly to indicate his understanding.

Then, his figure disappeared silently, as if blending into the light.

The sophisticated instruments within the ship's plane, capable of monitoring spatial jumps and energy disturbances, showed no reaction whatsoever, as if he had never been there.

The next moment, the space above the shattered Giant Spirit Realm rippled slightly, and the figure of this refined wizard appeared out of thin air beside Dixon and Obolos.

"Lord Norren the Wizard!" Dixon and Obros were equally surprised to see him, and immediately restrained their auras and bowed respectfully.

The respect in his tone was far greater than when addressing someone of the same rank.

Wizard Norren smiled gently and waved his hand: "No need for formalities, I have a general understanding of the situation."

His gaze then fell upon the ravaged battlefield below, especially the scattered remains of the fungal lords.

Instead of staying high in the air, he deliberately descended to the ground, squatted down, and stretched out his slender fingers to gently touch a fragment of the fungal host tissue that was still slightly wriggling.

His movements were gentle and focused, as if he were listening to these inanimate objects tell untold secrets.

Below, in the army of wizards, Jemin's heart skipped a beat when he heard Dixon address the wizard who had suddenly appeared.

"Wizard Norren...sir?" A shocking thought flashed through his mind in an instant.

For two level-seven wizards to treat them with such respect, their level must undoubtedly be above level seven: level eight wizards!

And the name "Noren"...

Could it be that the person before us is the founder of Norren Academy, the legendary eighth-level Grand Wizard, Norren himself?!

Not only Jemin, but the wizards around them couldn't help but let out low gasps of surprise, their eyes filled with excitement and awe.

After all, the wizards in this expeditionary force were mostly recruited from the border points, which were originally created by the three major wizarding forces: Norn Workshop, Tower of Annihilation, and Chaos Secret.

Therefore, the name of Norren Wizards is renowned among the three major powers at the border, especially among wizards from Norren Academy; they are absolutely legendary figures!

Wizard Norn examined it carefully for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully and slowly stood up.

“I see.” He murmured to himself, then looked at the anxious Dixon and said calmly, “I have figured out the reason. Fortunately, you reacted in time and did not take these ‘spoils of war’ back to our civilized territory. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable, and you would probably have been doomed.”

Dixon pressed on impatiently, "Lord Norren, what exactly happened? Wasn't the Bacterium Lord already annihilated by the main cannon controlled by Meliste?"

Norn's gaze swept over the numerous wizards below who were listening intently, as well as Meliste who was "looking" over through the link. Without keeping them in suspense, he revealed the truth in clear and concise language:

"What you destroyed was only the material aggregate of the fungal master, but its 'essence' or its 'nature' was not fundamentally affected."

"The real body?" Dixon frowned.

“Indeed.” Wizard Norren nodded. “This fungus master is a rather peculiar creature. It has not developed complex intelligence, but precisely because of this, it has embarked on an extremely rare, even accidental, evolutionary path.”

"It has deeply integrated its own life form with a certain natural law it has comprehended, and embedded this integrated 'body' into the basic law network of these three plane clusters."

"Although it lost the possibility of going further as a result, it also achieved an alternative form of immortality in a near-conceptual form."

"As long as the 'phenomena' related to the laws it integrates with still exist in these planes, it can continuously regenerate and continue based on the laws. Furthermore, it can also spread its own 'existence' to any creature or even plane that has come into contact with such laws or related substances through a kind of 'information infiltration', thereby expanding its own existence."

Wizard Norren pointed to the remains of the fungal master on the ground, and the ruins of the Giant Spirit Realm and the Mind Realm further away: "Judging from the information you provided and the traces at the scene, what this fungal master fused with was likely a fundamental rule similar to 'survival of the fittest' or, more broadly, 'the cycle and evolution of nature'."

"Therefore, if you bring these spoils of war, which contain the 'concept of existence', back to the wizard civilization, it is tantamount to actively introducing this 'conceptual pollution' into our homeland."

"Although this level of pollution will soon be detected and eliminated by the high-ranking wizards within the civilization, as the 'carriers' that introduced the pollution, all of you will be judged as 'hostile actors' by the civilization's own defense mechanisms for violating the most basic 'Civilization Security Contract,' and thus... be collectively wiped out."

Upon hearing this, Dixon, Obros, and Merylest, who overheard everything through the link, all broke out in a cold sweat!

The wizarding civilization is indeed generous to its members, but it has zero tolerance for any behavior that may endanger the overall security of the civilization, and the punishment is severe to the point of being cruel!

If they unknowingly bring the pollution back, their stance will instantly change from heroes to mortal enemies, with absolutely no chance of survival!

“No wonder… just now all of our fates plummeted into the abyss of negative values…” Dixon murmured, a wave of fear washing over him.

At the same time, he finally resolved another doubt he had previously had: "I understand! No wonder when I first arrived in the Giant Spirit Realm, I found that the overall fate line of this plane was low, but I couldn't find the 'protagonist' who gathered the fortune... because most of the fortune had already been bound to the conceptualized fungus master's main body! It is the true and only 'child of destiny' of this triangular plane cluster!"

Jemin, who was hiding among the wizard army, suddenly understood.

He had always felt that the ability of the Giant Spirit Realm and the Mental Realm to generate worldly energy indicated a normal social structure, which was incompatible with the existence of the Bacteria Lord, who seemed to be more inclined towards a natural ecology.

Now I understand after hearing the explanation from Wizard Norn.

The civilization led by Kog and Sheila can be understood as a relatively independent "parasitic civilization" that lives within the vast conceptual organism of the "bacterial master".

They did develop social systems, but they never managed to break free from the underlying legal framework represented by the Bacterium Lord.

However, since they lack intelligence, the existence of the fungal master is merely equivalent to "environment" to them, and does not constitute the concept of "raising" or "enslaving".

Looking at the ravaged plane, Wizard Norn said with a rare sigh, "An existence like the Fungus Lord is extremely rare, even in the endless void."

"Unfortunately, it lacks intelligence and cannot actively control this power to take that step beyond the laws, thus entering a seemingly broad but actually closed dead end. But conversely, if it hadn't been ignorant and simply followed its instincts to merge with the laws, it probably wouldn't have been able to achieve this peculiar state of coexisting with the laws of the plane."

Dixon suppressed his inner turmoil and asked, "Lord Norren, what should we do next? Is it enough to simply discard these spoils and remove any residue from our bodies?"

Wizard Norren nodded slightly: "The residual pollution on your bodies is very weak; it can be cleaned off easily."

As he spoke, he casually flicked his sleeve at the entire wizard army.

Jemin blinked.

In that instant, he seemed to feel a gentle yet vast power brushing through his body like a breeze, and his soul and body experienced an indescribable sense of "purification".

But the feeling was extremely faint, as if nothing had happened.

However, the heavy sense of oppression and vague unease that had been lingering in my heart suddenly disappeared like morning mist dispelled by the sunlight, and I felt completely relaxed.

After confirming that everyone had been freed from the dangers of conceptual pollution, the gentle expression on Wizard Norren's face gradually faded, replaced by a decisiveness that was almost ruthless, befitting a high-ranking wizard.

He looked at Dixon and gave the final instruction:

"The concept of 'fungus master' spawned by this triangular plane community has a potential danger that far exceeds the initial assessment. Its existence and development potential can pose a threat to wizard civilization to a certain extent."

"Order: Abandon all material and non-material gains obtained in this war. Activate the 'Purification Protocol' to carry out indiscriminate and complete physical destruction of the remnants of the Giant Spirit Realm and the Mind Realm, as well as all colonized planes and demiplanes that have been recorded, conquered, or may be tainted by the laws of the Triangular Plane Cluster!"

"Ensure that the concept of 'survival of the fittest' represented by the 'bacterial master,' along with any basis for regeneration that may exist, is completely and permanently erased from these coordinates!"

Dixon, Obolos, and Meliste in the link all felt a chill run down their spines.

The "purification protocol" means that no resource recycling will be considered, no samples will be retained, and the sole task is to ensure the complete annihilation of the target from the material to the energy level, from the physical to the information level!

Without any hesitation, they immediately and respectfully accepted the order: "Yes, Lord Norren!"

...

...

Fifty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Fifty years is not a particularly long time for a cross-dimensional expedition.

But when Jemin stepped out of the teleportation array leading to the Erosian plane, his face showed an almost exhausting weariness.

These fifty years were not consumed by the passion for exploration and conquest, but rather submerged in a cold, repetitive, and seemingly endless "cleaning" work.

The nature of the war was completely changed after the wizard Norn issued the "purification agreement".

The remaining triangular plane clusters were quickly annihilated by the roar of the ship plane's main cannons and the immense power of the level seven wizards.

The Giant Spirit Realm, the Mind Realm, and the Proliferation Realm where the Bacterial Lord's main body resided, along with everything remaining within them, were completely erased from the material realm and reduced to nothingness.

The colony planes controlled by the Giant Spirit Realm and the Star Intelligence Realm were also cleared out one by one—in reality, they found each other's coordinates, jumped over them, and then blasted them to smithereens, turning the entire plane into ashes.

The real trouble began with the civilization to which the two captured golden baboons belonged.

According to the wizard Norn's judgment, since Kog and Sheila had had deep contact with that civilization (fulfilled the contract), then that civilization and all the worlds within its radius of influence may have been infected by the existence of the Bacterium Lord.

This invisible pollution is more terrifying than any physical enemy.

Thus, the expeditionary force's mission list was updated with a series of chilling items: thoroughly clean up all potentially contaminated worlds radiating outwards from the Golden Baboon civilization.

The process was "simple".

The wizard Norn personally intervened, using his incomprehensible level eight power to directly lock onto the core plane of that civilization.

They dragged their top leaders out of their lair like chickens, forcibly searched their souls, and obtained all the coordinates of their colonies, diplomatic relations, trade routes, and even their secret exploration records.

Then came destruction.

The plane itself was directly bombarded by powerful sorcery or the main cannons of the ship plane until its structure collapsed and turned into void dust.

However, this "decapitation" plus "house demolition" model has loopholes.

No one can guarantee that some lucky individual might be colonizing an unrecorded edge dimension, or that a subordinate civilization might be secretly developing a new world without reporting it.

Thus, the task for Jemin and other mid-to-low-level wizards came about.

It's like they're conducting a cosmic-scale "data mining" and "source tracing and pursuit".

The main task is divided into two steps.

First, gather information.

Like a locust swarm sweeping across the land, they ravage the information repositories of every destroyed civilization—whether physical books, energy crystals, mental networks, or biological genetic memories.

They copied and brought back every piece of information they could find about the history, technology, communication, and exploration of this civilization, down to the smallest detail.

Second, they found useful relevant information from this astronomical amount of data and provided it to the three seventh-level wizards.

And then what happened next was killing, killing, killing!

Based on the constantly updated list of coordinates, every plane, every colony, and even every independent civilization suspected of having a deep connection with it will be physically and thoroughly wiped out.

The value of resources and knowledge is no longer considered; the only criterion is "whether it exists."

These fifty years of experience have given Jemin a profound understanding of what it means to experience the “chain reaction of destruction of civilizations”.

The network of relationships between advanced civilizations is like an infinitely extending grapevine; if you grab one, you can pull out a whole bunch.

After cleaning up this string, I discovered that there were even more strings connected to it.

Every destroyed civilization may have had its own vassals, allies, trading partners, or even a primitive plane that it had just discovered and was yet to be developed.

All of these, if there is even the slightest possibility of indirect contamination, will be included in the "purification" list.

The phrase "exterminating nine generations of one's family" seems too merciful and limited when used to describe the actions of a sorcerer.

The entire expedition was an exponential cleanup along the network of civilizations.

He finally understood why the Star Ring Federation was so decisive in launching an annihilation campaign against the Triangular Plane Cluster.

The fact that the Bacterium is invisible and intangible, and spreads its infection by relying on laws, is truly terrifying.

If it weren't for the timely insight of the wizard Norren and the most extreme countermeasures he took...

Given time, who knows how far this conceptual pollution will spread, and it may truly become a huge hidden danger that shakes the foundation of wizarding civilization.

Now, this long and bloody "purification" has finally come to an end.

The last coordinate on the list was lit up, then fell silent again in the magical light.

Jemin returned to his laboratory in the Erosian plane almost instinctively.

The long-lost environment, filled with the faint scent of alchemical potions and metal, now brought an indescribable sense of security.

He didn't bother to examine the vast backups of knowledge from various destroyed civilizations that could barely be considered "harvests" within his body, nor did he bother to organize the heavily damaged cannon fodder legions and rune artifacts.

He walked straight through the laboratory filled with various instruments and materials, pushed open the bedroom door, and then, like a puppet with its strings cut, fell straight forward, crashing heavily onto the soft, magical mattress.

He was too lazy to even take off his boots, and didn't bother to change his robes.

Almost the instant his head touched the pillow, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion completely overwhelmed his consciousness.

(That's all for today. I thought about it and realized there wasn't much to write about the "cleanup" part later, so I'll just mention it briefly.)

(End of this chapter)