Chapter 450 The Sudden Wizard War
The Starfall Wizard's soul floated lightly out of the lounge and headed to the control room to connect to the magic network.
The alloy door slid shut silently, leaving only Clark, Viola, and Jemin and his apprentice inside.
Almost the instant the door closed, Jemin keenly sensed a subtle yet distinct change in the atmosphere of the room.
It wasn't hostility or tension, but rather a kind of... calmness.
A kind of quiet that comes after discussing relatively "personal" or "technical" matters, before turning to more serious issues.
The air seemed to grow heavier.
Jemin instinctively straightened his back, his eyes involuntarily glancing at his mentor Clark, who was still leisurely sipping his hot drink, and then at Viola beside him.
Senior Viola clearly noticed it too. The lively expression on her face from playing around with Xingzhui quickly faded, her brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes became sharp and focused.
"cough."
Professor Clark gently put down the metal cup in his hand, the bottom of the cup making a crisp, slight sound as it touched the table.
He raised his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping over his two students, and spoke in a flat tone words powerful enough to send a shiver down the spines of any member of the Norren Workshop:
"Make some preparations in advance. It won't be long before Norren Workshop goes to war with the Tower of Annihilation and the Chaos Cult."
Jemin's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out in astonishment, "War? Against the Tower of Annihilation and the Chaos Cult? Why?"
In his knowledge and experience, Norren Workshop and these two wizarding forces, both under the Star Ring Federation, have always had a harmonious relationship, and could even be described as close partners.
The most direct evidence is the "boundary point".
That is a super-large cross-dimensional transit hub jointly funded, constructed, and maintained by three parties.
Its purpose is to provide a stable, safe, and fully functional initial base for the wizards from the three parties participating in the interdimensional war.
In the many interdimensional wars that Jemin participated in, the preliminary preparations and mobilizations were mostly carried out at the border points.
On the battlefield, wizards from these three different factions fight side by side, and it is common for them to support each other.
Jemin himself had once collaborated with the wizards of the Tower of Annihilation.
Although there are occasional frictions in the cooperation between the three major forces, the overall atmosphere is rational and efficient, with the common goal of seizing dimensional resources and expanding the wizard civilization.
How could such close allies suddenly become mortal enemies?
Viola's reaction was calmer than Jemin's, but her brows furrowed more deeply. She looked at Clark, her tone grave: "They... couldn't hold back any longer?"
Upon hearing this, Clark revealed a smile that was almost mocking.
He slowly said, "Originally, each of our three major forces had only one level eight wizard in charge. Although the accumulated resources and the specific scale of our forces differed, from the perspective of the most decisive strategic forces at the top, we roughly maintained a fragile balance. If there were differences, we could talk about them; if there were benefits, we could share them. The benefits of cooperation and win-win situations far outweighed the gains that could be obtained from confrontation."
He paused, his gaze beneath the gray robe growing deep: "But now, the situation is different."
Clark's words were like a key, instantly unlocking a neglected corner of Jemin's mind.
Anton Buchanan!
Clark's mentor, his own grandmaster!
Not long ago, he completed the solidification of the laws and was promoted to the second level eight wizard of Norn Workshop!
At the time, Jemin was present and was overwhelmed by the vast manifestation of laws and the torrent of knowledge.
They only felt that the workshop's strength had greatly increased and its future was bright, without giving much thought to the dramatic impact this would have on the surrounding political landscape.
For a long time, the wars he participated in were all about external expansion, fighting against alien civilizations, and plundering dimensional resources.
This led him to unconsciously equate "war" with "external conflict," subconsciously ignoring the fact that within the wizarding civilization, and between different wizarding factions, there also existed ruthless competition and struggle based on rationality.
Looking back now, it all seems perfectly natural.
On the interdimensional battlefield, when a hastily formed wizard squad discovers a precious resource that could drive anyone mad, they may, after assessing the risks and rewards, engage in "rational betrayal" and turn against their comrades.
This is true even among individual wizards.
How can wizarding factions, which are a vast collection of interests, ever coexist peacefully forever?
The pleasant cooperation in the past was merely the optimal solution based on the premise of "equal strength".
The pie from cooperation is big enough that everyone can be satisfied with the division, which is far more worthwhile than tearing each other apart and causing mutual harm.
But now, the balance has been broken.
Anton Buchanan's successful promotion to level eight means that the top strategic strength of the Norren Workshop has increased from "one" to "two"!
In wizarding civilizations, high-ranking wizards, especially those at levels seven and eight, represent over 90% of a wizarding faction's deterrent power and actual combat strength.
The birth of a new level eight wizard has, without exaggeration, almost doubled the overall combat strength of Norren Workshop!
How could the Tower of Annihilation and the Chaos Cult not panic? How could they not be anxious?
How can I allow someone else to snore beside my bed?
What's more, this "other" suddenly has an extra "giant arm" that can easily crush him.
Just as Jemin was quickly sorting through this cruel political logic in his mind, his mentor Clark's calm voice continued, confirming his thoughts:
“From a purely rational perspective, their choice is not wrong. Taking action before Instructor Anton has just been promoted and has not yet fully mastered and controlled the eighth-level power, and before he has completely transformed this power into a strategic advantage for the entire workshop, is their only window of opportunity to contain us and even seize our benefits. The sooner we act, the more advantageous it will be for them.”
Jemin's heart tightened: "Then...doesn't that mean war could break out at any moment?"
Jemin had no doubt that, given the wizards' efficiency, they might launch a war immediately once they figured this out.
Viola shook her head and continued, her tone laced with sarcasm: "It won't be as fast as you think. Because the Star Ring Federation won't allow it."
“The Star Ring Federation?” Jemin looked at his mentor, Clark.
Clark nodded and explained, "Noren Workshop, the Tower of Annihilation, and the Chaos Cult are all ultimately member forces under the Star Ring Federation. The Federation usually does not interfere in the internal affairs of each force, granting them a high degree of autonomy. However, if a large-scale armed conflict breaks out between its member forces, the Federation has the right and the responsibility to coordinate."
Viola seemed to have thought of something, and the corners of her mouth curled up as she added, "After all, if a group of wizards are allowed to act at will, the scope of this matter will inevitably become larger and larger."
“However, coordination is not about forcibly ordering a ceasefire. That doesn’t align with the core logic of wizards’ ‘equivalent exchange’ and ‘power supremacy,’ and it could easily sow the seeds of deeper hidden dangers.” Clark’s tone was as if he were stating some objective law.
"Federal coordination typically involves defining a specific time and area based on the demands of the conflicting parties, the balance of power, and the points of contention. It requires the conflicting parties to commit their main combat forces to that area for a 'battle' within the specified time."
“The winners gain the disputed benefits or the right to speak, while the losers have to bear the corresponding costs, such as giving up some benefits, or being ‘exiled’ to a more dangerous front line of civilization, and having to develop new territories on their own as compensation.”
He glanced at Jemin: "Of course, you can also choose not to abide by the Federation's coordination, start a war on your own, and escalate the conflict. But the consequence of doing so is that you will not only violate the Federation's rules but also provoke other forces that are wary of the spread of the war, and you will face joint sanctions from the entire Star Ring Federation system, and possibly even the Star Orbit Arbitration Tribunal. No wizarding force can afford that price."
Jemin immediately understood: "So... the workshop's higher-ups used the federal coordination mechanism to postpone the start of the war?"
“Not bad.” The faint smile on Clark’s face disappeared, replaced by a hint of regret. “Although it delayed us and bought us a valuable preparation period, it wasn’t delayed for too long.”
He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls of the warship, looking towards the unseen future, or perhaps he truly saw some unknowable line of fate.
"Based on the information currently circulating and the progress of internal negotiations within the Federation," Clark's voice was calm, yet every word was clear, striking a chord in Jemin and Viola's hearts, "this war can at most be delayed until eighty years from now!"
"Within the next eighty years, the workshop will concentrate its resources as much as possible to enhance combat capabilities and consolidate its strength. However..."
He paused, glanced in the direction the Starfall Wizard had left, and gently shook his head.
"It seems that Starfall won't make it in time for this war."
Even after hearing Clark's assertion, a lingering doubt remained in Jemin's mind.
Why was the mentor so certain that the Starfall Wizard wouldn't make it to the war eighty years later?
Is it merely because of the loss of a body?
For wizards, especially high-level wizards, physical damage is certainly a major setback, but it is by no means an irreversible dead end.
The technique of reshaping the body to fit the soul is not a top secret in wizarding literature; in fact, it is quite common.
It only takes a few days and some resources to rebuild a new body.
Once the new body and soul are connected, the wizard will be able to "come back to life" and regain most of his fighting power.
Although the Starfall Wizard suffered heavy losses this time, it also gained a lot. Surely it won't be too late to catch up in this war?
Just as Jemin was pondering to himself, the alloy door to the lounge slid open again.
The soul of the Fallen Wizard drifted back.
However, this was a stark contrast to the eager and energetic state they had when they left.
At this moment, she seemed... unusually elusive.
Although she was originally a wandering soul, this "wandering" was not the inherent illusion of a soul, but a state of disorientation that was difficult to concentrate after the mind was violently impacted.
Her movements as she "floated" in were much slower than usual, and the flow of her soul's light also appeared somewhat sluggish and disordered.
Those translucent eyes lost focus, as if still immersed in some kind of unbelievable shock.
(End of this chapter)
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