novelraw Chapter 538: Choices on the Other Side
Chapter 538: Choices on the Other Side
Chapter 538: Choices on the Other Side
Tower of Annihilation, Third Tower Plane Cluster.
Chaos reigned everywhere.
Busy wizards hurried about, collection arrays were being activated one after another, and resources and personnel were being forcibly packed up and taken away. The magic net artificial intelligence Felix had given them a one-year deadline. It sounded generous, but for the overall relocation of a massive wizard faction, it was nothing short of hell mode.
One year was only enough for them to pack up the most core planes, the most outstanding population, and the most valuable assets.
As for the peripheral planes, the outer population, and the resources that had not yet been fully mined, they could only be forced to abandon them.
Of course, the Tower of Annihilation would not surrender so easily.
Every minute, countless planes were being mined with frantic intensity.
The collection arrays that should have been operated with precision were now all pushed to maximum power.
Even if it caused resource waste, as long as they could bring away one more ton of ore before the deadline, it was a victory.
In the midst of this chaos, one figure was so busy his feet barely touched the ground.
It was Imaginary.
As a sixth-ring wizard who controlled the Imaginary Law, his ability was like a fish in water during this large-scale migration.
He could skip the tedious mining process and directly “define” the result of resources being fully collected. He could omit the complicated transportation procedures and directly “present” the state of materials arriving at their destination.
One person, his efficiency was equivalent to tens of thousands of ordinary wizards.
But the price was equally enormous.
When Dark Raven found him, he almost could not believe his eyes.
The Imaginary who had been elegant and composed on the battlefield, always calm and unhurried, had now visibly lost weight.
It was not figurative—literally thinner: his cheeks were sunken, his eye sockets deeply hollowed, and his once well-fitting wizard robe now hung loosely on his frame.
For a sixth-ring wizard who had absolute control over his own body, this state was almost equivalent to the weakness a mortal would suffer after a “massive blood loss.”
“You…” Dark Raven did not know what to say for a moment.
Imaginary raised his head and glanced at him. His dark red eyes were filled with exhaustion.
But he said nothing. He simply took a deep breath…
In the next instant, his entire person was “refreshed.”
The sunken cheeks filled out again, the hollow eye sockets returned to normal, and the loose wizard robe was once more stretched taut by muscle.
Imaginary—skipping the recovery process and directly presenting a healthy state.
In just a few seconds, he had returned to the elegant and composed Imaginary.
“What is it?” he asked, his voice steady, as if the weakened appearance from moments ago had been an illusion.
Dark Raven looked at him and sighed inwardly.
He knew very well that this “skipping recovery” was only superficial. Although the body had recovered, the mental fatigue had not been alleviated. But since the other party did not want to talk about it, he did not point it out.
“Lord Annihilation has given orders,” Dark Raven said. “You no longer need to participate in the subsequent resource collection.”
Imaginary was stunned. “No longer need me?”
He subconsciously looked around.
This plane was a small one the Third Tower Plane Cluster had only recently conquered. Its resources had not yet been mined.
At this moment, the entire land was filled with busy wizards activating various collection arrays, racing against time to seize every bit of resources.
Not just this plane.
Of the thousands upon thousands of planes held by the Tower of Annihilation, aside from the few core ones confirmed to be relocated together, every single one was now displaying the same scene.
“Without my assistance,” Imaginary frowned, “can we finish mining the resources of all the planes before the deadline?”
“We can’t,” Dark Raven answered cleanly and decisively. “So Lord Annihilation’s meaning is—resources and the like, just abandon them.”
Imaginary’s pupils contracted slightly.
He caught the deeper meaning in Dark Raven’s words:
“Lord Annihilation… has already made the choice for migration?”
Dark Raven nodded.
Migration meant leaving this region they had operated in for many years.
The Star Ring Federation naturally would not allow two wizard factions to roam freely, especially at a critical time when the entire civilization needed manpower.
Therefore, the Star Ring Federation had given them two choices:
The first was to head toward the more central regions of wizard civilization.
It would be safer there, but the endless chaotic void in that area had already been swept clean by predecessors countless times.
Plane resources were extremely scarce, making it difficult to support the development of a large faction.
The second was to head toward regions closer to the front lines.
Resources there were relatively abundant, but the danger would increase exponentially. They could encounter high-intensity civilization attacks at any time and might be drawn into even more intense wars.
For any mature faction, neither choice was good.
The region they currently occupied had been found after countless probes and adjustments. It struck the best balance between safety and resources, making it most suitable for long-term faction development.
Changing it rashly, no matter which side they chose, would mean enormous risk.
From Dark Raven’s words, Imaginary understood: Annihilation had chosen the front lines.
“Correct,” Dark Raven confirmed his guess. “So once we reach the new region, you will be very important.”
He looked at Imaginary with a serious gaze:
“Lord Annihilation believes your current strength is still too low and wants to see if we can elevate you to the seventh ring. The First Tower has already built a dedicated laboratory for you. Many seventh-ring wizards, and even Lord Annihilation himself, can be mobilized to assist your research.”
He paused and asked the key question:
“Do you have confidence?”
Imaginary fell silent.
He lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
After a long time, he slowly spoke:
“To be honest… I’m not sure.”
His voice was soft, carrying a rare trace of confusion.
“After advancing to the sixth ring, I can still continue researching—that much is true. But I feel…” He paused, seemingly searching for the right words. “I am already approaching my limit.”
“To complete the expansion and deepening of my law and advance to the seventh ring…” He shook his head. “It is almost impossible.”
Dark Raven remained silent.
Imaginary raised his head and looked at the busy wizards in the distance, his gaze complex:
“But whether it works or not, I still have to try.”
He took a deep breath, and the aura around him became firm once more:
“I’ll go to the First Tower.”
Dark Raven nodded and patted his shoulder:
“Just do your best. Even if you cannot advance to the seventh ring, try to go further within the sixth ring. Once we reach the new region, the scope of enemy civilizations you are responsible for collecting can be as large as possible. If it really doesn’t work, Lord Annihilation can also provide you with specially made resources and equipment to temporarily increase your combat power.”
Imaginary nodded slightly and said nothing more.
His figure flickered and vanished on the spot.
Dark Raven stood where he was, looking in the direction Imaginary had disappeared, and let out a soft sigh.
Then he too turned and stepped onto the teleportation array he had come from.
…He still had many things to attend to.
Chaos Secret Cult, First Plane.
Here too was a scene of utter chaos.
Countless teleportation arrays operated simultaneously, continuously transporting population, resources, and materials from various planes.
Ordinary people who had just been forcibly removed from their homes and transferred here stood dazed in the squares, at a loss.
High in the sky, the Cult Leader’s face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
He floated at the highest point of the First Plane, overlooking the busy scene below, and issued orders in an icy voice:
“Transfer populations from other planes to the core planes according to their level of cultural level. Prioritize those with high cultural levels. Leave the illiterates and the natives who have not yet been converted into wizard civilization humans for the Noren Workshop to deal with!”
“Perform destructive mining on all non-core planes! Spare no cost, disregard expenses—extract as much as possible!”
“Not a single resource is to be left for the Noren Workshop!”
“Once we migrate to the heart of civilization, resources will be extremely scarce. These resources are our hope for rising again!”
Every order was accompanied by a new surge of busy activity.
The wizards who were named accepted their tasks silently and departed.
No one dared to say an extra word at this moment.
The Cult Leader’s current mood could be seen from the almost tangible low pressure around him—whoever bumped into it would suffer.
The teleportation arrays on the First Plane flashed nonstop, sending batch after batch of population and space after space of resources into the ever-expanding storage zones.
Meanwhile, the non-core planes that were destined to be left behind were being frantically mined by countless wizards.
For some smaller planes, they even used super-large arrays to shatter them directly, then extracted the needed materials and plane origins from the wreckage.
Such extreme collection methods meant that what would be left for the Noren Workshop in the future would be one barren abandoned plane after another.
This was the Chaos Secret Cult’s “revenge.”
Although they had lost the war and were forced to migrate, at least before leaving, they would make sure the victors gained nothing.
The Cult Leader stood high above, watching everything with cold eyes.