Outside the vast Emerald Island Forest, a dazzling silver glow flickered, revealing a space that gradually took shape. As the silver radiance pulsed, an awe-inspiring architectural complex slowly emerged.
These buildings, forged from black iron, were sharp-edged and imposing, their heavy copper walls and iron barriers exuding a formidable, oppressive aura.
However, the Wizards of the Furnace stronghold were left utterly stunned by this sudden development.
They recognized, with a mix of shock and disbelief, that this architectural complex was none other than the Furnace itself!
The Furnace Lord had personally relocated the Furnace to the battlefield a move that signified he was putting everything on the line. There was no need for further explanation.
The Furnace was making an all-out assault, preparing to breach the blockade of the Emerald Island Forest.
From apprentices to Third-Level Grand Wizards, every single Wizard wore an expression of sheer disbelief.
To them, this move by the Furnace Lord meant that he was done with delays. He intended to use the Furnace to tear through the Emerald Island Forest's defensive line directly.
This turn of events was beyond anyone's expectations.
Just as the colossal Furnace complex materialized, a figure in white robes suddenly appeared in the sky above the battlefield. It was none other than the Tower Master of Whiteheart, making his routine visit to inspect the war's progress.
At first, he instinctively scanned the area for a familiar presence, but upon sensing no trace of the Furnace Lord, he assumed the latter had yet to return.
However, the next moment, his gaze froze as he caught sight of the brilliant light fading away, revealing the immense and overwhelming Furnace.
Many apprentices and official Wizards believed that the Furnace Lord would personally wield the immense power of the Furnace to break through the Emerald Island Forest's blockade and launch an earth-shattering offensive.
Yet, the Tower Master of Whiteheart grew wary. As a Morning Star Wizard, he knew all too well that a "Landscape" was not so easily breached.
Even a Great Wizard far more powerful than himself would have to pay a tremendous price to confront such a force.
If it could be so easily destroyed, then the Landscape of the Emerald Island Forest would have long been dealt with rather than deliberately isolated.
More importantly, the rewards for dismantling a Landscape were unparalleled something that all Wizards coveted.
Although the Tower Master of Whiteheart was unaware of the Furnace Lord's exact plan, as one of the co-strategists of this war, he understood that their most crucial goal was to attract the attention of the Wizard World itself and draw the gaze of its governing laws.
Yet, now, seeing the Furnace Lord go so far as to relocate the entire Furnace here, the Tower Master's heart trembled as he realized a terrifying possibility.
He took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with complex emotions.
"He's mad! He's completely insane, actually going to such extremes…"
The thought echoed in his mind.
He was certain that if the Furnace Lord was truly willing to go this far, their plan would likely succeed.
However, his wariness deepened. Instead of approaching the Furnace, he chose to distance himself rapidly.
In a flash, his figure disappeared beyond the boundaries of the Emerald Island Forest, retreating at full speed.
"When the 'Starshatter Moment' arrives, I'd rather not be implicated and classified as an accomplice by the world itself..."
Not long after the Tower Master of Whiteheart's departure, a strange and formidable aura suddenly erupted from the pinnacle of the Furnace's central tower!
This aura was overwhelmingly powerful far beyond the level of a Third-Level Grand Wizard reaching the domain of a Morning Star-level force.
Yet, there was something off about it. It didn't quite belong; it clashed with the surrounding environment, exuding an unmistakable sense of foreignness that stirred unease in all who felt it.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a figure burst forth from the Furnace's core tower, sending shockwaves rippling through the air as though threatening to tear the very fabric of space apart.
In the skies above, a white-winged unicorn hovered majestically, its pristine coat gleaming like freshly fallen snow, radiating a sacred glow beneath the sunlight.
Seated atop the unicorn was a woman clad in heavy armor.
Beneath the visor of her helmet, a stunning yet icy face was partially visible an expression of indomitable authority that made it impossible to meet her gaze directly.
In her hands, she held a radiant longsword, exuding an aura of holiness, while her lips moved in a low chant, uttering an ancient and unfamiliar incantation.
As the mysterious words spread outward, they carried an overwhelming force, sweeping across the battlefield like a divine decree, suffocating all who stood below.
At the forest's edge, the Wizards who had once followed the Furnace Lord on his interdimensional expeditions were suddenly struck with recognition and terror, their heads snapping upward toward the sky.
Their expressions morphed from shock to sheer dread.
Because they understood the words she spoke.
"The Holy Light grants me strength to eradicate sin!"
It was the language of an alien world one they had learned during their campaigns in a foreign realm.
At that moment, they finally recognized the woman riding the white-winged unicorn high above.
She was none other than the strongest being of that world, known as the Saintess.
"She crossed the spatial tunnel and descended upon the Wizard World!"
Fear and horror gripped the Wizards as memories of a nightmare resurfaced in their minds:
In that foreign realm, with a single swing of her sword, the Saintess unleashed torrents of holy light, slaughtering Wizards as though they were mere blades of grass. Countless comrades had fallen before her blade.
She was a terrifying existence a true embodiment of divine radiance.
But why had the Furnace Lord not appeared to face her? This unsettling question gnawed at them.
"I have come bearing light, to cleanse this tainted world!"
The Saintess raised her radiant longsword high, gathering an immense, holy brilliance upon its blade, so intense that even the sky seemed illuminated.
Her icy gaze swept over the Wizards below, filled with nothing but unrelenting killing intent.
"You blasphemous sinners who defile the sacred light prepare to pay for your transgressions!"
As her voice fell, the Saintess swung her sword downward.
A blinding arc of divine light descended like divine retribution, slashing toward the Wizards below with devastating force.
Yet, in the very next instant, something unexpected happened.
The brilliant attack, imbued with the power of annihilation, did not strike as intended.
High above, the once-bright blue sky abruptly dimmed. The light was devoured, replaced by layers of churning black clouds.
The world plunged into deep, eerie shadow, as though night had fallen prematurely.
Amid the surging storm clouds, a colossal vortex slowly took shape.
At the vortex's core, a massive eye opened a gaze cold, indifferent, and all-seeing, overlooking everything below.
The swirling storm clouds around the vortex seemed to form its eyelids, framing the incomprehensible, divine "Heavenly Eye."
At that moment, it was as if the world itself had held its breath.
It was the gaze of a deity, staring down at an insignificant ant that dared to rage atop its divine banquet table.
There was no need for words.
Just that single gaze was enough to instill endless despair in all living beings.
Even the Saintess once the mightiest force in her world could not escape this fate.
Her foreign power, like a ripple in the water, had nowhere to hide within the laws of the Wizard World.
She had attracted its judgment.
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