Translator: AnubisTL
However, this natural process of division and hatching had significant drawbacks.
The birth of a single lava giant typically required three to five years.
Moreover, under natural conditions, the proportion of high-tier lava giants born was extremely low. The vast majority remained at the first-tier level throughout their lives, rarely achieving advancement.
This severely limited the lava giant clan's expansion and the rate at which their overall strength could increase.
The hatchery, on the other hand, was a technology developed by the lava giant clan to rapidly increase their military strength and improve the quality of their warriors!
In these artificially constructed hatcheries, enhanced by special rituals, the incubation period for lava giants could be reduced to an astonishing one or two months.
More importantly, lava giants born from these hatcheries had a significantly higher chance of becoming high-tier lava giants.
They were born with greater potential and could advance more easily during their subsequent growth!
Jieming carefully sensed the energy fluctuations and rune markings of the crimson lava pool once more, quickly concluding, "It appears this is likely a second-tier hatchery!"
Upon hearing Jieming's words, the eyes of the two wizards beside him turned bloodshot.
A second-tier hatchery.
This meant that the lava giants born from this hatchery had a high probability of advancing to second-tier lava giants in the future!
Moreover, their potential in life energy and bloodline would significantly increase their chances of reaching third-tier and even fourth-tier levels!
This discovery instantly explained the inconsistencies Jieming had observed earlier!
He couldn't help but recall the stark difference in power ratios between the lava giants here and those in ordinary strongholds elsewhere. Here, nearly one in ten lava giants was a second-tier elite—a phenomenon unheard of in the outside world!
So this was their secret base for mass-producing high-quality troops!
"They actually have something like this?! No wonder..."
The second-tier wizard stared at the crimson pool, unable to suppress his astonishment.
"The highest-tier hatchery that the wizards have discovered so far is only fourth-tier..." Jieming silently calculated, recalling the publicly available data from the Wizard Camps.
Constructing a fourth-tier hatchery required an astronomical amount of resources, and maintaining its operation consumed vast quantities of energy every moment.
But the strategic value of this thing could single-handedly turn the tide of a local war.
"This second-tier hatchery... its value even surpasses the entire wealth of many third-tier wizards..." Jieming's emotions were in turmoil.
Possessing this meant that with just one more living lava giant core fragment and a suitable environment to provide continuous energy, he could mass-produce high-quality combat forces like an assembly line!
Just as Jieming was marveling at this, the battle erupted without warning.
The second-tier wizard struck suddenly.
His speed was so blindingly fast that no one could react. Two energy arrows, almost solid, shot toward Jieming and the weakened first-tier wizard beside him.
"You?!" The first-tier wizard had no time to defend himself.
He had barely escaped death's door, his minor injuries still healing and his mental power utterly depleted.
He managed only a piercing scream, unable to even utter a complete curse, before the wizardry energy arrow, imbued with the aura of annihilation, pierced his chest with deadly precision.
Pfft!
The energy arrow pierced through him, exploding within his body and instantly vaporizing his fragile heart and lungs.
The first-tier wizard's body jerked violently, his eyes widening in terror and resentment as death froze in his pupils.
His body went limp, collapsing silently to the ground. The wand slipped from his hand, clattering against the icy floor. Blood rapidly spread beneath him.
A wizard who had desperately clung to life, only to be betrayed by his own "ally," met his end.
Simultaneously, another energy arrow hurtled toward Jieming's back!
Jieming's fourth-tier shield had dissipated, its duration expired, leaving him defenseless.
Yet, the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror within his body instantly sensed the lethal danger approaching from behind!
The moment the second-tier wizard conceived his murderous intent and the wizardry energy arrow left its string, the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror seized control of all other defensive rune-imbued magical artifacts on Jieming's body and activated them!
Buzz... buzz... buzz...
Jieming's body was instantly enveloped in layers upon layers of radiant light.
These weren't a single, unified shield, but multiple independent energy barriers, rising in tiers like stacked Arhats!
The second-tier wizard's energy arrow struck the first layer of defense with pinpoint accuracy, emitting a piercing screech as energy surged. The shield shattered instantly!
However, the spell's momentum was slightly diminished. It then collided with the second layer, the third layer...
The crisp sound of shields shattering echoed repeatedly, scattering sparks of energy like shards of glass from a shattered wall.
In the end, at the cost of multiple shattered shields, the lethal strike was finally completely neutralized!
Jieming stood motionless, the complex emotions that had flickered in his eyes gradually fading into a profound calm.
As expected... Jieming sighed inwardly.
He slowly turned to face the second-tier wizard standing in the shadows, his gaze as placid as still water.
In truth, the moment he saw the "hatchery," Jieming had already anticipated this scenario.
This wasn't a matter of predicting the future, but rather a deep understanding of the wizard community and the concept of "benefit".
Viola had once warned him that while the wizards of the Noren Workshop were bound by contracts that prevented them from attacking each other, all other wizards should be treated with extreme caution during wartime.
Wizards were creatures of extreme rationality. Precisely because of this rationality, they meticulously calculated gains and losses.
Under normal circumstances, cooperation often yielded greater benefits, making collaboration the obvious choice.
However, when the potential individual gain became sufficiently immense—so vast that all cooperative benefits paled in comparison—these wizards would, with the same ruthless rationality, turn on their former allies without hesitation.
The current situation unequivocally met all the conditions for a wizard's betrayal:
First, the environment was secure. The threat of the lava giants had been largely neutralized, the entire Nest had been cleared, and there would be no external interference for the time being.
Second, the potential benefit was immense.
A "hatchery" capable of continuously producing high-quality lava giants was a treasure that could ignite a family war, even for third-tier wizards.
Such immense exclusive benefits would easily obliterate any semblance of "friendship" or "morality."
Third, and most crucially, the magic net terminals used by the three wizards for wizard legion monitoring and communication had been crushed to send out distress signals.
This meant that whatever happened here would remain unknown to the outside world.
Having just survived a "fierce" battle, theoretically, eliminating the remaining witnesses would ensure no one would ever discover what truly transpired.
The wizard legion would simply assume they had "perished in battle," leaving the "hatchery" to remain a secret buried deep underground, awaiting a future "discoverer" to quietly claim it.
With this thought, Jieming's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the recently deceased first-tier wizard beside him.
The wizard's wand had slipped from his grasp, but his right palm remained clenched tightly around a shard of a shattered crystal-like spell artifact.
Even in his final moments, he had instinctively clung to the artifact.
This indicated that the second-tier wizard hadn't been the only one planning to strike!
The first-tier wizard, upon seeing the hatchery, had clearly harbored the same intentions.
However, his reaction was a split-second too slow, and he was struck first by the second-tier wizard's attack.
Indeed, for wizards, when faced with true self-interest, everything else became disposable baggage.
The second-tier wizard showed no surprise when his sneak attack was blocked by Jieming's layered defenses.
After all, during their earlier battle against the third-tier lava giant, he had clearly sensed Jieming's abnormally powerful strength and resilience.
He knew that conventional wizardry attacks would be ineffective.
But his daring to strike stemmed from his own trump card!
Just as the "Great Light Phase" talisman seal behind Jieming began to glow brilliantly, preparing to unleash a concentrated counterattack, Jieming suddenly realized with shock...
The rune-imbued magical artifacts that formed the Great Light Phase began to dim rapidly, as if their core energy had been drained away.
The runes on their surfaces flickered and extinguished, and their energy circuits shut down.
Even the wizardry energy maintaining the artifacts' flight stability gradually failed.
Jieming clearly felt an invisible force forcibly severing all his connections to wizardry and energy.
Crack, crack...
With crisp, shattering sounds, countless rune-imbued magical artifacts, along with the metal floating cannons that had been hovering behind Jieming, lost power and plummeted helplessly to the ground, clattering and clanging against the lava pool's edge.
Their energy cores were completely locked down, rendering them unusable.
"Magic nullification..." Jieming's expression instantly turned grave. His voice hoarse, he slowly uttered the cause of this phenomenon.
"Correct," the second-tier wizard replied calmly.
His face remained expressionless, his eyes devoid of any murderous intent or fanatical greed. Instead, they held only a cold, rational calculation, bordering on ruthless analysis.
This very composure spoke volumes.
The wizard before him had already made his decision.
His actions were not impulsive but the result of repeated, calm, and cautious deliberation.
He had calculated every possibility. With an opponent like this, there was absolutely no chance of reconciliation!
He opened his palm, revealing an irregularly shaped energy crystal he had been secretly concealing.
The crystal emitted a faint glow and was slowly, steadily dissolving.
This crystal was clearly an extremely rare and specialized artifact. Once activated, it could unleash a magic-nullifying field within a certain radius!
Jieming instantly understood the wizard's plan.
This second-tier wizard was no fool.
He had witnessed firsthand how Jieming had single-handedly defeated two third-tier lava giants.
From Jieming's unnatural defensive capabilities and overwhelming firepower, the wizard had concluded that he couldn't possibly defeat Jieming in a direct spellcasting confrontation.
Therefore, he had resorted to the most extreme measure: magic nullification!
The reason he hadn't used this magic-nullifying device during the battle with the lava giants was due to its fatal side effect.
The magic-nullifying field it generated would even affect the user himself!
Using this against an elemental creature like a lava giant would be tantamount to suicide.
But during a wizard civil war, it would be devastatingly effective.
With all wizardry sealed, the ensuing battle would devolve into primal hand-to-hand combat—a clash of flesh and bone!
As Jieming had long known, while wizards primarily relied on spells, their physical bodies were far from weak.
Combat wizards, in particular, underwent extensive rune augmentations and secret potion enhancements to fortify their bodies, ensuring survival in extreme circumstances.
Under normal circumstances, a second-tier wizard's physical strength would invariably surpass that of a first-tier wizard.
Thus, this second-tier wizard harbored unwavering confidence in his own capabilities.
He casually tossed aside the gradually dissipating energy crystal in his hand and smoothly adopted a textbook close-quarters combat stance.
His expression remained calm, his eyes radiating an icy indifference devoid of any emotional flicker.
With a sudden, explosive thrust of his leg, he surged forward at astonishing speed, closing the distance to Jieming in an instant!
Yet, as Jieming observed the wizard's standard combat stance and witnessed his astonishing speed, a knowing smile crept across his face.
Hmph, trying to rely on close combat skills... Jieming sneered inwardly.
In the blink of an eye, the two wizards clashed violently in the center of the empty chamber!
The second-tier wizard clearly possessed extensive close combat experience. His fists moved with lightning speed, aiming straight for Jieming's face.
Each punch whistled through the air, carrying enough force to shatter stone!
However, the moment their fists connected, the second-tier wizard's expression twisted in horror, and an overwhelming sense of regret surged through him.
The one-sided victory he had envisioned never materialized!
Instead of dodging, Jieming unleashed a punch of his own!
The sheer physical strength displayed in Jieming's strike, combined with the explosive acceleration of his power, far exceeded the second-tier wizard's comprehension.
Bang!
Their fists collided violently in mid-air, producing a dull, meaty thud!
The second-tier wizard felt a shockwave surge through his fist, instantly spreading up his entire arm. His muscles trembled violently, forcing him to stumble back half a step. Jieming, however, remained rooted in place, unmoving.
His physical strength... is actually greater than mine?! The second-tier wizard's mind reeled in disbelief.
He was a second-tier wizard!
And he had undergone specialized physical enhancements!
His physical prowess far surpassed that of ordinary mortals. How could this first-tier wizard possibly possess greater strength than him?!
Jieming gave his opponent no time to dwell on these thoughts. He surged forward, moving even faster than before.
The second-tier wizard's vision blurred as Jieming's fist struck again!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jieming's attacks were lightning-fast, each punch carrying the force of a gale. His power was both explosive and controlled, every strike precisely targeting the second-tier wizard's joints, ribs, and head.
The second-tier wizard could barely raise his arms to defend, but Jieming's advantages extended beyond mere speed and strength. He also possessed formidable combat techniques that the second-tier wizard couldn't comprehend—techniques exclusive to body cultivators.
With each strike, Jieming channeled all his inner power through his veins, like molten lava coursing beneath his skin. Every punch landed with the earth-shattering force of a tectonic shift.
The second-tier wizard instinctively retreated a step with each blow, his once-impeccable defensive stance crumbling into disarray.
He desperately sought an opening to counterattack, hoping to exploit the unique muscular structure of his modified arm to strike Jieming's vital points.
But Jieming's evasive maneuvers were flawless, dodging each strike by a hair's breadth.
Simultaneously, Jieming's fists rained down relentlessly, a continuous barrage like a tempestuous storm.
"What kind of martial art is this?! What... what kind of monster is this guy?!" the second-tier wizard roared inwardly.
He had believed this close-quarters combat would be his advantage, only to be completely overwhelmed by someone who appeared to be merely a "first-tier wizard"!
Jieming remained silent, his seemingly simple yet exquisitely refined fighting techniques relentlessly pummeling his opponent.
His legs seemed rooted to the earth, each stomp unleashing explosive power.
His fist sliced through the air with an invisible force, causing the surrounding air to tremble slightly and emit a low, whistling sound.
The second-tier wizard barely managed to block Jieming's whip kick, but the overwhelming impact still staggered him, leaving his arm completely numb.
Suddenly, Jieming sidestepped and delivered a precise, explosive punch to the wizard's ribs.
Crack!
The crisp sound of shattering bones echoed clearly in the silent chamber.
The second-tier wizard froze for a moment, a muffled groan of pain escaping his lips.
A flicker of despair flashed in his eyes as he realized he had been defeated.
Jieming gave him no chance to recover. Grabbing the wizard by the collar, he yanked him forward, pulling their bodies close.
Then, he drove his knee savagely into the wizard's chest.
Pfft! The second-tier wizard coughed up a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his internal organs.
His body completely lost all resistance, collapsing like mud into Jieming's arms.
His eyes widened, filled with regret and confusion. He couldn't comprehend how the calculations he had prided himself on could have gone so terribly wrong in this crucial moment.
Jieming tossed him to the ground, shaking his head in disappointment.
The outcome had been decided in a mere matter of seconds!
(End of the Chapter)
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