Translator: PenOugi Editor: H2dH2mr
Under Peranosâs lead, Glenn had no option but to resist the bitter cold and strong winds as they flew even higher to evade the harassment of some low-intelligence creatures.
Separated by a distance of several kilometers, Glenn visually estimated the spaceshipâs form.
The spaceship overall looked like a fish swimming in the sky. It appeared streamlined, more than 300 meters in length from head to tail. On its surface was an abundant metallic luster that actually somewhat reminded Glenn of that trace of metal texture he had found when he was in the Black Isotta Secret Mirror.
How gigantic was the space fortress if the base could stow up to 100 racks for these flying ships?
No wonder...
No wonder it could be recorded in books as a blood-colored moon suspended in the sky.
*DINGDONG!*
A semi-transparent shield protected Glenn and isolated him from the strong winds and cold outside. Glenn and Peranos gradually rose to an altitude of around 2 kilometers as they rapidly flew towards the distance.
Outside the shield still existed the gales and cold but the interior of the defensive cover was a slice of tranquility and peace, seemingly like two completely different worlds.
Peranos said, âAhead is the flowing sea. Itâs called a sea because of its extremely vast size but, in fact, itâs only an inland lakeâone of the large bodies of water in the sorcerer continent. We probably need three days flying at full speed over the flowing sea before passing through another mountain range. Then we can arrive at the bustling belly of the Seven Rings Holy Tower.â
The thriving district at the belly of the tower is a zone between the holy tower and surrounding regional schools that was passed down from a family of ougi sorcerers. It is a densely populated and relatively flourishing region of sorcerer civilization in the continent.
Glenn was doubtful and said in a deep voice. âMaster should probably give me an account of the general geographical distribution of the sorcerer world.â
Oh?
Peranos glanced at Glenn before slightly pondering on it for a short period of time. He then unhurriedly explained, âThe center of the surface of the sorcerer world is naturally the sorcerer continent. But the continent only occupies around a third of the surface area. The other areas are endless waters and above this maritime space are altogether three holy towers.â
Glenn asked, âWhich three?â
âSky Holy Tower, Dark Domain Tower, and Sea King Altar!â Peranos continued, âThe Sky Holy Tower is a cultural remnant of ancient sorcerers. Its history is so incomparably long that it is even longer than the history of the continentâs One Ring Holy Tower. It is the core location of the sorcerer worldâs cultural inheritance.â
Glennâs mouth gaped widely. This was the first time Glenn heard that the Sky Holy Tower actually had such a long history.
Peranos narrowed his eyes and slowly said, âAs for the Dark Domain Holy Towerânaturally, it is the birthplace of dark sorcerers. The Dark Domain has always been rejected by the sorcerer continent because their rules and regulations differed from the norm despite that they were also a member of the sorcerer coalition. It is a relatively isolated large archipelago.â
In regards to the sorcerer worldâs terrifying Dark Domain, Glenn had also heard a little about it.
âAs for the Sea King Altar, it is a holy land for the sorcerer worldâs sentient underwater creatures. It is an oceanic civilization that has jointly survived with humanity since the birth of the sorcerer world in ancient times. Presently, itâs already a member of the Sorcerer Coalition.â Peranos explained the Sea King Altarâs origins last.
Sorcerer Coalition? Sea King Altar?
When it came to the Sorcerer Coalition, Glenn knew bits and pieces about it.
It was said that the Sorcerer Coalition was the sorcerer civilizationâs highest organization outside of the top-most sorcerers in the sorcerer world. It was a coalition comprised of all super-powerful beings in all the areas the sorcerer civilization governed.
In other words, a few strong beings with peaceful contact with the sorcerer world or strong beings that were defeated and became vassal worlds must join the sorcerer alliance to truly have peaceful interactions. Although their relationship with the sorcerer world was not that of enslavement, it was still one of subordinance.
Over half the living beings in the sorcerer coalition were not humans. This organization was the ultimate force of the sorcerer civilization.
But this was Glennâs first time ever in hearing about the Sea King Altar.
Was there actually a powerful native community the sorcerer civilization feared in the sorcerer world?
Peranos shook his head and ridiculed, âYou donât really believe that human sorcerers originally ruled this world and it was originally called the sorcerer world, right?â
âEh... could it be it wasnât so?â Glenn asked.
Peranos sighed. He laughed grimly, âHn! Three days later, you will come to know about a more ancient matter that happened before the first civilization war of the sorcerer world. Now, I will once more tell you the governing structure of the sorcerer continent.â
Glenn held his breath and single-mindedly focused on Peranos.
âAll of the Holy Towers in the Sorcerer Continent were established after the sorcerer worldâs first civilization war. The high-level sorcerers of before all reside in a sky city. After the first civilization war... the sorcerer civilization gradually began to flourish after its victory, reaching a golden age. Itâs said the continent at the time of the sorcerer civilizationâs golden ages was far from limited to just seven holy towers. Only until after the second civilization war was it reduced to the seven holy towers in the present.â
Glenn scarcely breathed, completely absorbed in listening to Peranosâs relating of history.
âAt present, humanity is able to travel across probably only around half of the sorcerer continentâs lands. The extent all humans operated from was gradually spreading from every holy tower in all directions. The sorcerer school areas were precisely in charge of training and protecting the ordinary commoner in the sorcerer continentâs developing front-line. As for the ougi sorcerer clan inheritance, theyâve become the egg white to the whole egg.â Peranos used an analogy.
So the school regions were the shell, the holy tower was the yolk, and the ougi sorcerer clan was the egg white?
Glenn didnât ask why the humans of the sorcerer continent spread out from the holy towers as the centers because he long had an answer in his mind: The present sorcerer worldâs commoners were merely the new life the Holy Tower especially âcultivatedâ to once more increase the inhabitants after the sorcerer worldâs second civilization war.
As for the commoners of ancient times? It could be presumed they had already become extinct after the second civilization war.
And the operating range of humanity on the sorcerer continent was merely half the land mass. What about the other half?
âThe other half?â
Peranos was baffled. âDidnât you see the Traces of Stigmata Great Valley? Within the other half, one-third of it are areas fundamentally unsuitable for human inhabitation. Furthermore, two-thirds is none other than the ecological regions under our protection.â
Glennâs complexion turned poor. In a deep voice, he asked, âThe second civilization war permanently destroyed one-sixth of the sorcerer continentâs geography?â
Peranos sighed. âYou as a student need not think about these things. For the current sorcerer world, the truly flourishing land was precisely the inherited lands of these ougi sorcerer clans. These clans all have long traditionsâsome powerful clans even possessed direct connections with holy towers and some also operated within district schools. Oh, thatâs right; that fatty you called over the last time you were in the interrogation room basically serves the ougi sorcerer clan named Orchid Tree.â
Glenn softly exhaled and nodded.
Sure enough, the current sorcerer world still hadnât recovered from the damage it suffered during the second civilization war. Additionally, the most fundamental duty of district schools was to âprotect and cultivateâ commoners and reclaim the sorcerer continentâs âwild lands.â
Suddenly, Glenn thought of something and nervously asked, âAnd the underground world?â
The underground world?
Peranos was taciturn for a long time before deeply saying, âThe sorcerer worldâs subterranean space is about the same as the surface area of the sorcerer continent. There are five strange lands known as the Dragon-Hunting Abysses.â
Glenn also naturally knew about the underground abysses.
It was said that all the abysses possessed a miraculous ability to produce life by making use of certain world rules of the earth. Continuously producing a countless amount of adolescent wyverns and strange life, it was also the origins of the underground wyvern lianti sorcerers.
âGlenn, do you know what civilization the sorcerer world waged the second civilization war against?â Peranos unexpectedly inquired.
Glenn blankly shook his head.
Peranos nodded. He said heavily, âYou will understand as soon as you obtain world-core fragments. You need to forever bear in mind that the underground world really wasnât the sorcerer worldâs wealth but its eternal shame.â
Shame?
Glenn knew the underground world was where the powerful civilization opened up front-lines after the sorcerer civilization was completely defeated in the second civilization war.
Thinking of it like this, it was not wrong to call it shame...
Peranos unexpectedly gave a âsorrowfulâ smile and slowly said, âDo you know? That civilization controls a miraculous ability. An incomparably powerful ability. It was the root cause of the sorcerer civilization losing the war then! They are able to corrode the world-core of a world and alter a worldâs laws. Every invaded and occupied world of theirs all had a subterranean spaceâs dark abyssal lands similar to the sorcerer worldâs emerge. And those wyverns that have not gone through a sorcererâs training will turn into a pawn of that civilization...â
Glennâs eyes widened in disbelief.
If it was as Peranos said, wouldnât that civilization be... too excessively powerful?
Invading and occupying a world. Altering a world. Then producing an unending stream of wyverns that acted as the vanguard pawns of that civilization to invade other worlds?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
This war method was a formidable method and more suited to demands of war than the sorcerer worldâs familiar method!
Peranos gritted his teeth, deep voice trembling. âThat ability of theirs is called âworld source corrosive seeding powerâ! Glenn, do you know what that means? In their eyes, our sorcerer world means...â
Glenn naturally knew what Peranos was going to say.
Forcefully seeding[1]?
After he shivered, Peranos exhaled and steadied his emotions. He continued, âIt is from the other sideâs âworld source corrosive seed technologyâ that the sorcerer world got the inspiration for âprincipal will invasion technology.â Sorcerers from the distant past once more combined the ancient sorcererâs âspace fortress technologyâ to create the âprincipal space fortress invasionâ power of the modern sorcerer civilization.â
Peranos uncovered a period of ancient history little by little.
Glenn tightly gritted his teeth but his eyes behind his Ashen Mask were incomparably calm. Glenn watched Master Peranos who was already unwilling to speak again. The staunch wisdom and cruel temperament characteristic which belonged to so many mature sorcerers were slowly born in him.
The present sorcerer world seemed to be powerful but was only a homeless starving wolfâcutting a sorry figure as it licked its wounds after having suffered a severe wound, its two eyes glowing with a dark-green light from hatred, anger, and hunger.
This... was precisely the sorcerer civilizationâs pace and will at this very moment.