Starlight Calendar 1259, Month of Frostfall.
Following the ambush on the Immortals, the first meeting saw a noticeable drop in attendance.
Besides Night Owl and Sunan, only Rose was present.
"The others have gone into seclusion, preparing for the Starlight Tower in six years," Night Owl explained.
"I'm planning to go into seclusion to focus on my training as well. During this time, the Forest Cabin meetings will be temporarily suspended."
Sunan had no objections.
Neither did Rose, as she also needed to prepare for the journey to the Starlight Tower.
The opportunity to advance to a formal wizard required her to gather as many resources as possible from the Starlight Tower.
Starlight Calendar 1260, Month of Rejuvenation.
Sunan successfully constructed the seventeenth star ring, pushing his mental strength beyond 53 points.
Simultaneously, the proficiency needed to upgrade the Star Ring Meditation Method skyrocketed to seven million points.
Sunan estimated that even with the Elemental Pool's meditation bonus, it would take at least three years to construct the final star ring.
"This leaves only three years to construct the talent crystal model."
"It's a bit tight, but not impossible."
Sunan stood up and walked out of the meditation chamber, heading to the laboratory.
After nearly half a year of research, significant progress had been made in constructing a talent crystal model using the magic core as the original model. Completing it before the star ring and mental strength met the promotion criteria was well within reach.
After all, it was just a lower-level talent crystal model, so the difficulty wasn't too high.
Notably, the third small golem army was also formed.
Its high-end combat power was entirely composed of iron golems, elite iron golems, elite dual-blade spiders, and adamantine golems.
In terms of high-end combat power, it was slightly stronger than the other two golem armies.
Sunan planned to keep this golem army to expand the Star Alliance's territory and draw a force from the other two to support the Star Duchy.
Upon receiving the cooperation intent from the Thornflower Duchy, Kyi began secret negotiations with them, initiating a silent alliance against the Azure Gold Empire.
The war erupted faster than Sunan anticipated.
Starlight Calendar 1260, Month of Spring Dawn.
As the snow melted, nine countries, including the Star Duchy and the Thornflower Duchy, simultaneously declared war on the Azure Gold Empire.
The Azure Gold Empire, originally planning to provoke a war soon, was caught off guard.
They anticipated the Star Duchy might strike first and prepared for it, but didn't expect eight other countries to join the fray!
Suddenly, the Azure Gold Empire was besieged on all sides.
A massive war involving ten nations broke out.
Sunan didn't pay much attention to the surface war, only requesting a monthly war report from the palace and continuing to focus on training and research, occasionally monitoring exploration progress and Dragon Forest's construction.
After over two years of recovery, Dragon Forest was fully restored.
Zone 2 had returned to its original state.
However, without dragon cultivation, Zone 2 could only be used as a large magical plantation.
Sunan ordered large-scale planting of magical plants, dedicating nearly a third of the area to Dragon Blood Fruit.
With the Magic Rune Knights expanding annually, the demand for Dragon Blood Fruit would rise significantly each year. Sunan's foresight was to prepare for this.
For simple magical plant cultivation, not much energy circulation was needed.
According to Butler No. 1's calculations, Zone 2 needed only 18.48% energy circulation ratio.
Zone 1, where the dragon types were located, maintained an optimal energy circulation ratio of 35.12%.
Due to the limited number of wizard apprentices, Dragon Skeleton Tower's peak energy usage was less than 10%.
More than half of that was Sunan's use.
Overall, Dragon Forest's energy was mostly in surplus, ensuring no energy shortage for a long time.
Elsewhere, the first batch of dragon antelopes in the large breeding chamber had outgrown their juvenile phase and were moved to the dragon antelope pasture.
In four to five years, the first batch of mature dragon antelopes would be ready for forming the dragon antelope cavalry.
By then, the Magic Rune Knights' combat power would further leap.
Currently, Dragon Forest was on a stable development track, requiring little attention from Sunan.
Time flew by, and four years passed in the blink of an eye.
Starlight Calendar 1265, Month of Thunder.
Underground, over fifty kilometers north of Nolan City.
The dark underground passage was deathly silent, with only faint footsteps echoing.
Shemane cautiously observed the surroundings, confirming all team members were in position, and sighed in relief, pulling his magical cloak tighter.
They were over ten kilometers underground, where the air was cold and damp, carrying a bone-chilling chill.
Even after living in the underground world for six to seven years, Shemane still found it somewhat uncomfortable.
Fortunately, his magical cloak provided resistance to moisture and warmth, a standard issue for all wizard apprentices and Magic Rune Knights in the exploration mission.
Corey and Atil followed a few steps behind Shemane, also vigilantly watching their surroundings.
Since Atil ascended to a second-level wizard apprentice, he returned to acting with Shemane and Corey.
The three were almost always together, growing increasingly coordinated over the years and achieving notable merits.
Their impressive record as a trio influenced many newcomers, leading more second-level wizard apprentices to form three-person teams.
Besides Shemane, the team included two squads of Magic Rune Knights, totaling twenty knights.
Everyone maintained silence, minimizing unnecessary communication to avoid noise interference with their vigilance.
After ten minutes, the team reached a wide area.
Shemane signaled, and the group dispersed, checking the surroundings. Finding no issues, they chose a spot with a wide view to sit and rest.
Apart from the Magic Rune Knights on guard duty, others took out food and water, seizing the time to rest and fill their stomachs.
Shemane nibbled on dry rations, with an invisible tower shield hovering behind him.
Years of exploring and fighting in the underground had turned him into an experienced adventurer.
He was always mindful of the many creatures in the underground that could traverse rock walls, so he never chose spots near walls for rest.
Furthermore, battles with monsters could break out anytime underground, so vigilance was constant.
At least one spell or protective magical item should be active at all times.
"I heard the base is forming dragon-type cavalry this year?"
During the break, vigilance relaxed, and Atil opened a conversation.
Shemane nodded. "It's dragon antelope knights. I've seen the dragon antelope pasture from afar; there are many, all well-developed."
He paused, turning to Corey. "Corey, isn't your dragon antelope familiar from the breeding chamber?"
Corey, typically taciturn, nodded.
All three now had their own familiars.
Corey's was a dragon antelope.
Shemane had a storm dragon beast.
Atil had a pterosaur.
All were contracted juvenile dragon types.
After over four years of nurturing, their familiars had reached legendary status.
Of course, they still couldn't match the teacher's familiar.
Rumor had it that the hidden dragon had grown to a fourth-circle legendary level, with bloodline purity close to dragons.
Standing before the hidden dragon now, all three felt a heart-pounding, breath-shortening awe.
It was a powerful presence akin to dragon might.
It's foreseeable that the hidden dragon's evolution into a dragon was only a matter of time.
Shemane's dream was to one day nurture his storm dragon beast to the hidden dragon's level.
"I heard Prince Abbott is taking the aptitude test this year?" Atil brought up another topic.
"Yes, Prince Abbott is twelve, meeting the minimum age for the test." Shemane mused, "I wonder if he'll pass."
"Prince Abbott is royalty; his chances should be high," Atil said.
"Not necessarily; royalty excels in knight talents, but wizard aptitude isn't much different from others. Failing the test is more likely."
Atil agreed, remembering that Grand Duke Kyi was only a legendary knight, not a wizard apprentice, so his descendants lacked an advantage in this regard.
But their teacher, if he had descendants, might very well produce wizardly talent.
"Speaking of which, the teacher's appearances are becoming rarer. Carolina mentioned he often spends one or two months in the meditation chamber. Do you think he's advancing to a wizard?"
Shemane and Corey exchanged glances at Atil's remark.
Truthfully, they'd had similar thoughts.
Despite learning that the current Starlight Continent couldn't produce true wizards, their teacher was different.
Though they hadn't met other third-level wizard apprentices, they knew their teacher, with vast resources, was unique on the Starlight Continent.
If anyone had the best chance of becoming a wizard, it was undoubtedly their teacher!
"It's possible." Shemane's face lit up with a smile.
If their teacher successfully became a formal wizard, it would be a huge morale boost for them.
At least it would give them hope that the Starlight Continent could indeed produce formal wizards.
"I'm not counting on becoming a wizard," Atil sighed. "I'll be content reaching third-level apprentice."
Shemane remained silent, harboring a sliver of hope for becoming a formal wizard, despite knowing it was distant.
The base had grown to over 350 apprentices, with second-level apprentices reaching double digits.
More second-level apprentices joining the Star Alliance's exploration greatly accelerated its expansion.
Compared to four years ago, the Star Alliance's territory more than doubled.
Four years ago, the Star Alliance had only You Lake, Matu, Orson, and Giant Eye City, plus Kasham, now a magical plantation.
Now, the Star Alliance encompassed fifteen city-states and over a hundred resource points.
However, as its territory expanded, resistance to its growth intensified.
More city-state forces perceived the Star Alliance as a threat and united against its expansion.
Their current mission was due to man-faced lion scouts spotting dark elf traces nearby, losing several scouts in the process.
"We've circled several times without finding anything. Could they have been mistaken?" Atil returned to business.
Shemane shook his head. "I don't think so. Man-faced lion scouts excel at hiding, and few creatures near Nolan City can detect them. Plus, one dead scout had dagger wounds and shadow-energy erosion—hallmarks of dark elves."
"What do we do next?"
"Keep searching! Dark elves are skilled at hiding, but they can't hide forever. We'll find them!"
"Dark Spider City is 700-800 kilometers away. Why are they here?"
"Maybe they're uneasy about the Star Alliance's expansion."
Atil agreed, noting the Star Alliance's territory advanced 500-600 kilometers in just four to five years. If she were a dark elf matron, she'd be deeply concerned.
Just then, a Magic Rune Knight on guard called out.
"Something's happening!"
They didn't need his reminder; Shemane, Corey, and Atil had already sensed it.
They immediately stood, activating magical items or chanting spells.
The other Magic Rune Knights quickly reacted, activating rune constructs and raising weapons, eyes wary of the front.
Silence reigned for about six or seven seconds before heavy, clear footsteps echoed, as if a massive crawling creature approached.
It moved slowly, but its weight was evident, lightly shaking nearby rock and soil.
The Magic Rune Knights gripped sword hilts, faces tense.
Shemane, Corey, and Atil remained calm, their expressions unreadable, with rune stones secretly in hand.
Soon, a round, black shadow appeared in view.
It resembled a giant black maggot, about three meters long, with six stubby claws and a triangular head, its mouth a protruding thin tube, eyeless.
"It's a dark sound blind monster!"
Shemane immediately identified the creature.
The base's "Underground World Creature Guide" mentioned the dark sound blind monster.
This creature is blind but has keen hearing. Its tubular mouth can produce precisely controlled resonance, with sound waves powerful enough to shatter rock walls.
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Happy New Year Everyone! May this year bring you joy, peace, and prosperity. Cheers to new beginnings! 🎉🍻🎊