And the most miserable were the scattered forces.
Within Padolon, because of the knowledge blockade, to be able to advance to an official Wizard is considered one in a thousand.
A lot of research had to start from scratch.
Upon arriving at the Truth Council, since no predecessors had ventured into the Star Sea, one could say they faced obstacles at every turn; they joined the Truth Council as a group.
However, during this time, the conflicts between the main family and the branches also dragged them in, forcing them to dissolve their own small factions.
This kind of thing was just for the stability of the higher-ups’ rule.
But for those struggling, who grew from the crevices of rocks and banded together with difficulty.
It had been a history of blood and tears of Wild Wizards for tens of thousands of years.
Many research projects began from ground zero, slowly becoming effective, like-minded people built a Wizard Tower together, learning and discussing with each other, and developed generation by generation.
Only then did the various Wild Wizard forces emerge.
The Tower of Knowledge, Wind’s Voice, Black Swamp, Thousand Island Association, and so on...
In the Star Sea, there was no knowledge blockade for the lower levels; as long as one had Military Merit, they could exchange for knowledge below the Legendary level.
At such times, asking them to disband was like poking a hornet’s nest.
This completely drove away the Wild Wizards’ meager sense of security.
Explode if not in silence, perish if in silence.
A large group of Wild Wizard forces announced defection, jointly seized a Transport Ship, and plunged headfirst into the Universe never to be traced again.
The impact of the entire incident was particularly severe.
Not to mention the impact on reputation.
The departure of these Wild Wizards would spread the Wizard Path across the Universe, whether for better or for worse.
Too many in number, and running in all directions, it’s impossible to capture them all.
The only way was to deal with the root cause of the incident.
This unfortunate soul tried to squeeze some benefits from the Wild Wizards by forcing them to disband their forces. Purely to take the blame for those above, he didn’t expect that after such a long time the Wild Wizards would be so bold.
A slight test and they exploded.
In truth, the root cause was more the different environments of the two places. Wild Wizards paid extra attention to their sense of security and were highly vigilant.
More than a decade was not enough for them to integrate into the structure of the Truth Council.
The probe was too early.
A loss of a batch of excellent employees for nothing.
The chaos of the Star Sea continues to unfold.
On the Advanced planet temporarily named "Terra" by Lin Suo.
His handpicked team had come to the core nest of this branch of the Earth Cave Worm Clan.
The Worm Nest was built in the crust layer, the environment deep and secluded.
The cave was covered in a carpet of fungi-like material, filled with egg-shaped objects emitting a phosphorescent blue light, likely some kind of petrified Insect Eggs.
The air here was thin, nearly a vacuum.
Yet the utterly different scene also brought an indescribable shock to all.
The true Underground Worm Race world, structured like an Empire, was laid out before everyone’s eyes.
Accompanied by Sal Black Claw, the Beastman Berserker.
Lin Suo fearlessly stepped into the core Worm Nest, determined to not retreat until his goal was achieved.
Just in time, Thorny Star was lacking a powerful enough Tower Spirit Intelligence to oversee the whole situation.
Surprisingly, the Earth Cave Worm Clan, which had been fiercely resisting, did not oppose them within the nest.
Even the worms were scarce.
Those who occasionally crawled by also quickly avoided them.
It was an irreconcilable conflict, but don’t expect him to be merciful or anything, that was unrealistic.
At the bottom of the Worm Nest.
Lin Suo saw the Earth Cave Worm Clan’s Empress for the first time.
She looked like a monster...
Nearly a kilometer of the underground rock wall was covered with a layer of disgusting purple-green flesh balls, with pipes as thick as arms densely packed on it, pulsating as if they were alive.
All blood vessels converged towards the middle.
Forming a somewhat standard human-shaped head with an embryonic form of facial features barely recognizable.
Hmm... It was clear she tried, but her face-sculpting skills were worrisome.
It seemed she attempted to create a beautiful female head to trigger humans’ empathy, but compared to a beauty, this thing resembled more of an "Underworld Superstar".
This rock wall was most likely Terra Ore drained of energy, and this appearance was different from the Worm Race Empress with a big white belly that Lin Suo had imagined.
Hundreds of half-human, half-worm creatures with limbs sharp as blades.
The elite guards called Extreme Blade Worm People confirmed her identity.
This mass of exploded flesh and that weak head, it was hard to imagine what exactly had happened to her.
The attitude for negotiation was blatantly clear.
Without waiting for Lin Suo to speak, the Worm Race Empress manipulated a female Beastman with her brain pierced by some kind of tentacles to step forward.
She communicated with Lin Suo in Beastman Language.
"Human... human, you... very strong! I... surrender."
Lin Suo raised an eyebrow.
"You have to die here."
The Worm Race Empress fell silent.
"No, I have captured many green people, who are your warriors. If you don’t want them to die, spare me."
"Then I’d rather they die."
"No... I can share half of the food with you."
He knew that the food the Worm Race Empress spoke of referred to Terra Ore.
But... to only take 50% of the payout due to some sympathy, when it’s possible to take 100%? Out of the question.
"Kill you, and the whole planet is mine."
The Worm Race Empress, who had never encountered aliens before, failed to realize the crux of the conflict and Lin Suo’s needs.
If she had decisively offered all the Terra Ore to Lin Suo, there were many creatures on the planet’s surface to eat; she didn’t necessarily have to consume this high-energy ore.
There was still a chance for her to survive.
The Earth Cave Worm Clan... annihilated!
Having obtained the collective consciousness of the Worm Nest he had always wanted, Lin Suo sealed this thing, found the main material, but still needed a large amount of auxiliary materials.
Which he could exchange directly with the Truth Council through Military Merit.
The very existence of this system—where everything has a price and can be purchased—is fundamentally valuable and the main reason for its immense appeal.
After being busy for a while.
Only after successfully creating the [Super Tower Spirit—Worm Nest] did he learn from recent focus points about the events that had occurred earlier.
Including the feat of the lieutenant colonel from the Fire King Family breaking through to Legendary.
Strictly speaking, they were enemies.
But Lin Suo stayed hidden in the shadows.
The other party had schemed against Lin Suo and was counter-attacked, costing his older brother’s life.
In the entire affair, Lin Suo presumed he left no loopholes.
But Legendary methods are unpredictable, and if there was some Time Rewind ability, he would be in deep trouble. Better safe than sorry.
So, after creating the [Worm Nest].
Having scoured the resources of the Jigerde Star System for years, he nearly filled the Level Four Cruiser which had been expanded three times.
Taking his fortune and a batch of Beastmen with potential that he valued, nearly two hundred thousand in number,
Lin Suo retreated towards Thorny Star at the first opportunity.
The resources couldn’t be transported in one trip.
With more resources still left, a conservative estimate required more than twelve round trips.
Heading to Thorny Star, even through dimensional passages, would require nearly half a month.
So it was destined to be a long hauling task.
Aside from the first wave that arrived at Thorny Star, subsequent fleet transports were temporarily stationed on another Desolate Star, constructing an outpost to also guard against being tracked.
Here, it was about to become the ideal haven.