Merchant From Earth in the Magical World-Chapter 531 - 375 Each Prepares_2
Archmage Elwin, Cloud Tower’s representative, faced the somber meeting atmosphere and scolded the rulers of the Cloud Alliance: "Your performance in the previous phase of the war has greatly disappointed the Tower’s Elder Council. Your achievements do not match the support we have given you. Cloud Tower nearly exhausted all its wealth, yet you couldn’t seize even an inch of territory from the hands of the Thunder Coalition. Worthless fools!"
The rulers attending the meeting remained silent. They also couldn’t understand... How could the Cloud Alliance, stronger than the Thunder Coalition in both population and overall national power, and with Cloud Tower’s full support, still be unable to match the enemy’s weaponry on the battlefield? This defies common sense! We need so many laborers just to maintain this production speed for weapons and materials. How could the Thunder Coalition’s population possibly support such vast material consumption? The Thunder Coalition’s production capabilities are incomprehensible. It’s just like... Yan Xing of the Eternal Domain signing a friendly trade agreement with the Undead—incomprehensible!
After a while, Anderson broke the silence in the meeting hall. "Elder Elwin," he began, "pursuing responsibility for the war now offers no benefit to the next stage of the conflict. And our purpose for meeting is to solve the difficulties we all face. Reversing this decline and achieving a decisive victory over the Thunder Coalition—that is the true objective of this meeting."
The Imperial Emperor of the Gryphon Heart Empire had lost his usual majesty. He was pale, likely from many sleepless nights. "I think Duke Anderson is absolutely right; we must quickly devise a strategy to defeat the Thunder Coalition. Currently, the Empire faces a pincer attack from the Kingdom of Silvermane and the Land of Corruption to the north and south, while internal rebel forces grow stronger. Some nobles who once supported the Empire are abandoning me. If we continue to waste time here, you might very well lose a significant ally."
The Chieftain of the Barbarians said, "The real key to this war remains the Eternal Domain. It is now the Thunder Coalition’s main rear base, supplying weapons and materials to Snowland and the Kingdom of Silvermane. The farmlands of the Eternal Domain have once again yielded a bumper harvest. If we cannot defeat the Eternal Domain, and we allow it to continue linking and supplying the Thunder Coalition’s fronts, we will soon be worn down by the enemy. It’s time to attack the Eternal Domain. For our survival, we must break through and completely destroy it."
Elder Elwin’s anger hadn’t subsided. He demanded, "How do we attack? You’re trapped in Highland City, hemmed in by Storm City and Frostleaf City! Do you even have the ability to break out?"
At this, Anderson said, "We can’t break through. We all clearly understand the Eternal Domain’s combat power on a conventional battlefield now. Their production capacity and tactical applications are an entire era ahead of us. That’s the reason we have been consistently losing. To bridge this gap would take ten years or more, but the Eternal Domain certainly won’t wait for us. They will soon launch a full-scale offensive against us. If Cloud Tower continues to remain in the background... in the end, you may have to face the entire Thunder Coalition alone."
Anderson issued a warning to Cloud Tower.
Elder Elwin fell into contemplation. For a long time, Cloud Tower has avoided direct participation in the war, its Mages waiting for the Alchemist group within the Thunderous Swamp to expose their position and strength. But now, Thunder Alliance Swamp has only put forward the Eternal Domain, and it has already pushed Cloud Tower into this predicament. If Tower Mages were to participate in large numbers, would they fall into the Thunderous Swamp’s trap? It must be known that to counter the participation of even a few Tower Mages, the Eternal Domain rapidly deployed special alchemical armor and secret weapons. Already, many Tower Mages have died at the hands of heroes equipped with this armor. How much of this armor, capable of significantly boosting a hero’s strength, actually exists? If Cloud Tower is forced to deploy a large number of Tower Mages into battle, how great is the risk? But if we don’t participate... Once the Barbarians and the Gryphon Heart Empire are defeated, Cloud Tower will indeed have to face the entire Thunder Coalition alone. No, it will be facing an entire world ruled by the Thunder Coalition.
"Such a decision is not mine to make; it must be decided by the Tower’s Elder Council. However, necessary preparations can begin in advance.
"I am very satisfied with the performance of the Tower Mages who received combat training during the war against Snowland. We will continue to arrange for more Tower Mages to come to Highland City for training. Duke Anderson, you can dispatch them to assist the Gryphon Heart Empire in quelling the rebellion as the situation dictates.
"Cloud Tower needs time. Whether it’s for the Elder Council to reach a decision or for the Tower Mages to enter a state of war, it all requires time.
"I am leaving now. With Duke Anderson presiding, I hope you can all unite wholeheartedly. Victory will ultimately be ours." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
"Victory will ultimately be ours."
...
After teleporting back to Cloud Tower, Elder Elwin immediately convened the Elder Council. He described the perilous situation facing the Cloud Alliance to all the elders.
Behind the Tower Elders’ round conference table, seventeen elders were seated; three seats remained vacant. All Mages present had elementalized their bodies. Vibrant, active elements flooded the entire chamber, creating a kaleidoscopic, illusory environment.
After Elder Elwin finished his report, the meeting chamber fell silent.
This was the first time since Cloud Tower’s establishment that it had encountered such a grave crisis. In just two years, the Tower’s stance on this war had shifted from confident assurance of victory to its current desperate, back-against-the-wall struggle. A full-scale war? But we have no idea where our true equals are located. The Eternal Domain is merely a proxy deployed by the Alchemist group from the Thunderous Swamp. Attacking the Eternal Domain isn’t a question of losing face; it’s the inherent danger of being ambushed by the Thunderous Swamp. To date, Cloud Tower remains completely ignorant of the Thunderous Swamp Alchemist group’s true strength. However, judging from the alchemical equipment they’ve revealed, they clearly possess a level of Alchemy comparable to Cloud Tower’s own. And such a level must be the culmination of vast, high-level alchemical wisdom. Facing such an equivalently powerful opponent whose whereabouts are unknown, to act first is to be at a disadvantage.
"I believe we should seek Master Raphael’s opinion," one elder proposed. "Although there are academic differences between our Elemental faction and their Divine Power faction, the future of Cloud Tower is at stake."
Another elder countered, "Divine Power is taboo. Transcendent species that historically wielded divine power seem to have existed, but we don’t know their fate. If divine power could truly be obtained, why have they all vanished? We are all creations of the gods; we should not covet divine authority. Raphael and his followers are treading a path destined for failure. His opinion will be of no help to us."
This elder’s statement quickly found agreement among the others. Only these three in all of Cloud Tower researched divine power. Their opinions would hold no sway over the Elder Council, which was controlled by the Elemental faction elders.
"But can the Elder Council make a decision swiftly? Our allies cannot wait much longer," Elwin urged. He was responsible for liaising with the Cloud Alliance’s allies and knew just how dire the situation had become.
Yet the Elder Council remained unable to reach a unified consensus.
Decision-making stalled.
「 」
Meanwhile, Yan Xing, having returned from Dawnspirit City to the Eternal Domain, was also preparing for the final, decisive battle.
Good news arrived from the Land of Corruption.
Boleida, the burial site of five "contraries," had been located by the Heart Demon geological survey team. The Heart Demons were now using equipment and Magic to conduct geological surveys of Boleida and had discovered several large subterranean caverns.
Once transport craft delivered the necessary equipment to Boleida, formal excavation operations could begin.
Chui Chui also organized the data relayed by the Heart Demons. This data was then sent to Max in the ’real world’ to sift through, with the goal of narrowing down the potential excavation area as much as possible.
Upon receiving the data, Max found it rather amusing. "This feels like ordering someone to dig their own grave," he remarked. "It’s genuinely a bit unsettling."
Despite his jest, Max meticulously reviewed the data and offered his insights. He even arranged for Chui Chui to continuously transmit findings from the site, allowing him to provide timely guidance for the excavation.
