There were two requirements to activate the spatial pike. First, objects or living beings of two dimensions were needed to establish a connection. Second, an energy source and a medium that connected these two.
The activation of the pike itself was simple. Just stabbing the pike into the energy source would connect the two dimensions.
Both the ghouls and the ophidian warriors were without much intelligence. They were unlike the abyssal warriors or the first ghoul he created. But this was what made them special.
‘They’re like a blank canvas of life…’
Zyrus learned more about his summons after his last encounter with Oroszlan. The reason why the summons were undying was closely tied to their undeveloped sentience. Elemental spirits born in nature, undead, puppets, golems…all of these had varying degrees of will. A summoner called upon their will while projecting their physical form.
Unless they were attacked with something that destroyed their will, the summons would remain pseudo-immortals. But this was also what limited their development.
Oroszlan had taught him how to nurture his summons' wills so that they could advance even without his class’s skills.
“Sit in a circular formation,” Zyrus assembled the ophidian warriors and ghouls in a wheel-like formation. He stood at the center and used the pike as an axel. The only thing he lacked right now was an energy source.
‘But before that, something that’d help them survive is needed,’
[Summon]
He once again summoned 100 drakes and 200 Abyssal warriors. This was the most he could do at the moment.
“Form a guard around them and blast the dome from all sides. Remember to not leave behind any empty spot,”
*Grrrroooar*
The drakes didn’t know why he was telling them to attack the dome while he was protecting the ones within. Nonetheless, they obeyed his order and attacked the dome with their full-powered breath attacks.
*Crrrrack*
*Kkrackele*
Two scraping sounds reverberated one after another. First was from the barrier breaking apart, and the second came from the crystallized sand.
The dome made from mana was replaced by one made from glass. Zyrus had used his mana right on time to shield the ghouls and ophidian warriors, otherwise, they would’ve melted under the high temperature as well.
“Spread your mana into the surroundings.”
The 200 ophidian warriors spread out to the edges and placed their palms on the ground. Inky black mana flowed through their body and seeped into the nearby sand.
Zyrus didn’t have an energy source in hand, so he had to do the job himself. He stood beside the spatial pike and channeled the nearby abyssal mana into it.
*Wizzzzzzzz*
Starry radiance embraced the ghouls, ophidian warriors, and Zyrus. It was a miraculous state where they saw the two dimensions making contact through the pike.
Of course, no one except Zyrus understood what was happening. This was an unexpected surprise even for him.
‘With this, I’ll be able to finish the fourth curse of void before long,’
His eyes gleamed in excitement as he oversaw the changes taking place on the pike. It was a great opportunity for him who was on the cusp of creating his own physical cultivation technique.
Zyrus knew that this would be a long and arduous journey. Conquering one world was still doable with the 500 ghouls he had, but then what? The ghouls couldn’t escape the desert like him. It was impossible to collect them into a parchment as well. How would they invade other deserts?
The only thing he could rely on was the altar of order. Killing the scorpions and sandworms, using them with ghoul reanimation, finding out the unknown entity within the desert… he had to do all this while avoiding the giant’s eyes.
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For 33 times no less.
‘Well, I have all the time I need…’
…
3 Years later, at the same location.
Everything looked the same except for the spatial pike which had become a tiny fissure in space. Zyrus had observed the changes that led to this outcome, and thanks to that he had created the system which combined the martial arts and mana spells.
It was a tremendous task he completed by not even stepping a foot outside this area. Every minute change in the space was detected by his perception. Space, Void, Dimensions…despite being different they had many common points.
But unlike the three curses he had created before which were the final version, this one was just the first step. There was a long road ahead to reach the pinnacle of body refinement.
“My liege, all squadrons are in place,”
“Great. Just wait a while longer,” Zyrus stretched his sore muscles and exited the dome of glass. His skills weren’t the only thing he had worked on.
This part of this mission was simple and tedious. Sending ophidian warriors to scout different deserts, killing the monsters to raise more ghouls, and creating temporary hideouts in all 33 areas. All of this had to be done without catching the giant’s eyes.
‘And we succeeded in doing that,’
Zyrus opened the map and did a final check on the deployment. 500 green dots were scattered around the 33 deserts. Each dot represented a squad of 100 ghouls.
Raising that many ghouls was the most difficult task. The sandworms and scorpions had a high reproductive rate due to them living off on mana, and their constant fights also left behind many corpses. It wasn’t difficult to use ghoul reanimation on them, but even so, this wasn’t enough to take over the entire plains of Ilios.
“How much pure mana is left?”
“Less than 40%.”
“I see…convert the rest once the fight is over. Keep these, and collect the corpses before going back to earth,” Zyrus gave Elsid the storage bags and made his way to the surface. The entire desert was on the verge of becoming dark brown due to the abyss’s influence.
The new giant who tended this farm had noticed the change, but he didn’t make a move since their ‘food supply’ was acceptable.
What he didn’t know, however, was that the entire area was on the brink of collapse. Zyrus corrupted the mana of the deserts, fed them to the monsters to increase their numbers, and then killed them to raise his ghouls.
The final piece of the puzzle was the unknown monster that lurked in the 33 deserts. Not even the giants knew of its existence.
*Shaaaaaaa*
‘I wouldn’t have known either if not for a lucky encounter,’
Zyrus filled his lungs with the fresh air and surveyed the area. All plans were set. The ghouls would kill the monsters, Elsid would lead the abyssal legion and ophidian warriors to take their corpses, and Zirnitra would deal with the unknown monster – who was also the sole resource of this area.
He was curious to know what the creature was, but his fight lay elsewhere. He could exit once he had cleared all the deserts. But in order to do that, he had to ensure that the giants wouldn’t intervene in the fight between the ghouls and the monsters.
“Attack at the count of 10,” Zyrus gave the final order via the communication device.
[Avatar]
The abyssal dragon swirled among the 33 plains and stirred the corrupted mana. Scenes of one-sided slaughter were reflected in his yellow eyes.
Ghouls pierced the sandworm with their nails and tore apart the scorpions with their green skulls. They were the perfect balance of physical strength and powerful corrosive attacks.
*Guooooo*
*Guoo-*
Hundreds of them died every passing second. But at the same time, they poisoned thousands of the monsters. The sandworms and scorpions were a ticking time bomb as they were fed with abyssal mana and Zyrus’s poison for the past three years.
This assault was the catalyst that pushed them over the edge.
*Splattter*
*Kiiiek-*
*Hisssss*
They howled and hissed at the black dragon who was like a harbinger of disaster. But the dragon was not interested in their dying screams.
He broke the fragile boundaries of the 33 deserts with a flaming altar in his claws.
*Crrrraccck*
The invisible boundaries broke apart like a glass mirror. And before the plains collapsed due to instability of space, the broken shards were once again pieced through with a pitch-black mana. Or to be exact, they were consumed by it.
The desert, the sky, monsters, ghouls, and even the armadillo-like creature that Zirnitra was fighting...everything was tainted with the abyssal mana.
“DAMN YOU VERMIN!”
‘Ugh- here he is,’
Zyrus stopped the bleeding from his orifices and faced the giant that was running towards the plains of Ilios. Just a bellow from him was enough to injure him in his avatar form.
It was apparent that the giant was no mere farmer like the last time.
<5 minutes, this thing’s armor is commendable>
His named summons replied one after another. 10 minutes were neither too long nor too short in a fight like this.
‘I can finish him off with spatial stab and void quandary, but it’ll attract a horde of them in turn,’
10 minutes were more than enough for the reinforcement to arrive. The sirens and red lights were blaring right now, and a giant wielding a club was running towards him.
Zyrus canceled his skill and devoured the mana that was leaking from the 33 deserts. This was his goal from the beginning. A colossal amount of mana poured into his body which barely reached the giant’s knee.
[Curse of Oblivion: Quantum Erasure]
The mana that was enough to sustain 33 plains now vanished without a trace.
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