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That kind of "conquest" actually existed in the real world, probably some countries in east Asia. Don't want to call their names out because it may hurt some feelings. And it's kind of hard to say for sure that it is a good or bad thing.
The Dilus's soul shattered, yet the Devourer's fragment stayed intact. He knew he couldn't escape, so he stopped trying to flee and hovered within the barrier.
"You really think you can stop my rise? How foolish," the Devourer's will turned into words, echoing for all to hear. "Without the Great Archmage, you think you can invade my soul? Pathetic."
"Enough talk," Ayesha sneered. She and five other transdimensional mages from the Third Tower stepped into the barrier together. They stood before Adam and used special magic to erase the fragment. They had no intention of keeping it, as that could cause unnecessary trouble.
Adam felt fantastic. The recent magic had not only restored his lost energy but also cleared his mental fatigue.
Seeing the Devourer's soul fragment vanish, he sighed in relief.
Facing the Devourer had been incredibly stressful for Adam. Out of everyone, the Devourer resented Adam the most. Adam, who hadn't even reached the transcendent level, had repeatedly foiled his plans and now even threatened his life---the Devourer wished he could grind Adam to dust.
The transdimensional mages disappeared as quickly as they had come, returning to their posts in the sky, leaving only Ayesha and Arnold behind.
Adam handed the model construction method to Ayesha and said, "I should remind you, though we succeeded this time, it doesn't mean it will work on his main body. At that time, the risk of failure will be much higher than the chance of success."
Ayesha carefully stored the model, looking pleased. "Don't worry, this is enough to get us started. The Third Tower has plenty of means to handle it."
After that, she sent the unaffected living Titan and the still-burning Original Flames fragment out of the space and then left.
Arnold smiled at Adam and said, "You did well, helped us a lot. With this model as the key, we have a good chance of solving the Devourer problem."
"You're too kind," Adam replied.
Arnold waved his hand and continued, "Once the Third Tower gets the location of the Devourer's species from his soul, His Holiness will come to start the war. Then, this mission will count as an exploration task, and your rewards will be immense. You might become the richest among your peers."
Adam was surprised. He had thought that, according to the Third Tower's words, this mission would be unpaid labor. He didn't expect rewards, let alone huge ones. He thought for a moment, now more eager for these rewards, as a war personally led by the Great Archmage would surely offer more than he could get as an Explorer.
Arnold walked towards the Titan lord and Garfield's Original Flames. He was going to reshape their bodies. While walking, he said, "You should be ready to advance to level four, right?"
"Yes," Adam replied.
"Please note, level four is a crucial stage. A mage reaching level four can be called a 'Master.' At this point, those aspiring to become a transcendent mage must acquire not only Ether Crystals and knowledge but also rarer and more important resources."
As he spoke, the special space shattered, and the two of them arrived in Titania.
Magic surged around Arnold, and intricate Alchemic Arrays appeared out of thin air. Energy and the floating bodies of Diluses around them transformed into metal bodies, enclosing the Flames of the two.
Adam marveled at the wonder of the law of equivalent exchange and true alchemy magic: this was how the Seventh Tower created alchemical products.
Arnold sent the intact Titan Lord and a transcendent-level Dilus's corpse away together.
Then, placing Garfield beside Adam, he said, "The key is a touch of the Origin. You need to get enough of that to support the second metamorphosis of your soul, making your soul possess the characteristics of a plane's Origin to truly become a transdimensional mage."
Adam had heard a bit about this from Mage Evans when he sacrificed the Dragon Plane. However, Mage Evans hadn't elaborated. Now, seizing the opportunity, he quickly asked, "Does the touch of an Origin refer to the gift obtained after sacrificing a plane?"
"Yes and no. For ordinary mages, this is the only channel besides exchanging for it with battle merits. But I heard you've created your own magic system. If you are confident in advancing on your own path, then there is a better way for you," Arnold explained without beating around the bush. "The ordinary Origins can never be as powerful as the Heart of the Mage World. As long as your knowledge is significant and powerful enough, you can trade with the Mage World. You offer knowledge, and it grants you the Touch of it."
"Moreover, mages who advance to transcendent entirely relying on the Heart of the Mage World are stronger from level five onwards than ordinary transcendent mages. As far as I know, it's been a long time since such a transcendent mage was born."
...
Five days had passed since then.
Adam and Garfield returned to the Royal City. The entire Titania was now in a state of tense warfare, with frequent personnel and material mobilization, so no one noticed Adam had been missing for a few days.
Even the Titan lord's disappearance had a reasonable explanation. The corpse of the transcendent Dilus had been transported back from the front line to the Royal City and handed over to the logistic mages.
Adam continued his work. After his previous research on the Original Flames, aside from enhancing his slaves' strength, his most significant achievement was drastically accelerating the cultivation of Flame fragments.
The Titans didn't have an obsession with resurrecting their fallen comrades exactly as they were; they cared only about the continuation of their species. Thus, with the Royals' consent, Adam began to merge multiple Flame fragments together, enabling them to possess the ability to pass on the flame.
This method proved highly effective. Adam's laboratory had become a 'factory' for creating new Titans.
With ample resource allocation, new Titans were born continuously.
Because their initial bodies were constructed using high-quality metal purified by alchemists and their Vital Generators used ready-made circuits from the Mage World, these Titans were strong from the moment they were created.
Equipped with Grafted Gear, these Titans could immediately enter the battlefield, alleviating the shortage of troops.
This was a different kind of conquest. It was evident to anyone with foresight that once the Titans became dependent on this new method of flame transmission and assembly-line-like enhancement, becoming a vassal race would quickly become an inevitable reality, even if they were unwilling.