Chapter 481: The Stone Giants’ Hive Mind
"What did you say?"
At this moment, the courtyard-turned-wasteland churned with torrential waves of prismatic magical energy.
These abyss-deep vortexes spiraled relentlessly toward Viktor at the formation's epicenter.
A cataclysmic magical tempest erupted throughout the dimensional space.
Layer upon layer of multicolored magic circles interwove in complex patterns, voraciously devouring the frenzied power.
Intricate celestial geometries crossed and entangled overhead, warping the very fabric of reality they touched.
Beneath this cascading magical maelstrom, Vega's voice carried from Viktor's shoulder, tinged with bewilderment.
"A shared stone consciousness?"
Viktor swept one hand through the air, etching primordial runes onto the continuously expanding magical wheel arrays.
His other hand gripped the golden bird-headed staff, weaving devastating enhancement circles through the atmosphere.
[Greater Magic Amplification]
[Greater Casting Acceleration]
[Greater Mana Transmutation]
With each enhancement spell's release, the formation arrays surrounding Viktor blazed with increasingly brilliant radiance.
These overlapping magical constructs towered like floating citadels in the heavens, their razor-sharp spires piercing the earth-brown sky.
The colossal fortress pressed against the cloud layer, threatening to shatter the entire firmament.
Brilliant polychromatic light merged into blinding cascades, countless intricate arrays flowing like liquid starlight.
The massive citadel surging into the clouds seemed to pulse with living consciousness, constantly rotating and metamorphosing.
The formation fortress's surface bore thick layers of interlocking mystical patterns.
Like bundled chains of celestial steel binding countless arrays together, writhing and undulating through mid-air.
Upon Viktor's form, his windcoat blazed with prismatic magical flames, billowing against the chaotic winds that rose.
Those terrifying fires—transformed into five primordial beasts—gradually devoured the sky itself.
"Ulano, the Earth Calamity, represents the most unique catastrophe."
"Because it dwells beneath the surface and cannot freely relocate, it possesses abilities no other calamity commands."
"Wherever solid ground exists, it can manifest within any soil across that territory."
Even within mountain ranges, the Earth Calamity might emerge.
Precisely due to this characteristic, every inch of earth potentially harbored the Earth Calamity's influence.
Viktor's eyes flickered with analytical brilliance, though his voice remained steady as he explained to Vega.
The tangible manifestation of the Earth Calamity's apocalyptic power consisted of those rock and earth titans erupting throughout the royal capital.
However, what proved most ironic?
That was—
"Regardless of how many rock titans it summons, the Earth Calamity possesses only one controlling consciousness."
Having but a single brain meant that when Ulano distributed fragments of its essence throughout the royal capital.
Ulano must transfer its core consciousness to other earth giants' forms to manipulate their actions.
Consequently, after Ulano manifested on the surface, it could only remain oblivious to surrounding threats.
Because only one brain consciousness could control physical forms, rendering it incapable of processing multiple bodies simultaneously.
This explained why even the mightiest Earth Calamity, Ulano, remained vulnerable to straightforward player strategies.
Simply stated—this represented its critical weakness.
Tactical Diversion.
Deploy one team to assault Ulano's earth giants, forcing Ulano to transfer consciousness for defensive counterattacks.
Meanwhile, the primary strike force would consolidate power, preparing coordinated assaults against Ulano's true form.
Naturally, when Ulano abandoned its main body, it wouldn't remain completely defenseless.
As demonstrated now.
As Viktor's magical citadel accumulated ever-greater mass and potency.
Sensing imminent danger, Ulano finally responded.
It would preserve minimal consciousness fragments for self-preservation.
Upon detecting threats of catastrophic magnitude, Ulano would instantly recall its consciousness at maximum priority.
Exactly as Ulano was executing now.
Chaotic titan arms concealed beneath the earth burst through the surface.
Earth-brown towering monoliths accompanied by clusters of ochre vine tendrils hammered the ground, raising devastatingly dense dust storms.
Mysterious compound eyes hidden within the swirling debris pulsed with eldritch light, its incomprehensibly massive form continuously ascending, striving to breach the surface.
The extended rock titan hands separated into three colossal pillar-fingers, bracing against the earth, preparing to heave itself outward.
Yet halfway through its emergence, the enormously massive stone body seemed to stagger slightly forward.
Space struck by the apocalyptic giant immediately generated howling winds, dust-laden tsunamis surging into the clouds.
This clearly indicated incoming damage.
The instant its form lurched forward, Ulano's seemingly infinite health bar above suddenly dropped by a significant margin.
Though only decreasing by 5%, when Viktor witnessed this development, his lips curved into a knowing smile.
"It appears someone has already claimed first blood."
This represented Ulano's second critical mechanism.
All earth giants constituted extensions of Ulano itself—thus when earth giants suffered destruction, Ulano sustained proportional damage.
This formed the tactical diversion strategy's core essence.
Exploiting Ulano's single-consciousness limitation through relentless positional warfare.
By launching devastating, high-priority threats, forcing Ulano's brain consciousness to frantically shuttle between earth giants.
Rendering these titans helplessly vulnerable under unconscious control.
Therefore, as Ulano endured crippling damage, coordinated strikes against its true form were primed for execution.
"Unfortunately, though you've finally comprehended the situation—it's far too late."
Viktor slowly raised his head, those eyes blazing with prismatic radiance and saturated with magical power locking onto Ulano's six flickering pupils.
Ulano's tremendously colossal hands concealed beneath dust storms fixed their amber luminescence upon Viktor's multicolored flame-wreathed form.
But in that instant, Viktor's eyes flowing with cascading magical energy suddenly erupted with blinding intensity, tremendous power surging exponentially.
The magical citadel composed of tens of thousands of formation arrays expanded beyond all comprehension, threatening to rupture the entire sky.
"[Kong Ji Hun]"
"[Sha Tuo Qiu]"
"[Fu Qian Bai Mi]"
"[Zuo Lu]"
"[Zhen Yu]"
"[Wan Cai Qing Kong]"
"[Bu Luo He]"
"[Qiang Ni]"
"[Fan Zhuan Zhen Kong]"
"[Lun Hui Mei Gui]"
Accompanying Viktor's ethereal incantations, wave upon wave of devastating magic continuously accumulated.
Each mystical phrase's completion caused the ten-tiered citadel behind him—blazing with stellar radiance—to grow exponentially more brilliant.
Finally, its luminescence seemed to completely illuminate the heavens, the original earth-brown utterly banished.
Within Ulano's perception, this long-prepared fortress had achieved absolute incandescence.
Chaotic ethereal light pierced the firmament, reaching the distant cosmos.
"Then let us commence with a modest appetizer."
In that pivotal moment, Viktor casually snapped his fingers.
RESONANCE—
Light seemed to explode exponentially, erupting layer by layer from the citadel's core...
...
Within the central plaza before the imperial palace, Cocotte seated upon her cloud seemed to detect something, slowly raising her head.
"That... what in the heavens is...?"
The atmosphere churned with surging magical energy, compelling even Aubrey to raise his gaze toward the source of that blazing radiance.
Throughout the square, every resident lifted their eyes skyward.
They stared in awe at that phenomenon shattering through cloud cover, radiating apocalyptic luminescence.
Light saturated the entire royal capital—even Vladimir standing in the streets, shouldering his massive war-axe, bearing battle wounds, slowly raised his head.
He observed the rock giant before him that had suddenly become motionless, seemingly sensing some cosmic anomaly.
Couldn't help but slowly crane his neck, gazing toward that distant source of blinding radiance.
"What the absolute hell...?"
Vladimir squinted against the searing brilliance that stabbed his eyes painfully, the chaotic magical energy leaving him completely stupefied.
"What kind of godlike monstrosity is that?"
...
In the northern district, Claudia stood atop a silent rock titan.
At this moment, she too turned her attention toward the sky above the royal capital's central ward.
Beneath the shroud of intense radiance, she slowly removed her mask, revealing half her visage.
Her crimson pupils stared at that daylight-bright illumination, trembling uncontrollably.
"Divine power..."
...
While three factions remained thunderstruck, only Gwen continued riding her frost warhorse.
Accompanied by the subtle percussion of her glacial steel armor, blazing light illuminated the dark path ahead.
She suddenly yanked the reins—the frost horse rearing its forelegs, releasing a piercing whinny, halting in place.
The alabaster tail swayed in the wind, scattering tiny ice crystals.
As her mount stopped, atmospheric magical energy began spiraling.
Through her helmet's narrow visor, Gwen's golden-radiant eyes gazed toward the towering sky behind her.
In that moment, she witnessed it.
An incomprehensibly massive tree of celestial light erupted from the stellar fortress, penetrating deep into the earth-brown heavy clouds.
Beneath layers of concentrated power, those flowing prismatic branches spread across the entire firmament, as though tearing dimensional rifts through the deep sandy ocean.
Complex interlocking textures intertwined with one another, forming the giant tree's colossal trunk, piercing through the heavy and deathly cloud cover.
Ancient, incomprehensible runes hung like luminous leaves upon the branches, continuously radiating terrifying magical energy.
Various fantastical magical phantasms undulated through the atmosphere.
Lions bearing goat skulls, whales with wing-like appendages, and nine-headed primordial dragons prostrating around the trunk.
Heads swaying hypnotically, bodies coiling serpentinely—as though performing a mystical and otherworldly dance beneath the towering clouds.
Light erupted instantaneously, threatening to completely penetrate reality itself.
In that cataclysmic instant, the magical tempest that arose nearly engulfed the entire royal capital.
Flowing fluorescent patterns resembled hurricane vortexes, drawing everything within a thousand-mile radius into their embrace.
Gwen's flowing tresses streaming from beneath her helmet instantly rose with the swirling storm.
Like a brilliant galaxy scattered across the heavens, flickering with dazzling starlight.
Her silver snow-wolf armor was illuminated by the passing radiance, reflecting prismatic shadows.
Intricate magical constellations seemed to decorate the silver plating with multicolored souls.
The snow-blanketed earth also raised rolling avalanches of crystalline flakes.
Transparent ice crystals generated chaotic atmospheric waves, overwhelming the dull brown sky.
[SUPER-TIER MAGIC—SACRED LUMINOUS TREE OF THE SPIRIT ABYSS: SKY SOUL COSMIC DOMINION]
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