Chapter 296: Rending the Barrier

The sudden reversal of the battle brought not only advantages.

With the ferocious firepower of the

Great Radiance Formation

and the Black Giants’ devastating “first-strike” self-detonation charge, Jie Ming had forcibly torn a precious breach in the stalemated frontline, making his wizard legion the first to break through the Giant Spirit Realm’s final defense.

This should have been a triumph worth celebrating, but it also triggered an unexpected problem—the battlefield’s focal point had shifted.

Originally, the Tier-6 wizard overseeing this vast war zone, “Starbreaker” Balsa, had focused his attention on another main legion, bolstered by over a dozen Tier-5 wizards.

That legion’s fierce assault had drawn the bulk of the Giant Spirit Realm’s defenses.

Per the plan, that was supposed to be the breakthrough point, where Balsa would personally intervene to secure the victory.

However, Jie Ming’s “flanking force” had unexpectedly disrupted the established rhythm.

When Balsa realized this frontline had been breached, the fleeting window of opportunity had already slipped away.

In that momentary delay, the Giant Spirit Realm’s interior, like a beehive, surged with endless reinforcements.

They swiftly filled the gap blasted open by the Black Giants, even launching a fierce counterattack against the wizard vanguard, which had yet to establish a foothold.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Energy barrages rained down like a storm. The wizards who had just charged in commanded their fodder legions to resist desperately.

But against the enemy’s reliance on the planar barrier and near-infinite reinforcements from the rear, they were steadily pushed back, on the verge of being forced into the chaotic void.

An invisible pressure descended abruptly.

The space rippled slightly, and “Starbreaker” Balsa, clad in a wizard’s robe adorned with starry runes, appeared silently beside Jie Ming.

His weathered face bore eyes as deep as the cosmos.

Yet now, his brow furrowed slightly as he gazed at the planar barrier’s entrance, once again teeming with enemy warships and beasts.

His gaze swept the battlefield, instantly locking onto Jie Ming, who maintained the

Great Radiance Formation

, clearly the core and linchpin of this legion.

“Wizard,” Balsa’s voice resonated directly in Jie Ming’s mind, calm yet carrying undeniable authority, “your performance exceeded expectations. But the situation has changed.”

He pointed at the chaotic battlefield ahead. “I must personally tear open this barrier to clear a path for the army. During my casting, I cannot move and must withstand attacks. Ranged energy strikes are manageable, but if Tier-4 or higher enemies break through and engage me in close quarters, it will disrupt the process.”

He looked at Jie Ming and asked directly, “If I clear the enemies in this area, how long can you hold back their reinforcements while I rend the barrier? No need to annihilate them—just buy enough time.”

Jie Ming’s heart tightened, his mind racing.

His consciousness plunged into his internal space, swiftly tallying his stock of “Prowler” fodder units while calculating the still-raging elemental density in the environment from the prior battles.

In an instant, he raised his head, meeting the Tier-6 wizard’s gaze with steady resolve. “Three breaths. I can ensure no Tier-4 or higher units approach you for up to three breaths.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Balsa’s eyes, quickly turning to appreciation.

In such a situation, for a low-tier wizard to confidently specify a time frame was either arrogance or genuine capability.

From Jie Ming’s earlier performance, Balsa leaned toward the latter.

“Good.” Balsa said no more.

He slowly raised his right hand, facing the tide of Giant Spirit Realm reinforcements, and pressed down lightly, as if casually.

No earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling energy glow.

But the moment his palm descended, the void within a hundred-kilometer radius seemed wiped clean by an invisible eraser.

Ferocious warships, roaring beasts, and streaking energy beams—everything silently disintegrated, annihilated into fundamental particles, vanishing without a trace.

With one strike, the field was cleared!

The might of a Tier-6 wizard was terrifying beyond measure!

Without pause, Balsa stepped forward, his figure appearing at the center of the cleared zone, facing the Giant Spirit Realm’s planar barrier, formless like an atmosphere.

He raised both hands, his body radiating a heart-stopping energy fluctuation as immense power gathered, preparing to forcibly tear through the world’s membrane.

Almost simultaneously, as Balsa cleared the area, Jie Ming acted.

With a surge of will, his internal space unleashed its reserves like a floodgate.

Tens of thousands of “Prowler” fodder units, resembling living missiles, swarmed into the void like a migrating hive.

These Tier-2 Prowlers were basic units meticulously crafted for Jie Ming’s air combat system.

Upon emerging, they erupted at ten times the speed of sound under his command.

Transforming into streaks of deadly light, they fearlessly charged the Giant Spirit Realm reinforcements surging from the planar barrier!

“Detonate!”

At Jie Ming’s command, the leading Prowler clusters erupted in a blaze of destructive brilliance!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—

Self-destruction!

Relentless, unending self-destruction!

Designed for ultimate one-for-one trades, each Tier-2 Prowler’s explosion rivaled a Tier-3 spell under normal conditions.

But would Jie Ming’s fifty-year-crafted “sea, land, and air combat system” be so simple?

Each Prowler’s core incorporated runic artifact technology.

Their explosions didn’t merely trigger their own energy but detonated the surrounding free elements in a refined, devastating manner!

This region, having just endured the Black Giants’ mass detonation, warship explosions, and wizards’ relentless bombardment, had an elemental density that had soared to terrifying heights!

Thus, to the enemy’s horror, the Prowlers’ explosions triggered a chain reaction of catastrophic proportions.

In areas with the densest elements, the Prowlers’ blasts ignited elemental chain explosions, their destructive power surpassing Tier-4 spells!

This was akin to a small wizard legion’s volley, smashing the Giant Spirit Realm’s vanguard like an invisible wall.

Their forces were torn apart and vaporized, abruptly halting the enemy’s reinforcement momentum!

The Giant Spirit Realm reacted swiftly, redirecting forces from other sectors to encircle this critical breach.

Follow-up reinforcements regrouped, preparing another charge.

But it was enough.

Jie Ming watched the enemy’s chaotic ranks as he and the other wizards began directing their fodder legions to withdraw, disengaging from the frontline.

Because ahead, the Tier-6 wizard, “Starbreaker” Balsa, had completed his preparations.

He thrust both hands forward!

Rip!

A sound like tearing cloth, magnified a billionfold, shook the entire battlefield!

The impregnable Giant Spirit Realm planar barrier was forcibly torn open by Balsa’s law-infused hands, creating an irregular thousand-kilometer spatial rift!

Chaotic energy currents flickered at the rift’s edges, revealing the metallic continent within the Giant Spirit Realm.

The planar barrier had been rent asunder!

What followed no longer required mid- or low-tier wizards and their fodder to fight desperately.

The stage now belonged to the high-tier wizards.

Jie Ming hovered in the rear void, retracting the heavily depleted

Great Radiance Formation

, silently sensing his internal factory accelerating production to replenish his reserves, his heart calm.

With a high-tier wizard’s intervention, the battle was stabilized.

Now, it was time to reap the spoils and merits.