Gerard also reacted quickly and sneered.

  "Losing to our Aurora City due to their own lack of strength, and then venting their anger on Pierce... the scope of those guys' vision is just that small."

  Colin said seriously, "You have to be careful. Although the people from Red Lotus City don't dare to do anything to you directly, if they find the chance, they will definitely trip you up."

  "I will," Pierce said calmly.

  He knew exactly how dissatisfied the Wizards of Red Lotus City were with him, so naturally, he wouldn't carelessly let his guard down.

  After chatting for a while, Colin and Gerard bid farewell and left to execute their missions.

  Pierce planned to find a place to stay first.

  Before parting, Colin handed Pierce a memory crystal ball.

  "This contains the intelligence I've recorded about the Turin Plane, as well as some precautions for executing missions. Perhaps it can offer you a little help."

  "Thank you." Pierce's eyes lit up as he took the crystal ball.

  For him, who urgently needed intelligence on the Planar Battlefield, this was no less than a timely rain.

  Returning the favor, Pierce handed Colin a bottle of Resonance Potion.

  "A thank-you gift."

  Colin caught it subconsciously. When he saw it was a Resonance Potion, he was instantly overjoyed.

  "Then I won't be polite." He accepted it gleefully.

  Gerard beside him immediately felt a wave of regret. If he had known Pierce was so generous, he would have offered his own intelligence before Colin.

  Saying goodbye to the two, Pierce took Sophia and Payne and left the Exchange.

  There were stone houses for rent and sale near the Exchange. Pierce quickly found suitable accommodation. With a wave of his hand, he directly rented three stone houses on the same cliff, paying half a year's rent upfront.

  "Rest well today; we will go to the Mission Hall tomorrow," Pierce said, turning to Sophia and Payne.

  The two immediately responded in unison.

  Pushing the door open, Pierce walked into the stone house.

  Inside was a beautifully decorated living room with a pale yellow main color tone. Facing the left and right were rows of doors—eight rooms in total—giving it the feel of a noble castle's bedchambers.

  The floor was covered with gray-white carpets, and some inexpensive fluorescent crystals were inlaid into the walls, their soft and elegant yellow light illuminating the entire stone house.

  Furniture, sofas, and chairs were all fully furnished.

  Except for feeling a bit enclosed, everything else was excellent.

  "Not bad."

  Pierce nodded in satisfaction.

  Although strictly speaking, this environment wasn't worth fifteen Magic Stones a month, considering this was a war fortress on an alien plane, it was acceptable.

  Pierce took out the Sprite's Sanctum and let Eve out for some fresh air.

  Letting the little sprite move around on her own, he sat down on the living room sofa, took out the crystal ball Colin had given him, and began browsing the data inside.

  First was the information regarding the Turin Plane.

  According to the classification of Divine Planes, the Turin Plane belonged to a medium polytheistic plane.

  Currently, it was known that there were three intermediate deities in this plane: the Lord of Thunder, who controlled the Thunder priesthood; the Storm Singer, who controlled the Storm priesthood; and the Lady of Winter Frost, who controlled the Ice and Winter Frost priesthood.

  Based on the faith of these three deities, the Turins established three major human nations: the Thunder Theocracy, the Storm Theocracy, and the Winter Frost Theocracy.

  And Red Maple City was one of the two major war fortresses located within the territory of the Winter Frost Theocracy.

  The other was White Ice City, located to the south.

  Relying on an initial surprise invasion, the allied army of Aurora City and Red Lotus City had captured a vast amount of territory.

  By the time the Winter Frost Theocracy reacted and the numerous nobles in the north formed an allied army under the call of the church and two grand dukes, the Wizard army had already established a firm foothold in the Turin Plane.

  After several major battles, the Turins couldn't gain any advantage and could only enter a stalemate with the Wizard army, blocking their pace of conquest.

  Now both sides were accumulating strength, resting and reorganizing for the next major conflict.

  However, although massive battles had paused, small-scale combat had never stopped.

  In the buffer zone between the two armies—an open field with a depth of over eight hundred kilometers—countless battles broke out every single day.

  Clearing scouts, removing outposts, capturing or destroying fortifications, seizing resource points, and even infiltrating behind enemy lines to destroy supply chains.

  Beneath the surface calm, the confrontation between the two sides had never ceased.

  And many of these skirmishes and covert operations were handed over to Free Wizards to complete, which was also their main source of Merit Points.

  Seeing this, Pierce understood the dynamic perfectly.

  Simply put, Free Wizards acted as elite special forces and assault troops, engaging in tasks such as capturing or destroying key facilities affecting the war behind enemy lines, thereby sharing the pressure for the main army.

  "This is good too. I don't have to participate in the meat grinder of the main war."

  Pierce nodded secretly.

  On the ever-changing battlefield, an individual's strength would be infinitely minimized.

  Unless one had the overwhelming power to rival an entire army alone, individual strength could cause very limited impact against organized magical legions.

  A slight misstep could easily lead to mortal danger, or even the loss of life.

  Even Wizards couldn't avoid such fates.

  However, if it was just skirmishing and raiding on the periphery, it wouldn't be too dangerous.

  Pierce composed himself and continued browsing.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Not long after, he finished reading the data on the Turin Plane. After that was intelligence about Red Maple City itself.

  The current commanders of Red Maple City were Councilor Gideon and Councilor Silas.

  The latter was a councilor from the Red Lotus Council of Red Lotus City.

  In addition, Red Maple City stationed four main legions and two Golem Legions, as well as hundreds of miscellaneous legions composed of foreign races and slave soldier legions.

  The vast majority of these legions were stationed on the front lines, confronting the Turin army from a distance.

  However, these details had little to do with Pierce. He just glanced roughly over them, memorized the key points, and read on.

  Next was the resource section.

  Pierce's main attention was focused on resources for increasing and refining mental power.

  In terms of increasing mental power, besides slow-acting items like Resonance Potions, there were many with immediate effects.

  For example, Unicorn Blood Essence.

  This liquid, extracted and refined from unicorn blood, could significantly increase mental energy levels after consumption.

  Although it had the disadvantage of diminishing returns—the higher the mental energy level, the lower the effect—it still couldn't conceal its preciousness.

  A single bottle of Unicorn Blood Essence was worth 100 Merit Points, more than three times the value of a Resonance Potion.

  In addition, there was the Sprout of the Holy Spirit.

  This was a local specialty of the Turin Plane. It was said to be a plant watered by the Winter Frost Church with holy water, containing rich energy, and often used in the promotion ceremonies of apprentice priests.

  After rigorous research, Wizards found that the Sprout of the Holy Spirit had the dual effect of simultaneously strengthening physique and mental energy levels. Its value to Wizards was even higher than Unicorn Blood Essence.

  However, this item also had a severe flaw—it contained the Power of Faith.

  Every time it was consumed, the Wizard needed to spend a vast amount of time eliminating the residual Power of Faith.

  Only after purging it completely could one safely consume the next sprout.

  Otherwise, continuous consumption in a short time would likely lead to the user's mind being eroded by the Power of Faith, turning them into a fanatic of the Lady of Winter Frost.

  A Wizard becoming a fanatic of a deity; if word got out, they would be laughed out of the Wizarding World.

  Despite having a flaw that was hard to ignore, the powerful effects of the Sprout of the Holy Spirit still kept its price sky-high.

  A single Sprout was worth 300 Merit Points, far exceeding Unicorn Blood Essence.

  "Sprout of the Holy Spirit and Unicorn Blood Essence... with these two items, perhaps I can quickly reach the limit of the Rank 1 Gaseous Phase."

  Pierce's spirit lifted slightly.

  Originally, he expected it would take four or five months to reach the limit of the Gaseous Phase. But now it seemed that as long as he had enough Merit Points, he could shorten this time by half, or even less.

  "And regarding refining mental power..."

  Pierce continued reading.

  There weren't many items suitable for Rank 1 Gaseous Phase Wizards to refine their mental power. The data provided by Colin only mentioned one.

  Faith Crystals!

  Crystals of the Power of Faith extracted from the symbols of deities that the Turins worshiped daily—including but not limited to idols, holy artifacts, and altars.

  "This thing can be used to refine mental power?"

  Pierce clicked his tongue in wonder.

  "Sprouts of the Holy Spirit, Faith Crystals... these are resources that are extremely tempting to Wizards."

  "Especially the latter. It seems there are very few alternative resources for refining mental power, giving it immense value. And yet, as long as it's a Divine Plane, there is an abundance of Faith Crystals to be harvested."

  "Just this point alone makes Divine Planes a veritable Wizard's treasure house. Not to mention this is just the tip of the iceberg; there are definitely other precious resources I am currently unaware of."

  Pierce finally understood why Wizards 'liked' Divine Planes so much.

  "One standard unit of Faith Crystal... 1,000 Merit Points?"

  Pierce grimaced as if nursing a toothache. This price was more than triple that of the Sprout of the Holy Spirit.

  But on second thought, things like idols and holy artifacts—just hearing the names, one knew they must be strictly guarded by the Turins. Getting one's hands on them was probably no easier than destroying a Turin military fortification. Such a high price was perfectly understandable.

  Shaking his head, Pierce continued scrolling down. After that were various resources like materials, potions, enchanted items, and puppets.

  He skimmed through them quickly, then focused on the data in the mission section.

  Red Maple City currently provided a large number of missions for Free Wizards, including hunting Turin scouts, removing outposts, destroying enemy fortifications, and guarding resource points.

  Among them, hunting Turin scouts and removing outposts had the lowest difficulty and could be completed by a single Wizard alone.

  As long as one's luck wasn't atrocious, there basically wouldn't be any danger.

  But destroying enemy fortifications and guarding resource points were exponentially more dangerous.

  The former was equivalent to actively jumping into a heavily fortified enemy stronghold, forcing one's way into a dragon's lair. Without enough strength, it was no different from suicide.

  As for the latter, at a time when both sides were desperately seizing resources to accumulate strength, the high level of danger was self-evident.

  However, guarding resource points came with a massive advantage that was hard to refuse.

  These resource points were mostly various mineral veins seized from the Turins.

  Red Maple City needed to obtain a large amount of rare metals from these veins to forge golems and magical equipment. But because the mineral veins were scattered far too widely, it was difficult for the military to allocate enough manpower to guard them all. So, the high command simply set a rule:

  For all Free Wizards guarding resource points, during their tenure, they only needed to hand over half of the extracted resources to Red Maple City. The remaining half belonged entirely to them.

  Whether keeping it for their own use or exchanging it for equivalent Merit Points, it was entirely up to the guardians themselves to decide.

  When this rule was enacted, it caused a massive stir, and countless Free Wizards were tempted.

  After all, that was half the total revenue of an entire resource point!

  The revenue from just one month might exceed what they worked hard to earn on the bloody battlefield over a whole year.

  However, being tempted was one thing; there were very few Free Wizards who truly possessed the strength to take on this mission.

  First of all, without even thinking, one knew these resource points would definitely receive 'special attention' from the Turin armies.

  Wanting to hold a resource point with just one or two Wizards was simply impossible.

  Even if the guarding Wizards were immensely powerful and could single-handedly repel the attacking Turins, what if the enemy set their minds to destroying the resource point entirely? A lone Wizard wouldn't be able to stop an army's scorched-earth tactics.

  The optimal strategy was to earn enough Merit Points first, exchange them for a large number of puppets, golems, or foreign slave armies from the Exchange, and form a personal army strong enough to securely hold the resource point.

  And to achieve this, the initial capital of Merit Points required was astronomical.

  In addition, the development and mining of the resource point also needed to be funded by the Wizards themselves.

  This meant they had to purchase an entire slave team for mining and smelting.

  This was another massive expense.

  Therefore, in most cases, several Wizards formed alliances to co-guard and develop a resource point, dividing the revenue equally.

  Although the individual revenue was diluted, it was far better than nothing.

  "Resource points..."

  Pierce's eyes flickered with calculation.

  This was an excellent way to earn Merit Points rapidly.

  He finally understood clearly that the Planar Battlefield was actually an ecosystem where the strong stayed strong, and the weak stayed weak.

  Wizards with enough strength could earn a surplus of Merit Points early on, use them to buy golems or kin to strengthen their forces, and then leverage that army to earn even more Merit Points. It was a snowball effect that formed a virtuous cycle of power.

  Conversely, those with insufficient strength could only fight desperately on the front lines to earn a meager trickle of points—not even enough to buy basic potions and materials, let alone build their own army.

  In the long run, they would be trapped completing low-difficulty, low-reward missions, struggling endlessly in the mire.

  "The Planar Battlefield is ultimately a place that respects absolute power."

  Pierce sighed, put away the crystal ball, and began planning his next steps.

  Undoubtedly, he definitely had to accept the mission of guarding resource points eventually.

  After all, exchanging for Sprouts of the Holy Spirit and Faith Crystals required an ocean of Merit Points, and managing a resource point was clearly the fastest method to acquire them.

  "I have a large number of Magic Oak Seeds on hand. This is my unique advantage."

  "I can completely rely on these seeds to sprout a small army right now."

  "However, this bit of power is probably still not enough to hold a resource point securely. It's best to buy some additional puppets or golems to fortify my ranks."

  Pierce quickly formed a tactical roadmap in his mind.

  First, complete a few simpler missions to earn enough Merit Points to round out his personal army, and then take on the mission of guarding a resource point.

  Step by step!

  Having finalized his decision, Pierce's expression relaxed instantly.

  Putting away the crystal ball, he retrieved various rare metals from his spatial ring and lined them up on the table in front of him.

  The Magic Stones he had earned from selling Resonance Potions prior to his departure—apart from leaving two thousand in reserve for emergencies—were all used to purchase the rare metals needed for Silver Star's evolution.

  A total of four standard units.

  Manipulating Silver Star to devour and absorb all the metals, the artifact successfully strengthened to the '+7' level.

  Looking at the floating, mesmerizing liquid metal hovering in front of him, a highly satisfied smile appeared on Pierce's face.

  Tier 3 Arcane Artifacts required at least Rank 1 Crystalline Phase mental power to manipulate safely.

  However, his Spirit Crystal possessed a much larger volume and a higher upper limit than ordinary Wizards. As long as he reached 24 Energy Levels, he could still forcibly manipulate a Tier 3 Arcane Artifact.

  Before crossing that threshold, he could safely continue to strengthen Silver Star up to its critical state (+17).

  "With my current array of power, I have absolutely nothing to fear against a Rank 1 Liquid Phase Wizard."

  "As for a Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizard... I'll only know after fighting one."