The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 257 Different Perspectives

Upon seeing this, El-Erian immediately understood the reason for the anomaly:

Oh, I see...

I almost forgot that the abyss itself is permeated with powerful magical energy...

Warlocks, who naturally wield the magic flowing in their veins, are extremely sensitive to magical energy, and thus experienced a brief resonance...

"The concentration of background magic in the abyss is actually this high?"

Beside Elian, a research mage repeatedly examined the data, his expression shifting from astonishment to ecstatic joy, exclaiming excitedly:
"Your Majesty, the value of exploring the Abyss exceeds our imagination!"

"The concentration of magic in this area is so high."

"If the Empire could control a portion of the Abyss region, performing various rituals, enchanting, and creating magical items within that area would be far more efficient!"

Elian looked at the excited crowd, tapped his throat lightly to amplify his voice, and explained based on his knowledge of occultism:
"In the multiverse (the great wheel), outer planes such as Heaven and Hell, and the gods were born first. The material plane on which we depend for survival came into being later."

"It can be said that these outer planes, which represent different philosophical concepts such as goodness, evil, order, and chaos, are metaphysical and the most extreme existences, representing the direction of development of all things."

"Therefore, the outer plane has mountains tens of thousands of meters high and rivers thousands of feet wide, the sun's rays are more dazzling, and exaggerated and extreme environments are more likely to occur."

"Our material plane, on the other hand, is mediocre, bland, and ordinary. It's like a weakened version of the outer plane's mapping and projection."

The outer planes are like the "world of Forms" described by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, and like the heavens and hells in various religions on Earth...

The thought crossed Elian's mind, but he didn't use a metaphor that the people of this world couldn't understand.

"Therefore, as a plane of ideas and a plane of gods, the outer plane possesses supernatural attributes that are incomparable to those of the mortal realm. It is only natural that the concentration of magic in the air is much higher."

As Ellian spoke, he was also considering whether the main construction process should be completed in the Abyss when Eldoron builds its new floating city.

At this moment, Helen, the blonde woman who had been silently recording data and the legendary transformation mage, also stepped forward and offered a novel perspective from the viewpoint of a paranormal biologist:

“Your Majesty El-Erian, I have an idea.”

"You said that otherworldly creatures like demons, devils, angels, and sub-aerial beings often possess natural magic resistance. Is it because they live in environments with high magic concentrations?"

“They breathe in and out magical power every day, which has led to a certain degree of adaptation.”

Before Elian could answer, Helen pointed out another fact:
"Furthermore, demons are resistant to fire, ice, and lightning elemental damage."

"It may also be an adaptation to the harsh natural environment of the bottomless abyss."

This… Elian tilted his head slightly, vaguely remembering that scholars in his previous life had put forward similar views.

He frowned slightly, pondering:

"The demon's magic and elemental resistance come from its adaptation to environments with high concentrations of magic and harsh natural environments?"

"This is indeed an interesting hypothesis."

"Of course, whether this hypothesis is correct still needs further verification."

"After all, most demons do not reproduce. Even if a mutation that allows them to survive occurs, the corresponding traits will not be passed on to their offspring."

"Since the phenomenon of intergenerational inheritance does not exist, it remains to be verified whether the phenomenon of use and disuse exists in individuals."

After listening to Elian's words, Helen keenly noticed a detail and asked in confusion:
"Wait, don't most demons reproduce?"

"How did the demon race increase in number!?"

Even the Mind Flayer race she had previously studied, which reproduced by implanting tadpoles into the brains of humanoid creatures and infecting them to create new Mind Flayer individuals, was at least a means of reproduction, despite its terrifying and bizarre method.

Are the bizarre demons incapable of reproduction?
Seeing Helen's surprised and doubtful expression, Elion raised an eyebrow. What?
So you guys didn't even know the origin of demons?

That's true; the pioneering mages of this era still knew far too little about otherworldly creatures...

Elian then realized that the demonology he had taught to deal with the Abyss invasion was mostly about combat and didn't cover things like demon physiology...

Moreover, the captured demons didn't care about their origins...

"There's no need to rush this. We've already entered the abyss, so we'll figure it out eventually."

Elion chuckled softly, temporarily ending the current topic, and began to consider the subsequent development plans for the Abyss:
"The concentration of magic in the abyss environment is very high. We can build a production base for enchanted items or a cultivation base for extraordinary species here in the future."

"If we settle here and multiply for several generations, we might even give birth to a new type of sorcerer bloodline."

As he spoke, he gazed at the distant wilderness:
"Looks like we came to the right place."

"We've only just stepped into the abyss, and this land has already given us such a big surprise."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing how many more valuable resources we can uncover during the next phase of our exploration!"

Elian looked up at the desolate wilderness raging under the blood-red sun, the jagged mountains surrounded by winged demons, and listened to the excited conversations of the researchers around him. Even his usually calm and composed heart couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

In his previous life, Elion, a legendary mage, also ventured into the abyss with the thirst for knowledge of a scholar.

At that time, however, he was a lone wolf, all by himself.

Now, personally leading an expeditionary force comprised of the empire's elite troops to expand the empire's territory, the perspective and experience are completely different...

The effect of a high concentration of magic in the air on enchanting legendary magical items is negligible.

Therefore, in his previous life, Elion didn't care about this characteristic of the Abyss at all.

However, such an environment is quite helpful for manufacturing a large number of low- to mid-level magical items, or for creating super-giant cities like floating cities.

What an individual strongman might overlook could be invaluable to a nation!
"We will leave a portion of our troops here, and then continue our advance!"

At Elion's command, he patted the Balor Rattu beside him:
"You are a secondary lord. In what region of the [Ten Thousand Abyss Plains] territory are you located?"

“It guides us there.”

Balor Ratu dared not delay, pointed in a direction, then flapped his wings and took flight, leading the way:
"Everyone, follow me."

Under Elion's command, a large group of production mages immediately cast spells such as [Fossil to Mud], [Mud to Stone], [Stone Wall], [Stone Shaping], and [Tower] to build sturdy rock fortresses around the dimensional rift leading to the material plane.

In just a few hours, a base surrounding the "dimensional rift" was built.

【Dimensional Fortress】.

This is the starting point of the journey to explore the Abyss of Eldoron!

The expeditionary force stationed half (1000) of its undead soldiers, a dozen golems, and several dozen professionals at this stronghold.

Then, the main force of the expeditionary force continued its advance.

Following Balor Ratu, they set off towards the wilderness illuminated by the blood-red sun.

The terrifying bottomless abyss has also begun to reveal its cruel side.

They had barely marched a short distance when, on the windswept wilderness, a large horde of demons discovered these strange, uninvited guests and roared as they surged forward.

(End of this chapter)