Gray Mist World, Sixth Layer.

Inside the crude temporary camp.

The first wave of battle had already ended.

The Ogrande City forces defending the Ancient Ruins had retreated from their defenses on the second layer all the way to the fifth.

Thanks to the power of Marquis Albert, they had barely managed to defend the entrance to the sixth layer.

But for now, it was hard to say how long they could hold out.

At this moment, the wounded were everywhere in the temporary camp.

The few Transcendents with healing abilities had already exhausted their Healing Energy.

All they could do was distribute Healing Potions to treat the many Transcendents’ injuries.

Fortunately, due to Zorn’s cooperation with Ogrande City and Madam Mable’s shares in the potion factories, the city’s supply of Holy Healing Potions was exceptionally abundant.

While the wounded were being treated, many Transcendents sat on the ground inside a crude, spacious tent nearby.

Inside the tent, the number of Level Five Transcendents was clearly much lower, and even one of the already few Level Six Transcendents was now missing.

Many of them were injured, and some were still drinking Healing Potions.

No one looked particularly happy.

A dull and oppressive atmosphere filled the entire tent.

Just then, several Level Five Witches entered.

The Witches’ contribution in this battle had been significant, but their losses were also tragic; nearly half of them had fallen on the battlefield.

Having just endured the crucible of a brutal war, the Witches entered Ogrande City’s makeshift conference hall.

After reviewing the few compiled reports, Marquis Albert slowly raised his head.

"Everyone... although we lost quite a few Transcendents in this battle, including a Level Six Tutor who had made great contributions to Ogrande City,"

"we also achieved considerable results."

"During the confrontation on the fourth layer, we killed a Level 6 High Priest from the Church and a Harvester from Saintisman."

"At the same time, we killed a large number of members of the Church Knight Order, as well as ordinary members of the Harvesters." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Furthermore..."

Marquis Albert looked toward Zorn and Rosian in the corner.

"Lord Zorn Corick and Master Rosian, working together, eliminated four Level 6 Transcendents, plus seven or eight Knight squads."

As Marquis Albert said this, many people turned to look at Zorn and Rosian, their faces filled with shock and doubt.

Their side had a large number of Transcendents, not to mention Marquis Albert and two Level Seven experts presiding.

Even then, while focused on defense, they had only managed to kill two Level Six experts, plus a relatively large number of Knight Order squads.

And yet, these two, working together, had killed four Level 6 Transcendents, even if the number of Knight Order squads they’d killed couldn’t compare.

’This... couldn’t be a false report, could it?!’

Of course, a false report was impossible.

Zorn had collected the Sequence Crystal Cores from all the Transcendents he killed.

These freshly obtained Sequence Crystal Cores could not be faked.

After scrutinizing the pair for a moment, everyone in the conference room looked away.

"Next..."

Marquis Albert began to lay out the next phase of the war plan.

In the corner, Zorn quietly sensed the condition of the many Transcendents, thinking to himself.

’The two Level Seven Transcendents have the lingering power of a Forbidden Sealed Object on them, and their auras are unstable. They’re clearly injured, too.’

’Judging from the terrifying fluctuations that came from the fifth layer earlier, the Level Seven experts must have clashed.’

’Not to mention the other Transcendents.’

’A third of the Transcendents who were at the last meeting have died on the battlefield.’

’The enemy’s offensive is incredibly fierce.’

’At this rate, we probably won’t be able to hold out for three days before the enemy breaks straight through.’

’For half of Ogrande City’s forces to resist the attacks of the Holy Fierce Sun Church and the Harvesters... it’s clearly too much to handle.’

As he mulled this over, Zorn’s gaze slowly swept across the entire conference hall.

He hadn’t really wanted to present that special plan of his.

But now, he had to.

Otherwise, once everyone here was dead, Ogrande City would truly fall.

His vast wealth and the foundation for his development were all in Ogrande City!

If they were defeated, all of it would be lost.

The Ogrande City Chapter couldn’t end at this point in time!

Amid the discussion between Marquis Albert and the others, about half an hour later, a new defensive plan was finalized.

The core strategy was the same: trade space for time.

They would use the space gained by retreating, as well as each layer’s Ritual Platforms, Ritual Altars, special spatial zones, and even the power of the Ancient Ruins themselves to delay the enemy’s attack.

As the meeting concluded and the others dispersed, Zorn and Rosian remained behind.

Likewise, Madam Messel, Marquis Albert, and the two powerful Level Seven Counts of Ogrande City also stayed.

"Zorn!"

Marquis Albert’s gaze fell heavily upon Zorn.

"You two performed well earlier. We still have many tough battles ahead."

"Your current Level is only 4.5, which is still a bit lacking."

"In a moment, take Madam Mable and catch up to the team that went deeper. Get a batch of ’Golden Magic Ring Source Fruits’ and find a way to advance to Level 5 as quickly as possible."

"That way, you’ll be able to play an even greater role."

Using the Golden Magic Ring Source Fruits to level up directly.

Marquis Albert was going all out now, but he also considered it a reward for Zorn’s outstanding performance.

It was better to use these treasures to strengthen their own side than to let the enemy get them for cheap.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis Albert."

Zorn quickly stood up to thank him.

"However, the number of Golden Magic Ring Source Fruits I need to reach Level 5 is more than just two or three."

"Hm?"

Marquis Albert looked at Zorn.

"Then how many do you need, approximately?"

"I’m afraid I’ll need about seven," Zorn replied truthfully.

"Seven!"

Marquis Albert’s brow furrowed slightly.

The Golden Magic Ring Source Fruits were extremely valuable. Acquiring each one required not only a significant investment of time but also the consumption of considerable resources, making every single one exceptionally precious.

However, since he had already made the offer, there was no taking it back.

Besides, using seven Golden Magic Ring Source Fruits to get Zorn to Level 5 was a deal with guaranteed returns.

"Then seven it is."

Marquis Albert said decisively.

Then he looked at Madam Mable and said, "Take Zorn to get the resources in a bit."

However, Zorn showed no intention of leaving.

After a moment’s thought, he spoke again.

"Lord Marquis Albert, with our current tactics, we can certainly delay for a while."

"But it’s only a delay. Once the enemy launches a relentless assault, we’re bound to suffer heavy losses."

Zorn paused, then continued.

"I have an excellent method, or rather, a plan, that can effectively stop the enemy’s attack. It could even... eliminate all the enemies who have entered the Ancient Ruins."

’Eliminate all the enemies?’

Hearing Zorn make such a bold claim, even the two high-ranking and powerful Level 7 Transcendents narrowed their eyes, sizing him up carefully.

If anyone else had said such a thing, their credibility would naturally be low.

But coming from "Zorn Corick," it had to be taken seriously.

"I have a ritual!"

Zorn took a deep breath and slowly began to explain.

"Once this ritual is performed, it can resonate with the Tree of the Origin of the Magic Ring!"

"And thereby... completely seal the entire Ancient Ruins for about a week to ten days."

"During this period, Transcendents from the outside will be completely unable to enter the Ancient Ruins."

"At the same time, it will be impossible to travel between the various world layers of the Ancient Ruins through the Doorways."

"The only effective way to travel will be through the [Magic Ring Gate] controlled by the ritual."

As Zorn explained this, the knowledgeable and experienced Transcendent experts present instantly understood just how formidable this ritual was.

After a moment of thought, a strange light suddenly flared in the depths of Marquis Albert’s eyes.

Suppressing the immense turmoil he felt, he asked eagerly,

"In other words... using your ritual,"

"we can separate the enemy across different layers."

"And then use the Magic Ring Gate to defeat them one by one?"

"Exactly."

Zorn nodded with extreme certainty.

The surprise was so sudden that... even Marquis Albert found it a bit unreal.

The other two, the Level Seven Duke and Count of Ogrande City, also showed varying degrees of joy on their faces.

At this critical juncture of life and death, such an unbelievably powerful ritual could completely turn the tide of battle.

When the enemies were grouped together, they were hard to deal with.

Once they were separated and trapped, the difficulty would drop drastically.

Marquis Albert pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Zorn, can your ritual truly trap those numerous Level 7, and even Level Eight, Transcendents?"

"You have to understand, there are probably other Level 8 Transcendents stationed outside. Will they be able to break through your ritual?"

"Lord Marquis Albert."

Zorn said with great solemnity,

"Since I’ve said as much, there will naturally be no problem."

"Besides... even if this plan fails, how much worse could the situation possibly get?"

The few High Level experts present found themselves agreeing with Zorn’s point.

The current situation was already bad enough.

They had to use this ritual that could turn the tables, even if it only had a one-in-ten chance of success.

After a moment of thought, Marquis Albert gave a solemn order.

"In that case, use the materials to construct the ritual as quickly as possible."

"The rest of us will discuss how to effectively lure those experts into different world layers."

"The enemy’s next wave of attack is coming soon!"

"Understood!"

Zorn immediately sprang into action, taking Mable and Rosian with him.

Of course, there was no problem with the ritual Zorn had described.

Forget about mere Level 7 and Level 8 Transcendents.

Once the Magic Ring blockade ritual was activated, not even Upper Rank Level experts at Level 12 or Level 13 could get in.

Zorn had done this sort of thing more than once back when he was a Player who played inhumanly.

Once, it was to antagonize a Level 12 "Mad Mage" from an Exotic Realm.

Another time, it was a Level 13 "Demon Lord."

And another time, it was a Level 16 Saint Level "Ancient Thorn Spirit."

The first two times, those two madmen failed to break in, and they subsequently vented their anger on Ogrande City.

In the end, it resulted in the great destruction of Ogrande City.

The time he antagonized the Level 16 Saint Level "Ancient Thorn Spirit," that cunning spirit infiltrated the deep area where Zorn was hiding from the depths of a dimension and performed a perfect flank assassination on him.

If even a Level 16 Saint Level "Ancient Thorn Spirit" had to flank, one could only imagine the defensive strength of the Ancient Ruins after being sealed by the ritual.

Zorn couldn’t say for sure that activating the ritual would guarantee a reversal of the situation.

But at the very least, it could block the fierce offensive of the Level Seven and Level Eight experts.

It would give everyone a chance to breathe, and he would also be able to advance to Level Five as quickly as possible.