The Cornflower Witch

At first, these wind turbines didn't spin very fast. They only stirred up the air currents, scattering the snowflakes dancing in the sky and blowing clean the snowdrifts piled on the towering defense line.

Then, as the energy transmitted from Candela's core furnace gradually pushed forward, the rotation speed of these turbines picked up little by little, and the glowing brand rings they lit extended outward to increasingly distant places.

Ten kilometers...

One hundred kilometers...

One thousand kilometers...

Several hours later, even at the farthest ends of the defense line, the turbines slowly began to turn.

After Master Anvis departed, Master Ge Zhen led several important members to the edge of the furnace core. They first passed through a tunnel corridor, and as they went deeper, the surrounding air grew hotter and hotter. When Sylutia followed Master Ge Zhen to the true furnace, what she saw before her was a massive underground cavity about three kilometers in diameter. The substance flowing at the bottom resembled glowing magma, with countless fiery red heat waves slowly churning.

Above this enormous furnace hearth, the furnace loaded with Scorching Sun Crystals had already melted the crystals inside, shooting scorching rays downward. These rays pierced through a kilometer-deep underground space, reaching the swirling giant lava fire flow below, injecting power into it and accelerating the vortex within.

At that moment, the heat waves surging from within rushed upward, bursting out through the perforated dome above the furnace, illuminating half the sky as if it were day, burning a brilliant red.

Around this underground furnace hearth, countless pipelines transported the flowing fire currents to distant locations, lighting up the turbines and magic arrays along the defense line. The roaring sound of their spinning grew increasingly violent, blurring into mere afterimages.

It was at this moment that the sluice gates on the northern side of the North Wind Defense Line slowly lifted one by one, revealing the massive wind tunnels inside.

The air currents howled as they were sucked into these wind tunnels, then redirected, rushing toward the sky above. A faint wall of wind gradually took shape, and the snowy plains behind the North Wind Defense Line grew slightly calmer.

"The North Wind Defense Line is now at 12% activation. The furnace core is currently operating normally. Should we continue increasing the power?" a technical officer approached the Sage and reported the current situation.

"Increase power to 35%, then run diagnostics and report back."

"Yes, Sage."

Afterward, the technical officer turned back and shouted the announcement: "Attention, everyone! Increase the furnace power and activate the second ring of Scorching Sun Crystals. Project the energy into the hearth!"

"Orders received!"

Standing by the railing, Sylutia took a few steps back and lightly shielded her eyes with her deep blue sleeve. Peering through the gaps in the fabric, she watched as the furnace core's second ring activated above. A more dazzling and brilliant beam of light shot downward, and then the entire fire flow seemed to come alive. It was no longer just a rotating "magma" but rather an increasingly light and fluid stream. The heat within the fire flow grew fiercer and fiercer. Even from several kilometers away, Sylutia felt she could hardly bear it, as if her entire body were trapped inside a furnace.

Beside her, Amisa bent down slightly, and a faint silver-gold barrier enveloped the two of them to ease the searing heat. Then she took Sylutia's hand and pulled her back a few steps.

"This is just the beginning. Move a little farther back, Hedra."

The two retreated to the second ring of railing. By now, the fire flow below had already begun spinning at high speed, forming a hemispherical shape, and the energy radiating from it was being transmitted outward through the pipelines at an even faster rate.

Outside Candela, the North Wind Defense Line.

The turbines, which had already been spinning at high speed before, now moved even faster, generating powerful suction at the wind tunnels. Some trees on the wildlands were ripped up by the roots and dragged into the tunnels, where they were shredded into pulp by the massive fan blades and then sprayed into the sky.

A faint wind wall was beginning to form. In contrast, the distant storm was also pressing ever closer. The air currents of the two clashed at the boundary, creating chaotic gales that shattered the fierce cold current originally heading southward toward the continent, breaking it into scattered, disorderly streams and stripping it of its terrifying power.

But this was still only the beginning. The core of the storm had not yet struck the North Wind Defense Line. The most critical moment was yet to come.

An hour later, the North Wind Defense Line had reached 35% activation. The heat waves radiating from the giant furnace hearth had already reached thousands of degrees even from several kilometers away. The steel railings gradually softened. Sheltered by Amisa and Master Ge Zhen, Sylutia had no choice but to retreat several hundred meters to the safer outer ring to continue watching.

At that moment, the technical officer again reported to the Sage Kiran.

"The defense line has now been activated to 35%, Sage."

"Good. Continue pushing to 70%." Kiran gazed down at the blazing sea of fire below and issued the next order.

"Yes."

Soon, the underground furnace hearth, three kilometers in diameter, erupted with fire flow. The previously liquid fire current gradually transitioned into a gaseous state, expanding continuously. The surging heat had already formed a colossal red pillar of light above Candela that pierced through the clouds into the sky, visible to residents for hundreds of kilometers around.

On the North Wind Defense Line, the power flowing through the pipelines advanced like fiery red ripples. Wherever it passed, each turbine turned blazing red and glowing, spewing out even fiercer waves of fiery air. By now, they were no longer satisfied with the airflow sucked in through the wind tunnels. Instead, they harnessed the power of the fire currents within the pipelines to release explosive bursts of hot air.

The storm grew more violent. Ice crystals in the frigid wind collided with the fiery air currents. The cold was neutralized, the ice crystals melted, turning into rainwater carried by the air currents, which then slammed against the towering walls of the North Wind Defense Line.

By the time the North Wind Defense Line reached 70% activation, even at the farthest ends, the turbines were spinning so fast they were mere afterimages. The residual heat of the fire currents lit up the rune brands engraved on the turbines.

On the North Wind Tower, Kiran gazed at the pitch-black world in the distance. Chaotic air currents and rain flooded his vision. The rainwater evaporated, and the resulting hot air was carried upward by the defense line's air currents, rising and billowing, forming a barrier of airflow that separated the inner and outer worlds.

On the northern side of the North Wind Defense Line, steam and torrential rain interwove, the air currents were chaotic, and the high-speed rain made survival impossible. On the southern side of the defense line, thanks to the blockage of the airflow barrier, the freezing wind that had previously swept across the land was greatly weakened, and the air near the ground became milder.

Seeing that the North Wind Defense Line had reached 70% activation, Sage Kiran issued another order, commanding the furnace to operate at 100% power.

At that moment, a transparent, gold-red barrier rose from the inner walls of the furnace hearth. It was composed of countless hexagonal, crystal-like panels, containing the violent fire flow raging within. By now, the fire flow inside had completely transformed into an explosive, burning gas, partitioned into several chambers by the transparent glazed barrier, spinning continuously, exploding and blazing brilliantly. The entire furnace hearth pulsed like an enormous heart, sending dazzling ripples of fire flow across the entire defense line.

With each dazzling ripple of fire flow that passed, the turbines spinning at their limits let out howling, trembling shrieks. The jets of air they expelled grew even more violent, as if they were about to press the entire defense line deep into the earth and sky.

A wall of air several thousand meters high finally took shape, and at that moment, the storm fully collided with it. The two opposed each other. Occasionally, a burst of airflow would breach the edges of the defense line, spilling into the inner side and carrying fragmented, biting ice crystals. But these were quickly dissolved by the surging heat waves, rising as boiling steam.

The freezing storm, capable of covering half the continent, was sealed off outside. Amidst the roaring machinery, the light of the Aspect "Gold Steam" blazed brightly, blooming with an orange-red, fire-like radiance in the darkness of the night.

At this moment, the mortals of the world no longer feared the savagery and despair of nature.

Aspect [Gold Steam]: The hammering of metal, the roar of steam. This is the searing power to reshape the world.

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