The undead's expansion was growing ever more severe.
But Soren had plenty to do as well. Taking advantage of the breathing room after defeating the Demon Lord of Fear, he set his sights on the Astral Plane.
His first target was naturally the diamond asteroid.
There were quite a few meteoroids like this in the boundless Astral Plane that had undergone material transformation. Some fell to the Material Plane as meteors. The largest diamond mine currently in the Southern Kingdoms had formed from one such impact. However, it was controlled by the Wizard Union, and after more than a century of mining, little remained. Diamond was a commonly used rare material that wizards needed. Since it could be cut into gemstones, it was also extremely valuable among mortals and much loved by noblewomen. Soren did not need diamond to exchange for money, however. He needed it because high-level alchemical experiments and the construction of legendary golems consumed enormous quantities.
Why did Port Nyanzaru still have so few Adamantite Golems?
Because it lacked legendary-grade Soul Gems? Whether in the Abyss or the Material Plane, Soren could obtain plenty of high-grade Soul Gems.
The bottleneck was diamond.
To put it plainly, diamond production on the Material Plane was limited, and its price was frighteningly high. Buying it through conventional channels would empty Port Nyanzaru's treasury. Synthesizing diamonds was not impossible, but it was costly and slow. Witches could only produce tiny diamonds through elemental annihilation.
That made plundering resources from the Astral Plane inevitable!
Neither the Northern Witch nor the Wizard Union had ever stopped exploring the Astral Plane over their long histories. Powerful creatures from other planes also regarded it as a primary target.
An Astral Voyager was a benchmark for high-tier legendary power.
Port Nyanzaru.
After giving instructions for everything