The Spore Queen used the Glimmer Plane as bait, but that didn't mean she intended to abandon it.
This was bait you could see but not eat. The invaders would be wiped out without gaining anything.
After months of active preparations for war, half a year passed in the blink of an eye. The Glimmer Plane, having completed its leap in evolution, settled into calm.
The Plane Will fell asleep, and the invaders watched the newly ascended Eighth-Rank plane with greedy eyes.
"Attack!"
The invading forces waiting in the Star Sea tore open rifts in the Plane Barrier at five different locations and sent their legions to land on the Glimmer Plane, establishing forward bases.
Now it was a race to seize the initiative and open a Plane Portal first, paving the way for a full-scale invasion.
Getting the initiative was crucial. If they could open a Plane Portal far ahead of the others and prevent rival invading legions from opening theirs, they would gain an enormous advantage.
With reinforcements arriving in an endless stream, the other invading legions would despair, abandon the contest, and withdraw from the Glimmer Plane.
"What is this stuff? I can barely breathe!"
It was a beautiful plan, but reality was cruel.
The air throughout the Glimmer Plane was thick with spore dust. Other-Plane warriors who inhaled Parasitic Spores clutched their throats in agony, desperate to breathe fresh air.
They struggled to breathe, their faces turning purple. Beneath their skin, it seemed as though living things were wriggling about, making their despair all the worse.
"Open fire!"
The spores were only the invaders' first ordeal. Alchemy Camps positioned throughout the fortified Nine-Grid Districts unleashed a thunderous barrage, raining fire down on the invading legions as they landed.
Under the spore infestations and artillery bombardment, the