Five years later.
Only seven Stigmata Wizards and a small number of elite wizards made the return journey to Netherfire World. Their speed was astonishing, and even the fleets patrolling near the Ancient Dragon Great World could not catch up.
After a long journey through the void, everyone returned safely to Netherfire World without incident.
Unburdened by a Space Fortress, even when they encountered some unimaginably enormous void creatures amid the turbulent void currents, they had sufficient means to avoid them. Though these void creatures were colossal, they posed little threat to beings of the same rank. When their levels were not too far apart, neither side generally suffered casualties.
As for weaker void creatures, even Void Worms, no one knew how many they had inadvertently trampled to death during the long flight through the void.
Then came that precious, brief respite without missions during the War of Civilization.
Netherfire phantoms drifted through the sky. The dull, tedious task of refining curse incantations under the pressure of the War of Civilization had led playful Little Eight to gradually develop a taste for Netherfire Cigarettes. Their mild hallucinogenic effect could effectively relieve stress, and because of them, Yeye and Little Eight had quarreled countless times.
"Little Eight, I'm telling you one last time—stop blowing smoke at me!"
After roaring at Little Eight, Yeye flew angrily out of Green's Space Fortress laboratory.
Little Eight did not even raise his head. Still clenching a Netherfire Cigarette between his beak and smacking away at it, he used a quill pen to list and calculate the possible conditions for communicating with and summoning mysterious power in his experimental notebook, while muttering to Green, who was conducting a Key of Life experiment.
"Women. They'll always be women."
Pfft...
Green had been wholly absorbed in his Key