"Don't stop. Continue the assault!"
The leader Sage urged his fellow Sages within the Battle Formation.
"Even if this damn formation is absorbing mana, it can't do so endlessly. We'll persist with our attacks but change our approach," he explained to the Sages before revealing his plan.
The leader Sage chose to limit the number of Sages acting as the Battle Formation's Array Eyes. He divided them into two groups, with one group serving as Array Eyes and the other resting to preserve their energy.
If the first group became exhausted, the Sages from the second group would take over the Formation. The Sages would keep the formation active on rotational shifts.
This strategy would enable them to maintain constant pressure on Eren's isolation barrier while conserving their strength.
The Anfang Rankers didn't know much about the formation Eren had received from Argo. However, they understood that the true limitation lay in the Rankers deploying the Formation.
As long as they could tire out Eren's subordinates serving as the Array Eyes for the Birdcage Barrier, the defensive barrier would eventually dissipate. They just needed to apply sustained pressure in the right place.
Behind his stoic and confident demeanor, the leader Sage felt stress and anxiety. His attacks had no psychological impact on Eren and the entities inside the second barrier, who continued with their Lazarus Project despite the ongoing assault. It was as if they did not care what happened to them or the Sages present outside the barrier.
***
While the Sages from the Anfang Alliance and both kingdoms relentlessly attacked the Birdcage Barrier, Eren and Eliza's groups continued their final steps for the Lazarus Project.
An unspoken agreement prevailed among these two groups to ignore external interference, whether it was the cries and warnings of the Rankers or the disturbances caused by the Sages outside the Birdcage Barrier.
Contrary to the leader Sage's assumptions, Eren had already taken measures to ensure the Birdcage Barrier would endure for an extended period. That's why he had his fiends act as the Array Eyes for the Battle Formation.
These fiends possessed potent demonic energy that helped stave off fatigue. Unlike regular Rankers, their fiendish bodies were not easily worn out in the first place. Moreover, Eren had equipped them with specialized potions to swiftly recover from any sudden challenges. As a potion maker who had run a successful potioneering business for years, he had all the resources and tools needed to pull this off.
The fiends who served as Array Eyes were separated from everyone else. As long as these fiends remained in good shape, Eren had little to fret about the relentless Sage attacks on the Birdcage Barrier.
In short, Eren and Eliza's groups faced no immediate threats, so they didn't halt their preparations.
Another Array Formation had been established within the second isolation barrier at this stage, known as the Soul Seed Insertion Array. Eren had recently acquired the layout for this Array from House Lancelot after raiding the City of Lancelot.
While Eren and his allies were busy setting up the Soul Seed Insertion Array, Layla and Leela were occupied with processing a specific Ranking resource. They held onto stalks of flowers, each with an ethereal blue hue that cycled from dark to light blue before reverting to dark. The horn-like protrusion, on the other hand, looked solid and lifelike.
These flower stalks they processed with their mana were none other than Simbelmyne's flowers.
Producing and acquiring Simbelmyne's flowers was a challenging endeavor for Eren. They took decades to bloom even in a controlled greenhouse environment.
Eren had acquired them a decade ago by participating in House Remus' auction event. The flowers were not seen in legal markets for years to come after that.
The butcher had obtained these flowers by "borrowing" them from the Rankers who had won them in a bid inside House Remus' auction house.
Once the initial preparations were completed, Eren allowed Shallot's Mirror to manifest itself. The small mirror ornamented bracelet he wore detached from his wrist, forming an average-human-sized mirror.
The mirror's rim was adorned with intricate magical symbols and runic patterns in a metallic-like frame. The oval-shaped mirror had a black surface that reflected… nothing.
***
Amidst all these activities, Eliza's mummified body was finally able to exit the casket-like container and hover in the air.
In a weak and feeble form, she assumed a meditative posture. Eren could discern that she was practicing her Ranking Technique to stabilize her condition for what lay ahead.
Her dying body needed stable stats to successfully undergo the Lazarus Project.
The Soul Seed Insertion Array created by Eren had multiple Array Eyes. Initially inspired by House Lancelot's layout, he and Eliza had adjusted it to suit their Lazarus Project requirements.
The modified Array Formation was circular in shape and featured several runic circles acting as Array Eyes.
Eliza occupied the northern Array Eye, with Reen on her right in the eastern Array Eye. She was supposed to offer a part of her mass as a Primer for Eliza's resurrection. Eliza had already conducted her experiments on her throughout these 9 years. So they had all the necessary data regarding the theoretical process.
The southern Array Eye, directly opposite Eliza, was under the control of Leela, with Shallot's Mirror hovering behind her.
The central Array Eye was held by the Little Witch Layla, who held all the Simbelmyne's flowers, infusing them with her mana.
Eren remained outside the Soul Seed Insertion Array, silently observing as each party performed their final preparations.
"Little kitten, we're ready. Bring out the final piece of the puzzle."
Eliza's mummified form said, her sunken eyes focused intensely on him. Her breathing became irregular, and a draconic aura surrounded her, making her presence overpowering. It was as if her life essence had caught fire which was about to burn brighter just a moment before it was extinguished for good.
If Eliza hadn't made conscious efforts to control her aura, it would have been suffocating for everyone within the second isolation barrier.
"Alright," Eren nodded to Eliza before closing his eyes. Using the spatial handle of the Sansara Sage's space-element runes, he summoned a specific individual to the scene.
This act of summoning was like pulling a tether connected to someone on the other end.
A slight spatial fluctuation occurred, and someone appeared within the western Array Eye. This newcomer looked bewildered and disoriented, unsure if her surroundings were real or a dream.
"Where... where am I?" Lady Zee questioned herself as she glanced around the unfamiliar environment.
