After leaving the room, Richard quickly obtained the location of Team 13 from the logistics wizard.
Team 13 had already picked up four Magic Support Vehicles from the weapons depot and was currently waiting for Richard's arrival at the outskirts of the Floating City fortress.
"Captain, how do you feel about this Magic Support Vehicle during training? I can't shake the feeling that it's a bit unreliable," asked a small giant in a white wizard robe, standing nearly three meters tall, with a somewhat naive tone.
"This thing can only shoot for thirty seconds; after that, it turns into a metal shell," replied the captain, who was questioned by the small giant, as he casually patted the Magic Support Vehicle. "It's quite extreme; I can't really say if it's good or bad. But compared to the Alchemy Weapons we usually use, this is indeed quite different. However, since it's a new weapon, there are definitely many flaws that need to be adjusted."
The captain's words sounded nice, but his gaze towards the Magic Support Vehicle was filled with distrust.
Before this, he had only familiarized himself with the operation of the Magic Support Vehicle and tested its effects on slave monsters.
But to say he had real combat experience with it, this was his first time.
"Captain, this thing was chosen by Master Vladimir; in terms of quality and positioning, there's definitely no problem," said a wizard whose body was mostly transformed into machinery. "We're just testing to see what improvements can be made.
Moreover, this mission is just to pick up a Black Wizard who has infiltrated the rear; there's not much danger.
Even if something goes wrong, didn't the command center allow us to abandon the vehicle?"
The captain glanced at the speaking wizard. This Alchemist Wizard was a new addition to the team, and he loved to tinker with various dangerous Evocation Spells and extremely hazardous Alchemy Weapons.
Even among wizards, he was considered a dangerous individual.
But this dangerous individual had taken a liking to the Magic Support Vehicle after receiving training on its operation and maintenance.
This made the captain unable to feel at ease about the Magic Support Vehicle.
Before long, the captain saw a black-robed wizard with a black crow perched on his shoulder rapidly approaching the team.
When the wizard stopped, the captain was taken aback upon recognizing his face.
"Are you… Master Richard?"
The black-robed wizard smiled and extended his right hand towards the captain.
"I presume you are Captain Iyad. I am Richard, your technical advisor."
...
In the war of the Hive World, Iyad was a member of the ground defense forces during the decisive battle, and at that time, his team's Alchemist Wizard had just fallen. Richard had helped him repair the Alchemy Magic Stone Cannon numerous times.
"Hello, hello! I didn't expect you to be the technical advisor for the Wizard Association this time," Iyad said, shaking hands with Richard, his worries about the Magic Support Vehicle dissipating.
He had witnessed Richard's skills in repairing the Magic Stone Cannon during the Hive War; that craftsmanship and speed were among the best even in the legion.
With such a figure as a technical advisor, it was certain that any issues with this batch of Magic Support Vehicles could be resolved quickly.
"Let me introduce you to my team members," Iyad said, pointing to the small giant wizard. "This is Sambo, a wizard who specializes in physical evolution."
"This is Damir, our team's Alchemist Wizard," Iyad indicated the wizard whose body was mostly mechanical.
"This is Savo, a second-circle transmutation wizard proficient in Evocation Spells."
A cold-faced wizard in a white robe nodded at Richard.
"These two are the Cole Brothers; they are necromancers and serve as the team's scouts and doctors."
One of the Cole Brothers appeared to be a chubby fellow, while the other was a skeleton devoid of flesh, with red flames of soul flickering in his eye sockets.
Afterward, Iyad introduced Richard to the other team members.
The entire team consisted of twenty people, a standard White Wizard team. However, Richard felt that the number of team members was a bit excessive for operating the Magic Support Vehicles.
In Richard's design, the Magic Support Vehicle did not have the capacity to transport troops; there were only two seats in the vehicle, one for the driver and one for the co-driver.
This meant that only seven people could fit in the vehicle, leaving thirteen others to fly on their own.
"The command center provided a bit too few vehicles," Richard said to Iyad with a smile. "Just four vehicles, and most people will have to fly outside."
"That's nothing," Iyad replied nonchalantly. "Normally, we wouldn't have any Magic Support Vehicles for this mission; we'd all have to fly over."
Seeing Iyad's indifference, Richard didn't press the matter further.
"Alright then. I'll check the vehicles to see if there are any issues."
Richard walked to the front of the Magic Support Vehicle, and a small Alchemy Array appeared in his palm.
The Alchemy Array allowed Richard's mind to enter the materials and perform shaping, engraving runes, and other operations.
Using this, an Alchemist Wizard could also check the structure of Alchemy Machines or Magic Equipment.
Damir, standing nearby, was taken aback by Richard's actions.
He communicated with Iyad through the mental network, "Captain, this Master Richard is impressive; his Battlefield Alchemy is even more proficient than mine. I've never seen anyone use an Alchemy Array to probe the structure of an Alchemy Weapon like this before."
Iyad remained unfazed and casually replied in the mental network, "What's so surprising? Last time during the dimensional war, Master Richard fought alongside us in the decisive battle; you weren't part of the legion then. During that battle, he directly replaced Master Vladimir as the battlefield repairman, helping us fix the Magic Stone Cannon."
"So impressive!?"
Damir was astonished. The Alchemist Wizards of the Crimson Frost Legion, aside from the direct recruits, were all recruited by Vladimir.
All these Alchemist Wizards, drawn from free wizards, had to pass Vladimir's tests.
To ensure these wizards were convinced, Vladimir would personally demonstrate the tests before letting them try.
Thus, all these Alchemist Wizards held Vladimir in high regard.
To be able to replace Vladimir as a battlefield repairman, Master Richard's alchemical skills must be at least on par with Vladimir's.
"However, this master looks a bit young," Damir observed closely, noting Richard's vibrant energy, which clearly indicated he was a young wizard.
Could such a young wizard really possess such high skills? Iyad glanced at the new Alchemist Wizard and replied in the mental network, "That's the most remarkable thing about Master Richard. In the Hive World, he is actually a Black Wizard, and all his skills in repairing the Magic Stone Cannon were learned on-site from Master Vladimir."
"Learned on-site?"
Damir's pupils widened in shock.
To learn on the spot and be able to replace Vladimir, what kind of genius is this? At that moment, Richard had finished checking the four vehicles.
"No problems; let's set off."
Iyad waved his hand, and several trained wizards began to board the vehicles, preparing to head to the pickup location.
Once on board, Richard sat in the co-driver's seat and casually asked Iyad, "What's our mission this time?"
"A small task; we're just going to pick someone up," Iyad said, one hand on the control crystal ball while explaining the mission to Richard.
"A Black Wizard was discovered by the Shield of Morik in the rear. Since he was not far from the front lines, he sent a request for extraction to the command center."
"Shield of Morik?" Richard asked, puzzled.
"The Fire Lizards have three major empires; I'm sure you know that. The Shield of Morik is a dedicated organization formed by the Morik Empire to deal with the Black Wizards we've infiltrated.
They've caused us quite a bit of trouble over the years."
As he spoke, Iyad sneered, "These Fire Lizards are truly troublesome. Once we conquer this world, we must wipe them out."
Boom! Boom!
The hybrid magic engine of the Magic Support Vehicle roared wildly.
"Master Richard, we're off!"
...
Five days later, at the front lines of the Morik Empire.
Three suns hung in the sky, adding a touch of heat to the Crimson Sun World. Sparse crimson shrubs dotted the dry red earth.
Before long, as the three suns crossed the horizon, the entire world was plunged into darkness.
Suddenly, a mound of earth rose from the red ground, and a black-robed wizard emerged from it, covered in red sand.
Once the black-robed wizard surfaced, he immediately scanned his surroundings and spread his mental energy to probe the environment.
After confirming that there were no Fire Lizards lying in ambush, he let out a slight sigh of relief.
"I've run for half a month and finally shook off those Fire Lizard bastards," the black-robed wizard cursed. "Being chased by a bunch of natives like this is truly embarrassing."
The black-robed wizard took out a crystal ball and tapped it twice.
Soon, a wave of magical energy emanated from the crystal ball.
"Phew, the signal has been sent; finally, I can rest in the rear…"
Whoosh—Bang!
A Magic Barrier suddenly sprang up around the black-robed wizard, slowing down a flaming spear that flew in from behind for a moment.
Taking advantage of that moment, he fearfully dodged the flaming spear.
An ambush! "Tch, he actually dodged it."
A Fire Lizard dressed in red camouflage, a hundred meters behind the black-robed wizard, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
With a wave of his hand, dozens of Fire Lizards in red camouflage crawled up from the ground, pulling out metal spears from beneath their disguises.
These Fire Lizards appeared well-trained, their movements fluid and synchronized.
The metal spears ignited in their hands, transforming into a rain of fire that turned the black-robed wizard into a mist of blood.
"A mere first-circle wizard thought he could escape from the Shield of Morik?" the first Fire Lizard to stand up sneered. He had a pair of dragon horns on his head, which glimmered with a hint of silver under the firelight.
The other Fire Lizards did not wait for orders; after the battle ended, they began to orderly clean the battlefield and remove traces of the fight. Then they retrieved a doll-like object from the rear, planted it at the spot where the black-robed wizard had died, and draped a black wizard robe over it.
"Sir, everything is ready," reported a Fire Lizard with black dragon horns.
The silver-horned Fire Lizard waved his hand, "Alright, let's continue the ambush and see what kind of fish this little shrimp has lured us."