"Damn it, how did these Fire Lizards end up here?"
Seeing the Fire Lizards appearing on the horizon, Iyad cursed and immediately began adjusting the turret of the Magic Support Vehicle.
There were over a hundred Fire Lizards approaching, each riding a camel-like Dragon Beast. These Dragon Beasts were incredibly fast, and under the control of the Fire Lizards, they could even outpace the Magic Support Vehicle by a little.
"What are those four things up ahead?"
The leading black-horned Fire Lizard was bewildered as he watched the four Magic Support Vehicles rushing towards them. He glanced at the compass in his hand, which indicated that those four metal contraptions contained wizards who had attacked the Silverhorn Noble.
"A wizard's new weapon? Whatever!"
The black-horned Fire Lizard let out a sharp cry, and upon hearing the call, the Fire Lizards quickly adjusted their formation. The Fire Lizard knights on the sides began to accelerate, while the knights in the center took down large bows that were as tall as a person from their backs.
The bow arms were pitch black, but faint golden patterns could be seen—these bows were all products of Dragon Alchemy.
The Fire Lizards pulled out equally dark arrows from their quivers. Each arrow shaft was two fingers wide, and the sharp tips could tear apart any enemy standing in their way.
The members of the patrol team on the red earth prairie were all hunters, and in addition to patrolling, they also hunted the Flame Behemoths that emerged from the underground magma networks.
As the Fire Lizard knights drew their bows, the wizards naturally did the same.
"Spread out! Vehicle One, thirty degrees northeast; Vehicle Two, fifteen degrees northeast; Vehicle Four, thirty degrees northwest. Three kilometers away, fire at maximum range!"
As Iyad issued the command through the mental network, the Magic Support Vehicles adjusted their formation.
The turrets let out a silent roar, and the rain of fire that had devastated Cliff's squad reappeared.
Boom! The patrol team was caught off guard by the firestorm.
The Fire Lizards were still thinking about the spell barrage from the White Wizard Legion, and when faced with these metal shells, their first instinct was to think of fortifications.
So the patrol team's first reaction was to surround them, rather than to confront them head-on.
No matter how strong a fortress is, it will have weaknesses; as long as they surrounded it, they could always find where the weakness lay.
But the spell barrage from the Magic Support Vehicles taught them a lesson.
"Spread out! Spread out!"
The black-horned Fire Lizard slashed at a fireball that was heading towards him, then picked up the bone whistle hanging from his neck and began to blow it rhythmically.
The sound of the bone whistle was piercing and sharp, cutting through the explosive roars and reaching the ears of every Fire Lizard.
The Fire Lizard patrol team quickly dispersed.
"Forget them, crank up the speed to the max and charge through!" Richard communicated with Iyad through mental messaging. "This thing has excellent collision resistance; we don't need to worry about those Fire Lizards!"
A metal contraption weighing dozens of tons charging at a speed of one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour would make even a level three Fire Lizard retreat.
Without energy shields or enhanced physiques, even a level three creature would be sent flying by a dump truck.
Upon hearing this, Iyad immediately issued the command through the mental network, and the engines of the four Magic Support Vehicles roared to life, their speed instantly skyrocketing.
The distant Fire Lizards had also reacted to the spell barrage; since their formation had been relatively loose from the start, the spell barrage had only taken out a quarter of their companions.
This loss was something the Fire Lizard patrol team could still bear.
"Fire!"
The black-horned Fire Lizard roared, and dozens of crisp twangs filled the air.
But this was just the beginning.
Drawing bows and shooting arrows… each of these Fire Lizard knights was an expert in mounted archery. The bows curved like crescent moons, and the strings twanged like thunder; in just a minute or two, they had emptied a quiver.
Each of these arrows carried an unstoppable sharpness, striking the armor plates of the Magic Support Vehicles and causing runes to flicker.
The front windshield of the Magic Support Vehicle endured the impact of dozens of arrows, but as the most vulnerable part of the vehicle, Richard had deliberately reinforced it with the most complex defensive magic arrays.
While the arrows striking the armor plates could create sparks and dents, those hitting the windshield produced no sparks at all; they were all deflected away.
In just a moment, the two groups collided.
The Fire Lizard knights skillfully dodged the convoy, wildly slashing at the Magic Support Vehicles with their curved blades.
The Fire Lizards were not fools; if such a thing collided with them, it would be certain death.
Bang! One Fire Lizard knight failed to dodge in time and was grazed on the thigh by the Magic Support Vehicle, his body instantly flying up, half of him becoming a bloody mess.
After the collision, the Fire Lizard knights turned around and began to chase the convoy from behind.
Arrows struck the Magic Support Vehicle, creating showers of sparks, and the leading Fire Lizard captain, somewhat irritated, said:
"Damn it, look at my marked arrow! Charge at the marked arrow!"
With that, the Fire Lizard captain drew his bow, and the tip of the arrow ignited in a fierce flame.
Whoosh! Bang! The arrow struck the armor plate of the Magic Support Vehicle, leaving a flame as a marker.
Immediately, several arrows shot at the flaming spot, and a massive dent appeared in the armor plate, the glow of the runes beginning to dim.
"Concentrate fire? These Fire Lizards have quite the keen eyesight."
Richard noticed the Fire Lizards' actions, and his brows furrowed.
This method could indeed breach the armor plate of the Magic Support Vehicle; once a gap appeared, it would only be a matter of time before a collapse occurred.
But right now, these Fire Lizards were too close; even if the turret was repaired, it wouldn't be able to hit them.
"Iyad, have all the wizards except the drivers come out; we need to deal with these Fire Lizards!"
Upon hearing this, Iyad immediately issued the command through the mental network. He had wanted his team members to come out and confront the enemy for a while, but Richard had been busy tinkering with the turret, leading him to believe the Magic Support Vehicle still had some unexpected uses.
The armor plates around the turret began to open, and the team members inside started using spells to attack the nearby Fire Lizards.
"Richard, you drive; I'll take command."
Richard raised a Magic Barrier and flew out from behind the armor plates. As soon as he showed his head, three black arrows flew towards him.
Buzz! The arrows struck the Magic Barrier, creating ripples, and Richard retaliated with two fireballs.
Boom! The fireballs exploded, instantly engulfing one Fire Lizard knight.
Entering the command room, Richard immediately took control of the Magic Support Vehicle, while Iyad left the command room to direct the team members in battle.
However, the Magic Support Vehicle was a new weapon, and the White Wizard Legion had not yet designed a corresponding combat strategy.
This made it quite awkward for Iyad to command.
Fortunately, the armor plates of the Magic Support Vehicle provided excellent cover, and relying on a few armor plates, the team quickly cleared out the nearby Fire Lizard knights, leaving the remaining Fire Lizard knights at a considerable distance.
The situation seemed to be improving…
Bang! As an arrow struck the track connection point, the next moment, the rapidly moving Magic Support Vehicle immediately tipped over.
That arrow had successfully severed the Magic Support Vehicle's track.
Seeing the third vehicle in such a state, the other three vehicles also came to a halt.
"Damn it!"
Richard cursed and immediately notified Iyad about the destroyed track.
"Can it be repaired?" Iyad asked.
"It can, but it's not necessary right now; we can use the other three vehicles to…"
Before Richard could finish his sentence, a barrage of black arrows began to rain down on the Magic Support Vehicle's track.
These Fire Lizard knights had clearly discovered the weakness of the Magic Support Vehicle.
"What now?"
Iyad unleashed a vortex spell, and the rapidly spinning air currents instantly severed the hooves of two Dragon Beasts.
"...Let's kill this group of Fire Lizards." Richard said helplessly.
Now they either had to wipe out this group of Fire Lizards or abandon the vehicle and flee.
But the number of Fire Lizards was still far from enough to force them to abandon the vehicle…
Suddenly, a faint rumbling sound echoed across the Red Soil Plain, and it seemed something was approaching along the path Richard and the others had taken.
Richard squinted his eyes and casually cast an eagle eye spell on himself.
Upon seeing what was making the noise, Richard's face turned pale.
"Abandon the vehicle! Abandon the vehicle! The main force of the Fire Lizards is coming!"
As soon as Richard's words fell, a dark cloud rapidly approached them; upon closer inspection, this dark cloud turned out to be a swarm of black arrows.
Puff puff puff…
As the rain of arrows fell, a series of Magic Barriers shattered, and more than half of the team members were turned into blood mist by the arrow storm.
The remaining wizards, aside from Richard, Iyad, and Savo, all turned pale, with Sambo, the most severely injured, having half of his body a bloody mess, writhing flesh continuously pushing the black arrows out of his body.
"Run! Split up and escape!" Iyad immediately made the decision.
With the team reduced by more than half, their formation could still be used, but if another wave of arrows came, even with a combined magical shield, the team would be doomed.
It was better to disperse the personnel, making the Fire Lizards feel that it was not worth pursuing.
It was clearly not worth deploying too many troops for just one or two wizards.
Without hesitation, Richard flew onto the Magic Support Vehicle, deftly fiddling with the turret underneath.
After finishing, Richard communicated with Iyad mentally:
"I've turned these vehicles into bombs; they should buy us some time."
With that, Richard flew away at high speed without hesitation.
The remaining members of the team, except for the Cole Brothers, all split up and fled.
In just a few minutes, the Fire Lizard army arrived beside the Magic Support Vehicle.
"Do you think these wizards relied on this machine to achieve the spell barrage effect?" A silver-horned Fire Lizard approached the Magic Support Vehicle, speaking incredulously.
"Yes, my lord, we saw with our own eyes that this thing behind it launched fireballs comparable to a spell barrage," a black-horned Fire Lizard replied.
"Well, this is a good thing. Pack up these iron lumps and send them back for the craftsmen to study…"
Before the silver-horned Fire Lizard could finish his sentence, as if sensing something, his expression suddenly changed, and he quickly stepped back.
Boom!
A blinding white light pierced the night sky, but like a shooting star, it quickly vanished.
Nearby the Magic Support Vehicle, the silver-horned Fire Lizard got up from the ground, continuously spitting out golden blood. Around him, several patrol team leaders had already been reduced to fragments.
The silver-horned Fire Lizard furiously issued orders: "Chase them! Not a single wizard can escape! I want to feed them all to the Dragon Beasts!"