In the base, Richard's overwhelming victory immediately caught the attention of several wizards.
They had no idea what methods Richard had employed, but the fact that the Holy Guard was rendered immobile by his single strike, allowing him to toss it into the secret realm, was undeniable.
Theodore, witnessing this scene, was suddenly alarmed. Everyone present knew just how troublesome the Holy Guard was. Even an old wizard like him, who was nearing death, could only rely on gravitational spells to remain undefeated, while Richard had so casually dealt with a Holy Guard.
Such strength was indeed quite terrifying.
Theodore was shocked, and the other wizards were naturally even more astonished.
The Physique Wizard, towering at four meters tall and covered in chitinous armor, felt a jolt in his heart upon seeing this.
He had not expected Richard to be so formidable, easily dispatching even the Holy Guard.
This stirred a hint of regret within him.
Having already made an enemy of Richard, obtaining the knowledge to counter the Holy Guard would likely cost him dearly.
Just as he let his guard down for a moment, the Holy Guard seized the opportunity.
With a buzzing sound, a deep, charred wound was instantly carved into the Physique Wizard's chest, exposing bone, and even his heart was visible through the gaping hole.
The other wizards, witnessing this, were either shocked or delighted. Among them, the one closest to Richard, Murphy, immediately rushed toward him, sending a mental message.
"Richard, I'll trade you one million Magic Essence plus the blueprints for the Tesla Type Nine Shield Alchemy Puppet in exchange for the knowledge to defeat this armored Fire Lizard!"
Richard, who was fleeing, suddenly turned around. A Third Circle wizard was indeed a Third Circle wizard; he was generous to the point of being frightening.
However, Richard's method of defeating the Holy Guard was Dragon Alchemy, a skill he had refined from the curved blade.
He had never learned it himself.
At this moment, asking him to abstract these techniques into understandable written information was nothing short of a pipe dream.
"This is a special ability and cannot be traded at the moment. However, I can help you deal with this trouble, and the price is the blueprints for the Tesla Type Nine Shield Alchemy Puppet," Richard immediately replied.
"Special ability?"
Murphy's heart sank, but upon hearing that Richard could help him deal with the armored lizard, he felt a wave of relief.
If he could help, that would suffice.
"Deal!"
Seeing the deal struck, Richard immediately called Ulysses to execute a familiar tactic.
Ulysses temporarily trapped the Holy Guard, while Richard used Alchemy to infiltrate the Holy Guard's interior and destroy its structure.
As Richard damaged more than half of the armor's internal structure, the armor suddenly ceased its movements.
"Done!"
Richard shouted excitedly, ready to open the rift to the secret realm and toss the Holy Guard back in.
But before he could open it, Ulysses shouted in terror:
"Quick, let go! It's going to self-destruct!"
Saying this, Ulysses grabbed Richard and flew backward rapidly. Murphy, who also sensed something was off with the Holy Guard, curled up into a ball, layers of Magic Barriers wrapping around him like an onion.
Buzz! As Richard was fleeing, he suddenly experienced a ringing in his ears.
Looking back, he saw brilliant, blinding light seeping from the Holy Guard's armor.
The light was like the first ray of sunlight piercing through the night, causing Richard to squint involuntarily.
Then… boom! A thunderous sound accompanied by a shockwave strong enough to blow a person away swept through the entire base. Large buildings were toppled, and debris flew through the air like bullets.
Murphy, closest to the explosion, had all his Magic Barriers shattered, and his rune-covered elemental body was melted away by more than half.
But fortunately, he survived.
The aftermath of the explosion caused both the wizards and the Holy Guard to halt their actions.
The wizards were shocked by the power of the armor's explosion and lamented the loss of The Lost Ones' relics, while the Holy Guards were filled with only one emotion.
That was anger.
"Revenge!" one of the guards shouted.
The rest of the Holy Guards began to echo the cry.
"Revenge!"
"Revenge!"
"Revenge!"
It had been many years since the Holy Guards had suffered losses, and today they had lost two; this was a great humiliation.
This shame must be washed away with blood.
Blood flowed from Richard's ears, and silence enveloped him.
He was deaf.
"Ulysses, use this."
Richard tossed the scroll from Murphy to Ulysses; this item granted temporary earth-burrowing abilities to living beings.
Ulysses caught the scroll: "What's your plan?"
"We won't go outside; we'll continue through the magma sea. You attract the target, and then we'll meet in the secret realm."
"Got it."
In the next moment, the scroll was torn open, and both entered the stone wall at the edge of the base. Richard separated from Ulysses in the magma layer, intending to return to the magma sea.
During this time, he had memorized the map, and he could return to the wizards' controlled area through the magma sea.
…
In the magma sea, Richard swiftly dove down. All his Magic Equipment had been thrown into the secret realm, and at this moment, he felt as if he had returned to the days of studying and training in the magma sea.
The dive lasted three days, and Richard finally emerged from the complex lava network into the sea of lava.
Here, Richard expanded his Magic Barrier and entered the secret realm.
Inside the secret realm, Ulysses was leisurely enjoying the service of the Holy Tree Spirits in the nest.
"How's it outside?"
Richard asked curiously while showering.
"Things are bad for you guys."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Five wizards died on your side, and their souls didn't even escape. The only ones you saved were that stone golem, the fire man, and that old man who managed to escape."
"Such a tragedy?" Richard exclaimed, "Tell me more about it."
After Richard escaped through the lava network, Ulysses, using the effect of the magic scroll, darted through the mountain, attracting the attention of the Fire Lizard.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the Holy Guard found Ulysses by tunneling through the rock.
Ulysses took the opportunity to flee outside, only to see tens of thousands of Dragon Beast knights already lined up outside the volcano, waiting for the wizards to break through.
Seeing this, Ulysses immediately understood.
"Wow, it looks like the wizards have been set up this time. To gather so many Dragon Beast knights in such a short time, the wizards' intelligence is always problematic."
Mobilizing an army of tens of thousands is no easy task. From the moment Murphy was discovered to Ulysses bursting out of the volcano, it took less than fifteen minutes. In such a short time, the Dragon Beast knights had already formed ranks outside the volcano, which clearly indicated prior preparation.
Barashar, seeing the Holy Guard emerge, felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
Indeed, the Holy Guard could not completely annihilate this group of wizards.
"Prepare to throw spears," Barashar commanded.
Seeing the vast army outside, Ulysses naturally wouldn't foolishly charge in. Without Richard, he had plenty of ways to escape from the Holy Guard.
Suddenly, his form darkened, and he vanished from sight, slipping into the shadow plane.
This way, even the Holy Guard's armor could not track Ulysses.
"He actually disappeared!" the operator of the Fire Lizard exclaimed.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
In the shadow plane, Ulysses quietly observed the unfolding situation.
Murphy, the fire wizard, and the Physique Wizard did not go outside but attempted to escape through the lava network. The remaining wizards, Theodore, the necromancer, the ghost wizard, and another Shaping Wizard, went outside.
Faced with the army, the wizards who chose to escape on the ground had no choice but to charge through. The wizards' plans were overt, and Barashar's ability to mobilize such a large army was already at its limit; the remaining troops were acting as a fire brigade in nearby provinces.
So as long as they broke through this encirclement, several Third Circle wizards would be free as fish in the sea, soaring high without constraints.
Meanwhile, the few wizards traversing the lava network were being hunted by several Holy Guards.
The Holy Guards seemed capable of inflicting no harm on them in the magma, and the few wizards fleeing through the lava were pursued and attacked for two days. The Physique Wizard was killed and taken back by the Holy Guards, while the remaining two Shaping Wizards managed to escape.
"By the way, when those armored Fire Lizards were chasing those wizards, the closest they got to you was less than five meters. I was so scared I almost came out of the shadow plane to save you," Ulysses said with a hint of admiration.
"Fortunately, you were smart and were clinging to a Flame Behemoth at the time, which made the armored Fire Lizard overlook you."
Richard was taken aback, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
He had only intended to hitch a ride to return to the magma sea quickly, never expecting to narrowly escape a disaster.
"Phew, looks like I'm quite lucky," Richard said with some relief.
"What happened next?" Richard asked immediately.
"Do I even need to say what happened next?" Ulysses tilted his head, "I already told you the surviving wizards, aside from that stone golem and fire man, the four on the ground clearly had that old man break through successfully."
Richard was stunned, not expecting that this operation had resulted in the loss of five Third Circle wizards.
In the last operation at the Mother Bug Palace, they had only lost one Third Circle wizard.
After this operation, the entire Luxor Province and the surrounding provinces' Black Wizard activities would likely be in a temporary vacuum for a while.
"I think you'd better not participate in these large events in the future," Ulysses remarked. "You've only participated in two wars, and both times you've been set up in these large-scale enemy missions.
For your safety and the safety of your wizard kin, I suggest you refrain from participating in such large events in the future."
Richard was taken aback, then nonchalantly replied, "It was just a coincidence."
Saying this, he left the shower mushroom and approached the damaged Holy Armor placed in the corner of the secret realm by the World Mushroom.
"The planner of this operation suffered a huge loss, while I, a latecomer, reaped a great benefit."
Although the Holy Armor before him had many components damaged, the energy-providing power core and the main control chip were intact.
These items were treasures!
Thinking of this, Richard couldn't help but smile. But suddenly, the voice of the World Mushroom echoed in his mind: "Master, there was a problem with this armor after you tossed it in.
It seems to… self-destruct."
Richard's smile instantly froze.