After leaving Bob, Richard successfully exchanged that piece of flesh for a pile of items he found valuable.
These included, but were not limited to, limited research rights for all alchemical weapons before the war ended, a surprisingly well-preserved fire gem the size of a fist, a level three Fire Lizard heart, and the body of a level two Dragon Curse Warlock.
The ability to acquire these items was not only due to the exceptional quality of the flesh in Richard's possession but also because such flesh was quite rare.
Rare items are valuable; as long as they are sufficiently rare and useful, the Wizard Guild can recoup any losses incurred from Richard's transactions by earning back from other Wizards.
Of course, the premise is that Richard does not flood the market with them.
Currently, Richard had an ample supply of Magic Essence and had no intention of engaging in such self-destructive behavior.
After leaving the commercial district, Richard inquired around and finally located the position of Vladimir's base.
Given Vladimir's concern for him, it was only right to check in on him upon his return.
...
The war had lasted for twenty years; such a long time had transformed the Insect Nest World, and the decisive battles were over. What remained was the Great Wizard leading a group of White Wizards to crush the weak.
In the Crimson Sun World, however, the war had only just entered a stalemate.
The relatively small number of Wizards compared to Fire Lizards limited the areas they could control. Although the Wizards had built many fortress defenses along the borders of their controlled areas, it was evident to anyone that they were already facing a shortage of personnel.
Every day, hundreds of thousands of Fire Lizards entered the Wizard-controlled areas from various nooks and crannies. Some of these Fire Lizards were elite squads from the Fire Lizard Empire, entering the Wizard-controlled zones to gather intelligence or to conduct sabotage operations like the Black Wizards. However, the vast majority were just ordinary Fire Lizards.
War costs money.
Two decades of war had forced the Fire Lizard Empire to exploit its populace to maintain its massive military expenditures. Coupled with the Black Wizards deliberately placing incompetent leaders within the Fire Lizard ranks, various degrees of unrest had erupted within the empire.
Harsh taxes and corrupt officials led some Fire Lizards to risk their lives to enter the Wizard-controlled areas rather than live within the empire.
And the Wizards were indeed too lazy to clean up these Fire Lizards, who were barely even level one.
Thus, a ridiculous scene unfolded: Fire Lizards were living better under the Wizards who were preparing to exterminate them.
Richard looked at a nearby Fire Lizard village, where children were playing and adult Fire Lizards were farming in the fields nearby.
In this land not blessed by the Fire Lizard King, the fire dragon grass thrived even better.
As Richard observed this scene closely, a vague idea began to take shape in his mind.
Why not have the Wizards support a Fire Lizard kingdom as a puppet?
The Wizards had no need for these lower-tier Fire Lizards, but the Fire Lizard Empire did. If they could get these lower-tier Fire Lizards to come to the Wizard-controlled areas, the combat effectiveness of the Fire Lizard Empire would undoubtedly decrease.
Moreover, the Wizards could cultivate their own Fire Lizard army, pitting Fire Lizards against each other.
This way, the Wizards' losses would certainly decrease, and the speed of the war would increase.
After all, nobles are scoundrels regardless of race, and the Wizards could fully exploit this fact.
The tactic of supporting a puppet state was something the great powers of his past life had thoroughly exploited.
Leaving the village, Richard quickly arrived at Vladimir's base.
In this area composed of war fortresses and Alchemy Machines— a small Fire Lizard city— the city had been transformed into a fortress complex by the White Wizard Legion, filled with Alchemy Weapons and magical traps, making it a formidable stronghold.
Within the army of the Frost Great Wizard, Richard's face was still quite useful. The decisive battle in the Insect Nest World had made Richard known to many Wizards, so he faced no obstacles in proving his identity.
Entering the fortress city, Richard, guided by a White Wizard, found Vladimir, who was busy adjusting a Magic Stone Cannon.
"Master Mechanic, Master Richard is here to see you."
"Don't bother me… who did you say is here?"
Vladimir suddenly looked up to see Richard in a black robe smiling at him.
"Master, long time no see."
Vladimir stood up and walked over to Richard, looking him up and down.
"Good lad, you managed to come back in one piece after being chased by a patrol. Even I couldn't pull that off."
Richard chuckled, "Master, you flatter me; it was just a fortunate environment."
Vladimir squinted his eyes, "Looks like you've consumed quite a bit of Magic Essence for this order; your progress with the Adaptation Body must be considerable."
Upon hearing this, Richard instantly understood why Vladimir was so sure he could return.
The Adaptation Body's ability to adapt to elements allowed Richard to escape through the magma network. Since Vladimir and Jorod were old acquaintances, he naturally knew the effects of the Adaptation Body. Given the magma pools on the Red Soil Plain, it was entirely reasonable for Richard to escape.
"Ha ha, indeed quite a bit."
After some small talk, Richard began to share the idea he had conceived on the way.
If this idea could be put into practice, it would undoubtedly enhance the efficiency of the war.
However, after listening, Vladimir frowned and took a deep puff from his pipe.
"Good idea, no wonder Jorod said you have a lot of clever tricks. But…"
Vladimir shifted his tone, "This idea has been proposed before, but after a few wars, it was discarded by the Great Wizards."
"Ah?" Richard was taken aback. Did this plan have some flaw he hadn't noticed?
Vladimir tapped his pipe:
"It's simple. While this method can quickly end the war, does the speed of the war matter to the Great Wizards?"
Richard looked around at the fortifications and the magical traps laid out.
These all cost money.
Ending the war sooner would naturally save money.
"Ha ha, how much can setting up a position cost?" Vladimir saw through Richard's thoughts and sneered, "That money is far less than what the Great Wizards spend on hiring Wizards.
To the Great Wizards, the speed of the war is not important at all.
The current war is already quite fast; a small world can be conquered in just over a hundred years. That's hardly a long time for a Great Wizard; they'd find it too short to even take a nap.
Moreover, this plan would inevitably leave behind a relatively intact society after the war.
For the Wizards, that's simply a ticking time bomb.
You must understand, we are invaders. Under this premise, the natives' actions against us have a natural correctness.
Even if you think you are good enough to these natives."
As he spoke, Vladimir pinched a bit of tobacco into his pipe and lit it with magic.
"Besides, we can't be good to these natives. We are Wizards, not saviors. We embarked on this planar expedition for resources and slaves. Spending so much effort to prepare a ticking time bomb beside us is not as good as completely crushing these natives.
Once crushed, we can mold them however we want."
Vladimir, a seasoned Wizard, had indeed pinpointed a multitude of issues with Richard's idea. After he finished speaking, Richard also felt that his plan was utterly useless to the Great Wizards.
"However, this plan does have some utility," Vladimir added, feeling that his previous comments might have been too harsh. "If it's a newly promoted Great Wizard, this approach could work well. Newly promoted Great Wizards are often poor, and this method could reduce the number of Wizards they need to hire, alleviating some of their economic pressure."
Richard let out a frustrated sigh, "Master, you don't need to comfort me; I was just being too naive."
Vladimir raised an eyebrow and shifted the topic to the Magic Support Vehicle.
Now that Richard was back, it was time to discuss optimizing the design based on the performance of the Magic Support Vehicle on the battlefield.
Vladimir had not forgotten his promise; he clearly remembered that he had agreed to help Richard optimize some minor issues.
"The Magic Support Vehicle performed decently on the battlefield. Our four vehicles, during a maximum launch, took down about dozens of Fire Lizards, including one severely injured level two Fire Lizard. If we could increase the number of Magic Support Vehicles, the impact they could have would naturally increase.
The main issue with the Magic Support Vehicle lies in its mobility."
Richard pulled out a stack of draft papers from his pocket. Over the years, during his idle time, he had also been contemplating the optimization of the Magic Support Vehicle, and these papers were the results of his thoughts.
Vladimir took the papers and began to flip through them, nodding slightly at each page. After finishing the entire stack, he took out a quill from his pocket and made some modifications on a few sheets.
Once done, Vladimir returned the papers to Richard: "The optimization is good, but some areas could be improved further."
Richard glanced at the modifications Vladimir had made and couldn't help but marvel.
An experienced old Wizard was indeed impressive; the optimization plan he had spent so long developing was improved upon by Vladimir in just a short time.
"Thank you, Master," Richard said respectfully.
Vladimir waved his hand dismissively, "I will certainly keep my promise to you."
After returning from the front lines, Richard began to work on upgrading the already delivered Magic Support Vehicles. In this process, Richard only provided technical support, while the material costs were covered by the legion.
With the Magic Support Vehicles tested and upgraded, Richard's life became peaceful again.
After completing the upgrades for over four hundred Magic Support Vehicles, Richard dove headfirst into the laboratory.
There were many things he could work on; the exquisite fire gem obtained from Bob could be used to replace the wand tip, and the Tree-pattern Diagrams and techniques on those alchemical weapons could be refined. He also needed to modify the technology of the Pioneers, study the blue flame obtained from the Magma Sea, and research the flesh and blood of the mutated Flame Behemoth.
Summarizing his gains, Richard couldn't help but exclaim, "The planar war is truly a great place to get rich!"
(End of Chapter)