The command from the communication crystal ball interrupted Damir's words. During wartime, missions are of utmost importance, and Richard did not continue to entangle with Damir. He quickly returned to his Magic Support Vehicle, preparing to head to Position 43 with Teams One and Two for support.
According to the command center's plan, the more than four hundred Magic Support Vehicles were divided into nine teams, each consisting of fifty vehicles. The extra vehicles were considered substitutes, used to maintain the number of the convoy in case any Magic Support Vehicle suffered irreparable damage.
Soon, with the roar of engines, Teams One and Two set off.
Richard followed behind the two teams, casually pulling Ulysses out from the Secret Realm.
As soon as Ulysses entered the Crimson Sun World, he shivered all over. He glanced at the surrounding environment and asked, "Gah, are we starting to fight again?"
Richard nodded, "Yes, it's starting again. The Fire Lizard is launching a major counterattack. This battle should be the toughest one of this expedition.
If we win, the road ahead will be smooth. If we lose, we can only roll back home."
"Gah, that's not a bad condition." Ulysses flew onto Richard's shoulder. "When I was conquering the world back home, if I failed, I could leave, but all my little minions had to stay in the other world. You at least have a Floating City to take you away."
Although it would take a lot of time for the Floating City to enter the world, it was the safest and most reliable way.
But if they needed to escape, there was no need to be so particular.
Forcibly tearing through the world's barrier and flying out was also an option, but the cost might be the entire Floating City being torn apart by the world's primal forces.
"Don't you have a fortress like the Floating City when you invade worlds?" Richard asked curiously.
"Gah, no. We just place our soldiers in the divine realm, and then the World Master enters the world alone."
"Then when you escape, won't you leave your little minions behind?"
Ulysses looked at Richard as if he were an idiot, "Gah, you want to be distracted while escaping? Are you trying to die faster?"
"…"
Position 43 was about three hundred kilometers from Richard's departure point. With the Magic Support Vehicles moving at full speed, they would reach the location in less than three hours.
On the way, Richard unexpectedly saw Wizards with synthetic beasts moving in the wilderness, seemingly searching for something.
"Ulysses, go see what those Wizards are doing."
Ulysses flew out of the cockpit and quickly returned.
"Gah, nothing much. They're just clearing out the Fire Lizards living in your controlled area."
"Clearing out Fire Lizards?"
Richard suddenly thought of the Fire Lizard village he had passed by more than a decade ago.
"Clearing out those ordinary Fire Lizards?"
"Gah, it should be. I didn't see any first-level creatures among the Fire Lizards."
Richard didn't ask any more questions.
He knew that before the war began, the command center could tolerate the existence of these ordinary Fire Lizards, but now that the war had started, the command center had to ensure that their controlled area was absolutely safe.
These Fire Lizards living in the Wizard-controlled area, although most of them were ordinary Fire Lizards who couldn't survive in the Fire Lizard Empire, as long as there was even a slight possibility of them being infiltrated by Fire Lizard troops, the command center would never let them go.
"Alas, what a pity." Richard suddenly sighed.
"Gah, what's wrong? You won't feel any sympathy for those Fire Lizards, will you?"
Richard glanced at him, "If my puppet kingdom plan had been implemented back then, these Fire Lizard civilians would not only not consume our military strength but would actually increase our combat power.
But unfortunately, no matter how good my plan was, if the Great Wizard doesn't need it, it's just scrap."
Ulysses looked puzzled, "Gah, if you think your plan is good, once you become a Great Wizard, you can use it yourself.
Good things should be kept for oneself; why share them with others?"
"That's the reason for my sigh." Richard said helplessly, "Since this plan is useless to the Great Wizard, once I become a Great Wizard, will this plan suddenly become useful?
The butt decides the head; once I become a Great Wizard, I won't use this plan either.
This plan will probably remain a plan forever."
...
Position 43.
A massive Dragon Turtle rampaged through the fortress cluster. Under the immense power of the war beast, the Wizards' fortresses struggled to withstand, collapsing in large numbers.
Around the Dragon Turtle, shield-bearing Wizards continuously blocked other Wizards attempting to attack the Dragon Turtle, while Fire Lizard warriors began a bloody urban battle with the Wizards amidst the ruins of the fallen fortresses.
Although the absence of bunkers hindered them, the Wizards could still kill these Fire Lizards, but the sheer number of Fire Lizards was overwhelming. No matter how strong the individual combat power of the Wizards was, in the face of the Fire Lizards sacrificing lives, they could only be humiliated in return.
The commander of the position had already issued a retreat order, aiming to ensure the survival of as many Wizards as possible.
For the Wizards, these fortress cities were merely tools for bleeding the Fire Lizards dry; if this tool could not serve its purpose, abandoning it was a natural consequence.
"How many have we pulled out?"
Outside the city, the White Wizard commander looked at the rampaging Dragon Turtle, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.
Although Position 43 was just a small city, it was a place he had managed for over a decade. Every bunker and every magical trap had been designed by him personally.
Now, just because this small position was not equipped with a Lesser Disintegration Cannon, it had become a toy for the Dragon Turtle.
At this moment, although the Dragon Turtle was still inside the city, the commander knew that once the Fire Lizards realized there were no Wizards left in the city, they would immediately redirect the Dragon Turtle's path.
"My lord, we've pulled out three hundred people."
"Three hundred people." The commander's face darkened upon hearing the number. His position had a total of six hundred people, and nearly an hour had passed since his request for support, yet only three hundred had been evacuated.
Could it be that the remaining people had all perished? The commander dared not think further.
The command center had issued a strategy to each commander to ensure personnel survival, meaning that the position could be abandoned if necessary, but the number of Wizards must be maintained.
For most Wizards, injuries were merely a matter of two recovery spells from the necromancer Wizards; if serious, it was just a matter of replacing a couple of organs or even a body.
As long as they were still alive, it wouldn't be long before they would be back to being lively combatants.
The command center's bottom line for these commanders was half; if the number fell below this, the commander would be held accountable.
The commander comforted himself, "Perhaps those Wizards are just temporarily entangled; they will be able to come out soon."
Time passed second by second, and in the blink of an eye, an hour had gone by.
At this moment, the number of Wizards evacuated had reached three hundred and fifty. This number was not large, but it was still above the death line.
The commander glanced at his watch and waved his hand, "No more waiting, everyone prepare to retreat to the second defensive line."
Upon hearing the order, the evacuated Wizards immediately formed a formation and began to retreat. But less than twenty minutes after they left, a team of Wizards emerged from the city.
This team of Wizards was in terrible condition; most of them were missing arms and legs, and the remaining ones were severely injured Wizards who had fallen into a state of apparent death.
The leading Wizard looked at the empty assembly point and immediately took out a map crystal ball. After confirming he hadn't taken a wrong turn, the leading Wizard's face turned pale, and the crystal ball almost fell to the ground.
Some Wizards noticed the leading Wizard's expression and felt a sudden chill in their hearts.
"Captain... did we arrive too late?"
The leading Wizard closed his eyes and gently nodded.
They had come out too late; the main force had already retreated to the second defensive line.
However, misfortunes never come alone.
Just as they confirmed that the main force had retreated, a team of Fire Lizards chased after them on their retreat path.
As soon as these Fire Lizards saw this team of Wizards, they instantly became excited. The leading Fire Lizard picked up the horn at his waist, ready to call for his companions. The Wizards wanted to stop him, but as soon as they cast their spells, they saw a shield-bearing Wizard blocking the Fire Lizard who was about to blow the horn.
"We're done; we've been spotted." A Wizard said with a bitter smile.
The leading Wizard felt dizzy for a moment upon seeing the Fire Lizards had discovered their presence.
But as the captain, his duty prevented him from giving up immediately.
"Retreat, don't worry about those Fire Lizards." The captain calmly issued the order.
Upon hearing the command, the squad of Wizards looked towards their captain. His order became their anchor, giving them hope for survival.
They couldn't see the captain's despair, or perhaps they did but chose to ignore it.
In dire situations, even a straw would be clutched tightly.
The Wizards silently formed a formation, with the best-conditioned Wizard at the rear to deal with the approaching Fire Lizards.
Just as their formation was taking shape, a group of Fire Lizards riding Dragon Beasts appeared at the end of the road.
"Go!"
The captain gritted his teeth and issued the command, as if he hadn't seen that group of Fire Lizards.
He didn't want to die; he wanted to survive.
The formation activated, and the gathered wind elements made all the Wizards feel lighter. A thrust emerged from the formation, making the Wizards' flight spells faster.
But the Wizards were fast, and the Fire Lizards were faster.
The Fire Lizards riding Dragon Beasts swung their curved blades, excitedly shouting at the fleeing Wizards.
The Wizards were escaping!
Those Wizards who had killed countless Fire Lizards were fleeing!
They excitedly waved their whips, urging their Dragon Beasts to run faster. They wanted to sever the heads of this group of Wizards as a symbol of their honor!
And behind them, more and more Fire Lizards began to appear.
"It's over."
The captain closed his eyes in despair.
"Hello, can you hear me?"
Huh? The captain suddenly opened his eyes and brought the communication crystal ball to his ear.
"Hello, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you, I can hear you!" the captain shouted excitedly.
"That's good. Maintain your current speed, do not slow down. I see your condition isn't great, but remember, do not slow down."
"Okay, we absolutely won't slow down." The captain's hands trembled with excitement, and he asked with a quivering voice, "Are you the reinforcements?"
There was no response from the other side of the crystal ball, only a series of unclear noises.
"Yes, just like this angle, don't move him. This thing is designed by me; I know better than you. Hey, what did you just say?"
"I asked if you are the reinforcements?"
"Yes, we are the reinforcements. The fire support you called is ready; just be sure to sign for it!"
(End of Chapter)