After changing the experimental conditions, Richard observed for a while longer. Unfortunately, the miracle did not occur; the disintegration speed of his avatar was only slightly slower than before.
Looking at the blue flame, a thought suddenly emerged in Richard's mind.
"It seems this thing is more suitable as a weapon. If I can constrain and concentrate these radiations for firing, even the body of a third-level creature could disintegrate in an instant."
For the vast majority of indigenous creatures, losing their body is almost equivalent to death.
Richard casually took out a notebook to jot down his thoughts.
A mature Wizard always has a tool for recording inspiration; this tool can be a notebook, a spellbook, or even a crystal ball that captures images and records information.
Wizards have ample time and enough ability to realize these inspirations.
For the long-lived species, the solidification of thought is an inevitable issue, and at such times, any inspiration is incredibly precious.
Leaving the laboratory, Richard engaged in a deep meditation in the hidden realm before returning to the Crimson Sun World.
According to Iyad, the Fire Lizard bandits in the Wizard-controlled area should have been mostly cleared out by now; otherwise, the command center would not have recklessly moved against Luxor.
If this is confirmed, then what he needs to do now is to head to the border as quickly as possible, lest he miss out on even a sip of soup after the White Wizard Legion advances—Luxor's Fire Lizard resistance is not a significant problem for Wizards; the reorganized White Wizard Legion has more than enough strength to eliminate them.
This process does not require the help of Black Wizards, and those White Wizards also do not wish for Black Wizards to participate.
A battle that is bound to win is like a well-prepared cake; the White Wizard Legion naturally hopes that the fewer people who eat the cake, the better.
Following the map's guidance, Richard began to approach Luxor. During this time, he saw quite a few well-informed Black Wizards.
For some reason, after entering the Linksa Empire, the command center did not assign any infiltration tasks to the Black Wizards. A large number of Black Wizards were all engaged in bandit suppression within the Linksa Empire, which was a gross underutilization of their talents.
A month later, Richard's Communication Crystal Ball suddenly transmitted a message.
[The war concerning Luxor Province and its surrounding provinces will commence in one day. Wizards may freely choose whether to participate in this war.]
Hearing this message, Richard chuckled sarcastically, "Free choice, what a nice way to put it. But when it comes to tackling tough challenges, why is there no free choice?"
Putting away the Communication Crystal Ball, Richard noticed that ten battle groups of ten thousand men each had already assembled not far from him.
According to the combat sequence of the White Wizard Legion, a ten-thousand-man group is the largest combat unit. With ten such groups, along with their accompanying war airships and synthetic beast legions, they would be more than enough to crush Luxor's Fire Lizard resistance.
However, this time, the Wizards mobilizing were not just ten ten-thousand-man groups; rumors had it that there was also a White Wizard Legion of about one hundred thousand in the southwest of Luxor.
If the rumors were true, this war had mobilized nearly half of the White Wizards in the Wizard-controlled area.
The well-informed Black Wizards had already gathered in a small town on the outskirts of the White Wizard Legion. Among these Black Wizards, Richard easily found Iyad, who was dressed in a white robe.
At that moment, he was huddled with a few other White Wizards, looking quite gloomy as they stared at the White Wizard Legion not far away.
Seeing Richard, Iyad approached with some excitement.
"Master Richard, I finally waited for you. I thought you had gotten lost."
"Lost? How could you think that?" Richard asked curiously.
"Nothing much. While I was chatting with these friends, I heard a rumor that there is also a Master named Richard in their Floating City. This Master Richard is quite remarkable; as a Black Wizard, he actually got lost while infiltrating the Linksa Empire."
As he spoke, Iyad couldn't help but laugh.
"I really don't know how much it took for such a rumor to become so ridiculous. A Black Wizard getting lost behind enemy lines? How could such a Wizard possibly reach the Third Circle?"
Richard laughed along, though his smile carried a hint of awkwardness.
Hahaha, indeed, that foolish Wizard is only at the Second Circle, far from the Third Circle.
With Iyad's introduction, Richard became familiar with the other White Wizards.
These were Iyad's friends in the legion, all categorized into the Black Wizard sequence during this reorganization.
After conversing with these Wizards, Richard discovered that they were not weaklings at all. Moreover, according to their statements, many powerful White Wizards had been categorized into the Black Wizard sequence.
Even more strangely, the news of this offensive had been kept under strict confidentiality within the White Wizards; even Iyad's information was obtained from a White Wizard recruited by the Hellfire Grand Wizard.
"This is a bit strange."
A sense of unease flashed through Richard's mind; the command center's actions were too peculiar.
Mobilizing so many White Wizards for bandit suppression, maintaining such strict confidentiality regarding information, and categorizing these elite White Wizards into the Black Wizard sequence—all these factors combined felt odd.
Suddenly, Richard recalled the words Ulysses had said to him before falling asleep.
"You have already won this war; that green fire skeleton is setting a trap for that Fire Lizard."
Why did Ulysses say the Wizards had already won? Although the Fire Lizard King Morik was temporarily missing, the remaining Fire Lizard King Minal was also a fifth-level creature. The Hellfire Grand Wizard was severely injured, and the Frost Grand Wizard was a Fourth Circle Wizard, with the number of Wizard legions reduced to half of what it was before the war began.
No matter how one looked at it, the Wizards were at a disadvantage.
Yet Ulysses told him the Wizards had already won... If Ulysses was not mistaken, then there was only one possibility: the Hellfire Grand Wizard and the Frost Grand Wizard had the capability to kill Minal.
Thinking of this, Richard suddenly asked Iyad:
"Iyad, does your White Wizard Legion have any means to counter a World Master?"
Iyad was taken aback. "Hmm? Why do you suddenly ask this?"
Richard's expression turned serious. "Just tell me if you have it. Does this method require a ten-thousand-man group to use?"
Iyad and the surrounding White Wizards changed their expressions, clearly, Richard had hit the nail on the head.
"Master, what have you thought of?" Iyad asked with a serious expression.
At this moment, he had already vaguely guessed that he might have made a mistake.
...
In the royal capital of the Minal Empire, Minal, who had stood atop the pyramid for ten years, suddenly opened his eyes.
He could sense that the terrifying Wizard known as the Hellfire Grand Wizard had just had his aura suddenly weaken to the point of almost disappearing.
"Has he finally reached his limit?"
Minal's gaze turned toward the Floating City, as if he could see through the spatial barriers to the Hellfire Grand Wizard at the core of the Floating City.
"To endure such severe injuries for ten years, what a terrifying creature."
Minal sprouted a pair of dragon wings from his back again; he had waited ten years just for the Hellfire Grand Wizard to fall asleep.
Now he could finally drive these Wizards away!
"Maihan, Harash."
Two figures flew out from the royal capital and quickly arrived at Minal's side.
"You two, mobilize the army immediately. The Wizard's Great Wizard has fallen into slumber; today is the day we counterattack!"
Upon hearing this, Maihan immediately responded loudly, while Harash hesitated for a moment and advised, "Your Majesty Minal, Wizards are not reckless creatures; they are always meticulous in their actions. If their situation is truly this dire, they should have left the Crimson Sun World long ago. Your Majesty, I suspect there is a trap here."
Minal turned his gaze toward Harash, his immense dragon might pressing down on Harash like a mountain. But Harash showed no reaction, maintaining his position of counsel.
Maihan, standing nearby, felt a chill run down his spine; was Harash's advice not a blatant accusation of Minal's foolishness?
Minal did not become angry; even he had heard of Harash's character.
"Harash, your words do have merit, but your strength is too weak to see many things that are hidden.
Go execute the orders."
With that, Minal spread his dragon wings and suddenly vanished from the top of the pyramid.
Maihan stood up straight, relief washing over his face.
"My Marshal Harash, you truly are unafraid of death."
Harash stood tall, his expression unchanged.
"This is our duty, Maihan."
Seeing Harash's calm demeanor, Maihan almost felt as if he were the old minister of the Morik Empire, while the Harash before him was the Grand Marshal of the Minal Empire.
"Alright, you're tough. Which plan are we going with?" Maihan casually asked.
Harash was silent for a moment before speaking, "Use the backup plan; Minal's actions this time must be a trap. After dealing with Wizards for so many years, these Wizards love to exploit cognitive gaps to scheme against us."
Upon hearing this, Maihan's pupils instantly contracted.
"Are you crazy? You're defying the Emperor's orders! If your guess is wrong, we will all die!"
Harash's gaze shifted toward the Linksa Empire, his expression deepening. "It's fine; I'll knock you out later. If something goes wrong, it will be my responsibility.
This concerns the future of the Fire Lizard race; I cannot take that risk."
...
"Ha, this operation is probably the Great Wizard fishing," Richard said with a bitter smile. "This operation should be extremely dangerous, even the legion faces the risk of annihilation, which is why the Frost Grand Wizard temporarily categorized you all into the Black Wizard sequence. If the legion is wiped out, you should be the seeds for the legion's reconstruction."
As soon as Richard finished speaking, a terrifying pressure suddenly emanated from deep within the Fire Lizard Empire.
The Black Wizards present sensed it and immediately scattered in fear.
Although they could not guess the Great Wizard's plan, they could be certain of one thing: the smaller the target, the better.
Several White Wizards categorized into the Black Wizard sequence quickly formed a formation, preparing to escape. However, when Iyad invited Richard into the formation, they saw Richard casually tear open a Spatial Rift and pull out a wriggling armored hunting dog.
A fragment of a Secret Realm, and a high-quality one at that.
With a radiant smile on his face, Richard said, "You all don't need to worry about me; I have a Secret Realm fragment to take refuge in."
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