Watching Richard open the Spatial Rift, Iyad was momentarily stunned.
Although Secret Realm fragments could be purchased from some established Wizard guilds, very few Wizards would actually buy them. Aside from their exorbitant prices, the most important reason was their low cost-effectiveness.
Most of the Secret Realm fragments sold by the guilds had energy environments that were barely better than the Wizarding world, and their areas were minuscule, usually only suitable for use as storage space.
However, for storage, a Wizard could easily solve the problem by carrying a couple of Magic Pockets. Wizards don't go to battle to go on vacation; they don't need to carry that much.
Secret Realm fragments with slightly better energy conditions would cost several times more than fragments of the same volume, and even Third Circle Wizards rarely bought them.
Yet Richard actually had a decent-quality Secret Realm fragment, which was undoubtedly a display of wealth.
"Truly wealthy, Master Richard," Iyad remarked with a hint of envy, before turning and fleeing with several other White Wizards into the distance.
Richard placed the armored hound on the ground and immediately dove into the Secret Realm, sealing the rift behind him.
Why did Richard leave an armored hound outside?
The answer soon became clear.
As the Fire Lizard King, Minar, appeared, the armored hound instinctively cowered on the ground, whimpering in fear. Meanwhile, within the Secret Realm, Richard quickly took control of the hound's senses through the soul seed, using its vision to observe the battle.
Richard was certain that the victor of this battle would be the Frost Grand Wizard. The purpose of the armored hound was to serve as a spectator, allowing Richard to rush out and collect some spoils as soon as the battle concluded.
The flesh and blood of this World Master might not be of much use to an ordinary Wizard, but for Richard, these were treasures.
...
Minar's intent to attack was unmistakable; he was clearly signaling to the Frost Grand Wizard—I'm going to war.
Although the Frost Grand Wizard could engage him, without the assistance of that green fire Wizard, the Frost Grand Wizard's only outcome would be death.
As soon as Minar entered the territory of the Linksa Empire, the Frost Grand Wizard appeared before him. The two World Master-level beings faced off in the air, their overwhelming pressure silencing the surrounding kilometers.
Creatures within this range either froze in place out of instinct or were simply scared into unconsciousness or death.
"You dare to stop me?"
Minar radiated a scorching light, resembling a blazing red sun. Opposite him, the Frost Grand Wizard appeared as imposing as an iceberg, his expression grave; he was being thoroughly suppressed in both momentum and power.
With the death of Linksa, Morik's disappearance, and the world power of the Crimson Sun World, after ten years of transfer, all of it was now concentrated on Minar.
At this moment, Minar's strength had surpassed Morik, making him the strongest among the three Fire Lizard Kings.
Seeing the Frost Grand Wizard remain silent, Minar's gaze shifted past him towards the direction of Luxor Province.
At this moment, the White Wizard Legion gathered in Luxor Province was rapidly retreating towards Floating City.
"Retreating now? It's too late!"
A mocking smile appeared on Minar's dragon-like face, causing the Frost Grand Wizard's expression to change as he prepared to swing his ice crystal staff. But Minar had no intention of engaging him; with a flap of his dragon wings, he swiftly vanished from the Frost Grand Wizard's sight.
He was not in a hurry to kill the Frost Grand Wizard; he wanted to eliminate all the Wizards rampaging in the Crimson Sun World right before the Frost Grand Wizard's eyes.
However, he failed to notice that at the moment he disappeared, a barely perceptible smile appeared on the Frost Grand Wizard's face.
Central Command of the White Wizard Legion.
A dozen Third Circle Wizards sat in the room, waiting for the Frost Grand Wizard's orders.
Suddenly, the crystal ball before them lit up, and the Frost Grand Wizard's voice came through.
"Attack."
Several Third Circle Wizards exchanged glances and immediately sprang into action.
In an instant, centered around the command post and linked by war airships, the minds of one hundred thousand White Wizards connected in an instant.
The Legion's mental network was activated.
The next moment, Minar appeared before the Legion, his terrifying pressure mixed with dragon might instantly impacting the minds of a large group of Wizards. But this mental shock was quickly dispersed through the mental network to all the Wizards.
"Oh, you can still resist?"
Although Minar was merely a native, as a World Master, his high level of power allowed him to see through many things.
At this moment, he could feel that the souls of the Wizards before him were all connected.
"But what use is that?"
A hint of mockery appeared on Minar's face as his radiance grew even brighter.
"The union of the weak only makes it easier for the strong!"
The command post did not pay attention to Minar's taunts and calmly issued orders.
"Activate the magical shield."
In the next moment, a Magic Barrier enveloping all the White Wizards appeared around them.
Legion magical shield, activated! Minar suddenly swung a fist, and at the moment of impact, a sphere of light as hot and bright as the sun erupted from his fist, so intense that it was blinding, resembling a small sun.
This sun struck heavily against the Legion's shield.
Buzz—
The Magic Barrier surged with waves, and the massive Legion shield was nearly shattered by the burst of light. The faces of all the Wizards turned pale as they expended a tremendous amount of magic power to withstand the blow.
"Impossible, it was blocked."
Minar was taken aback; he had used seven-tenths of his strength for that punch, which would have been equivalent to his full power before.
Yet it had not broken through the shield.
A sense of foreboding suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Ha ha ha, it's the first time I've heard someone call Wizards weak."
The Frost Grand Wizard's figure appeared at the center of the Legion, tearing open a scroll. A massive magic circle rapidly spread from beneath his feet throughout the Legion, merging the Wizards within the magic circle into a single entity.
If Richard were present at this moment and observed with energy vision, he would certainly discover that all one hundred thousand Wizards of the Legion were standing on energy nodes.
Legion magic circle, activated!
With the support of the Legion, the Frost Grand Wizard's aura surged, increasing dramatically. He was already close to a Fifth Ring Wizard, and with the enhancement of the Legion magic circle, his power instantly broke through to the pseudo-Fifth Ring level.
The reason it was called pseudo-Fifth Ring was that while the Frost Grand Wizard's energy intensity had reached that of a Fifth-level creature, he lacked the special abilities that Fifth Ring creatures possessed.
But as a Wizard, even a pseudo-Fifth Ring was enough to handle Minar before him.
Moreover, the Frost Grand Wizard had not only made these preparations.
He tore open a Spatial Rift and pulled out a long spear engulfed in blue ice fire, the flames of ice and fire constantly fracturing, transforming into pure magic power that radiated into the space around him. Countless mysterious runes flowed endlessly along the spear shaft, seemingly forming an extremely complex Spell Model.
"Ha ha ha, you fool actually thought I had no way to deal with you. How is it that your brain is less useful than that of your subordinates?"
The Frost Grand Wizard's face was filled with mockery; in his perception, the Fire Lizard Empire's Legion was actually retreating rather than attacking, which clearly was not the idea of this fool before him.
There were still some clever people among the Fire Lizards.
"Ha, relying on external objects to forcibly reach a new level, is that your way of dealing with me!?"
Minar was both shocked and furious, realizing that this was indeed the trap that the Wizards had prepared for him, just as Harash had said.
"But that's not all."
A ghostly voice came from behind Minar.
A Spatial Rift had opened behind him, and from the rift, a skull engulfed in green fire crossed the space and appeared behind him.
Minar's pupils constricted; this Hellfire Grand Wizard, who should have been injured and asleep, was not in a state of slumber at all. The stable aura around him showed no signs of injury.
This attack was entirely within the Wizards' calculations! "A fake boosted by pseudo-objects, and a skeleton that has been severely injured, is this your preparation to trap me!?"
Minar's body suddenly expanded, and his aura grew even stronger, almost breaking through to a Sixth-level creature.
At this moment, Minar was devouring world power to enhance his strength.
This action caused significant harm to the world's essence; if the life essence were likened to a living being, Minar was currently draining the blood of the world's essence.
"You reckless fool, Qing Shuang, deal with him."
The Hellfire Grand Wizard shouted angrily, revealing his second strongest emotion during this planar war.
The Crimson Sun World had already been regarded as his possession, and Minar was destroying his things!
A torrent of Hellfire surged from the Hellfire Grand Wizard, quickly transforming into a domain that trapped Minar within. But Minar's strength had nearly reached that of a Sixth-level creature; with a shake of his arms, the intense light around him carved out a patch of pure land within the domain.
"Wizards, taste this!"
A light spear appeared in Minar's hand, its shaft radiating with blazing light, as if it had captured a wisp of the sun's essence, making it impossible to look directly at. He swung it forcefully, and the light spear tore through the air, heading straight for the Hellfire Grand Wizard.
Behind him, the Frost Grand Wizard's ice crystal spear was also hurled toward him.
Minar was actually willing to perish alongside the Hellfire Grand Wizard!
The terror of the light spear was such that even the slightest fluctuation created rifts in space.
If struck by this spear, the Hellfire Grand Wizard would have no chance of survival!
"Ha ha ha, you still don't believe you're a fool, unable to distinguish between my true and false forms."
The Hellfire Grand Wizard in the domain let out a strange laugh and suddenly transformed into a mass of green flames, vanishing within the domain.
When the false becomes true, the true also becomes false.
Minar, also a Fifth-level creature, under the enhancement of world power, would not underestimate even a fully powered Hellfire Grand Wizard. Moreover, the Hellfire Grand Wizard was severely injured; how could he possibly come to the scene himself, and be so close to him?
But Minar understood that it was already too late; the light spear streaked across the sky like a meteor, plunging into the sea of magma at the world's edge, creating towering waves of molten rock. Meanwhile, the ice and fire spear struck him from behind, and the terrifying sealing power erupted from the spear, instantly encasing him in a mountain of ice.
No matter how he struggled, the ice mountain remained immovable.
The Frost Grand Wizard had spent ten years crafting this ice fire spear, and the deathly stillness of the ice mountain's Sealing Art was enough to seal a Fifth-level creature for fifty years.
Fifty years might be a mere moment for a World Master, but it was enough time for a Wizard to conquer the entire Crimson Sun World.
Even if Morik returned during this time, the moment he stepped back into the Crimson Sun World, he would be met with the carefully prepared traps of two Great Wizards.
The fate of the Crimson Sun World was sealed the moment Minar decided to strike.
(End of Chapter)