It has been over two hundred years since the World Mushroom officially took root in Richard's Secret Realm fragment. During these two centuries, the World Mushroom has been continuously growing while also expanding the space of the Secret Realm.
The larger the World Mushroom grows, the faster it expands the space.
After more than two hundred years of growth, the height of the World Mushroom has reached nearly two hundred meters. Through its expansion, the area of Richard's Secret Realm fragment has now reached about one square kilometer.
This area is still within the scope of a Secret Realm fragment for a Great Wizard, but for Richard, it feels somewhat empty.
Although there are Holy Tree Sprites in the Secret Realm, this group of little ones can almost be considered insects, appearing quite inconspicuous.
According to Richard's original plan, the Secret Realm was supposed to serve as a medicinal field. However, the emergence of the World Mushroom has made the medicinal field plan somewhat redundant.
The few magical plants Richard has cultivated yield far less than the random growth of a couple of Aldo fungi by the World Mushroom.
Now, a thought has arisen in Richard's mind.
He wants to raise a batch of Fire Lizards in the Secret Realm as his slaves, or rather, as helpers.
Dragon Beast Knights are a decent troop type; a standard small team of trained Dragon Beast Knights can easily surround and kill a single second-ring Wizard without any losses. Although their strength is not as formidable as that of Dragon Guard Warriors, their numbers far exceed those of Dragon Guard Warriors.
Moreover, if Richard wants to sell Dragonization Magic Potions as a product, raising Fire Lizards is also an essential task.
The substance within the Fire Lizards cannot be artificially synthesized by Richard; to create Magic Potions, he must have the blood of Fire Lizards.
After gathering the scattered materials, Richard stood up, preparing to leave the Secret Realm.
His mood lightened after reviewing the information.
Opening the rift of the Secret Realm, Richard returned to the Crimson Sun World. During the few hours he spent reviewing the materials, the White Wizard Legion, along with the Black Wizards that followed, had already looted Luxor clean.
The Frost Grand Wizard has returned to Floating City. After the collapse of the Dragon Beast Knight Order, the entire Linksa Empire no longer has the capability to resist the White Wizard Legion's forces.
The Frost Grand Wizard is also too lazy to expend any more energy.
Although World Masters are powerful, their every action consumes a significant amount of energy, and energy is equivalent to Magic Stones. The expenses of interdimensional expeditions are already high, so a Great Wizard naturally tries to save wherever possible.
Entering Luxor, Richard saw injured Fire Lizards everywhere on the streets. Most of these Fire Lizards had superficial wounds, but some bore elemental scars caused by spells.
At this moment, these Fire Lizards had all been branded with slave marks. Upon seeing Richard, they all respectfully lowered their heads, some even prostrating on the ground.
They were no longer "freedom seekers."
The moment the slave mark was branded, they transformed from "freedom seekers" into "Fire Lizards."
Hastily walking through the streets, Richard noticed that most of the Fire Lizards he encountered had been marked as slaves, while those without slave marks bore magical marks left by Wizards.
This served as a sort of "proof," confirming that these slaves belonged to him.
Currently, Wizards were busy following the White Wizards to other provinces to make money, and in their haste, they had left these ordinary slaves behind.
This reminded Richard of a classic taunt from World War II when Germany blitzed France.
"I don't have time to capture you; drop your weapons and leave the road, do not obstruct our advance."
As he walked, Richard couldn't help but shake his head, saying, "It seems Luxor doesn't have many Magic Stones left to harvest."
However, with the Wizards holding a significant advantage, once the Linksa Empire is dealt with, the Wizards' focus will immediately shift to the other two empires.
This war has now entered a relaxed phase.
...
On the fourteenth day after Minal was sealed, the Wizards, who had occupied all the resisting provinces within the Linksa Empire, finally turned their offensive towards the Morik Empire.
No, it should now be called the Minal·Morik United Empire.
These two Fire Lizard empires had already undergone military integration when the Wizards conquered the Linksa Empire. Once adversaries, the officers now sat together in a conference room, discussing the future of the Fire Lizards.
In the conference room, Harash occupied the main seat. Beside him sat two others: the former Grand Marshal of the Minal Empire, Maihan, and his son, Azuhan, the leader of the Morik Shield.
"Gentlemen, the current situation is extremely dire for us."
Harash's expression was serious, and his authoritative Dragon Eyes exuded a terrifying pressure.
"The Wizards have already cleared their internal ranks and are now targeting us. However, we do not possess the upper-level strength to counter them.
His Majesty Linksa has passed away, His Majesty Morik is missing, and His Majesty Minal is trapped by the Wizards' schemes.
At this moment, I have exhausted all options and do not know if any of you have a solution."
Those who could attend this meeting were all elites among the Fire Lizards, possessing incredible strength and intelligence, yet in the face of this problem, they all fell silent.
In the face of absolute power, any strategy is ineffective.
The conference room was enveloped in dead silence.
After a long while, a young voice broke the silence.
"Gentlemen, I have an idea."
Everyone in the conference room turned to look at Harash, who was gazing at his son Azuhan, the one who had broken the silence.
"Gentlemen, since we cannot resist head-on, why not change our strategy?"
After decades of growth, Azuhan had shed his youthful naivety and matured.
His attire was almost identical to his father's, and he spoke with great composure.
"In the past decade, the Wizards have been embroiled in a prolonged security battle in the Linksa Empire, with scattered bandits constantly harassing their supply lines, causing unrest in their mining areas.
As a result, the Wizards have even diverted a large number of their forces to deal with the bandits.
Now that we cannot resist them head-on, why not consider dividing our army into smaller teams and dispersing them throughout the empire?
If we gather into a large army, the Wizards can easily deal with us using their Great Wizards, but if we disperse into small units, their greatest advantage will vanish.
His Majesty Morik is merely missing, and His Majesty Minal is only trapped.
As long as we buy enough time, victory will surely belong to us!"
After hearing Azuhan's suggestion, the Fire Lizards in the conference room fell into contemplation.
What Azuhan proposed was indeed a solution; their goal was not to drive the Wizards away but simply to buy time.
"But how do we address the issue of military discipline?" a Fire Lizard general asked. "Once we divide the army into smaller units, the phenomenon of them degenerating into bandits will undoubtedly occur on a large scale."
Azuhan looked at the general who spoke and replied coldly.
"We won't address it; if they degenerate, so be it. Our primary task is to preserve our strength and hold off the Wizards. We can pay any price to achieve this goal."
Upon hearing this, Harash turned to look at his son.
When Azuhan spoke, his face bore no expression, as if he were merely discussing what to have for lunch.
The Fire Lizard generals fell silent, and soon, Harash spoke up:
"Gentlemen, let us vote."
The generals remained silent, but their arms silently raised.
One, two, three—arms were raised from the entrance of the conference room to Harash's side; all the Fire Lizard generals raised their arms, including Maihan.
Not a single one abstained.
Only Harash had yet to raise his hand.
Azuhan looked at his father; Harash's expression was calm, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
"Since everyone agrees, let us prepare the plan."
Harash ultimately did not raise his hand, but he approved the plan. As the Grand Marshal, the plan could only be executed with his consent.
After the meeting concluded, the Fire Lizard generals left one after another, leaving only Harash and Azuhan in the conference room.
"Father, do you disagree with my view?"
Harash did not answer immediately but turned to look at the map hanging on the wall. The area that was once the Linksa Empire had now changed color.
After a long gaze, Harash finally spoke: "Azuhan, your method is good, and it is the only one we can use now.
So I agree with this plan.
But this does not mean that this plan is not shameful.
Our army cannot defend our territory, cannot protect our people; in the face of a strong enemy, we can only let them scatter like sand.
This is a tremendous disgrace."
A rare look of pain appeared on Harash's face; his golden vertical pupils glimmered with a blood-red hue, and the sound of grinding teeth echoed as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Azuhan had only seen this expression on Harash's face when the Fire Lizard King Linksa fell.
The most outstanding commander among the Fire Lizards was now in deep inner turmoil.
In the face of absolute power, his little tricks were utterly useless. Without sufficient upper-level strength, no matter how many Fire Lizards there were, they were merely cannon fodder.
This Fire Lizard, who had defeated countless enemies in his life, now found himself at a loss.
"Father, this is not your fault," Azuhan said softly.
"...Go arrange the plan, Azuhan."
Harash regained his composure, transforming back into the Grand Marshal of the Minal·Morik United Empire.
"Yes, Grand Marshal."
Azuhan exited the room, but just as he was about to leave, Harash suddenly asked a question.
"I heard that the princess is pregnant?"
Azuhan stiffened, turning around awkwardly to say, "That is indeed the case."
A hint of a smile flashed across Harash's face: "Then during this time, don't just focus on work; spend more time with her.
The child is our future."
"Yes."
...
Azuhan's residence in the Minal capital is a newly built pyramid next to the palace.
To be precise, this pyramid is Akala's residence.
Minal has given his niece sufficient treatment; he even personally shaped the pyramid's initial form.
Through a long corridor, Azuhan entered a large room deep within the pyramid. In the center stood a grand obsidian bed adorned with golden patterns. The bed was covered with luxurious satin interwoven with gold threads, and on the satin lay a female Fire Lizard, her scales glistening like rubies.
"You're back, Azuhan."
Akala sat up, her face displaying a mix of laziness and boredom.
"Yes, I'm back."
"How was the meeting?"
"Our plan was approved."
Azuhan walked to Akala's side, gently stroking her slightly swollen abdomen.
"How do you feel today?"
Akala leaned against Azuhan's shoulder, her eyes half-closed as if she were about to fall asleep: "Just like usual, I'm getting lazier. Is this what pregnancy is like? Quite strange."
"This is how it is for a first pregnancy."
"Mm, then I'll sleep a bit more... Oh, right," Akala suddenly remembered something just as she was about to doze off, her eyes snapping open as she said to Azuhan, "The teams you sent out have returned; they are waiting for you in the reception hall."
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