The coordinate system of the Morik Shield had long been cracked by the Wizard. After arriving in Floating City, Richard spent some Magic Stones at the logistics Wizard to obtain information in this regard.
Following the information's instructions, Richard spent nearly a month locating the corresponding place based on the coordinates from Logar's intelligence.
A significant portion of this time was spent returning to Floating City, which took Richard almost half a month.
The corresponding location was a vast area of dead volcanoes, which had once served as a mining site for the Fire Lizard, primarily producing various Fire Element Metals and high-quality Fire Elemental Gems.
However, after the Wizard entered this world, this mining area, which had been exploited for countless years, was finally stripped bare.
Once it was discovered that there were no more minerals, the area was quickly abandoned. Yet, the complex mining tunnels left behind from years of extraction provided a decent hiding place for the Fire Lizards.
A large number of Fire Lizards fled into the tunnels to escape the Wizard's enslavement.
From the current situation, their strategy seemed quite effective.
At this time, the Crimson Sun World could capture countless Fire Lizard slaves, and the Wizard would not expend energy to delve into the tunnels, catching this group of Fire Lizards like mice.
But as the number of free Fire Lizards in the Crimson Sun World dwindled, the group hiding in the tunnels would eventually come into the Wizard's sights.
...
Amidst the tranquil dead volcanoes, Richard flew leisurely. His mental energy remained in an outward state throughout the process.
It was the third day since he entered this area of dead volcanoes, and during these three days, he had been searching for something—a mark left by a Fire Lizard.
This vast area of dead volcanoes was immense, and without a mark, finding a Fire Lizard was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
Suddenly, Richard opened his eyes and landed straight on the ground, stirring up a cloud of volcanic ash.
A gentle breeze blew the ash away, revealing a mine entrance before Richard.
He approached the mine entrance and summoned a breeze to blow away the thin layer of volcanic ash on the ground, exposing the black-gray rock beneath.
The rock appeared unremarkable, but in Richard's Dragon Eyes, a golden shield symbol appeared on its surface.
"Interesting, I almost missed this."
This symbol was made with a special pigment that was invisible to the naked eye; only with Dragon Eyes could it be seen clearly. If it weren't for the faint energy radiation from this pigment, Richard, a person with a keen interest in finding, might not have noticed it. Other Wizards would have completely overlooked such a concealed mark.
Entering the mine, the same mark continued to extend within the tunnels. However, at a fork in the path, Richard stopped.
He bent down and swept the ground at the left fork marked with the symbol. After clearing the dust, a familiar metal piece appeared before Richard.
"It seems this Fire Lizard is a bit smarter this time."
Richard ignored the metal piece and turned to walk down the right fork. Soon, he arrived at another fork.
This time, he found a warning device on the side without a mark.
"This Fire Lizard is quite cautious."
Continuing down the path without the warning device, Richard soon encountered another fork.
This time, all the paths had warning devices in place.
Richard frowned.
"Sly fellow, looks like I'll have to test them one by one."
Richard took out a piece of metal and casually created a shielding device to cover the metal piece, then began searching from left to right.
At the far left fork, the end led to a four-way intersection. Along the way, Richard discovered several makeshift Alchemy Devices, designed as traps that could blow up the entire tunnel once triggered.
In the underground, such traps were also deadly for Wizards.
Even a Third Circle Wizard would perish if caught in one.
But for Richard, these devices were far too rudimentary.
Although ancient techniques were a pure matter for Wizards, for Fire Lizards, the skills of ancient Alchemy Masters were superior to those of contemporary Alchemy Masters.
Having refined so many ancient Alchemy Masters' techniques, even if they were just fragments, combined they were enough for him to easily defeat the current Alchemy Masters among the Fire Lizards.
If the left fork was wrong, then let's try the middle one.
There were only three forks; one of them had to be the right one.
The middle fork also had traps, but these traps seemed more like warnings, their power not too great. After walking a distance, the traps disappeared, replaced by signs of Fire Lizard habitation.
Richard bent down and picked up a scale from the ground.
This scale was dull in luster, clearly belonging to an elderly Fire Lizard, fitting the criteria of the Fire Lizard he was searching for.
Continuing down the mine tunnel, the temperature around Richard steadily increased until he arrived at an underground cavern, where a lake of lava appeared before him.
On the shore of the lava lake, several old Fire Lizards were gathered, drinking merrily, seemingly in a celebration.
On the shore, Richard saw quite a substantial amount of resources; if relying solely on these old Fire Lizards, they probably wouldn't finish them in fifty years.
"It seems I've caught a big fish this time."
The old Fire Lizards on the shore had yet to notice Richard's arrival. Or rather, they never expected a Wizard to silently cross the layers of defenses they had set up and come right beside them.
They were all Alchemy Masters from the Morik Empire; who could surpass their Alchemy?
"Kallion, are you just sitting there nurturing a Flame Behemoth?" one old Fire Lizard shouted, pointing at Kallion's cup, which was almost the size of a small barrel.
"Shut it, can't I take my time?"
The Fire Lizard named Kallion looked a bit dazed, clearly already drunk.
Suddenly, he stood up and staggered toward the lava pool.
"Kallion, what are you doing? Don't fall in!"
"I won't!" Kallion waved his hand, "I'm just letting some water out; when I come back... I'll have you all drinking under the table!"
Kallion pulled out a small Kallion from under his leather skirt, but just as he was about to let it out, he caught sight of a shadow standing next to his old buddies.
This shadow looked quite like those Black Wizards.
Black Wizard... Wizard! Kallion was startled, his body trembled, and he slipped, nearly falling into the lava pool. But just as he was about to fall, someone caught him.
"It seems your friend was right to worry, Master Kallion."
Kallion pointed at the figure that had grabbed him, his finger trembling.
He wasn't mistaken; this was indeed a Black Wizard!
A Black Wizard had silently approached them, and their warning devices had not reacted at all!
"Kallion, how did you... Wizard!"
Only then did the old Fire Lizards notice the Black-robed Wizard standing next to their friend who had just gone to relieve himself.
Where were their warning devices? Why hadn't they reacted at all?
In the midst of their shock, Richard pulled Kallion away from the edge of the lava lake.
"Everyone, don't be nervous; I'm not like other Wizards.
Moreover..."
Richard suddenly unleashed a violent surge of magical energy.
The old Fire Lizards stiffened at once.
It was a Second Circle Wizard! "And it would be best if you all didn't do anything foolish, or I might have to be a bit more barbaric."
The old Fire Lizards exchanged glances, seeing shock and confusion in each other's eyes.
What did this Wizard want? Richard pulled Kallion to stand beside the old Fire Lizards and slowly spoke:
"Could you all introduce yourselves? According to the information I received from the executor of the Morik Shield, there is only one Fire Lizard here, Master Kallion."
Upon hearing this, Kallion's expression changed instantly.
He hadn't expected his information to leak like this.
The other Fire Lizards felt regretful; why did they choose today to gather!
Couldn't they have waited a couple of days? "Ahem, I am nearby..."
An old Fire Lizard was about to speak when Richard's voice made him swallow his prepared words.
"You all better not deceive me, as I can't be bothered to discern which statement is a lie. I will provide sufficient treatment for valuable Fire Lizards, but if you are merely wealthy locals or ordinary friends of Master Kallion...
Don't blame me for throwing you into this lava pool."
Richard's words made the old Fire Lizards' hearts tighten; they were somewhat unclear about Richard's intentions.
After a moment of silence, one Fire Lizard slowly spoke:
"I am Cliff, an Alchemy Master from the Morik Empire, a forging master."
Hearing this introduction, Richard's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected an unexpected gain.
"Very well, Master Cliff, please stand aside with Master Kallion."
Seeing Richard's attitude, the remaining two old Fire Lizards also spoke up.
"I am Patlin, also an Alchemy Master."
"I am Tarhe, like them."
After the introductions, Richard nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good, it seems Master Kallion's friends are not ordinary individuals."
Saying this, Richard took out four Soul Contracts from his pocket.
"I believe you all are quite curious about what I intend to do, why I'm not like other Wizards who shout for killing or capturing you as slaves upon seeing you.
This contract is the answer.
I hope you all can consider this contract carefully; if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
The old Fire Lizards took the contracts, their expressions shifting from confusion to shock, then to doubt.
Kallion carefully examined the contract, then pulled out a magnifying glass from his leather pouch, scrutinizing the contract inch by inch.
Finally, Kallion asked with a puzzled tone, "You want to... hire us?"
Richard nodded, "Indeed."
"Why?" Cliff, standing next to Kallion, asked.
"Why do you want to hire us? Don't Wizards prefer Fire Lizards as slaves or corpses?"
Richard shrugged, "I'm different from them; they see you Fire Lizards as a bunch of primitive natives, a group only fit to be slaves.
But they fail to realize one thing: Fire Lizards also possess brains, and there are many talents among Fire Lizards.
Talent is also a form of wealth!"
(End of Chapter)