Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

Chapter 242: Chapter 26 A Man’s Great Harvest

In the base, Richard’s overwhelming victory immediately caught the attention of several Wizards.

They didn’t know exactly what method Richard had used, but the fact that he had immobilized a Holy Guard with a slap and then tossed it into the Secret Realm was reality.

When Theodore witnessed this scene, his heart jumped with alarm. All the Wizards present knew how troublesome the Holy Guards could be. Even an old Wizard like him, close to death’s door, could only manage to remain unbeaten by using Gravity Magic, yet Richard had dealt with a Holy Guard so effortlessly.

Such strength was truly frightening.

If Theodore was shocked, the other Wizards were even more so.

A Physique Wizard, standing four meters tall and covered in a chitinous shell, was also shaken by this sight.

He hadn’t expected Richard’s strength to be so formidable that he could dispose of a Holy Guard so easily.

This caused him to regret his enmity with Richard.

Having already made an enemy of Richard, obtaining the knowledge to counter the Holy Guard would undoubtedly cost him dearly.

And while he was slightly distracted, the Holy Guard seized the opportunity to exploit his weakness.

With a buzz, the Physique Wizard’s chest was suddenly cleaved open with a deep, charred wound so deep that even his heart was visible through the gash.

The other Wizards were shocked or delighted by this turn of events, and Mephit, who was closest to Richard, swiftly approached him, sending a Spiritual Message to Richard at the same time.

“Richard, I’ll give you one million Magic Essence plus the blueprints for the Tesla Model 9 Shield Guard Alchemy Puppet in exchange for the knowledge to beat this Armored Fire Lizard!”

Richard, who was in the middle of fleeing, suddenly turned back. A Three Rings Wizard really lived up to their name, making such a generous offer was frightening.

But the technique Richard used to defeat the Holy Guard was Giant Dragon Alchemy, an art he had extracted from the Scimitar.

He hadn’t studied it himself.

Right now, translating those skills into understandable written information was like a fool daydreaming.

“This is a special ability and cannot be traded for now. However, I can help you deal with this problem in exchange for the blueprints of the Tesla Model 9 Shield Guard Alchemy Puppet,” Richard immediately transmitted back.

“Special ability?”

Mephit’s heart sank, but hearing that Richard could help him solve the issue with the Armored Lizard, he instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Helping was also acceptable.

“Deal!”

Once the deal was struck, Richard immediately called Ulysses over to repeat the same tactic.

Ulysses temporarily trapped the Holy Guard while Richard used Alchemy to penetrate the interior of the Guard, sabotaging its structure.

As Richard destroyed most of the Guard’s internal structure, the Armor instantly stopped moving.

“Done!”

Richard exclaimed excitedly, about to open the Secret Realm Rift to throw this Holy Guard into the Secret Realm as well.

But before he could, he heard Ulysses cry out in panic:

“Gah, let go, this thing’s gonna self-destruct!”

With that, Ulysses quickly flew backward, grabbing Richard. Mephit, who also sensed something wrong with the Holy Guard, curled up into a ball with multiple layers of Magic Barriers enclosing him tightly in the center, like an onion.

Buzz!

Richard, still fleeing, suddenly experienced ringing in his ears.

Looking back, he saw radiant light seeping from the Holy Guard’s Armor, dazzling and piercing like the first glimmer of light that slices through the dark night, making him squint.

Then… Boom!

A thunderous explosion, accompanied by a blast wave powerful enough to blow people away, swept through the base. Large sections of buildings were toppled, and debris flew through the air like bullets.

Mephit, who was closest to the explosion, saw all his Magic Barriers shatter, and his runic-imbued elemental body was half melted away.

Fortunately, he survived.

The residual effects of the explosion caused both the Wizards and the Holy Guards to halt their actions.

The Wizards were shocked by the power of the Armor’s explosion, and lamented the loss of the Lost Relic, while the Holy Guards were filled with a single emotion – anger.

“Vengeance!” a Guard cried out.

The other Holy Guards began chanting in unison.

“Vengeance!”

“Vengeance!”

“Vengeance!”

The Holy Guard hadn’t suffered losses in many years, and the loss of two today was a great dishonor.

This shame had to be washed away with blood.

Blood ran from Richard’s ears, and all was silent around him.

He was deaf.

“Ulysses, use this.”

Richard tossed the scroll from Mephit to Ulysses, which temporarily gave the ability to use the Earth Escape Skill.

Ulysses caught the scroll: “Gah, what’s your plan?”

“We’re not going out the usual way; we’ll continue through the Magma Sea. You distract them, then meet in the Secret Realm.”

“Gah, got it.”

The next moment, the scroll was torn apart, and both of them entered the stone walls on the edge of the base, Richard and Ulysses split up in the magma layer, he had to follow the magma back to the Sea of Lava.

During this time, he had already memorized the map by heart; navigating the Sea of Lava, he could also return to the Wizard Control Area.

…

In the Sea of Lava, Richard dived quickly downward, all his Magic Equipment had been thrown into the Secret Realm, and right now, he felt like he was back to the days of studying and training in the Sea of Lava.

The dive lasted for three days, and Richard finally emerged from the complex network of molten rock into the Sea of Lava.

Here, Richard propped open the Magic Barrier and entered the Secret Realm.

Inside the Secret Realm, Ulysses was already leisurely enjoying the service of the Holy Tree Elves in the Bird Nest.

“How is the situation outside?” Richard asked curiously while taking a shower.

“Gah, it’s bad for you guys out there.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Gah, five of you Wizards died, and not even their souls made it out. Only that stone guy, the fire person, and that old man managed to escape.”

“That bad?” Richard exclaimed in shock. “Tell me more in detail.”

On the day Richard escaped through the magma network, Ulysses, thanks to the effect of the Magic Scroll, wildly dashed through the mountains, drawing the attention of the Fire Lizards.

Sure enough, not long afterward, the Holy Guard Army, by carving tunnels, found Ulysses in the rock walls.

Taking the opportunity, Ulysses bolted outside, only to see, outside the volcano, tens of thousands of Dragon Beast Knights already in formation, waiting for the Wizards to break through.

Realizing this, Ulysses quickly understood the situation.

“Well well, looks like the Wizards got duped this time, marshaling so many Dragon Beast Knights in such little time. The Wizards’ intelligence is always problematic.”

Mobilizing an army of tens of thousands is no easy task, from the moment Mephit was discovered to Ulysses breaking out of the volcano took less than fifteen minutes. In such a short span, the Dragon Beast Knights had already lined up outside the volcano; this clearly had been prepared in advance.

Upon seeing the Holy Guard emerge, Balashar’s heart sank.

As expected, the Holy Guard could not annihilate this group of Wizards.

“Prepare to throw spears,” Balashar ordered.

Seeing so many troops outside, Ulysses naturally would not foolishly charge; without Richard, he had plenty of ways to shake off the Holy Guard.

Suddenly, darkness enveloped him, and his entire figure disappeared into thin air as he slipped through the shadows and entered the Shadow Plane.

In this way, even the Holy Guard’s Armor could not trace Ulysses.

“He disappeared!” exclaimed the operator of the Armored Fire Lizard, astonished.

It was his first time encountering such an event.

Ulysses, who had entered the Shadow Plane, quietly observed the development of events through projections.

Mephit, the Flame Wizard, and the Physique Wizard didn’t go outside but decided to flee through the magma network. The remaining Theodore, Undead Wizard, Ghost Wizard, and another Shaping Wizard took the outside route.

Facing the army, the Wizards who chose to flee above ground had no choice but to charge. The Wizards’ escape plan was an overt strategy, and the best Balashar could do was to muster that many troops. The rest were acting as fire brigades in nearby provinces.

Therefore, if they broke through this encircling net, the Three Rings Wizards would be free as fish in the vast ocean, birds in the high sky, never again shackled.

Meanwhile, the Wizards who took the magma network were being hunted by the Holy Guard.

The Holy Guard seemed invulnerable in the magma, chasing the fleeing Wizards for two days. The Physique Wizard was killed by the Holy Guard and brought back, while the two Shaping Wizards managed to escape.

“Gah, by the way, when those Armored Fire Lizards were chasing the Wizards, the closest they got to you was less than five meters. I almost left the Shadow Plane to rescue you,” Ulysses said with a hint of emotion in his voice.

“Lucky for you, you were clinging onto a Flame Giant Beast, which made that Armored Fire Lizard overlook you.”

Richard was startled upon hearing this, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

He had simply been hitching a ride, eager to return quickly to the Sea of Lava, without realizing he had narrowly dodged a bullet by sheer coincidence.

“Huuh, looks like I’m pretty lucky,” Richard said somewhat relieved.

“What happened next?” he asked right away.

“Gah, do I really need to say the rest?” Ulysses cocked his head, “I already told you about the Wizards who survived. Besides that golem and the fire person, the four on the ground only that old man clearly made it out.”

Richard was stunned, not expecting the mission to result in the loss of five Three Rings Wizards.

The last action at the Mother Worm Temple had also resulted in the loss of just one Three Rings Wizard.

After this operation, the entire Luxor Province and several surrounding provinces’ Black Wizards operations would likely suffer a brief vacuum.

“Gah, I think you’d be better off not participating in these big activities anymore,” Ulysses mocked, “You’ve only been in two wars, and both times you were duped on these behind-enemy-lines missions.

For your safety, and for the safety of your fellow Wizards, I suggest you steer clear of these big activities.”

Richard was taken aback, then dismissed the idea nonchalantly:

“Just a coincidence.”

With that, he stepped from under the shower mushroom, approached the Holy Armor that had been placed by the World Mushroom in the corner of the Secret Realm.

“The person who planned this operation took a major hit, but it turned out to be a fortunate break for someone like me who joined halfway.”

The Holy Armor in front of him, although he had damaged many parts, the Power Furnace providing energy and the main control chip were intact.

These things were treasures!

Thinking of this, Richard couldn’t help but curl a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. However, the voice of the World Mushroom suddenly reverberated in his mind:

“Master, there has been a slight issue with this Armor since you threw it in here.

It seems to have… self-destructed.”

Richard’s smile froze instantly.