Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

Chapter 275: Chapter 59: As the thought of casting spells arises, the world suddenly feels more expansive.

“Looking for me?”

The captain’s face shifted between light and shadow as he listened to the first mate’s message.

What did the Wizard want?

The captain was not blinded by hatred. In the battle of life and death, all the Fire Lizards who longed for revenge and glory had perished on the battlefield.

Those involved in the Ember Plan, each was a person whose rationality outweighed their emotions.

They bore the responsibility of inheriting the legacy of the Fire Lizard Clan and could not afford the slightest impulsivity.

But after thinking for a long time, the captain still couldn’t fathom what Richard was up to.

Wizards seeking slaves would typically beat them half to death and then throw them into a slave sack. If a Wizard wanted information, they would beat a Fire Lizard half to death and then interrogate them with Soul Magic.

If the Wizard desired wealth or specimens, it was even simpler; there was no need to control the force and beat them halfway—just killing them outright would suffice.

The captain really couldn’t figure out what Richard would want with him.

Thump, thump, thump!

Suddenly, the door to the captain’s quarters was knocked upon.

“Captain sir, I believe we can have a conversation.”

The captain’s face stiffened; the Wizard had arrived at his cabin door without a sound, and he hadn’t noticed at all.

The captain nodded to the first mate, who, with a tense expression, approached the door to open it, while the captain drew his scimitar, ready to act at any sign of trouble.

Creak!

Perhaps due to a lack of lubrication, or perhaps because the first mate was a bit too nervous, thus applying too much strength unintentionally.

When the door to the captain’s quarters opened, the hinges made a piercing noise.

And in the highly tense atmosphere, the captain instinctively struck.

His Black Gold Scimitar suddenly erupted in golden flames, with all the energy in the room being drawn into the blade, rushing like rivers into the sea, causing the golden flames to surge like a volcanic eruption.

Wind aided the fire’s ferocity!

Ting!

The scimitar sliced through the air, leaving a clear trail as it struck straight into the metallic wall of the captain’s quarters, sinking in completely.

The captain stared blankly at his scimitar. At the blade’s pointed direction, a dark Crow Claw had thwarted its path.

“Captain sir, this welcome ceremony is rather impolite, isn’t it?”

The captain looked towards the door and saw a Wizard in a black Wizard Robe standing quietly, watching him, and on his shoulder, a black crow retracted its claws.

A thought suddenly flashed through the captain’s mind.

Incontestable.

“Wizard, what do you want with me?” the captain asked somewhat stiffly.

He knew he couldn’t defeat the Wizard, but as a Fire Lizard, he couldn’t bring himself to grovel before the Wizard.

At least not now.

“Let’s talk about the fate of you and your crew,” Richard replied indifferently.

“Fate?”

“Yes, your fate from now on depends entirely on yourselves.”

Richard took out a Soul Contract from his pocket and handed it to the captain.

“Sign this, and you can live; don’t sign, and you all must die.”

The captain took the contract and glanced at its contents.

The text of the contract was written in Fire Lizard script and adorned with the elegance of noble silver horns; it was hard to imagine that these words came from a Wizard’s hand.

The contents of the contract were simple; in brief, once they signed the contract, they would be native employees of the Richard Jolod Wizard Commerce.

As employees, they would need to abide by the company’s regulations, and if they violated the rules, the Wizard would impose punishment as per the content of the regulations.

Most of the contract was about the company’s policies, which, to the captain, seemed remarkably lenient.

Any Fire Lizard noble would have rules and punishments for their servants ten times stricter.

The contract even stipulated that a Fire Lizard only needed to work eight hours, which was ludicrous; even Fire Lizards would not set such lenient rules for their own kind.

If it were so among their own, how could a Wizard set such rules for Fire Lizards?

The captain put down the contract, his voice a bit rough:

“Wizard, not a bad joke.”

“Joke?” Richard laughed and shook his head, “This is no joke. The contract you have to sign is indeed this one.

Let me add, signing this contract is akin to what you call a ‘Soul Oath,’ quite binding.”

The captain looked coldly at Richard: “You mean to say you plan to employ us, and then have us work eight hours a day out of twenty-four, even granting a day of rest every six days?

During this, you will provide us with food and accommodation, and if we perform well, we may even dine on Flame Giant Beast Meat.

Moreover, if a Fire Lizard works for a certain number of years, you will even grant him freedom…”

The captain recited the contents of the contract point by point. As he spoke, an icy laugh escaped him with each line.

Believing that a Wizard would treat Fire Lizards so well was more implausible than believing that the Fire Lizard King would return like lightning tomorrow, sweep through the Wizards, march right into the Wizard’s homeland, and enslave their entire race.

At least the latter thought was more exhilarating.

“I repeat once again, this contract is real. Indeed, this is what you have to sign,” Richard said impatiently.

The captain’s attitude did not surprise Richard; in fact, quite a few of the Fire Lizards under him had the same reaction upon seeing the contract.

Richard’s terms were too good, they seemed like a joke.

Yet some were smart enough to see the hidden traps in the contract.

Take the most attractive aspect of freedom, for instance.

The freedom promised by Richard would indeed be realized, but by that time, the Fire Lizard would have been squeezed dry of all remaining value by Richard. Fire Lizards of that age were of no use to Richard, and granting them freedom was actually a rather good option.

This practice seemed quite unscrupulous to Richard.

But when comparing evils, the method of squeezing out the remaining value and then discarding it appeared quite humane next to the wizard’s and even the fire lizard’s standard,

after all, it allowed the fire lizard to live until the day it held no value.

The captain stared at Richard for a long time, realizing that the wizard before him was not joking.

Is this contract for real?

The captain brought the contract to his eyes again, painstakingly reading over the fire lizard script one word at a time. He even scrutinized the patterns along the edges of the contract, fearful that Richard had disguised the text as decoration and hidden it within.

Coming from Merrick’s Shield, the captain, who often dealt with wizards, was naturally familiar with the Soul Contracts used by wizards to enslave fire lizards and could discern their authenticity.

The contract before his eyes was indeed genuine.

“Why,” the captain put the contract down, “wizard, why would you do this?”

The captain, with his feudal noble mindset, racked his brains but couldn’t understand why Richard would offer these terms.

“Fire lizard, I have already explained enough,” Richard replied calmly, “If you keep asking such foolish questions, I’ll feed you to my crow.”

Upon hearing this, Ulysses looked somewhat eagerly at the captain, his greedy gaze sending shivers down the captain’s spine.

This crow had set its sights on him.

The captain took in a deep breath, knowing he had to make a choice now.

Was he to sign the contract, or become food for that crow?

As a fire lizard, he harbored a deep-seated hatred for wizards. Yet, his reason told him that hatred wouldn’t solve anything.

The wizard would not die because of his hatred, nor would his crew live on because of it.

The Fire Lizard Clan was on the brink of extinction; every free fire lizard was now incredibly precious.

They carried the responsibility of passing on the culture of the Fire Lizard Clan!

Moreover, the wizard had promised freedom in the contract, and the terms he offered were quite favorable; under this wizard, they might live even better than in the “New World.”

Once a Soul Contract was signed, it could not be changed; if they signed, the wizard would be bound to fulfill the terms.

With these thoughts, the captain steeled his heart and made his decision.

“Give me a pen.”

Richard nodded with a smile,

“Yes, you’ve made the correct choice. The legacy of the fire lizard shall continue because of your decision.”

The captain, gripping the pen, signed his name on the contract with difficulty.

He repeatedly told himself that this was for the sake of the fire lizard’s legacy.

However, he deliberately overlooked something.

His ship wasn’t the last of the fire lizards; their extinction wouldn’t hinder the continuation of the Fire Lizard Clan.

The captain didn’t want to admit that he was afraid of dying.

But that didn’t stop this from being a correct decision.

Because Richard had already discovered their trace, it was only a matter of time before the “New World” was found.

If the leaders of the New World didn’t make the right decision, extinction awaited them.

As his name was completed, the contract burst into flames and vanished into the air.

An intangible connection now linked Richard and the captain. Richard’s face beamed with a smile as he pulled out a stack of Soul Contracts from his pocket.

“Captain, the rest is up to you now.”

The captain, taking the contracts, now had no psychological burden, or rather, there was no turning back.

“Yes, Lord Richard.”

…

An hour later, the captain returned to his cabin with several unused contracts.

“Lord, there were five fire lizards that refused to sign the contracts; I’ve dealt with them.”

Richard nodded, putting the spare contracts back into his pocket.

“Good, I’ll do some repairs on this ship for you. You ought to have sea charts, right? Prepare to set sail to your headquarters soon.”

The captain tensed up, asking with a slightly faltering voice,

“Lord, I’m a bit confused by your words?”

“Confused?” Richard looked at the captain, his smiling face appearing to the captain like the devil’s sinister grin.

“Why do you think I would come to the Deep Sea of the Molten Sea?”

A chill coursed from the captain’s tail to his crown.

Indeed, why would a wizard come here to the depths of the Molten Sea?

The captain stiffly looked up at Richard,

“Lord, did you come specifically to find us?”

Richard nodded with a smile,

“I have been searching this sea area for you for three years now. If it weren’t for your appearance, I might have had to spend more time.

But none of this matters anymore.”

Yes, none of it mattered.

What mattered was that the wizard now knew they had fled to the Deep Sea of the Molten Sea.

Richard patted the captain, speaking earnestly,

“Captain, you should be thankful that it was I who found you. Had it been other wizards, you wouldn’t have had even the chance to be enslaved.”

The captain collapsed to the floor, mumbling tremulously,

“The flame, it’s extinguished.”