Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 462 - 7 Fortress 192

Richard hadn’t noticed that a few kilometers away, a squad of Black Wizards had witnessed the entire scene of his extermination of the Mayfly swarm.

The Snake King, having broken through the limits of Physique to become half a World Master, was comparable in strength even to Delis at his peak.

Just the toughness of its body was enough to keep the Mayfly swarm at bay for a while.

And as the Snake King drew the attention of the Mayfly swarm, the Fire Lizard Warriors behind him erupted in a sudden burst of action.

Although the upgrade of their armor had not been completely finished, after all, a batch had been completed. A hundred Fire Lizard Warriors simultaneously wielded Spirit Hammers that had been outfitted with Mountain Heart Runes, instantly shattering the Mayfly swarm’s outer mental network into pieces.

Seizing this opportunity, Richard tore through the Mayflies’ outer defenses, and a full-load Radiation Gathering Cannon instantly turned the Mayfly General into nothingness.

Each step of the entire process was closely connected; if any part had gone wrong, the battle would have been prolonged by tens of times.

With the beheading completed, it was time to collect the spoils of war.

The Snake King opened its vast mouth, like a mythical beast devouring the world. With a fierce inhalation, hundreds of Mayflies were sucked into its belly.

Ulysses, not to be outdone, shone with a layer of majestic Holy Light, speaking to the scattering Mayfly swarm, "You cannot fly here."

In the next instant, many Mayflies were frozen in the air like stones, then struggled as they fell towards the ground.

The Fire Lizard Warriors were also dispatching the fleeing Mayflies at this moment, wielding Annihilation Guns and indiscriminately firing Annihilation Bombs into the swarm—Annihilation Bombs weren’t expensive, so the Fire Lizards naturally weren’t stingy.

The Fire Lizards slowly moved their gun barrels, and each press of the trigger sent dozens of Annihilation Bombs that turned a small Mayfly swarm into nothing.

Dynamic vision combined with nerve reflex modifications meant these Fire Lizard Warriors only needed a bit of training to become excellent sharpshooters.

Not to mention, the Annihilation Gun had no recoil.

In a span of forty-five seconds, not a single one from this hundred-thousand-level Mayfly swarm escaped from Richard’s clutches.

Ulysses opened a Space Rift, allowing the Fire Lizard Warriors and the Snake King to return to the Secret Realm.

Immediately afterward, they moved rapidly toward the direction of Fortress 192.

Although their actions were unlikely to attract the attention of a large Mayfly force, in the battlefield of civilization, it was better to be cautious.

And shortly after Richard left, a half-million-level Mayfly swarm passed through the aftermath of their battle.

Had they hesitated even slightly, the swarm would have detected their presence.

...

Outside Fortress 192, Black Wizards belonging to Richard’s squad were undergoing an inspection by White Wizards.

There were many subspecies of Galaxy Mayflies, and Fortress 192 had once encountered a kind that could control the minds of Wizards.

They adhered to the Wizards, posing as passing Black Wizards, attempting to infiltrate and coordinate inside out to breach the Fortress. Fortunately, they were not very familiar with Wizard habits and revealed some flaws, allowing Fortress 192 to continue existing.

But before the inspection was complete, a black dot appeared in the distance.

The black dot gradually expanded, eventually manifesting into a black-robed Wizard riding a Dragon Beast.

"What are you all doing?"

Richard arrived at the Fortress on a Dragon Beast and, seeing his team hadn’t gone directly into the Fortress, asked in puzzlement.

"Sir, we’re just performing routine procedures," a White Wizard eagerly explained the situation with the Mayflies when Richard inquired.

Richard nodded slightly after listening; it was reasonable to be cautious during unusual times.

Stowing the Dragon Beast into the Secret Realm, Richard also submitted to the inspection, without seeking any special treatment.

The White Wizards’ inspection was thorough, starting with a simple physical examination to ensure no Mayflies were clinging to the body. Then a deeper investigation followed, with the White Wizards preparing a device similar to a CT machine to check if Wizards were harboring Parasitic Mayflies internally.

Although a Wizard’s spiritual power could perform similar checks, and more conveniently and quickly, Mayflies themselves were masters of spiritual power, and relying on spiritual power could easily be deceived by them.

There was also supposed to be a mental inspection, but Richard’s spiritual power had reached the limits of a Three Rings Wizard, so the Second Ring Wizards’ inspection was essentially ineffective on him, and it was very unlikely that he was parasitized, so this check was skipped.

After the inspection, everyone entered the Fortress without issues. To Richard’s surprise, the Fortress Commander personally came out to meet him.

A short, stout, solid man opened his arms to Richard, "I am Rico, Commander of Fortress 192. I’m very pleased to meet you, Master."

Richard felt something was amiss with the Commanders’ personal greeting. By all accounts, he should have been the one seeking the Commander of the Fortress.

While he and the Fortress Commander were technically of the same rank, his actual standing on the battlefield was lower than that of the Fortress Commander.

"I am Richard. I didn’t expect we’d alarm the Commander as well; I’m genuinely sorry," Richard responded.

Rico laughed warmly, "Ah, it is my honor to greet a figure such as yourself, Master."

Hearing this, Richard’s thoughts spun like electricity, quickly understanding why the Fortress Commander had come to meet him.

His extermination of the Mayfly swarm had probably been seen by the patrolling Black Wizards.

"It’s just a little trick, hardly worth mentioning," Richard played down the feat.

The two embraced, and Richard was somewhat surprised to discover that Rico, the Fortress Commander, was a Wizard who pursued Physique Evolution.

Rico’s Physique was even higher than his.

Upon entering the Fortress, the two began to discuss the recent state of the war.

"The Master is going to another Fortress to reinforce the troops?" Rico asked casually.

"Yes," Richard nodded slightly.

"It’s not easy for the Master," Rico sighed softly, "spanning thousands of miles to reinforce troops; who knows how many Mayflies you’ll encounter along the way.

If you encounter one of those larger tribes, even a formidable person like the Master might face more danger than luck."

"Tribes?" Richard noticed the word Rico used.

"It’s the Mayfly colonies; I’m just speaking loosely," Rico explained. "According to our research here, these Mayflies are not a united front; each Mayfly subspecies constitutes a separate tribe."

Richard nodded slightly: "Indeed, I’ve heard similar conclusions in other Fortresses. These Mayfly subspecies not only aren’t a united front but also have contradictions between different subspecies."

"We’ve noticed that too," Rico nodded.

After saying this, his tone suddenly changed.

"Master, your feat is already known to us. Facing off against a swarm of hundred-thousand-level Mayflies alone— that’s more impressive than our White Wizard Army. If the Master returns like this, you’re certain to become a Great Wizard..."

"Commander, there’s no need for such flattery," Richard interrupted. "What do you want to ask of me?"

"Haha, then I’ll speak directly," Rico laughed, then stated his request.

"I’d like to ask the Master to help clear out a Mayfly colony near the Fortress. They were discovered a week ago, rampaging around here. Although we could solve the issue, doing so would require deploying nearly all the defenders, so it’s been left until now.

But with the Master’s help, I certainly can’t let this colony of Mayflies live any longer."

Hearing Rico’s request, Richard furrowed his brows.

A White Wizard Fortress garrisoned by a Wizard Army of five thousand— even the Snake King would only flee from an army of such magnitude.

And yet that Mayfly colony required such a force to be eradicated.

This request was indeed dangerous.

Seeing Richard hesitate, Rico continued: "Don’t worry, this favor will definitely not go unrewarded. We’ve managed to create a kind of gemstone using these Mayflies’ bodies. This gemstone we’ve found has effects that can enhance spiritual defense and resist Mind Control.

If the Master is willing to help, I can directly give you this knowledge. I can also give the Master a batch of these gemstones."

The compensation proposed by Rico was somewhat enticing to Richard.

For an Alchemy Wizard, a new material is undoubtedly an unexplored goldmine. With some luck, a new material could lead to the creation of a peerless artifact.

However, he did not immediately agree.

"I need to think this over; I’ll give you an answer in six hours."

Six hours is the time for a Wizard to undergo a moderate meditation, and although Richard’s team had not engaged in combat, the long-span exertion of spiritual power also resulted in significant spiritual power depletion.

Therefore, undergoing a moderate meditation to restore spiritual power to fullness was essential.

"Alright, take your time to consider it," Rico said without pressing Richard to make a decision. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

After arranging a room for Richard, Rico hurriedly left.

In the room, Richard opened the Secret Realm Rift and entered the Secret Realm.

Within the Secret Realm, Ulysses, the Snake King, and Hog, who was just making up the numbers, were all studying the Mayflies they had just acquired.

These Mayflies were also a subspecies; they were entirely black and had some ability to shield against probing by spiritual power. Perhaps this was why Squad Nine had not discovered them in a timely manner.

"Have you discovered anything?" Richard approached and asked.

"There’s a bit of a finding," Ulysses held a sealed Mayfly in the air, "This Mayfly’s body fluid... no, what is that stuff on you?"

"Hmm?"

Richard swept with his spirit and did not find anything on him.

"Don’t use spiritual power, that thing is on the collar of your neck."

Ulysses flapped his wings, and a breeze swept across Richard’s neck.

He hung the object taken from Richard’s neck in mid-air; Richard saw that it was a transparent insect egg even smaller than a sesame seed.

"Eh? When did I get an egg on me?"

Richard was somewhat astonished by the egg, as all his travels had been on plains with scarcely grass, let alone coming into contact with insect eggs.

"This seems to be one of those Mayflies’ eggs," Ulysses said uncertainly after a long look, "We found something similar inside the stomach of a female Mayfly."

"Then it’s probably blown over by the wind," Richard said offhand.

The insect egg appeared exceedingly small, floating with the wind seemed rather normal.

Having placed the egg in a test tube safely, they continued discussing the Mayflies.