Entering the forest, Richard ran wildly, covering dozens of kilometers.
Finally, after confirming that no Third Circle Wizard was pursuing him, Richard stopped and said to Makar beside him, "Send them a message to come over. We need to lay low for a while."
When designing the Mechanist Type I Individual Armor, Richard naturally did not forget to install a communication device and a map.
The component responsible for this function was also the most expensive part of the entire individual armor.
This component was purchased directly from another Wizard Chamber of Commerce by Richard, costing a staggering ten thousand Magic Essence.
The device was integrated into a palm-sized box, which could communicate and serve as a tracking beacon through an external Alchemy Array.
Moreover, its range was extremely far, reaching up to five hundred kilometers.
According to Richard's understanding, such devices were generally used on advanced Alchemy Golems.
These puppets often possessed a certain level of autonomous intelligence, allowing Wizards to check their locations and send commands over distances.
After about ten minutes, a rustling sound came from the forest.
Three towering steel giants, over three meters tall, walked through the woods without making a sound. As they moved, Richard could only hear the faint sound of leaves brushing against their armored shells.
"Sir, what are your orders?"
The three steel giants approached Richard and bowed their heads to ask.
Richard waved his hand, "We just pulled off a big job, so we need to keep a low profile for a while."
With that, Richard took out a hand-drawn map from his pocket and began selecting a hiding spot.
If all went well, elite Wizards returning from the front lines would conduct a thorough search around the Meteor Academy, focusing on the surrounding mountains and hills.
However, Richard felt uncertain about playing hide and seek with such a group of elite Black Wizards.
After thinking for an hour, Richard hesitated but ultimately decided to venture out.
At this moment, he couldn't think about the idea that the most dangerous place was the safest. The Black Wizards were all ruthless individuals who had fought their way out from behind enemy lines; such simple reverse psychology was useless against them. Hiding near the Meteor Academy would only increase the difficulty of escaping if discovered.
Unless Richard could be even more counterintuitive and hide directly within the Meteor Wizard Academy.
Otherwise, it was best to stay as far away as possible.
Having chosen a location, Richard turned to leave.
But just as he was about to turn around, a faint rumble echoed from afar.
Richard sprang to his feet and squinted. Through the gaps in the leaves, he saw a sudden burst of flames erupting from the Meteor Wizard Academy, with a mushroom cloud glowing red in the sky.
Richard revealed a smug smile before turning to leave.
"That firework is quite nice."
...
"How is the damage to the communication tower?"
In front of the communication tower, Chris Ping looked at the collapsed structure with a gloomy expression, remaining silent.
Beside him, Zike remained remarkably calm.
Before them, the second tallest building of the Meteor Academy, the communication tower, had its lower half completely collapsed, the terrifying explosion instantly destroying it.
Thanks to the protection of two Third Circle Wizards, the upper half of the tower remained largely intact.
An Alchemist Wizard flew out from the upper half of the tower. After glancing at Chris Ping's dark expression, he quickly approached Zike to report on the tower's condition.
"Vice Dean, the core equipment of the communication tower is still intact, and the damage is not severe, but…"
The Alchemist Wizard hesitated.
"But what?"
Zike smiled at the Wizard, his tone showing no signs of anger due to the explosion.
"But the foundational equipment and functional lines of the tower have been completely destroyed. Rebuilding these will likely take several years."
Upon hearing this, Chris Ping's face darkened as if he could drip water from it.
But Zike remained unperturbed, saying, "Isn't that good? It will take a few years to repair, and the Academy War lasts fifty years."
With that, Zike waved his hand, signaling the Alchemist Wizard to attend to his own matters, and turned to lead Chris Ping away from the scene.
Back at the Core Wizard Tower, Chris Ping could no longer contain his anger.
In the office, his voice roared like a giant dragon.
"Shame! Utter shame! A few Wizards actually infiltrated our academy, brazenly placing alchemical bombs in our communication tower! And our patrols, our Third Circle Wizards stationed at the tower! They didn't react at all!
Not a single reaction!"
Chris Ping vented his fury, while Zike quietly observed, neither advising against it nor joining in.
This tirade lasted nearly half an hour.
Finally, with a hoarse voice, Chris Ping slumped into a chair in the laboratory, his eyes bloodshot.
"Have you finished cursing?" Zike said淡淡道.
Chris Ping suddenly looked at Zike, his voice filled with gritted teeth as he asked, "Master Zike, aren't you the least bit angry?"
Zike shook his head, "Angry? Why should I be angry?
Our measures were in place. The fact that they could break in shows their capabilities; there's nothing to be angry about.
Have you finished drafting the retreat list? If it's ready, send someone to notify the front lines.
The communication tower will take some time to repair, so we need to find a reliable messenger for this period."
Chris Ping looked at Zike, his expression gradually calming down.
Indeed, he was still too inexperienced.
"Not yet. I think I need to draft a new list." A glint of cold light flashed in Chris Ping's eyes. "This shame must be washed away with blood!"
Zike frowned slightly, "Before you draft the list, I must say one thing.
When drafting the list, be sure to consider the situation on the front lines. You can curse privately, but do not let your emotions influence your decisions."
Chris Ping nodded slightly, "Master, rest assured, I know my limits."
"By the way, Master Laikate has gone after them." Chris Ping seemed to remember something and spoke again.
Zike was taken aback, then a helpless smile appeared on his face.
"That guy Laikate is still as hot-tempered as ever. I'll notify him shortly to tone it down."
...
Outside the Meteor Wizard Academy, Laikate, resembling a Flame Giant, hovered in the air, his immense mental power scanning the surroundings like a high-frequency radar, taking in every detail of the flora and fauna around him.
Below him, in the dense forest, the unlucky Kayan dared not even breathe as he looked up at the Flame Giant in the sky.
Kayan, a well-known Second Circle Wizard among the Black Tower Wizard Academy, had a legendary tale that began during his Wizard Apprentice days. During his entrance exam, a low-level synthetic beast released into the experimental area had gone out of control.
A low-level apprentice-level synthetic beast exploded in the experimental area due to rejection reactions.
This caused the deaths of over thirty preparatory apprentices, and Kayan was one of them.
However, he was positioned right at the edge of the explosion's power, losing only half an arm and going blind in one eye.
At that time, the academy's entrance exam included an activity where Crystal Balls could be exchanged for Magic Stones, and Kayan successfully earned his first pot of gold from the synthetic beast's self-detonation.
After entering the academy, Kayan's apprentice journey was not exactly smooth, but it was certainly fraught with challenges.
Experiments that had a ninety-nine percent success rate often failed in his hands, and this misfortune did not stop with him; any Wizard Apprentice who got close to him would also be "blessed" by this misfortune.
From daily life to bloody exams, everyone near him faced continuous bad luck, regardless of whether they held malice or goodwill towards Kayan.
In this daily life filled with life-and-death crises, Kayan honed a solid foundation in both practice and theory.
Misfortune could cause experiments with a ninety-nine percent chance of success to fail, but it could not make a one-hundred percent successful experiment fail.
Eventually, Kayan became a Wizard.
In the Plane War, any task he undertook, no matter how safe it seemed at the end, would become extremely dangerous. The command center's ratings based on intelligence were worthless in the face of his luck.
Fortunately, in the Plane War, gains and risks coexisted. Although most of the benefits would be destroyed due to his misfortune during each crisis, he still managed to obtain a portion of rewards that exceeded those of ordinary Wizards, allowing his strength to grow faster and become more formidable.
This was also the reason Kayan was still alive.
Finally, the searching Flame Giant moved away from above Kayan.
But even after it left, Kayan remained motionless, still in a concealed state.
Having fought against misfortune for years, Kayan was acutely aware of his situation. He could guarantee that as long as he made any move, Laikate, who had just left, would immediately return.
As if to confirm his suspicion, a powerful mental force swept over his body again. If he had dared to move just now, he would have certainly been discovered by the Third Circle Wizard.
After half a day, Kayan finally confirmed that Laikate had gone far away.
He quickly emerged from his hiding spot and peeled off five layers of Magic Equipment cloaks, each possessing various concealment abilities. These cloaks ranged from aura masking to existence fading, optical invisibility, and mental shielding, covering all bases.
Misfortune could cause low-probability events to occur, but it could not make impossible events happen.
Just as he removed the cloaks, he sensed a terrifying creature approaching him from a distance.
Without a doubt, it was Laikate, who was hunting him down.
Moreover, this time Laikate was not only closing in rapidly but was also continuously bombarding the dense forest below with spells.
Large swathes of the forest were ignited, and the wild beasts within were fleeing in a frenzy.
The wrath of a Third Circle Wizard was akin to a natural disaster for them.
"Damn it, I only killed a few Wizards! Can't they take a joke?"
Kayan cursed and immediately began to flee in the opposite direction, which happened to lead him straight to Richard's hiding spot.
It seemed that Lady Luck was lifting her skirt for Kayan.
(End of Chapter)