"So this is how things went down?"
Richard rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache as he looked at the two Wizards before him, their bodies covered in magic suppression nails.
Just a moment ago, Richard was pondering whether the roasted meat was ready, so he put down the wild boar skin he was working on and prepared to step out for a bite.
As soon as he emerged, he saw four Fire Lizards feasting heartily, along with two Wizards lying on the ground, half-dead.
"So why didn't you call me?"
Richard turned to Makar. Although there was no designated leader in their team, Makar was the most familiar with him among the four Fire Lizards, and he was also the calmest and most formidable in battle.
Thus, the other three Fire Lizards generally looked to Makar for guidance.
Now that such a big incident had occurred, it was only natural for Richard to question Makar.
"My lord, you said not to disturb you unless it was an emergency," Makar replied innocently. "This Wizard wasn't followed by any other Wizards, so it wasn't difficult for us to take him down."
Richard glanced at the Wizard, Laikate, who was on fire, with his limbs severed and mouth stuffed. His lips twitched slightly.
Indeed, he was just a Third Circle Shaping Wizard, and the hunting team was most restrained against Shaping Wizards.
That layer of armor capable of resisting six thousand energy levels was enough to leave any Shaping Wizard with insufficient knowledge in despair.
Moreover, according to Makar's description, this Wizard looked down on them.
This only increased his chances of failure.
"Then you should have informed me," Richard complained.
Makar looked even more innocent.
"My lord, I notified you twice, and both times you gave the same response, without even changing your tone. How can you say I didn't inform you?"
Listening to Makar's words, Richard finally realized.
This guy had taken his voicemail as a personal response.
Richard couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "That was a voicemail; I had no idea you were knocking on the door.
Sigh, forget it. This matter is my fault; next time I will give you more options."
After saying that, Richard approached Kayang.
"Come over and take a good look; this Wizard Kayang is not our enemy. Don't make the same mistake next time."
With that, Richard flicked his fingers, and the magic suppression nails flew out from Kayang's body.
Once the nails were removed, a violent wave of Magic Power surged from within Kayang. The blood holes left by the nails immediately gushed forth like a fountain.
Seeing this, Richard quickly called out, "Makar, get Master Kayang a piece of roasted meat. Look at what you've done; Master Kayang is in such a state."
Kayang raised his hand to cast a healing spell on himself, then weakly got up from the ground and performed a Wizard salute to Richard.
"There's no need for such formality, Master. If it weren't for your help, I would have probably died by now."
Richard discreetly took a few steps back, distancing himself from this rumored unlucky fellow.
"It was just a small effort, nothing to mention."
Noticing Richard's movement, Kayang awkwardly chuckled, "Haha, don't be nervous, Master. Based on my years of experience, every time I suffer a great disaster, my bad luck tends to normalize for a while.
During this time, neither I nor those around me will have any misfortunes."
Richard was somewhat skeptical, but out of caution, he still did not approach Kayang.
Makar brought a large piece of roasted meat to Kayang. Although Kayang showed a reluctant expression, he did not resist at all.
He indeed needed something to heal his injuries.
After resolving Kayang's situation, Richard moved to Laikate's side.
However, this time, Richard did not remove the magic suppression nails; he merely took the stone out of Laikate's mouth.
"May I ask how to address you, Master? I remember that our two parties have no deep-seated grudges. We haven't touched your Core Wizard Tower, so why did you chase us down?"
Upon hearing this, Laikate instantly erupted in anger.
"How dare you say that! Taking a third-level creature as a slave and equipping it with such good Magic Equipment.
Is this what you call having no deep-seated grudges?"
Richard remained unfazed, his tone calm. "I think you might be mistaken, Master.
These four Fire Lizards are my private property, not borrowed from any other Wizard or sold to me at a low price.
Using them is within the rules."
Laikate sneered, "You have the audacity to say such nonsense! Who do you think you are?
On the market, a third-level creature can fetch fifty thousand Magic Essence. You have four, which amounts to two hundred thousand Magic Essence.
As a second-circle Wizard, tell me, how did you acquire this two hundred thousand Magic Essence?
Or do you want to tell me that you captured these creatures without spending a single penny?"
Richard remained calm, even a strange smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Master, you truly deserve to be a Third Circle Wizard; your wisdom is indeed unfathomable, and you guessed right that I captured these Fire Lizards."
Hearing Richard's words, Laikate was momentarily dumbfounded.
He was shocked that there was indeed such a shameless person in the world.
A second-circle Wizard capturing four third-level Fire Lizards—such nonsense was something even a drunken fool in a tavern wouldn't dare to utter.
Seeing Laikate's disbelief, Richard added, "Of course, if you don't believe me, I can also say that I bought them. After all, I can afford two hundred thousand Magic Essence."
This left Laikate even more astonished.
How could there be such a Wizard? One boast wasn't enough; he had to add another to satisfy himself? Seeing that Laikate still didn't believe him, Richard changed the subject and asked an unrelated question.
"Do you have any friends among the White Wizards?"
Laikate was momentarily taken aback by the question.
"Yes, why?"
Richard nodded, "Then you must have heard of the Magic Support Vehicle."
Laikate nodded again.
"I've heard of it."
Seeing that Laikate had heard of it, Richard couldn't help but break into a smug smile.
"Then you must know that this Magic Support Vehicle is very popular among the White Wizard Legion, and various White Wizard Legions are placing orders, right?"
Laikate began to catch on, "What are you trying to say? Are you implying that this thing is your creation? You are the Richard Jolod from the merchant association?"
Richard nodded in satisfaction.
"Your wisdom is indeed vast, Master; you guessed it."
Kayang, who had been listening, stopped eating the roasted meat.
What the hell, am I turning my luck around? Not only is the crisis resolved, but I've also encountered such a big shot.
His Alchemy skills were quite good.
Laikate looked at Richard with a cold smile, wanting to see how long Richard would keep up the act.
But as time passed, Richard never announced that it was a joke.
Laikate's expression became somewhat stiff. After all, Richard was a president; how could he be sent out to carry out such a dangerous task...
He suddenly glanced at the few creatures nearby that were devouring meat.
With these guys around, this task didn't seem so dangerous after all.
But he still had some doubts.
"Is it true just because you say so? Do you have any evidence?"
Richard didn't say much; he pulled out a black scroll from his pocket and opened it in front of Laikate.
This was the merchant association scroll that Jolod had given Richard back in the day, and it was the first time it had been put to use in all these years.
Seeing the Tower of Truth's Magic Power seal on the scroll, Laikate had no choice but to believe it.
Damn it, the only second-circle Wizard in this battle who could pose a significant threat to a Third Circle Wizard just happened to run into him as soon as he stepped out!
Richard smiled and asked, "So, I didn't lie, did I?"
Laikate nodded, somewhat dejected.
Richard indeed hadn't broken any rules; although he was a second-circle Wizard, his wealth surpassed that of some Third Circle Wizards.
Such a person among second-circle Wizards was like a dimensional strike.
"Since you acknowledge it, then our little misunderstanding is cleared up. Now, let's get down to business."
With that, Richard rubbed his hands together, and the smile on his face seemed to shine with golden light... the light of gold.
"What price do you plan to set to redeem yourself, Master?"
Laikate was momentarily taken aback, then quickly understood Richard's intentions.
A Third Circle Wizard is a backbone in any academy; these Wizards usually manage the academy, and during wars, they are also crucial forces.
Currently, there was no deep-seated grudge between the two parties; losing a few first and second-circle Wizards was nothing significant. However, if a Third Circle Wizard were to die, it would undoubtedly lead the war situation in an uncontrollable direction.
It would be foolish for the tacit understanding between both sides to turn into a meat grinder.
Of course, this didn't mean Laikate could be complacent.
Although Richard didn't plan to kill him, he could still imprison him. With Richard's strength, returning to the Black Tower Academy wouldn't be difficult, and he could hand him over to the Wizards of the Black Tower Academy.
Not to mention, the face of the Meteor Academy would be utterly ruined.
Laikate's mind raced, and he knew he had to pay a price.
And Richard before him was clearly someone who didn't lack Magic Stones; using Magic Essence as ransom was obviously not feasible.
Moreover, he had only recently advanced to Third Circle Wizard, and he had a pile of research projects that required Magic Essence.
He couldn't produce much Magic Essence to pay the ransom.
In this case, he could only pay with knowledge.
For Wizards, knowledge and Magic Essence are both hard currencies.
After thinking for a long time, something suddenly flashed through Laikate's mind.
Then he confidently said, "I have a blueprint for a Tesla Type VII Shield Alchemy Golem; this price should be sufficient, right?"
"…"
Looking at the silent Richard, Laikate's heart sank.
"Huh? Is this puppet's blueprint very common?" Richard asked curiously.
"What do you mean?"
Richard replied nonchalantly, "I have a blueprint for a Tesla Type IX Shield Alchemy Golem; Master should consider something else."
Now Laikate was in a dilemma.
The results of his hard work were something he was reluctant to part with. However, the knowledge he inherited was somewhat lacking.
After thinking for a while, Laikate said in a heavy voice, "What do you want? I have plenty of knowledge to offer; perhaps I have what you need."
"What I want?"
Richard stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.
He didn't seem to have any particular knowledge he wanted, but if he had to say, what he needed most right now was a cheap, stable power source.
The Staven Wraith Power Furnace would definitely be used as a power source for high-level armor in the future; after all, this thing involves rules, and no matter how skilled Richard's technology is, he can't mass-produce such a power furnace before becoming a Great Wizard.
But Richard still planned to make the armor affordable and streamlined.
In this case, a cheap and stable power source became very important.
"Does Master have any knowledge related to power sources? Preferably something simple."
Upon hearing Richard's request, Laikate immediately began to search his memory.
Being well-read and having a good memory is a fundamental quality for a Wizard, and a Third Circle Wizard like Laikate could memorize an entire book after reading it once and remember it for hundreds of years.
He had gone through the knowledge he possessed, so he had impressions of them in his memory.
After a moment of thought, Laikate suddenly looked up and said:
"I have. I have a study on the Yuris Black Crystal.
Yuris Black Crystal is a special mineral produced in the Black Mountain world, which contains immense energy.
By processing it, this mineral can be used as a stable energy source."