Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 230 - 14 Escape Route

"Silver Horned Nobles?"

Richard frowned. He had consulted Iyad extensively about Fire Lizards in recent days, including about the Silver Horned Nobles.

Among the Fire Lizards, the nobles were indeed much more formidable than the common Fire Lizards.

With their Dragon Blood inactive, common Fire Lizards could at most become Level 1 Fire Lizard Warriors. However, these Fire Lizard nobles had ancestors who had activated their Dragon Blood, granting them a partially activated Dragon Bloodline as well.

Even without moving, these Fire Lizard nobles could qualify as Level 1 Creatures.

As for the Silver Horned nobles, they represented ancestors who were Third Level Creatures; even lying dormant, their inherited bloodline could rank them as Second Level Creatures, making them some of the most powerful and respected among the Fire Lizard nobles.

"It seems we've run into Merrick's Shield."

Richard rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

The Silver Horned Fire Lizards in the front line were all commanders, and such characters would not stoop low to ambush just their small squad.

"Master, we need to leave now."

As he spoke, Iyad operated the Magic Support Vehicle, preparing to return to the Wizard's core area.

However, Richard suddenly grabbed Iyad's hand.

"Don't panic, Iyad. Open your map and take a good look at the markings of this Red Soil Plain."

Iyad's map recorded all the Wizards' frontline troop deployments and their scouting of the Fire Lizard line. As the captain of the White Wizard squad, Iyad had memorized this map long ago, and Richard was well aware of it.

Seeing Iyad's puzzled look, Richard spoke calmly:

"He mixed something else into that fireworks. If I'm not mistaken, we've all been tagged."

"Tagged!?"

Iyad was shocked, unaware that the Fire Lizards' distress fireworks had such a function. He immediately shared Richard's theory with the other team members via the mental network; none of them noticed the tag, not even Savo, the oldest and strongest member.

But just as Iyad was about to argue against Richard's idea, Sampo, the only wizard in the squad who had undergone Physique Evolution, spoke up.

"Captain, I felt it too. When I saw those fireworks, my body's cells detected something resembling Energy Radiation, which wasn't in the distress fireworks before."

Sampo's words tightened Iyad's heart, and he infused Magic Power into the Crystal Ball map. Soon, a map of the Red Soil Plain appeared in the cab.

Though named a plain, the Red Soil Plain was Wizard terminology.

In the Fire Lizard's language, if directly translated into Wizard Language, it would be called the Land Cursed by the Giant Dragon.

The Red Soil Plain was more a desert than a plain. The only plant that grew there was the Blade Tree—its leaves sharp as blades and its branches hard as steel.

In the Red Sun World, nearly no creature ate this plant, except for some insects.

Therefore, except for some "oases" with cities in the middle, the vast expanse of the Red Soil Plain was uninhabited by Fire Lizards.

Wizards were even less interested in this plain; it held no exploitable resources. Investigation Wizards from the Wizard Commerce came wave after wave but ultimately determined the Red Soil Plain had no value, leading the Wizards to occupy only two cities on the edge of the plain, without further expanding into its interior.

Since neither side was interested in this area, it had the least troop deployment of any battlefield.

This was also why the Black Wizards chose this location for a rendezvous.

But while troop numbers were fewer relative to other battlefields, compared to Richard's small squad, even a single Fire Lizard's spit—being slightly corrosive—could dissolve several Wizards.

Upon revisiting the map and considering their marked status, Iyad quickly realized how perilous their situation was.

Fire Lizards had patrol teams in the Red Soil Plain; these teams would set out from one oasis, cross uninhabited areas, and reach another oasis as a preventative measure against Wizards.

Now that the distress fireworks had been shot, these patrol teams would undoubtedly head towards the location of the fireworks, and with the tag on them, choosing the wrong route could easily expose them.

Those riding Dragon Beasts, the Fire Lizard Knights, represented a unique military force of the Red Soil Plain; they were exceptionally fast and skilled archers.

If they caught up to the squad, it would spell danger.

Watching the map, Iyad's mind raced. He wasn't sure how far-reaching the effect of the tag was, so he had to choose the safest and most secure route possible.

Richard did not rush him; with Ulysses beside him, he still held some confidence in escaping...

"Ah, Richard, I'm feeling sleepy. Be careful, it's all on you soon..."

Before he finished speaking, Ulysses had succumbed to a baby-like sleep.

This made Richard increasingly uneasy.

"Timing is everything!"

Richard's face turned iron blue as he pocketed Ulysses, then quietly waited for Iyad to make a decision.

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Suddenly, Iyad's eyes sharpened, his fingers quickly tracing a route on the map.

"Take this path!"

Richard glanced at the map and found Iyad's planned route somewhat odd; though they were supposed to escape back to the Wizard controlled area, the map surprisingly required them to first head towards the Fire Lizard controlled direction.

Without asking Richard, Iyad immediately started the Magic Support Vehicle and drove in the direction plotted on the map.

"Iyad, why does this route go deeper in?" Richard couldn't help but ask.

As Iyad drove the Magic Support Vehicle, he casually explained to Richard, "I don't know how broad the range of this mark is, so we can only take the road that's furthest away from all Fire Lizard patrols."

"You don't know the range?" Richard exclaimed, "You don't know the range, and you think we shouldn't go and capture that Fire Lizard calling for help to interrogate it about the range?"

"Nonsense, if I could interrogate effectively, I would definitely go." Iyad, irritated by Richard's question, replied, "Our soul wizard's interrogation skills are terrible, he accidentally kills them. Moreover, these Fire Lizards are very tough, it would be a waste of time trying, better we follow my route."

"Well then damn it, ask me, I know a bit about interrogation too," Richard said equally annoyed.

Saying this, Richard pushed open the car door and flew towards the location where the Fire Lizard was calling for help, leaving Iyad dumbfounded watching him leave.

"You damn Alchemy Wizard! You're so young, who knew you were that versatile?"

…

After the bombardment, the Red Soil Plain was a mess, scattered with pits created by fireballs.

Although 350 energy level isn't high, the power of Magic Concentrated Fire isn't about the individual spell's power. Releasing a large amount of spells at the same location causes elemental turbulence and resonance which sometimes could cause even more damage than the spells themselves.

On the battlefield, a Silver Horned Fire Lizard sat dumbly on the ground, with fresh blood dripping from its mouth.

Complete, utter failure.

The wizards had seen through his ploy and had even mobilized a group of White Wizards to snipe him.

He had only seen such a fiery rain at a frontal battlefield.

"It seems I've angered the wizards." The Silver Horned Fire Lizard strained a smile, "But mobilizing so many wizards for me was not a wise decision."

He looked up at the sky, where he had launched a distress firework that was the latest invention of Merrick's Shield, infused with the power of a dragon curse sorcerer.

The group of wizards who had sniped him should all have been marked now.

"Hehe, snipe me, and you cannot escape!"

As he spoke to himself, a dark silhouette suddenly appeared in the distance and flew directly towards him.

He sensed this shadow and recognized it as a Black Wizard.

"A Black Wizard? Looks quite strong."

The Silver Horned Fire Lizard struggled to his feet and picked up two handguns from the ground.

"It seems I won't have to live in disgrace."

With flames igniting on the handguns, the Silver Horned Fire Lizard took a deep breath and, using the last of his strength, hurled the handguns towards the wizard.

The flaming handguns, carried by his fury, traced a crimson arc through the air, heading straight for the Black Wizard's face.

This was his last strike, his final dignity.

Bang!

The Black Wizard, facing the handgun, didn't dodge or move. He simply reached out and caught the meteor-like handgun right in front of his eyes, halting its progress.

Then the Silver Horned Fire Lizard watched as the Black Wizard flew up to him, under the black hood, a pair of golden dragon eyes quietly watching him.

A Fire Lizard?

The Silver Horned Fire Lizard was taken aback.

But as the Black Wizard used Rune Chains to bind him securely, he quickly realized.

This was a wizard who, like their ancestors, had stolen the power of a giant dragon.

"Kill me! Wizard!" the Silver Horned Fire Lizard roared, regretting that he had thrown the handgun.

He should have used that shot to end his own life, to keep himself away from the wizard's interrogation.

But the Black Wizard just quietly watched him.

The Rune Chains sealed his power and his ability to move, preventing even suicide.

After the sealing was complete, the Silver Horned Fire Lizard could only watch desperately as the Black Wizard flew off with him towards the distance.

Soon, Richard caught up with the convoy.

"This is the Fire Lizard that sent the distress signal; you handle the questioning later, I'll handle the torture," Richard stood at the top of the vehicle, loudlyn communicating with Iyad.

"Huh? Why am I handling the questioning?" Iyad said, puzzled.

"Because when I arrived, I hadn't learned the Fire Lizard's language, I can't understand what this Fire Lizard is saying."

Iyad: "..."

Silver Horned Fire Lizard: "..."

"Wizard, don't even think about interrogating me, you will get nothing from me but curses!" The Silver Horned Fire Lizard said to Richard in a somewhat clumsy Wizard Language.

"Oh, you actually know Wizard Language," Richard was surprised, "Iyad, you're not needed anymore, this Fire Lizard understands Wizard Language."

The Silver Horned Fire Lizard glared fiercely at Richard, shouting in Wizard Language, "You bastard, you will get nothing from me.

The Norickxiu Family has no traitors and no novices!"

Richard turned his head to glance at him, his eyes suddenly flashing a dark red light.

"Whether there are traitors, we'll know soon."