Dealing with a World Tree Sub-body was a troublesome matter.
Around the World Tree Sub-body would be the Guardian Forest, and it could also summon an insect tide. Moreover, its own strength was not weak.
With just Richard and Ulysses alone, even getting close to the World Tree Sub-body would be a struggle.
Although the World Mushroom could support them, its assistance was limited.
While the World Mushroom possessed power close to that of the World Master within the Secret Realm, outside of it, its tentacles were nothing particularly remarkable aside from their immense strength.
Thus, the role of the Fire Lizard Legion became evident.
Richard only needed to specialize them using Alchemy, and they could temporarily serve as the White Wizard Legion.
A battle group of five hundred White Wizards, with just two volleys of concentrated Spell fire, could trigger a Fire Elemental Storm.
At that point, the Guardian Forest of the World Tree's main body would suffer severe damage—an absolute advantage for Richard.
Moreover, following the academy's advice, Richard had prepared an ample supply of Alchemy materials before joining this war.
The quantity was so vast that even creating ten more Fire Lizard Battle Groups wouldn't exhaust them.
For Richard, these materials would undoubtedly be useful in the future. It was better to stock up now than to run short on the battlefield.
Thus, Richard had no concerns about material shortages whatsoever.
With such perfect conditions, there was no reason not to deploy the Fire Lizard Battle Group...
Kallion and Sulina soon arrived at Richard's side.
"My lord, what should we do?"
Richard pulled out a notebook from his pocket and began drafting the specialization plan for the Personal Armor.
"The armor's outer shell needs to be thickened—enough to withstand physical attacks of at least five hundred energy levels. Additionally, an anti-corrosion coating must be applied. As for the weapons, equip them with Fireball Guns and Flame Thrower Guns.
The Fireball Gun's power can be slightly reduced, but the Flame Thrower Gun must not fall below one thousand energy levels. Also, attach a dagger… Finally, add a simple air purification system and ensure the armor is fully sealed."
After finishing the plan, Richard tore out the page and handed it to Kallion.
"That's all. Start as soon as possible. Estimate how long the specialization will take."
Kallion took the plan and studied it. After a moment of thought, his expression turned troubled.
"My lord, this plan… will likely take a very long time."
"How long?"
"At least a year."
"A year…" Richard frowned. "Why so slow?"
Kallion smiled bitterly. "My lord, two aspects of this are the most time-consuming. First, thickening the armor—our workers lack the necessary expertise, so we'll have to melt down the existing armor, reconfigure new alloys, and recast it.
Second, the Flame Thrower Gun. While it's not inherently difficult to make, the energy level you've demanded drastically increases its complexity.
Moreover, we've never produced Flame Thrower Guns before. The workers have no experience, and the machinery isn't specialized for it.
A year is already an optimistic estimate. If design issues arise during the process, the Flame Thrower Gun alone could take a year."
The difficulties Kallion mentioned were all practical, so Richard didn't react with anger.
Anger wouldn't solve anything.
Richard pondered for a moment before replying, "I'll handle the design for the Flame Thrower Gun. As for the armor reinforcement... that can wait. The Flame Thrower Gun is essential—prioritize its production along with the Fireball Gun."
In this forest teeming with carnivorous plants, a Flame Thrower Gun was absolutely necessary.
Even beyond dealing with these flesh-eating flora, the weapon would prove highly effective against swarms of Poisonous insects.
Meanwhile, the Fireball Gun was Richard's key weapon against the World Tree Sub-body. Without it, this entire specialization would be meaningless.
Kallion bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your understanding. If you have no further requests, we shall begin immediately."
"Proceed. Oh, and ensure air purification is prioritized. The battlefield this time contains numerous toxic spores in the atmosphere."
"As you command."
...
Designing the Flame Thrower Gun wasn't particularly difficult. Though Richard hadn't studied Dragon Alchemy much over the years, his foundational knowledge was exceptionally solid.
Even Kallion and Sulina—the most skilled Fire Lizard Artisans under his guidance—could only match Richard's expertise in certain areas.
Talent, it seemed, defied all logic.
While Kallion and Sulina were considered prodigies among the Fire Lizards, their abilities paled in comparison to the craftsmen Richard had trained over the years.
After spending a month finalizing the blueprints, Richard departed the Secret Realm with Ulysses and Hogg in tow.
With the war band's upgrade still requiring time, he decided to search for traces of the World Tree Sub-body first.
...
The forests of Green Forest World were eerily silent, with few Poisonous insects or beasts making audible sounds.
These Biological weapons would appear and hunt without warning. Even Wizards using spiritual detection often fell prey to their stealth.
Crack! A whip-like snap echoed through the woods.
Deep in the thicket, a towering tree draped with vines seemed to come alive. The hanging tendrils beneath its canopy writhed through the air like Medusa's serpentine hair—a sight that chilled the blood.
Nearby, a black-robed Wizard recorded the scene with a Crystal Ball in one hand, while using a quill with the other to jot notes on parchment floating midair.
"Gallows Tree. Threat level: Two. Characteristics: Massive hanging vines beneath canopy. Elimination recommendation..."
The Wizard paused his quill, pocketed the recording Crystal Ball, and drew a silver staff instead.
With a flick of the staff, a crimson fireball shot toward the Gallows Tree.
Boom! The explosion scattered elemental flames that instantly ignited the dangling vines.
As the vines caught fire, they thrashed violently. Seizing the moment, the Wizard charged forward, Magic Power surging through his body as he delivered a powerful punch to the tree's trunk.
The floating notebook then drifted back to his side at a gesture.
"Elimination recommendation: Highly sensitive to fire-based attacks. Recommend using Elemental Spells to disrupt sensory perception before closing in for physical termination."
Note: This creature possesses the Energy Devouring Trait. If your Spell isn't powerful enough, do not provoke it."
After jotting down the warning, the black-robed Wizard tucked the quill into his notebook and casually tossed it into his Magic Pocket before turning to leave.
Behind him, the Gallows Tree contaminated by elemental flames collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Its trunk, which could easily withstand a thousand-energy-level Spell, had been reduced to splinters.
"Roar!"
A draconic roar suddenly echoed across the sky as a giant dragon, ridden by a black crow, came charging through the dense forest toward the black-robed Wizard.
Behind them, a cloud-like flock of Seeding hawks pursued them in frenzied pursuit.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The dragon crashed through the forest, sending leaves flying everywhere. Meanwhile, the white Seeding hawks halted their advance above the treetops.
"Caw caw caw! Stupid birds, come down here!" The black crow perched atop the dragon's head taunted the flock arrogantly.
The black-robed Wizard, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but shake his head.
"Ulysses, those birds are Biological weapons. They don't understand your mockery."
Ulysses turned his head toward the black-robed Wizard, visibly annoyed. "Richard, must you always ruin the fun?"
The black-robed Wizard was none other than Richard, dispatched by headquarters to investigate the World Tree Sub-body deep within the forest.
Richard casually asked, "So, how did the investigation go this time?"
Locating a World Tree Sub-body in this dense forest was no easy task.
Previous investigations had been simpler because the World Tree Sub-bodies had acted first. But now, they had entered a dormant state, making them exceptionally difficult to find.
At Richard's question, Ulysses' sulky expression instantly vanished, replaced by smug satisfaction.
"Caw caw caw! Praise the great Lord of Crows—this time, I found it!"
Richard was taken aback, then excitedly asked, "You found it!? Where is it?"
With a flap of his wings, Ulysses released a cluster of dark-blue flames that transformed into a simple fiery map in the air.
"We're here," Ulysses tapped a spot on the map with his wing, "and that thing is right here."
As he spoke, he marked a location in the upper right corner of the map with a burst of black flames.
"It's only about fifty kilometers from your current position."
Without hesitation, Richard declared, "Good! Lead the way—we're heading there now!"
...
Fifty kilometers was nothing to Richard. Even with numerous obstacles along the way, he reached the destination in just an hour.
Surveying the familiar dense forest ahead, Richard immediately adjusted his vision to energy sight.
Sure enough, under this view, the entire forest was connected to the withered-looking tree at its center.
"Damn, these World Tree Sub-bodies must all be cut from the same cloth," Richard remarked, marveling at the familiar setup.
The defensive measures of this World Tree Sub-body were identical to the one they had encountered before.
Ulysses urged impatiently, "Enough marveling. Hurry up and summon your Fire Lizards. Don't let that thing summon another Insect tide."
A month had passed since Richard entered the dense forest. During this time, although the Fire Lizard Battle Group's Personal Armor hadn't been fully upgraded, the Fireball Guns and air purifiers had been completely equipped.
This already met Richard's basic requirements for dealing with the World Tree Sub-body.
Without wasting words, Richard immediately opened a Mystic Realm Rift and summoned the Fire Lizard Battle Group.
After modifications, the Fire Lizards now wore helmets with mask-like filtration devices and carried strangely designed Fireball Guns.
The Fireball Gun's grip remained pistol-like, but its body featured a component resembling a revolver's cylinder—this was the spell-casting mechanism.
At the front of the spell-casting component was a large flared barrel.
In theory, Fireball Guns didn't require barrels to launch fireballs. However, after experiments, Richard discovered that adding a flared barrel slightly increased casting speed.
Moreover, with the flared barrel installed, simply replacing the spell-casting component could transform the Fireball Gun into a Dragon Breath Gun—essentially a Flame Thrower Gun.
For such significant benefits at the minimal cost of an inexpensive flared barrel, Richard naturally included it.
The Fire Lizard Battle Group emerged from the Mystic Realm Rift. After briefly clearing the dense forest, they quickly formed orderly ranks.
One Fire Lizard stepped forward from the formation and performed a Wizard Salute toward Richard.
"Sir, what do you require of us?"
Richard pointed at the forest before them.
"See this woodland? Use your Fireball Guns to blast it open—hard."
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