Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 246 - 30 Thoughts of the Puppet State

Chapter 246: Chapter 30 Thoughts of the Puppet State

Leaving Bob’s place, Richard had successfully traded that piece of flesh for a bunch of things he valued highly.

This included, but wasn’t limited to, the limited research rights to all alchemy sabers before the end of the war, an unusually high-quality fist-sized flame gemstone, a third-level Fire Lizard’s heart, as well as the body of a second-level dragon-cursed sorcerer.

Richard had managed to exchange for these items not only because the flesh he held was of exceptional quality but also because such flesh was exceedingly rare.

The rarer an item, the more valuable it is, and as long as it’s sufficiently rare and useful, the Wizard Commerce could make up for any losses incurred in the deal with Richard by profiting off other wizards.

Of course, that was assuming Richard didn’t mass-produce and sell these items.

And right now, Richard had an abundance of magic essence and had no plans to engage in such a damaging act to both parties.

Leaving the commercial district, Richard asked around and eventually found the location of Vladimir’s camp.

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on freёwebnoѵel.com.

Since Vladimir had taken such interest in him, it was only right for Richard to return and pay a visit after coming back.

…

The war had already lasted for twenty years, a duration in which the battle for the Insect Nest World would’ve already concluded, leaving nothing but the Great Wizard Qing Shuang and a bunch of White Wizards bulldozing through weaker opponents.

However, in the Red Sun World, the war had only just entered a stalemate.

The relatively scarce number of wizards compared to Fire Lizards severely limited the area under wizard control. Although the wizards had built many fortresses along the border of the Wizard Control Zone, anyone with clear eyes could see that the wizards were actually running short on manpower.

On the border, hundreds of thousands of Fire Lizards would enter the Wizard Control Zone from various nooks and crannies every day, some of which were elite squads from the Fire Lizard Empire out to gather intelligence or mimic the Black Wizards in sabotaging behind enemy lines. But the vast majority of them were ordinary Fire Lizards.

War costs money.

Twenty years of war had forced the Fire Lizard Empire to exploit its citizens to maintain extensive military expenses, and with Black Wizards intentionally elevating some dregs to power within the Fire Lizard society, various degrees of civil unrest had erupted throughout the Empire.

Harsh taxation and corrupt officials led some Fire Lizards to prefer risking their lives to enter the Wizard Control Zone over living within the Empire.

The wizards couldn’t be bothered to clear out these Fire Lizards who didn’t even measure up to the first level.

Thus, an absurd situation arose: Fire Lizards lived better under the very wizards seeking their extinction.

Richard observed a Fire Lizard village not far from himself, where the children of Fire Lizards were playing, and many adult Fire Lizards were tilling the fields nearby.

On this land not illuminated by the Fire Lizard King, the Fire Dragon Grass was growing even better.

Richard watched the scene intently, a vague idea beginning to take shape in his mind.

Why didn’t the wizards try to support a Fire Lizard Kingdom as a puppet state?

The wizards didn’t need these lower-class Fire Lizards, but the Fire Lizard Empire did. If they could get these lower-class Fire Lizards to come to the Wizard Control Zone, the Fire Lizard Empire’s combat capability would undoubtedly decrease.

Furthermore, the wizards could train their own Fire Lizard army and let Fire Lizards fight amongst themselves.

With this approach, the wizards’ own losses were certain to decrease, and the speed of the war would also increase.

After all, nobles are assholes irrespective of race, and the wizards could fully exploit this fact.

Supporting puppet states was a strategy his previous life’s major powers had played out to exhaustion.

Leaving the airspace above the village, Richard quickly arrived at Vladimir’s position.

Inside this battlefield comprised of War Fortress constructions and alchemy machines—a small city of Fire Lizards. This city had been transformed by the White Wizard Army into a fortress complex bristling with alchemy weapons and magic array traps, making it an absolute tough nut to crack.

Within Great Wizard Qing Shuang’s army, Richard had quite a respectable reputation. The decisive battle in the Insect Nest World had made many wizards aware of him, so he encountered no obstacles in proving his identity.

Entering this fortified city, Richard, guided by a White Wizard, found Vladimir tinkering with a Magic Stone Cannon.

“Master Engineer, Great Master Richard has come to see you.”

“Don’t bother me… Who did you say is looking for me?”

Vladimir’s head shot up abruptly, and he saw Richard, clad in a black robe, smiling and watching him.

“Master, long time no see.”

Vladimir stood up and came over to Richard, looking him over from the left and right.

“Good lad, you managed to return safe and sound even after being chased by a patrol. Even I wouldn’t be able to accomplish that.”

Richard laughed, “You flatter me, Master. It was just the environment being conducive.”

Vladimir narrowed his eyes, “Seems like you’ve utilized quite a bit of magic essence on this job; your progress with the Adaptation Body must be significant.”

Upon hearing this, Richard immediately knew why Vladimir was certain he’d return.

The Adaptation Body’s capacity to adapt to elements could allow Richard to escape via the Magma Network. Vladimir and Jolod were old acquaintances, naturally aware of the effects of the Adaptation Body, and combined with the Magma Pools on the Red Soil Plain, escaping was certainly a very normal affair.

“Haha, indeed quite substantial.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Richard began to share the idea he had conceived on the road with Vladimir.

This idea, if put into practice, would definitely enhance the efficiency of war.

But after hearing it, Vladimir frowned and took a deep drag from his pipe.

“Not bad,” he said, “no wonder Jolod said you have a lot of clever tricks up your sleeve. But…”

Vladimir’s tone shifted, “Your idea has already been proposed by others, but it was abandoned by the Great Wizard after just a few battles.”

“Ah?” Richard was somewhat dumbfounded. Could there be some flaw in the plan that he hadn’t noticed?

Vladimir tapped his pipe:

“It’s simple, while this approach can quickly end a war, does the speed of war really matter to a Great Wizard?”

Richard looked around at the bunkers and the traps set with magic arrays.

All of them cost money.

Ending the war sooner meant that this money would no longer be needed.

“Heh, how much could setting up a position cost?” Vladimir saw through Richard’s thoughts and scoffed, “That money is nothing compared to what a Great Wizard spends on hiring wizards.

“For a Great Wizard, the pace of war is irrelevant.

“The wars of nowadays are fast already; a small world can be subdued in just over a hundred years. For a Great Wizard, that’s shorter than a nap.

“Moreover, such a plan would inevitably leave behind a relatively intact society after the war’s end.

“For wizards, this is a ticking time bomb.

“You must understand, we are invaders, and under this premise, any actions taken by the natives against us are naturally justified.

“Even if you think you’ve been kind enough to these natives.”

While speaking, Vladimir pinched some tobacco, filled his pipe, and lit it with a spell.

“Besides, we can never be kind to these natives. We’re wizards, not saviors. We embark on planar expeditions for resources and slaves. It’s better to crush these natives completely than to waste effort on a ticking bomb.

“After crushing them, we can shape them however we wish.”

Vladimir was indeed an experienced wizard, veteran of many battles; he identified a multitude of problems with Richard’s idea. After listening to him, Richard too realized that his plan was worthless to a Great Wizard.

“However, your plan does have some merit,” Vladimir felt his words might have been too harsh and added, “It’s pretty good for a newly promoted Great Wizard. New Great Wizards are broke, so this method could save some wizard hiring costs, easing the financial pressures on a Great Wizard.”

Feeling somewhat dejected, Richard exhaled, “Master, you don’t need to comfort me. I was just being presumptuous.”

Vladimir raised an eyebrow and then steered the conversation toward Magic Support Vehicles.

Now that Richard was back, it was time to schedule the design and optimization of the Magic Support Vehicles according to their performance in battle.

Vladimir hadn’t forgotten his promise; he clearly remembered his commitment to help Richard iron out some minor issues.

“The Magic Support Vehicles performed decently on the battlefield. Our four vehicles fired at their limits, killing about a dozen Fire Lizards, including one Second Level Fire Lizard that was critically injured. If we increase the number of Magic Support Vehicles, the impact they can have will naturally grow.

The main issue with the Magic Support Vehicles lies in their mobility.”

Richard took out a bundle of draft papers from his pocket. Over the years, when he had the time, he had pondered optimizations for the Magic Support Vehicles, and these papers were the result of his efforts.

Vladimir took the drafts and started to look them over, nodding slightly with each one he reviewed. After finishing the bundle, Vladimir pulled out a feather pen from his pocket and began making some changes to a few of the drafts.

After making the changes, Vladimir handed the drafts back to Richard:

“Not bad optimization, but some areas could be improved.”

Richard looked at the changes Vladimir made and couldn’t help but be amazed.

An experienced old wizard certainly had his ways; he improved upon the optimization plan that Richard had taken so long to develop after just a brief review.

“Thank you, Master,” Richard respectfully said.

Vladimir waved his hand nonchalantly, “I wouldn’t go back on my word.”

Returning from the front lines, Richard began to undertake upgrades and substitutions for the Magic Support Vehicles that had already been delivered, providing technical support while the Legion supplied the materials.

With the Magic Support Vehicles thoroughly tested, Richard’s life became peaceful.

After upgrading over four hundred Magic Support Vehicles, Richard submerged himself in the laboratory.

There was much he could work on. He could replace the gemstone on his staff with a high-quality Flame Gem obtained from Bob, refine the patterns and skills on the Alchemy Sabers, alter the Pioneer’s technology, research the blue flames from the Magma Sea, as well as the flesh of the Mutated Flame Giant Beast.

Reflecting on his gains, Richard couldn’t help but sigh to himself:

“Plane wars really are great places to make a fortune!”