Chapter 431: Restarting the Small Sky Citadel Project (Patreon)

Chapter 431: Restarting the Small Sky Citadel Project

The suggestion from this Third Circle Wizard struck Richard like a bolt of enlightenment.

Indeed, if the destructive range couldn't be expanded, why not take the opposite approach—reduce the range, then constrain it, thereby improving the damage quality of the Annihilation Bullet.

Though this method would make the bullet's lethal radius even narrower, compared to its previous one-meter range, it was undoubtedly an improvement.

"Master, your words are brilliant!" Richard exclaimed excitedly to the Wizard who had proposed the idea. "This suggestion is absolutely perfect."

The Wizard chuckled. "Just a minor thought. You would have come up with it sooner or later, Master Richard."

"No, no," Richard shook his head. "Without your reminder, who knows how long it would have taken me to realize this?

"May I ask for your name, Master? Once I complete the finished product, I will certainly credit you."

Seeing Richard's earnestness, the Wizard also grew serious. "I am Eugene. If you ever have questions regarding Alchemy Machines, Master Richard, feel free to discuss them with me."

This was the essence of Wizard gatherings—exchanging ideas and building connections.

A month of the Wizard assembly passed swiftly. Under the Tower of Truth's organization, Wizards from various towers boarded Airships and returned to their respective towers.

For many Wizards, this gathering was no different from usual.

But unbeknownst to them, their lives had quietly begun to change.

Upon returning to the Northernmost City, Richard immediately threw himself into the development of the Annihilation Bullet.

Eugene's suggestion had revealed a new future for the bullet—if it couldn't serve as artillery, why not make it a bullet?

By reducing the elemental volume of the Annihilation Bullet, energy constraint became entirely feasible. The high-density energy produced by the Annihilation Reaction could tear through most native defenses.

Whether it was energy barriers or physical armor, nothing would withstand it.

Imagining the bullet's effects, Richard couldn't help but smile.

If his Fire Lizard Corps were equipped with such weapons, even Wizards could be swiftly eliminated.

……

The new Annihilation Bullet design took Richard three months, primarily spent balancing elemental volume and constraint mechanisms.

Richard needed to ensure the bullet's power matched its cost while maximizing its efficiency.

To achieve this, he once again combined Dragon Alchemy with Wizard Alchemy.

The final result left him thoroughly satisfied.

The complete Annihilation Bullet measured four centimeters in length and two centimeters in diameter, resembling a slug in Richard's memory—except it lacked separate projectile and casing, consisting only of an elemental chamber and a constraint device.

After optimization, the bullet could penetrate a 1,000-energy-level Magic Barrier and 900-energy-level physical defenses.

Yet its production cost was a mere twenty Magic Stones—and with mass production, the price could be driven even lower.

Its activation mechanism was equally simple, derived from the Ice Spike Spell Richard had discovered during his apprenticeship. After his modifications, the kinetic spell's efficiency had multiplied while its energy consumption dropped significantly.

Of course, this kinetic force was negligible compared to the bullet's destructive power—but it was better than nothing.

The Annihilation Bomb was complete. Richard took the finished product into the Secret Realm, intending to discuss future production plans with the Fire Lizard Artisan. Along the way, he also wanted to ask Ulysses if he recognized the Star River Mayflies.

He remembered Ulysses mentioning that there were several civilizations surrounding the Divine Civilization.

These civilizations had not yet come into direct contact with the Divine Civilization's sphere of influence, so relations between them remained relatively amicable. The World Masters of these civilizations could move freely within each other's territories without being mistaken for rogue World Masters and slain.

Upon entering the Secret Realm, Richard found Ulysses, as usual, basking in the sun atop the Sacred Nest. Beside him, Hogg was imitating the posture, lying on her back lazily soaking up the sunlight.

"Ulysses, come take a look at this."

Richard pulled out the Star River Mayflies specimen from his pocket, ready to show it to Ulysses.

"Gah, what is it… Ah! Where did you get this?!"

Ulysses rose from the Sacred Nest and lazily flew over to perch on Richard’s shoulder.

But the moment he saw the Star River Mayflies specimen, all traces of lethargy vanished—his entire demeanor sharpened instantly.

Richard replied quietly, "The Wizard Civilization has made contact with this civilization. Soon, a war between civilizations will break out.

Judging by your reaction, I take it you’ve encountered them before?"

Ulysses froze for a moment upon hearing this, then his entire body began to tremble.

He muttered under his breath, "So this is where I am! So this is where I am!"

The bird was practically vibrating with excitement.

Richard cut in, "Hold on, don’t get too worked up yet. Tell me what you know about this civilization."

Ulysses forced himself to calm down and began recounting what he knew.

According to Ulysses, the Star River Mayflies Civilization was indeed one of the civilizations neighboring the Divine Civilization.

He didn’t know much about them, only that this race excelled in manipulating energy and the mind. Their World Masters were individually weak, but when leading billions of their kin, their power could double.

However, rumors suggested this civilization only had four god-king-level figures.

So, in terms of high-tier combatants, the Wizard Civilization held a significant advantage.

"To be honest, this war won’t be easy for you," Ulysses said gravely. "While high-tier combatants are a major advantage for you, such forces usually aren’t deployed under normal circumstances.

The ordinary battlefield will still be fought by mortals like you and the Great Wizards. But in that regard, you’re not just at a disadvantage—you’re outright outmatched."

Ulysses' words weighed heavily on Richard. The bird never spoke idly—if he said something, he meant it.

"Hard or not, we have to fight," Richard said gloomily. "Someone as insignificant as me can’t dictate the course of a civilization."

Only the Truth Wizards, seated high atop their towers, could decide such things.

"Of course, I’m just stating the facts," Ulysses reassured him. "No one can predict how a war will unfold until it actually begins.

Back then, we thought the war with the Abyssal Civilization would end in a thousand years. Yet here we are, two thousand years later, still stuck in the same quagmire."

Richard sighed, pushing aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

"In the meantime, train Hogg more rigorously. Bring out her potential.

Lazing around sunbathing with you all day—what kind of life is that?"

"Cackle cackle, got it."

Setting aside the matter of the civilization war, Richard took the annihilation bomb to the Fire Lizard Artisans.

"Sulina, Kallion, come take a look at this."

In the Alchemy Workshop, the two head Fire Lizard Artisans immediately put down their work upon hearing Richard's call and came to his side.

"My lord, you summoned us?"

Richard handed over the annihilation bomb and pulled out its blueprint from his pocket as well.

"See if there are any areas for improvement in this? If not, we can start designing the production line."

The two took the annihilation bomb and examined it carefully, then cross-referenced it with the blueprint before confidently saying, "My lord, the structure of this can still be simplified."

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Seems your Alchemy skills have improved."

The two smiled humbly at this. Kallion said, "We owe much to Lord Hogg's guidance. As a dragon, his mastery of Dragon Alchemy is extraordinary. We artisans have learned a great deal from him."

Though dragons were oppressors and slavers to the Fire Lizards, thanks to Ulysses' discipline, Hogg had little interest in them and was quite gentle in his interactions. This had greatly improved the Fire Lizards' impression of dragons.

The dragons of the Crimson Sun World had long been exterminated, and the Fire Lizards' hatred for them had faded into a mere "tradition" passed down through generations. Over the vast stretches of time, even hatred carved in stone would fade like marks in the sand, blown away by the wind.

Richard was slightly surprised. "Hogg has such skills?" But then again, Dragon Alchemy was originally draconic technology. As a dragon prince's descendant, it was only natural for Hogg to have inherited such memories in his bloodline.

"Improvement is good. You should seek his guidance more often," Richard praised. As a Wizard, he greatly appreciated such proactive learning.

Kallion and Sulina secretly sighed in relief when they saw Richard wasn't angry. Learning Alchemy techniques from Hogg without Richard's explicit permission hadn't felt entirely proper for the Fire Lizards.

"By the way, take a look at this." Richard suddenly pulled out a thick stack of papers from his pocket as if remembering something. "These are other Wizards' designs for exoskeleton armor. Study them, see if you can simplify the designs to make them more outstanding for Mechanists and artisans."

Sulina took the papers and handed half to Kallion. After a quick skim, their vertical pupils dilated several times.

"This... this design is absolutely marvelous," Kallion said, intoxicated. As an artisan, he'd never imagined a mechanical construct could be so exquisitely beautiful.

"Study them when you can. Let me know if you come up with any solutions." Richard didn't mind Kallion's awe—truth be told, he'd felt the same shock when he first saw these blueprints. It was hard to imagine machinery could achieve such biological precision.

"Yes, my lord," Kallion and Sulina said in unison.

Leaving the Secret Realm, Richard sat in his laboratory, his mind swirling with chaotic thoughts.

He had many things he wanted to accomplish now. He needed to enhance his physical constitution, striving to reach the limit of a third-level creature's physique before the next war.

He also needed to optimize the Magic Support Vehicle. With a major battle approaching, if the Tesla Conglomerate managed to develop a comparable product at this stage, his business would undoubtedly suffer a significant blow.

Moreover, he still had to study Spells, as they were the foundation of a Wizard. He needed to refine his combat skills because he was a Wizard who pursued physical evolution.

He also had to develop the Warping Rule and research those Strategic Magic Gears…

There were far too many tasks at hand, each requiring a substantial amount of time.

Richard paced around his laboratory for a long while when his eyes suddenly caught sight of something unusual—the walls of his lab were actually curved.

Snap! Richard clapped his hands abruptly, struck by sudden realization. "How could I have forgotten about the Small Sky Citadel? This thing would be of immense help—not just to me, but also to the Conglomerate, and even the entire Wizard World."

As he spoke, he retrieved his Personal Armor from his pocket, opened its chest compartment, and took out the Starr Wraith Power Furnace.

[Material: Small Starr Wraith Power Furnace]

[Extractable Information: Starr Wraith Power Furnace Blueprint]

[Extraction Cost: 230 Mental Energy]

[Extractable Craft: Ghost Artisan Forging Technique (Incomplete)]

[Extraction Cost: 130 Mental Energy]

[Extractable Rule: Warping Rule]

[Extraction Cost: 20 Soul Power]

Looking at the information provided by the Miracle Furnace, Richard didn’t hesitate—he chose to extract the blueprint.