Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 142 - 42: The Incubation Pool

Chapter 142: Chapter 42: The Incubation Pool

Bang!

A slash appeared on the ground, but nothing else happened.

The Two Stars Warrior Worm, seeing this, flicked its antennae and quickly left the tunnel.

“It seems I’ve been a bit too jumpy lately.”

The insect’s patrol ended quickly because each insect was responsible for its own area, which was not very large.

...

Due to Richard’s cleanliness, in that part of the tunnel covered with mucus, the Black Crystal Insect did not find any traces either.

After the search, the Warrior Worms quickly returned to their posts to continue guarding their respective areas.

From within the shadows, Richard slowly emerged.

Looking at the slash that was less than ten centimeters away from him, Richard’s heart pounded.

Had that cut deviated even slightly, he would have been exposed.

“These insects have really sharp instincts. Shadow Infiltration isn’t always one hundred percent stable; I’ll have to be more careful in the future.”

Following the tunnel downwards, Richard quickly entered the upper levels of the Underground Insect Nest.

The defenses within the Underground Insect Nest were not as tight as above ground. Large areas had only one or two Warrior Worms, with most of the Insect Nest’s strength being deployed to the surface to contend with the Wizards.

Richard found a small and secluded Earth Cave and released Ulysses from his pocket.

“Gaah, I finally got out.”

Ulysses flapped his wings and flew a circle within the Earth Cave.

“Gaah, why have you come down again? I’ve had enough of this damn place.”

“A task. How are your injuries lately?” Richard spoke indifferently.

Having killed insects underground for two years, Richard naturally acquired plenty of Sacrificial Fungi. These fungi had some effect on Ulysses’ injuries, so naturally, all the Sacrificial Fungi ended up in Ulysses’ mouth.

“Gaah, not bad. Those fungi are somewhat effective. My injuries have healed a bit. At this rate, these fungi could probably restore me to mid-tier Second-level Creature standards in my normal state. Right now, my normal state is about at the limit of Level 1 Creatures.”

As he spoke, Ulysses ignited black flames, with quite strong energy fluctuations.

Richard nodded. As long as the fungi were effective, the more Ulysses’ soul injuries healed, the more methods he could use, and the safer Richard would be during dangerous times.

The only thing he needed to do was to maintain a balance so that Ulysses’ strength would not exceed the range he could control.

Taking out the Imaging Crystal Ball, Richard scanned the surrounding terrain to decide on his target.

There were three targets worth destroying within the Insect Nest: the food warehouse, the incubation pools, and the weapons depot.

There was no need to say much about the food warehouse. Although Level 1 Creatures could sustain normal activities by absorbing energy from the air through their body cells, combat was another matter.

Wizards needed to replenish their Magic Power with Magic Stones, while these insects relied on food to replenish their Energy and strength.

Burning down a food warehouse was equivalent to destroying a Wizard’s Magic Stone warehouse, its impact was significant.

Next were the incubation pools. The reproduction of Black Crystal Insects was not sexual like ordinary creatures, but rather the Mother Worm produced eggs that were then distributed by the Sacrificial Insects to various incubation pools to hatch.

These incubation pools were often situated at Earth Veins nodes, and the liquid inside was rich in Life-Active Material and Magic Power.

For Wizards, incubation pools held high value for both strategic and personal gains.

Finally, the weapons depot. According to reports from the Black Wizard who had infiltrated the Insect Nest earlier, the strategic weapon, the Mother Goddess Cannon, was typically stored in these weapons depots, but these were heavily guarded and surrounded by the Mother Worm Guards and Sacrificial Insects. For an average Black Wizard, destruction was virtually impossible.

Soon, the Imaging Crystal Ball projected a map of the nearby terrain.

Following the map, Richard began to meticulously survey the environment around him.

The structure of the Underground Insect Nest was simple in principle, often centered around a settlement, with caverns around it being fungus farms. Smaller settlements would then be situated around a larger settlement, so finding a small settlement could lead to the discovery of larger settlements and then important targets like the food warehouse and incubation pools.

However, as Richard implemented this approach, he realized the difficulties involved.

The biggest difficulty lay in the intricate network of tunnels within the Insect Nest. Although these tunnels could be detected with the Crystal Ball, just looking at the complex maze of tunnels mixed together on the map made Richard feel like he was becoming an Indian electrician.

Secondly, these tunnel systems were often patrolled by insects, not necessarily Warrior Worms, but the threat they posed was not any less.

Richard relied on his Concealer Cloak to capture one for dissection and found that their vocal organs were highly developed. If they made noise, Warrior Worms within several kilometers could notice. Moreover, these insects naturally produced pheromones that left traces that were very difficult to remove. Once marked, other insects could track him by the pheromone.

Lastly, these small settlements often had insects stationed there, sometimes one or two, sometimes more than ten. Although Richard was not afraid of them based on combat strength, he was currently behind enemy lines.

If it was possible to leave fewer traces, then the goal was to leave as few as possible.

While the insects might be weak compared to Wizards of the same level, the context was different.

When combining these factors, Richard’s infiltration task had become extremely difficult.

***In the early days of infiltrating the Insect Nest, he struggled to move forward and would make a slip every few days. But fortunately, the slips were minor, and with Ulysses’ help to cover for him, he was able to conduct his investigation with some stability.***

Half a year later, Richard lay in a narrow tunnel, eyeing the Earth Cave to which it led with burning desire.

The area of the Earth Cave was vast, filled with gigantic luminescent fungi, among which the planting insects toiled back and forth, and occasionally Warrior Insects would pass through the tunnel to other settlements.

At the deepest part of this Earth Cave, a small pool made of tuff, continually emitting steam, was nestled within.

The pool was filled with a blazing red liquid that seethed with vigorous life energy, which spread into the air with the bursting of bubbles.

And that was Richard’s target—the Incubation Pool.

For this objective, Richard had spent three months exploring the surroundings. He surveyed every Earth Cave within a twenty-kilometer radius of the settlement to ascertain how many insects could come to its aid if he caused a disturbance.

And now, the time had finally come for him to take action.

Wrapped in his Concealer Cloak, Richard crawled out of the tunnel like a shadow and cautiously entered the Earth Cave.

He had thoroughly scouted the defense force of this Earth Cave: only thirty Warrior Insects and ten Spider Knights. And within ten kilometers, there were fifty Warrior Insects that could come to the Earth Cave’s aid, arriving in waves; if nothing unexpected happened on the way, the first wave of twelve insects would arrive in two minutes.

So as long as Richard could destroy the Incubation Pool within two minutes, escape from the multitude of insects, and hide his tracks, he would be safe.

But obviously, this was impossible for Richard, a One Ring Wizard.

Therefore, Richard came up with a cunning plan.

Hum!

An inaudible sound wave entered the cave, making the Warrior Insects stationed in the settlement shiver.

A Warrior Insect clad in black metal armor burst out from the fungal room, its sharp screech echoing throughout the Earth Cave.

“Wizard Monster’s trace detected, leave one-third of the insects behind, the rest come with me to provide support; this time we must offer the Wizard Monster as a sacrifice to the Mother Worm God!”

At that moment, about five kilometers from the settlement, a figure in a black robe was wantonly slaughtering alert insects in the tunnel.

“Gah, the taste of slaughter is sheer delight.”

Under the black robe, Ulysses laughed heartily as it spewed Annihilation Flame, not bothering to constrain its energy fluctuations.

With such brazenness, a troop of Warrior Insects quickly blocked a section of the tunnel, with the leading Warrior Insect shouting at Ulysses:

“Wizard Monster! Today I shall take your head to offer to the Mother Worm God!”

But no sooner had it finished speaking than it saw the black-robed figure drift past itself, black flames instantly engulfing it and the three Warrior Insects around it in a sea of fire.

Looking at the insects struggling in the fire, Ulysses bent its head down and nibbled on a charred but tender insect leg.

“Gah, these insects aren’t bad when grilled and eaten.”

Listening to the continuous low murmurs of the insects in the tunnel, Ulysses chewed on the insect leg, its voice slightly muffled.

“Gah, I’ve made… enough noise; that boy… should be able to succeed, right?”

At this moment, the insects of the settlement were ready. At a command from the Black-armored Warrior Insect, the insects behind him fluttered their wings and accelerated into the tunnel.

“Half gone, not too bad.”

In the shadows, Richard muttered to himself as he watched the insects depart.

With the help of the Concealer Cloak’s Shadow Infiltration and his Bloodline’s Shadow Shuttling, Richard had already made his way inside the settlement, merely two to three hundred meters from the Incubation Pool.

Gazing at the scorching Incubation Pool and the insect eggs bobbing up and down within, a surge of excitement passed through Richard’s heart.

The liquid in the Incubation Pool contained an abundance of life-active material; consuming it over time could increase one’s physique, and the immature insect eggs were excellent specimen materials. Through the insect eggs, a Wizard could understand the Black Crystal Insect race even more deeply.

Since two-thirds of the defensive forces had been drawn away, the entire settlement’s defenses had become lax.

Richard silently made his way behind the Incubation Pool, a spot normally guarded by two Spider Knights, now temporarily vacant of insects and only to be discovered when other insects came to patrol.

Seizing this opportunity, Richard poked a hole above the Incubation Pool with his Magic Wand, collected about ten kilograms of incubation liquid and two insect eggs, and left behind two timed Annihilation Bombs.

After that, Richard retreated as silently as he had arrived.

Shortly after Richard left, two patrolling insects came to the back of the Incubation Pool.

“Do you think we’ll catch the Wizard Monster this time?”

“Who knows, these Wizard Monsters are as slippery as reptiles; I think it’s unlikely.”

“Sigh, indeed. Hey, why is there a hole by the pool, let’s go check…”

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Boom!

Richard quietly watched the Annihilation Bombs explode from the tunnel, then turned and left.