Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 227 - 11 Merrick’s Shield

Listening to his father's words, Azuhan suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.

For the first time, he felt they might not win this war.

"Father, can we win?" Azuhan looked towards Harash, seeking a glimmer of consolation.

But Harash shook his head.

"I don't know, but we can make the war develop in a direction where we can win."

As he spoke, Harash pulled out a sheet of white paper from his robe pocket.

In the Red Sun World, paper was generally made from a plant called the Earth Fire Tree, which produced red paper. If one wanted a white sheet, it had to go through numerous complicated processes, making it very troublesome to produce.

But precisely because of this, white paper was used by the Fire Lizard Nobles.

Yet Azuhan noticed something different about Harash's white paper; at its edge seemed to be a hint of gold.

"My son, although your wisdom is not yet sufficient to keep you alive on the frontline, the Morick Empire is not limited to a single battlefield."

Harash handed the white paper to Azuhan, who saw upon receiving it that the edges were embossed with gold patterns—gold, the most supreme color among the Fire Lizard Clan.

When a piece of paper was imprinted with gold patterns, it meant that the paper came from the palace.

The content written on the paper was simple: it was an appointment letter, and Azuhan had been appointed as the leader of an organization named Merrick's Shield. Its main task was to deal with Wizards who infiltrated the Empire's rear.

"Father, this is…"

Azuhan looked blankly at Harash, completely unaware of the existence of this Merrick's Shield organization before, and now he had suddenly become its leader.

Moreover, based on the content of the appointment letter, Azuhan found the organization he was now in charge of had an enormous amount of power.

He could even demand cooperation from officials of all levels of internal affairs within the Empire.

"Due to changes in war strategy, more and more Wizards, referred to by Wizards as Black Wizards, have emerged within the Empire. These Black Wizards incessantly harass our rear, destroy military supply depots, and assassinate key officials. All these acts are their doing.

We must organize a group of people to deal with these Black Wizards."

Harash ruffled his son's hair: "It's a daunting task. The Emperor has given this task to you, and you need to shoulder this responsibility.

Don't be afraid of failure, don't be afraid of offending people.

Although I am no longer Marshal, I am still a general of the Empire."

Azuhan stared blankly at the appointment letter in his hands, feeling the weight of the world upon this sheet of white paper.

Harash patted Azuhan's back:

"Go back and think about what you should do. If you need it, I can reallocate some of the army... After all, the advancement of the frontlines depends on Wizards, not on us."

...

Carrying the paper, Azuhan returned to his room.

Harash's words echoed in his ears—don't be afraid of failure, don't be afraid of offending people, but how could he not be afraid?

His failure would diminish the reputation his father had accumulated over hundreds of years.

Pondering in his room, Azuhan felt a sense of frustration coiling in his chest.

How could he organize personnel, establish rules, and ensure that such a powerful organization did not become corrupted with power?

The more Azuhan thought about it, the more stifled he felt, so he simply left his room and started walking aimlessly through the streets.

Azuhan resided in the Royal Capital of the Morick Empire. Even as the Morick Empire was mired in the quagmire of war, the Royal Capital thrived in its bustling prosperity, showing no signs of the war's approach.

As Azuhan walked through the streets, deep in thought about how to address these issues, he didn't encounter a single pedestrian, even though he was looking down.

But when Azuhan raised his head, he realized he was like a boulder in a river, the crowd parting around him.

In the Morick Empire, as in every empire, the silver-horned Nobles were seen as just beneath the sovereign—and above tens of thousands. Even as Azuhan walked through the surging crowd, all the Fire Lizards consciously steered clear of him.

Watching the fearful gazes around him, an idea suddenly flashed through Azuhan's mind.

There were quite a few silver-horned Nobles in the Royal Capital. If he could get these people to join Merrick's Shield, he wouldn't need to worry about power corruption or personnel strength issues.

Silver-horned Nobles could reach the standards of the Imperial Guard Dragon Warriors simply by living long enough, even if they did nothing else.

Besides, they have always been lawless, so the powers of Merrick's Shield, which might be a huge temptation to ordinary Fire Lizards, were nothing more than routine for them.

Many empire officials were also related to the Nobles; if they conducted investigations, it wouldn't be easy for officials to sabotage them.

The more Azuhan thought about it, the more he felt his idea wasn't bad, but now he had a problem before him.

How could he recruit these silver-horned Nobles, and how could he manage them?

Azuhan walked aimlessly along the street, from the burning sun overhead until it set in the west.

As he walked, Azuhan suddenly bumped into someone.

"Huh?"

Azuhan looked up to see a female Fire Lizard in front of him, draped in a gold-patterned white robe.

"Azhan, what's the matter with you today? You've been wandering the streets all day, as if you've lost your soul."

Azhan hurriedly bowed slightly when he recognized the face of the Fire Lizard, "Your Highness, Princess."

The Princess eyed Azhan with her golden dragon eyes, showing a trace of dissatisfaction.

"I've told you before, you don't need to bow when you see me! And don't call me 'Your Highness, Princess.' I have a name, call me Akala!"

Azhan straightened up, his expression somewhat awkward.

"Yes, Pri... Akala, Your Highness."

Akala waved her hand resignedly, "Nevermind, just tell me what you're thinking about. I heard Marshal has found a position for you. What is it, thinking about how to do the job?"

Azhan nodded, "Indeed, that's exactly what I've been pondering. Your Highness, how do you think we could restrain the Silver-Horned Nobles?"

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"Restrain you all?" Akala suddenly laughed out loud, "How could you be restrained? Apart from my father, I'm afraid no one can restrain you all."

Azhan scratched his head awkwardly.

Seeing him like this, Akala couldn't help but stop laughing, "Are you serious? Why do you want to restrain the Silver-Horned Nobles? Did Marshal find you a position as a Noble Enforcer?"

"That's not it," Azhan shook his head and proceeded to share his thoughts with Akala.

After listening, Akala pondered for a moment, then her eyes lit up suddenly,

"I've got it, to restrain these nobles, why don't you just include me? Would they dare to defy me?"

Akala's statement wasn't arrogant. As the only daughter of the Fire Lizard King, her status was indeed higher than that of the Silver-Horned Nobles.

This naturally gave her a legal advantage.

Moreover, Akala's strength in the Empire was also among the upper tier, a Second-Level peak soon to step into the Third Level, and there were few Silver-Horned Nobles left at the rear who could beat her.

Most importantly, she and Azhan had grown up together, close enough to share a bed without fear of anyone sowing discord between them.

"That... might not be so good," Azhan hesitated.

What Akala suggested was indeed a solution, but after all, Akala was a princess, and that was a rather special identity.

"What's not so good about it, I insist on joining. What are you going to do about it?"

Akala looked at Azhan provocatively, her tone quite domineering.

"Well... alright then. I'll go back and prepare the rules, and I'll come find you tomorrow."

Having said that, Azhan turned to leave but after only a few steps, someone caught his tail.

He looked back to see that his own tail was entwined with another, and the owner of that tail was looking at him with a smirk.

"Don't go back to your place just yet, I've opened a bottle of hundred-year-old Dragon Flame Wine today. How about we share a taste?"

...

The establishment of Merrick's Shield indeed added a lot of trouble for the Black Wizards.

Under the leadership of two founding members with backgrounds that reached the heavens, Merrick's Shield received the full support of the Nobility of the Morick Empire, meaning they could have whatever they wanted.

Moreover, no one dared to criticize these two.

This allowed them free rein in inducting members, unconventionally and imaginatively.

Through Harash's connections, Azhan called in a batch of Fire Lizard Warriors from the front lines as the basic operatives for Merrick's Shield, then also took on a group of Silver-Horned Nobles as high-end combat power.

In addition to these, Azhan also recruited many non-combatants.

These non-combatant talents included Royal Blacksmiths, hunters specializing in hunting Flame Giant Beasts, and breeders from the Beast Fighting Arena...

These individuals all possessed special abilities. Merrick's Shield organized them around the purpose of serving the Empire, uniting them to pursue Black Wizards.

Their abilities might not be directly related to combat power, but they often proved miraculous in searching for Black Wizards.

Through continuing pursuits, Merrick's Shield gradually matured. Internal structure, personnel composition, logistical support, tactical arrangements – these elements were progressively refined through battles.

This newly established organization was slowly becoming a significant nuisance for the Black Wizards.

...

In the bright laboratory, a Black Wizard was busy at the experiment table with his own experiments.

He was engraving sesame-seed-sized Runes on a black Rune Base Plate using his Magic Power.

Suddenly, the Crystal Ball on the experiment table lit up, and an ice-cold voice emanated from it.

"Advisor Richard, Command has decided to deploy the Magic Support Vehicle for a mission. Please immediately join Squad Thirteen of the White Wizards and accompany them in combat."

The Wizard glanced at the Crystal Ball and put down the Rune Base Plate he was holding.

"Ten years, finally a mission," he said.

Richard tidied up the experiment table, then took out a strange Magic Wand from his Magic Pocket.

The upper half of the Wand was plain and unadorned, with a black shaft topped with a crimson Flame Treasure Ball. However, the lower half of the Wand was adorned with countless intricate patterns, which looked like vines entwining or like the sprawling branches and foliage of an ancient tree.