Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

The insect encirclement wasn't just a simple layer; a continuous flow of insects advanced through the tunnels toward the Mother God Temple settlement.

Boom!

Ulysses exhaled a stream of fire, incinerating a squad of insects to ashes.

Afterward, he landed on Richard's shoulder, accepting the magic stone Richard handed him, instantly draining its mana.

Three days had passed since Richard broke out of the Mother God Temple settlement. After breaching the initial insect blockade, the wizard teams utilized the tunnel system's complexity to disperse and escape. Over the past three days, Richard and Ulysses's group had dwindled until, half a day ago, they separated from the last two wizards, completely going solo.

In such intense combat, even someone as strong as Ulysses had to rely on magic stones to recover his internal energy.

"Caw, these insects just keep coming," Ulysses complained.

Richard pulled out a tunnel map, pinpointing their location. According to it, they were already farther in a direct line from the Mother God Temple settlement than the cave where Richard had received the emergency summons.

"Probably just a coincidence. We don't have any insect pheromones on us," Richard replied casually.

"Caw, let's find a place to hide soon. I've had enough of this," Ulysses suggested, his tone tinged with exhaustion. He had dealt with most of the pursuing insects these days. Although his stable strength had returned to a second-tier creature, his body remained that of a first-tier, requiring him to be extremely cautious with energy use to avoid injuries that might attract the old insect.

This constant vigilance left him mentally fatigued.

Severely injured, he was no longer the world-dominating deity he once was; fatigue, a feeling from his mortal days, returned to Ulysses.

How long had it been since he felt tired?

Ten thousand years? Twenty thousand?

Ulysses vaguely recalled his last exhaustion during his demigod days when the Extinction Ravens battled the Scarlet Flame Ravens. He had fought five demigod Scarlet Flames alone, marking the beginning of his path to godhood.

In hindsight, those days were quite nostalgic!

The tunnel's low hum of insects forced Ulysses to focus and keep flying.

He had been on the run from the abyssal scraps for almost seventy years. Back in his divine days, that time would have passed in a nap.

Now, it felt much longer.

He glanced at Richard... perhaps falling into this boy's hands wasn't entirely bad.

For immortal beings, loneliness was the greatest fear, while a life of excitement was a divine gift.

...

Five kilometers in a straight line from Richard, Insect Inhart sat on the ground, eyes closed, with the black crystal on his forehead flickering faintly.

Around him, a squad of second-tier Mother Insect Guards stood watch, with a group of Spider Knights and warrior insects waiting for his command.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, a starlight beam pointing towards Richard's direction.

"Move this way. Deploy insects along this defensive line to slow the wizard creature."

"Yes, my lord." A silver-armored warrior insect departed swiftly to organize the search.

Inhart stood, gazing towards Richard's location.

His sight seemed to pierce through layers of fungus and coatings, reaching Richard.

"Wizard creature, this time you won't escape."

...

Boom!

The black flame-breathing raven unleashed a fiery torrent, turning the tunnel into a hellscape.

A massive Spider Knight, akin to a heavily armored cavalry, charged through the flames towards the wizard behind the raven.

It was a second-tier Spider Knight, its carapace evolved to withstand Ulysses' obliterating flame briefly.

Behind it, a priest insect's black crystal glowed, casting a starlight armor onto the knight.

"Damn it," the wizard cursed. "These insects found us again."

Behind the wizard, another squad of insects appeared, led by a silver-armored warrior insect with ominous, gleaming arms.

"Ulysses, handle the ones behind us first."

With that, the wizard swung his staff, shooting a magical beam into the ground before the knight, turning solid earth into mud.

"Transmute Earth to Mud!"

Then, the wizard's staff launched three head-sized black fireballs, which burst into dark spheres near the knight, vaporizing its blade arms.

Ulysses flapped his wings, veering back to confront the rear insects, a firestorm brewing in his maw.

"Caw, these insects are relentless!"

He spat a black flame torrent, engulfing the warrior insects like a dragon's breath.

Diving into the flames, his talons struck out.

Splat!

Green ichor sprayed from the silver warrior insect's forehead, staining the tunnel wall.

Ulysses turned, reaching the Spider Knight.

The priest insect's crystal prepared a starlight seal, but a black-flamed staff descended, the wizard appearing from the shadows behind the priest.

Crack!

The raven tore through the knight's defenses, crushing its crystal.

"Phew... what day is it now?"

Richard leaned on his staff, head spinning. Days of sleepless fleeing and frequent battles had worn his spirit thin.

He'd soon rely solely on spell marks.

"Caw, the seventh day."

Ulysses perched on Richard's shoulder, equally weary.

These days tested him too. Many of Richard's foes were second-tier; though Ulysses made it seem effortless, each kill required meticulous energy management.

After all, he was still a second-tier creature, physically weaker than the insects.

Richard consulted the map; they were ten kilometers from the Abyss of Origin—a half-day's journey if all went smoothly.

"Let's go, Ulysses. We're close to the Abyss of Origin."

...

Inhart knelt before the ashes, offering prayers.

"May these brave souls return to the Mother Insect God's embrace!"

After praying, a warrior insect approached, reporting Richard and Ulysses's movements.

"My lord, we've pinned down the wizard creature."

The insect placed a map insect before Inhart, marking Richard's approximate location.

Map insects were rare among the Black Crystal Insects, capable of memorizing and storing the hive's complex terrain in their brain organ. Any insect could connect to it via neural link to view and annotate the map.

Each map insect required a small warehouse's worth of food and three hours of the Mother Insect's time to produce.

In those three hours, the Mother Insect could produce hundreds of thousands of regular eggs.

Most insects never left their settlements, making map insects largely unnecessary. Their high production cost and limited use made them exceedingly rare.

This was why many insects from other settlements often got lost in the hive, unfamiliar with the terrain.

This was how Richard and Ulysses repeatedly escaped.

"This location!"

Inhart's heart jolted at the map's mark.

He traced Richard's path, extending it... the line ended at a blank spot.

The Abyss of Origin!

He planned to escape via the Abyss again!

Breaking the neural link, Inhart issued orders.

He would capture the wizard creature this time!

...

In the shadowy tunnel, a squad of warrior insects flew rapidly, their wingbeats echoing.

"Faster! That wizard creature is doomed!"

At the tunnel's end, explosions echoed.

A black-robed wizard hurled black fireballs, blasting approaching insects to bits. Yet for every one he destroyed, two filled the gap.

"Ulysses! Are you ready yet?"

Richard fought a throbbing headache, cramming magic stones into himself.

After ten sleepless days on the run, his mental energy was nearly spent, surviving on sheer will.

He couldn't fathom how the insects kept finding him.

Suddenly, a black raven emerged from the tunnel, clutching a giant insect head. Richard scattered magic stones into the air; Ulysses caught them, unleashing a dark inferno.

Temporarily clearing the area.

"Caw, the big one's down!"

Richard wasted no time, dashing off. Reaching the Abyss of Origin would end it all.

Skimming through the tunnel, he felt the Abyss's life-warmth.

Just beyond...

"Wizard creature, long time no see!"

A voice shattered Richard's hope. Ulysses shielded him from a starlight seal.

At the tunnel's end stood a radiant figure, flanked by four dark gold Mother Insect Guards.

Their life radiation screamed second-tier strength.

Ulysses shook off the starlight seal, perching on Richard.

"Can you handle it?" Richard asked bitterly.

The Abyss lay just 500 meters away, usually a quick journey, now a chasm.

"Caw, without the chosen, I could risk worsening my injury to manage..." Ulysses paused, exhausted, "but with him, using divine power would alert the old insect."

Then we're dead.

"So no way out?" Richard chuckled bitterly, bracing for a final stand.

If he had to die, it would be in battle, not sacrificed on an altar.

Inhart reveled in his triumph.

After a ten-day chase, costing hundreds of insects, he'd cornered the wizard creature.

But something felt off.

Why did the wizard's face change, as if he'd heard good news?

In the next moment, the wizard produced a crystal ball, and a spatial rift opened, revealing a massive fungal tendril.

"Boss, boss! The big mushroom says the secret realm upgrade is done!"

--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there 

patreon.com/LegendaryTL

Thanks!