Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

Upon hearing the main command's message, Richard and Ivan froze mid-speech.

"Uh... well..." Richard turned away, "I'll go retrieve my alchemical golem. You organize the others."

With that, Richard hurriedly left the command room.

Stopping a heartfelt exchange halfway was awkward.

Outside the war fortress, Richard opened his secret realm to let the golem inside, then signaled Ulysses for retreat.

"Caw, finally retreating. A bit longer and that big insect would start moving again."

Richard glanced at the distant war beast, a sense of foreboding creeping into his thoughts.

"Main command ordered a retreat to the Floating City. Could it be... have we lost?"

Upon receiving the retreat order, the white wizards in the fortress moved swiftly. The massive alchemical magic stone cannons were dismantled in seconds, each piece stored in magical pockets.

These cannons were expensive. Leaving them on the battlefield meant a huge financial loss for the squad.

With the cannons' firepower gone, the insect swarm advanced rapidly towards the fortress.

But as fast as the insects were, the wizards were faster.

Within a minute of the retreat order, all fortress supplies were packed, a speed that was astonishing.

Under the cover of Ulysses and Richard, the white wizards gathered behind the fortress, forming a wedge-shaped formation.

Richard smashed an approaching insect with his staff before joining the white wizards.

Ivan pulled him close and issued a command.

"Everyone ready, execute strategic transfer plan number four."

Richard suddenly felt weightless, as if gravity had vanished.

Ivan laughed, "Richard, today you'll see our white wizards' skills!"

Suddenly, the scene around Richard changed rapidly. The entire white wizard squad moved like a storm, heading towards the Floating City.

Behind them, the insect swarm pursued like a dark cloud, but the distance widened.

A warrior insect cursed as it watched the wizards retreat. "Damn it, these wizards fight well enough, but who knew they could run so fast too!"

...

Arriving at the Floating City Fortress, it looked like a fortress bristling with defenses. The white wizards from the front lines were urgently building fortifications around the perimeter, readying alchemical magic stone cannons for battle.

Upon arrival, Richard's group was quickly found by logistics wizards and assigned tasks.

A logistics wizard approached with a crystal ball in hand.

"Squad number?"

"Third War Zone, Squad 352 reporting in!"

"Third War Zone?" The logistics wizard looked surprised at their composition. "I heard the Third War Zone was torn apart by the insects. Your squad looks intact."

"Torn apart?" Richard was shocked. "Is the situation in the Third War Zone that bad?"

The logistics wizard nodded. "Seems you were lucky, not encountering those massive insects. A few appeared in the Third War Zone, and our war fortresses couldn't stop them.

The Third War Zone command planned to use war airships to deal with them, but there were too many. It was impossible.

I heard to prevent the line from collapsing too quickly, many fortresses were sacrificed as pawns on the battlefield."

Hearing this, the white wizards clenched their fists.

They were among those sacrificed.

Ivan signaled his team to stay quiet and followed the logistics wizard to the task location.

"Here it is," the logistics wizard pointed to several houses in the residential area. "Set up your magic stone cannons here, then get some supplies and convert these houses into fortresses. As for you, black wizard..."

The logistics wizard glanced at Richard, tapped the crystal ball a few times, and said, "You don't have a task for now. You're under command dispatch. Find a place to rest."

After the logistics wizard left, Richard said goodbye to Ivan and the others. As a black wizard, he was not much help in constructing fortifications.

Navigating the busy residential area, Richard found the black wizards' gathering place in the Floating City Fortress. Groups from the front lines exchanged information.

Searching the area, Richard unexpectedly found two familiar faces.

"Ellie, Lawrence!" Richard exclaimed, delighted. The two, upon seeing him, also looked pleased.

"Richard, you're back!"

Ellie ran to Richard, giving him a tight hug.

Releasing him, Richard asked, puzzled, "Weren't you in dormancy? How did you get out?"

Lawrence joined them, fist-bumping Richard.

"We were dormant, but remember, the main insect forces left before the war. With them gone, we dormant wizards moved. A third-circle master among us led the way out of the hive."

Though Lawrence spoke lightly, Richard, having experienced the hive and battlefield, knew the risks in those words could have easily meant death multiple times for a regular wizard.

"Anyway, you're alive, that's what matters," Richard smiled.

After some small talk, Richard shifted to the battlefield situation.

"From what we know, things don't look good," Lawrence said quietly. "I heard in the First War Zone, our main forces are fighting nearly two million insects. The bodies pile like mountains, and we've suffered significant losses. Over a dozen war airships were destroyed."

Richard was stunned. More than a dozen war airships destroyed meant severe damage to the guarding white wizard regiments.

"So, returning to the Floating City, does it mean..." Richard's voice trailed off, his gaze questioning. Lawrence shook his head gently.

"It shouldn't be. The ground battle is only part of the planar war. What truly decides the war's direction..." Lawrence pointed skyward, "are the grand wizards and the insects' world dominators.

As long as the Black Tower High Mage wins, temporary setbacks don't matter. But..."

Lawrence sighed, leaving the implication clear.

If they lost, they'd have to retreat with tails between their legs.

...

Five days after withdrawing from the front lines, the first batch of troops from the First War Zone arrived.

Every wizard, black and white, exuded a palpable aura of hostility as if ready to devour anyone who met their gaze.

They escorted a large number of wounded wizards, all severely injured and out of commission. Among the escorts, many were also injured, some with organs exposed and hearts visibly beating, a chilling sight.

By now, the residential fortification was halfway done. With the new arrivals, progress accelerated.

On the eighth day, a second batch, all black wizards, arrived. They brought both bad and good news.

Bad news: The battle was collapsing.

Good news: The Mother Insect God had intervened.

Though the intervention caused the battle to collapse, it also indicated the insects were struggling with massive losses.

The wizards' heavy price meant the insects paid ten, twenty times more.

On the tenth day, the last troops from the First War Zone returned.

Behind them, a sea of insects spread like an ocean.

Above the swarm, a massive golden insect, several hundred meters long, flew slowly. It radiated holy light, invigorating the insects below, healing their wounds quickly.

Behind the retreating wizards, a colossal black-robed wizard shielded them.

The black-robed wizard wielded a massive rune staff, each swing unleashing spells like divine wrath.

Huge rune arrays appeared in the void, hurling meteors like a shower of stars.

After the meteors came the lightning.

Gigantic bolts spanned the sky, turning the eternal night of the insect world into day.

Yet the massive golden insect blocked everything.

The golden insect's forehead crystal drew the world's starlight, aided by the world's essence, rallying the entire world to the Mother Insect God's side.

The dense starlight became a tangible barrier, intercepting the divine-like spells.

At this moment, time, place, and harmony were all in the Mother Insect God's favor.

As the communication crystal ball lit up, every wizard in the Floating City received their orders.

"Hold the Floating City Fortress; no retreat."

Alongside this main command, each wizard received specific orders. The white wizards were to defend the completed fortifications, while the black wizards were to hunt any insects infiltrating the fortress.

The residential area, despite its reconstruction, wasn't a true fortress and undoubtedly had many gaps.

The black wizards were there to fill those gaps.

Whoosh—Boom!

With an explosion of fire at the insect sea's edge, the decisive battle began.