Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1449 - 1447: One Man, One Army

"Your crimes..."

The Alliance Emperor sat on the throne, his blue eyes fixed on Richard, his lips moved.

"First, in the territory of Shalin, you acted recklessly, establishing your own dominion and disregarding the Alliance.

"Second, a Judgment Court member was killed in your territory, and you shielded the murderer, ignoring the law.

"Third, since my ascension, many dissidents have been secretly causing various disruptions, and you have numerous ties with them, disregarding imperial authority.

"All of the above amounts to treason!"

This is really hitting the mark... Richard blinked once after listening and thought... I have to say, the Alliance Emperor did not fabricate false charges; the situations pointed out are essentially factual.

However, crimes are just words. If pursued, they’re always present; if ignored, they can be completely overlooked.

And now, with the Alliance Emperor so clearly pointing them out, it is undoubtedly the former.

Then... the opponent’s next intention is...

"Do you admit to your crimes?" the Alliance Emperor asked loftily.

"If I admit, what kind of punishment will I face, Your Majesty?" Richard asked with interest.

"If you admit and willingly submit to justice, the death penalty can be waived," the Alliance Emperor said solemnly.

"So..." Richard raised an eyebrow, "Conversely, if I do not admit, I am surely destined to die? So what personnel does Your Majesty plan to use to kill me? You should know that with my current strength, I am not as easy to kill as imagined."

"Richard Austin, I know you’re very strong, but no matter how strong, you are just one person. I have made ample preparations to deal with you, and I believe they are sufficient to handle you." Saying this, the Alliance Emperor glanced at the standing Court Officials.

"Swish!"

Powerful auras suddenly rose; those around were affected and quickly retreated to the corners, revealing the owners of these mighty presences.

One, two, three, four... fourteen, fifteen, sixteen!

Richard glanced and found that there were a total of sixteen people prepared for him in the palace, each of them at least a Basic-level Fourth-rank Wizard.

This is a bit surprising, because Level 4 Wizards aren’t cabbages and aren’t readily available in large numbers. When the Soma Alliance wiped out the Truth Society headquarters, even the combined Level 4 Wizards weren’t this many.

Richard scanned them again suspiciously and keenly noticed that among the sixteen Level 4 Wizards, more than half had somewhat unstable auras, with relatively large energy wave fluctuations, appearing temporary...

"Potion-induced enhancement?" Richard suddenly had some realization. He knows that the Truth Society standing behind the Alliance Emperor does have some methods to temporarily increase a person’s wizard level, though at considerable cost. Perhaps the sixteen Level 4 Wizards here are derived from such methods.

This really fits logically... Richard mused... But, regardless of whether the sixteen Level 4 Wizards were partly enhanced by potions, they are still sixteen Level 4 Wizards... indeed not easy to deal with.

"How about it, is their number sufficient?" The Alliance Emperor spoke at this time, directing his words at Richard and shifting his tone, "By the way, they’ve prepared a special gift for you, hoping you’ll like it."

After the Alliance Emperor finished speaking, his expression turned serious, and he issued the order in a deep voice: "Go!"

"Huff..."

The sixteen Level 4 Wizards immediately took action, approaching Richard. Instead of attacking, they surrounded him, uniformly taking out an apple-sized black crystal ball from their bosoms, which looked somewhat like a demon’s eyeball.

The moment Richard saw the black crystal ball, he couldn’t help but recall a scene: It was still on the East Coast, during an exchange conference held by dozens of Wizard Organizations, when people controlled by the Truth Society suddenly caused trouble. They crushed a bead-like object, instantly creating a magic electromagnetic pulse effect that severely injured the wizards present.

And now, the sixteen Level 4 Wizards took out crystal balls that looked very similar to those back then, would they be planning to use the same method against him?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a "crack" sounded, and the black crystal balls were crushed by the sixteen Level 4 Wizards, releasing streams of black gas that flew towards Richard, wrapping around him.

Richard felt his body become heavy, his blood cooled, and his energy appeared frozen, ceasing to operate. His whole body tilted uncontrollably, slowly collapsing.

Huh... it’s not a magic electromagnetic pulse... seems like a tool specially targeting a single individual, fairly useful... Considering the sixteen Level 4 Wizards’ hidden aura and means of deceiving him, the Truth Society surely has some substance... If given the chance, it should be studied...

"Thud, thud, thud..."

The streams of black gas continuously enveloped Richard’s body, making him feel as though several mountains were on his back, his legs powerless to support him. His body tilted to a certain degree, then "boom" fell to the ground.

Richard tried to prop himself up with his hands to fight to stand, but just then the last few streams of black gas wrapped around him, causing his arms to shake, and his upper body that was propped up heavily contacted the ground, nearly unable to move an inch.

So Richard simply stopped struggling, just let out a soft sigh and asked, "Is this all... is this the means to deal with me? Adding sixteen Level 4 Wizards, is this all?"

"Is it not enough?" the Alliance Emperor asked coldly.

"If it was just to deal with the me of three years ago... no, three and a half years ago, it should barely be enough," Richard replied, "But I am not the same as I was three years ago; from this angle, you really haven’t made much progress, which is a bit disappointing."

"Are you certain?" the Alliance Emperor squinted, "I only see that you’ve been controlled; from this angle, preparing sixteen Level 4 Wizards was redundant."

"No, you only see that one of me is controlled," Richard responded, "So, sixteen Level 4 Wizards aren’t redundant, but far from enough, my Emperor."

"Hmm?" the Alliance Emperor was taken aback.

"Boom! Crash!"

The next moment, the tightly closed palace doors suddenly roared as they were forcefully burst open from outside, turning into countless fragments.

As the fragments shot in all directions, another Richard, the second Richard, walked steadily over the threshold into the palace.

Everyone present gasped for breath, the Alliance Emperor’s eyes widened, quite surprised. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

And more surprise was yet to come.

As the second Richard entered, another figure appeared: it was the third identical Richard, stepping in with the same steady pace.

Then the fourth Richard, fifth Richard, sixth... sixteenth... twenty-sixth... thirty-sixth...

Sixty-fourth!

Ultimately, a total of sixty-four Richards entered the hall, forming a neat array of eight by eight, all looking at the Alliance Emperor.

Sixty-four Richards simultaneously spread their hands, sixty-four Richards simultaneously opened their mouths, speaking in unison: "See, Your Majesty, I wasn’t lying, sixteen Level 4 Wizards are really not enough, far from enough. I’ve merely dispatched a portion of my bodies to handle them four to one — if not for considering the size of this hall, I could even handle them ten to one."

"What... what exactly are you?" the Alliance Emperor grew unsteady, staring at the numerous Richards with slightly trembling voice.