The two witches became silent once again.
Sheltered flowers were never as resilient as wildflowers. Everyone knew this to be true!
The Moya brat had advanced six months earlier than Snowlotus, despite Snowlotus' talent and the massive amount of resources and knowledge available to her. She was bound to be a big problem in the future. The two witches knew this to be the case, but neither wanted to be the one to point it out.
"What reason did the Sarubo Clan use to refuse our offer? Do they, the outsiders, intend to interfere in the internal affairs of the Northern Witches?" The lady in the black smoke once again spoke after the pause.
"The one managing this issue doesn't seem to be the Sarubo Clan, but a male fire adept that has just advanced. According to my sources, the Moya brat has indeed signed a master-slave contract with this adept. And the reason that the male adept gave was…was…" Witch Nina couldn't help but hesitate once more.
"What was it?" The lady in the smoke glared at Nina with a dissatisfied look.
Nina still felt that silent pressure weighing upon her shoulders, even though they were thousands of kilometers apart and only communicated through this magic array.
"He claims to have fallen in love with Alice!" Witch Nina grit her teeth and spoke.
Another long pause of silence filled the room.
A boundless, unrestrained, and charming laughter rang out from within the smoke.
"Love? Haha. Love! Haha…………" The laughter was crisp and pleasing to the ears, but it soon turned into a chilling threat, "Nina, you have been getting increasingly foolish! You would believe such a ridiculous excuse!"
"But the reality leaves me with no choice but to accept it as it is. Clan leader, I have already investigated with great effort. The male adept has no relatives or connections. There is absolutely no one supporting him in the shadows. Even his advancement seems to have been an accident. His joining of the Sarubo Clan only happened after his advancement."
The lady in the smoke listened without speaking.
"His relationship with the Sarubo Clan isn't all that close. The Moya brat doesn't seem to have anything much to do with the Sarubo Clan either. It is because of this that I am sure. The one that wants to protect Alice isn't Sarubo's Sanazar, but that male adept."
"With what qualification does he have the confidence to protect Alice? You said he was an adept that just advanced?"
"Understood! His name is Greem. He is a fire adept, and reports show that it hasn't been more than two years since his advancement!"
"A young male adept that only advanced two years ago rejected your offer of five hundred thousand magical crystals?"
"Understood!"
"Is he mad or foolish? Does he truly believe he can train Alice to a level where she can beat Snowlotus? Snowlotus might be six months behind her at the moment, but…"
The lady in the smoke couldn't help but frown in frustration at this moment.
The Moya brat's act of sacrificing all her abilities in exchange for the talent to divine might not have seemed wise, but it caused an uncomfortable thought to sprout in the lady's mind. Wasn't the core power of the Witch of Fate their ability to divine?!
Giving up on all her offensive and defensive abilities would make her the weakest and most vulnerable candidate in the Battle of Fate. Was she so confident in surviving the brutal contest of life and death with only her art of divination?
If she died during the first round of selections, what was the point to strengthening her talent for fate to the fullest extent?
If…if she could survive this Battle of Fate, she might become one of the most influential Witches of Fate in the past thousands of years. But what was she going to rely on in order to survive?
The candidates would all be sent into the Tower of Fate during the Battle. No outsider or external force could help them. They needed to kill each other under such circumstances, all while avoiding the remaining traps, golems, and beasts hidden in the Tower.
How was a brat without any combat power to survive in such an environment? Any random golem beast would be able to tear her to pieces! Moreover, she had no offensive spells whatsoever. How was she supposed to obtain victory and beat her opponents this way?
Was she supposed to endure the enemy's ferocious attacks, close the distance, and then stab the opponent to death with a dagger?
Of course, if the Sarubo Clan were willing to equip her with magic scrolls, potions, and wands, she would undoubtedly still possess some ability to fight! That said, such measures might be effective against apprentice adepts, but what use could they be when she faced against adept-level competitors?
Would the Sarubo Clan actually be willing to invest in her when her chances of surviving were so low?
The more the lady in the smoke thought about it, the less she understood the rationale behind their decision to protect Alice. She couldn't see through the actual reason for Greem's actions.
Could it really be because of love?
"Clan leader, what do you intend to have Snowlotus do?" Nina asked, "Should she emulate Alice, or… "
"It is completely impossible to have her give up all her abilities with her personality and her achievements so far. Moreover, the Battle of Fate has always been a bloody and cruel affair. Snowlotus would be hard-pressed to survive until the end if she gave up her powers."
"Is it not possible, even if we got rid of all opponents that could threaten her?"
"We cannot accomplish such a feat!" The lady smiled bitterly, "Fate was always so hard to understand and manipulate. The best we can do is extinguish the most powerful and threatening of the competitors. It is far too difficult to kill every single one of them! Moreover, the other branches of witches have already started to express their dissatisfaction at my actions. They are already putting pressure on me. If we weren't able to do it in the past few months, there is no way we will be able to accomplish it moving forward!"
"……" Witch Nina fell silent.
They had already publicly interfered in the revival of the Witches of Fate. In all seriousness, this was already going against the commandments left behind by the Witch Queen. If they had been more discreet in their methods, and left no evidence for the other branches to latch onto, then the other witch leaders wouldn't have been able to do anything.
However, once those conservative old hags understood what was happening, things became a lot harder. They actively sheltered the remaining candidates that were under their protection. There wasn't much else that the Witches of Deceit could do.
"Then what should I do?" Witch Nina asked.
"Give up on Alice first. I need you to go to the Moya's area in the west of Zhentarim. There seems to be another candidate advancing at that place. Exterminate her first. I have already sent you the relevant information. Hurry and get it done!"
"Understood!" Nina was shocked to hear this news. She bowed respectfully and acknowledged the orders.
It seemed even fate itself had started to sense the urgency of the situation. So many troublesome individuals had begun to sprout out of nowhere.
Stand in our way? Then we will crush and kill until you submit!
A murderous aura hung on Nina's face.
Chapter 327 Bustle
Feidnan City, Adept's Tower.
Within Greem's dwelling was a specially constructed massive golem hall.
The hall was a mess right now.
Wooden boxes of all sizes were piled in the corner of the hall. Several of them were already open, and neat stacks of metal ingots were visible inside. The metal ingots were rectangular. They gleamed with a desolate glow under the soft and bright light of the hall.
These were all magical alloys. A specific ratio of magical ores had been mixed into the nuggets, allowing them to possess supernatural effects that ordinary metals didn't own.
Located in another corner of the hall was a simplified magic furnace. Three different mysterious arrays shone underneath each of the furnace's three fee
t. Violent energies were surging from the adept's tower into the interior of the furnace through these arrays. The power quickly turned into roiling elementium flames and swirled within it.
Two muscular, sweaty dwarven blacksmiths stood on wooden benches placed beside the furnace. They swung their massive iron hammers upon a piece of magical alloy. The alloy had already turned a reddish white from the blistering heat.
The thunderous clanging of steel upon steel deafened the ears!
Three apprentice adepts surrounded the magic furnace. They continuously adjusted the magic arrays under its feet, ensuring that the temperature of the elementium flames within kept at 5,380 degrees. This temperature was enough to melt most magical ingots.
Apart from the three apprentices managing the furnace, there were also a dozen other apprentices bustling about.
Some of the adepts commanded three separate three-meter tall giants and had them transport the metals to the furnace. Every time the furnace wall opened, several terrifying jets of flame would surge forth due to the intense pressure within.
The apprentices fared well against the fire. A red barrier surrounded their bodies, adequately protecting them from being burned by the flames. The giants didn't have such a convenient ability. They could only endure the pain as their flesh sizzled in the heat while they continued to stuff the ingots into the furnace.
Once the heat had softened the ingots, the adepts removed them from the furnace and handed them over to the two dwarven blacksmiths.
Greem was sitting bat a stone platform on the other end of the hall. He carefully and earnestly sketched designs for golem parts. Countless other sketches and scrolls littered the platform. These documents depicted all sorts of fantastical golem beasts of various shapes and purposes.
A platinum humanoid golem, one hundred and eighty meters tall, was silently doing secretary work beside Greem.
"Magic Pen… triangles. Find me the exploded view of the spider golem's head. Mm, that's right. Go. Get me that sample of magical alloy Number Seven. Put it there first and hand me the basic attributes for the swordspider golem."
This humanoid golem was able to accurately and quickly finish every task that Greem assigned to it. It was due to the golem's help that Greem was able to put aside the more insignificant details and focus on the design at hand.
The chip's data library contained the blueprints and attributes of hundreds and thousands of golem parts and golem constructs. Still, Greem found it hard to find any part that completely satisfied his needs, despite rummaging through all this information.
Greem still had the memories of his previous life. He knew very well the fundamental difference between the robotic guards on Earth and the metallic golems of this world. The robotic constructs of Earth were built to be dexterous and accurate. The power of their artificial intelligence and firepower determined their strength in combat.
In comparison, the metal golems of this world didn't always take their designs based on human forms. After all, there was the existence of supernatural powers. Moreover, humanoid golems had way too many fatal flaws and were ill-suited to be combat golems.
For example, the metallic golem that the Tyrant defeated was also a humanoid golem. Its mobility had been severely reduced once the Tyrant had sufficiently damaged its legs. It then became a target for the enemy to take potshots at.
Greem wanted to avoid this awkward situation with the steel golem he was about to tailor for Alice's needs. Thus, with the help of the chip, he quickly narrowed down his options and decided upon the more mature and developed form of a spider.
The chip might have been extremely proficient at data analysis, comparison, and processing, but it still needed a length of time to rebuild models and reconstruct new systems and processes when faced with the construction of an entirely new golem.
That was why Greem had created this hall in his dwelling. He wanted to gradually accumulate experience in forging a golem beast and prepare himself for the final product.
In Greem's expectations, the spider golem had a rounded, metallic disc-like body. It would be a beast of terror, with four pairs of ultra-strong metal limbs extending from its torso. It didn't need a humanoid head or body to attract focus fire from the enemy.
There should be space inside the golem for Alice to enter. It would further ensure her safety.
The primary means of attack available to the spider golem had been temporarily decided to be the Magic Cannon that Snorlax had bought from Gazlowe. After the optimization and adjustments calculated by the chip, the Magic Cannon's energy beams had become more concentrated and focused. This optimization allowed it to pierce through better and break the defensive barriers of potential enemies.
The golem's defense would be composed of several factors. The first was the toughness of its body, forged from magical alloy and unique metals. The second was the reactive energy barriers that Greem would place on several parts of the spider golem's body. These two factors worked together and provided the golem with both physical and magical defenses. Alice's safety would be further guaranteed with these protective measures!
After all, the plan that Greem prepared for Alice was to use the spider golem for defense. The real offense came from the Infernal Tyrant.
Her Spirit wasn't enough to command a golem at the level of the Tyrant. However, now that she had advanced to a witch, she only needed to raise her Spirit to three points before the Battle of Fate.
If she ever came across an enemy, all she needed to do was take shelter within the spider golem and summon the Infernal Tyrant. Even Greem would have to run away from her while she was in this state!
The mysterious spatial powers that Alice possessed after assimilating the spacestone would be her trump card. Greem did not include it in his calculations.
Greem was unable to come up with the detailed statistics of each part of the golem through simple calculations. The chip's analysis was not yet robust enough, given the amount of knowledge that Greem had collected. Right now, Greem had to craft some smaller spider golems to verify his thoughts and theories.
The disc body of the spider golem had to be redesigned. New magical alloy with a better ratio of metals had to be found. A method of balancing the spider golem and preserving its speed, even after taking damage to its limbs, had to be conceived. The structure of its energy core was also a matter to be considered. How could its energy output be maximized…
Each of these tasks required a considerable number of calculations by the chip to obtain the best results and the most optimum set of data. Then, Greem would have to verify that data through practical application before he could safely use it in the creation of the golem.
As such, Greem had spent most of the past few days sitting in this golem hall, working tirelessly on Alice's personalized golem.
…………
In another room adjacent to Greem's.
Alice casually sat cross-legged in an arcane hall as big as the one Greem was working in. She held a small hammer forged of platinum in one hand, and occasionally smashed the tortoiseshell before her.
There was nothing in this hall, aside from Alice and two big baskets. No furniture, no items, and no decorations.
The jade green shells instantly shattered into four or five pieces of various sizes when hit by the hammer.
Every time this happened, Alice would lie on the ground before the shell in excitement. She would examine the damage to it in great detail and mumble incomprehensible chants as she did so.
Of course, most of her efforts yielded no results. She wasn't even able to obtain the most basic indications of fortune or misfortune.
That said, it wasn't all in vain. Once in a while, mysterious patterns would appear on the shell shards. Disjointed and fragmented scenes would then emerge in Alice's mind all of a sudden.
Sadly, most of these images were too blurry or chaotic for Alice to understand the message that fate was trying to convey.
Alice's divination attempts to scry Witch
Nina had all failed without exception. It was almost as if there was a powerful forcefield around Nina that prevented divination spells from getting through it. No information could feedback to Alice.
She was trying to scry a Second Grade witch with the powers of a First Grade witch. Alice honestly had massive guts for a person her size. She was far too courageous.
Her Spirit was only able to sustain five divinations per day. Once she used up all five chances, it wasn't Spirit or stamina that would be consumed when she tried to divine. It would be her life force.
Alice had already failed four times today. The constant failures frustrated her to no end.
She tossed the broken shells into the trash basket on her left before taking out another palm-sized tortoiseshell from the basket on the right.
It was a piece of a dragonturtle shell.
The dragonturtles were considered to be hybrid dragons due to the dragon bloodline flowing in their veins. Consequently, their shells and scales were extremely suited for divination materials.
Trying to scry a higher grade adept with her abilities seemed to be something that would remain a fantasy. Alice frowned. Just then, an idea struck her as she worried about how to use the last divination of the day.
Scrying a higher grade adept wasn't likely to succeed, but it was probably a lot easier to scry an opponent of her level, wasn't it?
Alice's eyes lit up. She softly chanted as she smashed the shell with the platinum hammer in her hand.
"O power of fate, please show me the most powerful enemy in the Battle of Fate!"
The hammer fell.
A blinding radiance emerged!
Chapter 328 Magic Generator Furnace
A cave carved out of ice.
The slim silhouette of a woman.
Countless white lights surrounded her like a dreamlike scene out of a fantasy world.
When the lights glowed, the mist of ice burst apart to reveal a beautiful face. The woman looked around in confusion.
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