The phrase 'Death be with me' had been the activation passcode for this array. The phrase had also simultaneously planted a soul coordinate within Greem without him even knowing. Thus, Greem's actions mostly caused the uninvited trouble from last night.
Greem was begrudgingly impressed by the ability of the enemy adept once he understood all this. They were indeed the best when it came to toying with a person's mind. If it weren't for the chip's ability to detect unusual forcefield fluctuations, Greem would probably still be trapped within the palms of his opponent.
The abnormality at the stone tower had alerted the castellan of Gilneas City as well. By the time Viscount Alvar reached the tower with a city guard army of almost two hundred men, everything had already returned to normal.
They then scrubbed the hidden array and had the tower itself cleaned and tidied. Newer and better furniture replaced all the old ones within. More importantly, the Viscount reassigned over two dozen servants, kitchen maids, housemaids, and guards to the tower, once again filling it with the liveliness of humans.
Whether intentional or not, every one of the maids the Viscount Alvar sent over was young, pretty, and gentle. There was even a pair of young twin sisters barely fourteen years of age. Many of these young maids came from the noble families around Gilneas City. They were often branch members of the noble families, enjoying the status of a noble lady within their family.
Here, however, they were willing to reduce themselves to being a lowly maid, all so they could spend just one additional minute beside Sir Adept.
Viscount Alvar had even personally promised that whoever managed to find their way into the bedsheets of Sir Adept would be rewarded handsomely. The noble family they belonged to would be exempt from taxes for ten years. Furthermore, if anyone managed to conceive a child, their family would instantly be elevated to one of the five large families within Gilneas City. That maid would also be gifted a villa of her own to enjoy luxury and pleasure for the rest of her life.
Initially, these ladies all believed they were dealing with an elderly adept old enough to be their grandfathers. One with a wrinkled face and hunched body. After all, the stories shared over tea and cakes often claimed that the stronger the adept, the less human they became.
Adepts that spent their years as hermits in their towers were often arrogant, cruel, and perverted evildoers. Their lengthy lifespan and the tedious way they passed their time caused them to have a completely different perspective towards enjoyment and pleasure. Ordinary intercourse and decadence were no longer enough to fulfill their twisted minds. Frightening torture and torment probably awaited those that tried to offer themselves up to an adept like this.
Private rumors even claimed that some evil adepts would transform into monsters and beasts during sexual intercourse and kill their partners in the process.
That was why all the maids were fearful of their fate when they were first sent to the tower. They were afraid that they would also end up with such a horrible outcome. After all, they were of an inferior status compared to the adepts. They had never honestly come into contact with one.
However, when the one dozen young girls wearing their neat maid uniforms saw the great Sir Adept for the first time, they were utterly shocked by what they saw.
Greem wasn't a body-refining adept, yet he possessed a two-meter-tall muscular body, a handsome look on his face, well-defined muscles that even a loose black robe couldn't hide, and long, intriguing crimson hair falling down his back.
Not a single drop of excess fat could be found on the tall and fit body of this teenage adept. Greem's handsome appearance, along with that slight wickedness mixed with the wisdom of an adept, caused all the girls to be attracted to him at first sight.
Of course, there were also the beautiful stones circling above his head, the magic tome radiating with elementium light, and the mysterious staff leaning against his seat; all of these added more mystery and profundity to his character. It instantly turned the girls into lost moths, desperately wanting to cast themselves into that blazing flame.
Greem chose to ignore the small little tricks that Viscount Alvar was pulling under his eyes.
After all, his title as the Flame Demon was fairly well-known throughout the Sarubo Clan. Not to mention he was a combat adept known for his prowess. It was natural that the viscount would pull out all the stops to fall into his good graces.
Someone like Viscount Alvar probably wasn't even qualified to know much about the situation and internal affairs of the Sarubo Clan. Thus, the viscount only saw Greem's power and his apparent rise like a blazing star in the clan. He didn't honestly know the brewing conflict and tensions between Greem and the elders.
If he knew that Greem's assignment here was a form of punishment and warning by the clan, he would probably regret his unnecessary actions.
That was why Greem graciously accepted all of Alvar's goodwill while secretly being amused by the situation. After all, he was going to be staying here for a quite a long time. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to have a couple of maids tend to his daily activities during this time. On the other hand, he wasn't all that attracted by the prospect of carnal pleasure.
Ever since he became an adept, Greem had improved his Spirit and his will at its origin. All kinds of inferior and worldly desires no longer controlled how he behaved. He would only consider them as a sort of entertainment in an otherwise dull and dry lifestyle.
These young girls walked to his side, and all the information about their physical and mental states projected in front of him.
With the help of the chip's scanning abilities, and his own spiritual senses, he could obtain all the information he needed.
The heart rate of the girls, their blood flow, the thickness of their hair, their menstrual cycles, their sleep quality, their three sizes, even when they got their first period; Greem could get an approximate answer to all of these.
In Greem's eyes, these girls might be young and pretty, but their life forces were dull and weak. Their Spirit activity was also relatively low. That meant that they had mostly led vapid lives within their families, with no proper education or meaningful experiences. They were only delicate playthings with a pretty appearance and no soul to match it!
Trying to seduce Greem with women like this was like trying to lure a wealthy man with a beautiful doll; there was no chance of success. For an adept, only those with a potent life force could draw their attention as potential mates.
And these vases and dolls? No more than a decent option to while away the monotony of daily work. Of course, no adept would mind letting their bloodline spread on if they were fortunate enough to beget an offspring in this manner. All they needed to do was pay the price of a little time and some insignificant resources that they had never needed in the first place.
…………
Night once again fell upon the tower after an entire day's affair.
Greem drove all the maids into the lower level of the stone tower after dinner.
Only he was left in the two upper levels of the tower.
Greem sat at a wooden table by a window on the second level, diligently reading through the information he had gotten from Alvar. These books did not contain powerful magical knowledge. They were the basic intelligence reports regarding the Aki Clan.
Greem glossed over their resources, assets, villas, and staffing situations and focused on the information about their adepts.
The Aki Clan was also a mid-sized adept clan. Their headquarters was located in the city of Rohr, a thousand kilometers away from this place. Unlike the Sarubo Clan, the Aki Clan had yet to produce a Great Adept that had embarked on a journey beyond this realm. Their current clan leader, Maecena Aki, was the founder of the clan.
A great Fourth Grade adept!
That also meant that at the moment, the Sarubo Clan was surpassed regarding high-grade powerhouses. The Sarubo did not have a Fourth Grade adept of their own to deal with Maecena Aki himself.
; Even though Great Adept Sarubo was already a Sixth Grade adept, he couldn't help with the clan's conflicts if he couldn't return to the World of Adepts. If it wasn't out of concern about being pursued by Great Adept Sarubo when he left the realm upon reaching Fifth Grade, Maecena Aki could entirely exterminate all the Sarubo adepts by himself.
Consequently, the Sarubo Clan could not take the risk of engaging in a full-out war with the enemy!
Chapter 441 The Annoying Adept
Understanding the nuances of this conflict was crucial for Greem!
Such tensions between adept clans had to be handled with the proper measures.
There were those Who could be offended and those who should never be offended. One had to know these clearly. Otherwise, if you ran into a powerful adept clan, you would die without knowing why.
This time, the Sarubo Clan was dealing with a pretty formidable enemy.
If the culprit, Sak, hadn't been a descendant of Sir Fügen's family, the clan would likely have handed him over to resolve the matter. After all, the Sarubo lacked a Fourth Grade adept that could determine the outcome of the battle. If war were to break out, they would be the ones suffering losses.
Fortunately, the Aki pseudo-adept that died at Sak's hands wasn't a core member of the Aki Clan. Still, a pseudo-adept was still a valuable asset for any adept clan. They weren't disposable objects that the group could afford to toss aside.
That was why these 'tensions' and 'accidents' happened behind the scenes while negotiations were still in the air. It was now a matter of who would be the first to break and bow their heads.
That would be quite the blow to a clan's reputation!
Greem immediately knew what he had to do once he understood the situation. He was here more as a guardian and defender. They were using his title as the Flame Demon to intimidate the opponent and discourage any reckless behavior. Otherwise, if the opponent came over and massacred a resource site of theirs, the Sarubo Clan would be left with no choice but to declare war, regardless of how unwilling they were.
Greem was here to deter any potential attacks by the enemy and buy time for the higher-ups to conclude their negotiations. If he tried to act on his own accord and beat up the enemy too much, it might not be a reward waiting for him. In fact, it might even be punishment.
Greem quickly squashed the thought of actively seeking the enemy out now that he realized this. Instead, he started thinking about how he should deal with the strange and annoying tricks of the opponent.
To better understand the enemy, Greem was diligently going through all the information they had on the Aki adepts. He wanted to find out more about the enemy from yesterday.
He was in no mood to start anything with the maids during this time of danger.
Greem chose his life over pleasure without question.
Apart from the Fourth Grade founder, the Aki Clan also held two Second Grade adepts and nineteen First Grade adepts. There were enough adepts to possess an overwhelming advantage against the Sarubo Clan. They only needed to be a little harsher in their negotiations, and the Sarubo would eventually cave.
After all, the Fourth Grade adept was too influential a deciding factor in a clan war. As long as he decided not to worry about his future development beyond this realm, he alone would be enough to exterminate every single trace of the Sarubo in the World of Adepts.
It didn't matter how furious and angry Sixth Grade Great Adept Sarubo would be. His only recourse then would be to wait until Maecena reached Fifth Grade, and proceed to hunt him down. Before that happened, Sarubo would have no ability to touch Maecena in the World of Adepts, regardless of how powerful he was.
Of course, the Aki Clan's lesser planes would probably become targets of revenge for Sarubo. And Sarubo still had other tricks up his sleeves. As a Sixth Grade Great Adept, he had made allies and friends with other adepts that had left the realm. He could ask them for a favor and borrow the strength of their subordinate Fourth Grade forces to help repel the threat of the Aki Clan.
That was why even the Aki's Fourth Grade Adept was reluctant to take things to the extreme unless necessary.
Greem silently contemplated the entire situation as well as possible future developments. Just then, the tower's defense system triggered.
The next second, a blazing pillar of fire burst forth above a small platform at the top of the tower.
The flame pillar was gone as fast as it had come, vanishing in a puff of smoke. Greem held the staff in one hand and the Scroll of Voodoo in the other. Bright flames burned in his eyes as he silently stood on the spot.
A woodpecker was circling the night sky above. It was the one that had triggered the tower's alarms by throwing a stone at it.
"Heh, Sarubo brat, could you tell me how you saw through my spiritual magic yesterday?" This inconspicuous woodpecker actually knew how to speak. It started cawing at Greem, "If you tell me how you did it, then I'll let you in on a secret as well. You should know, it's related to your safety!"
Greem lifted his head and looked at his opponent. He was shocked to find that it wasn't a magical creature; it was just an ordinary woodpecker. However, Greem once again felt the existence of soul coordinates within the woodpecker.
This bird wasn't the true form of the soul adept. It wasn't their contract creature either. It was just an ordinary bird that had been enchanted by the adept.
Greem looked around in hopes of discovering where the soul adept was hiding. Sadly, pitch-black darkness cloaked everything. Only darkness filled his vision, aside from the few strands of light spilling out of the tower.
The tower itself was thirty-seven meters tall. Finding another tower of this height in Gilneas City was impossible. Only the important areas of Gilneas City and the lands nearby were lit with bright fires on this night. The other areas of the city were dimly lit with the occasional flickering of weak candlelight.
Trying to find the hidden soul adept in this environment was impossible. Greem took a quick look at his surroundings and gave up on this absurd idea. He once again shifted his attention to the woodpecker.
"Your abilities are impressive," Greem shook his head, "Yesterday, a fox. Today, a woodpecker. Your true body remains hidden behind the scenes, not leaving me even a single chance to pay you back for the other night."
"Hey, I'm not here to fight today. I already tried killing you yesterday, and since I didn't succeed, I no longer have any reason to try again. Oh right. What do you think about my suggestion?"
"That's my life-saving trick. You think I would tell you just like that?" Greem stamped his staff against the roof. A stream of fire blasted out and reduced the woodpecker to ashes.
Greem took another look around him after killing off this annoying messenger and prepared to head back into the tower.
Just when he was about to leave, an owl screeched out from the darkness and lunged at him.
"Seriously, brat? You are really mean, aren't you? Killing off my messenger before we… "
A fireball rocketed into the sky. The violent flame shockwaves turned the owl into cinders.
No more than seven seconds later, a green-headed parrot arrived on the scene.
Judging from the broken silver chain tied to its feet, this was the pet of a noble from the city.
"Hey, the dude playing with fire. You kill my messenger again and I'll… "
A flame arrow shot across the sky, turning the parrot into a splatter of flesh and blood.
"How is it, chip? Can you find their hiding spot?" Greem silently communicated with the chip in his mind.
"Beep. Probe failed! Enemy's spell is strange and unusual; associated magical knowledge is lacking. Impossible to identify and track."
Greem was helpless when it came to this.
Magic related to the soul and the spirit was not fundamental knowledge that anyone could get their hands on. Only those with particular talents could draw out their full power. These adepts were often mysterious individuals who were skilled at hiding and
disguise. Trying to get magical knowledge related to their powers was virtually impossible.
That was the type of person Greem was dealing with.
They never showed their real form, only ever relaying their intentions by enchanting and controlling animals. Greem would never believe a single word of such a shady fellow.
Greem's blazing eyes scanned the night sky after sniping the parrot. He didn't find any new flying creature closing in on his position. His spiritual senses picked up something in the garden while he was still considering the situation.
The staff had entirely cleared away the withered vines and magical plants in one of the flower beds, and they had also plowed the dirt. The new seeds had yet to be sown. The place was empty and without a single sign of life. Yet, Greem sensed a mouse digging out of the ground right now. It was trying its best to stand up on its paws as it squeaked at Greem.
Ran out of flying creatures? Now they were turning to critters like these instead.
Greem let out a helpless sigh.
He wanted to fight it out with the enemy, but this sly fellow didn't want to show themselves! He couldn't do anything about this. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to watch out for this annoying person day and night?
It wasn't just him in the stone tower. There was also Sabrina and Billis. They would not survive if the enemy adept got angry and turned their rage towards them. Greem couldn't possibly look after their safety at every moment.
Greem flashed with fire and appeared below the tower. He strode ahead and frowned as he asked, "What do you want, really?"
"Still the answer to that one question. How did you discover my spiritual magic? I used an auxiliary array, planted a soul coordinate, and even used subtle psychological suggestions on you. You shouldn't be able to discover it." The red-eyed mouse waved its little paws furiously. The enemy was still obsessing over this problem.
"Then what information do you intend it exchange for it?" Greem asked in return. He could sense a trace of sincerity in the opponent's words.
"Your safety!" The mouse started squeaking again, "You don't think I'm the only one that the clan sent here, do you? Now that I have failed to kill you, there will be other adepts taking up this assignment. If you tell me how you managed to break free of my illusion, I will give you information on that adept."
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