"Er… "
Greem was speechless.
The flipping heck was this?
Chapter 442 Danger Everywhere
Night fell.
Greem still hadn't gone to sleep yet. In fact, he had even delayed even his four hours of daily meditation.
Placed before him was a list of adepts that would soon arrive at Gilneas City.
The list wasn't very long. There were only five names on it, but three of them were Aki Clan adepts.
That was already a terrifying number!
It was important to note that even the Sarubo headquarters in Feidnan City only usually had two or three stationed adepts. The Aki Clan had sent three adepts to Gilneas City, all for this measly matter. No matter how you looked at the situation, it seemed like they were planning something big!
Greem's average power was only at the level of a veteran adept, now that he had lost the Infernal Tyrant. If he transformed into the Flame Fiend, his strength would further rise to the level of an elite adept. He would have to unseal the Flame Fiend's Heart and undergo the second phase transformation if he wanted to exterminate the opponent quickly. If he did so, he would possess the power of a peak elite.
A strength of this level would allow Greem to take on adepts of the same Grade with relative ease. In fact, he could even further improve his chances by summoning his two adept-level golems.
However, this was only relative to adepts below elite level. If Greem met an elite-level combat adept and failed to finish the battle within fifteen minutes, he would be in a dangerous situation. That was notably the case if those enemy adepts came prepared and had fire-resistant magic equipment with them. Greem's combat effectiveness would be cut in half before the fight even started.
Greem needed to finish processing the dragon crystal as soon as possible to deal with this problem. Otherwise, he might not be able to deal with all the challenges he would meet during this mission.
Lamure. Female. Aki Clan. Soul Adept. Specialises in controlling the souls and minds of others.
Sicha. Male. Aki Clan. Body Refining Adept. Possesses great strength and a tough, unbreakable body.
Flandre. Male. Aki Clan. Elementium Adept (Water). Great mastery over water spells. Is extremely destructive. It was said that his 'Waterspout' spell held the terrifying record of crippling three adepts in one blow.
Enon. Male. Zehnder Clan. Bloodline Adept (Transformation Type). Can turn into a Space Bat: a sort of spatial lifeform that transcends the material plane.
Baroque. Male. Morrison Clan. Elementium Adept (Plant). Specialises in hastening plant growth and modification of magical plants.
……
For some unknown reason, these five adepts had appeared near Gilneas City. The three Aki clan adepts were here for him, but the motives of the other two were less clear.
They either had something essential to do nearby or…
Greem's head hurt. There were too many possibilities.
According to Lamure's words, the Aki Clan intended to capture one or two Sarubo clan members and use them to exchange for Sak, who was hiding in Feidnan City. The reason Lamure had come was to abduct those two apprentice captains.
However, since Greem had arrived, the Aki Clan decided that the two pseudo-adepts weren't nearly influential enough as targets. That was why they shifted their attention towards Greem instead.
Their original plan was to send two more adepts to work together with Lamure and capture Greem. However, this Adept Lamure had been too confident in her powers. She had made the first move without waiting for reinforcements.
The result was, naturally, a failure.
Moreover, this Adept Lamure had even initiated a private deal with Greem to learn how he escaped her psychological suggestions. In exchange, she gave up the names of the two adept reinforcements.
Of course, Greem couldn't possibly reveal the secret of the chip. Instead, he claimed it to be an innate ability of his. Lamure wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer, but she didn't press the issue.
Greem even had a feeling that Lamure would have found an excuse to hand over the information on the two adepts, even if he hadn't done anything.
Greem felt a headache come on when he looked at the information in his hands!
There was an elite level water elementium adept. That was an opponent that had been explicitly arranged for him. If one included the resilient body refining adept and a tricky soul adept on this team, Greem didn't seem to have any better option than to run.
The opponent would not kill him.
After all, the Sarubo Clan was much stronger than the Aki Clan. If the Fourth Grade Aki clan leader truly angered Sarubo, his life would be hell, even if he didn't step out of the World of Adepts. That was why killing an adept was out of the question.
The reason they sent three adepts in total was to ensure Greem was taken down. They desperately wanted to use him as a bargaining chip in the negotiations. On the other hand, if Greem lost and were detained by the Aki Clan, his reputation would suffer. It didn't matter if the Sarubo Clan managed to exchange for his release.
Perhaps this was the actual threat by which Lady Sanazar wanted to take Greem down a notch!
Greem came to an inevitable conclusion after running through all his thoughts. The one thing he lacked most was still power. There was no other option but obtaining unimaginable power if he wanted to shatter this awkward and stressful situation.
No wonder Lamure had so casually thrown the information his way. An elite combat adept aided by two veteran adepts made it a child's errand to capture Greem. Lamure wasn't worried about Greem going anywhere or achieving much with the information.
Perhaps she also understood a lot more about the various intricacies of this conflict!
Greem decided to lock himself within the stone tower for the next few days; he was not going out anymore.
He put his other research projects on hold and allowed all of the chip's calculation time and effort to be spent on designing, constructing, and optimizing the prototype of the Second Grade dragon crystal golem.
The chip estimated a completion time of nine days.
Greem left the chip to run on its own. Meanwhile, he went about gathering all the necessary magical materials for the task. With the constant increase in golem core grades, conventional magical materials were no longer able to satisfy their requirements. They were unable to deal with the potent and high-efficiency elementium energy output.
Greem employed his authority as a stationed adept to transfer all the resources and materials he needed to his tower from the resource sites and the mine warehouse. These materials were all to craft the Wind Dragon Golem that he had placed all his hopes on.
Billis and Sabrina were busy tending to all the errands he had sent them on. For the moment, they had both turned into Greem's little assistants, constantly helping him process these magical materials.
Even though his actions were not exactly by the rules, no one quite dared say anything at this particular moment.
The two Aki Clan adepts arrived while Greem was silently preparing all this.
Greem didn't see them with his own eyes, and Viscount Alvar didn't send him any related information either. However, he knew without a doubt that the enemy had arrived.
That was because, since the fourth day, incidents were occurring all over Gilneas City and its surroundings.
The first incident occurred at the Iron Ring Mine.
The mine had become haunted.
Over twenty miners went missing in a single night.
There was a small town near the mine, and most people had family members working in the mines. They dug in the tunnels during the day and returned to the village at night to rest. Their lives were reasonably peaceful.
However, on the fourth night after Greem arrived in Gilneas City, twenty mine workers suddenly vanished from the town. They had all disappeared while they were still resting in their homes. Even their family members didn't know where they w
ent. They only knew that the miners had disappeared entirely!
Everyone talked and chatted about the incident. Then, on the next night, another twenty mine workers disappeared.
This time, the apprentice adepts at the mine could no longer stand by. They sent people to the homes of the missing workers but didn't find any signs of magic.
Thus, not knowing what to do, Yuri ran to the stone tower and asked for instructions from Greem.
"Sir, how do you think we should deal with this situation?"
"Deal with it like how you would usually deal with it!" Greem slowly and casually replied while holding a piece of parchment in his hand.
"But…" Yuri stuttered in reply.
Right now, he had hoped Greem would hurry to the mine to stabilize the situation. The hidden enemies would not dare be so arrogant if there was an adept guarding the place.
Judging from how clean and neat the whole matter was, it was impossible for the culprits to be mere apprentices. It meant that the ones silently watching the mine were likely adepts of the Aki Clan.
Yuri's heart trembled whenever reminded of the idea that a mighty adept might be scheming against the mine.
"Go back!" Greem appeared to be unfazed by the events, "They only killed some workers. Give the family members more gold coins as compensation and make sure to appease them. I will deal with the rest!"
Greem was already straightforward in his meaning. Pseudo-Adept Yuri might still want more action from the adept, but he could only bow and leave at this point.
If it weren't for his duties and obligation, Yuri would have moved right into the stone tower. He didn't want to stay a second longer in the mines.
However, with Greem's orders above him, Yuri could only grit his teeth and return to the mines.
Greem lifted his head once Yuri had left. He coldly laughed as he looked out of the tower, "Trying to trick me into leaving the tower? Hmph! Come and assault my tower if you have the guts! We will see who's the first to fall."
The fact that they were trying to lure Greem out meant that they had absolute confidence in taking him down. Consequently, Greem was able to deduce that the two adept reinforcements that Lamure mentioned had already arrived. They were hurling out a web and waiting for him to walk into it.
"Try your best. Wreak havoc," Greem mumbled, "It won't matter how much destruction you unleash. You won't get me to leave until I've completed the Wind Dragon. Hmph."
For the next four days, several of the Sarubo Clan's resource sites near Gilneas City were attacked. Their warehouses were set on fire, their magical herbs started to wither en masse, and even staff members started going missing.
Initially, most of the people who vanished were only ordinary people. However, after a while, even some of the stationed apprentices had started going missing.
Chaos spread throughout Gilneas City. Everyone was fearful of what was happening. Some of the smarter nobles and trade companies even left the city as fast as they could to avoid being dragged into this terrifying storm.
Meanwhile, more and more pressure fell upon Greem's shoulders!
Chapter 443 Closing In
Mineur Valley.
Bright sunlight couldn't pierce the dense canopy, causing confusing darkness to swallow the forest. A thin mist covered the entire forest in a deathly silence. One couldn't even hear the cries of insects or the calls of birds.
A black shape suddenly emerged from the shadow of a tree during this silence. The shadow quickly formed into the shape of a human.
The mist dispersed with a gushing sound, revealing a mysterious adept with a handsome and cool face; he wore a sky-blue robe.
The strange adept looked around him after appearing. He stomped his feet on the ground lightly when he discovered no abnormalities. He sent a chilling gust of air into the earth, where it activated a particular array.
A thick Snake-Necked Flower silently emerged from the earth. Its layers of closed petals slowly opened up, and a muscular man wearing leather armor stepped out of the flower. He wore a golden circlet on his head, metal claws on his hands, and had a boorish look to him.
"God, is there still no news?" The muscular man's temper rose when he saw his companion's silent expression, "It has been four days! That bastard should have come to take a look, even if he's a complete coward! Did he catch word of something? Why else would he be so patient?"
"You will have to ask Lamure about this!" The blue-robed adept complained while an upset expression showed on his face, "She ambushed him of her own accord. Not only did she fail, it is very likely that she also alerted the enemy to our existence."
"Could that bitch Lamure have sold us out?" The thought flashed through the rude man's mind. His eyes turned colder and sharper, "Lamure, get your ass out here. I know you are here. Come out now."
The entire forest trembled and shook when the man roared. The blue-robed adept couldn't help but frown when this happened. He waved the short staff in his hand, and a colorful semi-translucent water barrier immediately sealed the place.
This position was far too close to the enemy's mine. If the alarm arrays picked up on the irregularity here, it would be much harder to execute their plans.
Screech, screech, screech.
A wave of strange ape calls rang out from the depths of the forest. Five gibbons swung from tree to tree as if they had wings on their backs. They eventually stopped on a tree in front of the two adepts and stared at them.
"Lamure, you still dare show up. Speak! Did you give out the information about us arriving? Why else would that brat be so smart? This place is already in chaos, and he's still insisting on staying inside that tiny city."
A trace of intelligence flashed in the dull and lifeless eyes of one of the gibbons. The animal suddenly became a lot smarter and more spirited.
"Sicha, you freaking barbarian. I couldn't be bothered to talk to you. I was also assigned to this mission. What do you think I get out of this if it fails?" The gibbon began to speak, and, surprisingly, the voice of a woman came out of its mouth.
"Hmph! Who can know for sure? Everyone knows that you and Flandre have an ongoing rivalry. Who knows what plot you might be cooking up behind our backs?" Sicha crossed his arms; his distrust painted clearly across his face for all to see.
“Alright, alright," Flandre, who had silently been listening to the exchange with a cold expression, interrupted the two, "It doesn't matter whether our target has caught wind of us and our plans. We need to lure him out. Iron Ring is the best place to set up an ambush. We don't need to worry about being interfered with either. This place is still going to be where the fight takes place."
"Hmph! The environment here is pretty good indeed. It's well suited for an ambush. Still, if we know this, it's highly likely that the brat knows it as well. It's been a few days since things started happening at the mines. Yet, he isn't even willing to come here for a simple visit. I'm afraid he's already given up on Iron Ring Mine." Sicha might have been a body-refining adept with remarkably developed muscles, but he was just as intelligent and wise as Flandre.
"There's one of his disciple apprentices in the mine. Should I lure that person out? We might be able to force that bastard to show himself that way!" The gibbon rolled its eyes and suggested.
"Lure them out and imprison them. We can see how this plays out!" Flandre started frowning as he considered the situation.
Even though he knew Lamure's suggestions probably had some unspoken schemes hidden behind them, he couldn't discover anything wrong with it at the moment.
"We will wait for a day. If that fellow still hasn't returned, then we will tear that Second Class resource site of his apart. I don't believe he can remain unmoving in his stone tower under such conditions. Sicha, you will have to do some extra work. Find a suitable spot for an ambush near the resource site, lay out arrays there, and wait for me."
"Then you…?"
"I'll go to take a look at Gilneas City." Flandre gritted his teeth, "If that brat trul
y intends to hole up in there, we might have to assault his tower. Fortunately, that tower only has a crude defensive array. Our mission might have been a difficult one if it were a war tower!"
Flandre clearly intended to scout the enemy's base.
Sicha didn't ask for any more details. After all, Lamure was here as well. Regardless of whether she was the one who spilled the secret of their arrival or not, it was best to keep their whereabouts to themselves.
The three adepts exchanged a few words before parting from each other and heading in different directions.
This forest near the mines quickly fell back into its deathly silence.
…………
The Stone Tower.
Greem was in an awful mood.
He had just received a magical message sent by Meryl from Feidnan City. Kodar's funeral was to be held three days later in a rural place known as Molloy.
That was the location of his family's graveyard!
Kodar had died ten days ago when he failed his advancement ceremony.
They said that his flesh and organs had all been drained away by the ceremony when his family members took him out of the secret room. His entire body was emaciated, so much so that he looked like a skeleton.
Kodar's family was bound to face a period of decline after losing him. Even though there were other talented sprouts among the youth of that family, they still required time and resources before they could grow and mature.
Meryl didn't know how to deal with the crying and sobbing elderly head of Kodar's family. She was still not used to such situations since it had only been a short time since she had become an adept. Consequently, she brought a young girl called Mona back with her when she returned to Feidnan City.
Mona, eighteen years old, beginner apprentice.
This short amount of information revealed absolutely nothing of merit!
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