Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Goblin helicopters hummed with the unique sound of mechanical constructs as they cut through the skies above the ancient castle. A large goblin flying ship slowly approached the airport located at the edge of the castle. Goblins continuously walked up and down the deck of the ship.

  Princess Vanessa took a slow sweeping look at all the happy goblin citizens under her rule. A sense of endless pride filled her heart, along with an indescribable fear and unease.

  She loved her citizens. She loved this country. She loved the unique civilization of the goblins, but the sudden introduction of magic energy changed all of this.

  Magic energy meant a cleaner and more efficient source of power. It was also a sustainable source of energy that would never run out. That was why, when it was first introduced, no goblin had been able to reject this new energy source that represented a greater future.

  However, for some reason, the more they came into contact with magic energy, the more easily the weak hearts of the goblins were corrupted.

  The various tycoons and leaders of the financial groups led by Gazlowe had all become reckless and greedy. They fantasized about getting their hands on terrifying power that didn't belong to goblins.

  Vanessa had a vague idea as to why Gazlowe had contacted the World of Adepts and drawn the evil adepts to the Goblin Plane. After all, once a ninety-six-year-old overage goblin had obtained supreme power, the one thing he would want the most would be to make himself live longer.

  That was something that the goblin civilization would never be able to solve!

  It was why that jerk had drawn the evil adept into their home; for the sake of his own selfish and wicked ends. All of this was no more than the futile struggles of a dying old goblin.

  The Thunder God Titan blueprint that Tigule sent back had enchanted and enamored the royal engineers. The power of the Fourth Grade in that machine had perfectly assimilated goblin mechanical engineering and alchemical technology. It would be the most powerful magical machine that would witness the rise of the Goblin Empire.

  If a thing like that were successfully created, all the engineers and alchemists involved in the process would forever be carved into the annals of history. They would become sages to be worshipped by countless generations of goblins to come.

  No goblin could resist such temptation!

  Vanessa had received news that those elderly goblin engineers hadn't slept in the three days and nights since the blueprint had arrived at the Royal Engineering Academy. They had gathered all the engineers and invited a bunch of old fellows from the Alchemy Association to help them. All the goblins were now passionately discussing every detail and core technology involved in the Thunder God.

  To complete their experiments, they had appealed for seventeen major engineering projects, twenty-one core material experiments, a hundred and seventy-five technique verification tests, and five technical feasibility projects on space furnace miniaturization, all at once.

  Based on their current actions, it would be impossible to sustain all of the projects that they were planning on doing, even if they emptied out the royal treasury. Moreover, if all the wealth and resources of the royal family were thrown into this intangible Thunder God project, then the plan for the royal family to create their own magic energy army would have to be delayed.

  What was the goblin royal family supposed to use to fight against Gazlowe's mercenaries without a new magic energy army? What was the goblin royal family supposed to do against the invasion of the evil adepts without a new magic energy army?

  If the ones that defeated the adepts weren't the goblin royal army, but Gazlowe's mercenaries instead, then the goblin royalty would lose their sacred role as defenders of the land in the eyes of their citizens. When that happened, what else could the goblin royal family do but watch as Gazlowe slowly gained the favor of the population?

  The more she thought about the situation, the more the dark clouds in Vanessa's mind swelled. There were many times when she felt like the burdens on her shoulders far outweighed the combined total of all goblins of her age.

  If it weren't for the royal bloodline that prevented her from stepping back and compromising, she would probably be just like any other eleven-year-old goblin princess– working on the engineering projects they loved, piloting their alchemical creations, and not ever worrying about problems and troubles that were yet to come!

  Sadly, she was Vanessa. She was the eldest princess of the Goblin Empire. She was the most influential goblin of the Anderme Royal Family. Under such circumstances, she had no choice but to cast away her skirts and don her armor, fighting to the best of her ability for the survival of the royal family!

  As Vanessa gripped the metal railing and looked down upon the citizens of her castle, a frantic goblin maid ran into her room.

  "This isn't good. This is bad. Princess, your Highness, the Minister of State just submitted a report. Large-scale plagues have broken out all over the Empire."

  The scepter in the hands of the petite and pretty Princess Vanessa fell to the ground.

  …………

  A plague had broken out!

  It was almost as if the death god of plague had just taken a stroll through the lands of the Empire. A horrifying epidemic of shocking scale broke out throughout the Empire, from south to north and from east to west.

  All infected goblins had the same symptoms. Their bodies festered as blood spots of various sizes appeared on their green skin. Even the strongest of goblins would instantly collapse once the plague had infected them. They would then start scratching their bodies until they ravaged their skin. Pus would seep through their wounds, and they would cough up blood!

  It wasn't as if large-scale plagues had never happened in the history of the Goblin Plane. However, those plagues always had an apparent source. The goblins only needed to quarantine that source, and the scale of the outbreak would be significantly limited.

  However, this plague was clearly unlike any before. Not only was the scale unprecedentedly broad, one specific symptom of the disease was so odd that it struck fear into the hearts of the goblins.

  That was the fact that the mortality rate of the plague was so miraculously low!

  It was almost as if a demon god was playing a wicked prank on the goblins. Even though the number of infected goblins increased at an exponential rate, not many of those goblins died.

  Among the infected goblins, only those who were exceptionally frail died from the plague virus. The other goblins suffered and agonized, but they remained at the edge of life and death. The last remnants of their life force weren't stolen away by the virus.

  That indirectly proved the source of the plague to be the evil adepts!

  When the goblin doctors sent out by the royal family finally discovered the source of the plague to be the polluted water sources of the goblins, it was already too late. The large-scale disease was quickly spreading from goblin to goblin. It spread from cities to towns to villages, before spreading from the towns and villages to even smaller settlements across the Empire.

  The weakening of the goblins caused rioting all over the place. The slaves that had been oppressed by the goblins for so long immediately initiated a wave of revolution all over the country. As the main combatants–the goblin mechanics–had all been infected with the plague, the various goblin cities and towns lacked the protection of magical machines. Many of these places fell to the slaves of other races.

  Those goblin cities that had yet to fall had no choice but to start massacring the slaves inside their walls to protect themselves. That naturally led to intense resistance from the slaves.

  For a moment, goblin garrisons, militia, and local armed forces engaged in massive wars with the other races. Casualties piled up on both sides.

  The fearsome plague that swept through the Goblin Plane forced the Goblin Empire into a precarious position!

  Chapter 518 Meeting of Two Titans

  As the pulsing spatial ripples vanished, the third bat
ch of reinforcements arrived in the Goblin Plane.

  This time was the same as the last. Only two people came as reinforcements. Alice and Berserk Witch Sofia.

  Their arrival was a significant boost to the strength of Greem's faction. The number of active adepts went from five to seven. Moreover, with Alice's unique Fate Divination, she would be able to obtain various amounts of information during her daily divinations, as long as that information was not something that the enemy was actively trying to hide.

  With her addition to the party, no significant movement of the enemy would pass unnoticed by Greem and his allies.

  It was precisely Alice's importance that made her a core member of Greem's faction. Greem would never let her be subjected to any risk under ordinary circumstances, not to mention having her step on the battlefield. Therefore, Greem quickly summoned Mary and Billis back from their tasks and had Mary stay by Alice's side.

  The seven adepts that had arrived on the Goblin Plane met up in this manner. They started discussing their following battle plans against the Goblin Empire.

  Of the seven adepts, Mary and Billis leaned toward making contact with Gazlowe. As long as he was sufficiently greedy, Greem's faction could easily use an exchange of benefits to trade with him. If he could sell out the goblin plane once, he would sell it out a second time as long as the price was right.

  The newcomer Sofia was more inclined toward contacting Princess Vanessa. After all, she was the one who represented the true legitimate rulers of the Goblin Plane. Even though the entire country had been upset by Greem and the others, her influence over the goblins was still far superior to that usurper, Gazlowe.

  Moreover, secondary information revealed that Princess Vanessa had always been known for being a benevolent and kind ruler. It seemed much better to negotiate with her using the infected goblins as bargaining chips as opposed to making a trade with that sinister and scheming Gazlowe.

  Mechanical Girl Sabrina and Poison Hag Endor were impartial!

  Both sides didn't reach a consensus, but the strategy they were using was the same– suppress one party while supporting the other. The best leverage that they currently held in their hands was the terrifying plague that had spread through a third of the Empire's territories and infected approximately 2,600,000 goblins.

  As long as the Voodoo Doll was still in Greem's hand, he could determine the life and death of these infected goblins. According to Greem's understanding, the entire population of the Goblin Empire was no more than 11,000,000. The infected 2,600,000 goblins were already one-fourth of the total population.

  If such a large number of goblins died of a plague, it would shake the foundation of the Empire's rule.

  The development of the Goblin Empire had been somewhat deformed and incomplete. It relied too heavily on alchemical machines and magic energy devices. They utilized these inventions in every facet of daily life. However, a highly advanced mechanical civilization could not help with the progress of the healthcare system. Consequently, the doctors raised by the Goblin Empire were only slightly better than the voodoo doctors of barbarian tribes. They were far from the heights that the goblin engineers and alchemists had reached.

  Just as Greem and the others silently plotted their next move in the shadows, shocking news came from the heartland of the Goblin Empire.

  Something had happened to Princess Vanessa!

  …………

  This place was a goblin town located sixty-five kilometers to the north of the royal castle.

  As a satellite town of the ancient imperial castle, it housed over two thousand outsider technicians and artisans, despite only having three hundred permanent residents. The blacksmiths and forging factories that functioned as metallurgical facilities numbered twenty-five.

  Large numbers of specialized metal ingots were transported to this place by goblin merchant groups and flying ships on a daily basis. They were then turned into metal components based on the needs of the imperial castle. These components were used to keep up with the demands of the royal engineers and alchemists.

  That was why black smoke always churned out of this town. The liquid metal in the steelmaking furnaces flowed like rivers as many pipes channeled it to various forging factories. The clanging of metallic molds, the sizzling sound of metal rapidly cooling in water, and the ear-piercing sound of metal components being ground upon metal lathes was everywhere.

  The entire town was like a massive manufactory. Any newcomer to this place would be utterly annoyed and disturbed by the constant clanging.

  However, at this moment, two groups of goblins were facing off at a large warehouse at the edge of the town. The atmosphere in the place was taut.

  The dozen magical machines that gathered on the right side of the warehouse were branded with the insignia of the Royal Anderme Family on the front and the back. They were the royal magical machine squad. Over a hundred goblin soldiers in royal combat uniforms stood around the magical machines. They held arcanite rifles in their hands, taking up most of the high ground and advantageous positions in the warehouse. They steadily aimed their black gun barrels at the enemies across them.

  The ones facing off against the royal guards were also goblins.

  They dressed in a variety of uniforms, but their skill and hostility were no weaker than the guards. The profile of a goblin wearing a monocle was branded onto the fronts of all their shirts.

  As the intruders, there wasn't a lot of them; there was only approximately two dozen. However, the four magical machines that stood at the very front were covered in a brilliant magic energy radiance. With one look, anyone could tell that they were Second Grade machines that had been forged with superior alloy.

  In comparison, only two of the thirteen magical machines in the royal magical machine squad were Second Grade.

  The great disparity in power undoubtedly hung over the heads of each royal mechanic. Their expressions were solemn, and they couldn't dispell the uneasiness in their hearts.

  After all the experimentations so far, the relative power of a Second Grade magical machine, as opposed to a First Grade machine, was already a truth beyond all doubt.

  Typically, a single Second Grade machine could only fight off three to four First Grade machines. The moment two Second Grade machines joined forces, however, would be the moment they easily destroyed many dozens of First Grade machines.

  As such, it only appeared as if the royal magical machine squad had the advantage. The four Second Grade machines on the other side would easily demolish the two Second Grade machines and eleven First Grade machines that they owned the moment the battle started.

  The royal goblin soldiers could only act as auxiliary support and containment units in a battle like this. The power they could unleash against a rampaging magical machine was insignificant.

  A common alchemical carriage stopped at the back of the warehouse. A petite goblin girl wearing a veil over her face stepped out of it.

  The person waiting in front of the carriage was Tigule, who was now piloting a spider-type Second Grade machine.

  "Princess, are you sure you want to go in?" Tigule's voice hung in the air as it transmitted through the air vents, "You should know that the bastard will turn hostile and assault us the moment negotiations fail."

  "Teacher Tigule, I will still do this!" The goblin girl under the veil was Vanessa in disguise. Worry, concern, anger, and annoyance were painted all over her face. However, all of that anxiety and distress vanished the moment she stepped through the back door of the warehouse with her head held high. She once again became that confident and lively goblin princess, Vanessa!

  Tigule sighed silently and operated his spider machine to follow after.

  A mighty-looking machine stepped forth from behind the goblins on the other side as if it had sensed Vanessa's arrival. The appearance of the device resembled a magical mecha. However, the thickness of the metal around it was shocking. One look and you could tell that it was a guardian-type magical ma
chine meant mostly for defense.

  The number of special alloys and rare resources used to forge this machine had reached a stunning height. The inordinate amount of materials used in its creations would be more than enough to create three Second Grade machines!

  "Vanessa… o' beautiful Princess Vanessa. Since you were willing to give me the honor of meeting me, why don't you take off that veil and let me gaze upon your pretty face." An old and hoarse voice rang out from within the massive machine.

  "How dare you!" Tigule roared in anger. The spider-type machine moved its eight clattering metallic limbs and stood before the giant machine, "Gazlowe, you might be a prince, but even you cannot behave in such a rude manner before Her Highness the Princess!"

  "Kehkehkeh," The old goblin inside the giant machine couldn't help but break out in insane laughter, "Tigule, you are no more than an old dog of the Royal Family that has lost all of its teeth. Your master has yet to speak, and you jump out to bark? Are you not worried about messing up your master's plans?"

  Tigule's anger reached its boiling point. He was just about to launch a reckless attack at the enemy when Princess Vanessa walked to his side. She gently took off her veil and softly said, "Teacher Tigule, tolerate it for a bit. Let me have a few words with Gazlowe!"

  Vanessa's sweet and moving voice was like a cooling spring flowing into the middle of a desert. It immediately chilled the bubbling tensions in the warehouse.

  Tigule was reluctant, but he still suppressed his fury. The Spider Machine moved to a side and revealed Vanessa.

  "I have come! What about you?" Vanessa stared at the giant machine with determined eyes.

  The giant machine seemed to hesitate for a moment before steam blasted out of the many exhaust pipes on its back. The metallic plates at the front of the device opened up, layer by layer. Finally, after seven layers of protective plates, Gazlowe's face was exposed to everyone.