Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  The effects of his age seemed to weigh more heavily on Gazlowe now compared to before.

  Distressing spots and blotches filled his green skin. The purple spots had almost completely obscured his green skin color. His wrinkled, bark-like skin rolled up. The surface of the skin seemed to have absolutely no shine to it.

  With the average sixty to eighty years of lifespan of an ordinary goblin, Gazlowe was a genuinely elderly individual with his age of ninety-six years. Unlike Tigule, who had his lifespan extended after his advancement, Gazlowe was still an ordinary goblin. His life should have ended ten or twenty years ago.

  Yet, the greatest engineer and inventor of the Goblin Plane had used some method to extend his lifespan with the influence and resources at his disposal.

  That was obvious, given the thin transparent tubes connecting him with the giant machine!

  Chapter 519 Warehouse Battle

  Even if Gazlowe was the most influential and wealthy goblin of the plane, he could only barely sustain his life with some medical facilities.

  That was why Tigule couldn't help but feel sincere sympathy for the pitiful and tragic appearance of the old goblin, despite the great hatred he harbored for him.

  If Gazlowe were willing to limit his ambition and use all of his intelligence and talent to contribute to the rise of the Goblin Empire, he would undoubtedly become an existence hailed as a sage and saint of the goblins.

  Sadly, greed had clouded his brilliant mind. The fear of death had made him lose his dignity as a goblin!

  The Goblin Empire of the present was betraying worrying signs of division, precisely because of this damned old fool. If the situation were allowed to continue as it was, the influence of the Royal Family would eventually be usurped by his financial groups.

  After a quick reveal of his face, the metallic shields of the giant machine closed up once more. The elderly Gazlowe was once again protected under its thick metal body.

  "Princess, your Highness; you must have something important to discuss to have sent your men to call me here secretly. I wonder... " Gazlowe paused for a moment when he reached this part.

  "Gazlowe, we are both nobility that wields the most influence in this country. There's no need to put on any facades here. Do you not know the reason I have called you here?" An expression of frustration and anger appeared on Vanessa's smooth, light-green face, "The invading adepts have unleashed such a fearsome plague in our country. Are we to sit by, watch, and let them do as they please?"

  "Then, Princess, what do you mean to do?"

  "I hope we can join forces and first get rid of these damned adepts. The internal conflict between us can be resolved through other means after we deal with this external problem."

  "……"

  Gazlowe fell silent.

  The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

  Goblins shouldn't be killing other goblins. This simple thought was shared by all of the goblins present here. However, the political ideals of their leaders were far too different. That was why they had no choice but to stand on opposing sides and bear hatred against each other.

  If Gazlowe accepted Princess Vanessa's suggestion, then it would undoubtedly be a massive step toward mending the cracks that had emerged in the Goblin Empire.

  The weight of the matter caused every single goblin to hold their breath and wait silently for Gazlowe's reply.

  He spoke after a long silence.

  "Your suggestion is actually a plan that I had thought of a long time ago. However, the distrust between us makes executing cooperation such as this to its fullest extent difficult. As such, to truly merge both of our power, I have a different suggestion."

  "What is it?" Princess Vanessa's jade-green eyes gleamed with the light of surprise when she saw her suggestion approved by Gazlowe.

  "I… suggest… "

  Gazlowe's old voice turned deeper and deeper as he spoke through the voice transmitter. By the time he reached the actual suggestion, it was too thick to hear what he was saying.

  As Princess Vanessa leaned forward to discern his words, the ground of the warehouse started rumbling intensely.

  The next moment, the ground beneath the royal magical machine squad split apart. A metal spiral drill dug out of the earth, still rapidly spinning. One of the First Grade magical machines didn't manage to avoid it in time and was impaled right through the center by the spinning drill.

  A goblin boring machine emerged from underground accompanied by the ear-piercing rattling of metal, revealing the massive metallic sphere of a body behind the drill. The unfortunate magical machine had been completely pierced through.

  As purple blood trickled down the drill, the metal sphere opened up. A surprising number of goblin death squads rushed out of it.

  They wore motion-support exoskeleton armor on their bodies, with Biznicks 247x128 Accurascopes on their heads. They held Core Marksmen Rifles in their hands, wore foldable metal shields at their elbows, braced high-temperature flamethrowers on their shoulders, and had plenty of magic energy bombs hanging at their waists.

  They might not have magical machines, but their terrifying equipment still turned them into the key to throwing the royal guards into disorder.

  They threw magic energy bombs at the royal guards like pouring rain before they could even react. Intense flames and powerful metal bullets instantly drowned the battlefield in explosions.

  The royal guards had been taken by surprise. They lost over two or three dozen men during the first moments of combat. However, their strict training and excellent equipment still allowed them to fight back against the attacks of the goblin death squads.

  Both parties started an intense battle in the corner of the warehouse.

  At this exact moment, four or five holes smashed through the thick metal roof above them. Several magical machines dropped down from above, suspended on metal wires. One could see the fleet of flying ships above the warehouse through the holes busted in the roof.

  The sudden turn of events infuriated Princess Vanessa to no ends. However, before she could even question Gazlowe, the giant machine suddenly bent down and swept its massive hand towards her.

  When the metal hand was only half a meter away from Vanessa, Tigule's spider machine had already crashed into the hand from a side. The Spider Machine extended a limb and pushed the goblin princess away as gently as it could at the moment of impact.

  Dong!

  A metallic ringing shook the entire warehouse.

  The metal hand was deflected and instead grabbed a goblin maid that had been staying at Vanessa's side. Gazlowe's furious grunted from within the magical machine. He tightened his grip and crushed the goblin maid to pieces!

  "Adjali!" Princess Vanessa let out a mournful cry and reached towards the blood paste falling from the sky.

  Vanessa stumbled as the royal guards quickly surrounded her and retreated towards the back door. She didn't even have time to mourn for the maid that had followed her for so many years.

  The royal magical machines couldn't help the soldiers clear up the death squads either. They immediately charged toward the princess and used their ferocious firepower to suppress all enemies lunging at her.

  It was soldiers against soldiers and magical machines against magical machines.

  The towering machines fired with all they had while rapidly closing in on each other. When two of them reached within a certain distance of each other, they would put aside their barrage of bullets and used massive metal chainsaws to attack the enemy's weak points.

  Their energy shields defended against the flamethrowers, while their metal shields and thick arms deflected close ranged weapon strikes. Two massive metal machines crashing into each other meant a cacophony of metallic clanging and the ear-piercing sound of grinding metal.

  Metal dust flew everywhere as sparks flew here and there.

  The battles between the magical machines were equally as savage as the ones between the soldiers. Every punch struck hard on metal. Eve
ry strike of a blade cut deep into a machine. The dangers of magical machine combat were not inferior to those of melee combat.

  In just a dozen seconds, five magical machines had collapsed on the battlefield. Three of those belonged to the royal family, while two belonged to the old goblin. Over a hundred supporting goblin soldiers had already died.

  Large and small battles continuously erupted, with the stumbling princess as the center. The number of guards by her side was quickly dwindling.

  However, this place was still the territory of the Royal Family after all. The number of guards hidden around the warehouse was no less than the number of goblins that had suddenly ambushed them. The rapport of guns and cannons, as well as the rumbling of the clashing magical machines, rang out throughout the goblin town.

  Tigule had no choice but to pilot his Second Grade spider machine and throw himself at the ultra-Second Grade giant machine to cover for the princess.

  Gazlowe might have been the greatest engineer and inventor, but he was not proficient at piloting magical machines. The machine appeared to be extremely clumsy and slow under his control, and it unleashed almost none of its combat prowess.

  However, Gazlowe had invested a heartbreaking amount of effort and resources into this giant machine to protect himself. The machine lived up to his expectations as well. It was so durable and sturdy that it was almost disheartening.

  At the very least, Tigule, who was fighting with it, felt the impulse to start vomiting blood!

  Most magical machines had to find a point of balance between the toughness of their armor and the agility of the machine. It shouldn't be too heavy as to affect its movement, yet it shouldn't sacrifice the safety of the mechanic for the sake of agility.

  However, the giant machine before Tigule was an extreme counterexample of that!

  The machine had been designed with layer after layer of alloy armor, with absolutely no consideration for its mobility or agility. It was like a rhinoceros covered with a dozen layers of armor when it stood there. It didn't move a single step, but it was so resilient that it made any enemies lose all desire to fight with it.

  It didn't matter whether it was close-ranged bombs, high radiation flames, or sharp limb strikes. Nothing could move those layers of alloy armor.

  Even if you spent all your efforts and smashed through one layer, there would still be another layer waiting underneath.

  When trying your best to break through the second layer, there was still the third layer down there.

  It was complete torture, and it deeply frustrated Tigule, who prided himself on his prowess in combat.

  Even with his skill, the Spider Machine's weapons could not harm the old goblin inside the machine at all.

  The old goblin hiding inside the machine was like the colossal boss of a raid that just stood there. It endured Tigule's attacks while clumsily taking out all sorts of strange magic energy weapons from remote hidden parts of its body to counterattack.

  The battle quickly devolved into a stalemate!

  Chapter 520 Night Visit

  It was a classic goblin civil war!

  The size of the battlefield limited the scale of the battle. However, the fight itself was exceptionally bloody and brutal.

  The leaders of both parties were trapped in a metal ore warehouse that was no more than seven hundred square meters in size. The reinforcements were still swarming into the warehouse. This tiny place instantly turned into an asura's slaughterhouse where both factions fought each other to the death.

  The royal guards that were escorting the princess were currently in an incredibly awkward position.

  Two or three dozen magical machines were fighting in front of them, while the goblin death squads stubbornly pursued them from behind. They were stuck in the middle, unsure of what to do. For a moment, they had no idea where they should go.

  The goblin town was still sovereign territory after all. The number of goblin soldiers stationed here undoubtedly outnumbered Gazlowe's private army that had traveled from far away. However, it was precisely this advantage in numbers that caused Princess Vanessa and the Military Minister to let down their guards.

  They had never imagined that this daring Gazlowe would attempt something as barbaric as abduction, especially while he was in the enemy's base.

  Not only did the old goblin ignore the Princess' offer while the evil adepts wreaked havoc inside the Goblin Plane, but he was also even willing to risk civil war to get his hands on the princess. Such mindless actions were clearly beyond the range of an ordinary goblin's logic!

  Princess Vanessa agonizingly mumbled as she stumbled forward with her guards: "Mad…mad, he must have gone mad... "

  As intelligent as she was, even she couldn't comprehend the insanity of an ancient goblin teetering on the brink of death. There was no way she could ever understand the intensity of Gazlowe's desire to live in the face of death, especially when he still thought of himself as the future hope of the Goblin Empire!

  If the Goblin Empire couldn't rise to prominence with him as its leader, then he would rather have all goblins fall along with him!

  The battle was still raging on.

  The army that Gazlowe had brought with him could not compare to the local military in terms of number. However, as the ones on the offense, their equipment quality and skill was far above the royal guards who hadn't seen a battle in a long time. Moreover, Gazlowe's army seemed to have already decided on their targets before their attack.

  That was why their attacks were always targeted and their strategies well laid out. The moment the fight had started, they assaulted and took over all the strategic areas around the warehouse via both land and air.

  The royal guards inside the warehouse were still trying their best to resist, but they were at a clear disadvantage. The number of royal guards had dwindled rapidly under the flanking attacks of the enemy. They had been reduced to less than ten men from their initial complement of a hundred.

  The soldiers stationed around the warehouse by the Royal Family were being held back by a squad of magical machines. Magical machines were fighting both inside and outside the warehouse, along with the goblin soldiers supporting them.

  Magic energy weapons, alchemical weapons, and gunpowder weapons could be seen everywhere across the battlefield. All of these were lethal weapons of murder that had been created by the intelligent goblins. Dozens and hundreds of goblins fell to the ground at every moment, each turning into yet another sacrifice on this chaotic battlefield.

  When the final goblin guard was riddled with holes, only Princess Vanessa alone was left with Tigule's single magical machine. They faced a dozen magical machines and over a hundred goblin mercenaries.

  Among the enemies, three of them were First Grade goblin mechanics who could match Tigule's might, and all of them were piloting Second Grade magical machines as well.

  Tigule's Spider Machine had been badly damaged after that bloody battle, and its combat ability had been severely reduced.

  Only five of the machine's eight limbs remained. The rapid-fire array of guns scattered around the spider's body had mostly been destroyed as well. Even the high radiation flamethrower on the back of the spider's metal body had vanished without a trace; only half of its metal base had remained there.

  If these were the only problems that Tigule faced, then the battlefield before him still couldn't prevent him from escaping. After all, he was daring and resolute in all of his maneuvers. However, he was the only thing standing between Princess Vanessa and the enemy. Thus, there was no chance of him using rapid movements and repositioning to dodge the enemy's attacks.

  Most of the time, he had to use his machine to shield Vanessa from stray bullets actively. Even the unstoppable Tigule couldn't help but feel a helpless dejectedness when the enemy slowly closed in on them.

  Kacha kak!

  Countless black gun barrels forced them towards the center. Tigule hopelessly tossed away the First Grade machine he had torn into two pi
eces and gave up all resistance.

  So many enemies at such a close distance. There was no way he could still protect the Princess from harm, and if he continued to fight, any random stray bullet would cause lethal damage to Princess Vanessa. There would be no saving the Princess' life no matter how many enemies he killed after that.

  Losing the Princess would be an intolerable nightmare for the Goblin Empire!

  That was why the Princess had to live!

  The battles outside the warehouse slowly came to a rest after Princess Vanessa fell into the hands of Gazlowe.

  None of the royal goblin commanders had any idea what to do. They weren't sure if they were supposed to continue attacking or transition into negotiations. Their cautiousness led them to remain idle, even when Gazlowe boarded his flying ship with Princess Vanessa in his arms. They didn't dare to attack and could only watch as the enemy left the battlefield.

  …………

  The battle that occurred near the castle ended just as abruptly as it had started.

  If it weren't for the spies that Mary had planted among the goblins, the adepts would never have known that the two leaders had met up.

  Greem and the others had only heard of the specifics three days after the incident due to the strict lockdown of information imposed by the goblins. By that time, Gazlowe had already retreated into the Steel Capital with his 'spoils of war'.

  That was the capital of the Goblin Empire and well within the Royal Family's sphere of influence. However, with the rise of the progressive faction, the Steel Capital had gradually become the meeting place of various financial groups.

  In particular, as magic energy research had progressed over the past few decades, large amounts of wealth and resources had quickly gathered in the hands of Gazlowe's Risk Investment Company. As such, the progressives were able to amass military might. They mass manufactured magic energy weapons and quickly became a militarized merchant union that grew with each passing day.

  The leaders of this goblin merchant union were both merchants, tycoons, and bandits that possessed significant military strength.