Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  It was no longer a paradise for goblins!

  …………

  News of the tragedy that had occurred in the Steel Capital quickly spread throughout the plane.

  Everything within five hundred kilometers of the place had been enveloped in a dense cloud of radiation. Any person that walked into it couldn't walk out alive. The goblin reinforcements could only gather in the cities nearby, anxiously waiting for the radiation clouds to subside.

  How did this tragedy happen?

  Several different answers to this question spread amongst the goblins.

  The most popular amongst them was the Adept Invasion Theory.

  Some goblins described in a lifelike manner how the otherworldly evil adepts had invaded the Goblin Plane and how the great Prince Lord Gazlowe had been forced to detonate the space furnace and die alongside the invaders to save the world.

  Of course, there were far more chaotic versions of the story out there.

  For example, some goblins gossiped that the evil adepts had been invited into the plane by Gazlowe. The purpose of this was so that the Prince Lord could borrow the strength of the adepts to deal with the Royal Family. The three parties had fought in the Steel Capital, and the space furnace had exploded due to accidental shockwaves from the fight itself.

  Apart from this version of the story, about twenty or thirty other stories were being spread out there. Almost all of them were described in such vivid detail, almost as if the goblins had witnessed it themselves. However, it didn't matter which version of the story it was. The evil adepts were always the antagonists, and the goblins would always have obtained the final victory by the end. That was the same conclusion of every version of the story.

  One couldn't help but point out that the Goblin Plane of the present was truly in a bizarre situation with no leadership to speak of.

  The Risk Investment Company that Gazlowe had established might claim to be the most significant force within the Goblin Plane, but all of their higher-ups and elite fighting forces had been brought into the Steel Capital to fight against the adepts and the dragonborn.

  All of them had turned into dust with that tremendous explosion. The Risk Investment Company was now no more than a headless snake. Even though they still had massive influence and decent military presence in other areas, all of their leaders were dead. Thus, these places were unavoidably caught up in struggles for superiority fought between the local landlords.

  The most influential person of the Royal Family–Princess Vanessa–had also 'died' in the Steel Capital. Her brothers had yet to come of age either. They were still goblin kids sucking on lollipops and riding on toy horses.

  Having them step up to lead the chaotic Goblin Empire was a huge joke.

  Thus, the wounded goblin God of War who brought Vanessa's corpse back to the Royal Family became the saving grace of the Goblin Empire. The six otherworldly adepts that Tigule brought back with him also rapidly caused the Empire to fall into internal disagreements.

  Some goblins were shouting and calling for war against the adepts, believing that they were the ones who brought this calamity upon the Goblin Plane. Some goblins were already utterly terrified by the tragedy of the Steel Capital. They asked to negotiate with the adepts. These goblins were willing to treat the adepts as their superiors and allow the adepts take what they wanted as long as they themselves retained their status and positions.

  For a moment, none of the goblins could agree with each other and fell into an intense round of disagreement and arguments!

  Chapter 543 Rule of the Plane

  Snorlax successfully arrived at the Goblin Plane during this chaotic situation.

  Perhaps because of his identity as a goblin, Snorlax didn't receive too much planar suppression. He shook his head once upon arriving and instantly got acclimated to the planar laws here.

  Adept Meryl had also accompanied him in traveling to the Goblin Plane.

  As a strong supporter of Greem, Meryl couldn't wait to participate in the first planar invasion her teacher had launched. Sadly, she was genuinely unsuited for combat. That was why Greem only decided to teleport her here after the battle had been mostly decided.

  The first thing that Meryl and Snorlax saw upon arriving was the boundless fields, the blue skies, and the white clouds.

  The location of the teleportation was set at the balcony of the goblin castle. As such, the both of them saw a group of individuals casually chatting with wine glasses in their hands the moment they turned around.

  Two deck chairs had already been prepared for Meryl and Snorlax.

  Meryl fell limply to the ground the moment she arrived. She couldn't even greet the other adepts. It took her a long time resting on the soft deck chair to get used to that intolerable planar suppression.

  In stark contrast to Meryl was Snorlax.

  He had held his head for a short while, and the daze quickly passed. In fact, he could start chatting with the other people while drinking wine in less than seven minutes.

  The servants who were passing wine and desserts to the adepts were all goblins. It was apparent that they had all undergone strict etiquette training and lessons on service. Every one of their actions and movements was elegant and uniform.

  There were even five goblin musicians in the corner of the balcony, performing a pleasant tune for the adepts. The instruments they played were entirely different from those of the World of the Adepts. They possessed the style of the goblins.

  Snorlax's heart was relieved when he saw the scene before him.

  The adepts must have been doing well, given how publicly they were showing themselves before these adepts. At the very least, they were in no danger!

  The first thing to be done with the arrival of the newcomers was the exchange of information.

  Meryl and Snorlax heard about the fearsome battles that had happened in the Goblin Plane through Greem. Greem had already tried his best to be brief. There were no embellishments or exaggerations in his story, yet the story he told was still enough to shock and awe Snorlax and Meryl.

  The goblin magical machine army, flying ships, the Steel Capital, the immortality ritual, a Third Grade dragon, giant brain, space furnace…

  Such mysterious and wondrous things had all appeared in the span of a single month. Moreover, all of these things were closely related to the adepts themselves. Such bizarre and unimaginable stories would only have appeared in the stories of the mortal world in the past. But now, they had become part of the legend of the adepts present here.

  For the first time, Meryl had also become interested in planar invasions.

  Sneaking alone into an unvisited plane. Hiding from the search of powerful native creatures in damp swamps and dark forests. Fighting the natives to the death in harsh environments when they ran into each other.

  Win, continue to run and proceed to write your own legend. Lose, and you would fall into a world that was not your own. Even your head and body might become part of a personal collection for the natives to brag about.

  Collect sufficient knowledge about the other world as you escape, and in doing so, discover the weakness of the enemies and learn to exploit it. Even a weak adept could kill an otherworldly lifeform far stronger than them through such means.

  When the strongest lifeforms or organizations of the plane had been defeated, the invading adepts could naturally become the rulers, doing as they pleased with the resources and wealth within it.

  Meryl fantasized as she listened to her teacher's stories.

  In her childlike mind, she had entered numerous foreign planes and crushed them all beneath her foot. She imagined titles and emblems of 'Plane Conqueror' being bestowed upon her, allowing her to become the spotlight at every adept banquet, becoming the target of envy and jealousy of all other adepts.

  Even a calm and discreet adept like Meryl couldn't help but feel herself getting excited when she thought of such a scene.

  She knew her limits, and her flaws made such a dream i
mpossible to be realized. But, she was still an adept after all!

  The desire to succeed, the desire to be recognized, the desire to obtain victory after victory; this had almost become second nature etched into the bones of every adept. It had nothing to do with one's ability.

  Snorlax's mind had also gone into the clouds while Adept Meryl's mind was wandering in her dreams.

  The goblin maids surrounding him now were all so pretty and beautiful. Their bodies were so curvaceous and slim. It caused Snorlax's hormones that had been thirsting for several decades to go straight through the roof, reaching all the way into the clouds. It hovered high up there and didn't seem like it would be coming down any time soon.

  Most human adepts would not be able to differentiate which of these goblins were male and which were female. That was why it was even more of a futile effort to expect them to make a judgment of their beauty.

  With a human's standards, these goblin maids that were sending Snorlax into paradise were all extremely ugly. Stout bodies, round waists, green skin, mouths as large as melons, and those big yellow teeth…

  In particular, these goblin maids had thick black hair growing on their heads, beneath their armpits, and on their feet. It utterly disgusted the few human adepts present here. If it wasn't because they knew these maids were a form of 'goodwill' sent by Tigule to appeal to them, the adepts might have suspected Tigule had done so to disgust them intentionally.

  The adepts might be disgusted with these maids, but Snorlax was not.

  Truthfully, in Snorlax's eyes, these goblin maids were much prettier than the few female adepts. He had never understood why his master could tolerate being intimate with such ugly female adepts.

  Fortunately for Snorlax, Mary didn't possess any mind-reading abilities. Otherwise, today would be his funeral!

  Greem also received information about the situation in Fire Throne from Snorlax and Meryl.

  Greem had kept a very tight hold on the flow of information. As such, the disappearance of the adepts here had been attributed to an expedition to somewhere in the World of Adepts.

  One or two adepts missing was not a problem. However, if a large group of the core adepts in Greem's faction vanished from the tower, it would attract the suspicions of his enemies. If Greem managed his time well enough, his enemies couldn't do much even if the tower's strength was temporarily emptied.

  However, things were bound to change, and incidences were likely to happen if things dragged on for too long.

  The invasion had already gone on for one month and three days if they had started counting since Billis' teleportation to the Goblin Plane. Greem estimated he still had ten to fifteen days worth of time to maneuver around. The chances of something happening to Fire Throne would increase exponentially if he couldn't settle the matter of the Goblin Plane by then.

  Meryl woke up from her daze after a while and realized that someone was missing from the adepts present in the room.

  "Where's Sabrina? Is she out on a mission?" Meryl asked in surprise.

  Greem didn't answer. He only shook his head dejectedly.

  Meryl instantly understood what he meant.

  Mechanical Adept Sabrina had died!

  This unexpected news shocked Meryl beyond words.

  Even though Sabrina had been a few decades later than her in advancing to adept, a single Sabrina was strong enough of a mechanical adept to fight off three to four of herself.

  Such a powerful adept in her eyes had silently fallen in this insignificant Goblin Plane. This…how…how could this not make someone sigh in exasperation?!

  …………

  The war of the Goblin Plane had already concluded.

  The ancient Royal Family lost all confidence and ability to continue fighting with the adepts once news of Gazlowe's loss reached them.

  Moreover, the plague seeds that Greem had planted all over the plane had also started reproducing en masse. The number of infected goblins had reached 4.7 million. That was more than two-fifths of the total goblin population.

  Few of these infected goblins would survive if a fight broke out between the goblins and the adepts.

  Moreover, Tigule had personally described the strength of the adepts upon returning. That made the stale and decaying Royal Family incapable of finding the will to fight back.

  After all, these adepts could even defeat a Third Grade thunder dragon from another plane. What were they, with their weak powers and abilities, supposed to fight the adepts with?

  If Gazlowe were still alive, if the metal ore reserves they had in the Steel Capital still existed, these goblins would not hesitate to fight the invaders to the death, even if it meant the collapse of their world. However, now the thousands of years of ores reserves of the Goblin Empire and all their special alloy materials were buried deep under the collapsed mountain along with the Steel Capital itself.

  Even if they wanted to resist the adepts, what were they supposed to use to do so?

  Without noticing it, all the goblins had lost their previous courage and bravery. Plenty of voices requesting cooperation with the adepts and starting a joint excavation of the Goblin Plane began to emerge among the citizens.

  Of course, this was no more than a fig leaf that the goblins were using to hide the last bit of face they still had.

  The positions between the adepts and the goblins had unknowingly changed when the Goblin Empire lowered their heads to the adepts for the first time.

  The Goblin Empire still retained their lands and their legitimate rule, but their crown had been branded with the mark of the adepts.

  The rule of the plane naturally fell into the hands of the adepts!

  Or more accurately, into the hands of Greem.

  Chapter 544 Sage Snorlax

  Five days later.

  An ultra-long-ranged teleportation device that combined the technology of the goblins and the knowledge of the adepts was finally created.

  This device was connected with Greem's teleportation array back in Fire Throne. It also symbolized that the Goblin Plane had officially turned into the first lesser plane under Greem's control.

  The process of conquering the Goblin Plane had been met by obstacle after obstacle. If it weren't for their luck, many of Greem's party wouldn't have successfully made it back to the World of Adepts.

  Still, Greem had ultimately managed to gain control over the Goblin Plane despite having lost Mechanical Adept Sabrina. Apart from the goblin laborers, the plane provided Greem with plenty of unimaginable goblin technology.

  An army of workers that brought with them their own technology tree. Could there be any plane invasion that yielded more benefits than this?

  With his personality, Greem wouldn't do anything like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. He had no interest in turning all the goblins into slaves and waiting for them to initiate wave after wave of rebellion and resistance. The goblins of the Goblin Plane were all decent technicians in Greem's eyes.

  Turning them into slaves would be a waste of their real value. They didn't have the muscular bodies of the ogres or the resilient life force of the trolls. Mining and digging for ores underground was just not an appropriate line of work for these delicate creatures.

  In contrast, if he utilized these goblins as slave masters and technicians, their true value would be fully realized.

  Greem's impression was that the machine technology of the Goblin Plane was already extremely mature, and its universalization rate was very high. It had permeated almost every social class of the Goblin Empire, from the very bottom to the top. Even the lowest social communities–the villages–possessed highly efficient Goblin Shredders and drilling machines.

  At the very least, the degree to which knowledge was shared in the Goblin Plane far exceeded even the large-sized plane of the World of Adepts.

  The World of Adepts was a large-sized plane and terrifying world whose name would incite fear and panic in multiple worlds just from the sheer mention of it. However
, the universalization of adept civilization was not a complete one. The adepts still insisted on the development and cultivation of elites.

  The status of the adepts could not be shaken. The magic civilization only extended to the First Grade adepts and the local nobles that were familiar with them. The ordinary citizens at the lowest rung of society had no right to enjoy the benefits that the developed civilization brought to the world.

  That was why the middle and upper class of the World of Adepts were powerful enough to cross planar barriers to conquer other worlds, while the lower class still struggled in poverty, starving and getting by without any dignity to speak of. The situation greatly resembled Europe in the medieval centuries back on Earth. It was the knowledge that Greem had from his previous life.

  The main reason this disparity between the Goblin Plane and the World of Adepts existed was due to the difference in their civilization's model.

  The world that the goblins lived in lacked magical energies. As such, it was difficult for the world to give birth to individually powerful heroic characters. Even the famous God of War Tigule was no more than a First Grade goblin mechanic.

  Such a situation made it impossible for the world to continue progressing and evolving with the help of only individuals. The world had to rely on the strength of the masses.

  The goblins had no choice but to share their knowledge, skills, and civilization to strengthen the entire race. That was the only way to create a snowball effect and keep themselves perpetually moving forward.

  Correspondingly, the strength of the World of Adepts didn't rely on the tens of thousands of low-grade adepts. Instead, they were feared because of the three Ninth Grade Supreme Adepts that terrorized the multiverse.

  In the eyes of these three Supreme Adepts, the low-grade adepts of their world were no more than ants. Cultivating them was only for the purpose of having soldiers and cannon fodder they could throw at the frontlines of planar wars. As for the ordinary citizens that had no magical talents whatsoever? They were of absolutely no use to the Supreme Adepts. Naturally, no one would be bored enough to tilt resources toward them.