With the wealth and resources they stole from the dragon plane, the Crimson Clan immediately multiplied their assets and rapidly went from an insignificant, tiny clan to a small clan.
It was the excessive speed of their rise to power that attracted a pack of ‘wolves’ to them.
Five adept clans and organizations led by the Kamala Clan united and found an excuse to launch an adept war against the Crimson Clan. However, the results of the war were simply unexpected. The Crimson Clan was able to beat back the allied forces of the five adept clans with an army of metal golems while their legendary clan leader was absent from the World of Adepts.
It was this miraculous turning of the tides that allowed the Crimson Clan to feed upon the blood of the defeated and grow even faster. They broke free of the constraints of Fire Throne, grabbing much of the land in the Ailovis region and threatening to become a medium clan in the span of a single night.
To suppress the continued growth of the Crimson Clan, the Third Grade clan leader of the Kamala Clan–veteran high-grade adept Death Heralding Crow Yurga–chose to issue a clan challenge. It was the unbelievable battle that forged Greem’s identity as a legendary adept.
A Second Grade fire adept and clan leader of a newly risen clan had killed a veteran Third Grade adept in front of the public using his miraculous means.
Such an unprecedented incident in the history of the World of Adepts passed just like that!
After devouring Kamala and a few other clans, the Crimson Clan quickly established their footing in the Ailovis region and started to extend their influence to the territory of the Northern Witches.
In the extreme cold of the north ruled over by the witches, the Crimson Clan had somehow managed to gain favor with the Fate Witches and took over a large piece of territory in a place known as Icewind. It was said that the Crimson Clan’s development there went smoothly, not at all inferior to Ailovis of the Central Region.
In fact, there were quite a lot of adepts privately spreading the rumor that the legendary fire adept of the Crimson Clan appeared to have an intimate relationship with the leader of the Fate Witches– Alice. That seemed evident from the breadth and depth of their cooperation.
That dissatisfied many of the old fogeys of Zhentarim!
From their perspective, this meant that the Crimson Clan had become vassals and vanguards of the Northern Witches, eventually bringing the forces of the Northern Witches into the entirety of Zhentarim.
Over these years, the influence of the Crimson Clan was limited within the Ailovis region and other new territories they carved out of the Black Forest. Attempts at expanding into other regions were met with severe retaliation from the local adept organizations and clans.
It caused the goblin faction of the Crimson Clan to be able to only extend their influence to some neutral cities, despite all their efforts. Those personal territories and lands did not welcome their arrival.
There were even multiple incidents of goblin merchant groups being robbed and exterminated halfway on their journey.
With the increasing growth of the Crimson Clan’s forces, their enemies started to become more subtle with such operations and became better at cleaning up all trails they left behind.
Unfortunately, with the assistance of the Fate Witches, the Crimson Clan were always able to find the perpetrators and the forces behind them, regardless of how they tried to wipe away their tracks. After a few medium adept organizations collapsed beneath the Motherships and magical machine armies of the Crimson Clan, no other organization dared to haphazardly strike at them anymore!
While some Fourth Grade adepts gradually shifted their attention onto the Crimson Clan and let out word that they would keep the clan in line, the legendary fire adept brought a Fourth Grade giant metallic golem dragon back from one of his lesser planes.
It immediately silenced all the waves that were starting to rise on the outside world!
Though dark undercurrents were still surging beneath Zhentarim, no adept organization dared to continue opposing the Crimson Clan on the surface.
It was fine if the Crimson Clan had no Fourth Grades; dealing with them would have been a simple matter. However, now that a Fourth Grade golem that seemed to possess tremendous power had appeared in the Crimson Clan, the Fourth Grade adepts immediately fell silent and extinguished any thoughts of stomping the Crimson Clan out of existence.
Even some of the Fourth Grade adepts that had a significant chance of beating a dull Fourth Grade golem were not willing to take such unnecessary risks.
With their power and reputation, the adept organizations and clans they represented would never fall as long as they still lived. No Fourth Grade adept would make enemies of an adept of the same grade. No amount of wealth or resources would tempt them into striking at another Fourth Grade adept.
That was because no adept clan or organization would be able to stand the all-out retaliation of a Fourth Grade adept, even if they were protected by another Fourth Grade adept.
Once an adept advanced to Fourth Grade, the difference in personal ability and techniques between those of the lower grades reached an incomprehensible level. A bloodline curse or a death spell could cause a clan to spontaneously fall apart, suffering from an incredible number of casualties.
That was why those Fourth Grade adepts were not willing to provoke another Fourth Grade adept over small numbers of resources if not necessary.
The Fourth Grade golem of the Crimson Clan might not have the same level of destructive power as a Fourth Grade adept, but who knew what other terrifying trump cards that Greem fellow might still be hiding under his sleeve? That was why, with their longevity and composure, the Fourth Grade adepts were not willing to run into this steel wall unless the Crimson Clan was the first to provoke them.
…………
Northern Lands, White Tower.
An elegantly-designed Mothership, the shape of a cigar, slowly floated across the skies of White Tower.
Due to its use of magic energy as a power source, the Patrol Mothership did not emit the same metallic grinding of other vessels that were caused by gears.
Mothership Chiwa silently crushed the clouds in her way, elegantly cruising across the sky. Goblin Magical Mechanic Little Locke stood at the edge of the ship on his toes, looking excitedly at the dark black forest, the towering trees, and the rugged mountains racing by below.
As a newly advanced clan adept, Locke had neither the power nor experience to take control of such a powerful Mothership. However, considering his background as a goblin, Meryl assigned him to Chiwa, serving as a subordinate under Second Grade Knight Soros.
Soros was the captain of Chiwa, while Little Locke was only one of three adepts aboard the ship.
Their mission was to patrol the stretch of Black Forest between White Tower and Doverand City.
Of course, the daily resources and construction materials of the newly established Doverand City were all provided by Chiwa.
Chapter 908 - Doverand City
The silver Mothership Chiwa casually glided across the sky.
It was not yet afternoon, and cotton-like clouds filled the sky.
As a fierce current shot out of the bottom of the Mothership, the white clouds were shredded to pieces, leaving behind a trail of tattered clouds that stretched for several kilometers.
Only half of the setting sun remained above the forest on the horizon. The gentle and refreshing winds were soothing to the face.
The Mothership was far larger than the flying ships of the past. Just the deck alone was twice the size of a football field. However, only ten or so people were allowed to move around on it. Most of them were apprentices on board the ship, while the remainder were mercenaries and merchants heading to Doverand City for work.
A small machine that was slightly more than a meter tall spun around Little Locke like a clumsy metal golem, even occasionally using its pincer-like hand to poke at Locke. Its name was Wreck-it Wrath. It also let out a rumblin
g sound from its mouth. Combined with all the metal gears, axels, and levers clanging about its insides, it gave off an exceedingly boisterous impression.
One couldn’t look down on Wreck-it Wrath simply because of its shoddy appearance; tattered and with much of its insides exposed. It was the goblin magical-mechanic Locke’s most important companion in battle.
Wrath could rapidly transform during battle under Locke’s control, switching into its real combat mode. In that form, Wrath was three meters tall with wildly revolving knives and energy blades all around its body. It was not at all weak at charging the enemy lines, even when compared to the other close-ranged magical mechanics.
When needed, Wrath could also change into a long-range sniping mode, using a large magic energy ray gun and improved goblin rockets to bombard the enemy with firepower.
As such, at least seventy percent of Locke’s total combat power came from this seemingly insane and run-down machine.
A floating disc, half a meter in diameter, also silently floated above Locke.
As it was not in its combat mode right now, the blades around the floating disc had been retracted. Only a metal eyeball extended from beneath the disc, looking all around at its surroundings.
As the Mothership had been installed with a magic generator furnace and had a plentiful supply of energy, there was more than enough to sustain a transparent forcefield around the ship to keep out the cutting winds. Otherwise, ordinary humans like the mercenaries and merchants would not be able to set foot on the deck.
Ignoring the high-altitude winds, whose strength was enough to rival actual typhoons, just the heat loss caused by the air current would be enough to freeze a person over.
However, these human mercenaries and merchants could now casually walk on the deck and look down upon the forest beneath them. Such leisure and casual pleasantness could hardly be found elsewhere!
While Adept Locke put up a deck chair and a coffee table to enjoy his afternoon tea, a slender and beautiful silhouette blocked his view.
“Hi, Little Locke; you’re slacking off here again.”
Locke didn’t need to open his eyes; the sweet voice alone told him who had arrived. It was his newly made companion– Magical Archer Sandor.
It was due to Little Locke’s reckless attempts to save her that Sandor had not been injured at the hands of the ferocious magical creatures back at the battle of Doverand Basin. Consequently, Sandor had invited Little Locke to the bar after the campaign and the two had drunk until they couldn’t anymore.
Just like that, the two of them turned into friends and companions that crossed the races.
Little Locke pushed up his jade-green goggles and revealed his handsome little eyes, waving his tiny fists unamusedly as he did so.
“Stand aside, Miss Tall. You’re blocking my sunshine!”
“Tch! With how rough your skin is, there’s no use in sunbathing.”
“Leave me alone,” Little Locke turned over his body in satisfaction and let the gentle, warm sunlight evenly shower down upon his back, “Instead of taking care of your skin with some facial care along with your sisters, you came here to look for me all of a sudden. You are definitely up to no good. Tell me, what do you want to do?”
“You do know me best. Hehe…shortie, did you hear? A herd of Catoblepones appeared near Doverand City.”
“What? Catoblepones?” Little Locke immediately climbed up from the deck chair in his excitement, “Where? Where?”
The Catoblepas was a type of magical creature. They were hideous, with the head of a boar, yet the antlers of deer. Their tough skin was covered in spikes, while their stumpy yet sturdy limbs had horse hooves at the end.
Usually, an adolescent catoblepas was only a First Grade magical creature. If it weren’t for their preference for living in groups, they would hardly be considered as powerful magical creatures.
Little Locke had constantly been improving his combat magical machines recently, and the antlers of the catoblepas was a material that he urgently sought. White Tower’s goblin shops had these antlers in stock, but the price made him scratch his head. If he could hunt down a herd of catoblepones himself, he could save the thousand magical crystals he would have spent otherwise.
Little Locke immediately became impatient when he heard Sandor’s news.
“Quickly, tell me, where are those guys hiding? I’ve already hired two explorer teams, and I still haven’t managed to track any of them down. Where did you get your news? Is the source reliable?”
Sandor stretched her pretty body in the sun when faced with Little Locke’s barrage of questions. She laughed as she said, “Don’t care how I got my new. Just tell me whether you are going.”
Little Locke hesitated for a moment, “Do you have some other conditions? Tell me.”
“Naturally, those idiots are all hiding in the stinky swamps. If you want me to accompany you to that gross place, you will have to help me catch a mandrake first.”
Little Locke instantly understood, “No wonder you came to look for me. Mandrakes are highly poisonous and are skilled at manipulated vines as well as plant roots. Only a metal golem such as Wrath can deal with them. Very well, it’s a deal then!”
Sandor immediately smiled when Little Locke agreed to her proposal.
Mandrakes might be exceedingly poisonous and were filled with sticky, sap-like blood, but they were also highly valuable alchemy materials. A liquid made from mandrakes could be used as a material in scrying spells. It would go for a reasonable price if it were sold to the Fate Witches.
After settling on the conditions, Sandor lifted Little Locke and spun him around in her moment of happiness. She then kissed him on the cheek before elegantly walking away.
Two blushes immediately appeared on Locke’s green face.
The Mothership was now above Doverand Basin.
Its massive hull covered a small half of the sky, startling some vultures and a flock of white birds, sending them flying into the distance. The sound of fleeing beasts faintly came from the dark Black Forest. The nearby forest started to become restless.
The Mothership was too big to actually land. Once it slowly descended and hovered a hundred meters above Doverand Basin, a few dozen flying goblin ships with various shapes and forms took off from the deck. They landed in the basin below in puffs of steam and smoke.
Over a hundred human mercenaries and merchants sat on these ships, along with a shocking number of construction materials.
Doverand Basin had now become a massive construction site.
As many as two hundred construction machines were diligently flattening the ground and chopping down trees under the commands of the goblins. Large logs the radius of two to three humans had been piled in a small hill by a corner of the basin, while several steampunk-fashioned buildings rose from the ground.
As the overseers, the goblins had safety helmets on and were ordering the construction machines in and out of the construction site. Dust was everywhere with lots of loud noises. The entirety of Doverand Basin was bubbling with activity.
Mothership Chiwa traveled twice a day between White Tower and the soon-to-be Doverand City, transporting a large amount of construction material and daily goods. Thus, their arrival only made Doverand Basin all the more lively.
Adept Locke had just stepped off of a goblin shuttle with Wrath and Quickwit when a goblin stopped him. It was General Manager Zixil, dressed in a neat and well-pressed uniform.
“Lord Locke, if you have the time, I hope you can go to Pa Mazk’s place. It seems like he’s looking for you about some business. Also, Supervisor Zorbin of the Risk Investment Company is looking for you. He said that the mithril ingots you ordered have arrived.”
Sandor had no interest in these petty goblin matters. She poked Locke.
“It seems like you are going to be busy for a while. Remember, look for me at seven in the morning tomorrow. As for the location, you should know it.” Having said that, Magical Archer Sandor promptly
left.
As they disliked how noisy the construction site was, the blood elves stationed in the basin had made their own little camp to the west, in the Black Forest. Sandor naturally went to meet up with her sisters after arriving.
In all honesty, having some clanspeople that took the same side as you was extremely convenient in a major organization. At the very least, it meant that Sandor had a much better information network compared to LIttle Locke.
After waving farewell to Sandor, Locke casually grabbed a little goblin that barely reached his chest to show him the way. With his current reputation, there were almost no goblins in the goblin faction that did not recognize him.
This little goblin was also one of the many youths that had been chosen from the Goblin Plane to study here. Adept Locke was undoubtedly his idol. Thus, the little goblin skipped and hopped, bringing Adept Locke to Pa Mazk’s goblin shop.
Locke hesitated in front of the low and narrow doors of the shop for a moment before finally setting foot inside.
Chapter 909 - Magic Energy Association
Pa Mazk was an old, hunched-over goblin with a wrinkled face.
In all honesty, the fact that he had managed to survive the planar suppression upon arriving in the World of Adepts was already well beyond Locke’s expectations.
If he were to stand beside Locke, outsiders would treat them as grandfather and grandson. However, no one could guess that Pa Mazk was actually a goblin companion that Locke had grown up with– his most intimate friend, in fact.
A smile immediately appeared on Pa Mazk’s wrinkled face when he saw the little goblin bring Locke over.
“Little Harold! Since you’ve come, why don’t you help me watch over my store for the moment? I have some things to talk about with Locke.” Pa Mazk took out a well-crafted mechanical chicken from the below the black countertop and tossed it to the little goblin. He then nodded at Locke, and the two walked into the storehouse behind the shop, one after the other.
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