“However, we know perfectly well of your exploits in Zhentarim, my lord. We are genuinely in awe that you were able to shatter the isolationist shackles of Zhentarim in just a hundred years and pull the region back on the proper path!” Martin couldn’t help but talk on for a few more sentences. “You are truly the great bringer of change that the Central Lands has been waiting for! The Central Lands will rise in power as well from now on!”
Greem responded to the praise with a few neutral comments and continued speaking normally to Martin.
After passing through countless corridors and passages and riding on several floating discs, they finally arrived at Hall Nine.
Sainz was already waiting here.
The same dirty robe, the same scruffy short hair, and the same scrawny figure with a red nose. Sainz stood silently there, evaluating Greem with calm eyes.
As a Great Adept, he had thousands of ways and means by which to make himself look more handsome and young. However, these methods would hardly deceive an adept of the same power. Moreover, as a Great Adept, their value had never been dependent on their appearance.
That was why many Great Adepts didn’t care much for their appearances and looked very eccentric indeed.
Today, upon setting eyes on Greem, Sainz felt envy and jealousy for the first time.
It was good to be young!
Compared to how old Sainz looked, Greem was indeed enviably young.
At first glance, Greem was simply a good-looking young man, with eyes that glowed like stars and shapely facial features. He wasn’t exactly outstandingly handsome. However, his figure was unexpectedly muscular with well-defined lines of the perfect ratio.
When he simply stood there, he gave off the impression of being an ordinary person. He did not have the same suffocating presence of other adept powerhouses.
However, horror and shock flashed across Sainz’s eyes when he looked upon Greem.
As a Fourth Grade adept, Martin might not be able to sense the principle aura that Greem radiated. However, a veteran Great Adept like Sainz had advanced 1,900 years ago and could see it very clearly. Four principle auras. This newly advanced Greem was shrouded in four principle auras.
Two of the red fire halos had a mystical principle resonance with Greem’s soul. These were probably the fire principle powers he had mastered. Meanwhile, the other two–one dark red and the other bright yellow–appeared to be provided by some powerful treasures.
The four unique principle auras mingled together and protected Greem firmly. The occasional principle fluctuation that rippled out made Sainz’s expression change.
Being able to grasp two principle powers just shortly after advancement was enough to demonstrate Greem’s unbelievable talent with fire. Moreover, apart from his outstanding ability, this young Great Adept also possessed valuable artifacts. That was what Sainz couldn’t understand at all.
Where did he find so many Fifth Grade artifacts?
Was he the bastard child of some high-ranking individual within the adept faction?
For a moment, even Sainz was rendered completely speechless!
Chapter 1449 - Recruitment Orders
Sainz couldn’t help but ask when they were both seated properly in the hall.
“Tell me, why have you come looking for me?”
“I wish to request an audience with Great Adept Sarubo!” Since Sainz already asked, Greem naturally went with the most direct answer.
The scrawny little old man couldn’t help but start laughing sinisterly, as if he already foresaw the answer.
“Lord Sarubo is not like us. He has long since left the camp and established a mystic realm of his own. Contacting him is not going to be that easy!”
“But you definitely have a way to contact him, don’t you? “Greem chuckled.
Sainz took a good look at Greem, sizing him up and down. Finally, he couldn’t help but sigh once more as he said, “Who would’ve known that even Lord Sarubo would have made a misjudgment. Otherwise, he never would have let an individual as excellent as you slip through his fingers!”
“He didn’t exactly misjudge me. I just want to take this opportunity to resolve certain misunderstandings and conflicts we had in my earlier years.”
“Kehkehkehe…those trivial affairs that happened within the planar world are somehow still worth your effort. You have only just advanced to Great Adept. You don’t understand how the major players like us think. For people like us, power is a power that you can truly control. As for the World of Adepts? Heh, given the damned rejection of the planar consciousness, there’s not much we can intervene in.”
“But the World of Adepts is still our homeworld, isn’t it?”
“True, true, true. What you say is very true indeed! However, you aren’t innocent enough to believe that the entire Adept Faction is sustaining their losses in the planar wars with the Great Adepts that rise from the World of Adepts, are you? Once every few hundred years?”
“You should know that our adept faction is constantly at war with the gods, dragons, demons, and the gazers. There is no way we would have been able to sustain our efforts by relying on new blood from the homeworld alone.
“The higher-grade adepts possess major planeworlds in their hands, comparable to the World of Adepts. The production of fighting force from these major planeworlds ensures the adept faction retains the tremendous power required to intimidate all our enemies.”
Greem listened silently.
Since advancing past Fourth Grade, the difference in the dimension of his existence had qualified him to learn of the true secrets of the universe. Greem could sense the curtain obscuring the true face of the world slowly pull open before his eyes as he listened to Sainz speak.
A new world, completely different from his previous understanding, was starting to come into view.
“Why is it that every Fifth Grade Great Adept that steps out of the homeworld will stop at a camp in space for a long time? On the one hand, it’s because they have nowhere to go, while they themselves lack the ability to establish a mystic realm of their own. On the other hand, it’s to adapt. To adapt to their new bodies, their new soul, and to all this new knowledge.
“I know that for a person as young as you to advance to Fifth Grade, you must have experienced terrible bloodshed and cruel conquests. Upon turning into a Great Adept, the way you see the universe, the planeworlds, and resources will have to be different from before.
“The planes you have visited and conquered in the past were mostly small and medium-sized planes. The native creatures there are either foolish and slow or possess power yet lack the ability to properly wield it.
“Fighting against such enemies was no different than wrestling with sheep, even if they had hundreds or thousands of times your number. With enough time and space, you could easily drag them to their death, even when faced with absolute danger and disadvantage.
“Why? Tell me, what is it that gave you such power and confidence?”
Greem listened to Sainz’s question and pondered. “Planar advantage…grade advantage…knowledge advantage……”
“Indeed. These were the things that gave you confidence. Thus, the enemies are no more than sheep in your eyes. They might grow horns, even claws and fangs, but it will never change their essence as sheep. And we…we are wolves! They are prey, and we are predators. It isn’t our decision, but something that was decided by the difference in our planeworlds.
“You can imagine the converse. If their worlds were stronger than ours, they would never let go of this opportunity to raid resources and the population. The World of Adepts is only a large planeworld. The resources it needs to grow and become a mega-sized planeworld like the Abyssal World and the World of Disasters is simply far, far too much.
“Throughout this process of gathering the required resources, the enemies we will be facing will no longer be those lesser planes weaker than ourselves. The enemies that Great Adepts face are often large planeworlds, comparable t
o the World of Adepts. And the wars between large planeworlds are beyond what you have experienced in those tiny worlds.
“That is why these camps in the realms beyond are like rookie camps for newly advanced Fifth Grade to gather resources and familiarize themselves with the conditions of war. Hehehe. People like us are little more than rookies who have yet to sharpen our fangs in the eyes of the adepts of higher-grades.”
Greem’s body trembled as a complex expression flashed across his face.
Meanwhile, Adept Sainz continued cackling oddly as he further revealed more harsh truths of the world to Greem.
“Don’t be discouraged. Almost every newly advanced Fifth Grade adept will have to experience this adaptation of the mind and body. You were once an uncontested, omnipotent individual within a planeworld. Here, you are little more than a rookie who possesses some power.
“Still, don’t get dejected. At the very least, compared to those low-grade adepts, we make up the backbone of the adept faction. The higher-ups won’t just let us die so easily!”
Upon hearing all these shocking truths, Greem took a deep breath of air. He couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “Sir Sainz, why is it that you revealed so much valuable information to me?”
“Kehkehkehe, I just want to tell you that all those conflicts in the World of Adepts that you care so much about hardly matter in the eyes of a Sixth Grade Great Adept. He is constantly busy waging war against those major planeworlds. Where would he have the time or effort to care about all those messy affairs in the World of Adepts?”
Greem thought for a moment and asked, “If planar conquests are so dangerous, are there Great Adepts that dislike them and choose not to participate?”
“Kehkehkehe, of course there are! Do you not see the one dozen Fifth Grades lingering inside the camp? They shut themselves in their rooms, never emerging and only collecting resources for their research and experiments.”
“Then…do the superior adepts not forcefully make them participate in planar wars?”
“Hehehe, no, that doesn’t happen! After all, the direction and preferences of every adept differs. There’s no way to bind someone and force them to do anything. However, for adepts who excel at killing and fighting, actively participating in the planar wars organized by superior adepts is perhaps the quickest way to strengthen oneself.
“Take our Camp Exodar, for example! The true owner of the camp is Seventh Grade Great Adept Lord Erlendwald. He chose to join Lady Barbara’s forces and they are currently waging war against the Beast God. I heard it’s quite an intense battle indeed.”
“You mean…only Eighth Grade Great Adepts have the right to declare war against a major planeworld. They will then gather some Great Adepts to strengthen their forces and serve as the main army,” Greem asked.
“Indeed!” Sainz nodded and said, “The so-called wars between major planeworlds are not limited to just one or two planeworlds. These are often horrifying wars that span dozens if not hundreds of planeworlds. For the sake of hurting the enemy to the best of their abilities, these wars always begin on the peripheral planeworlds. The invader will crush their enemy’s resource worlds, fortress worlds, and faith worlds in an overwhelming blitz.
“In those cases, the weaklings out there are the cannon fodder of this war, while we are the backbone of the fighting. We are either deployed to take down stubborn fortresses or to deal with opponents of the same grade as us.
“I’m sure you can imagine how crowded it is in those worlds, with millions upon millions of ants fighting in them. Meanwhile, outside the planeworlds, dozens of Fifth Grade Great Adepts, vassal gods, and clones wage battle. I’m sure you will never be able to forget such an experience once you’ve experienced it for yourself!”
Greem fell silent for a moment. Finally, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, “It seems like you have a purpose in mind, with all that you’ve told me today.”
“Kehkehkehe, as long as you understand!” Sainz broke into a sinister smile. “The situation over on Lady Barbara’s side is apparently quite tense; they still lack manpower. As such, recruitment orders have been sent to all the camps. You can choose to join, or not to. You enjoy absolute freedom.
“However, before you reject the offer, I hope you will take a look at the terms of recruitment first.”
Having said that, Sainz took out a communication crystal and tossed it at Greem.
Greem caught it and slowly extended his Spirit into the crystal.
The next second, he extracted a tremendous amount of data with the help of the Chip.
[The Beast War: Adept Recruitment Order
[Individuals Recruited: Fifth, Sixth Grade Great Adepts
[Mission Content: Ensure the successful advance along the West Line!
[Mission Sponsor: Great Adept Erlenwald
[Mission Rewards: Two small planeworlds, 1,000 siths of origin substance, a Fifth Grade material of your choosing, and 30,000 otherworldly slaves. All spoils obtained during the war belong to the individual.]
Apart from the simple terms described in the crystal, the rest of the information contained descriptions of the Beast War’s current state. The recruitment this time was completely voluntary. The recruited Great Adepts were to follow Great Adept Erlenwald and wage war along the West Line, destroying all planeworlds that worshipped the Beast God along the way.
Of course, these invasions’ main forces were the Third and Fourth Grades, along with endless hordes of adept forces and voodoo beasts. The purpose of the Great Adepts’ presence was to protect the invading forces from being assaulted by ultra-grade opponents.
Chapter 1450 - Responding to the Summons
A strange expression appeared on Greem’s face when he read the strangely familiar contents of this recruitment order.
After a long pause, he looked at Sainz with a false smile and said, “I believe you were the one who issued the compulsory conscription order last time as well. I still remember that mission clearly, even now! And now you’re recommending similar missions to me again? Seems like we really do have an affinity for each other.”
Sainz also laughed and said, “That does seem to be the case. However, Freed was the one I handed the mission to last time. Who would’ve known he would push you forward to fill the ranks. Without the ‘opportunity’ from that time, you probably wouldn’t have become a Great Adept so easily. If you think about it like that, it really is quite a coincidence.”
“So you and Freed…?”
“Aren’t related in any fashion. He had been providing me with offerings regularly because he hoped to obtain a share of the camp market! That is all.”
“Haven’t I gotten in your way then?”
“It was just some low-grade resources anyway! Do you think those people that hide inside the planeworld, fearful of large-scale plane wars, would have anything good to offer?” Sainz smiled as he explained. “He did indeed ask me for help, but I rejected him!”
“Why?”
“Because Great Adepts that have left the World of Adepts almost never want to intervene in battles inside the planar world. We will trigger a backlash from the planar consciousness if we get involved. If things turn sour with the planar consciousness, it could lower my compatibility with my principles. That would be a terrible loss for me! In particular, no one would ever dare touch someone who’s blessed by the planar consciousness, like you.”
“Not necessarily, is it?” Greem seemed to remember something. He chuckled and said, “I was attacked by the clone of a Great Adept in the World of Adepts. I believe he was called…Douglas!”
“Douglas!” Sainz appeared surprised. He followed up with a question. “Douglas of the Silver Union?”
“I don’t know what faction he’s aligned with, but the signs do point toward him being close with the Silver Union,” Greem hesitated for a moment.
“Then it must be him!” Sainz sighed and said, “Douglas is a Great Adept that advanced 1,200 years ago. He’s Sixth Grade now and has
long since left Camp Exodar. It’s said……”
At this, Sainz lifted his head and stole a glance at Greem before he continued in a soft voice, “It’s said he’s now in leagues with a certain witch and has been showing hints of leaving the Silver Union. That was why he had no choice but to leave the camp to avoid trouble. Of course, these are all just rumors!”
Witch…avoiding trouble……
Greem frowned slightly. He had a vague feeling that these two things were all somehow related to him. However, he had never researched divination. He couldn’t figure out the secrets lying behind all of this with only these tiny clues.
Sainz did not urge Greem further when he saw him brood in silence. Instead, he simply picked up a book and started reading.
After a long pause, Greem finally lifted his head and asked, “If I said I was interested in this mission, who should I contact?”
“Kehkehkehe. Just give me the word, and I will help you contact who you need to.”
“And with Lord Sarubo…?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I can promise you that Lord Sarubo won’t hold anything against you over something as trivial as that. Moreover, if you do participate in that mission, you just might run into Lord Sarubo over there!”
Having obtained the information he wanted, Greem didn’t dally any longer. He bid farewell to Sainz and immediately returned to the Capital of Steel.
Of course, Greem couldn’t take everything that Sainz said at face value. That was why he assigned Gazlowe to inquire about and obtain more information on this recruitment order.
Gazlowe had been stationed at Camp Exodar for over two hundred years now. He had his own means of gathering information. He didn’t return with news on just one recruitment order, but five of them.
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