Age of Adepts

The small town of Sonta.

As a human city that grew out of a small wilderness town, the original inhabitants of the city had become very scarce, gradually being replaced by an influx of newcomers.

The Flame Throne Witch Tower was, after all, a place where the witches lived and studied intensely, not a suitable place for the family's increasingly busy internal affairs to be handled. Therefore, as early as twenty years ago, Gargamel had relocated its permanent office to the small town of Sonta.

Since then, there have been two centers of activity within the family.

Witches and apprentices used the Flame Throne Witch Tower as the center to conduct their own witchcraft research and family mission trials. And the daily handovers and disputes and appeals of worldly nobles and local resource points were centralized in the small town of Sonta.

Therefore, as a secondary center, Song Tower Small Town had undergone a series of expansions and renovations, and all of the old, low buildings had been knocked down and built into rows of small, exquisite villas. And for privacy reasons, each small building was equipped with an independent defense witch array and sorcery barrier, which could isolate the outside world from investigation.

Therefore, those wandering witches or foreign apprentices who were not qualified to enter the Flame Throne Sorcerer Tower to study were quite fond of hiring a villa as their landing place. Even big and small dignitaries from all over the world had to stop here briefly for a few days when they came to the small town of Sonta to meet Master Gargamel.

As the Crimson Family's territory and affairs became more and more complicated, the daily flow of people coming and going in Sonta Small City was around one to two thousand people, and there were thirteen thousand permanent staff. Such a large, high-class population naturally drove the small town's dining and entertainment and other consumption content.

It had to be said that Sonta City, whose population could only barely reach the size of a small town, was among the highest in terms of all aspects of living levels and quality, even in the entire Alois region.

However, with the outbreak of the Sorcerer's War, almost all of the outer territories of the Crimson Family had fallen, so the powerful nobles and sorcerers and apprentices who were loyal to the family could only flee back to Sonta City in disarray.

For a time, all the high-class villa districts, inns, and hotels in the city were filled with nobles of all sizes from all over the world, but they still couldn't stop the influx of those who came later. Eventually, a magic tent with a strange style began to appear in large numbers and was quickly encompassed by nobles who had nowhere else to stay.

All of the lost nobles gathered in Sonta City, running around daily to inquire about the battle ahead.

This was the last stop they could retreat to.

If... if the Crimson Family couldn't resist the invasion, then with the fall of Sonta City, it was inevitable that their group would fall into the hands of the Fabres Family. With the previous enmity between the two sides, and the coolness of the Fabreth Family, what would happen to this group of nobles who had refused to be recruited by the other side could literally be imagined with one's little finger.

Therefore, whenever a large-scale battle broke out in the south, the crowd began to silently pray for the blessings of the God of Fortune.

If the Crimson Family achieved victory and repulsed the enemy's attack, then they rejoiced and were extremely excited. If the Crimson Clan lost a battle and lost some territory, they coughed and sighed and were filled with sadness.

As each day's battle progressed, the hearts of the many nobles in Sonta City also wavered and fluctuated like a roller coaster, wandering between heaven and hell.

.............

Villa District.

In the middle of an exquisite villa, dozens of goblin dignitaries in gorgeous costumes were arguing fiercely here.

"This can't go on like this..." a fellow wearing a stiff military uniform, one could tell at a glance that he came from the Musen Merchant Group that liked to trade in arms, waved his arms and shouted, "These days, we goblin clan Enough sacrifices have been made, it can't go on..."

"Yeah, yeah..." a goblin beside him quickly chimed in, "I've already counted the number of organists who have died on the battlefield this past month as high as 200, and what about those human sorcerers? Less than five died...that's not fair!"

"There's nothing fair or unfair about it!" An old goblin with tortoiseshell glasses pinned to his nose and originating from an institute shook his head, "Human sorcerers like to fight under the protection of magic weapons, but our goblin organists are all rushing to kill on the front line, so the casualty ratio is naturally different!"

"But the vast majority of the war's sacrifices have fallen on our goblins, but they still don't hold the same status as those human sorcerers... We have to show up and protest and fight..."

"What time? When? Now?" The old goblin raised his hand to the frame of the mirror, a sneering smile on his dark green face, "Are you sure you want to discuss the treatment of frontline organ warlocks with Lord Gargamel at the height of the war?"

At the mention of that sinister and vicious Gargamel, the few goblins who were shouting loudly just now immediately became mute, and said, "We have to fight for the interests of our own compatriots anyway.... "

"Stupid! Profits are earned with blood and sweat, not by shouting at the top of one's lungs..." a hint of pain flashed across the old gnome's eyebrows, "We can only choose to cling to the Crimson Family now, and if we want to fight for the interests of our descendants, we must be bold enough to fight and use real achievements and Merit to fight for it, rather than trying to drag your feet."

At this point, the old goblin looked up at the many clansmen in the room and said in a long-winded manner, "I know that some of you guys here have already made contact with the other side and have received certain promises. However, I need you guys to seriously consider carefully, if the Crimson Clan is truly defeated, what do you guys as insiders plan to use to oversee the other party's implementation of the previous promises?"

The Goblin Grand Sage Cappy sat high at the top with his legs crossed, allowing his shoulders to be held by the two fine women of the land beside him, smoking a thick cigar as he motionlessly surveyed the several Goblin Chiefs present.

Blackwater Zaibatsu's deputy chief, Jemisini Wallet....

Venture Capital's executive director, Lazer....

Mordekin, the grand superintendent of the Merchant Musson....

Gnome Chamber of Commerce Consortium Vice President Bausch....

The President of the Federation of Wizards, Rock Wizard....

Doucilla Lazare, the head of the Tyranny of the Blood....

........

To be honest, the ones who could appear in the room here were all budding powerful figures of the goblin clan. Although most of those sent by the several goblin powers were deputies or underlings, they were also able to fully represent the Mighty Power behind them.

In contrast, the Magic Armorer Locke and the Organist Chief Doucilla, who held absolute weakness in numbers and power, rarely spoke, and instead, like Convener Cappy, watched the clownish performance of the representatives of the several great powers with a cold eye.

Compared to the Blackwater Zaibatsu, Venture Capital, and Musson's Merchants, the Wraithlock and Orgone Warlock, while still a minority in number, profoundly represented the future of the Goblin Clan.

And these guys who were heavily imbued and transformed by the Wraith System were clearly not of the same mind as their former companions at this point in time. As for the old goblin who represented the Goblin Institute's Gunga Dean, he seemed to see longer and more comprehensively than these goblin kindred, and looked like he was unwilling to get involved in the power struggle.

The 'stupid' goblins, however, didn't seem to understand this yet, and were still cautiously trying to ask the old goblin if he could provide some support in the goblins' 'righteous act' of fighting for their individual rights.

"Support? What kind of support?" The old goblin narrowed his eyes, knowingly.

"The biggest chip in our hand, of course..." the uniformed goblin rubbed his hands nervously, "I think...if ...Maybe...if the old president is willing to apply a little pressure with the puppet dragon, those human witches will definitely compromise!"

When the words 'Puppet Dragon' came out of the mouths of the uniformed goblins, the eyebrows of the several big goblin leaders present all jumped and their eyes became cold and sharp.

This was the rhythm of wanting the goblins to be exterminated ah....

Silently, the several goblin leaders looked at each other, and all of them began to consider their future retreat and development.

Betraying the Crimson Family?

Such an idea is a road to nowhere!

After making their way in the Sorcerer's World for so many years and broadening their horizons, it also made the intelligent and knowledgeable goblin executives more and more aware of the huge power gap between the Goblin Plane and the Sorcerer's World.

The fate of the Goblin Plane was also sealed when it fell within the sight of the Sorcerers.

To be honest, it was already their greatest fortune that the Goblin Plane could fall into the hands of the Crimson Family, which ruled in a more moderate and enlightened manner!

With a little less luck, if it were any other wizard family, it would have been a full domain invasion, as well as bone-crushing exploitation and squeezing. As for recognizing the status of the goblins' family children and giving them the opportunity to integrate into the sorcerer system, this was a move that almost never happened in other sorcerer families.

Children and slaves... the difference in status between the two was so great that the goblins in the field knew it all too well.

So, when they saw the Crimson Family in distress, they chose to betray and then join another powerful wizard family. This sounded good, but if it was put into practice, it would drag the entire goblin clan into the abyss of death.

The other side was now in desperate need of abolishing the effects caused by the Crimson Family's 4th stage Demonic Puppet Dragon existence, and the side was emptyly promising numerous benefits and advantages. But once the goblins did change their allegiance, on what basis could they compete with the human sorcerers in the other family?

Would the other side really give a goblin wizard the same status and treatment as a human wizard?

After taking away the magic weapon puppet dragon, would the other side allow such a powerful magic weapon to remain in the hands of the goblins?

Can the goblin clan gain far more freedom and power than they have now?

After the immersion and impact of a large number of new world knowledge systems, the goblins who stepped out of the bit plane were no longer the frogs in the well of the past, and had come to deeply understand the bloodshed and cruelty of the bit plane world competition. How could they be lured by the 'benefits' and 'beautiful scenery' portrayed by the other side's empty words like those fools?

The secret meeting of the goblins soon ended in a fruitless argument.

It was only when those stupid guys went out to eat and drink and enjoy themselves surrounded by a group of fine gnome women that the few big shots who could really decide the future of the gnome clan regrouped together.

"It's clear to see that it's the Musson Merchant group that's causing trouble..."

"Agreed! But in my opinion, there are some goblins on the Venture side that need to be cleaned up..."

"Well, let's return Gargamel-sama on that! The power to move I try to gain in my hands so that the harm to the clan is minimized!"

"It's been hard for you, Lord Cappy..."