Age of Adepts

Nightfall was quickly approaching.

Inside the small camp that had been temporarily set up, a campfire was lit, and a rich aroma of broth slowly spread over the stony wilderness.

Perhaps it was because of that earth elemental core in the afternoon, the Lagoo Wizard was clearly in an exceptionally good mood, and even his thin, charred face showed a rare smile.

Taking the opportunity to serve it broth and fluffy bread, Jack, who had a brawny look on his face, was also full of smiles and asking for ideas.

"...My lord, our little Tom has been smart since he was a child and learns everything at once, but unfortunately he has not been able to find a mentor willing to teach him... so... ...so..."

"Every young child under the age of ten has someone test their natural potential, doesn't your boy have a wizard's gift?"

"Yes...absolutely...but...according to the wizard lord who determined his talent, our little Tom is a hidden talent and needs to be at ten years old Use the Awakening Potion to activate his talent before, or it's gone forever."

"Hidden talent..." the Raghu Wizard couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

In the Sorcerer Continent, every ten years, there were special sorcerers shuttling to and from various places, testing and searching for young children who possessed the Sorcerer's Talent, then gathering them together and sending them to the Sorcerer's High Tower. However, the situation in the Tower of Diaspora was quite special, as each family had their own territory and people, and normally they would not allow other families to recruit apprentice sorcerers in their own territory.

As a result, those witch families or organizations that did not have their own private territories lost the opportunity to gain new blood. If this continues in the long run, it would be a strange thing if the inheritance isn't cut off!

When the family emissaries traveled around the territory, looking for apprentices who possessed the talent of a sorcerer, they would inevitably encounter these special individuals who possessed the hidden talent. If they were unable to activate their hidden talent through a special method before the age of ten, this talent would spread through their own bloodline, thus completely losing the possibility of activation.

For these hidden talents, most of the less powerful witch families would choose to abandon them and would not pour any resources into them. As for the reason, it was simple, the Awakening Potion that activated the hidden talent was worth 120 magic crystals, and the apprentices who activated the talent weren't necessarily much stronger than normal apprentices.

If one couldn't successfully advance to the rank of Sorcerer, this deal would be a big loss.

Not many sorcerer families were willing to spend 120 magic crystals to gamble on an apprentice with an unknown talent... this was the most fundamental reason why they were given up!

And without the resources tilted by the witch community, ordinary mortal families could not afford the huge price of 120 magic crystals.

One must know that magic crystals were the hard currency of the wizard world, almost completely monopolized by the wizard community. If an ordinary noble family didn't have access to witches, they wouldn't be able to buy the corresponding magic crystals even if they had a lot of gold coins in their hands.

And all witch resources were traded in magic crystals, never accepting gold coins.

"Have you saved enough magic crystals to purchase the Awakening Potion? If it's enough, I can actually beg for an Awakening Potion for you!"

"We'll be able to raise enough for next year. I heard that Dagon over there is recruiting adventuring teams to explore the Black Forest, 10 magic crystals per mission. I'd like to try out over there..."

Hearing Jack's words, a long, faint smile emerged on the face of the Ragu Wizard.

"For the sake of your attentive service these past few days, I will remind you of one thing. Don't go to Dagon under any circumstances, even if they pay you well, and don't leave Alois. Perhaps one day in the future, you will find that the only safe place in the world is Aelovis..."

With a few brief mentions, the Lagoo Sorcerer kept his mouth shut.

After all, the matter of the Magic Tide was confined to the small circle of witches, and all witches who knew the inside story had signed a confidentiality agreement with their families, never leaking the true information to the mortal world. Thus, this simple mention had been the best the Lagoo Witch could do to save the situation.

If this Jack was determined to leave Elovis and head to Dagon, there was no way that he and his family would be at risk of getting involved when the magic tide broke out.

And in Alois, this was the home base of the Crimson family and the Horton School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even if the demonic tide was fierce, Alois would be the safest and most peaceful area in the middle of the continent.

Not one of them.

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

Throne of Fire.

Grim calmly settled on the fiery stone chair, listening to Meryl and Emelia's report in the magical water mirror in front of him.

"...After all these years of hard pioneering, this side of the White Tower has expanded 300 miles of active space in the Black Forest...With Doverland City in front of us, the demons in the Black Forest can't break out at all ......."

"Doverland City currently has a permanent population of 20,000, nearly a hundred mercenary teams of all sizes, and a twelve-man witch squad stationed there year-round... In the near future, I intend to build another medium-sized witch tower in Doverland City to ensure that the family's efforts over the past two hundred years won't be washed away by the demonic tide..."

"At present, I have enough basic manpower on my side, but there is still a gap in the area of high level sorcerers... especially since in the future the witch tower on Doverland's side will need a high level sorcerer to sit on it, and this needs more support from the teacher.... "

Listening to Meryl's report in one breath, Grim looked nonchalant, tapping his fingers against the porcelain mug in his hand, watching a slight ripple rise and slowly disappear, curling hot air with a refreshing fragrance wafting through the room.

"I know you want to transfer Billis over, but the situation in Central won't allow it, he has to stay in Central." Grim raised his hand to stop Meryl's argument and said in a deep voice, "Your side also needs manpower, I'll transfer both Aretina and her Green Dragon team over. That way, you won't have to worry about the manpower shortage on your side!"

"Yes!" Hearing that it was Emerald Beauty Dragon Aretina and Green Dragon Squad who had come, Meryl's face immediately blossomed with joy. Her interactions over the years had made her and Eretina become quite close partners as well.

Moreover, with all of the Dragon blood flowing through their bodies, the closeness that comes from the depths of their souls cannot be replaced by anyone else!

With Meryl finished, it was naturally the next turn of Emelia, who was in control of Elovis and the Crimson Wing.

"My lord, after all these years of pioneering, the Black Forest east of the Flame Throne has fallen into the family's actual control. Medusa Dana has gathered a considerable force there to help the family stabilize order in the surrounding territories."

"Only there is still a lack of a stable support there, there are currently three selected by exploration, Eagle Head Mountain, Shattered Wood Valley and Spider Forest. I intend to create a small city in Shattered Wood Valley as well, to serve as a necessary forward base. When the demonic tide erupts, I'll deploy two floating giant ships and Demon Dragon One to sit there, and it won't be too difficult to deal with the herd..."

"As for possible spatial fissures in the territory, I have mobilized all Crimson Wizards and Apprentices to trample the entire Alois region, marking and sealing every spatial singularity and fissure."

"For those that aren't too dangerous, we'll mainly focus on sealing; for those that are at risk of turning into a spatial rift, we'll repair the War Witch Tower on the side according to the degree of danger... I think with such a move, the danger of the Crimson Territory suffering an impact when the magic tide erupts will be minimized... ..."

Grim listened quietly, making sure there was nothing wrong with this arrangement, before turning his attention to Cappy in the corner of the screen.

Seeing that it was finally his turn to speak, Cappy immediately danced and reported.

"My lord, the new Demonic Puppet Dragon Demon Dragon II will be ready for battle soon. You see..."

A smile finally appeared on Grim's face when he heard the news.

"What about the floating giant ship? Right now the family only has ten floating giant ships, and they're already inadequate. I'm hoping to make up twenty ships before the magic tide arrives, no problem, right?"

"Twenty ships?" Cappy, who was dancing with eyebrows one moment, got stuck the next and swallowed, "My lord, you must know that after all these years of drilling and mining, the goblin bit's mineral reserves are on the verge of being exhausted. Even if I mobilize all the goblin engineers to work night and day, the lack of sufficient quantities of magic iron alloys won't do it!"

"Don't worry about the magic iron alloy..." cut Grim off directly, "I found you an iron mountain from outside the domain, the only thing you need to do now is to send goblin engineers to set up a smelter there, Refine all the metal ores..."

"Out-of-territory..." as soon as he heard the dreaded name, Cappy's legs turned a bit. It was a no-go zone for bit beings, and venturing outside the Domain even as a 2nd rank was a dangerous thing to do, let alone a goblin engineer with little protection.

"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements over there. The goblins sent over will be provided protection by the Iso-Brain Ghazluvi, just let them focus on their work!" At this point, Grim changed the subject, "Besides, I don't plan to transfer all ten newly built floating giant ships, so leave half of them to defend the goblin plane!"

"The Goblin Plane was originally a Low Demon Plane, even if the gates of the Plane were open, there aren't many guys willing to go there to break in, five floating giant ships, three thousand new battle demonic weapons, and that Demon Dragon II... this kind of power should be more than enough to protect the entire Goblin Plane! "

"Yes, yes, yes... On behalf of all the goblins, I thank you for your concern!" Inside the magical water mirror, Cappy, as well as several of the goblin leaders behind it, all blossomed with relief and smiles.

"But the Goblin Organs Warlock Corps I still need to enlist out as a mobile force on standby in Elovis, after all, the middle of the continent is too big and a mistake anywhere could lead to a major disaster. Therefore, a strong enough and mobile enough quick reaction force is still necessary!" Giving play dates, Grim made new instructions without moving a muscle.

Cappy and the goblin leaders rushed to their feet, not daring to make any comments.

With the imminent outbreak of the magic tide, if the Goblin Plane took advantage of the magic tide to make any small moves, the Crimson Family would be in a dilemma. Therefore, no matter how much Grim trusted Cappy, Gunga, and the others, the necessary checks and balances to hold them hostage would still be in place.

This band of goblin organists that numbered 3,000 was the essence of the goblin planes that had been gathered over the years, encompassing almost every goblin with combat talent.

If any of the goblin leaders want to get out of the Crimson's control, they can't do so without considering the 3000 goblins held by Grim as 'hostages'.

The goblin plane can't afford such a huge loss!