Fire Throne, Third Level.


    Inside a magical room, Crimson Majordomo Gargamel solemnly listened to the reports of his subordinates. The cute and pretty teenage Adept Emelia sat by his side, toying with a delicate nature pendant in her boredom.


    The five subordinates were all dressed like mercenaries or adventurers. It was clear that they were outside forces that had served the Crimson n. A sinister person wrapped in ck robes was also standing in a corner of the room where the light couldn’t reach them. The person remained as silent as a piece of wood.


    "...he is the eldest son of the Andorra family and is first in session..."


    "...the Association elders summoned him before he left, but we have no idea as to the matter of their discussion..."


    "...two n adepts came along with him. Both of them are only First Grade..."


    "...it’s said that he has a lord’s proof of identification with him given by the Association..."


    "...he is hurrying to Fire Throne now. It’s likely that he will be staying over in Goathorn Vige tonight..."


    The subordinates voiced, one by one, all of the information concerning the new lord assigned by the Association to serve in this area.


    As the human settlements started to form, the honeymoon between Fire Throne and the Zhentarim Association officially ended. For a very long period henceforth, the Zhentarim Association would choose to pressure Fire Throne and force them to join the Association as one of its obedient members.


    Obviously, this utterly went against the foundations of development decided by Greem!


    Of course, public incidents to provoke the Crimson n were unlikely to happen. However, if the new lord remained hostile toward Fire Throne upon taking his assignment, then the supply and trade of the Crimson n would be significantly affected.


    It was probably one of the strategies of the Zhentarim Association.


    If the Association didn’t assign a suitable ruler in time, then the Crimson n would be able to use the advantage of their tower to expand their influence to every individual within the Ailovis area.


    From then on, any human or magical creature that wanted to settle in this ce would be at the behest of the Crimson n. They would not be able to establish a position for themselves here without the agreement of the Crimson n.


    However, once the ruler appointed by the Association arrived in Ailovis, the Crimson n would have no choice but to limit their influence to an area of five kilometers around the tower, as per the magical agreement they had signed. That would undoubtedly cause the n to lose all the resources of the forest in the two hundred kilometer stretch north of the tower.


    Through the constant ’purification’ by the adept’s tower, this part of the ck Forest was no longer a ce that terrorized humans. It was a tamednd that was most suited for excavation and development. Letting such a ripe piece of bounty slip past their fingers would be an immense loss to the Crimson n.


    Moreover, Fire Throne was located deep inside the ck Forest. If the ruler arrived, the territory next to the n would not belong to them, but to a human noble that had deeply hostile intentions against them.


    That...would undoubtedly put the n in a difficult situation!


    Guarding the Crimson n’s only passage to the outside world with a human noble; that was how the Association intended to slowly torture and wear down this newly founded adept n. If the Crimson n couldn’t resist the urge to retaliate, then the Zhentarim Association,–who were hiding behind the scenes–would step forth and stir trouble by acting as mediators in the conflict.


    Of course, regardless of how the Association settled the conflict, the conclusion would not be beneficial to the Crimson n.


    At any rate, there were plenty of human nobles. The Crimson n could kill as many as they wanted to. Once they were done killing, the Crimson n would have to pay an unimaginably steep price for their actions!


    That was why this new lord bore a tragic fate upon his shoulders as an obstacle that the Association had sent to harass the Crimson n. He was fated to win benefits for the Zhentarim Association that they couldn’t otherwise obtain through ordinary means, but only at the cost of his own life.


    As such, the Crimson n that had obtained information ahead of time was immediately filled with hostility and loathing for the arrival of this new lord.


    However, this poor fellow was only bait that the Association had merely cast out. Killing him would give the Zhentarim Association the perfect entry point to meddle in the affairs of Ailovis. It would be detrimental for the long-term development of the Crimson n to allow the Association to extend their hands into this area.


    That was why Gargamel, as the majordomo of the Crimson n, had to treat this issue very seriously, even if he was only an ordinary noble.


    "Father, if you don’t like that human lord, I can just kill him for you. Why do you need to get upset over this?" Emelia, who was sitting by his side, asked confusedly. The girl looked to be only fifteen or sixteen, but there was no weight or nervousness to her voice when she talked about murder, almost as if it was something as casual as afternoon tea.


    "We can’t just kill him!" Gargamel sighed helplessly, "He might not be at all important, but the Andorra family he belongs to is a subordinate force to one of the five great adept ns of Zhentarim– the Braibant n. If the Braibant decide to pursue the cause of his death, they will have an excuse to extend their influence into the territory of our Crimson n."


    "Then let’s just make some trouble for him and make it impossible for him to establish himself here," Emelia said in disdain, "Those human nobles are allzy and indulgent people. The environment here is terrible. Let’s see how long he canst here."


    Gargamel was in full agreement with her daughter’s suggestion.


    The adepts knew very well what the human nobles were like. It was mere fantasy to expect them to work and raise a town out of nothing alongside the poor vigers.


    After thousands of years of reinforcing these sses, the rule of the adepts was not something that civilians with no supernatural powers could rebel against. As the dogs and servants of the adepts, these human nobles became superior beings, enjoying extravagant lives that the ordinary person couldn’t possibly imagine.


    This Baron Willems, as the first in line for session in his family, had been sent to a ce like this. One couldn’t help but suspect that he had been tossed out like a pawn to be a sacrificial piece in the internal conflict of his family.


    The presence of the two n adepts beside him further confirmed this suspicion of Gargamel’s.


    With the protection of the adepts, Willems could not die from idents or at the hands of magical beasts. The only one in the entirety of Ailovis who had the power to kill him while he was under the protection of two adepts was the Crimson n.


    They couldn’t kill him, but they couldn’t allow him to do as he wanted either, as that would restrict the actual influence of the Crimson n. Gargamel frowned before a sinister smile appeared on his face.


    "Take these. Remember, you have to find a way to mix these into the new ruler’s food. One pill a day for an entire month," Gargamel took out a vial and tossed it to one of his subordinates who was dressed like a rogue. When he saw his subordinates hesitant expression, Gargamel quickly consoled them, "Don’t worry, that isn’t poison. Even the two adepts can’t find anything once it’s mixed in the food."


    Gargamel didn’t exin anything more to his subordinates.


    Emelia sniffed with her nose and quickly analyzed the function of this drug based on the smell left in the air.


    Heartlost Drug!


    It was a type of medicine refined from Psychedelic Grass. It wouldn’t harm the human body if ingested once or twice. In fact, it would even provide the user with a sense of rxation. However, excessive consumption would cause dependence and addiction.


    Of course, such ’minor’ side-effects were nothing to adepts. However, they were terrifying for humans, who had weaker control over their Spirits!


    If it weren’t for this matter today, Gargamel would never have made a medicine like this for a mortal, especially with his identity as a potions master. Only a drug like this could pass the Poison Sense of the adepts and sessfully be sent into the mouth of that Baron Willems.


    After quickly and efficiently dealing with the matter of the new lord, the subordinates started reporting on thetest situation of the ck Forest north of Fire Throne.


    ording to the feedback of traveling mercenaries and adventurers, a group of evileyes had appeared near Mist Mountain. They numbered over two hundred and had taken up an underground cave, frequently emerging to harass enemies.


    Some crystal mines of decent quality had also been found in Crystal Valley. However, a group of harpies had gathered there. There weren’t too many of them–only about a hundred–but they were still more than enough to deal withmon adventurer groups.


    The wyverns and the wyvern king that had initially been settled near Fire Throne had no choice but to move deeper into the ck Forest after realizing how helpless they were before the adepts. After a few years of searching and exploration, adventurers had found the new den of the wyverns.


    ......


    As the majordomo of the Crimson n, all these things, as menial and insignificant as they were, had to be dealt with by Gargamel. There was no helping it. Almost the entirety of the Crimson n wasposed ofbat adepts. All the n adepts were either hiding in their rooms and theirbs or they were running around searching for the knowledge and resources they needed.


    In all seriousness, there weren’t very many adepts in this world who could so diligently dedicate themselves to worldly tasks as Gargamel could.


    It was because they understood the importance and irreceable nature of Gargamel’s position that even n adepts of higher grade were respectful toward him.


    Greem also knew very well the significance of Gargamel’s existence. That was why he had specifically sent a squad of thirty magical machines to protect him. Gargamel was surrounded by magical machines whenever he went out to manage problems. It was an astounding and impressive sight.


    Gargamel knew his worth as well, and thus, became even more diligent and hardworking in his business for the n!