Chapter 1354 Meeting of the Higher-Ups


    “......”


    “Major ns neighboring the ck Forest are to send out forces and adepts to exterminate magical creatures within your corresponding areas of jurisdiction. No species of magical creature can be allowed to have more than a poption of a hundred within five hundred kilometers of the ck Forest’s border. Wild magical creatures of Second Grade and above are to be terminated with extreme prejudice.


    “Post mobile scouts in the key areas to keep a constant eye on changes in the ck Forest.


    “The Bracada and Dagon regions are situated in the south. They are unprotected by any Fourth Grade forces, and the local mid and small ns jointly manage the area. Given their individual powers, they won’t be capable of much more than defense. Notify them to immediately organize a coalition army to exterminate the magical creatures in the ck Forest.


    “As for theirck of high-grade adepts. Adept Matthew, your Bane n is the closest to Bracada. You will work with their coalition army and set up camp in the ck Forest there. The Bane n does not need to participate in the extermination, but your people will be responsible for hunting down the more powerful high-grade magical creatures. That is fine with you, yes?”


    The silent Matthew thought for a moment after hearing Greem’s question. Once he was sure that this assignment wouldn’t affect him or his n adversely in any fashion, he nodded and assented.


    “Understood, everything will be done as instructed by Lord Greem!”


    “Mm!” Greem was calm andposed. He continued delegating the duties, “The situation in the Dagon region is a little moreplicated. It has to contend with both the ck Forest and the Underground World. Adept Mirva, your Annemdor Academy isn’t all that far from Dagon. Why don’t you be responsible for the defense of Dagon?”


    At this point, all of Mirva’s edge had been worn away by the repeated incidents in recent days. He actually appeared like the elderly man he was. Just judging from his outward appearance, he had already entered the twilight phase of his life. Both his physical body and Spirit were showing signs of decay.


    “Understood. I will contact the ns at Dagon immediately once I return!”


    “Mm!” Having dealt with the south, Greem turned his sights to the ns in the north, “Adept M, Adept Ariza, Adept Roderick. The territory of your three ns neighbors the ck Forest. You should have no problem dealing with this magic surge on your own, am I right?”


    The three adepts looked at each other. Finally, it was Ariza, who was dressed like a barbarian, who spoke up first.


    “Our Mansour n might run into some problems.”


    “Ooh? Please, borate.”


    Ariza, who had an ancient war-ape bloodline, hesitated for a moment.


    He looked around the room before finally gritting his teeth and revealing the true state of his n’s affairs.


    “The Mansour n holds possession of three lesser nes. The two small lesser nes have been fully developed. Security should not be a problem. However, the intermediate ne is my concern. We have only barely managed to establish a foothold there, let alone begin any sort of development. Once this magic surge erupts, most internar teleportation will be affected. I am worried that our only forward post there will be removed by the enemy while we are unable to send reinforcements. However, if we of the Mansour n were to station too many adepts there to stabilize the situation, we probably won’t have enough forces to deal with the ck Forest.”


    The resources and lesser nes controlled by each n were ssified secrets. They would never reveal them of their own ord if they were not staring down the barrel of such a cmity.


    It had been seven hundred years since Ariza advanced to Fourth Grade. It was entirely ordinary for him to have the coordinates of three lesser nes in his possession. After all, even as ruthless as the Crimson n was, they still controlled no more than four lesser nes.


    However, of these four lesser nes, the Goblin ne and Seawoods ne were already very developed. Only Lance was still being slowly colonized. Meanwhile, all sorts of rare mineral deposits had already been discovered in the Mountain ne. Unfortunately, due to its harsh environment, the development wasn’t progressing too quickly.


    They had also exterminated Freed’s Jorma n recently and taken their five lesser nes’ coordinates into their own hands. However, due to the change in regime, the established order in these lesser nes had returned to chaos. Reestablishing governance and building up a supply chain of resources again would take at least a few decades.


    Since Ariza had taken the lead, Adept M, dressed in a red noblewomen’s dress, also decided to speak up.


    “I will also have problems on my side! I have four lesser nes in my hand, two of which are still unstable. We won’t have any trouble with the routine extermination in the ck Forest still, but we won’t be able to have the forces needed to execute any high-grade magical creatures that appear.”


    Greem nodded. His eyes thennded on thest adept who had yet to say anything, Adept Roderick.


    He was a pretty man dressed like a noble. His face had a very feminine beauty to it. In addition to the eyeliner he had applied to himself, he was a rather androgynous individual.


    “I won’t have any problems. My n can manage both the lesser nes and the ck Forest. There won’t be any trouble!”


    Greem nodded in satisfaction. He then said, “Since Adept Ariza and Adept M have a slightck in military power, our Crimson n will reinforce you with an adequate number of magical machines. The mobile, two thousand-strong magical machine army will be sent to Ariza’s n to exterminate the magical creatures! On the other side, our Crimson n will send out two Third Grades to help Adept M. We shouldn’t have any trouble this way!”


    Ariza and M both ced a hand on their chests and expressed their gratitude upon hearing this.


    “Now that the matter of the ck Forest is settled, we should talk about the spatial rifts,” Greem looked around at everybody and said solemnly,” The moment the first magic-surge wave hits, all the spatial rifts and voids will open naturally. The nar barrier will no longer be able to stop the spacestorm or otherworldly creatures from entering. As such, every n must perform aprehensive and detailed investigation of weak spatial points in their territories. We must then try and reinforce these locations.


    “As for known mega-rifts that form naturally......”


    Upon saying this, every adept, Greem included, couldn’t help but look at Andrew sympathetically. The most famous mega-rift in the Central Lands was located in Ahlden n territory.


    That mega-rift was a massive tear measuring a full kilometer in length. Should it open, the Ahlden n would be in hot water!


    The mega-rift had not been a source of disaster for the Ahlden n in the past couple of thousand years. On the contrary, it was their most significant source of wealth.


    As one of the few spatial weak points in the World of Adepts, crossing through the nar barrier at these mega-rifts cost one-tenth of the energy required in other locations. The Ahlden n constructed numerous portals to other well-known worlds at the edge of this mega-rift. They profited greatly from their internar trade.


    To be absolutely honest, one out of every two otherworldly ves in the Central Lands had entered the World of Adepts through this mega-rift.


    However, with the iing magic surge, this giant treasure box had suddenly turned into a noose around the Ahlden n’s neck. Given the fragility of space there, extremely powerful starbeasts could force their way in, let alone smaller magical creatures.


    Starbeasts. They were the natural enemies of all nar creatures!


    They spent their lives in the depths of space, continually enduring the corrosion of the magic tides, to the extent that they were already immune to ordinary elementium spells. Elementium adepts had no hopes of even injuring them if they did not draw upon the power ofws.


    Moreover, the power system of the starbeasts was entirely different from nar creatures. Consequently, the magic resistance that some adepts were so proud of was utterly useless in negating their attacks.


    The consequence of these two factors was that a single Fourth Grade starbeast could easily defeat four to five human adepts of the same grade. Should a swarm of starbeasts emerge from the mega-rift during the magic surge, the Ahlden n would most certainly face destruction!


    “Don’t look at me! If the magic surgees, my Ahlden n is definitely incapable of defending the mega-rift alone! When that happens, the starbeasts won’t just be ravaging my territory, mind you. The entire Central Lands will be affected,” Andrew warned viciously.


    “Hmph! Your Ahlden n didn’t think about us when you were making a killing with the mega-rift. Now you want to drag us down when danger’s heading your way?” Adept Den couldn’t help but grunt unpleasantly.


    “He’s right. Your Ahlden n has made so much profit from the mega-rift over the years. It’s about time you take a little of your treasuries to strengthen the seal there,” It was Ashton of the Smalley n who spoke up now. His territory was only separated from the Ahlden n by one region. They would be affected as well if the starbeasts invaded.


    It was no wonder he was so upset!


    “Don’t worry. We of the Ahlden n won’t be shrinking back. I will arrange for the sealing of the mega-rift once I return from this meeting. I will do my best and construct more war towers within this ten-year buffer period. We will surround the mega-riftpletely,” Andrew gritted his teeth and made a promise. The topic then turned to a different one. “However, our n will still becking in military power then. I’m afraid I will need your help to fill the war towers constructed then!”


    Everyone’s expression turned at the mention of this.


    It was obvious that Andrew wanted their adepts to risk their lives for the Ahlden n’s sake!


    The atmosphere of the room froze and turned cold.


    There were too many regions and ns in the Central Lands. Each n had its own needs and welfare to take care of. Unifying them in essence and not just name alone was a monumental task!


    If Greem didn’t step forth at this moment, today’s meeting would end on an unpleasant note. Everybody would go back to dealing with things their own way, just like they always had in the past.


    Greem coughed and attracted everyone’s attention. He then started speaking.


    “Andrew, that is your n’s territory. You must take on most of the responsibility!”


    Andrew’s face turned dark, but he knew that there was no refuting this point. He could only nod and acknowledge the fact.


    “However, we won’t just sit by and watch either. Do what you can with the resources you have. The rest of us will pitch in where you arecking.


    “When the magic surge arrives, I will have Mary move Nightmare Castle over to help you guard the mega-rift. Furthermore,” Greem turned and looked at Mornashen Gaia, “One of us two must be guarding the mega-rift at all times! What do you think?”


    Mornashen Gaia, leader of the Gaia n, hesitated for a moment. He nodded reluctantly!