Late at night, the whole Luskan was quiet.
Since the five great commanders and the fleets they led out in full force, taking away almost one-third of the young and middle-aged population of the city, both the market and the streets seemed quiet.
Even the most daring criminals would not dare to cause trouble at a time like this.
Because anyone who causes trouble at such a critical moment will inevitably be blacklisted by the Arcane Brotherhood, and the possibility of being liquidated afterwards is more than 90%.
So the whole city seemed to be more orderly than usual, and even the drunkards who were quarreling, betting and fighting in the pub disappeared without a trace.
The weird and depressing atmosphere made many businessmen and citizens feel very uncomfortable.
The secret base established by the two Harper Alliances here was even more active, trying to figure out how many mages in the tree-branch-shaped tower had left with the fleet.
Especially the four most dangerous tower masters, are they still living in their own tree spires?
But unfortunately, since Akelem Grace closed the entire Mage Tower, there were no apprentices coming in or out, so naturally no information could be obtained.
However, what the Harpist spies did not know was that just half an hour ago, the four tower masters and several mages who mastered the fifth-ring arcane who had set out with the fleet had just escaped back in a miserable state through teleportation magic, with even traces of fear on their faces and eyes.
Whether it was the combined spellcasting that summoned the ancient dragon turtle as huge as an island, or the liches such as Vanessa taking the lead in blocking the airspace and shooting down a large number of Arcane Brotherhood mages from the sky, they all demonstrated an absolute advantage of crushing.
As far as they know, only Waterdeep and Silvermoon City in the entire North possess such powerful magical powers.
But the problem is that the Nelanthar Islands are just a group of newly emerged regimes transformed from pirates. How can they afford to support so many high-level wizards and archmages? Even if they can afford it, why would they obey the orders of a pirate leader?
There were so many questions and puzzles that troubled the top leaders of the Arcane Brotherhood that they met each other as soon as they escaped.
"Well, have you figured out anything?"
The Lord of the North Tower was the first to break the silence, raising his head and looking at the other eight people present.
"It is obvious that the enemy we are facing this time has at least one great wizard who can cast the Nine-Ring Magic. Otherwise, even if we cast the spell together, it would be impossible to summon a horrible creature like the Ancient Dragon Turtle." The Lord of the West Tower expressed his opinion with a gloomy face.
You have to know that in the entire Arcane Brotherhood, including its founder Akelem Grace, there are only a few great wizards who can cast the Nine-Ring Arcane.
So in the eyes of the Lord of the West Tower, this was a complete conspiracy against himself and the other three tower masters.
Perhaps it was the organization's top leader, Akelum Grace, who wanted to use the enemy to eliminate the internal threat.
After all, since the frequent failures of external expansion in the past two years, the fighting within the Arcane Brotherhood has become increasingly fierce and cruel.
Even the position of tower master, which is second only to the supreme leader, has been frequently replaced in just two or three years.
Every change is inevitably accompanied by conspiracy, killing and death.
Therefore, each of the four tower masters is extremely vigilant, fearing that they will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.
"Don't talk nonsense without evidence. If Akelum Grace really wants to get rid of us, what is his reason? We haven't offended him recently." The Lord of the South Tower questioned meaningfully.
The Lord of the East Tower curled his lips in disdain and said sarcastically: "With his body currently aging rapidly and worse than death, does he need any other reasons?
I think that now that things have come to this, there is no need for anyone here to continue hiding things, so just speak directly.
The aging Akelom Grace is no longer qualified to continue leading the Arcane Brotherhood.
We now need a new leader who is young, powerful and strong.
And this new leader will inevitably emerge from among us."
moment!
A gleam of ambition flashed in the eyes of those who heard these words.
Especially the most competitive Lords of the North Tower and the West Tower, who even revealed a hint of hostility towards each other.
fortunately!
Anyone who can climb to this position is an out-and-out "old pervert" and will quickly suppress this emotion.
At least they had to maintain a superficial alliance until Akelum Grace was overthrown.
After about a minute of silence, another high-level mage couldn't help but reminded him, "If we want to kill Akelem Grace, we must first deal with his loyal and extremely vigilant assistant."
"You're right. The Jade Fire Wizard is not an easy character to deal with. I think we can take this opportunity to set a trap and lure him into it."
The Lord of the East Tower raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing an extremely sinister smile.
"I'll join! After this disastrous defeat, we need a scapegoat to quell the rebellion that may break out in Luskan. It would be ideal if Akrum Grace could take all the blame." The Lord of the South Tower quickly agreed.
The Lord of the North Tower nodded after hesitating for a moment: "Okay, count me in. But this operation must be kept absolutely confidential. Apart from the eight of us, there must not be a ninth participant."
"You can rest assured about this. If anyone dares to leak the news, he will be hunted down by the other seven people."
While saying this, Lord Sita exuded naked and undisguised murderous intent.
Perhaps when facing Vanessa and other liches, the high-ranking members of the Arcane Brotherhood were all timid and submissive, and just wanted to escape quickly and escape to a safe place.
But when it comes to internal fighting, they immediately change their faces and attack hard.
After all, the success rate of plotting against someone you know well is much higher than facing a group of dangerous and powerful enemies.
The most important thing is that these high-ranking members of the Arcane Brotherhood never thought that Zuo Si's goal was to completely destroy the Arcane Brotherhood and occupy the entire Luskan.
So in their eyes, this is a great opportunity to seize power.
Similarly, Zuo Si, who was in Dragon's Nest, another active volcanic island near Mingtan Island, would never have thought that his counterattack against Luskan would trigger sharp conflicts within the Arcane Brotherhood several years in advance.
At this moment, he was watching with interest Wilmes' unilateral bullying of the adult red dragon named Huendal.
Since both sides are red dragons, they are completely immune to each other's flame breath.
So the battle turned into fierce close combat from the very beginning.
Because Vermes devoured several dragon eggs, her size is larger, and her strength and constitution attributes are also higher.
It didn't take long for him to pin the other person down.
Every time Huendal twisted his body to try to break free from control, he would immediately be slapped by the powerful wings dragon.
With every flap, the small claws on the wing bones would leave bloody scratches on his face.
There were several times when I almost caught my eyes.
In order to avoid becoming one-eyed or blind, the poor male red dragon is forced to stagger his head.
But the consequence of doing so is that Wilmes can bite the former's neck at will without worrying about being bitten back.
After two or three bites, Huendal's neck was covered with bite marks, and the blood had completely dyed the white scales from the neck to the abdomen red.
If it were a dragon of another color, it would have surrendered by now.
However, the red dragon's inherent arrogance and tyranny often make it even more ferocious after being injured.
With his sharp claws, Huendal also managed to leave several wounds on Wilmes as a souvenir.
Of course, it's just a commemoration.
Finally, the adult male red dragon became increasingly weak due to excessive blood loss, with its entire head stepped on by Wilmes' front paws, awaiting the judgment of fate in a very humiliating posture.
"You...you win! Come on, kill me." Huendal said in an extremely weak voice.
"Kill you? No! I won't kill you! Because you still have other uses."
Wilmes grinned cruelly, swung his tail and knocked the man unconscious with a bang.
After doing all this, she turned around and cast her eyes on the mountains of treasures in the nest.
Because of the long-term demand for tribute from Mingtan Island and the robbery of passing merchant ships, Huendal accumulated quite astonishing wealth.
The number of gold and silver currencies and precious metal trade bars alone reached hundreds of thousands, not to mention the copper coins that had grown green rust in the humid environment of the island.
In addition, there are many collections that shine with obvious arcane aura, and you can tell they are magic items without asking.
If possible, Wilmes would undoubtedly like to take all the treasure for himself.
But unfortunately, she didn't dare to do so. Instead, she turned her head with a very conflicted, reluctant and painful expression, and cautiously asked, "Half for each?"
"Don't bother. I just need one magic item. The rest are yours."
After saying that, Zuo Si walked straight to the treasure pile and dug out a red gem that was emitting bright light from among those cheap silver and copper coins.
"This is?!!"
Wilmes's eyes were instantly attracted by the gem, and his huge head moved forward.
As the most greedy red dragon, she recognized the astonishing value of this pigeon egg-sized red gem almost at first sight.
"A rare gem that can enhance all fire magic and spell-like abilities. If nothing unexpected happens, it should have been born in the deepest part of the scorching sea of fire in the Fire Elemental Plane. It is a rare elemental treasure." Zuo Si explained with a smile.
In fact, this thing is more of a crystallization of elemental energy than a gem.
Like the hydraulic crystals born from the water elemental plane, they possess very amazing magical properties.
If used as a spellcasting material, it can easily summon a fire elemental prince, whose strength is equivalent to legendary creatures such as the Balrog and the Hellfire.
If used to make magical equipment, it can not only make the wearer completely immune to fire damage, but also enhance the power of fire magic by 30 to 50 percent and give him some special abilities to manipulate fire.
The powerful magic item mentioned by Garnier must be this thing.
As for those other currencies and precious metals, they are no longer necessary for Zuo Si now.
Just from the commission from the monopoly of trade in the Maztec continent and the sale of various scarce materials purchased from another earth, it is easy to make astonishing profits.
The problem now is how to exchange these worthless currencies into the gems, magic materials, various creatures, and knowledge and spells from other dimensions that you want.
"Damn it! Were you a dragon in your previous life? Why can you always find the most valuable one from a pile of treasures?" Wilmes couldn't help but complained with gritted teeth.
"Don't forget, I am a master alchemist and magic item maker.
It is almost impossible to hide such rare and precious materials from my eyes.
Okay, stop talking nonsense and quickly send this guy back to the Mage Tower and imprison him.
I'll prepare some aphrodisiac for you then.
If you force him to drink it, he will immediately turn into a wild beast with only primitive instincts left.
We will then be able to create as many half-dragons and dragonborn creatures as we want.
Also, remember to be gentle when you do it, so as not to break it.
You know, it's not easy to find and capture an adult male red dragon these days."
After saying this, Zuo Si immediately used his magic to heal Huendal's more serious wounds to prevent him from dying from his serious injuries.
"Humph! I know this without you telling me. After all, I am counting on him to mate with Ashtelanthe and lay dragon eggs. By the way, I remember that you seem to have the ability to transform into a blue dragon, right?"
Wilmes suddenly raised his head, and a playful expression appeared on his huge head.
Zuo Si nodded gently: "Yes. Ever since I absorbed all the power of the Dragon Transformation Gloves, the injured old blue dragon, including its life, magic, and even its soul, has become my property. Why do you suddenly think of asking this?"
"Then why don't you ever use it?" Wilmes continued to ask.
"Maybe I'm not used to it. After all, as a dragon, it is very common for me to bite the target with sharp teeth. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I don't want to bite and have my mouth filled with blood. And it always feels a bit awkward for me to control the wings, claws and tail at the same time." Zuo Si explained, touching his chin.
Obviously, transforming into an old blue dragon is undoubtedly a very powerful ability.
After all, the [Transformation into a Divine Dragon] in the Nine-Ring Magic means transforming yourself into a giant dragon.
Many druid shapeshifters and powerful transformation mages continue to conduct research and training in order to gain similar abilities one day.
But the problem is that what Zuo Si Devoured was the vitality, magic and soul of the old blue dragon, but not its memories and combat experience.
Therefore, rigorous training is necessary to master the method of using the dragon's body to fight.
But he didn't have the time and energy to do so.
"I can teach you," Wilmes offered.
"You?" Zuo Si looked up and down at this "silly dragon" whose actions were always faster than his brains, and shook his head with a sneer. "Forget it. That kind of reckless fighting style is not suitable for me. Besides, I never like to fight the enemy head-on, but to find out the opponent's weaknesses and exploit them."
"No, you are wrong. That is not reckless, but a fighting style that has been proven time and again to be the simplest and most effective and suitable for dragons.
For a true dragon, in addition to the flexible use of breath weapons, close combat is nothing more than clawing, biting, flapping dragon wings and sweeping the tail.
With their powerful strength and size advantages, other races are simply unable to compete with them.
I suggest you find an opportunity to practice it, you never know when it might come in handy."
As Wilmes spoke, he stuffed Hundal and the treasure in the dragon's nest into the portal leading to the underground of the mage tower, and then he went in himself.
After the portal closed, Zuo Si muttered to himself with interest: "Learn to adapt to the dragon's body and fighting style? Maybe I can try it sometime. It might be a good experience. After all, the dragon's wings have small claws, which can be used to wear more magic items, or even use extra wands to attack in battle."
Just like that, with the biggest gain of this trip, a rare treasure from the plane of fire element, he quickly cast a teleportation magic and returned to Mingtan Island.
After a ruthless purge, the island's population has dropped sharply from more than 50,000 to less than 40,000.
Many residents whose families had lost someone had a look of hatred and fear in their eyes.
It goes without saying that these people are destabilizing factors in society. Given the opportunity, they will definitely start a riot and try to overthrow the rule established by the Nalansel Islands here.
So Vanessa's method of dealing with it was very simple and crude, which was to load all the population of Mingtan Island and its surrounding areas onto ships and transport them to Luskan in the north which was about to be occupied.
Then let them live with the Luskan residents who will also feel dissatisfied and resentful.
Not only that, the young and middle-aged men among these people will also be distributed weapons and become the first batch of puppet troops to land and occupy the city, replacing the Nelanther Islands to attract the hatred of the local residents of Luskan.
When sharp conflicts and confrontations arise between the two groups, Vanessa can use this to slowly tame them all through rewards and punishments, just like training dogs.
After all, in a world like Faerun filled with magic, divine arts, and various supernatural powers, the resistance and hatred of the common people have never been important.
Even if they could no longer endure and launched a large-scale uprising, they would soon be suppressed and massacred by the rulers who held absolute power.
Just look at how chaotic Calimshan can still maintain a cruel slavery system, and how Luskan can engage in piracy, narcotics, and slave trade under the siege of Silvermoon City, Waterdeep City, and Neverwinter City, and you will know how powerless the civilians in this world are.
In the near future, a civil war broke out among the red wizards of Cyre, turning this populous and wealthy country into ruins, with less than one-tenth of the remaining living people.
Various undead creatures replaced the living and became the most numerous creatures in Cyre.
Watching these people, with their families, being stuffed into the cabins of the ships docked in the harbor, Zuo Si asked expresslessly, "How long will it take for this fleet to set off?"
"Two hours. Give me another two hours and the fleet should be able to set off. Right now, our main fleet has crossed the northern Sword Coast and is attacking the pirate stronghold entrenched in the Whalebone Islands. They are Luskan's traditional allies, and the two sides are said to have signed a captain's alliance treaty. Once we get rid of the Whalebone Islands, we can use it as a springboard to launch a general attack on Luskan."
The Lich briefly introduced the progress of the war from its outbreak to the present, as well as the next plans.
Although he could easily use that box to carry a large army and land on Luskan.
But in order not to expose this trump card too early, after much hesitation, he decided to release the long-prepared undead army when the fleet arrived in Luskan to launch a surprise attack on the tower of the Arcane Brotherhood.
"What about the Zhentarim? Are Mansong and Ximameng not making any moves?" Zuo Si asked with narrowed eyes.
Vanessa immediately shook her head. “No. The Zhentarim have been quite quiet recently.
Perhaps it was because of the civil unrest that occurred not long ago, but even intelligence gathering activities in the areas around the kingdoms of Amn and Tethyr had become quite slack.
In addition, as per your instructions, Garnier and her concessions under our control have begun to attack the Zhentarim's intelligence network.
The Kosantalin have not taken any counterattack so far.
Not even any of the Inner Circle members showed up.
I suspect they may know something, so they are consciously keeping silent."
"Always keep an eye on the Zhentarim's movements.
Don't take these guys lightly, and reveal some information to the Harpist Alliance when necessary.
The best way to deal with a large intelligence network is to have another equally large intelligence network confront it.
Remember, our position is always neutral.
When those who claim to be on the good side dare to cause trouble, we cooperate with the evil side; by the same token, if the evil side becomes the enemy, we cooperate with the good side.
This kind of cooperation has nothing to do with camps or ideas, it only has to do with interests.”
Zuo Si directly gave a set of guidelines for action.
Unlike Mordenkainen's neutral balance theory based on philosophy, the neutrality he insisted on was actually based on interests.
Because in the continent of Faerun, no matter whether you side with good or evil, order or chaos, you will inevitably become the other side's mortal enemy.
But neutrality is different.
Neutrality means that one can be won over and infiltrated, and that one can become a potential ally.
As long as Zuo Si always kept his organization neutral and implemented some relatively enlightened policies to ensure that the civilians under his rule could live better, he could maintain a certain degree of cooperation with both sides at the same time.
Even if there are occasional frictions and conflicts, everything will return to normal soon.
Especially as the number of core members of the Arcane Mystic Society increases and its power grows, no one wants to see such an organization completely turn to the other side.
"Understood. Neither the Harpers nor the Zhentarim are our allies, nor are they our enemies. I will try my best to strike a balance and ensure that the interests of our organization are not eroded by either party."
Vanessa placed one hand on her chest and bowed deeply.
He became more and more convinced that under the leadership of the young man in front of him, the entire organization would soon rise to become a force that could not be ignored in the continent of Faerun.
Two hours later, the fleet loaded with immigrants finally slowly left the harbor, hanging white canvases and heading north at full speed towards Luskan.
Although there was not a single person from the Nelanther Islands on these ships, no one dared to escape or organize a rebellion.
Because they understood that it was almost impossible to escape the pursuit of a terrifying red dragon in the vast ocean.
Although Wilmes had returned to the Mage Tower after completing the mission, these people were already frightened and did not dare to gamble with their own lives and those of their families.
Just as the fleet set sail, far to the east of the continent of Faerun, there was a vast plain sandwiched between the Sea of Falling Stars and the Endless Wilderness. This was the land of Sel ruled by the red-robed wizards.
Because of the snow water flowing down from the glacial mountains in the north of the vast territory, three freshwater lakes with abundant water resources, namely Lake Asen, Lake Moshantyr and Lake Selramber, were eventually formed. There are also rivers of various sizes connecting the three lakes, crisscrossing the country. These rivers provide natural convenience for agricultural production and irrigation, so it is very suitable for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.
In addition, the red-robed wizards are good at using magic to manipulate the climate, and they use a large number of free undead laborers who do not need to rest or eat, so the country's agricultural output ranks first in the entire continent of Faerun.
Except for Halrua, which is also a country of mages, no other country or region can compare with it.
As for the negative energy brought by the use of the dead, which may erode the land and the environment, there is usually no need to worry about it.
Because the direct sunlight every day can completely eliminate this insignificant negative energy without leaving even the slightest residue.
At this moment, Sazastan, the chief of the red-robed wizard's undead faction and also the longest-lived, highest-level spellcaster and most powerful magical power in the entire organization, was standing on the balcony on the top floor of his wizard tower, overlooking the golden wheat waves outside the city, exuding a melancholy atmosphere.
If you don't really know him, many people would think he is a knowledgeable, wise, polite and kind scholar just based on the impression they get when they first meet him.
Yes!
You heard it right!
This evaluation was not given by anyone else, but by Elminster himself.
But as long as they spend enough time together, anyone can sense the coldness, insidiousness and cunningness in this guy's bones.
Most importantly, Sazastan is able to face failure and respect all those who thwart his plans.
This is in stark contrast to the other chief red-robed wizards who only hinder each other and shirk responsibility.
He believes that life is a great game, just like playing chess, which requires looking ahead and behind, strategizing, carefully calculating every detail, and ultimately winning the undisputed victory.
As we all know, a good chess player needs an equally good opponent to highlight his or her own value.
Therefore, Sazastan attaches great importance to the chosen ones of the magic goddess who are his enemies, and at the same time he enjoys the process very much.
Especially for the Storm Queen Xinbu, who repeatedly shattered Sel's plans for external expansion, he had a complex feeling of love and hate.
For a long time, the lich even had an illusion that he had the same disease as the great arcanist, Ovo, and was deeply infatuated with one of the chosen ones of the goddess of magic.
But later Sazastan discovered that it was not love or other emotions extending from physiological impulses, but mutual respect between opponents.
Just as the legendary lich was thinking about how to bring the other chiefs under his control, an assistant suddenly walked in from outside in a hurry and reported in a slightly low voice: "Dear Chief, we have encountered problems in several concessions on the west coast. I don't know what happened, but they suddenly began to frantically attack the intelligence network of the Zhentarim."
"Oh? Who is in charge of these concessions?" Sazastan asked without turning his head.
"It's Garnier. She used to be the apprentice of the chief of the Illusion Department, but because of her poor qualifications, she was unable to be promoted to a ring master. So she took the initiative to apply for a transfer to the west coast, far away from the power center, to be responsible for developing concessions and ensuring trade.
Since taking office, G'Hanir has actively promoted cooperation with the Arcane Brotherhood, and has also taken advantage of the internal struggles of Baldur's Gate to successfully insert our forces there.
It can be said that she has done a very good job in pioneering.
The profits that are turned over to the government each year have almost doubled compared to before.
As for her private life, this woman had an unclear relationship with a young wizard named Bandar, and she would secretly send the latter a sum of money almost every month.
A friend of Bandar once revealed privately that he had witnessed the two men entering a hotel room.
In addition, Garnier has a younger brother and two younger sisters.
She is actively trying to arrange a private deal to marry one of her sisters to Kuler, who was recently promoted to Tour de France mentor.
With his powerful intelligence gathering capabilities, the assistant directly revealed all of Garnier's information.
Obviously, in the eyes of these chiefs at the highest level of the Red Robe Wizard Organization, those who sit in relatively important positions have no secrets at all.
If necessary, they can even find out which lover the other person had a secret meeting with tonight and what they talked about.
"You mean... this Garnier ordered the concession to attack the Zhentarim's intelligence network?" Sazastan's tone revealed a hint of interest.
The assistant hurriedly explained: “No, what I mean is that she may have been captured or even charmed and controlled by the enemy.
Just a few days ago, I received intelligence that Luskan, controlled by the Arcane Brotherhood, was plotting to launch a war against the recently rising forces of the Nelanther Islands.
G'Hanir has deep ties to the Arcane Brotherhood, and there's no guarantee that she won't take some radical actions."
Sazastan nodded thoughtfully and continued to ask: "Who controls the Nalanser Islands now?"
"A spellcaster organization called the Arcane Mystic Society, whose main members are suspected to be high-level wizards who have just transformed into liches. Their leader is called Soth, who is said to be from another world and is the chosen one of Talona, the goddess of poison and disease. However, there is a recent rumor that he is also favored by the goddess of magic and has been granted the famous silver fire."
It has to be said that the Red Robe Wizards are not much weaker than the Zhentarim in terms of intelligence gathering.
The concessions and strongholds spread across major towns across the continent can serve as an excellent intelligence gathering facility.
In addition, magic can be used for ultra-long-distance transmission, so the most important information can be obtained almost immediately.
"Sos... double elector... interesting."
Sazastan repeated in a low voice a few words that he considered most important, with a strange light in his eyes.
After a full minute, he whispered, "Keep an eye on the Chief of Illusion and Aznar Sruul's every move. If they make any big moves, notify me immediately. This may be an opportunity."
"You don't want to..."
The assistant seemed to have guessed something, and his face suddenly became extremely nervous.
You have to know that the internal strife among the Red Robe Wizards is no less dangerous and bloody than that of the Arcane Brotherhood.
Moreover, the Red Robe Wizards do not have a clear supreme leader, and usually rely on the voting of the Chief United Council to discuss and deal with various major events.
Therefore, once the chiefs go to war, it means that the entire country will inevitably fall into civil unrest and turmoil.
Of course, the chiefs of all generations are very aware of this, so they have always tried their best to avoid making public conflicts and at least maintain a superficial cooperative relationship.
But if anyone dares to break this taboo, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous.
But Sazastan, who had been trying to consolidate power, didn't care about that and responded nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I will control the scale. As for the result, it depends on whether this son of plague has enough power."
"Understood. I will immediately mobilize personnel to conduct 24-hour surveillance."
The assistant bowed quickly and turned away.
After he was completely gone, Sazastan raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said in a tone that was not a smile: "Don't blame me, Aznar Sruul. Blame yourself for giving me this opportunity. I am tired of playing political games with you all day long. The whole of Cyre needs to be ruled by a strong power to achieve greater goals, rather than endure the humiliation brought by failure again and again."
There is no doubt that the impact of the Red Wizards' concessions and strongholds on the Zhentarim is not limited to this.
It also produced many chain reactions.
For example, the Harper Alliance, which had always been in a love-hate relationship with the Zhentarim, took advantage of the chaos to get involved.
Many mages from the Chaos camp simply put on red robes, disguised themselves as red robe wizards, and launched a fierce attack on the Zhentarim strongholds in other areas.
In just over ten hours, Ximanmeng, who was in charge of running the dark intelligence network, received one urgent letter for help after another, so much so that he didn't know how to respond.
Perhaps others did not know what exactly happened, but he knew it clearly and understood that it was Zuo Si's conspiracy.
If Zhentarin turns a blind eye to such unprovoked attacks, the morale of the people below will surely fall, and it will then be difficult to lead the team.
Especially after having just experienced the rebellion and purge launched by the Church of Cyric, many people are already nervous and might just abandon the mess and run away.
But if he responded, he would inevitably become enemies with the red-robed wizard, which would be equivalent to fulfilling Zuo Si's wish.
Just when Ximanmon was in a dilemma, a dwarf thief suddenly ran in from outside, put a letter with words symbolizing emergency on the table, and then left without saying a word.
Without any hesitation!
Don't dare to have any hesitation!
Ximanmeng immediately opened the seal and looked at the contents inside. After just a glance, he stood up from his seat and shouted, "A rebellion broke out within the Arcane Brotherhood? At this time? Are they...are they crazy? Or do these idiots simply not understand their situation?"
In fact, just when the letter was delivered to him, in the high tower of the Luskan Arcane Brotherhood, the four tower masters from the east, west, south and north, as well as four other high-level wizards who participated in the conspiracy, killed Aklem Grace's senior assistant at lightning speed.
Because the old wizard was hiding in his room trying to transform himself into a lich, he did not notice the murder.
By the time he reacted, the rebel had already rushed in with the rune stone he had found on his assistant, and started with the seventh-ring necromancy magic - Finger of Death.
You have to know that Aklem Grace's body has aged to the point of being on the verge of death, so his Fortitude immunity is very poor. Using this instant death magic has a high probability of killing him instantly.
But unfortunately, the protective magic equipment he was wearing saved his life at the critical moment.
The old man screamed and a large amount of black blood spurted out of his mouth and nose. His face, which was full of wrinkles and age spots, was so pale that he looked almost indistinguishable from a dead person.
"Why...why? Why did you betray me!?"
Akelem Grace instantly activated all his protective spells and roared like a madman.
He simply couldn't believe that the conspiracy, which he originally thought was secretly planned by only one or two people, turned out to be a joint effort of all people.
Is it that his management style and rule are so unpopular? Or are these guys too greedy and simply not satisfied with the power and status they have now?
"Betrayal? Weren't you the first to take action? Do you know what kind of enemy our fleet encountered? A group of great wizards who could summon ancient dragon turtles! If we hadn't run fast, we would have sunk into the sea with the fleet and become food for the fish." The Lord of the North Tower retorted harshly.
"That's right! Don't be the first to complain. If you didn't want to eradicate us, why would we unite? Akelom Grace, your days as the leader of the Arcane Brotherhood and the true ruler of Luskan are over. Now, prepare to die. You were going to die anyway, and it doesn't make any difference if it's earlier or later."
After saying this, the Lord of the South Tower began to chant a spell, preparing to kill the other party in one fell swoop.
Knowing how dangerous Akelum Grace was, he showed no mercy at all.
Otherwise, if this guy really succeeds in transforming into a lich, I would be the one in trouble.
As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands. No matter how arrogant Aklem Grace is, he doesn't think he can withstand the siege of eight high-level wizards.
What's more, the gap in spellcasting level between him and the four tower masters is not that big. Even if he relies on the power of the Mage Tower, he can only barely hold out for a period of time, and will inevitably be defeated in the end.
So before the other party completed the spell, the insidious and cunning old wizard dragged his seriously injured and dying body and directly activated the teleportation device hidden on the book behind him.
The next second...
The dazzling arcane light engulfed him, and then the whole person disappeared without a trace.
Just when the tower masters were chasing after them and wanted to kill them all, they suddenly discovered that the teleportation device was actually a one-time device and would be completely destroyed after use.
They had no idea where Akelum Grace had fled to.
But considering that the old man was seriously injured and his life was about to end, no one cared too much and soon fell into a vortex of power struggle.
After all, the position of leader of the Arcane Brotherhood is now vacant, and someone must take it.
(End of this chapter)
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