Late at night, the whole Luskan was quiet.

Since the five great commanders and the fleets they led went 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 remind 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 be immediately slapped by the powerful dragon wings.

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 expressionlessly, "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.

对于这些家伙可不要掉以轻心，必要的时候可以给竖琴手同盟透露一些消息。

对付一个庞大情报网络的最好办法，就是让另外一个同样庞大的情报网络与之对抗。

记住，我们的立场永远是中立的。

当那些自诩善良阵营的家伙胆敢来找麻烦，我们就跟邪恶的一方合作； 同样的道理，如果邪恶的一方成为敌人，我们就跟善良一方合作。

这种合作跟阵营、理念无关，只跟利益有关。”

左思直截了给出了一套行动准则。

与魔邓肯那种基于哲学为核心的中立平衡论调不同，他所坚持的中立实际上是以利益为出发点。

因为在费伦大陆，无论是倒向善良还是邪恶、秩序还是混乱，都必然会成为另外一方不死不休的敌人。

但中立不同。

中立意味着可以进行拉拢和渗透，意味着可以成为潜在的盟友。

只要左思始终让自己麾下的组织保持中立，并且实行一些相对比较开明的政策，确保自己统治下的平民能过的比较好，那么他就可以同时跟双方保持一定的合作。

就算偶尔会有摩擦和冲突，用不了多久便会恢复如初。

尤其是随着奥法秘术会核心成员的数量越来越多、势力越来越庞大，没有人会希望看到这样一个组织彻底倒向另外一方。

“明白。无论是竖琴手同盟还是散塔林会都不是我们的盟友，同样也不是敌人。我会尽量把握好这个尺度，确保组织的利益不会被任何一方侵蚀。”

瓦内萨单手抚胸深深的鞠了一躬。

他越来越确信，在眼前这个年轻人的领导下，整个组织用不了多久便会崛起成为费伦大陆一股不可忽视的力量。

两个小时之后，满载着移民的船队终于缓缓驶离港湾，挂满白色的帆布朝着北方的路斯坎全速前进。

尽管这些船上连一个耐兰瑟尔群岛的人都没有，但是却没有任何人胆敢逃跑或是组织人手发动叛乱。

因为他们明白，在一望无际的大海上想要逃过一条恐怖红龙的追杀几乎是不可能的事情。

虽然维尔梅斯在完成任务后已经返回法师塔，可这些人已经被吓坏了，根本不敢拿自己和家人的小命去赌。

就在船队起航的时候，远在费伦大陆的东边，坠星海与无尽荒野中间夹着的庞大平原，这里是红袍巫师们所统治的塞尔。

由于在庞大国土的北方拥有极北之地冰缘山脉流淌下来的雪水，最终形成了阿森湖、莫杉提尔湖和塞尔蓝柏湖三大水资源充沛的淡水湖泊，以及联通三座湖大大小小遍布国土纵横交错的河流，而这些河流又为农业生产和灌溉提供了天然的便利，所以非常适合发展农业和畜牧业。

再加上红袍巫师善于使用魔法来操纵气候，并且大量使用免费且不需要休息、进食的亡灵劳工，所以全国的农业产量冠绝整个费伦大陆。

除了同样是法师之国的哈鲁阿，没有任何一个国家和地区能够与之相媲美。

至于使用亡灵所带来的负能量侵蚀土地和环境问题，通常来说根本没有必要担心。

因为光是每天的阳光直射，就能把这点微不足道的负能量清除的干干净净，根本不会留下哪怕一丁点的残余。

此时此刻，身为红袍巫师死灵派系的首席，同时也是整个组织内部活得最久、施法等级最高、魔法力量最强大的萨扎斯坦，正站在自己法师塔顶层的阳台上，远眺城外那成片的金色麦浪，浑身上下散发着一种忧郁的气息。

如果不是真的了解其本人，光凭第一次见面的印象，甚至会让许多人产生他是一个博学、睿智、彬彬有礼且善良的学者。

是的！

你没听错！

这个评价并不是其他人给予的，而是伊尔明斯特本人。

但只要相处时间一长，任何人都能够察觉到这家伙骨子里透露出来的冷酷、阴险和狡诈。

最重要的是，萨扎斯坦能够正视失败，并且对于所有挫败自己计划的人心存敬意。

这一点跟另外几名红袍巫师的首席只会相互扯后腿、推卸责任形成了鲜明的对比。

他认为人生是一场伟大的游戏，就如同下棋一般需要瞻前顾后、运筹帷幄，小心计算着每一个细节，最终无可争议的赢得胜利。

众所周知，一个优秀的棋手需要一个同样优秀的对手才能衬托出自己的价值。

所以萨扎斯坦非常重视与自己为敌的魔法女神选民们，同时还十分享受这一过程。

尤其是一而再、再而三粉碎了塞尔对外扩张计划的风暴女王欣布，更是让他有一种又爱又恨的复杂感情。

曾经有很长一段时间，这个巫妖甚至产生了一种错觉，那就是自己得了跟大奥术师——奥沃一样的病，深深迷恋上一位魔法女神的选民。

但后来萨扎斯坦发现，那并不是什么爱或者其他从生理冲动延伸出来的情感，而是对手之间的惺惺相惜。

就在这位传奇巫妖思考要如何才能把另外几位首席置于自己的掌控之下时，一名助手突然急匆匆的从外面走进来，用略显低沉的语气汇报道：“尊敬的首席阁下，我们在西海岸的几个租界出了问题。不知道是怎么回事，他们突然开始疯狂攻击散塔林会的情报网络。”

“哦？这些租界的负责人是谁？”萨扎斯坦头也不回的问。

“是加尼尔。她曾经是幻术系首席的学徒，但因为资质不佳迟迟无法晋升环法导师，所以自己主动申请调到远离权力中枢的西海岸负责开拓租界和保障贸易。

自从上任以来，加尼尔积极推动与奥术兄弟会的合作，而且还借助博德之门的内部斗争，成功将我们的势力安插进去。

可以说在开拓方面，她的确做的相当不错。

光是每年上缴的利润，就比以前提高了差不多两倍以上。

至于私生活，这个女人跟一名叫做班达尔的青年法师有着不清不楚的关系，几乎每个月都会偷偷给后者送一笔钱。

班达尔的一个朋友私下里曾经透露过，自己亲眼目睹两人进入过一家旅店的房间。

另外，加尼尔还有一个弟弟、两个妹妹。

她正在积极通过私下交易，想要把其中一个妹妹嫁给前不久刚刚晋升环法导师的库勒。”

凭借强大的情报搜集能力，助手直截了当把加尼尔所有的资料都抖落出来。

很显然，在这些位于红袍巫师组织最高层的首席眼中，那些凡是坐上相对比较重要位置的人，都没有半点秘密可言。

如果有需要，他们甚至可以知道对方今天晚上是跟哪个情人秘密幽会，期间聊了什么话题。

“你的意思是……这个加尼尔下令让租界去攻击了散塔林会的情报网络？”萨扎斯坦语气中透露出少许兴趣。

助手赶忙解释道：“不，我的意思是，她可能已经被敌人俘虏乃至魅惑控制了。

就在几天前，我刚刚获得一份情报，上边说奥术兄弟会控制的路斯坎，正在密谋对最近才崛起的耐兰瑟尔群岛势力发动战争。

加尼尔跟奥术兄弟会有很深的联系，难保她不会做出一些比较激进的举动。”

萨扎斯坦若有所思的点了点头，继续追问：“耐兰瑟尔群岛现在是由谁在控制？”

“一个叫做奥法秘术会的施法者组织，主要成员疑似都是刚刚转化成巫妖的高阶法师。他们的首领叫做索斯，据说来自另外一个世界，是剧毒与疾病女神塔洛娜的选民。不过最近还有一个传闻，说他同时受到魔法女神的眷顾，并被赐予了大名鼎鼎的银火。”

不得不说，红袍巫师在情报搜集方面丝毫不比散塔林会弱多少。

遍布在整个大陆各个主要城镇的租界和据点，就能起到非常好的情报搜集功能。

再加上可以通过魔法进行超远距离传输，差不多可以在第一时间获取到最重要的信息。

“索斯……双选民……有意思。”

萨扎斯坦低声重复着几个他认为最重要的词汇，眼睛里闪烁着异样的光芒。

足足过了一分钟，他才低声吩咐道：“给我盯紧幻术系首席和阿兹纳尔·斯鲁尔的一举一动。如果他们有任何大的动作立刻来通知我，这也许是一个机会。”

“您该不会是想要……”

助手似乎猜到了什么，脸色顿时变得异常紧张。

要知道红袍巫师的内斗的凶险跟血腥程度可一点都不比奥术兄弟会差多少。

而且红袍巫师并没有一个明确的最高领导人，平日里都是靠首席联合议会投票来商量着处理各种重大事件。

所以一旦首席们全面开战，就意味着整个国家将陷入不可避免的内乱与动荡之中。

Of course, the chiefs of all generations are very aware of this, so they have always tried their best to avoid making conflicts public 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)