Chapter 1291 - Battle for the Central Lands
Chapter 1291 Battle for the Central Lands
There was an adept war between the Dener Clan and the Crimson Clan, yet the shadows of so many other clans lurked behind it. Naturally, only Greem could fully understand all the implications behind this.
In the eyes of Gargamel, Meryl, and the others, it was only a natural expression of hostility that the incumbent forces of the Central Lands held toward newly rising clans. However, Greem could see that this trouble was initiated by the existing forces across the entirety of the World of Adepts.
The things that you could see differed based on the height upon which you stood!
The Central Lands had been quiet for far too long.
They had such vast lands, plentiful resources, population, and complete legacies of knowledge. Yet, they were still suppressed and reduced to a second-rate organization by the three major adept organizations. The importance of Zhentarim was utterly incongruous with the sheer scale and size of the Central Lands.
There were external reasons for this–the three major organizations unwilling to see the rise of another rival–and internal reasons: the incumbent forces of the Central Lands were largely composed of independent clans who did not want to see a centralized force cutting into their benefits.
This combination of external and internal factors was what gave rise to the strange existence that was Zhentarim!
The Dener Clan had also put together several tens of thousands of powerful voodoo beasts and placed them before the war towers. They were the cannon fodder for this fight.
Adept Kerala finally felt slightly relieved after making all these preparations. She sat calmly inside the fortress located in Stoneshard Valley, silently awaiting the Crimson Clan’s arrival.
Standing at her side were Zhentarim Association Chairman Freed, Vice-Chairman Mirva, Elder Nicolas, Elder Matthew, Elder Fabres, and Elder Mornashen Gaia, known as the leader of the Gaia clan and as the most powerful adept of the Central Lands.
One could frankly claim that almost every Fourth Grade adept in the Central Lands with any kind of disagreement or grudge against the Crimson Clan was gathered here. The other Fourth Grades were either watching matters unfold from the sidelines or were genuinely not interested in the politics.
Moreover, individuals were also sent out from the three major adept organizations to observe this war and evaluate the Central Lands’ future trajectory.
Of course, should things start to move in a direction ‘detrimental’ to them, it wasn’t unlikely that these ‘observers’ would take action as well. There was no need for armies. All it would take was the appearance of one or two incredibly powerful Fourth Grades on the battlefield, and the war would go down whichever path they had chosen.
If one were to be even more straightforward, they would point out–accurately–that this war would never have reached such intensity if not for the major organizations’ subtle influence in the shadows!
Noon had just passed when a massive dust cloud rose on the horizon.
A rumbling army of magical machines charged forward, heading towards Stoneshard Valley like a steel dragon.
At the forefront of the army was a hundred goblin chariots, the Steel Pathfinders.
The goblin chariots had now broken free of their former constraints of steam power. They were now powered by magic energy and, thus, no longer released their signature white smoke. A hundred goblin chariots thundered across the land, stopping two kilometers away from the enemy lines. They began to bunker down as the cannons on top of the chariots spun around. In the blink of an eye, a kilometer-long wall of steel had appeared.
Behind the chariots was a massive army made up of magical machines.
Ten Motherships hovered in the air.
Each of these Motherships was as large as a small city. The bottoms of the Motherships were covered in terrifying cannons, their silver hulls brightly reflecting the sun’s light.
An army of over ten thousand magical machines marched in perfect formation on the ground. Each of these machines was over three meters tall. Fearsome magic energy cannons and beam rifles were installed on their torsos, shoulders, and arms.
With each coordinated step forward, it felt as if the earth itself quaked along with them.