Age of Adepts

The two of them went into a secret room and began the actual negotiations after showing themselves at the banquet.

Mirva’s true intention in coming here was to inform Greem of his compulsory mission for the Zhentarim Association, which was the mission to exterminate the Arcane Empire that would be in seven years.

Of course, to console Greem, Mirva had officially announced his status and authority as an elder after advancing to Fourth Grade. He also revealed the incredibly long list of resources that the Crimson Clan would be receiving.

Furthermore, Mirva also made no mention of the Crimson Clan’s recent expansionist actions.

After all, the death rate for this compulsory mission was extraordinarily high. It was a nearly lethal mission. Who would be willing to risk their lives for Zhentarim without receiving something in return!?

“—…all the way to the west with the Tarim River as the boundary. You are only allowed to expand to Blackwood in the south. If you push another two hundred and fifty kilometers to the east, your land will be bordering Elder Musso’s worldly territory. To ensure there won’t be any conflict, there needs to be a hundred-kilometer wide buffer where neither clan is allowed to station their forces. As for the Black Forest to the north, you are free to expand as you wish. Any and all land you take will be considered the territory of the Crimson Clan. If you require citizens or slaves, the Association is more than willing to trade with you at a greatly discounted price.”

Gargamel and Meryl stood behind Greem during these negotiations. They couldn’t help but look at each other upon hearing this, and they saw the unconcealable surprise in each others’ eyes.

“Queyras alloy, Life Stock Solution, spacestones, and starsand.” Greem read each and every name very slowly, his pair of black eyes staring unflinchingly at Mirva.

Mirva’s brow jumped with every item Greem listed. The corner of his mouth even started twitching when Greem mentioned starsand.

Queyras alloy was a necessary ingredient in forging magic generator furnaces. The Crimson Clan required a consistent and stable supply of Queyras metal if they wanted to expand their magical machine army.

The use of Life Stock Solution was universal. Whether for the creation of high-grade life potions or high-grade life-extension ceremonies, Life Stock Solution would always be one of the core ingredients. Unfortunately, it was said that Life Stock Solution could only be produced in the Holy Trees of Life that belonged to the elves.

Sadly, no elves could be found in the two lesser planes that the Crimson Clan currently possessed.

Spacestones, on the other hand, were core materials used for establishing interplanar teleportation arrays. It was a strategic resource that most adept clans and organizations had to stockpile in preparation for war.

Starsand was not a resource that could be found inside a plane. Starsand came from the realms beyond.

When a plane was ruined, most of the planar substances within would be destroyed and blown away by the endless spacestorms. Only a minimal amount of the hardest and toughest materials inside the plane could be preserved. These materials were typically known as starsand.

They were the main ingredient used to forge top-class magical equipment, as well as an undying body!

It was said that one method for body-refining adepts to advance from Fourth Grade to Fifth Grade was to assimilate and refine a ration of starsand into their own bones, thereby allowing them to become immortal and indestructible beings.

As such, the value of starsand was no less valuable than origin substances in the eyes of Fourth Grade body-refining adepts!

Greem kept a close eye on Mirva as he recited all the resources he wanted. Once he was certain that his request had reached the psychological bottom line of Mirva and the Zhentarim Association, he immediately shut his mouth.

Mirva took out his handkerchief and wiped away the beads of sweat on his head in an exaggerated motion. He had an awkward and forced smile on his face as he did so.

“Queyras alloy. Molten Fire City is the only place that has a stable output of this stuff. If you really want it, I can serve as an intermediary and help you arrange a meeting with Alfred. That said, you should know that I can’t guarantee successful negotiations. After all, there seems to be some sort of disagreement between you and Alfred.

“As for the Life Stock Solution, the Association still has some spare stock of it. We can provide you with two and a half kilograms of the solution. That should be enough for your personal use.

“Spacestones are very highly demanded even within the Association. At the very best, if I were to put my reputation on the line, I could help you find two pieces of spacestone, and it is going to be very costly.

“As for starsand? No one can get you this stuff. Otherwise, Declan wouldn’t have been beaten at your hands.”

Even though the offer didn’t fully reach Greem’s expectations, he was more than happy with what Vice-Chairman Mirva had promised him.