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Even Greem didn’t know what was happening when he saw the weird expressions on the faces of the adepts.

“It’s...it’s nothing.” The male adept hurriedly concealed his loss of composure with an awkward smile. He then shifted the topic. “We are Squad Fifty-Three from Exodar Camp, in charge of patrolling this area. May we know what you, sir, are doing here?”

Greem smiled leisurely.

“Building a base!”

“Building a base?”

“My clan wishes to participate in trade beyond the realms, so we need to establish a suitable clan outpost here. Are there any special rules from the camp that forbids such actions?”

The male adept’s face froze. He hesitated for a moment and said, “I don’t believe so! That said, most adept clans would try and establish their outpost inside Exodar Camp on their first venture to the realms beyond. Building an outpost outside of the camp like you are doing probably won’t be too safe, will it?”

While they were speaking, the Third Grade female adept behind the Fourth Grade adept let out a gasp of surprise. She said in a soft voice, “Sir, look.”

The male adept paused for a moment and looked down. It was only then that he realized that an unusual transformation had occurred to the steel city in the short time he was talking with the fire adept.

Several fortresses forged from metal had been erected around the city. Cannons lined the outside of the fortifications, their ghostly-blue metallic bodies gleaming with an intimidating light. Armies of magical machines marched out of the halls in the city and stationed themselves in the fortresses.

They were stationary magic energy cannons and mobile magical machines. The Capital of Steel had become a hedgehog armed to the teeth, baring its fearsome defensive power at any enemy that dared to challenge it.

The male adept couldn’t help but nod at this sight.

“It seems like you have absolute confidence in your outpost, having built it here, sir. According to the rules of Camp Exodar, any adept clans that wish to join the camp will have to submit an application to Lord Caelf and wait for approval. However, considering that your outpost is located outside of the camp, there is no need to abide by the rules. I will make a report on your behalf once I return!”

Greem was glad to see how cooperative the adept was.

The two of them exchanged a few more words mid-air before bidding each other farewell and heading in their own directions.

The patrol party returned to the camp and reported everything they had seen. Naturally, this caused a fairly large commotion in the camp. However, Greem ignored all of this and remained in the Capital of Steel to reinforce the defenses.

Greem might have been improving rapidly, but he had made many enemies, both in the shadows and in public.

If those people knew that Greem had established a base in space, they would undoubtedly rush over to make trouble. As such, Greem focused on the possibility of defeat above all else. His first and most important request of Gazlowe was to make sure that the Capital of Steel was impregnable.

He had a feeling that the Crimson Clan would not be able to do proper business without first fending off several waves of enemies.

And he was waiting here for those enemies to walk into the trap!

............

Werning.

Location of the Northern Witches’ Witch Council.

Eight witch leaders were seated in a scattered fashion on both sides of the long table in the hall. Dark Witch Leader Circe was giving a passionate declaration of war.

“—Shani’s death was a result of the male adepts’ conspiracy. We must move for action immediately and assert pressure on the Zhentarim Association to hand over the ringleader Greem.”

Everyone had already heard of Dark Witch Shani’s death.

However, when they heard Circe associate Shani’s death to the legendary fire adept, Greem, everyone turned and looked at Alice, who was sitting quietly in place with a smile on her face.

Dark Witch Circe bent down and pressed both her hands on the table, pressuring Alice with her vicious and intimidating aura, glaring angrily at the girl as she did so.

“Alice, your relationship with Greem is more than intimate. Do you still intend to shelter him under these conditions and work against all of us witches?”

Alice smiled and said, “That’s a little harsh, isn’t it, sister? If he is indeed guilty, why would I ever cover for him?”

“Very well, then. I propose—” Circe exhaled a breath of air from her nose, believing that Alice had finally compromised.

“Don’t be in a rush, Sister Circe, I still have a few questions for you.” Alice interrupted Circe’s speech, causing her face to turn dark.

“What questions do you have? Ask away!”

“We are all saddened by the news of Shani’s death. However, since you want to launch a war against the outside world in the name of vengeance, we will need some evidence. After all, you are tying all of the witches to your bandwagon with this war!”

“Shani died in Morrian Plane. What evidence do you expect me to produce?” Circe was furious. Her hands trembled lightly as dark mist rose around her, engulfing over half of the meeting hall.

“Then you have no evidence. You can’t provide any evidence, and you want to use the full force of the Northern Witches against Greem and the Zhentarim Association. Don’t you think you are a little overbearing with this demand?” The angrier Circe became, the more relaxed Alice seemed to be. Her bright eyes unflinchingly stared back into Circe’s own.

Seeing as the sparks between the two witch leaders was growing in intensity, Khesuna, the always composed leader of the Death Witches, couldn’t help but interrupt. “Circe, do you not have any evidence at all? If Greem were alone, it would be fine for us just to kill him on a whim. We Northern Witches have never been afraid of anyone. However, he is now an elder of the Zhentarim Association. If you can’t produce any evidence, how do you expect us to apply any pressure to the Association?”

Alice took the opportunity to speak, now that someone had taken her side.

“Sister, don’t you forget how you promised me during the last witch council never to lay a finger on Greem again. What exactly is this whole affair about Shani’s death? Why are you so certain that Greem was the one that killed Shani? Could it be...that you did something behind the scenes?”

Circe’s entire body started trembling now.

It was not fear; it was anger and fury at an extreme.

Shani had participated in the Arcane Empire mission under her direct orders. It was equivalent to her personally sending a vital member of the clan to her grave.

Moreover, the matter of Shani’s death was a minor one. The more pressing issue was the loss of the Orb of Shadows!

However, these things concerned the reputation of the Dark Witches and many shady dealings. How was she supposed to talk about these things in front of the other witch leaders?

“Alice, don’t you forget that you yourself are a Northern Witch! Are you not afraid of rumors behind your back? Why do you keep speaking in defense of a male adept like this?” Circe gritted her teeth and restrained her anger, choosing to retaliate with an insult instead.

“Naturally, I would not stand by his side if he was merely an outsider. But sister, the person you are trying to deal with is my husband now!” Alice’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

Alice was filled with joy, but the other witch leaders were shocked and surprised.

“Alice, you can’t be saying things like these. What is all this husband business. What nonsense are you speaking?” Death Witch Khesuna glared at her, and a violent aura of death instantly filled the hall.

“Sister Khesuna, this is not nonsense. I have already decided to become husband and wife with Greem. The official ceremony will be held soon. I hope for your blessing at that time!” Alice’s smile faded as she replied with a serious expression.

Dead silence. Absolute silence.

The entire hall immediately became solemn as the witches frowned in frustration.

“Alice, give it some proper thought, won’t you?! According to the traditions of the Northern Witches, there has never been a high-grade witch, let alone a witch leader, who has had a marriage with a male adept!” Khesuna warned with a stern tone.

“Sister, you mean to say that the witch council will never let such a thing happen?”

“We aren’t so absolute in our ruling. After all, the witch council has no specific rules or laws that bind us. That said, to maintain the independence and purity of the Northern Witches, it is an unwritten rule for us to never marry a male adept of another organization.”

“The independence of the Northern Witches?” Alice laughed coldly, “Never working against each other, never harming each other’s welfare between all the various branches. That is meant to be another unwritten rule of ours, is it not?!”

“Indeed!”

“Then I want to ask a question. Of the thirteen witch branches lasting from the ancient times, how many remain? Where is the territory of all the witch branches whose legacies have gone extinct?”

Alice questioned loudly at the top of her voice, and the witch leaders couldn’t help but fall silent.

“Ever since I, Alice, became the leader of the Fate Witches, how many of you witch leaders here have abided by the principles of independence between the branches and refrained from intervening in the legacy of the Fate Witches? Circe, why did you imprison my grandmother, Endor? Wasn’t it to threaten me and make demands of me?” Alice was like a startled cat now. She stood up straight and glared at Circe with a vicious look in her eyes.

Circe let out a breath from her nose.

“Endor is a witch of our branch. I have my own reasons for dealing with her. I don’t need a brat like yourself to tell me what to do!”

Death Witch Khesuna’s expression turned colder by the minute. Her gaze wandered between Circe and Alice, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

However, as an outsider to the conflict, she could not stop the growing tension between the two witch leaders.

Alice might only be Third Grade and appear to be the weakest amongst them all.

However, as weak as she was, she was still a witch leader and possessed equal authority as all of them on the witch council! No one could strip her of her power as a leader, and no one would ever dare to suppress or threaten her with violence. Otherwise, the so-called unity of the Northern Witches against the outside world would be no more than a joke.

The entire organization that was the Northern Witches would fall apart and break into individual factions caring for their own welfare!

It was the one thing that Khesuna wished to avoid at all costs.