Age of Adepts

The dead vampire came from the Rothers Clan.

They were a vampire clan that had only recently joined Mary.

He might not have been the most powerful individual in the Rothers Clan, but as an advanced Second Grade, he was still a reasonably authoritative figure.

Yet, Mary had killed such a vampire instantly without the chance to retaliate!

All the vampires in the room turned pale when they smelled the thick scent of blood. The couldn't help but whimper in fright.

"Silence, all of you!" Mary sat upon a tall wooden chair. Her crimson eyes swept across all the vampires present here as she coldly said, "From now on, anyone that dares mention secession from the Crimson Clan will be killed without mercy!"

Having said that, Mary pointed at the puddle of blood, and everything started to move in reverse. The spots of blood spattered all over the room gathered together and reformed into the image of the Second Grade vampire.

"Rothers, he's your subordinate. Tell us how he should be punished!" Mary's gaze turned coldly towards a Third Grade vampire sitting to her left.

"Ever since we joined you, the Rothers Clan ceased to exist. Everything is to your will!" Rothers couldn't help but be shocked by Mary's terrifying blood magic, and hurriedly stood up to bow.

In all honesty, it wasn't surprising that she had been able to kill the vampire so easily.

What was surprising was her method of 'reviving' the vampire!

Rumors that high-grade vampire lords could freely determine the lives and deaths of their subordinate vampires had always existed since ancient times. Rothers had believed these rumors to be baseless legends. Now, it seemed like high-grade vampire lords did indeed possess unique blood powers.

Blood powers tailored explicitly for use on their subordinates!

The terrified Rothers quickly expressed subservience, now even more respectful and fearful of Mary.

"As expected, you understand where you stand. Very well, seeing as this is his first offense, he is simply demoted from count to viscount. He will be allowed to redeem himself in the future."

Second Grade vampires held the noble title of count, simply by virtue of their power. Now that he had been demoted to viscount, it meant that he could only enjoy the authority and benefits of a First Grade vampire within the clan. Moreover, the only vampires allowed in this room today were Second Grade counts. Having been demoted, the vampire could only dejectedly leave the meeting.

A total of a single Fourth Grade, seven Third Grades, and twenty-two Second Grades were currently present in this small room.

It was the result of the majority of vampire clans submitting themselves to Mary after her advancement to Fourth Grade. In truth, the Second Grade vampire had actually expressed the mindset of most high-grade vampires here. With such power gathered in this room, they had more than enough qualifications to establish a new clan belonging solely to the vampires in Zhentarim!

Unfortunately, as excited as they were by the idea, their Fourth Grade blood master, Mary, did not seem to be moved by the thought of absolute power at all. She immediately surprised this dissenting current with the most violent and cruel method imaginable.

Considering Mary's romantic relationship with Greem, most of the vampires were willing to accept this situation, as reluctant as they were. Given how intimate Mary was with the clan leader, all the vampires in the Crimson Clan would most definitely reap the maximum benefit as long as she was around.

In fact, some high-grade vampires that had just joined even fantasized that Lady Mary could demonstrate her tremendous powers and make the fire adept submit to her prowess. This way, the vampires would not have to secede, and they would even become the leaders of the massive Crimson Clan.

While these newcomers were scheming in their minds, the veterans who had followed Mary for decades smiled bitterly. Outsiders might not know the details of Mary and Greem's relationship, but they, the blood knights and blood elves, knew very well what the dynamic was.

These outsiders were going down an entirely wrong path if they were attempting to sow discord between Lady Mary and Lord Greem.

As Mary's followers, they knew very well that their master was completely under the thumb of their clan leader. Their relationship was also not something that could be moved by resources or benefits.

That was why Soros, Isa, and Spalla, the three marquis vampires, couldn't help but shake their heads when they saw the outsiders' excitement. They pitied them for their foolish thoughts. Old Fox Vanlier, whom Mary had forcefully promoted to peak Second Grade with her powers, stroked his beard and sneered coldly.

Everything that he possessed, all the authority he now held in his hands, and all the power within him had been bestowed upon him by Mary. As such, he was probably the most loyal subordinate among all the vampires.

Mary's swift, decisive punishment of the vampire that stood out of line was Vanlier's idea as well.

While Mary had been intimidating the vampires with her display of power, she silently communicated with Vanlier.

"Master, the current situation we are facing is likely a plot hatched by those old fools."

"Old fools? Do you mean the Fourth Grades of Zhentarim?"

"Indeed!"

"What have you picked up on?"

"These vampire clans had all been pushed around and oppressed by those Fourth Grade organizations before joining us, be it in the shadows or on the surface. In all seriousness, they only joined us because they had nowhere else to turn to!"

"Isn't this…good for us?" Mary was somewhat confused. "Those old fools would do us a favor?"

"Perhaps they are doing us a favor, but it's truly a sinister scheme at heart." Vanlier put on one of his sly smiles. "They might not have expected your relationship with the clan leader to be as firm as it is. That is why they attempted to create discord between you and him by strengthening your forces. Think about it. Lord Greem is the clan leader of the Crimson Clan, yet you lead the clan's strongest branch. That would indirectly cause you and Lord Greem to doubt and suspect each other over your intentions. What the vampires here are thinking about are likely ways to sow more conflict between you and the clan leader."

"Bastards! I was wondering why these vampires were so willing to join me. So this is why! Hmph! Just wait and see what I'll do to them in the future."

"Speaking of which, master, what was that technique you just used earlier? To think you could kill and revive a vampire with such ease. How did you do it?"

"Hmph! That is a blood power I obtained after advancing to Fourth Grade- Blood Symbiosis. With this ability, I will be able to store the soul of any vampire subordinate temporarily. With the use of a blood halo, I can reconstruct a body for them."

Vanlier's eyes glowed when he heard Mary's explanation. He couldn't help but become exceedingly excited.

"Master, if you are capable of such a feat, wouldn't you be able to wear down any enemy with an endless horde of vampires?"

"Hmph! It's not as simple as you think." Mary coldly explained, "Low-grade enemies might have a difficult time destroying a soul, but it is a small matter for those old Fourth Grade fools. If they destroyed your soul along with your body, I would not be able to revive you, even with all the blood power in the world."

Vanlier frowned and thought about it. He couldn't help but agree with that assessment.

The powers of high-grade adepts were too strange and unusual. Trying to beat them through sheer numbers was too simplistic and crude of an idea. Regardless, Blood Symbiosis was still one of the most powerful of Mary's blood abilities.

"Master, if you don't want their scheme to continue, then why not find something for them to do?" The old fox smiled. "The four vampire clans that joined us also contributed five small planes and one mid-sized plane. Why don't we pick a grinding stone from among these planes and use it to train our forces?"

"The mid-sized plane, then!" The pride of a high-grade adept appeared on Mary's pretty face. "There's hardly anything in those small planes that can draw my interest now!"

"Very well, I will arrange it immediately!"

…………

Fire Throne.

It had been two weeks since Greem returned from the Spirit World.

He had been busy at work dealing with the spoils of war from his adventures all this while.

The Primal Water, the Watersoul Jade, the Starfell Gem, the heart of a thousand-year old treant, the mutated mushrooms, the warhammers of the ogre chieftain, the Bleeding Spear, the corpse of the Feathered God, the divine power crystals, and the egg.

With the exception of the treant's heart, which was a Third Grade item, all these things were incredibly rare and powerful, even among other Fourth Grade resources!

Greem put a tremendous amount of thought into how he should deal with them.

The first to be dealt with were naturally the mutated mushrooms.

These had all come from Sage Moat. Consuming them over a long period of time could deliver an increase of 1 to 2 points of a specific stat, with insignificant side effects.

If these mushrooms could be successfully cultivated, they would immediately become strategic resources for the clan.

Though 1 to 2 points of improvement in a specific attribute might not be much for a low-grade adept, it was incredibly significant for high-grade adepts. So much so that you could call it revolutionary!

After returning to the clan, Greem immediately summoned Emelia and had her lead her sporepeople in an attempt to grow these mushrooms. For this purpose, the Crimson Clan had even found a swamp area in the Ailovis Region similar to the Marsh Wetlands and turned the place into a restricted area. A few sporepeople were then selected to cultivate the spores.

Given Emelia's performance in the Spirit World, Greem decided to reward her with the heart of the thousand-year treant.

Emelia was a plant adept, and the heart was an excellent plant-attribute material. It was a very appropriate substance to carve a staff out of.

With the aid of such excellent material, it was certain that Emelia's magical powers would improve tremendously!

The second thing that Greem turned his attention to was the Starfell Gem.