Chapter 832: Situation
This was the price to pay if one were to offend the Ashen Warlock. No one would know whether the ant they stepped on in Gran Town might actually belong to the Ashen Warlock. If it did, they had to be an unlucky man. Hence, everyone was warned against visiting that rural settlement. That town that seemed peaceful was in fact the scariest part of the Breezy Plains.
“But, Mage Gavin, we know that the Ashen Warlock has a frightening ability. If he had really wanted to find trouble with us, he would have confronted us long ago.”
This was the reason for Seth and the others not to associate the matter with Ashen Warlock. The Tower of Dusk was strong, but it was not formidable to the extent that the Ashen Warlock had to play tricks on them.
“That’s right. That is what I wanted to say. Apart from the Glittergold Trade Union and Ashen Warlock, there are three other powerful forces in the Breezy Plains that are not known to many. These three forces are the real deal in the Breezy Plains. They are the Blood Moon Clan, Mithril Alliance, and Caesar Family,” replied Gavin slowly. He spoke of the three names that were unfamiliar to Seth and the others.
“Caesar Family?” Lin Li repeated one of the names. Caesar Family was not what he predicted to be one of their enemies this time.
“Yes, Mr. President. I do not know much about the Blood Moon Clan, but I know that they were the force that rose very quickly in the Breezy Plains after the Dark Age. The Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, on the other hand, had been long-standing forces in the Breezy Plains since the Dark Age. These two forces are related as well. It was said that the Caesar Family was the founder of the Mithril Alliance. Yet, they left the Mithril Alliance for some reason. I am unable to provide you with more details on these three forces due to the lack of information on my side. But, I can confirm that each of these three forces will be a match for the Glittergold Trade Union. They might even be more powerful than Glittergold Trade Union,” said Gavin guilty.
While Gavin was not able to provide more information, what he said was shocking enough. If the list of names they had acquired previously was a huge problem to the Tower of Dusk, it would not matter now, as there would always be solutions to problems. But, if what Gavin said was true, the Tower of Dusk would not be facing any problem, but an impending disaster. The men were not feeling worried anymore. What they felt instead was deep helplessness and fear.
“Mr. President, this is still Mage Gavin’s hypothesis, and we don’t have any concrete evidence that this matter would involve any stronger force,” said Seth as he looked at Lin Li expectantly, waiting for Mr President to deny the information Gavin had brought up.
“It would be impossible for the hundreds of forces to have such a unified action if it was a temporary alliance. Furthermore, if you take a look at what they have been doing recently, you will know that this is not any simple fight over their own interests. This is a stranglehold. The rapid progress of the Tower of Dusk has threatened them. There are enough people with authority in the Breezy Plains. They would not hope to increase that number,” said Lin Li calmly as he shook his head.
If it was any simple issue that involved mere benefits, a partnership would be able to work. Although it was not as time-efficient as robbery, the long-term benefits were what would truly help these forces progress further. If they wanted to compete for monetary profit, it would be faster if they were to steal the potion formulas and forging blueprints from the Tower of Dusk and sell them at the original market rate. Even if they wanted to capture the market with a lower price, they would not need to reduce their prices to the extent that they would not earn any profit. But, it seemed that their motive was definitely not such profits, but to cut off the financial source of the Tower of Dusk, and thus their ability to operate.
“Yes, the motive of our enemies is not to gain from us, but to push us back to our starting point, or eliminate us from the Breezy Plains. I presume that the rest of you have been encountering other challenges as well, not just the stagnation of sales. Is the supply of raw materials affected as well?” Gavin inquired as he swept his gaze across everyone’s faces. It made several higher-ups speechless.
The rapid progress made by the Tower of Dusk these two years was definitely terrifying. Their operations against the other forces in Doland were even more fear-inducing. It made them one of the real deals in the Breezy Plains. They took over all the quality resources in Doland as well as in certain regions around it. They enjoyed a never-ending stream of rare herbs, quality ores, and magic resources, which they transformed into massive wealth to fuel their growth.
Apart from ores and herbs, an important and meaningful resource in any force would be talents. Talented individuals made up the foundation of any powerful force. They were the ones pertinent to the survival and progress of these forces. Any force with sufficient talents would have the authority to snatch any resources they lacked. If a force only had a group of morons instead, any amount of wealth would be futile as they wouldn’t be able to defend against their own stupidity.
Strictly speaking, the Tower of Dusk should be called the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic. In theory, it had the right to receive all mages in the Breezy Plains. However, even Emerald Tower which was situated in the remote and tiny Jarrosus did not allow every mage to join the guild. How would it be different for the numerous organizations in the Breezy Plains?
Each of these forces occupied a piece of territory in the Breezy Plains. They would try to attract the talents from one another’s territory with attractive rewards. While smaller forces were unable to provide rewards that were too attractive, they could still take advantage of their geographical territory to recruit some of these talents.
If not for Basel who recommended a batch of mages to the Tower of Dusk when they had been established, it would definitely have been a challenge for the Tower to hire real talents. Without quality manpower, Lin Li wouldn’t have the ability to develop the Tower of Dusk so rapidly with all of his might.
Now, the Tower of Dusk had gained extreme fame in the Breezy Plains, and it had power over Doland and the surrounding regions, but their ability to gather talents was mostly limited to these boundaries. That was because these talents were not only magic talents or high-level Warriors. They included esteemed individuals in various fields, such as blacksmiths and pharmacists, and even common men who were proficient in other matters.
That was the reason behind the Tower of Dusk’s speedy growth and expansion. The people here all had managerial positions in the Tower of Dusk, and were clearly aware of their predicament. They were only in denial.
“M-Mr. President… I suggest to keep this information between the few of us. If this were to be leaked to other mages, I fear…” That was Pereira, who was wiping the sweat off his forehead anxiously.
It seemed like they had to become enemies with the whole Breezy Plains. If such news was to be known by the mages under them, there might only be a handful of them still willing to serve at the Tower of Dusk. If that situation were to come, the Tower of Dusk would disintegrate before it faced its enemies.
This concern was not an unreasonable one. After all, they previously had a traitor. Loyalty was not something that could be depended on. Hence, the suggestion made by Pereira was well received by all of the higher-ups, including Gavin and Alan.
However, Lin Li laughed it off casually. “We don’t have to hide this information from them at all. The door of the Tower of Dusk has always been open. We respect everyone’s decision on that. Also, don’t you think this is a great chance for us to eliminate those who do not have a sense of belonging and loyalty to the Tower?” said Lin Li calmly as he swept his gaze across everyone.
Lin Li’s casual tone was like a gust of chilly wind to the ears of Seth, Pereira, and the other new higher-ups. They felt as though their souls were going to freeze. Their expressions turned awkward, and they started to sweat.
Frankly speaking, it would be a lie to say that these higher-ups were not thinking otherwise when they heard about their potential enemies. While they worried about losing the other mages, they were thinking of a way out of the situation for themselves as well.
But, Lin Li’s words were like a bucket of cold water in the winter that flushed those thoughts away. They felt that the open-door policy and respect for every member were lies. Even if Lin Li was being honest about them, he had to be referring to the normal mages. As the higher-ups of the Tower of Dusk, all of them were aware of certain organization secrets. They were incredibly scared that if they were to be suspected of wanting to leave the tower, they would vanish from this world the next moment.
But, if one were to look at the matter from another perspective, if the higher-ups were already fearful for their lives, how would normal mages feel about the matter? It seemed like the concerns advanced by the higher-ups were valid as well. After all, there was a real difference in abilities.