Chapter 294 A Clash of Words
What was a spacestone?
Most adepts would never be able to lay their eyes upon the true appearance of the legendary spacestone!
Most books that described the spacestone only contained a simple description of its importance as the core material of interplanar, ultra-long-distance teleportation arrays.
This description wasn't incorrect, but it wasn't entirely accurate either.
The construction of an interplanar teleportation array was still possible without a spacestone. However, an adept’s tower would have to serve as a spatial coordinate for the spatial transfer. A large number of magical crystals would have to be exhausted during every transfer as well.
All of this meant that an interplanar teleportation array without a spacestone consumed a large amount of money and resources. There was also a long period of time before the infrastructure was built.
The cost and time investment of such a teleportation array might have been acceptable if it was used for communications and supply during peaceful times. However, this was far too slow and expensive if it was to be used in planar wars, where time was a crucial resource!
An additional wave of reinforcements sent one day earlier to the battlefield could drastically alter the outcome of a cruel and bloody planar battle. If the teleportation took too long, the forward base could potentially be toppled by locals using their numerical advantage. All of the previous investments would then have been for nothing.
A more terrifying possibility was that of the clan adepts being stranded in the other plane.
This would be a massive blow that no clan would be able to bear!
Take the Sarubo Clan for example. Even though they obtained the final victory in the war, they lost plenty of adepts in the process. In every plane, this strained the human resources they had to their very limits, resulting in the headquarter’s instability in the World of Adepts.
Truthfully, if it hadn't been for the timely return of Keoghan, Greem, and the other adepts, the Sarubo Clan might have lost thirty percent of its territories before stabilizing the situation. These losses could have been regained with the gradual strengthening of the clan afterward, but the clan would be weakened by the loss of these lands in the meantime.
If the Sarubo Clan had owned spacestones at the start of the war, there wouldn't have been a need for a war tower. With a spacestone, they could have constructed an interplanar transportation array anywhere they wanted, and all of their military forces and supply lines could have been constantly transported into the other plane.
By the time they were discovered, they would already have had a massive army of voodoo beasts and a group of well-prepared adepts.
A teleportation array constructed using spacestones was able to absorb the spatial energies from the space around it and reduce their reliance on magic crystals. This would save a lot of money for an adept clan.
On the other hand, it was precisely this quality of the spacestones that made them a necessary strategic resource for any clan with plane-invading ambitions. The appearance of a single spacestone would cause a massive conflict. All of the adept clans would furiously clash with each other as they tried their best to bring the spacestone into their possession. This was why very few of them were owned by individual adepts.
This precious resource would be grabbed by large clans and organizations the moment it appeared. Small clans had no chance of securing one.
As such, even the Byron clan adepts were shocked when they heard Randolph's exclamation. All of them looked at the grey stone in Greem's hand.
This was a spacestone? Didn’t it look a little too unremarkable for how important it was supposed to be?!
Greem shook the grey stone slightly while everyone was still frozen in surprise and doubt. An odd silver trail appeared where the stone passed by. Slight spatial distortions appeared around the stone as well.
The adepts were utterly shocked now!
To so easily distort space without the aid of spells or arrays. As expected of the famous spacestone!
All the adepts betrayed an expression of greed and pity after getting over their shock.
An exceptional resource indeed! Extremely exceptional! But why was it exposed in front of everyone in such a manner?! If only… if only they themselves were the only ones who knew about this…
The three silver-robed executors looked at each other and instantly came to a decision.
Adept Randolph stepped forward and shouted, "Sir Greem, as you have conducted an extremely dangerous spatial experiment within the Castle in the Sky without permission, the involved items will be confiscated under the name of the Space Committee. You can appeal to the Space Committee within three days, and the Senate will be the judge for your appeal. You can now hand over the items involved in the experiment… "
"Hang on."
A voice interrupted Randolph's speech. It was the red-robed Nunnally.
"Sir Randolph, it is true that dangerous experiments are forbidden within the Castle in the Sky. Punishment is due. However, if my memory serves me right, the punishment can come in the form of a fine as long as the experiment has not harmed the safety of the Castle in the Sky or its civilians. Sir Greem is a valued guest of our clan. We of the Byron Clan are more than willing to help him pay the fine!"
"You… " Randolph flew into a rage and glared angrily at Nunnally.
He was an executor of the Castle in the Sky. Of course, he knew the truth of Lady Nunnally's words. If this had been any ordinary situation, he would have been willing to get into the good graces of a Second Grade adept and allow this problem to resolve itself.
However… the issue this time involved a spacestone!
Moreover, this particular spacestone was far larger than the standard spacestone used for the construction of an array. He would likely be censured by the Senate members if he returned without this gem.
"Lady Nunnally, the punishment you have mentioned only applies under ordinary circumstances. The experiment involved this time was an extremely dangerous spatial experiment. This infringement cannot be settled with a fine." Randolph explained firmly. His voice was strong and powerful, betraying his determination in this issue.
Despite this, Adept Nunnally wasn't about to give up so easily. After all, this was a spacestone hanging right before her eyes. It could bring about tremendous benefits to the clan.
Offending the executors on the Castle in the Sky was not a very smart move, but it would be worth it if the reward was a spacestone. As long as they didn't do anything illegal in the Castle in the Sky, the executors couldn't go out of their line to strip the Byron Clan of their land either.
She had a clear perspective on the situation right now.
Even though these executors claimed that they could get the spacestone back with an appeal to the Silver Union, no one believed them. The spacestone would be as good as gone if it ended up in their hands.
These dull fellows might not be all that good in a fight, but they were the absolute best at using the words and letters of the 'Sky Codex' against you. Who knew what law they would recite from that three-meter-tall Codex to confiscate this spacestone for eternity?
Of course, they wouldn't actually rob Greem of the thing. The Senate members would surely offer a generous sum in exchange for the spacestone. That said, could whatever they offered ever measure up against the bounties of an entire lesser plane?
Honestly, almost every single established clan or organization owned the coordinates to some planes that they had yet to conquer. The reason they hadn't conquered these planes was due to the immense losses they would have had to suffer in a planar war.
Every single established clan needed a period of accumulation. It was only when they had sufficient supplies and fresh blood that they would consider engaging in a planar war.
The only reason someone wouldn't eat a delicacy placed in front of them was if they feared choking!
The existence of a spacestone would allow them to sneak into a plane and secretly construct a transportation array. Large troops of clan adepts and soldiers would pour into the plane before the natives could even react.
Would a lesser plane have any chance of resisting when that happened?
The construction of a single array and the construction of a war tower. The difference in difficulty between these two tasks decided the outcome of a planar war!
Thus, Adept Nunnally had to try her best to obtain this spacestone.
The benefit involved in this was far too significant for her to ignore!
These executors might have had plenty of influence while in the Castle in the Sky, but robbery still wasn’t an option for them. Seeing that the Aerial Guards alone weren’t able to make Nunnally back down, Randolph had no option but to make another declaration. They were to bring Greem before the Senate instantly.
The issue would have to be resolved by the members of the Senate!
The Senate was the highest authority of the Castle in the Sky. They managed and ruled over the city, with a total of ninety-seven members. Almost all of them were Third Grade adepts. Most of them were also high-grade esoteric adepts cultivated by the Silver Union. Some among their number were famous Third Grade adepts that had been hired from outside of the Union.
The Senate Hall was one of the most important magical buildings in the Central Circle.
The area under the Silver Union's control was extremely large. All of the human settlements in the southwest of the Continent were under its patronage. The entire territory was split into fifteen different areas and kingdoms of various sizes. A Senate member would be stationed at each and every one of these areas to manage the land.
Moreover, the Silver Union had Senate members stationed in the territories of the Zhentarim Association, the Northern Witches, and the Adept's Association to encourage trade and communication. Consequently, ninety-seven Senate members might have sounded like an impressive number, but it wasn't nearly enough for all of the places the Union needed them in.
Only a total of thirty to forty Senate members worked within the Castle in the Sky. Moreover, these important figures weren't constantly waiting around in the Senate Hall. Most day-to-day matters were dealt with by groups of five Senate members!