Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 449 Bridgehead Plan

Honest people, especially when their comrades are wronged, are the easiest to provoke a sense of shared indignation. Before the person involved could even say anything, the gazes cast by almost everyone made the originally ambitious Viconia feel uneasy, like sitting on pins and needles.

Originally thinking it was a chance to rise to the top, the female Zhuoer was caught in a dilemma because of this incident. If she continued to stay in her position, it would undoubtedly arouse the dissatisfaction of everyone. But if she just slunk out like this, her plan would become a complete joke, and it would probably be a long time before she could find another opportunity to enter the core circle.

After a brief silence, Nancy, who had stood up with a cold smile, was about to make a move when she saw the mage press her hand down. Although she glared at him unhappily, she didn't retaliate and sullenly sat back down.

Once the atmosphere had calmed down a bit, the mage turned to look at Viconia beside him:

“Münster is also a long-time comrade-in-arms. He has been by my side ever since I embarked on my adventure. It’s really too much that he can’t even get a seat at this meeting.”

The monk stood up and pointed to his seat:
"How about this, my seat is quite spacious and comfortable, you can sit here, and the other seat can be given to Münster, okay?"

Mr. Zhang was all smiles, speaking gently and politely, full of sincerity, but the pressure he brought was even heavier than the attention from everyone else.

Viconia could no longer sit still. She forced a fake smile and stood up, dragging her feet to stand behind the mage. She gritted her teeth until her cheeks bulged, making her smile look particularly awkward, even somewhat fierce.

At this moment, the drow was truly filled with hatred, yet dared not retaliate. As for the mage's seemingly sincere invitation…

Do you really dare to take a leader's politeness as a blessing?
Viconia had seen many such small-scale events. Born into the Deaver family, she could be said to have been through countless battles, but she was certainly familiar with them from a young age.

In a naked power hierarchy like the Zall, the thirst for power is natural and ruthless, but even so, the Zalls still have their own set of rules and order on the surface.

The eldest daughters, who had the first right of succession, would think about when their family patriarch would be able to ascend to the Abyss Demon Network and hand over the family's important responsibilities to the next generation of qualified successors, which of course meant themselves.

The matriarch was well aware of this, as were all the family members. That's why the youngest daughter was considered the most favored, since she posed the least threat according to the rule of succession.

Even so, a false order must still be maintained on the surface. This is not out of so-called kinship or morality, but simply because power without rules is meaningless.

Even if they wished the other party would die at any moment, the eldest daughters of the Drow family would never dare to actually put their butts on the throne that the matriarch had left empty when she got up.

Viconia, whose meticulously planned scheme had gone down the drain, calmed down and stood behind the mage without saying a word.

Without any lengthy preamble or unnecessary pleasantries, Master Zhang directly explained the establishment of the Shadow Gate and the Altar to everyone present, and announced the exploration plan for the Shadow Dimension.

The reactions varied, ranging from joy at the resolution of the problem to concerns about the seemingly risky plan and anticipation of the potential rewards.

However, overall, conservative opinions prevailed. After all, according to most subordinates, the territory's development and management were thriving, with a promising future. The gentlemen present, now among the nobility, were ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work with full force, spurred by the foreseeable development dividends. Naturally, they were unwilling to create unnecessary trouble and expend too much energy in an unknown alternate dimension. Zhang Yuan understood this; being overly ambitious and dispersing resources were indeed major taboos in the early stages of a startup. However, he also had his own considerations.

The Shadow Gate deep within the underground palace is not just a dimensional passage; in a sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the last resort and backyard of High Cliff.

Furthermore, as the mirror image of the material plane, the Shadow Dimension has a deeper connection with the real world than with other extradimensional planes. It should be said that although the Shadow Dimension is not friendly to ordinary creatures and is not a benevolent place, it is still traceable, which is much better than those unknown worlds.

At least in terms of terrain and landforms, the Shadow Plane is almost a replica of the Prime Plane. In some areas, you can even see ancient buildings that were lost and destroyed in the original plane, leaving only ruins.

For example, the Temple of Melkor in the city of Shadow Mulantier.

High Cliff Fortress itself is ancient enough, and with the convergence of the Shadow Realm, the distortion of the Magic Network, and other coincidences, hmmmm~
In Master Zhang's expectations, there is a high probability that there exists a mirror castle whose structure, location, and other conditions overlap with those of Gaoyabao.

How could Master Zhang bear to turn away such a free fortress opportunity?

Moreover, unlike Gaoyabao, which was completely wiped out many years ago, the projection castle may contain something of interest.

This was the mage's plan: to seize the opportunity presented by the recent fall of the giant worm Nightshade to occupy any potential castles, thus establishing a stable foothold in the Shadow Plane and serving as a protective barrier on the other side of the Shadow Gate, ensuring that he could advance or retreat with confidence no matter what he did in the future.

As for the possibility that things are different from what was expected, and that there is no Reflection Castle at all...

The mage wouldn't be so reckless as to insist on establishing a base. After completing a rough reconnaissance, he simply returned to the capital, set up alarms on both sides of the Shadow Gate, and sealed it off immediately, not considering it for the short term.

It's just a minor move anyway; success is great, but failure won't cause much loss.

After explaining all the considerations to everyone, the subordinates who understood the advantages and disadvantages were relieved of many concerns, especially after the meeting confirmed that the people sent to the Shadow Plane as pioneers to explore would mainly be the Whisperers and the Pawn Legion, and that not too many people would be drawn from the territory.

"The current tentative plan is as follows: the entire Word Bearers team, Rick and Morty, and Redvale (the dwarven stonemason) will follow me into the Shadowgate tomorrow to explore the Shadow Plane."

After a brief discussion, Zhang Yuan delivered a final speech on the meeting's theme, setting the tone for the next steps:

"The rest of you, continue to supervise the implementation of the development and construction projects that have already begun. After the Tulou is completed, we must ask Master Weide to carry out the maintenance and repair of the Gaoya Castle. At the same time, we must also begin to investigate the site selection for large factories and warehouses in preparation for the construction of steel mills and gold refineries later."

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(End of this chapter)