Although advanced mages formed the core of the Xinfei Merchant Guild Magic Research Institute and handled most of the guild's magic-related research and development, it was the low-rank mages who truly made up the vast organization the Xinfei Merchant Guild had become.
Within the Xinfei Merchant Guild, this division of labor was quite clear. Advanced mages generally entered the Magic Research Institute to conduct research, while mages who struggled to make breakthroughs in magic, or were still at the level of low-rank mages, took frontline jobs, drawing magic arrays for the most essential part of every piece of magic machinery-its magical power source.
Their work was equally vital, because without them, no magic machinery could actually operate.
Moreover, although this work seemed simple, it required the most manpower.
The Xinfei Merchant Guild now employed more than five thousand mages in total, but only a little over seven hundred conducted research at the Magic Research Institute. The remaining four thousand-plus all performed the basic work of drawing magic arrays.
Without these mages' support, the Xinfei Merchant Guild would have been paralyzed in an instant, unable to continue operating.
Ordinary workers could be replaced by new hires, but mages were so scarce that even losing one made finding a replacement difficult. These mages were therefore no less important to the Xinfei Merchant Guild than the researchers at the Magic Research Institute.
By specifically criticizing the Xinfei Merchant Guild's role in the employment of low-rank mages, the Mages' Guild Headquarters had aimed straight at its weakest point. Its intentions were ruthless indeed.
Many people expected that, now that the Mages' Guild Headquarters had spoken, the low-rank mages working for the Xinfei Merchant Guild would certainly have misgivings. A large number would probably leave the guild.
Barring any surprises, the Xinfei Merchant Guild would