Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  …………

  Tulip Hotel.

  Even amongst the numerous entertainment spots of Blue Hillock City, Tulip Hotel was the most famous and the most classy one of them all.

  It was already late in the night, but still, the plaza before the door of Tulip Hotel was parked full of lavish four-wheeled carriages. On the borders of the carriages carved out of fragrant rosewood, were crest after crest of prominent families.

  In one of the grandest and most lavish rooms of the hotel, four people, one man, and three women were entangled intimately together into a heap of flesh on an exquisite bed. But just as the bald-headed man was on the verge of climax, the door of the room suddenly opened. A tall, graceful and sexy beauty in red armor walked in.

  A bunch of thugs that looked like goons surged in behind the beauty, surrounding the beauty with their numbers. All of them looked at her in anger, but no one dared to block her path. Amongst the group, the few leaders had blood all over their face, with a fresh red swollen handprint on each of their faces.

  His "pleasure time" interrupted, the bald man was extremely angered. Wrapping the blanket around his body, he got out of bed, ignoring the exposed bodies of his female companions.

  Ear-piercing screams rang out in the room!

  "Shut up! Scream and disturb our guest here again……and I'll toss you naked into Downwater Works.

  Downwater Works was the most well-known ghetto in Blue Hillock City. If they landed there, their fates were obvious. They weren't scared of being abused by the men, but more scarily were the occasional stories of cannibalism and the hordes of hungry men in there.

  Thus the very next moment, all the screaming stopped!

  "You are the one in charge here? "The Mary who had broken in had gotten rid of all her inhuman traits. Her appearance was just like that of a female mercenary with tremendous strength.

  But with a slight smile and a ripple in her blue eyes, an intangle power of seduction instantly charmed all the men in the room. Even the few fellows who were beaten up by her had lost the anger in their eyes and were looking at her in a perverted manner.

  "Who are you? How dare you break into my place! Heheh……Young lady, have you never of heard of me, the Bald Eagle? "The man laughed sinisterly as he ran his hand across his bald head.

  Even though he was also affected by Mary's innate power of seduction, he was a man of cruel and merciless means as well. The effect of Mary's seduction was much less severe, allowing him to maintain his clarity of thought. Of course, this also had to do with Mary having no intention of seducing him!

  This was just a passive effect due to Mary's own ability of seduction!

  "What? You want to talk to me in front of so many people? The great Bald Eagle needs such a display of power just to talk to a weak little girl? "

  The bald man snorted coldly and sent a message to his subordinates with a look of his eye. Soon, someone had gotten his right-hand men, Quicksword Jake and Blackblade Ender to come over.

  The two seemed as if they had put on their clothes in a hurry, but from their steady strides and sharp gazes, it was clear that they were nothing like the goons earlier.

  "Boss……"

  "Boss……"

  The two stood behind the bald man. One was lightly tapping the slender sword by his waist, while the other took out a heavy dagger and toyed with it with his agile hands. The looked at Mary with cold eyes, occasionally letting out a wicked laugh.

  The bald man managed to calm down with his right-hand men finally by his side. The useless subordinates awkwardly exited the room under his instructions, bringing with them the three naked girls who were pale in the face now.

  When the door had been shut, the bald man threw aside the blanket and slowly equipped the leather armor, bracelet and shield piled in a corner of the room.

  Fully dressed, he crossed his arms and stared arrogantly at Mary:"Speak! Now you can tell me your goal! "

  Threads the color of blood slowly begin to surface deep within Mary's blue pupils. Her heart was filled with endless joy when she looked upon the three people before her.

  Three Pseudo-Adepts!

  These three warriors of another world had power equal to pseudo-adepts!

  Mary smiled.

  …………

  A moment later, the door to the room opened wide again.

  The countless goons who were waiting with weapons in hand were shocked to find their arrogant and overbearing boss nodding and bowing before the beauty in red armor. The two right-hand men had also shrunk behind the beauty. They brought a chair over for her to sit on, then offered tea and water. It almost seemed like they were afraid of not offering satisfactory service to the beauty.

  Mary smiled slightly and sat on the chair. She then used a handkerchief and lightly wiped off the bloodstains at the corner of her mouth.

  On the necks of the bald man and his two subordinates, a pair of small injuries was quickly healing, leaving behind only an undetectable scar.

  Mary had the ability to Embrace ever since she became a vampire adept. With this ability, she could create hordes of blood servants loyal to herself. Sadly, she would lose a bit of her blood essence every time she created a new servant. So Mary could only choose important figures as the target for her Embrace.

  And this bald man who had all of Blue Hillock's underground world in his palm was undoubtedly a person she had to gain control over. Controlling him alone gave Mary immense control over the entirety of the city in an instant.

  With the help of Bald Eagle, Mary quickly understood the power structure and situation of Blue Hillock City.

  The true owner of Blue Hillock was naturally the castellan, Count Vanlier. Bald Eagle was only his subordinate who hid in and managed the underground.

  So, late in the night of the second day, Mary was secretly sent into the castle after an elaborate dress up.

  Even the 50-year-old Count Vanlier, a man who had a little black beard and the elegant appearance of a gentleman, was astounded by this foreign beauty sent over by his loyal subordinate.

  So, Mary was boldly sent to the Count's bed under everyone's gaze, passing through a troop of elite bodyguards.

  And on the second night Mary entered Blue Hillock City, its ruler had become her most loyal blood servant and slave.

  In truth, with Mary's current power, she could take over this city without much resistance. But to do so without any commotion and without being noticed, she needed to resort to other means!

  To ensure her control was deep and thorough, she even took the effort to Embrace the Count's remaining subordinates. Of course, these were all individuals who were at a level equal to Pseudo-Adepts. In this other world where arcanology was incomplete, the foreign existence of such a thing as a vampire was beyond the limits of the imagination of the natives of the plane.

  By focusing on the important figures, Mary had become the true owner of Blue Hillock City in just 3 days. She was now a true "Monarch of Darkness" that was hidden away from the rest of the world.

  And the information she had gotten from both official means and underground means quickly and continuously streamed back to the adepts' base.

  Soon, a message about Witcher Knights drew her attention.

  Chapter 171

  A squad of witcher-knights were stationed in Blue Hillock City, since it was the closest city to the Great Greenland Forest.

  Based on the information provided by Bald Eagle, this squad of witcher-knights had left their posts seven days ago. They went into the Greenland Forest after hiring some local mercenaries but had yet to return.

  This meant that the witcher-knight squad was already active in the forest before the adept squad had entered this world!

  Mary didn't dare delay this news. Quickly, she sent it back to the adepts' base while at the same time she informed Greem, who was catching magical creatures deep in the forest.

  Greem was leading his group of golems in the extermination of a tribe of man-eating demons w
hen he received Mary’s alert.

  There were a total of twenty-seven members in the man-eating demon tribe; twenty-two of them were adults, while five were children. With a height of 3 meters, a massive physique nearing five hundred pounds, and Strength that could easily reach 14 points, each and every adult male demon had power that could rival a pseudo-adept. Even the slightly weaker female demons were as powerful as advanced apprentices.

  If a tribe like this was left to the natives to exterminate, it would probably require three hundred to five hundred well-equipped and expertly trained elite warriors to do so. Even if they succeeded in the extermination, at least half the group would die in the attempt!

  Yet in the hands of an adept, such a task was extremely simple.

  If all he wished to do was slaughter the lot of them, Greem could just summon the Fire Lord, and it would be done. But if he did that, his plan of capturing live specimens would not come to fruition!

  Instead, Greem used a bottle of Weakening Drug to pollute the demons’ water source. While they were weakened, Greem summoned six terrifying stone serpents and captured the entire tribe in one fell swoop.

  An adult male demon possessed 16 points of Physique and 14 points of Strength. Coupled with their incredible regenerative abilities, these demons were comparable to slightly weaker Body Refining pseudo-adepts. Unfortunately for them, this Weakening Drug had been synthesized specifically for this demon tribe. Once ingested, both their Physique and Strength fell below 10 points and severely limited the demons’ power.

  On the other hand, a stone-serpent golem at the pseudo-adept level had 16 points of Strength and 18 points of Physique. Only when the demons had been infected did the serpents surge forward. They didn't even attack the demons; instead, they merely used their stone bodies to forcibly constrict the demons into one spot.

  It was then Greem’s turn. Using the Scroll of Voodoo to cast Sleep, he caused all twenty-seven demons to fall to the ground, one after another. Thick wooden bats and stone clubs tumbled from their hands, smashing holes into the ground.

  After instructing the stone serpents to open their mouths and swallow the sleeping demons, Greem could finally turn his attention to the communication crystal..

  Witcher-knight squad……entered seven days ago……

  This information attracted Greem's attention.

  Calculating the number of days, Greem figured the squad had entered the Greenland Forest before the adepts had arrived. Thus, their goal couldn't possibly be the adepts' base. The knight’s mission had to be something else.

  Could it possibly be that some native casters had hidden themselves in the Greenland Forest? And by doing so, did they draw the witcher-knights into the forest? It seemed far-fetched. But given the witcher-knights' purpose, Greem might just be right!

  Therefore, Greem had the stone serpents send the captured man-eating demons back to base, while also summoning 10 wind critters and dispersing them into the surrounding woods to look for the witcher-knight squad’s tracks.

  The wind critters were low-level golems Greem created using beginner-level wind attribute crystal cores. They weren't very powerful, and looked liked clusters of swirling wind only one meter high. Their Strength, Physique and Spirit were all less than 5 points. Frankly speaking, their battle strength was completely non-existent. Their only advantage was their high agility and the ability to fly.

  Honestly, this is a redundant statement- it would actually be weirder if a mini-whirlwind made from green air couldn't fly!

  Greem attached a thread of his Spirit to all ten of the wind critters before letting them go. As they silently floated above the forest canopy, their light green bodies were almost invisible against the background of the blue skies. They wouldn't attract the attention of enemies.

  This quality was precisely why Greem created them- to be his sentries, his eyes in the sky!

  Ten wind critters meant ten different points of mental sight. Naturally, the information sent back by the critters was also extremely massive. If Greem had to rely only on his Spirit, he could probably only maintain a vague command on each critter. But with the help of the chip, Greem decided not to waste any Spirit on instructing the wind critters on their flight path. Instead, he left it all to the chip.

  The chip would direct the wind critter to meticulously search and patrol above the forest, using the most optimum flight path to cover as much area as possible. Now, Greem only had to find a safe place to rest and silently wait for good news from the chip.

  As expected, when night fell, the chip had good news.

  The witcher-knight squad had been found!

  …………

  On a mountain ridge, forty kilometers away from the adepts' base camp, three or four campfires had been lit.

  Even though there were many dangerous magical beings in the forest that weren't afraid of fire- and were even sometimes actually attracted to light- the knights had trekked several dozen kilometers worth of mountain roads after an arduous battle, and needed the fire.

  The mercenaries swiftly set up their tents and sat around the campfire and started to prepare a feast for dinner.

  A wild boar caught on the way here was skinned, had its organs removed, and was washed in the river. The mercenaries then put a wooden stick through it and slowly roasted it over the fire. The experienced mercenaries rotated the stick while they used brushes to evenly slather the boar with spices and sauces they had prepared beforehand.

  An amber-hued oil seeped from the pork. It had been roasted to a perfect golden color. The oils dripped onto the flaming coals below, sizzling and releasing a fragrant, thick aroma that filled the air.

  The joy of a magnificent victory filled the entire camp.

  The ones bustling about the camp were all the hired mercenaries. The thirteen witcher-knights, on the other hand, were helping each other out of their heavy armor and performing basic treatment on their wounds.

  Today their squad successfully located the den of heretics, hidden deep within the Greenland Forest, and trapped all seven of the heretic spellcasters within. After an insane battle, the knights managed to capture a single spellcaster and killed the other six. Everyone in the squad had been injured, but there were no casualties as of yet- much to the knight leader’s relief.

  As for the four mercenaries who had died in the battle, they were beneath the consideration of the leader of the knights. Mercenaries put money before anything else, and as long as he gave them the remainder of the promised reward, they would be nothing but thankful. Not even a drop of dissatisfaction would enter their hearts.

  Mercenaries had always done these kinds of dangerous jobs!

  Ever since they accepted the request, they had all mentally prepared for the possibility of never returning. Now that they had completed the mission, and Sir Knight had promised them grand rewards, even the pain of losing four of their friends was quickly replaced by their excitement for the future.

  Laughter was everywhere in the camp, and a boisterous atmosphere filled the place.

  A scrawny silhouette, bound tightly at the hands and feet, formed a strong contrast to the celebrating knights and mercenaries. Strictly speaking, he was still a teenager who had yet to come of age! Extended periods of malnutrition made his entire body weak and skinny. His body, hidden underneath a tattered grey robe, was extremely scrawny, to the point you could see his ribs.

  The skin not covered by his clothes was covered with blackish green bruises and numerous small scars. A rope was tied around his mouth, holding a rough stone that acted as a gag. This was to prevent him from casting spells in secret!

  Unable to chant or use hand seals, the boy- who had just recently awakened to that strange power- was completely incapacitated. He could only slant his body and lean on the roots of the trees, glaring at each smiling face in the camp with eyes of vengeance.

  These were all his enemies!

  It was these people that made him run from place to place, made him homeless despite having
a family, and forced him to roam about lonely forests and faraway lands where nobody lived, like a lonely phantom. If it wasn't for a kindhearted "companion" that led him to the house in the woods, he would probably have ended up being some beast's meal within Greenland Forest.

  But the calm and peaceful days didn't last very long. The forest camp that the wandering spellcasters had created was destroyed by the witcher-knights who had tracked them down. And his companions...the companions he had been living with for half a year died underneath the swords and blades of the knights- just like that!

  The knights were murderers, and the mercenaries were their accomplices!

  A flame was lit in his heart as he looked upon their smiling faces. Anger, sorrow, vengeance.... these uncontrollable emotions slowly rose within him, and he had to grit his teeth to hold back his tears.

  If I get the chance to escape, I will use the most cruel and most insane methods to kill all of them! One after another!

  He screamed madly in his heart, but he knew that this was only a delusion.

  His mood quickly changed, and despair engulfed his soul once more!

  At this torturous moment, he opened his eyes wide. Lifting his head in surprise, he stared unflinchingly at a spot above the camp.

  There was something odd there~

  This……this was the unique elemental flux of Wind Elementium!

  There was clearly nothing there in the dark sky above the rowdy camp. However, this teenager sensed the unique concentration of Wind Elementium there thanks to the elemental talent that he had awakened.

  Natural concentration of Elementium? Impossible!

  Just eight minutes ago, there was nothing odd there. There was no way Wind Elementium would concentrate at that spot for no reason!

  The very next second, the teenager had to grit his teeth to avoid shouting out in surprise.

  Three more unique concentrations of Wind Elementium had appeared in the sky, slowly circling there.

  It seemed as if……as if they were searching for something!

  Something was about to occur! Something was about to happen in the camp!