Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  These scorpions had repeatedly stung him with their poison stingers once they crawled into his felt, yet oddly enough there was no pain. If he hadn't been alerted by Sir Morse's loud roar, he would’ve probably died silently in his sleep like the other witcher-knight.

  The burning flame longsword was vigorously stabbed into the ground, causing a violent flame shockwave to instantly engulf the camp.

  Under Knight Morse's powerful explosion, the scorpions that had been frantically scurrying towards them were devoured by the ferocious elementium flames. The ear-piercing cries of the dying bugs could be heard everywhere in the camp.

  However, the tunnel that appeared in the middle of the camp suddenly collapsed, spewing forth larger beetles that flowed forth under the illumination of countless tiny flames on the battlefield. They gathered together, forming a terrifying, creeping pile of bugs, slowly rising in height.

  Very soon, a human outline made of the terrifying bug swarm appeared in the camp.

  The two knights couldn't hide the despair in their eyes when they saw the evil adept's odd method of appearance. It was like the insides of their hearts were soaked in snow and ice- all they felt was cold.

  Evil Bugs Acteon had appeared!

  …………

  In a cave under a cliff, six kilometers northwest.

  The bright campfire was still burning strong.

  The entrance of the cave was covered with a thick pelt. Moreover, the outside of the cave was covered by dense vegetation. There was no worry that the light of the fire would be seen from outside.

  The four people in the camp were sitting around the campfire, silently wiping their weapons and armor, with no intention or desire to have a conversation.

  They were very fortunate to have reached this hidden cave before sundown under the hunter’s lead. This was why they were able to set up a camp with a fire to drive away the moist air of the forest. Otherwise, had they camped out in the open, they would never dare to start a fire.

  In Greenland Forest, where it there were leaves and bushes for miles, even a little firelight within the darkness could clearly be seen from ten kilometers away. Even though there were no longer any beasts or magical creatures in this piece of woods, there were still the evil adepts who were far scarier than any wild beast.

  In two days time, this four-man squad had only managed to progress no more than fifteen kilometers, and already they had been attacked fifteen times by voodoo beasts.

  These voodoo beasts roamed the forest in packs. The moment they sensed any humans nearby, they would charge forth fearlessly like a bunch of mad hounds. They could be plague hounds, or mad bulls, or poison dart frogs… of course, they also met an odd creature created by combining winged dragons and human lancers.

  Not a single one of these odd creatures were normal. They either brought terrifying plagues or viruses or were bloody and disgusting creatures that were clearly the amalgamation of several wild beasts!

  It was thanks to the spellbreaker knight's powerful mid-ranged flame blade that they were able to fight their way here.

  Very fortunately, even though they were attacked by hordes of voodoo beasts, they had yet to meet those evil adepts!

  The southern region of the Greenland Forest was mountainous, while its forest stretched for countless miles. Once one entered the dense woods, it would be hard to tell if anyone was near, even if they were only a hundred meters apart. Thus, it was virtually impossible to totally stop the progress of the knight squad with only a dozen adepts spread out in this large area.

  It wasn’t particularly unusual that they were able to reach here without meeting any adepts.

  However, back in the evening, they had witnessed a battle far away from the top of a hill that caused the squad to become deathly silent. A group that was not much weaker than theirs had been exterminated under the assault of the Flame Demon!

  Deep in their hearts, the knights were extremely upset with their superiors’ decision to send them on a suicide mission to investigate the forest. However, after a little thinking, it was a reasonable choice. With such a vast forest before them, the 2000-man witcher-knight army could only roam about aimlessly if they didn't have a specific target.

  When that happened, even the massive amount of supplies required to sustain 2000 men was sufficient to cause the army to collapse, before they could even find the enemy and wage war on them!

  Thus, even though there were witcher-knights painfully dying in the depths of the woods every day, the army’s higher-ups insisted on the plan of having investigation squads search the forest.

  After paying the price of two dozen spellbreaker knights’ lives, and over fifty witcher-knights, they had finally completed the search of the outer area of the forest. The adepts' defensive line was slowly shrinking. Perhaps in another three to four days, they would be able to completely comb this vast forest of hundreds of kilometers and find the den the enemies were hiding in.

  Then, it would be the wonderful time to rouse their army and exterminate the evil adepts' den in one fell swoop!

  But while the idea was wonderful, having it come to fruition required even more work and sacrifice. As for whether they would be able to live to see that wonderful moment, the two spellbreaker knights in the stone cave had no idea.

  However, just as everyone was gazing into the fire in a daze, an odd knocking sound rang out from the entrance of the cave.

  "Clang. Clang. Clang.… anybody here?"

  "Who is it?" A hunter replied in shock. Then he realized he was in the middle of nowhere. Where would a door have come from? Where would a visitor have come from?

  "A lonely traveler! If you have no qualms, I'll be coming in!" The voice from outside sounded really weird. It was stiff and hoarse, completely unlike any human's voice.

  "Since you have made it here, then come in if you will! No need for any theatrics outside!" The spellbreaker knight Entos slowly got up, light radiating from his energy shield and his flame longsword.

  All of a sudden, he turned to look at his companion, who was sitting beside him, in surprise.

  Heim, who was also a spellbreaker knight, was sitting on the ground, but veins were bulging on his forehead, his head was flushed, and his teeth were grinding together so hard they were letting out a screeching sound.

  "What's happened to you?" Entos asked loudly.

  "I'm… falling… under… someone's… control," A simple sentence, but Knight Heim had to pause between each and every word. After he said that, even his eyes started to become red.

  Knight Entos immediately activated the flame longsword in his hand. The elementium flame that suddenly erupted instantly illuminated the entire cave, as well as Knight Heim.

  The first thing he saw was several semi-translucent threads floating behind Knight Heim, who was sitting on a felt. All the threads had dug into his body, while the other ends silently extended to the top of the cave.

  "Dammit, it's Marionette!" Knight Entos roared in anger, and a flame blade slashed through the air, slicing through those seven or eight odd threads.

  With the help of his companion, Knight Heim was finally able to break free from the control of the threads. Quickly, he jumped onto his feet and shouted, "Everyone get ready. It's the evil adept Marionette…"

  Yet just as he was shouting, the two mercenaries who were also sitting beside the fire stood up clumsily. An odd grin appeared on their faces before they leapt towards the knights, weapons in hand.

  Chapter 200

  The adepts' base.

  In a dark and dim stone chamber.

  Eight stone platforms were placed around the empty hall. Odd specimens composed of human body parts and magical creatures were displayed on the platforms. Two or three adepts gathered about the edge of a stone platform, dissecting a specimen on the platform, with serious expressions on their faces.

  A naked man with an excellent build was lying on the platform closest to the stone chamber’s door. The front of his body was widely spr
ead apart like an open book, from the throat all the way down to his crotch. The bright red flesh, the dripping blood, the wicked faces of the adepts– all of these created a haunting atmosphere in the chamber that couldn't easily be described!

  This man had a pug nose, black hair, a square face, and tan yet smooth skin. Just a quick look at his clearly defined muscles and large skeletal structure, and one could tell that he was a strong warrior who was used to frequent and intense training.

  There was a tattoo of a sword and shield on his left shoulder. If any of the natives of this plane that were familiar with the local culture were here they would surely scream in surprise, for the strong man being dissected was an official witcher-knight.

  Three adepts were gathered around him.

  One of the adepts was using a scalpel and a small saw to continuously remove bloody human organs from the witcher-knight's body. The assisting adept was continuously casting spells to preserve these freshly plucked organs, before placing them into containers filled with a dark red liquid.

  The third adept was regularly scribbling on a parchment, recording in detail the oddities they found in Specimen Number One.

  With every light stab and cut of the dissecting adept’s scalpel, and with every bit of electrical stimulation, the witcher-knight's body would twitch slightly. His little finger, in particular, would continuously curl up and release.

  This meant that the witcher-knight's spiritual consciousness still existed in his body, even after all his internal organs had been removed. Moreover, it seemed he was able to feel the pain inflicted on his body.

  "Test Subject Number 1."

  "Witcher-knight. Male, body is in healthy condition, age 32 years old…"

  "Similarity of internal organs to normal humans is as high as 89%…"

  "Some parts of the organs show light inclinations of change…"

  "The bones in his upper body are tougher and larger. His surface skin is tough and tight. His bodily strength is approximately equal to an advanced apprentice…"

  "Assimilation of foreign energies found in the heart, liver, and various other internal organs. The effect of the mutated organs is somewhat similar to magic-infused organs…"

  "There are signs of over-exhausting the source of his life force. Initial estimates suggest that this is caused by the corrosion of the foreign energies…"

  "Magic scans confirm that the subject does not possess elementium talent…"

  "Initial conclusion: witcher-knights possess beginning symptoms of both body refining and magic-infusion. Their true identities are closer to human knights whose bodies have been strengthened by runic energies! As they don't possess any elementium talent themselves, the runic energies rapidly exhausted their life force while strengthening their bodies!"

  The witcher-knights' favourite mount–a magic colt–was lying silently on a nearby stone platform. Its body had also been thoroughly dissected and divided into several separate pieces.

  The adepts showed expressions of disdain towards these magic colts.

  Too primitive! Too crude!

  The so-called magic colts were a mixed breed of human warhorses and a certain special wild beast, that were then fed some drugs that stimulated their bodily strength as they were raised. These gave them some of the traits of the forest beasts, giving them powerful climbing abilities, and therefore becoming the standard mount of the witcher-knights.

  Placed even deeper in the depths of the dark stone chamber were no longer ordinary witcher-knights, but spellbreaker knights with even more muscular bodies. However, they had all become the test subjects of the evil adepts now. All the secrets hidden in their bodies would be completely and utterly exposed.

  Compared to the witcher-knights, traces of elementium talent could be detected on the bodies of spellbreaker knights, who managed to advance one Grade further. Furthermore, most of the vital organs within their bodies had been irreversibly infused with magic. In all seriousness, the spellbreaker knights were a bunch of defective products who had spellcasting talent, yet forcibly went on the path of magic-infused knights.

  Analyzing the currently known data, these few adepts couldn't help but predict that the Fourth Grade Holy Knight who stood at the top of the knights' plane would surely have even more outstanding elementium talent. Yet very unfortunately, he didn't choose the path of a spellcaster, instead stepping on the strange path of a magic-infused knight.

  If this prediction proved true, it meant that the Fourth-Grade Holy Knight was essentially an adepts of sorts that went down the wrong path. Of course, with how lacking the elementium energy was in this plane, it would have been a reasonable decision to give up on the path of adepts and to go down the path of magic-infused knights.

  After all, the deformities and incomplete nature of this plane's development was not something a mere native of the plane would be able to control. To be able to become a Fourth Grade powerhouse on a small plane with such limited elementium energies demonstrated how much talent and potential he really had!

  The gathered data from the test subjects’ dissections showed that the witcher-knights were merely a group of pseudo-magic-infused knights that had been polluted by runic energies, and had power equal to intermediate or advanced apprentices.

  The First-Grade Spellbreaker Knights, on the other hand, were a group of actual magic-infused knights. Their physiques were approximately equal to pseudo-adepts in the World of Adepts. This was why the spellbreaker knights were constantly at a disadvantage in battle, even though they were of the same Grade as the adepts. However, with the help of their runic weapons, they managed to have attack power and defensive abilities that rivalled those of adepts.

  Frankly speaking, the knights' plane was a small plane after all. After ten million years of development and evolution, they had indeed developed a unique structure and system of power. Yet in terms of the individual power of those of the same grade, they were still lagging too far behind the World of Adepts.

  The roaming First Grade adepts that dared to attack the knight squads, led by spellbreaker knights in the Greenland Forest, fully demonstrated the massive disparity in the strength between both parties.

  On one hand, you had a large-sized plane that was infamous throughout the multiverse. On the other, you had a weak and isolated small-sized plane. These two planes may have similar definitions of a First Grade being, but when put together, the difference in power was very obvious.

  Of course, the reason the adepts put so much effort into dissecting and researching the witcher-knights was not just to collect some information and data, but to better improve their efforts in cultivating plagues and viruses that were targeted specifically at the knights.

  As the only native force on the plane that could put up a fight against the adepts, all they needed to do was take down these knights. The remaining native humans would not be able to resist the adepts and their powerful abilities. A human army, that numbered in the tens of thousands, was a complete joke when put before the adepts. A simple plague spell would cause a powerful empire to become a land of death and tombstones in the matter of months.

  Once they lost the protection of supernatural powers, the strength of normal humans was completely insignificant before the adepts!

  Thus, a large bug-breeding grounds and a runic energies research lab had already been constructed right beneath the stone chamber. With plenty of witcher-knight flesh for specimens, a unique plague insect that fed on runic energies was already being bred.

  If this plan succeeded, the adepts would be able to kill these annoying witcher-knights that stood in their way of conquering this plane without lifting a single finger.

  At the same time, the construction of the adepts' tower was quickly moving forward.

  As of now, the four lower levels of the adept's tower had already been constructed. The top of the structure had almost extended outside of the illusion barrier area of coverage. With all the current commotion, the additional construction activities had to b
e halted until the situation was slightly calmer.

  Due to the uniqueness of the tower’s structure, there was no way of completing the array carving by each level. The arrays had to be carved all together after the adepts' tower had been completed, such that the arrays would be connected together to form a complete defense system. Moreover, if necessary, a large-scale ceremony had to be completed to activate the soul of the tower, and to fully integrate all elements within the war tower.

  These detailed jobs couldn't be done when the enemy was almost knocking on the door. Thus, to increase the odds of victory, the adepts had no choice but to fall back on that which they were most skilled: poison and plague.

  …………

  Greem stood alone on the tall cliff, silently looking down on the dark forest that was shrouded by shadows below him.

  Dark clouds filled the skies, and no light from the moon or stars could get through.

  This was a good night for killing!

  During the time he silently stood here, four elementium disturbances that could be observed with the naked eye had erupted in the woods far away, one after another. The most powerful elementium shockwave had even blown away half of a mountain!

  The violently surging elementium flames even caused Greem, who was fifteen kilometers away, to feel intense waves of heat on his face. The shockwave that followed soon after blew his hood off, exposing his cool and calm face.

  The four elementium disturbances hadn't occurred in the same spot, but spread across four different areas. The frequency of the elementium disruption that exploded each time was different. The elementium within the disturbances all had slight differences.

  With the help of the chip's highly efficient data-gathering and analyzing abilities, Greem was able to deduce the identity of the adepts involved in the fight from the elementium that drifted here.

  The one fighting in the battle 3.5 kilometers southwest was Evil Bugs Acteon. One had to mention that his abilities had greatly improved in this period of accumulation and powering up. The battlefield he was in was the quietest, and the elementium that drifted here was the least amongst the four battles in the night.