Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

Just like that, Greem flipped through one document after another, tossing aside those that contained only crude or known information. He only put the documents that were rare or had immense research value into his storage belt. Apart from these necessary drawings, drafts, and informations, Greem also found some exceptionally valuable ores and special magic stones on the wooden stands.

  Jade Moon Stone, Talasite, Dawnstone, Star of Elune, Nightseye, Living Ruby, Empyrean Sapphire, Shadowsong Amethyst, Crimson Spinel. All of these magic stones were exceptionally valuable, even back in the World of Adepts, and were being used as supplementary materials in the forging of runic equipment. Greem couldn't help but shake his head and sigh at this.

  This plane’s lack of a systematic caster framework caused their alchemical knowledge to be severely lacking as well. Without the use of profound alchemy ordinary human craftsmen would be hard-pressed to draw out the actual powers of such valuable magic stones. They could only shatter the stones and use the natural elementium affinity or natural traits to enhance their runic equipment with special effects.

  This… this was possibly the most wasteful way of using the stones!

  Of course, there was something that excited Greem even more than that. He had found three spacestones the size of his fist in an inconspicuous gray sack! Clearly, the people of this plane had also realized the oddity of these stones. However they couldn't understand their actual purpose or usage, and could only let them lie in this dim and dark hidden room.

  With the size of these three spacestones, any single one of them would allow a person to buy a small dukedom eight square kilometers large in the Zhentarim Association's territory!

  Greem had to breath several times before he managed to calm himself down. He only continued to dig for treasures after making sure he had properly stored the spacestones.

  Honestly, when you managed to break into a hidden room belonging to the rulers of a plane, anything you found in there would probably be a treasure worth entire cities.

  Thus the next thirty minutes was Greem's most exhilarating adventure ever since he came to this plane!

  Golden Apple. The main ingredient for resurrection ceremonies. Consumable.

  Orb of Deception. A tool that allowed one to perfectly hide their identity and faction. No known spells could see through its effect.

  Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal. It allowed long distance voice communication and its effect could not be cancelled by any magical defense or planar barriers.

  Emblem of Fire. An odd magical object that originated from the fire elementium plane. The wearer of this emblem would be able to enter the fire elementium plane under the guise of a normal fire elemental.

  Shandera's Sheepstick. An ancient spell that could turn its target into a bleating lamb was sealed inside. (Unless the target was immune to transfiguration effects.) Duration: Five seconds. Ignores armor and magical resistance.

  ……

  ……

  Greem would have been content to get his hands on a complete copy of the runic knowledge. Yet with what he was gaining now, he couldn't help but feel like he had underestimated the potential profits of a planar war.

  In terms of size and resources, the World of Adepts was hundreds of times larger than the small world of the knights' plane. That said, regardless of how large and rich in resources the World of Adepts was, the number of powerful individuals that fought for those resources was also despairingly large.

  The knights' plane might be lacking in natural resources, but when all of it was used for only a single adept clan, the profits were tremendous.

  The resources and knowledge that Greem managed to gather from this crude and tiny drafting room would probably have taken him over a thousand years to amass back in the World of Adepts. In particular, top grade resources such as the spacestones and the Golden Apple were not items that he would have had a chance of coming into contact with at his level.

  If he hadn't gone on this mission alone and had managed to sneak into one of the kingdom's treasuries, then, with his status as a First Grade adept, he would never have been able to get his hands on these treasures.

  In comparison, the normally rare materials like Mithril, Underground Wrought Gold, magic agates, arcane crystals, and Khorium ores didn’t even make Greem feel even a little excited.

  Yet, just as Greem and the others happily examined their newly gained treasures, a deafening boom rang out from the passage in the distance. The next moment the entire Runeforge Camp shook slightly.

  The enemy was breaking through the collapsed tunnel at the entrance!

  Greem instantly understood the source of the commotion.

  It was time to retreat!

  The better his harvest here, the more cautious Greem became. Moreover, the main attraction– the drafts of the runic equipment, the rare rune illustrations, the explanation of runic energies, and the guide to utilizing runic energies were all in his possession now. The remaining items scattered about were no longer as important.

  Greem gave Flower a heads-up and quickly walked out of the drafting room. When he reached the central hall once again, the loud booming sounds in the distance had gotten a lot closer.

  Just then, the guy called Cobalt showed up, already transformed into a muscular and massive three-meter-tall barbaric giant. All of the items that he was lugging behind his shoulders, holding in his hands, and carrying around his waist were gleaming runic equipment. Greem even saw three complete sets of Second Grade radiant knight armor among them. Most of the other items were also standard First Grade spellbreaker knight gear.

  Greem was excited to see this equipment. He casually threw an adepts' waist storage pack at Cobalt. Following the adept’s principle of fair trade and exceptionally good oratorical skills, Greem easily managed to exchange a set of Second Grade radiant knight armor and runic weapons with Cobalt.

  Adept Cobalt was naturally happy to accept such an unexpectedly good trade!

  Soon the three gathered together and quickly hurried to the back of the camp with all of their spoils.

  Just as they reached the cave behind the mountains, the entrance of the camp was finally broken through by three radiant knights.

  The impact of their ferocious strength sent crumbling rocks flying everywhere, smashing craters all over the stone passage. A tall and radiant silhouette walked out of the dust and debris, intimidatingly assessing everything before his eyes.

  Rocks were still falling hazardously behind him in the narrow passage.

  One after another, lithe forms moved through the passage and quickly ran towards every location in Runeforge Camp.

  "Find those damned invaders! I want to slice them into a thousand pieces… " The radiant knight's angered shout rang throughout the camp.

  Greem felt the massive commotion echoing through the underground tunnel. He grabbed the shoulders of his two 'companions' and the three disappeared in a massive fire pillar.

  Chapter 245

  Nighttime. The knights' kingdom was in turmoil.

  The actual battle reports had come in from the frontlines. More than half of the six thousand witcher-knights had died in Greenland Forest, while the survivors had been scattered in the wild and were unlikely to regroup anytime soon.

  The cause for the delay in information was due to that accursed Count Vanlier taking up arms and rebelling. He had publicly surrendered to those evil invading adepts.

  Only five radiant knights remained out of the leaders that went to battle. They led a hundred of their subordinates back to Herdurand City, and that was how news of the battle got back.

  The sudden betrayal of the dragons!

  The departure of Fourth Grade Holy Knight Sir Willis with the dragons!

  One of the three dragon knights had died in battle, while the other two had been caught in the adepts' base.

  The terrifying adepts' tower remained standing in the depths of Greenland Forest, now impenetrable and unassailable!

  ……

  Bad news re
peatedly came. Finally, the elderly king was unable to go on and started coughing blood.

  Just as he got news of the dragons' betrayal and the dire straits of his kingdom, news reached his ears about an attack on Runeforge Camp, the most important location for the knights. This increasingly angered all of the witcher-knights!

  The many radiant knights that stayed at and guarded the palace led their indignant subordinates out on the hunt, recklessly searching for suspicious individuals within Skandre City.

  Just like that, Skandre City instantly turned into a terrifying storm vortex, viciously dragging everyone involved into itself and tearing them to pieces!

  A night of unrest.

  When dawn broke, Skandre City finally regained a little of its peace.

  Yet, at this moment, the prisons of the capital had already been filled to the brim with crying and pleading prisoners.

  Before the shaken population could even calm down, a wave of violent dragon roars rumbled across the distance.

  A massive flight of dragons had come!

  Having experienced seventeen days of dragon raids, everyone in the capital had long gotten used to this terrifying sound.

  But today was obviously different.

  Not only were the dragons much earlier than usual, they were all circling above the palace. It seemed they did not come with good intentions!

  For a time, the skies above the palace were entirely covered by the wicked and intimidating bodies of the green dragons.

  Twenty-three adolescent green dragons. Five Third Grade green dragons, seven Second Grade green dragons, and eleven First Grade green dragons were here.

  They circled in the sky as the lead dragon let out a vicious roar. The weathered stone surfaces of the nearby mountains started to crumble and fall during the thundering roar, rolling down towards the bottom of the mountain in a landslide.

  Having let out the anger and dissatisfaction in his heart, the green dragon beat his wings and hovered above the palace while letting out yet another massive roar.

  "Edward VII, get your filthy ass out here. Hand over the dragon-slaying murderer, or we will raze your palace!"

  "Get out here… "

  "Hand over the murderer… "

  ……

  The dragons roared, one after another. The deafening sound caused even the palace itself to tremor.

  Countless palace guards hid within the watchtowers and above the palace walls. They held bows and crossbows in their hands and prepared for a fight at any moment, yet no one dared to start an attack.

  For the longest time, the magnificent and mighty dragons were the patrons of their hearts. They were their most powerful companions that they lived in harmony with. Every single human couldn't help but have mixed feelings about the situation now that they had become enemies.

  Their capital had been utterly ravaged, their cities attacked, and the people angered. Yet, after such a long time under the dragon’s protection, everyone still hoped, deep in their hearts, that the dragons would come to their senses and reestablish their friendship with the kingdom!

  It was such a mentality that caused the citizens of the capital to have mixed feelings towards the dragons. There were those who hated them, and those that wished for friendship, while even more were in a state of uncertainty…

  Confusion and uncertainty towards the dragons; towards humanity and the future!

  Eight radiant knights anxiously gathered before the king's bed, placed in a luxuriously grand hall. They helplessly watched on as a group of doctors tried their very best to save the king, whose face was flushed an unhealthy red. However, their king was clearly at the brink of his death. It was clear that he wasn't going to regain consciousness.

  "What do we do? The dragons are knocking at the gates. How are we supposed to negotiate with the dragons without the king?"

  "Indeed. The dragons do not come with friendly thoughts. A bloody battle is imminent! But the king… "

  The radiant knights frowned deeply as they discussed. None of them had any idea what to do in the current situation.

  In the end, the most veteran radiant knight amongst them took off his helmet, revealing his pale white hair and weathered face as he spoke, "This is a time of difficulty for the kingdom. As knights of the Edward family we cannot abandon the throne in such trying times."

  Several radiant knights straightened their faces and replied in unison, "We will defend the kingdom with our lives!"

  "I'll give out orders now. August, Andeni, the two of you stay here. Make sure that the king remains unharmed!"

  "Understood!" "Understood!"

  "Sarah, Claire. Find the princes immediately and evacuate the palace. Return immediately if we are able to make it through today. If… if war breaks out, don't care about what happens back here. Take them east. The further the better!"

  The two were both female knights. Their expressions were saddened when they heard this, but they forced their tears back down and nodded in acknowledgement.

  "The rest follow me to see what the dragons want."

  "We will stand with you!"

  Amidst some vague sobbings, the four radiant knights sorted out their equipment and marched out of the palace with tragic and passionate valiance.

  Yet, just as everyone was distracted by the tense standoff in front of the palace, a fully armed radiant knight was hurrying towards the back with two spellbreaker knights following closely behind. It was a time of turmoil and chaos. Large numbers of witcher-knights were stationed in various locations in the palace and even the palace guards were in a panic.

  At this time, the powerful radiant knights were like the foundation of the entire kingdom's backbone. Which ignorant guard would dare to stop and search a radiant knight at such a moment?

  Thus, Greem successfully made his way near the hall with Cobalt and Flower following closely behind and managed to hide in a room right next to the large hall.

  At the front of the palace, the elderly radiant knight that strode out had attracted the attention of the dragon flight.

  The dragon at the lead with the massive body folded its wings when it saw the four radiant knights walking out. It landed on the large platform.

  "Human, call your king out. Today, he must hand over the Gem of the Contract, as well as the dragon-murderer. Otherwise, we will raze this place to the ground." The green dragon roared.

  "O respected dragon ambassador, what is it that angers you so? We of the knights' kingdom have always been the loyal companions to the great dragons for the past thousand years. Yet now, it is you that are viciously attacking the capital and assaulting our cities. And today you even come here to demand some Gem of Contract and murderer from us! Is this something companions and allies do to each other?"

  "Puny human, don't try and show off your speaking skills. The great Wrathion will not sit here and listen to your useless words. Have your king come out or I'll force my way in!" The dragon in the lead was violent and aggressive. It was clear that he had no intention of letting this end peacefully.

  Greem, who was peeking from a side hall in the distance, let out a breath of relief.

  Fortunately for him, the leading Third Grade dragon had an excessively overbearing personality. Otherwise, if both parties had any sign of peaceful negotiation, he would probably have to take the risk and incite a conflict. He only needed to run to a group of 'ignorant' witcher-knights and order them to attack the dragons to start a complete bloodbath.

  Luckily, the dragons were far more reckless than he thought. Such a forceful method of negotiation. It would be weird if the knights didn't react negatively!

  As expected, just as the elderly radiant knight drew his shining runic longsword to halt the march of the lead dragon, chaos broke out! No one knew whether it was started by a runic arrow shot by a panicking witcher-knight, or the dragon breath of a young green dragon, but a terrifying battle quickly exploded!

  Under the terrified gazes of countless palace guards, numerous acidic poison
and wind poison dragon breaths rained down like a storm. All of the human warriors that were caught in them died a painful death before they could even escape.

  The warriors that were engulfed in the wind poison fell to the ground, their faces a deathly black. They had been killed instantly by the poison. Those that were showered with acidic poison had their flesh dissolved like melting candles, turning into viscous green liquid and leaving only a pile of charred and withered bones behind.

  Bows and crossbows on the ground fired in unison. Waves of fire and ice arrows slashed through the sky, barring the dragon flight.

  Clinking noises echoed throughout. Countless arrows were swiped out of the skies by the dragons' wings and tails, but some arrows still found their way into gaps in the scales of the younger dragons.

  For a moment, grunts and cries of pain rang out incessantly from the dragon flight.

  A few adolescent green dragons quickly dove down and used their massive bodies to shield the young dragons. Under the orders of the adolescent dragons, the dragon flight quickly took to the sky and gradually left the range of the crossbows.

  But this didn't mean that the dragons were going to retreat. In fact, it was the precursor to a ferocious attack.

  Dragon roars rumbled through the skies. With two adolescent dragons in the front, and three juvenile dragons following closely behind, five massive green dragons beat their wide wings and dove downwards at the palace at high speed.

  The five green dragons opened their mouths wide, and large balls of horrifying acid quickly gathered behind their throats.

  The next moment, five dense acidic poison breaths had ploughed several paths of death through the crowd below. The crossbows attacks from the ground were mostly deflected by the dragons' scales. Even the occasional bolts that found their mark into flesh wasn't enough to interrupt the dragons’ wild breaths.

  The first group of dragons had just finished unleashing their ravaging breaths. Just as they turned their bodies and took to the skies once more, a second group of dragons had already started their high-speed dive. Behind them, a third group of dragons was already in formation, looking for the best diving angle…