The Golem Knight, despite being able to endure the seven thousand degrees earlier, was no longer able to tolerate the heat this time.
The surface of the tower shield had turned a bright red from the heat and quickly softened. The molten liquid continuously flowed down. The shield was getting thinner and thinner. Finally, the shield completely eroded and scorching fires engulfed the Golem Knight's body, making a mess of its delicate armor.
All of the patterns and border carvings had melted in the heat like wax near a fire.
The Golem Knight tried its very best to escape from the blazing fire, only to find a shadow towering over itself.
A massive black-red silhouette stood before it.
Boom. A massive explosion. The monstrous flame humanoid smashed one of its arms into the Knight's weakened chest. It pulled, and a mechanical heart pulsing with magical energies was forcefully removed from the puppet.
The Golem Knight stalled when it lost its control core. Its whole body glowed a brilliant red.
Three seconds later a shocking explosion erupted on the stage. The energy balance within the Golem Knight's body had gone out of control. It had self-destructed!
Chapter 289
The victor had been decided.
A joyous Adept Nunnally and smiling Angus greeted Greem as he stepped out of the arena with the Infernal Tyrant.
The Gerto adepts stared angrily at them, their faces full of killing intent.
Both parties looked at Greem and the Tyrant, but no one paid any attention to the disheveled and defeated Rouneau.
"Very well. The esoteric duel today has concluded." The silver-robed adept stepped up as the mediator, "Shop 167 of Champs Élysées Street will continue to be managed by the Byron Clan. As the losing challengers, the Gerto Clan has to pay their compensations to the Byron Clan within three days. If the compensation is not paid on time, the Silver Union will exile the Gerto Clan and all property they have in the Castle in the Sky will be forfeited and put up for auction. I hope this will not be the case. Very well, now that the duel has come to a close, you may all leave."
The silver-robed adept took one last look at Greem and his golem before silently leaving.
"Let's go! We have to go back and have a proper celebration after this!" Even a cold and grim fellow like Adept Angus couldn't help but betray a smile. It was clear how significant of a victory this was for the Byron Clan.
The Byron adepts surrounded Greem, and together they returned to their clan outpost in high spirits.
Nunnally smiled coldly as she spoke to the bald-headed man, whose face was turning a deathly green, "We can settle our debts in the future, Nako. I hope to see the compensation paid as soon as possible. You know where I'll be. I'll be waiting for the good news!"
Every single muscle in the Gerto Clan Head's body tensed up when he glared at Nunnally. You could hear the crackling and popping sounds from snapping muscles in his body.
"Nunnally, you bastard. I want you dead… I'll make sure you die a horrible death… "
However, even a Second Grade adept didn't dare to start a fight here, regardless of how angry he was. The Silver Union's esoteric adepts might not have been worth much in a fight, but their army of magical golems was a fearsome lot.
The consequences of attacking Nunnally here would be severe. Despite being Second Grade, not only would Nako be unable to escape the Castle in the Sky, even his clan would be completely destroyed in the punishment that came after.
Fortunately, the Gerto Clan had already won two esoteric duels before this. Even though these were the more rural areas of the outer circle, and were far less prosperous than Champs Élysées Street, it was enough for his clan to establish a foothold in the city. Still, Nako's heart bled when he thought of the massive amount of resources he had to give to the Byron Clan three days from now.
…………
The fight at the arena propelled Greem to fame within the Twelfth District of the outer area.
The outer circle was like the face of a massive clock. Champs Élysées Street, where the Byron Clan stood, was located at the twelve o'clock position, which was why it was also known as the Twelfth District. There were around two dozen shops here, and every single one of them was backed by famous adept clans from the Continent.
The fact that Greem's name had spread among them was thanks to the might of the Infernal Tyrant!
Outsider adepts like Greem were the most popular within the outer circle. The price of hiring them was far cheaper than the esoteric masters. The strength of these outsider adepts might vary, but a successful gamble on one of them could allow a clan to come back to life and preserve their spot in the Castle in the Sky.
Greem's representation of the Byron Clan this time meant that it was possible he could represent their clans. Thus, every single outer circle clan was extremely willing to associate with a pseudo-esoteric adept who had a bright future ahead of him.
…………
Dusk.
The dark curtain of night had enveloped the Castle in the Sky, but lights were glowing brightly at the Byron Clan's place.
A small celebration banquet was being held in the hall on the first floor. All seventeen shops of the Twelfth District had sent representatives to the banquet to celebrate and congratulate the Byron's victory.
With the conclusion of the esoteric duels, most of these seventeen clans had successfully defended their land. However, there were still five new clans that had managed to replace the previous shop owners. Everyone was taking the Byron Clan’s banquet as an opportunity to scheme and establish deals under the table.
The old clans needed to reach new agreements, and the newer clans needed to make concessions or demonstrate sufficient influence to join their social circles. Some of the weaker clans also needed to establish alliances to ensure their continued prosperity.
As such, almost every clan representative and stationed adept were extremely busy during this banquet. They repeatedly went into hidden rooms and met with one representative after another. The only ones who had fun at this banquet were the newly advanced clan adepts that had been sent to the Castle in the Sky to experience and learn the intricacies of negotiation.
The banquet wasn't a very large affair, but the decorations were quite unique.
The walls and floor had been decorated with glowstones. With how brightly they lit up the hall, no other lighting was needed.
A dozen dinner tables were placed in an orderly fashion in a corner of the hall. Gold and silver plates and bowls filled the tables. Only delicacies were served. There were dishes like pan-seared ox's kidney, quails stuffed with spices and fruits, shortbread with lark and partridge meat fillings, steak cooked with wine and onion, dormice soaked in honey…
The waitresses serving the adepts in the hall were beauties of various races and appearances. There were the slim and light cat girls with delicate facial features, grey cat ears, and bushy tails on their backs. There were the succubi of the lower realms. Tall, curvaceous, pale skinned, seductive figures with tiny horns on their heads, bat wings on their backs, tails of bone, and hooves for feet.
Apart from these two, there were also female elves with soft bodies and pointed ears, as well as tiger girls with fierce personalities and fur growing by the side of their faces. Greem even saw a fifty-centimeter dwarf girl among these beauties…
Of course, without exception, they all had a tiny runic brand beneath their flimsy dresses. The Byron emblem was in the middle of these runic brands. The runic arrays surrounding the emblem served the purposes of sealing, locating, and various other functions that Greem couldn't decipher.
Greem already knew that the World of Adepts was a massive plane that had enslaved thousands of lesser planes. The resources taken from these planes were endless, and the slaves that they had obtained covered a huge range of races.
Of course, he had never had the opportunity to come into contact with these high-quality resources when he was only an apprentice. It was only now
that he had become stronger and made a place for himself alongside the stronger adepts that they were now being presented to him.
A beauty of another race might have been the princess or queen of an enslaved race back in their own plane. Here in this brightly lit adept's banquet, however, they were nothing more than slaves and maids that could be toyed with in whatever manner the adepts enjoyed.
Some of the younger male and female adepts were surrounding these servants and talking about their appearances. They would even occasionally undress them and touch their bodies all over as if they were extremely interested in their biological construction.
Greem was also favored by the young female adepts, with how handsome and charming a newly advanced adept he was. Three or four young female adepts from various clans had surrounded him and were passionately flirting with him.
Honestly, the moral limits of the young men and women had been completely removed when they became adepts. As talented individuals being cultivated by their clans, their futures were bright ones. This was why all of them were more willing to indulge in the pleasures of life, using the authority of their position to enjoy beauties and delicacies! After all, what awaited them afterward was a long and arduous journey of accumulating knowledge!
They were still young and had no right to join the leaders of the clan, which gave them plenty of time and energy to pursue pleasure and enjoyment. Greem had heard plenty about how debaucherous and wasteful these youths were in their private lives. Every single one of these young male and female adepts had a harem of pretty boys and ladies waiting on them at home.
However, those were only their sexual partners. If they really wanted an actual partner for life, they would have to choose from adepts of the same Grade.
As long as two young adepts favored each other, they would instantly get into a relationship. The bold and direct nature of these female adepts when it came to carnal relationships was too much for Greem, the ultimate hermit, to deal with.
There were also other, smaller social circles in the hall aside from these youths.
One of them was the bloodline adept's circle.
Those who could step foot in here were all elites among the bloodline adepts. The greatest indicator of this was the dense bloodline aura they radiated, as well as their obvious appearances. Most of them were similar to the creatures their bloodline came from.
The Synos Clan managing the Black Rose was a clan of bloodline adepts. Their clan’s bloodline legacy was that of the Shadow Serpent. This was a terrifying shadow creature that was widely known to be able to reach the ranks of Sixth Grade.
That was why all of the adepts from the Synos Clans had a black serpent's head in place of a human one. It was the same whether they were male or female. All of them looked like a serpent. Their bodies also showed vague signs of blurring, as if they were constantly under the protection of shadows and darkness.
These bloodlines adepts clearly disliked intimate relationships with adepts of other races. Their considerations and priorities when picking a partner or lover were focused on the opponent's bloodline concentration and their Grade level. Appearance and personality was only a secondary thought.
There was also a group of mutated adepts in the hall that had undergone severe body modifications. Perhaps parts of their bodies had been replaced with that of wild beasts, turned undead, or replaced with mechanical parts. Either way, the marks of magical modification had been left on each and every one of their bodies.
There wasn't much left about them that was human!
Chapter 290
"You are really strong. Your vitality and vigor seem to be exceptionally strong as well… "
Winnie from the Clyde Clan pressed against Greem's chest with her hand. She licked her red lips seductively and smiled.
"Yes… more importantly, he smells really good!"
Caroline closed her eyes and breathed in the smell, betraying an expression of intoxication.
The other female adepts were also giggling as they talked about Greem.
Both Winnie and Caroline were tall and beautiful with seductive figures. Their dresses were extremely revealing. Soft, light robes of cloth revealed their curvaceous lines to everyone. The bold cuts to the front of the chest exposed an abundance of their white breasts to the male adepts’ lustful gazes.
In truth, a newly advanced adept was at the peak of their appearance in the first hundred to two hundred years of their advancement. Young adepts during this time placed a great deal of emphasis on their appearance and looks. They were willing to invest large amounts of time and resources into maintaining them.
Every young adept that stepped foot in this banquet hall was a handsome man or a beautiful woman. It was obvious that they were already fairly familiar with each other after a long time socializing here in the Castle in the Sky. Now that a new face like Greem had joined their circle, all of the young female adepts were trying their best to pursue him!
Especially since Greem was so exceptional compared to the other male adepts.
Greem had a young and handsome face. Black eyes, dark-red long hair, and a body-tight leather suit further brought out the charm of his figure. His aura of wisdom and knowledge was mixed with the calm indifference and depravity of an adept, all turning into his own uniquely wicked quality.
Greem calmly dealt with the female adepts' passionate advances as he listened to Adept Angus introduce the ladies.
"Winnie is actually pretty good. She's pretty and has a hot body. She's really wild in bed as well. If you want to, you can definitely get in bed with her by tonight. Caroline is the granddaughter of the Second Grade Lareina. If you can charm her completely, I guarantee no one would dare cross you as long as they are within the Aliford area. The one in the low-cut yellow evening gown beside you is probably the most debaucherous and kinky one of them all. With your conditions as they are, you could probably convince her to sleep along with you and Winnie… "
Greem looked around the hall as he listened to Angus' endless rambling. He found him engaged in a passionate conversation with two pseudo-adepts in a corner of the hall.
He even raised his cup and let out an odd and perverted smile when he felt Greem looking at him.
What was this! A group wild and debaucherous ladies. Even though they were already pretending to be noble and elegant right now, if you raided their homes you would probably find hordes of male concubines and strong slaves in their personal collection.
Sleeping with such people was a terrible idea. Was he toying with them, or were they toying with him?
Greem wasn't much for the idea of emotional and physical loyalty in a relationship. But Greem couldn't imagine that these experienced female adepts would enjoy sleeping with him. Greem could only politely rebuke them as he silently screamed for help.
This was going be an arduous night!
…………
This was gonna be an arduous night!
Is there anyone who can come and save me!?
At the same time, in a different location, Alice also looked up at the skies filled with stars. She let out a tragic lament of despair.
The Mushroom Cottage.
It wasn’t until night fell that the perpetual mist would lighten a little, allowing the bright moonlight to pour into the small house and give it a hint of peace and silence.
Alice had been stripped of her clothes and tossed into a boiling cauldron. She silently endured a lifetime's worth of torture inside it.
The bubbling brew was a sickly green color!
Adept Liana, who as short as a dwarf, stood on a tall tool stirring the mixture with all her might. She occasionally tossed in some odd powder and unknown substances into the cauldron.
Once in awhile, she raised the stirring spoon to taste the brew, and then she would go back to tossing more things into the cauldron if she was dissatisfied.
Guano, mermaid tears, werewolf eyeballs, wight shroud powder, ghost ashes, black dragon's saliva, poison sac of a retriever…
Alice was completely frightened out of her wits! She had to listen to this mentally unstable witch mumble silently to herself as she continued to throw in more and more of these mysterious objects into the cauldron.
Seven days ago, when she had just arrived at the Mushroom Cottage, Alice was extremely attracted by the soup. She had to control her impulse to drink every last drop of it. However, now that she was part of the brew and being cooked alive by the old witch, it was truly a miracle that Alice hadn't gone insane.
She had a vague feeling that the old witch wasn't trying to make her into supper but… to instead use her to conduct some sort of secret experiment. That was because the old witch would draw a whole lot of blood from her with a large syringe. She would then toss her into this dirty cauldron. This happened every single day.
Alice couldn't see through the secret behind the witch’s actions, but she was already disgusted by this life of being a prisoner and lab rat after only seven days. What disgusted her, even more, were the revolting materials she was swimming in.
Witches' traditions were often extremely bizarre and ludicrous when compared to the strict and orderly system of the esoteric adepts. Some of their traditions were so bizarre that they were laughable.
Take a look at what esoteric adepts used!
They used Star Iron, Obsidian and Horus' Meteorite with exceptional magical resistance, Mansordar Alloy and Underground Wrought Gold with immense toughness, magical alloy with good malleability, mithril with high magical conductivity, and even Pyre Stones, Empyrean Sapphire, and Shadowsong Amethyst that had natural elementium traits…
All of these materials could be sorted by types, traits, the method of use, and points of caution. Just the sheer number of magical materials required the establishment of a new area of study to decipher, in detail, the traits of the materials, the locations where they could be found, the method of gathering, the points of caution when preserving the materials, and the means used to unseal them for experimentation. All of these things had been collated into a book and was one of the fundamental subjects of study for esoteric adepts– Material Studies.
Age of Adepts c1-1513 Page 189