Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  There were only five people in the group. The other members were equally as muscular as the first man. Their gray cloaks were bulky, and it seemed as if they were all carrying some large weapons with them.

  "Locard, how much longer until we reach our destination? I hate this humid and warm environment," Slap. A guy in the middle of the formation grumbled as he slapped the mosquito that had landed on his face. There were far too many of the pesky insects.

  As expected of mosquitos in a primal forest, every single one of them was the size of a finger. Their wrinkled abdomens could even swell to the size of a fist when they were full of human blood.

  Blood splashed all over this guy's face when the mosquito's abdomen broke.

  "Dammit, dammit, dammit." The terrible environment had caused his mood to sour, "I hate this mosquito, I hate this forest, I hate everything. I don't want to run anymore. I would rather turn back and fight with those bloodsucking devils. I would rather die in glorious battle than rot in this goddamned forest."

  "Silence!" The man at the end of the group was the leader. He scolded angrily, "No one is stopping you if you want to die, but don't drag the rest of us with you. Do not forget your pride as a radiant knight, Sim!"

  "Pride, honor……" The man named Sim was clearly at his limits, "You keep yelling pride, day in, day out. What pride and honor is there now that we've been reduced to dogs chased by those accursed adepts? Their evil arts have also exterminated the royal bloodline. What can we do from here on out?"

  Sim's careless words plunged the members of the group into silence.

  The disastrous defeat at Greenland Forest. The dragon raids on the capital. The dragons' raiding of the entire continent…none of this could compare to the impact of the royal bloodline's termination!

  With the forceful domination of the adepts, these previously glorious witcher knights had become dogs without a home, chased by packs of wolves and jaguars, torn to pieces.

  However, those people that wanted to attack them and exchange the heads of the knights for rewards from the adepts were no real threat. The pursuing adepts were the true nightmares they needed to avoid!

  The Bloody Queen was no longer elegant. She had turned into the Bloody Sorceress, an existent that these radiant knights and spellbreaker knights feared from the very core of their being.

  Evil Bugs was no longer as weak as before. This demon of bugs had also become an unstoppable terror with every piece of flesh he consumed. Many of their companions had died before their eyes in that very manner, torn to pieces by swarms of insects.

  "Silence. I think I hear something." The man with the axe in the vanguard hushed them.

  Everyone quickly shut up and listened carefully to every movement in the forest.

  There indeed seemed to be a vague sound ringing in the calming sound of trees waving in the wind.

  It was the sound of beating wings.

  "It's the Bloody Sorceress! Quick, run…"

  The leader's expression changed all of a sudden. He started shouting.

  A black cloud of bats surged forth from the woods amid their shouts. They pressed down upon the knights like an ominous cloud.

  The Bloody Sorceress was here!

  Chapter 330 Bloodsucking Bat Swarm

  A vast forest with green trees and lush, full leaves.

  An odd buzzing sound suddenly replaced the chirping of insects. It was the sound of beating wings.

  Pupupu.

  A dense swarm of bats surged out of the forest like a black cloud. They surrounded the group of knights in an instant.

  Black shiny fur, red eyes, white fangs, and a body as large as a wash basin. These weren't the typical bat species that resided in the woods, but a swarm of bloodsucking bats that had been mutated with evil magic.

  They were unqualified to be called real vampires. At the very best, they were only blood servants and spawn created by an actual vampire.

  Throwing these weak entities against the two radiant knights and three spellbreaker knights was a futile effort. It was like smashing an egg against a rock. The knights would crush them within moments. All five of the knights cast aside their rough cloak and quickly gathered together with their backs against each other. They were nervous, almost as if they were afraid of something.

  A tall figure wrapped in a bright red dress stood on a thick branch in the distance. She looked through the leaves at the knights. Beside her, on every single branch of the massive and ancient tree, were bloodsucking bats dangling upside down.

  Compared to the bat swarm currently engaged in the fight, the one hundred bats here were Bloody Sorceress Mary's elite guards. Each of them was as large as a calf in their bat forms. They had grey fur, a small head, and a humanoid face.

  They hung from the branches and looked around the woods vigilantly. They occasionally released high-frequency sound waves from their mouths and maintained close communication with the scouts in the distance.

  Eight more humanoid vampires surrounded Mary. Every one of them dressed as knights. They were the trump card that allowed Mary to fearlessly hunt down her enemies– her Blood Knights.

  There were a total of eight Blood Knights.

  Three of them were Second Grade, and the other five were First Grade.

  Their previous incarnations were the radiant knights and spellbreaker knights that used to rule this plane.

  However, through Mary's Embrace and the use of magic, their souls had fallen under her manipulation. They had lost sight of their true natures and personalities, turning into first-generation vampires that obeyed Mary's every whim. This process had also caused their intelligence to be severely affected. They had forgotten most of their battle techniques due to this.

  That was why a Second Grade Blood Knight could only exhibit prowess equal to a First Grade elite adept, despite possessing a resilient body and powerful regenerative ability. It was undoubtedly a regret that Mary harbored!

  The other First Grade Blood Knights were also only adept-level vampires.

  The first bats to attack were like wolves circling their prey. They screeched as they wove in between the trees. Six hundred bats gathered in a space no larger than a hundred meters. They blotted out all light with their bodies alone.

  More mysterious was how the sheer number of bats managed to avoid colliding with one another despite their quantity. One had to be impressed by their expertise at flying!

  Six months of being refugees had severely weakened this group of witcher knights. Without the support of a kingdom, they no longer had magic colts to ride, magical crystals to supply them with energy, food to fill their bellies, clothes to keep them warm, or beds to let them rest. All of this had caused their combat strength to deteriorate tremendously.

  With no colts available to them, they had to traverse mountains and rivers with their own feet. With no magical crystals, their runic swords became fire pokers, no longer able to emit blazing elementium flame. They had to draw upon their internal energy reserves if they wanted to fire mid-range energy blades.

  It was a strain on their stamina!

  Even so, the Knights held onto the runic swords in their hands. Blinding radiance came from within their bodies. Their power was still as ferocious and violent as before!

  One energy blade after another fired at the bats. The attacks ravaged everything in their paths.

  Tall trees, thick branches, and even the black leathery bodies of the bloodsucking bats were split into two by the blades before exploding into bits of blood and flesh.

  The five-man team was composed of veterans. The group quickly moved through the woods as they opened a path with their energy blades. It seemed as if they wanted to stake their lives on escaping their current surroundings.

  The swarm of bats couldn't seem to do anything about it either.

  After all, they were unarmored, or at best, lightly armored after they transformed into bats. Trying to endure the energy blades that dealt thirty to fifty points of damage with their frail bodie
s was impossible.

  They could only screech and use their numbers to harass and slow down the enemies' movements.

  The bats that made it close to the knights died a terrible death.

  The runic swords forged of special steel danced in the hands of the knights. The blades flashed like lightning. Five longswords formed a circle of blades, culling all bats before they could come close.

  Mary was utterly apathetic to the slaughter happening to her subordinates.

  Only the Blood Knights and low-grade vampires beside her were worthy of her concern. She didn't feel pain at the death of these blood servants and vampire spawn. She just needed to find a human city for a blood offering banquet and the numbers of these servants would be replenished.

  These guys were sacrificial pawns in the first place. There was no need to worry about the worth of their lives!

  That said, it was still hard to replenish their numbers while they were in this rural forest. That was why Mary didn't intend to let too many of them die.

  She waved her hand slightly, and half of the one hundred low-grade vampires lunged forth, beating their wings as they joined the swarm of bats.

  "Careful, the vampires are here!" The leader of the knights reminded his companions.

  Countless numbers of their allies had fallen to the fangs of these vampires over the course of the last six months. They had either ran out of stamina or had been careless in their defense.

  The vampires did not have exceptional offensive or defensive abilities, but they were excellent at combat.

  They mingled with the ordinary bats, and they only pounced when an opportunity presented itself. By the time they reached their target, they would already have transformed into their human forms. They wouldn't even dodge the knight's attacks. Instead, they would grab on to the knight, tearing and biting away at all exposed flesh and trading wound for wound.

  There was no way to defend against such fearless attacks!

  The knights might have been able to deflect the vampires if it were only one or two of them that attacked them each time. However, even a spellbreaker knight would fall prey when it was a group of vampires that were attacking him.

  With the addition of the vampires, the five knights' battle quickly turned into an arduous one.

  The radiant knights had far better Physique and Strength compared to the vampires. Killing them was as easy as slicing vegetables. Thus, the vampires commanded the bat swarm to delay the radiant knights. Meanwhile, all the monsters quickly gathered up and assaulted the protective circle of the spellbreaker knights.

  A spellbreaker knight, engaged in violent and bloody combat, was too preoccupied with hacking at a vampire that had flown past him. He failed to notice the bush beneath his feet.

  He stumbled two steps and suddenly found himself outside the defensive formation.

  The accident caused him to panic. He waved his sword about and tried to rush back to his companion's side before he even managed to balance himself.

  But it was too late!

  Rustle.

  Countless bats surged into the midst of the knights from the gap that had just opened in their formation. They used their strength in numbers and forcefully threw the knights into chaos.

  A swarm of vampires descended from the skies as they were distracted. They assaulted the stray knight with their bodies.

  Blood splashed everywhere, and limbs scattered in every direction!

  The stray knight slowly pushed further and further away in this storm of blood and flesh. He quickly disappeared from sight.

  Pupupu.

  Consecutive energy blades blasted into the sky. The bats swarming the knights were instantly sliced to bits. Blood filled the air and stained the knights crimson.

  They didn't even have time to suppress the agitated energy within their bodies. A new batch of bats sped forth from every direction, once again pinning them to the spot.

  The knights could vaguely hear the battle cries of their stray companion through the horde of bats. However, the sounds soon stopped following a sorrowful cry. Only a sickening sucking sound remained.

  "No, leader, we must save Stophe!" Locard, the man with the axe, was already panting in exhaustion, his muscles covered in sweat.

  "Save? Can't you see he's already dead?" Sim roared as he continued to hack and slash.

  This team had already suffered casualties. If they continued to stay here for a dead man, none of them would live to see another day. That was why he was so annoyed by Locard's brainless suggestion.

  "I don't care, and I will not abandon any of my brothers… " Locard's eyes had already turned bloodshot from all the killing. He yelled in anger and turned towards the distance, waving his axe and cutting his way towards his companion.

  Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

  As expected, the knight leader had already made his decision before Sim could even curse.

  "You bring Sim and leave first. I will return with Locard. We will meet at the agreed location."

  The leader's body enveloped in light the very next second. The runic energies came from within his body and formed an armor of light. It gave him more power and a savage strength.

  When the blinding curtain of blades fell upon the bats, their corpses dropped like rain.

  "Go! Hurry! I will catch up with you soon…"

  The leader yelled and charged into the woods.

  Chapter 331 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

  The battle quickly intensified with the splitting up of the knight squad.

  "Master, let me and Kansas assault them. We'll ensure that they do not escape!" The one that spoke was the strongest Blood Knight under Mary– Blood Knight Windsor.

  He seemed to have been the famous leader of the conservative faction of the knights before he became a Blood Knight. Sadly, at this moment, he had lost all his pride and honor as a radiant knight. He kneeled before Mary as a loyal slave.

  Blood Knight Windsor didn't display even a trace of hesitation or unwillingness to raising his blade against his former companions. In fact, Mary saw excitement rising in his blood-red eyes. It was excitement for the upcoming slaughter.

  "Go, my warrior! Demonstrate your courage with the heads of the enemy!" Mary's ruby-like eyes gleamed as she gave her orders, "Apart from those two radiant knights, you may do as you like!"

  The remaining vampires rushed out after hearing Mary's crisp and seductive voice. They followed the other Blood Knights and charged onto the battlefield.

  When everything around her had fallen silent once more, a person appeared beside her. It was Count Vanlier, the vampire that was first Embraced by Mary.

  He had been the highest authority figure of Blue Hillock City before he became a vampire. However, such worldly titles were worthless in the world of vampires, where power was everything. 'Count' Vanlier had abandoned his past identity to keep Mary's favor. He willingly became an insignificant, low-grade vampire at her side.

  In this group, where courage and power were most important, a person like himself would not be noteworthy. He had neither talent nor expertise. Still, this wasn't a problem for the sly and crafty Vanlier. After fifteen days of following Mary, he quickly became an irreplaceable strategist with his exceptional schemes and nasty tricks.

  Moreover, this old fox knew how to remain in the shadows.

  That was why he completely hid himself while Windsor and the other Blood Knights were with Mary. It wasn't until Mary was alone that he would hurry over and use his brilliant mind to share his master's troubles.

  "How is it? Have you found any traces of that bug?" Mary asked without even looking back.

  Ever since she had discovered Vanlier's incomparable talent for scheming, she had assigned a dozen low-grade vampires to be his subordinates. It was with these dozen vampires that Vanlier quickly became Mary's most valued information agent.

  Blinding light exploded on the battlefield in the distance. It was like several small suns had risen in the forest. It destroyed the tree
s, and the forest trembled from the impact. Swarms of bats swooped about the woods, trying their best to avoid the chaotic wave of energy.

  Mary could feel a sting in her soul.

  It was the soul backlash from the death of a blood servant directly under her.

  It was evident that the battle in the woods had reached its peak. It was a moment of life and death for all involved. Even so, Mary had no intention of helping. She stood proudly above the tree.

  Empowering themselves was one way for vampires to rise to power, but possessing numerous strong servants was also another!

  Her 'companion' that had already returned to the World of Adepts was also an adept exceptional at forging powerful and reliable subordinates. As expected, she had been affected by him! Mary had also fallen in love with this barbaric way of fighting. Roaming around and drowning the enemy with your superior numbers when you caught their weakness.

  However, Mary knew she didn't quite possess the ability to plan like him. That was why she placed a lot of her trust and hopes on this sly vampire that had appeared out of nowhere, giving him more and more authority over her servants.

  "Master, the scouts outside have not found any traces of that bug. However, I can be sure that he is preparing an ambush around us." Vanlier transformed into an elegant human noble and analyzed the situation for Mary, "This here is the last den for any fleeing knights. If he doesn't want to miss an opportunity to strengthen his army of bugs, he will have to fight with us for this last bit of resources."

  "Mm, go on!"

  "Evil Bugs isn't on good terms with the master. He knows this as well as we do and will be prepared for you. He will be slowly eating away at the enemy's squads on the outside. This is something that both of us will be doing. However, if anyone tried to attack the witcher knight camp, the other person would strike, regardless of the results of the fight."

  "Isn't that why I gave you so many men? To dig that bug out ahead of time?"

  "I fear this may be impossible!" Vanlier betrayed a bitter smile, "Sir Evil Bugs is most proficient at hiding. As long as he remains in the ground, my dozen scouts won't be able to find him."