Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  However, at this moment, all the actors had already stepped onto the stage. Schemes and tricks no longer mattered. The next step depended only on their power and the ferocity that they brought to the fight!

  Thus, Vanlier wisely retreated behind the Blood Knights.

  Acteon still raised his head and looked at Mary in her red dress despite being engaged in the battle.

  The two stared at each other from a distance.

  "The food is delicious… but a too little to share between two." Acteon's bug hissing was sharp and hoarse. It hurt to listen to him speak.

  Mary's leathery wings beat behind her back, allowing her to hover in the air.

  She looked down at the bloody battlefield and licked her crimson lips. Her blue eyes slowly turned blood red.

  "Indeed! This place is way too small! Too small to fit the two of us! What is it? Have you already decided to retreat?"

  "Wasn't it you that wanted to find me? I came here today, and you came here as well. How about it? Shall we fight right here?"

  "A fight is a fight!"

  The two of them were both decisive and savage individuals. They had already decided on a deathmatch within a matter of seconds. Moreover, they had made their decisions with a struggling radiant knight still fighting in between them.

  There had never been such a moment where the existence of a Second Grade knight was so insignificant. So insignificant to even be ignored by the others present!

  Mary raised her head and let out a blood-curdling shriek. Surging crimson energies instantly enveloped her body.

  Her red eyes gleamed with a chilling light as two sharp fangs protruded from her lips. Her tall and slim figure swelled and increased in size. Strange crimson patterns spread all over her pale white body.

  Mary opened her mouth and let out a terrifying cry reminiscent of a wild beast. Her slender fingertips quickly extended and turned into sharp and curved claws.

  "Fight!"

  Her leathery bat wings had unfurled to their fullest. She pointed her finger at Acteon and shouted a declaration of war. She then dove downwards at Acteon.

  The Blood Knights behind her also raised their longswords above their heads and charged downwards, enveloped in crimson energy. A hundred vampires followed along with them in their bat forms.

  What would happen when a vampire mob clashes with a carcass beetle swarm?

  The scene before our eyes gave us the perfect answer!

  At that moment, blood splashed in every direction, and severed limbs were everywhere. Chaos had swept over the battlefield in an instant.

  The vampires were at a disadvantage in the first wave of attacks!

  Their sharp fangs were utterly harmless when pitted against the armored shells of the carcass beetles. Meanwhile, their light and athletic bodies were frail and weak when exposed to the sharp limbs and monstrous pincers of the beetles.

  When both parties clashed in midair, only the eight Blood Knights managed to inflict damage. None of the other vampires succeeded in injuring the beetles. In fact, the carcass beetles' pincers had wounded several dozen of the vampires.

  The Bloody Sorceress herself was bathed in blood after personally leading the charge. Scores of cuts and slashes covered her pretty face and pale skin. Still, these external wounds didn't dampen her battle spirit. Rather, they caused her to become even more savage and enraged.

  When the carcass beetles had charged at her, her bloody claws had stabbed into the wicked mouths of two of the beetles. Her terrifying blood energy instantly corroded their insides and exterminated their lives. What she suffered in exchange were two bleeding and bloody hands!

  Her two arms looked as if they had gone through a grinder. Countless cuts of varying degrees were scattered all over them. It was hard to keep track of the number of injuries she had sustained at the moment she struck the beetles.

  Now that she had passed through the carcass beetles on the outside, Mary had to face the endless swarm of bugs and Acteon himself.

  His body had already merged with the insects. It was hard to tell which was his real body and which were the insects he controlled.

  "Kehkehkeh… want to kill me? Can you kill all of these? The entire swarm is my body and an extension of my will. If you want to kill me, you will have to kill every single one of these bugs. Kehkehkeh. Can you do it?" Acteon let out a maniacal hiss as he stood proudly amidst the swarm.

  "We'll know if I can do it once I try!"

  A cold light reflected in Mary's crimson eyes. She made a grabbing motion with her left hand, and a crimson longbow mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. She drew the bowstring with her right hand as a scarlet, crystalline arrow instantly formed on the bow.

  Peng.

  A sharp and explosive ring.

  The crimson arrow had been on the bowstring the previous second, and the very next, it had already appeared in Acteon's creeping chest.

  He looked down in shock.

  A short moment later, the ferocious blood energies within the arrow erupted. Red bloody mist immediately covered an area of five meters.

  This blood mist was different from the usual mist that had formed from blood. It possessed an astounding corrosive ability.

  Rustle.

  Bug corpses fell to the ground.

  The front of Acteon's body started to peel off. Everything that had been corroded by the blood mist fell to the ground. The beetle corpses formed a thick layer beneath his feet.

  However, a swarm of bugs instantly crawled onto his body and his missing parts were quickly reformed. He had just recovered when he was attacked.

  "I already said it. You cannot kill me!" Acteon raised his creeping face and showed a smile to Mary, who was standing twenty meters away, "You've had your turn, now it's mine."

  The moment he finished speaking, he raised his right hand. A hole collapsed in his palm. Countless tiny flying insects fired from his hand. They fell upon Mary like an ominous cloud.

  Mary was a vampire adept with incredible speed and agility in the first place. Such a slow attack would never hit her.

  Her body flashed, and a series of strange afterimages floated in the air. She appeared behind Acteon, fifteen meters away, like a phantom of the night. Another crimson arrow shot at her enemy.

  Weng. Weng. Weng.

  Mary demonstrated the prowess of her eight points of agility. She used her ghostly footwork to its limits and circled Acteon at her highest speed. She dodged the pursuing bugs and accurately put one crimson arrow into Acteon's body after another.

  The exploding blood mist always brought tremendous damage to Acteon. His body of bugs was continually missing pieces left and right. The pile of corpses had already covered his legs.

  However, Acteon ignored all this damage. He continued to let out those small flying insects. It was almost as if he wanted to cover the surrounding space with these flying bugs completely.

  Even Bloody Sorceress Mary couldn't entirely avoid these bugs with her speed. Once they reached a specific density, she would be unable to dodge them, regardless of which direction she went in.

  The crimson patterns on her armor repeatedly glowed and flashed. The flashes meant that it was enduring a countless number of attacks in a single instant. Individual bug bites might be so weak as to be harmless. However, it was hard to dismiss their attacks when a thick layer of them hung onto Mary's armor.

  She had no choice but to force her crimson energy to surge out every dozen seconds. The ferocious power would exterminate these annoying pests.

  However, the lack of blood offerings posed a severe limitation to Mary's regenerative ability. The wounds on her body were recovering at an exceedingly slow rate.

  The blood energy reserves within her body rapidly plummeted as well.

  The battle between the two adepts had turned into one of attrition with no swift conclusion in sight!

  Chapter 334 Hunter and Prey

  A chance!

  An unexpected chance at survival!

 
; Soros had no idea how this opportunity had presented itself before him.

  He only knew that his 'saviors,' the vampires, had suddenly entered the battle when he was at his limits against the carcass beetles!

  Just like that, the two group of monsters that had slaughtered countless knights started a bloody fight right before his eyes. It was a brutal and savage slaughter.

  Meanwhile, the pressure that Soros faced had considerably lessened. He didn't need to attack those monsters. They were already clashing like it was the end of the world. Neither group had time to pay attention to their prized prey.

  Soros could vaguely see the battle between the Bloody Sorceress and the Bug Demon in the distance. They were both weaker than him. However, the ferocity and recklessness of their struggle shocked even the Second Grade Soros.

  This battle wasn't a fight between humans, but a battle of monsters and demons!

  Tens of thousands of insects of various species surrounded the immortal Bug Demon. His body was composed of many such creepy-crawlies. He was able to recover his body within seconds after it was damaged.

  Soros couldn't believe the sight. He couldn't even imagine the torture and exhausting struggle he'd have suffered if he was the one fighting against the Bug Demon.

  That wasn't fighting against a single person. It was struggling against a massive swarm of bugs. Perhaps only the woman fighting against the monster could feel the real difference between the two things.

  Soros called her a 'woman,' but he had never considered her as such.

  There had never been a woman like her in Soros' memory. She had ghastly wounds scattered all over her body and blood covering every inch of her skin, yet she still recklessly charged through the swarm of insects.

  She wasn't a woman, but a nightmare. The nightmare of all witcher knights– Bloody Sorceress Mary!

  Several groups of bloodsucking bats fought with the tide of insects on the fringes of the battlefield. Eight Blood Knights that had lost their pride as human knights were battling with the carcass beetles besides Soros. And right in the middle of the battlefield was the showdown between the Bloody Sorceress and the Bug Demon of Terror.

  Soros was on the verge of a breakdown. He was, after all, surrounded by layer after layer of monsters.

  He didn't even dare to raise a hand against them; he might agitate the monsters into work together and exterminating him first. He had no way to endure attacks from all these creatures, even if he was a Second Grade knight.

  That said, waiting for the monsters to finish their fight wasn't a good idea either.

  It didn't matter which side obtained the final victory. Neither would share with the joy of victory with him.

  Thus, the exhausted Soros had no choice but to protect himself and slowly inch away from the battlefield with every opportunity he got.

  However, it wasn't that easy to avoid every single encounter in such a chaotic fight.

  Soros slipped up. An odd squeak came from beneath his feet. He had stepped on a palm-sized scorpion and crushed it. Only a pool of purple, viscous liquid and a minced bug corpse remained on the ground.

  This tiny mistake had instantly attracted two young carcass beetles towards him.

  He parried the beetles' pincers with his runic longsword as he retreated. In his panic, Soros ran into something.

  He turned back and silently lamented his fate when he saw what it was.

  Dammit, a vampire!

  This vampire was no stronger than an advanced apprentice. It was defending against a young carcass beetle with much difficulty. Wounds had appeared all over its body. It was clear that the vampire was at a disadvantage.

  It discovered Soros at that moment. It could sense the pulsing life energy from his body. The vampire instantly abandoned the fight and recklessly lunged at the human. The low-grade vampire opened its bloody mouth and revealed its sharp fangs as if it wanted to suck the blood out of Soros.

  Soros' resentment had reached its peak when faced with such an idiotic enemy.

  There were three young carcass beetles and one low-grade vampire. Soros could instantly destroy such weak enemies with a single hand with his eyes closed. Who would bother to 'play' with these idiots if it wasn't out of fear of attracting even more enemies!

  Soros waved his blade when faced with these fearless idiots. A single flash of his sword reduced the vampire to pieces.

  As expected, the vampire's death cry had brought about new problems for Soros. Two pseudo-adept level vampires lunged towards him, the knight responsible for the death of their brethren.

  Seeing as he could no longer remain unnoticed, Soros roared in his rage. Light surged about him and once again lit up his runic longsword. Ferocious runic energy instantly exterminated the monsters around him as he waved the sword. He immediately took the opportunity and dashed away.

  A pair of insects in his way? Death upon them!

  A swarm of bugs in his way? Death upon all of them!

  Vampires surging from every direction? Violent energy blades slashed in every direction. Death without exception!

  Soros no longer dared to hide any more of his power at this crucial point of life and death. He desperately called upon every last drop of runic energy in his body, gathering them to the tip of his sword and recklessly executing every enemy that came close to him.

  He did this until a fiery blood-red figure appeared before him!

  Soros instantly stopped his frantic slashing. His broad chest heaved. Large beads of sweat and pungent blood from unknown sources covered his bulging muscles.

  The Bloody Sorceress had appeared before him. She stood in his way, beating her wings and slowly descending from the skies.

  Soros hadn't previously managed to get a good look at Mary's condition due to the distance between them earlier. However, he had a perfect view now that they were only ten meters apart from each other.

  How terrible!

  What a truly terrible state!

  Mary once had an enviable figure and an incomparably beautiful face, but now…

  The thin blood mist that had surrounded her was no longer able to cover her body.

  Cuts and slashes of varying depths carved her delicate face. The wounds had turned green and purple, but oddly enough, not a single drop of blood had flowed out of the massive gashes. The once beautiful face had now turned into an ugly sight. So ugly that even Soros wanted to turn away in disgust.

  Mary's slim body had also been severely wounded. Grisly tears and cuts were everywhere. The tens of thousands of insects had bitten away at her crimson armor, riddling it with holes. The gear no longer served any protective purpose.

  But none of this truly mattered.

  What was even more shocking was the state of Mary's energy. Her pulsing and surging blood energy had reached its limits. It had almost been completely exhausted.

  Mary stood before Soros. Her blood red eyes fixated on him. Nothing could hide the thirst and greed in those eyes.

  It was frightening to be stared by such eyes!

  Even though Mary was only First Grade, and even though she was severely exhausted, Soros, a Second Grade Radiant Knight, still felt unknown fear rise in his heart when exposed to Mary's unreserved gaze!

  It was sometimes hard to determine the identity of the predator and the prey based solely on size and power!

  The two of them had only exchanged looks once. However, it was already clear as to who was the prey, and who was the predator.

  "Mary, did you think I would so easily let you consume blood and regenerate right before my eyes?" A bug swarm rose behind Soros. Acteon's peculiar body appeared, "We are both at our limits. However, I still have my body of bugs, and you still have your blood arrows. Let us continue! Let us see who will be the first to fall! As for replenishing on blood– don't even think about it!"

  The ground around Soros shattered as Acteon spat out his threats. Even more tiny beetles swarmed out from underground. For a moment, the place drowned in the sound of clatteri
ng of shells grinding against shells as the beetles fought to get out of the ground!

  Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! You two monsters can fight if you want to? Why are you gathering around me? Do you think I, a radiant knight, can easily be bullied into submission?

  The anger within Soros' heart at this moment was insurmountable.

  However, Mary the Bloody Sorceress stood before him, and Acteon the Bug Demon of Terror stood behind him. It didn't matter how furious he was. Soros could only suppress his emotions and wait in silence. He prepared to deal with any situation that might arise from the fight that was about to break out.

  After all, he was running out of runic energy as well!

  For a moment, all three powerful individuals froze on the spot.

  As a vampire, Mary would be able to restore all of her strength if she had an opportunity to take a single bite out of Soros. She would easily be able to crush that accursed bug with her renewed vigor. However, if Mary couldn't take down the Second Grade knight in a single instant, she'd have to endure the assault from Acteon. Even Mary, for all her reckless courage, didn't dare to imagine her tragic outcome if she had to simultaneously take on a Second Grade knight and the powerful Bug Demon!

  Evil Bugs Acteon could sense Mary's hesitation. A wicked smile appeared on his face.

  At this crucial moment, all three individuals sensed an abnormal disturbance in the air. They all raised their head and looked to the skies. Their expressions instantly changed.

  The bloodsucking bat that Vanlier had transformed into was gripping a muscular human knight in its claws. It hovered fifty meters in the air with great difficulty.

  "Master, I have brought you your food." Both the bat and the human started to fall just as he started speaking.

  After all, vampires weren't exactly known for their strength. It was difficult for a bat the size of a wash basin to drag a hundred-kilogram adult male across several hundreds of meters. This...this seemed exceptionally impossible no matter how you thought about it.

  However, none of the three had any time to think about anything else. The three had already moved on instinct when they saw the bat and the unconscious knight.