Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  "XX kilometers to the southwest…

  "XX kilometers to the northeast…"

  Greem and Alice listened without interrupting They imprinted every word of what Naia said into their minds. Alice might have been born here, but she was brought out of the Northern Lands when she was very young. Most of her memories of this place were vague and unclear.

  Now that she heard all this again, her memories began to rush back to her.

  When Naia finished, Greem took out a map of the Northern Lands. He had Naia mark out the locations of all the witch cottages that she knew of. He then nodded in satisfaction as he kept the map.

  Alice took out ten magical crystals and passed them to Naia. The apprentice received them with a massive smile on her face.

  With her abilities as an intermediate apprentice, she had earned no more than eight magical crystals, even after following and guarding this small merchant group for a dozen days. The fact that she could get ten magical crystals worth of income by having a simple conversation made her extremely happy.

  It was then that Greem frowned. He turned his head towards the southeast.

  He looked at Alice. The two communicated with their eyes and stood up simultaneously.

  "Tell the people not to take a single step out of this campsite tonight. Do not go out and investigate, regardless of the commotion. Pass this to the merchants; this will be our payment for the dinner!" Alice took out yet another two crystals and tossed them towards Naia. She then turned and disappeared silently into the curtain of the night along with Greem.

  Naia's heart beat furiously. She held the magical crystals in her hand as she looked in the direction the adepts had disappeared. She had a vague feeling that tonight was not going to be a peaceful night!

  Chapter 350 The Promised Battle

  Both parties agreed to set the location of the battle one kilometer southeast of the campsite.

  At that spot was an empty and unpopulated grass field.

  The siblings were already waiting when Greem and Alice finally arrived.

  "You keep your promises, as expected." The brother took off his hood and revealed those strange and completely black eyes, "These are the Northern Lands. Killing without discretion will cause us to be hunted by the witches. This spot is the perfect place to settle our problems since there is no one here!"

  After three months of traveling as a group, both parties had some understanding of each other. Though it was impossible to find out more about their secrets, they still had a basic idea of each other's powers.

  In the eyes of the siblings, Greem was purely a fire adept. He was even the sort of person who would choose fire as his elementium mastery. This choice undoubtedly made his attacks even more devastating, but it also made him a priority target for his enemies. On the other hand, the girl known as Alice had no combat ability whatsoever. She only had some auxiliary support means to protect herself.

  Greem and Alice had also figured out the abilities and identities of this pair of siblings.

  The brother was Bill. He had only advanced a dozen years ago and was a no-name adept that specialized in physical modifications. He had replaced his original organs with magical ones he had found in his travels to strengthen himself. Consequently, he possessed some unique abilities that were similar to those of magical beasts.

  His pitch-black eyes were what was known as the 'Eyes of Shadows.' These eyes were capable of subtly turning shadow substance and darkness into terrifying shadow creatures. Moreover, after undergoing the process of modification, his body possessed immense strength, high agility, and a shocking Physique.

  But no-names were no-names for a reason!

  It didn't matter if he used organ transplanting and modifications to make himself to be stronger than an ordinary adept. It didn't change the fact that most of his magical organs contradicted and clashed with each other as well as the host body. There was a thick tension between all these parts at the very source of their existence that was extremely hard to mediate and neutralize.

  It was a foolish path of strengthening the current self while giving up on future developments!

  The sister that had tried to seduce Greem was called Amanda. She was a potions master that specialized in herbology. She was good at brewing all sorts of potions.

  Alice couldn't help but sinisterly laugh when she saw that the two enemies had arrived, "Why are there only two of you? Didn't you come here as a trio? Ask that other witch to come out as well, will you?"

  The siblings looked at each other. Amanda shook her head and bitterly smiled as she said, "We know each other a little too well. As expected, it's hard to keep anything from you. Doris, come out! Let these two fellows witness our true power!"

  As she shouted, a lonely silhouette walked out from the trees behind Greem and Alice. It was the witch that had left the merchant group before the other two parties.

  "Quite smart, aren't you people?" Alice couldn't help but mock them, "You knew we were more powerful than you and learned how to cooperate. Wow! What is it? Do you intend to play rock-paper-scissors to split the spoils after beating us? Let me guess. You will be the one to lose!"

  Alice pointed at Doris, who traveled alone.

  "Hmph! No need for any of your tricks to drive us apart! We have already discussed this and signed a contract of cooperation. We will never attack each other until you are dead!" Amanda snorted coldly, "Who knew? A weak little shit like yourself with no combat ability whatsoever was assessed to be one of the three most promising candidates. I'm not even sure whether to laugh at them for their foolishness or to laugh at fate's joke! It doesn't matter. Today, you must die!"

  "Well then, why are we still talking?! Let's start, quick!" Alice shouted as she tossed out a blinding red crystal.

  The next second, the domineering body of the Infernal Tyrant appeared in the field, shrouded with blazing flames.

  The air instantly started to become intolerably warm!

  The male adept named Bill looked at Greem and betrayed a sinister smile, "You are very brave… but not very wise!"

  The black vortex in his eyes spun as the shadows beneath Greem and Alice started to distort. Ferocious silhouettes climbed out of their shadows and lunged at them.

  Adept Bill's black eyes continued to flash as he summoned more and more shadow creatures to attack his opponents. Of course, he had no intention of placing all his hopes on these shadow creatures alone. He let out a resounding roar as dense black fur quickly started to grow all over his body and face.

  He turned into a black panther standing on its feet within a matter of two to three seconds. His claws gleamed with the unique blue glow of elementium poison. He roared and charged at Greem and Alice.

  Potion Master Amanda wasn't idling either. Her fingers started to move as she threw several small vials into the battlefield. The bottles then exploded, and strange liquid splashed everywhere.

  This viscous liquid started to gather together as if it had consciousness. Four human-sized creatures climbed up from the ground. Most of their body was semi-translucent viscous liquid. The inside of the body, on the other hand, had leaves, sand, pebbles, and even worms trapped within.

  They had a head, torso, and four limbs, like any other ordinary human being. That said, there were no facial features. Nor were there any genitalia on their bodies.

  They marched towards Alice with heavy footsteps the moment they got up from the ground. As they advanced, they slung several pungent corrosive balls at their target.

  A few other vials had been tossed near Alice. Strange gray halos emerged from the bottles, quickly polluting Alice's mental world a dull gray color.

  Doris, on the other hand, stood silently behind Greem and Alice. It seemed her job was only to prevent the two from running away. She didn't intend to engage in the battle.

  Greem didn't intend to continue hiding his power now that the enemy had moved.

  The three adepts might have outnumbered them, but in the end, two of them were only
newly advanced adepts that had just advanced in the last three years. Moreover, only Adept Bill's abilities were at the level of a veteran adept, at the very best.

  Greem himself, on the other hand, was an existence powerful enough to execute elite adepts!

  "Yamituo, flames, the lost foot… "

  It was almost as if an invisible volcano had erupted within Greem's body as he chanted the crisp and brief lines of his spells. Massive amounts of fire elementium didn't gather from the outside, but instead emerged from within his body. The bright red flames ignited everything around him. Greem's body also started to swell and increase in size as the tide of fire grew in size and intensity.

  His two-meter tall body already towered over most adepts. With the torrent of flame energy, Greem instantly became a four-meter giant of flames. A sea of fire elementium solidified on the surface of his body and turned into an armor of flame.

  Beng. Beng. Beng.

  Four Inferno Shields made of solidified flames materialized, one-meter wide and two meters tall. They spun around Greem's massive body.

  That wasn't the end of it!

  A red flame barrier started to extend outwards, with Greem as the center. It completely enveloped an area of two hundred and fifty meters in the blink of an eye. Everything inside the zone started to burn under the ravaging of heat and fire.

  The first to endure its effects were the siblings.

  The various shadow creatures that had emerged from Greem's shadow had their fragile bodies burned to ashes before they could even attack. The transformed Bill turned into a black flash of light and bypassed Greem's Inferno Shield, even though the air had been distorted and turned red from the fires around Greem.

  Pupu.

  Two muffled explosions.

  Bill's sharp claws wholly destroyed two blazing Inferno Shields, causing them to explode into sparks of fire.

  Bill grunted and appeared a hundred meters away. He glared at Greem with hatred in his eyes. Large patches of burns had surfaced all over his black body.

  A wicked and hateful expression appeared on Bill's long face when he witnessed the power of Greem's fire magic. He used his claws to take out a red crystal leaf from his pouch. He stuffed the leaf into his mouth and swallowed it as quickly as he could. A light that repelled fire instantly blasted out from his body.

  His body already possessed some degree of elementium resistance. Now, with the added effects of the fire-dragon herb, Bill's fire resistance had increased exponentially. He no longer feared that ubiquitous Ring of Fire.

  He could feel the fire poison within his body quickly being expelled. The scorching air that suffocated him had also turned into a warm breeze. Bill put on a wicked smile as he bent his body. His thick and powerful hind legs kicked against the scorched earth. Once again, his entire being turned into a black flash of light as he lunged towards Greem.

  A fifty-centimeter crater had been left behind where he had kicked the ground. Frightening cracks spiderwebbed the earth. This destruction alone was enough to demonstrate how much Strength and Physique Bill had in his transformed state!

  "Fool, are you still dreaming of fighting against all three of us alone? After turning into a beast, I have Strength equal to body-refining adepts. Today, I will… " Bill wildly shouted as he spun around Greem and repeatedly shattered his Inferno Shields.

  Before Bill could even finish his sentence, Greem's massive hand of flame had dug into the ground. An enormous Lava Shield formed in the boiling lava, which Greem swung and smashed into Bill's face.

  A muffled boom.

  Bill couldn't stop the momentum. The Lava Shield shattered on his head. His entire body fell to the ground and flew almost forty meters away.

  He finally got up after much difficulty and pulled his bloody face out of the muddy ground. His nose started to bleed now that dirt no longer stuffed it. His broad nose was also broken in three or four places.

  Dammit, what was going on?! Why did that person's strength and speed suddenly increase by so much?

  Bill furiously spat away the dirt in his mouth. He was shocked to find two bloody fangs mixed with the earth.

  Bastard! He knocked my teeth out!

  Chapter 351 Display of Powers

  The black panther crouched on the ground. Bill's stomach pressed against the earth as he roared angrily.

  But he didn't dare to charge forward.

  Just now;

  Just then;

  This terrifying being of flames that Bill thought he had correctly understood had conjured up a frightening surge of power. Its increased Strength and Agility hastened its clumsy and dull actions. It had suddenly gained power that it didn't previously possess and smacked him away with a hilariously heavy Lava Shield.

  If it wasn't for the great Physique he gained from his transformation, that blow alone would have been enough to crush his skull and kill him.

  The wound on his face was significant, but his regenerative speed, coupled with his eight points of Physique, was still extremely decent.

  Bill roared once again. The fur on his paws started to disappear. His claws once again turned into human hands.

  Bill endured the intense pain and snapped the shattered and twisted pieces of his nose back into place with his hands. With his powerful regeneration, the injuries on his face healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

  Self-regeneration like this was extremely useful, but the pain he had to endure was also higher than if he had let it be.

  Bill let out another resounding roar once he healed. Thick black fur filled his hands once again as sharply curved claws grew out.

  The black panther paused for a moment before drawing strength into his limbs. Once more, he turned into a black shadow and sprinted around Greem.

  Greem's Flame Fiend form might have been massive, but it wasn't clumsy. With the power of the pure fire energy surging from the Flame Fiend's Heart driving his body, and the increased attribute to strengthen his blows, the four-meter giant fought with the black panther as if he was an apocalyptic demon from hell. On the one hand, he wielded the thick Lava Shield, and on the other, he brandished a twelve-meter long flame whip.

  The terrifying power of the transformed fire adept caught all three adepts by surprise.

  After all, their divination powers were only enough to see through Greem's surface abilities. They were far from able to figure out all of his hidden cards!

  On the other side of the battlefield, Amanda was screaming at Doris as she evaded the pursuit of the Infernal Tyrant.

  "Go and help him, bitch! Do you want all three of us to die here?"

  The spectating Doris couldn't help but twitch at the curses hurled at her. Even though she wanted her two 'allies' to be a little more beaten up, Amanda was right. Their plan of killing Alice would go up in flames the moment Bill faltered in his fight against the fire adept.

  That was not a price that the two witches were willing to pay!

  If Alice was acknowledged as one of the three most likely candidates for the Witch of Fate, then the blessing she had from fate was most definitely stronger than either of theirs. This was not a situation they could stand!

  Even though Doris didn't have a 'brother' that listened to her every whim and desire, her fortune was no weaker than Amanda's. As long as they could kill the more powerful Alice and turn it into a duel between the two of them, Doris believed herself to have a decent chance of winning.

  Doris lifted her head and looked at the battlefield, then shook her black robe. She extended a right hand filled with mysterious runic lines, and her fingers started to wave. An invisible ripple spread through the air as she softly chanted the profound words of her spell. The ripples made their way towards the Flame Fiend, who was furiously chasing after the Black Panther.

  Greem brandished the flame whip about and smashed the scorched earth into pieces with every blow. As the black panther was just a little too fast, none of the lightning-quick strikes could catch its shape. All of them missed and hit the
ground instead.

  Still, the agile black panther didn't dare pause for a moment. Bill constantly had to change positions and dodge. Even a slight delay would allow the flame whip to hit his body. The monstrous pain was only a secondary concern. The scarier possibility was the decrease in his speed.

  That was because a decrease in speed would mean he would have to face a shield slam from the Flame Fiend. A shield attack with a Lava Shield that was as thick as a city wall.

  Dammit, that wasn't a shield! That was a hill burning with flames. Even he would have his bones snapped and broken if it hit him. It would hurt so much.

  The invisible ripples finally reached Greem.

  The Ring of Fire was utterly ineffective against the ripple. It did nothing to stop it. The situation was the same for the Lava Shield and the Inferno Shield. Even Greem's flame body couldn't prevent the ripples from entering his body.

  Greem's vision blurred. The black panther that had been running away from him suddenly split into two and ran in different directions. While he was still stunned by the change, the fleeing panthers once again divided into a total of four.

  All four Panthers roared in unison and simultaneously turned to charge at Greem.

  Greem waved his whip with all his strength. The flames instantly shattered two of the panther projections. The shield in his other hand had only barely raised up when air rippled across his left ribs and shoulder. Lava blood emitting intense heat spilled from the wounds.

  Greem stomped his feet in anger. Countless pillars of lava rose around him. He took the opportunity to crouch and cover himself with the Lava Shield. Meanwhile, he scooped up a large handful of magma from the pool of lava beneath him and used it to seal his wounds.

  "What's going on? Is it an illusion or some sort of cloning ability? Chip, scan, quickly." Greem silently roared in his heart as he treated his wounds.

  "Beep. Unknown forcefield flux detected. Source of power is three hundred and sixteen meters behind the host. Forcefield flux will continuously affect host's spatial senses. Recommend removal of forcefield source as soon as possible."