Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Adept Fügen's expression turned awkward yet solemn when faced with Greem's friendly invitation.

  After a moment of hesitation, Fügen finally spoke.

  "Adept Greem, given the fact that you have yet to sign a new contract of service with the clan after you advanced to Second Grade, I am here to give you special notice. You and your subordinates no longer belong to our Sarubo Clan!"

  Adept Fügen had used some sort of magic in his last sentence. It wasn't just the adepts present who could hear him speak. Even the adventurers and mercenaries who had fled to the woods and the apprentices and adepts within the tower could clearly hear his words.

  For a moment, numerous adepts and apprentices within Fire Throne gasped and drew in breaths of cold air.

  A commotion started to break out.

  A large group of vampires came to seek trouble, and the Sarubo Clan was kicking Greem out of their door. This time, a disaster had fallen upon Fire Throne! Could they, as members of Fire Throne, survive this calamity?

  No one would compromise when it came to the matter of their own lives.

  Greem could sense Fire Throne turning into a bubbling volcano. All sorts of angered and pessimistic emotions erupted and were directed at him, the owner of the tower.

  Of course, the greatest backlash came from the staying adepts.

  They were not core adepts of Fire Throne in the first place. They had only chosen to stay here as staying adepts for the welfare benefits they could get here. Naturally, they were the ones with the most unstable emotions when faced with the calamity descending upon the tower.

  There was no way they would agree to fight with the Vik vampires for the sake of Fire Throne.

  Greem immediately received countless resignation requests from inside the tower through the control crystal. There were adepts, as well as apprentices, potions masters, herbalists, tamers, skinners, and tanners.

  Some of the more impatient fellows didn't even wait for Greem's reply and quickly left after packing their belongings.

  A short moment later, a horde of people swarmed out of Fire Cave. They bowed before Greem, Gargamel, and all the other vampires, shouting 'I am not a member of the tower,' before scattering and taking to the woods.

  Gargamel saw plenty of familiar faces in the crowd.

  These staying adepts had never stopped fawning before him, the deputy owner of the tower, all for the sake of resources and benefits. Yet now, when Fire Throne faced a crisis, they were the fastest to run.

  Gargamel paid particular attention to the staying adepts, but Greem's focus was on a strange figure mixed amongst the crowd.

  That person didn't run into the woods nearby like the rest after exiting Fire Cave. Instead, he took to the skies and slowly flew to Fügen's side.

  He might have been cloaked in black robes and had his hood pulled down, but Greem could still recognize him by his familiar soul flux.

  Am!

  A stationed adept of Fire Throne.

  One of Greem's oldest disciples.

  His behavior right now indicated his true identity.

  It seemed the Sarubo Clan's precautions and monitoring against Greem had already started when he had returned from the Knight's Plane. Am was a patient person as well to have stayed undercover by Greem's side for so long.

  Given that to be the case, it was evident that Adept Am was the one responsible for the Sarubo Clan having such a clear grasp of the happenings within Fire Throne!

  For a moment, Greem and Gargamel were like two stubborn rocks in a river, standing still as many adepts, apprentices, and craftsmen swarmed out of Fire Cave and escaped into the woods.

  Their proud figures appeared to be so lonely and desolate!

  Haines, who remained casually seated in his black chair, lightly shook the wineglass in his hand. A cold and disdainful smile appeared on his pale and sharp face.

  It was an atmosphere he had intentionally manufactured, the sole purpose of which was to make Greem feel the pain of betrayal and the agony of defeat before he died.

  That was the only way he could pay Greem back for the great shame of destroying a manor within Vik territory!

  Leicester, who was involved in the matter as well, also let out a sinister laugh.

  The excellent talent of that female vampire had kept him up at night ever since the incident at Rose Manor half a month ago. If she were allowed to continue growing at this rate, a bloodline backlash would become a definite reality in the future.

  That was why Leicester had to use the family's strength to exterminate this threat, even at the cost of his reputation.

  Consequently, Leicester had undoubtedly been the most anxious amidst the vampires when the horde of people left Fire Throne. He opened his crimson eyes wide, continually scanning the crowd out of fear that the female vampire would escape along with them.

  Adept Fügen, who silently hovered in the air, was undoubtedly the most awkward person here.

  He might not disagree with Lady Sanazar's decision, but he thought it too rash and heartless.

  Indeed, it hadn't been easy to deal with Haines and his horde of subordinates when they came knocking at the door of Feidnan tower, but they shouldn't be abandoning a Second Grade adept just because of this!

  The Sarubo leaders might have many conflicts with Greem that had been brewing since long ago, but these were unknown to the outside world. It didn't matter how official and legitimate of a reason Fügen was giving for their decision, this looked like the Sarubo Clan mercilessly abandoning a high-grade adept of their own.

  It was a severe blow to the reputation of the Sarubo Clan!

  Moreover, Fügen's understanding of Greem gave him a feeling that he wasn't a brainless idiot who would orchestrate his own death. Greem must have some way of dealing with the crisis, given the fact that he dared provoke a vampire family headed by a Third Grade vampire in the first place.

  Honestly, even if the Sarubos cut off all possibility of help and severed their ties with Greem, just the Fire Throne tower beneath them made it impossible for the vampires to exterminate Greem and his forces in a single attack.

  The might of a powerful adept supported by his adept's tower was far beyond the limits of everyone's imaginations. Greem himself might not be able to fight the Third Grade Haines, but it was difficult for the vampires to conquer the tower if he chose to turtle within it.

  The most likely scenario was a stalemate after a bloody battle.

  The vampires would probably blockade Fire Throne and cut off all means of help and reinforcement. Greem, and what few adepts he had left, would be trapped in an isolated tower. The vampires might not be able to make their way in, but they would also be caught in a rut with no resources or food to speak of.

  When that happened, and Greem and the others had nowhere to go, they would have to turn to Lady Sanazar and sign even harsher terms of servitude in exchange for help.

  Then the Sarubo Clan would enter the conflict once more as intermediaries. They might need to pay some resources to resolve the issue, but they would be able to fold a Second Grade adept and his subordinate forces under their wing once more.

  A Second Grade adept whose ambition had been whittled away, and became an obedient subordinate. Even Lady Sanazar would laugh in her sleep if she managed to get her hands on such a person!

  "You… are Greem, that fire adept?" Haines finally opened his mouth to ask after taking a long sip of the blood wine in his hands.

  His dominant aura pressed against Greem like a massive wave, affecting the fire adept on multiple levels, including the mind, soul, and reality itself.

  The prideful Greem took a step forward and used his broad shoulders to cover for Gargamel.

  The layer of light around him shone brightly and clashed with the invading spiritual pressure.

  The spiritual pressure was intangible, but Haines powerful Spirit caused it to manifest itself in reality as if it had physical weight and substance. Greem might have been able to resist this pressure
with the flame barrier cast on him by the tower, but the earth around him couldn't endure the force of a Third Grade vampire adept. The ground sank over half an inch downward.

  From an outsider's perspective, it looked as if Greem had suddenly shortened by half an inch!

  Greem's heart trembled slightly.

  The vampires were not creatures known for their Spirit. If even Haines had such fearsome spiritual pressure, how powerful would the Spirits of elementium adepts and other more spiritual adepts be?

  This frightened Greem. Things had gone too well for him recently.

  The grade differentiation in the World of Adepts was the real deal. The power difference between each Grade was often a difference of more than ten times, and his power was still a far way off from a Third Grade adept.

  "I am sincerely sorry about the tragedy that occurred in Rose Manor half a month ago. If you, sir, would allow for it, I hope to compensate for the loss of your family at an appropriate price." Greem calmly expressed his suggestion, even when faced with a Third Grade adept.

  "Compensate? Kehkehekh." Third Grade Adept Haines was the first to laugh, followed by all the other adepts, as if they had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

  "Then pay with your lives."

  Third Grade Haines let out a scream, and all the vampires took to the skies, lunging at Greem and Gargamel like a crimson cloud.

  The two Second Grade vampires, Toril and Leicester, led the charge, flying at the forefront of the many First Grade vampires.

  "You go back and direct the tower. I will take care of the rest here!"

  As expected of the leader of his own faction, Greem remained calm and steady in this critical situation. He turned one hand and pushed Gargamel into a door of fire that opened behind them while opening his other palm and summoning a strange staff into his hand.

  Wall of Demonic Flame!

  Flame Halo of Repulsion!

  Two defensive fire spells exploded in front of Greem as he let out a grunt. All the attacking vampires were engulfed in the spells.

  The battle had finally broken out!

  Chapter 562 Might of a Third Grade

  My base. My initiative!

  Elementium adepts excelled at violent elementium attacks, while vampires were more akin to phantoms roaming a battlefield.

  It might appear as if the two Second Grade vampires had an overwhelming advantage when simultaneously challenging a single Second Grade fire adept. However, the truth was exactly the opposite. It was the lonesome Greem who used his rapid and ferocious fire spells to blast the Second Grade vampires and forced them to move around him, not daring to stop for a single second.

  The reason a situation like this had occurred was mostly due to the blessing of Fire Throne.

  Fire Throne was an adept's tower that belonged only to Greem; he had absolute authority over the tower. Fire Throne's flame barrier could be projected to any spot within five kilometers of the tower. That meant that Greem practically didn't need to worry about defense during combat.

  The two Second Grade vampires could only sit on their hands and run from his attacks if they were unable to break through the flame barrier. Even if they braved Greem's fierce bombardment and closed in for an attack, it would only be negated by the flame barrier that projected from Greem's body.

  The two vampries would need to increase their instantaneous offensive power beyond the defensive limits of the flame barrier if they wanted to hurt Greem himself. Otherwise, their periodic attacks would never be able to match the regeneration of the flame barrier. They would never be able to harm Greem, even if they attacked in this manner for a hundred thousand years.

  That is, unless the tower's elementium energy reserves were exhausted!

  The reason the adepts of the World of Adepts loved to construct adept's towers was this powerful combat-support ability of the towers. Trying to conquer an adept's tower without offensive power ten times that of the tower's defense was no more than a fantasy.

  Think about it. How were the first adepts in the ancient past that had yet to mature to their fullest strength able to survive the endless tide of monsters and demons? They had relied on these impenetrable adept's towers and the combined might of all the stationed adepts.

  And today, Greem relied on the support of the tower and forcefully endured the attacks of two vampires of his grade. It was an indirect display of the power of adept's towers!

  The fight between Second Grade adepts was genuinely frightening. There was no room for those First Grade vampire Viscounts to intervene.

  The other eleven vampire Viscounts took to the skies, whistling through the air as they turned and dashed toward Fire Cave like bolts of lightning.

  The defensive strength of the tower was sure to weaken now that its owner was being kept here by the two Counts. They might not be able to make much progress in attacking the adept's tower, but it might create more trouble for the fire adept and distract him with crises happening on both ends.

  The eleven vampires dove into Fire Cave. Before they had even gotten a grasp of the situation, a ferocious tide of lightning drove them out again.

  Nine crimson silhouettes shot out of the cave, turning into red bats and circling in the air above Fire Cave.

  The other two shadows that had fallen behind were shrouded in blinding blue electricity. They turned into ashes amidst pained cries and howls before they could even escape the web of electricity. A tall, mighty creature that resembled a centaur charged out of the cave, waving his crackling electric spear as he blocked the way into the cave.

  It had bright blue scales the size of bowls, thick and powerful dragon claws, unmatched draconic strength, and that pulsating power of electricity around him.

  Haines, who was casually watching the battle from behind, frowned. The blood wine in his glass trembled slightly.

  Not a centaur. A dragonborn.

  Moreover, it was a Second Grade lightning-attribute dragonborn with a fairly pure bloodline.

  Where did Greem pick up such a high-class specimen of another race?

  Adept Fügen's expression also froze. He couldn't help but turn and look at Adept Am.

  "Sir, I have never before seen this dragonborn in the tower! He…he probably showed up a few days ago." Am could perfectly sense the rage in Fügen's glare.

  A mysterious Second Grade powerhouse. Such important information, yet he had failed even to obtain any knowledge about it. It was an intolerable mistake for any spy.

  If Lady Sanazar had known ahead of time Greem's ability to call for such a powerful ally, she would most definitely have reconsidered her decision to abandon Greem.

  While the adepts were engulfed in their own thoughts, the nine First Grade vampires shrieked and charged into the nearby woods. They returned a short moment later, holding one or two unconscious human mercenaries in their hands.

  They quickly gathered together and formed a circle before simultaneously tearing the human mercenaries in their hands into two halves. They then started chanting a strange spell while the blood splashed everywhere.

  A red halo flashed through the air, and the two carbonized vampires mysteriously emerged from the blood mist in the air. They appeared to be no different from before, apart from their complexions being a little paler and their auras being slightly weaker.

  That was probably an alternative sort of secret revival technique of the vampire family!

  The adepts present couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh when they saw this happen.

  No wonder these vampire families could pass down their legacies for thousands upon thousands of years. Disregarding everything else, this secret revival technique was not something that an ordinary adept clan would be able to accomplish. It was hardly surprising why the vampires fought with such recklessness and ferocity in combat when they had such a revival technique in their hands.

  The vampires sent out a combination of eleven vampire Viscounts (First Grade) and two vampire Counts (Second Grade), while t
he opponent had also revealed two Second Grade powerhouses. If one were to compare them in terms of raw power, the vampires no longer possessed any sort of advantage over Greem and his faction. If one were to take into consideration the support and help of the tower, the Vik Family was very likely to be the one to lose out in the fight.

  The appearance of the Second Grade Dragonborn was undoubtedly the most critical turn of events on the battlefield. His appearance directly changed the disparity between the strength of both parties, as well as everyone's prediction for the outcome of the battle.

  The Vik Family had brought out more than half of all their active military force. Their reputation over the past few thousand years would be besmirched if they, an ancient vampire family whose legacy stretched as far back as several thousand years, failed to defeat a fire adept that had just advanced six months ago under such circumstances.

  When that happened, all adept clans within the Zhentarim area would see them as weaklings. They would pounce upon the Viks in hopes of tearing a piece of flesh from their body.

  That was why Marquis Haines could no longer sit still upon seeing the turn of tides!

  He let out no battle cry or warning. A beam of crimson light stretched out across the battlefield and Haines instantly appeared beside Greem; he waved his claws in succession. The few weightless strikes immediately caused the flame barrier to tremble intensely.

  The Chip's alarms blared and went off in Greem's mind.

  [Beep. Flame Barrier has been attacked by an external force. Defensive power reduced by 13%.]

  [Beep. Flame Barrier has been attacked by an external force. Defensive power reduced by 11%.]

  [Beep. Flame Barrier has been attacked by an external force. Defensive power reduced by 15%.]

  ……

  The chain of warnings constantly rang out. The flame barrier being projected by Fire Throne was also weakening rapidly. An endless stream of fire energy was still being sent over by the tower, but it couldn't keep up with the speed and ferocity of the enemy's attacks.

  [Beep. Flame Barrier has been attacked by an external force. Defensive power below 30%. Shattering imminent.]