Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  The dragon lords only ever ventured out to play, or just chose to stay at home to sleep. They never thought about the spreading of the dragon civilization. That was why the local natives were still living lives as rough, uneducated, starving, and freezing primitive people, even after a thousand years of the dragons' rule.

  Not a single place in Lance could feel the warmth of civilization!

  The Year 1723, Month 4, Day 11 of the Draconic Calendar.

  It was a mysterious day that was fated never to be forgotten by people.

  A large light door of teleportation slowly opened in a vast swamp that stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers.

  Silhouettes flashed in front of the door, and the faint figure of a tall person slowly became clear.

  The man was half-man and half-dragon. His upper body looked like an adult male in golden bronze armor. The man held an electric spear in his hand. His lower half had four thick limbs covered with bright blue scales, and terrifying dragon claws rested at the end of each leg.

  The dragonborn dragged a thick, slightly flat dragon's tail along the ground behind it. Beautiful and tough scales covered the tail as well.

  Here in Lance, the Dragonborn practically represented rulers who murdered and robbed as they wished.

  A First Grade dragonborn could easily use his powerful body and fearsome elementium powers to slaughter a primitive tribe of over a few hundred trolls. A Second Grade dragonborn like Zacha could be worshipped as a messenger of the dragons, even if he went to large troll tribes of over tens of thousands in population.

  As such, the vulturous beasts and hunters hiding in the nearby waters quickly fled in fear when they saw Zacha's easily recognizable dragonborn body.

  The one thing that native tribes like these feared the most was the sight of a dragon messenger.

  The arrival of a dragon messenger meant that the wealth of the tribe that had been accumulated over the past year, and even the past few years, would all go to waste. These dragonborn messengers were often excessively muscular but mentally simplistic creatures. They had no objective concept of numbers.

  They would randomly walk about the territory, forcing any tribe they met to give up all their resources: food, metal ores, magic gemstones, mysterious treasures. The amount they had to hand over? It would just be any random number that the dragonborn came up with.

  If it was only something like five hundred kilograms of various jerkies, then the tribe being extorted might still be able to cough it up if they tightened their belts. However, if the messenger simply said something like five hundred kilograms of magic gemstones, the tribe would be in deep trouble. They would never be able to amass such a terrifying sum, even if they smashed their pots and sold them as scrap metal.

  As such, appealing to the dragon messengers became the only way for a tribe to continue living. Killing a dragon messenger and rebelling against the tyranny of the dragons was a thought that had best remain only in their minds. If someone couldn't suppress their emotions and struck a messenger, then what awaited them would be the full force extermination and genocide of the dragonborn army.

  Zacha quickly scouted the area as he moved through the humid swamp with his heavy footsteps.

  Zacha's every step in the silt where rotting matter resided would cause dirt and pungent black water to splash in every direction. Black puddles and a persistent fog was visible everywhere.

  Everything slightly further away in the distance was all cloaked in a thin veil of mist, making it hard to see clearly.

  The genuinely relaxing feeling of returning to the plane he came from made Zacha incredibly happy. However, he felt his heart weigh heavy when he remembered the task he bore upon his shoulders. It felt as if walking became that much harder.

  No traitors had ever appeared amongst the dragonborn, who saw loyalty as the only creed in their lives. They would sooner lose their lives than lose their pride and glory as dragonborn.

  Yet, as a dragonborn slave subordinate to Thunder Dragon Lord Arms, he had been given away by his master to a human adept. This unprecedented event made Zacha remarkably lost and confused.

  Who was it that he was supposed to be loyal to?

  The dragon lord that had bestowed upon him his bloodline? Or the human adept that possessed his soul contract?

  Zacha's soul was lost!

  He was thinking, searching for an answer.

  Before he could come to an answer, his new master had sent him back to his home that he had been thinking of, even in his dreams.

  Zacha felt a sense of relaxation and ease as he took in the pungent air of the swamp, even though it was a completely different environment from Lord Arms' lands.

  Zacha allowed his feelings to run free for a moment before finally returning to the teleportation door with heavy footsteps. He sent out an 'all clear' signal to the door according to the plan.

  Fifteen minutes later, ripples appeared on the door of light, so much so that it seemed almost like the sea itself. An incomparably massive metal monster huddled up and squeezed itself out of the narrow teleportation space.

  The size of the metal monster was still far, far, far too big for the ten-meter tall teleportation door.

  It had already tried its best to compress its body, even going as far as to distort its metal body into a metal monster that resembled a soft squid. It was still this difficult and painful to go through the door of light.

  Its massive body would split apart the planar space if he used just a bit too much strength, causing violent spatial gusts to appear.

  Several flashing spatial shards gathered around the metal monster, continually devouring its metal body. Some of the more substantial spatial rifts roamed about, dicing the thick metal shell of the metal monster to pieces wherever it went. The metal didn't even last a single second.

  However, despite the difficulty of the journey, the metal monster was still squeezing its way into Lance without any hesitation.

  The metal monster took an entire three hours before finally emerging from that cracking teleportation door. Zacha had been keeping guard and making sure no enemies would interrupt the process.

  This barbaric action had also caused indescribable damage to the metal monster.

  Just the parts sliced up and devoured by the spatial rifts took up over 31% of its body.

  The teleportation door finally shattered into bright spots of light and vanished the moment the metal monster dragged its damaged body out of the gate.

  The next second, Gazlowe, Greem, Endor, Billis, Deserra, Dana, and the other adepts all grunted in unison, even as they remained hidden within the metal monster. They all felt the endless hostility from this world.

  The planar suppression descended upon them without another word!

  Lance was small in terms of area. It was a classic small-sized plane among the tens of thousands of planar worlds. However, the magic aura here was extremely lively. It was apparent that it had a high-magic environment.

  The dragons had probably taken much care to change the planar laws of this world upon conquering it. They had created a nearly perfect backyard for the dragons. Otherwise, Lance would never have had such a powerful magical aura with its world level.

  As the main offense sent by the Crimson Clan to Lance, all the adepts including Gazlowe were severely weakened. They were almost incapable of providing any combat support before they slowly adapted to the planar laws here.

  However, the metal body that Brain Monster Gazlowe controlled was not amongst the list of those affected by planar suppression.

  After quickly retrieving some metal shards that could still be used, the metal monster walked into the mist and toward the southwest with Zacha in the lead.

  Chapter 573 Stonetalon Mountains

  "This should be the legendary Swamp of Sorrows!"

  "If we go north from here, we should arrive at the Dragon Mountains in five day's time. That's where the den of Third Grade Dragon Lord Ugern is located."

  "If we
go east, we will arrive in Fourth Grade Dragon Lord Ihuarraquax's land in eleven days."

  "If we go south, we will reach Third Grade Dragon Lord Cozarta's land in eight days."

  "The reason we have been walking southwest is that the Dragon Lords to the west and south of the Swamp of Sorrows are all either Second Grade or Third Grade. Their overall strength is much weaker than those of the other directions."

  At this moment, the metal monster had already transformed into the appearance of a spider golem under Gazlowe's control. The spider golem dashed toward the southwest of the Swamp of Sorrows with its heavy footsteps, creating a pond with every single step it made.

  The massive metal spider had provoked countless swamp species and native magical creatures along the way.

  They were all chasing behind the metal spider or lunging and biting at its three-meter-thick metal limbs.

  Under Greem's strict orders, Gazlowe did not retaliate against these foolish lower lifeforms. He merely continued to walk down the path, passing through the dens and shelters of countless swamp creatures.

  With the help of Zacha, the lands that the metal spider passed through were all unowned wild lands. That prevented the adept vanguards from prematurely provoking enemies that were too powerful for them to deal with.

  The metal spider didn't start a slaughter, and in doing so, avoided inciting panic among the various intelligent lifeforms they had passed by.

  Those lifeforms might be utterly confused at this massive metal monster passing by their tribes, but they wouldn't go reporting to their Dragon Lords in a wild panic if it didn't show any hostility toward them.

  This, too, was clearly a means to buy more time for the vanguard!

  The adepts and Zacha could naturally hide on the high metal back of the metal spider as it transported them across the swamp. They rested and waited for their powers to recover while passionately discussing their following plans.

  Lance was an infinitely stronger higher-plane when compared to the Goblin Plane. Greem and the others might come from an even more terrifying World of Adepts, but the Crimson Clan were only a small-sized adept clan established no more than thirteen days ago, after all. It was delusional to dream of devouring Lance in a single bite.

  Disregarding everything else, any single Third Grade Dragon Lord within Lance could easily exterminate this small Crimson adept squad of Greem's. That was why Greem's boldness to break into Lance didn't come from his adept subordinates but from Brain Monster Gazlowe.

  No. More specifically, it came from the metal fortress and the magical machine army under Gazlowe's control!

  Declaring war against the dragons the moment they arrived was a suicidal act that couldn't be any more idiotic. Greem would never do such a thing. Instead, he was trying to keep as low a profile as possible.

  As the vanguard of the Crimson Clan, their mission this time wasn't to conquer any territory or capture any dragons. Rather, it was to live!

  Greem would never have stepped foot upon Lance if it were a unified plane with a strict and effective hierarchy. It was an honest talk with Zacha that revealed to Greem the structure of authority. That was what made him decide to take the risk of venturing into the den of the dragons.

  Lance was a feudal plane with loose hierarchy. Dragon Lords of various power and strength were scattered all across the place. Every Dragon Lord only cared for the resources and wealth within their personal territories, paying no mind to the matters outside of their borders.

  As such, the tremendous abnormality caused by the entrance of Greem's party into Lance wouldn't draw much attention. At the very worst, it would only cause a few nearby messengers of the Dragon Lords to investigate the situation. The dragons would go back to sleep the moment they discovered the plane intruders had left their territory for someone else's place.

  As for whether the intruders would cause disasters and catastrophes in the territories of other Dragon Lords? Sincerest apologies, but that had nothing to do with them!

  The dragons would only laugh if they saw a weak companion of theirs fall on harsh times and come to complain to them. There was no way they would leave their dens or palaces to avenge their comrades. Unless the dragons possessed close blood ties or belonged to the same tribe, they would sooner hide in their dens and sleep than go out and fight when there was nothing to be gained.

  It was because he understood this strange nature of the dragons that Greem gritted his teeth and came up with this invasion plan. Of course, what made him come to the final decision was still the existence of Zacha, a native of this plane.

  Without the guidance of a plane native, Greem and his party could only wander around the place. They were done for if they ran into the lands of a Fourth Grade Dragon Lord. There was no way a dragon would choose to ignore such a massive threat, regardless of how lazy they were.

  Surrounded and beaten down by a Fourth Grade dragon and their horde of dragonborn; that imagery alone sent shivers down Greem's spine!

  Gazlowe's metal fortress could hold back a Fourth Grade dragon with no problem, while the massive magic energy cannons hidden within his body could pose a fairly decent threat. As such, Third Grade Brain Monster Gazlowe was an undefeatable existence within any plane, as long as logistics support was guaranteed!

  What kind of logistics support did Brain Monster Gazlowe require?

  First and foremost was a large amount of metal. An endless supply of magical metal.

  Consequently, the first thing Greem was trying to do upon his arrival wasn't to rob a dragon or to find a spot to hide. Instead, it was to rush straight toward the closest mountain with rich metal reserves with Zacha leading the way.

  Stonetalon Mountains.

  It was a vast stretch of mountains located thirty-six thousand kilometers southwest of the Swamp of Sorrows. This place was famed for the richness of its metal ore reserves, even in the entire western area of Lance.

  It was only a Second Grade Dragon Lord that lived here in Stonetalon Mountains.

  Greem and his adepts wouldn't fear such a small fry, even if they didn't have the metal monster with them.

  Planning before acting, and Greem's intense desire for increasing his powers, was what drove him to this trip!

  …………

  Stonetalon Mountains.

  This area was a massive stretch of mountains that reached as far as five hundred kilometers.

  As the geography here was steep, and the mountains dangerous, it was rare to see anyone here.

  If one stood at the top of a twin-peaked mountain and looked into the distance, they would only see the tremendous Stonetalon Mountains extending ever further into the horizon. Amazingly sharp cliffs could be seen everywhere. Vast coniferous forests covered the entire place, and all sorts of strange birds flew between the valleys. The location was pulsing with life.

  Wind Dragon Cherkes sat upon a broad platform in front of his den, looking down upon the beautiful scene below him and waiting for news to come back from a distance.

  Two days ago, his subordinates at the edge of his territory had sent back news about an unsettlingly large metal monster. The monster was charging toward the Stonetalon Mountains with an unstoppable speed.

  They had tried to stop or force the monster to change its trajectory, but they had accomplished nothing despite heavy losses.

  The dragonborn servants serving Cherkes had no option left but to muster their courage and wake up the sleeping Cherkes.

  Cherkes was infuriated when he was woken up from his sweet dreams. He devoured the First Grade dragonborn that had woken him up before being appeased and willing to listen to what the others had to say. Of course, what awaited him was impossibly lousy news!

  For the past two days, Cherkes had mustered all the native tribes within his territory. These tribes threw themselves at the metal monster, one after another, in hopes of stopping the progress of the metal monster. Sadly, apart from defeat after defeat, not a single good news came back to Cherkes.

 
The severity of the situation made it hard for even Cherkes to stay within his den peacefully. He had no choice but to pretend to remain calm while waiting here for more information.

  According to the reports from his underlings at the borders, this metal monster had emerged from the Swamp of Sorrows. The Swamp of Sorrows was ancestral land that belonged to another Dragon Lord. As such, Cherkes could only send his most trusted subordinate to the palace of that Dragon Lord to inquire about the origins of this monster.

  However, considering the slow and lazy nature of the dragons, it wouldn't be surprising if the messenger had to wait one to two years for the Dragon Lord to wake up.

  Consequently, Cherkes couldn't place any hope in his neighbor. He once again sent a large group of subordinates to trace the metal monster's tracks back into the Swamp of Sorrows, hoping to find out something from the natives of the swamp along the way.

  A commotion came from the edge of the mountains in the distance while Second Grade Dragon Lord Cherkes was bending his head in contemplation. Large flocks of birds took to the sky, and pained shrieks rang out from the horizon.

  Ooh… what has happened?

  A group of harpies arrived by gliding above the canopy in Cherkes' moment of uncertainty.

  They landed at the foot of Twin Peaks and entered the dragonborn army camp situated there.

  A short moment later, the strongest warrior of the dragonborn army–Second Grade Bino–rushed up the Twin Peaks with a few subordinates tailing behind.

  "My lord, this isn't good...this isn't good. That metal monster has already… arrived."

  Bino couldn't remain unfazed after dashing up the thousand-meter-tall peak. He panted intensely as he quickly reported the information he had received to Wind Dragon Cherkes.

  Wind Dragon Cherkes' olive eyes blinked rapidly. He turned and stared into the distance as he asked, "Is the enemy heading toward us?"