Age of Adepts c1-1513
Page 407
Chapter 651 Perfect Trap
On the other side of the battlefield, the god messenger was frantically and frightfully looking away from the thunder dragon to the flying ship below.
The flying ship was releasing black smoke, and sounds of explosions seemed to ring out from within continuously. It appeared the earlier charged attack had also caused tremendous damage to the ship’s integrity.
However, there was no telling whether these signs were real or fake. She could only make her own guesses. That said, if she were to make a wrong assumption and be crushed once again between the ship and the dragon’s attacks, she would not be able to escape unscathed– even if the Divine Shield had yet to vanish.
The Goddess was immortal, but a god messenger like her was not!
That was why Xenia couldn’t help but start hesitating between retreating and fighting.
Almost as if she sensed the doubt and hesitation in her follower’s heart, the will of the Moonlight Goddess hosted within Xenia’s soul suddenly grew extraordinarily furious. The blasphemers were right in front of her, yet her own follower hesitated to go forward. It was an unbelievable humiliation to the Moonlight Goddess.
Xenia silently sensed the chilling will sent by the Goddess behind her, and her heart trembled. She no longer dared to have even a trace of doubt in her heart. The god messenger put her hands together, and instant-cast nature magic suddenly struck at Greem, who was standing upon the ship’s deck
She finally saw the situation for what it was. This seemingly insignificant Second Grade male adept was the real mastermind behind the enemy today. Be it those evil witches with their strange magic or this Third Grade thunder dragon from another world, the Second Grade male adept manipulated all of them behind their backs.
Moreover, Xenia also vaguely sensed the remnants of divine moonlight magic upon this male adept’s body and soul. That clearly meant that he was the blasphemer that had enraged the Goddess as well as the person she was meant to capture!
As a god messenger, she had a noble status and could even talk to the elven queen as an equal.
Still, it was a fact that she had no real freedom.
Take for example the situation before her. Even though victory was not certain, Xenia had no choice but to abandon her safety when the Goddess was enraged; she unhesitatingly committed herself to the execution of the Goddess’ will.
Thus, a new round of the battle immediately erupted!
Due to the tremendous pressure of the combat, most First Grade witches and Crimson adepts had retreated into the cabins. Only Greem, Zacha, Tigule, and two dozen magical machines remained on the deck.
The flying ship dragged a long trail of thick black smoke behind it as it escaped into the distance with much difficulty.
Thunder Dragon Arms and God Messenger Xenia were fighting furiously in the skies. Every time she found some space, Xenia would suddenly fire a chilling beam of moonlight at Greem. These beams of moonlight seemed light, weightless, and completely harmless, but they would always leave a terrifying ditch in the deck every time they swept past.
The large metal deck was scarred all over with crisscrossing marks after several attacks. The bridge was almost filled with ditches and notches of varying depths. It was a terrifying sight to behold.
After getting themselves back in order, the elven army started saving the few critically injured Second Grades. The relied on the remaining troops to continue assaulting the adepts’ defensive line. As long as they could charge inside of the flying ship and wreck its ability to fly, this metal monster would have to forever stay in this land.
When the ship crashed, the reinforcements from the neighboring elven cities would successfully obtain this war beast of immense strategic importance. One could easily foresee the value of the vessel. If the elven kingdom could construct an entire fleet of such powerful ships, they could load them with armies of elven archers and swarms of flying units. It would be an easy matter to fend off any attacks from the witches.
If they planned ahead, even crossing the seas and taking the Faen Continent for themselves wouldn’t be a dream!
Thus, after sensing the Goddess’ will, her followers that had teleported over immediately erupted with their fiercest attacks, instantly beating back the adepts’ defensive line and forcing the enemy to barely be able to defend the cabin entrance to the interior of the flying ship.
Xenia and Greem’s combat power might not be comparable to each other.
Still, when it came to this moment when one was trying her very best, and the other was being sly and slippery, the balance between the two started to tip in odd and unusual ways. From the thunder dragon desperately chasing after the god messenger, to the god messenger desperately maintaining her Divine Shield and chasing after the dodging Third Grade thunder dragon.
Of course, Xenia would still occasionally secretly use Lunar Teleportation to get to Greem’s position to attack him.
It was a Third Grade hunting after a Second Grade. Green could not retaliate apart from using his Fire Teleportation to dodge the incoming attacks repeatedly.
“Arms, what are you doing?” Greem, who was frantically stumbling here and there, shouted with a mental message, “I hired you here to deal with the god messenger. If you let her kill me, you won’t be able to get even a single penny.”
“Hmph, deal with the god messenger? That’s easy for you to say. She is possessed by a petty goddess. Do you think I could endure it if the goddess suddenly decided to reward me with a blast of offensive divine magic?” Arms roared, dissatisfied.
As a Third Grade thunder dragon, he was also furious at being backed into such a corner by a weak Third Grade elf. However, it didn’t matter how angry he was; there was no way he would risk his life to test the enemy’s limits. If that damned person still had another ace up her sleeve, he would be the unfortunate victim to be brutalized!
“Lord Arms, if I create a chance for you to deal with the god messenger, would you be willing to try?” Greem’s mind turned rapidly as he asked with a solemn tone.
“Little adept, you aren’t lying to me and trying to trick me, are you? A Second Grade adept like you dares speak such boastful words?” The thunder dragon’s expression shifted slightly, and he replied in disdain.
“Hmph! Lord Arms, it’s not as if you do not know what I am capable of. If I can truly create a chance to force the god messenger into a corner, will you be willing to try and exterminate her?” Green didn’t give up and continued to press the issue.
The thunder dragon paused for a moment. For the first time, he started to consider the problem seriously.
This kid seemed like he was serious.
Could he actually have some means to force a Third Grade god messenger into a corner and create an environment for him to kill her? It was a little hard to believe, but given the kids’ results in the past, he just might…
In the end, he had been forced to sign a cooperation agreement with this Second Grade adept precisely because he fell into his hands! He might be upset every time he remembered that incident, but it was more than enough to prove the ability of this male adept!
“Very well!” Arms gritted his teeth and spoke, “As long as you can trap the god messenger or force her into a corner, I will take the risk and try and kill her!”
“Understood!” Greem was thrilled to hear this, “Wait for my signal. Once I give my signal, use your most powerful Raging Thundertides to attack her. Failure or success will all depend on this.”
The conversation between the two parties might seem like it took a long time, but given their mental connection, all those words took no more than a moment or two. That was why both of them stopped communicating after completing their scheme. They both waited for the best opportunity and stored their strength for the opportune time to strike.
Thunder Dragon Arms only needed to dodge Xenia’s attacks while charging his strength, but Greem was instantly occupied with all sorts of jobs.
Greem cons
tantly flashed about the battlefield while turning the snake-eye ring on his right pinky to send orders to his many subordinates.
Dragonborn Zacha was still standing guard in front of the cabin door, while Tigule had driven his Goblin Shredder into the cabins and gone somewhere. Greem, on the other hand, was still murmuring. His snake-eye ring continued to flash with a brilliant magical light. It seemed he was communicating with some mysterious figure.
A thick feeling of a plot being put into action rose in the battlefield!
The adepts seemed to be plotting something. Even the ordinary First Grade elves could sense something awry, let alone the god messenger.
However, they couldn’t find danger anywhere they looked.
That was why the elves had no better option to relieve their stress but to increase the pace of their attack.
Greek’s confidence was bolstered after the conversation with that mysterious figure ended. He flashed and appeared at the Flame Fiend’s side, once again using his ferocious fire magic to throw the elven ranks into chaos.
Greem’s powerful outburst drew the attention of the god messenger once more.
She gritted her teeth and forced the thunder dragon away with three chilling beams of moonlight. She then raised her head and gestured with her hand as a beautiful rain of starlight landed upon her body. She vanished without a trace the very next second.
That Lunar Teleportation again! Still, where would she choose to appear this time?
Those on the adepts’ side couldn’t help but be anxious when seeing the god messenger vanish. Even the Second Grade dark witch frantically dove into the shadows to avoid being the enemy’s first target.
Only Greem was sure that God Messenger Xenia would definitely try and attack him.
That was because the only shortcut to ending today’s battle was killing Greem.
Thus, Greem’s black eyes glowed with a chilling, cold light the very instant the god messenger vanished. His mind was strung like a drawn bow as he silently awaited instructions from Alice.
He had no ability to track or scan the high-grade magic of a Third Grade god messenger. He had to rely on Alice’s accurate predictions to do so. That said, the price that Alice needed to pay to divine the location of a Third Grade god messenger protected by a Goddess was immense!
“Fifteen steps to your right and back. Her position is at XXX.”
Finally, Alice’s anxious voice rang out through the mental connection.
Her voice was hoarse and carried with it a trace of fatigue.
Green didn’t dare to hesitate even a bit. He used his fastest speed and sent out a series of orders to different positions and various people. He himself leaped away with even higher speed.
As he jumped away, a laserbeam-like moonlight slashed past his previous position, leaving a deep cut upon the deck.
The Flame Fiend of Terror that had stayed on the spot roared; it didn’t even have time to cast any spells. He merely pushed both of his hands forward and used all his strength to pour the violent flood of fire onto Xenia’s shield.
“Hmph, you are looking to die!” Xenia’s vision cleared as she instantly realized the male adept had already taken the chance to escape.
Just as she wanted to strike out and exterminate this elementium golem that the adept had left behind, a perfect murder trap with her at the center had already been sprung.
Chapter 652 The God Messenger Falls
The first to strike was naturally the Flame Fiend of Terror, who was the closest one to Xenia.
With the Second Grade power of the Flame Fiend, it was no more than a pipe dream to attempt to kill the Third Grade Xenia. However, it was still possible for it to temporarily limit and interrupt the enemy's movements.
Blazing hot flames surged out of the Flame Fiend's magma hands and ceaselessly assaulted Xenia's Divine Shield. The fire quickly turned into a prison of lava and trapped the god messenger within. At the same time, the magic energy cannon that had remained silent all this time started charging up again. Overwhelming magic energy of shocking intensity began to gather within the barrel. It was clear that a new round of attacks was forming.
If the Flame Fiend's attacks were said to only cause Xenia to frown, then the charging of the magic energy cannon utterly terrified her.
She had yet to recover from the fear of the horrifying shot earlier.
She had relied entirely on the Moonlight Goddess' Divine Shield to endure that blast. Now that the divine power within the Divine Shield was almost exhausted, she had no guarantee of survival when being hit by the same attack, even with her ability as a Third Grade god messenger.
It was a trap.
It was a death trap that the enemy had set up and waited for her to enter willingly.
Xenia instantly went mad after understanding what had happened.
The Divine Shield she had cast earlier had already drawn out all of the divine power stored within her body. She was now entirely depending on the small stream of divine power being sent to her via the channels of faith to sustain her combat efforts. After all, this was not the central mountains. It was just way too far from the main temple. Moreover, there were no large moonprayer altars nearby. Trying to use this structure to recharge the faith channels was impossible.
That was why it was challenging to send divine power from the holy kingdom to the main temple and then send it to Xenia via the channels of faith, even with the Moonlight Goddess' full support and generous exhaustion of divine power.
Even sending divine power was an arduous task, let alone transmitting an entirely formed divine magic!
That was why the individual combat power of the god messenger would often vary tremendously based on her location.
Jintha'Alor Camp was far away from the central mountains. It was situated at the edges of Garan Continent. This severely limited Xenia's ability to fight. If the battlefield could be shifted to someplace near the central mountains and the main temple, then Xenia's combat power would easily rise by three to five times.
At this moment, Xenia did not have such conditions. As such, the Third Grade god messenger immediately erupted with all her power when seeing the meticulous trap that the enemy had prepared for her!
The next second, hundreds and thousands of blinding beams of rainbow light burst out of the lava prison forged of steaming flames and red-hot lava. These light beams composed of divine power mixed with moonlight and suddenly spun intensely, instantly cut the lava prison into pieces with their terrifying slashing power.
As the Flame Fiend of Terror was too close, it was also pierced by the rainbow lights and cut up into pieces.
Xenia strode out of the rising sea of fire and shards of magma, staring murderously at the magic energy cannon that was rapidly charging.
She let out a sky-shattering screech as a chilling beam of moonlight, more concentrated than any before, projected down from the round moon in the sky. It struck square upon the most focused spot of the cannon energy.
Xenia instantly teleported away from the ship after completing this resentful strike of hers. She slowly reappeared somewhere in the skies a quarter of a kilometer away.
Behind her, the magic energy cannon that had been destroyed by the moonlight suddenly lit up with a blindingly intense light. A chain reaction of explosions was quickly triggered. If one were to calculate the power of the magic energy cannon based on the previous shot, the destruction of the gun this time would blow the flying ship into a massive firework of steel.
Xenia had just escaped the flying ship and was confidently waiting to enjoy the sight of rare and beautiful fireworks. However, the next moment she turned back in shock and realized that the flying ship was still floating two hundred meters above the canopy, perfectly unharmed.
Though the chain of magic energy explosions occurring on its deck was flashy and loud, the intensity of the energy was hundreds and thousands of times less than what Xenia had estimated it to be.
This…what was happening?
The intimate channel of faith that she had always been maintaining with the Moonlight Goddess had also been severed!
The face of an old lady, so excited that it was distorted, formed from the cluster of shadows in the sky. She yelled with her sinister and hoarse voice, "Kehkehkeh. Damned religious hack, you didn't think that I would secretly sneak back, did you?! Now that I have obscured the moon and cut off your connection with that shitty goddess, let's see what's left of your abilities! Weren't you sending me packing earlier? Come, come; let me see if you are still as powerful as before. Kehkehkeh."
The voice seemed to be that of Third Grade Dark Witch Uzzah!
A ferocious round of attacks had just been unleashed. The divine power sent over by the goddess had been completely exhausted. Now that the only faith channel had been severed, Xenia could no longer replenish her divine power.
There was no way she could continue this fight against same-grade powerhouses of another world with her energy reserves!
Having quickly understood this, Xenia immediately knew things were going south. However, before she could even try and escape the area, a violent tide of thunder and lightning that engulfed the skies had already exploded.
…………
Jintha'Alor was utterly ravaged after the great battle.
The adepts had only been robbing in the earlier battle and weren't setting fires or razing any structures. That was why most of the elven structures in Jintha'Alor camp were completely untouched, though their contents had been emptied. Now, after the more intense battle against the god messenger, the camp naturally had to endure the destruction from the shockwaves of the battle.
Disregarding the elven structures, even the mountain upon which Jintha'Alor resided had started collapsing from the intense attacks. With the massive changes to the structure of the mountain itself, this place had become tattered and wrecked; it looked nothing like it used to.