Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Saoirse nodded at Meve and then moved to return to her main temple without any hesitation.

  Here, with the massive amounts of faith power that had been gathered upon the idol over thousands of years, Saoirse could more efficiently utilize her godly senses and power.

  Saoirse instantly flew into a rage upon feeling out!

  An incident involving many deaths of her believers had occurred near an elven city known as Skywater City near the west coast of Garan. Goddess Saoirse went berserk upon sensing the faith nodes disappearing and collapsing one after another!

  There was no need for any gestures. A simple thought from her, and the entire main temple lit up with blinding holy radiance. From a distance, it looked as if the main temple had been coated in a layer of golden light. It was shining, pure and holy.

  All elves within the temple district, be they near or far, immediately knelt upon witnessing this sight and began religiously chanting words of praise for the chief elven god, Saoirse.

  Saoirse's temple priests were the only ones to move upon sensing the abnormality of this golden light, hurrying to the temple and kneeling before the towering idol of their goddess.

  Skywater City…elven believers being massacred.

  The few temple priests looked at each other in the face of Saoirse's divine decree.

  Elven God Saoirse had never given such a clear holy decree for the defense of one specific location in all of history. The priests could also vaguely sense the fury of the goddess through Saoirse's cold and chilling tone.

  They didn't dare hesitate. The priests quickly hurried out of the temple and went to contact the high-grade believers of Skywater City.

  They might have powerful and vast divine power, but they were helpless in stopping a slaughter occurring tens of thousands of kilometers away. All they could do was pass this news to the elven garrison of Skywater, inform the nearby high-grade believers, and have them become the avengers of the Goddess, killing all evildoers that dared enrage the gods!

  Sadly, the four god messengers of Elven God Saoirse were all occupied. Two were stationed upon the frontlines of the south coast, one was stationed on Faen Continent, and the last was guarding the elven goddess; none of them could be easily mobilized. Thus, the priests could only communicate with the local priests through the temples and altars, hoping to find a way to mobilize high-grade believers with immense power.

  And who'd have known? After a series of intense arguments and shouting, they managed to find the most appropriate person for the job.

  Eijae, the Spear of Vengeance!

  She was a female elven warrior that had been able to advance to become the rare Spear of Vengeance profession within the kingdom.

  Female elves had always been weak and frail in everyone's opinion. They weren't precisely unbearably fragile, but compared to the females of other races, they were somewhat slender and delicate and gave off the feeling that they might shatter upon touch.

  This Spear of Vengeance Eijae might be a female elf, but she had none of the usual frailty of an ordinary female elf. Instead, she gave off an impression of masculine toughness and fearlessness.

  Her appearance wasn't ugly. It couldn't possibly be ugly.

  However, the way she dressed was utterly different from an ordinary female elf. She went for a brutal and savage aura, not unlike the Amazons. She wore carved black leather armor along with a girdle soaked in sweat on her waist. That was all that she wore.

  No earrings or pendants, no necklaces or headbands, no bracelets or flowers; in conclusion, she didn't like anything that ordinary female elves fancied, dressing like an Amazon warrior and bringing her favorite throwing spears everywhere she went.

  Indeed, her preferred weapon wasn't an elven longbow, nor was it an elven longsword or saber. They were throwing spears filled with murderous aura.

  Chapter 666 Conclusion of the Battle

  The Spear of Vengeance was a path of development that went utterly against the mainstream of the elves that allowed such a fearless elf, who was as muscular as a male elf, to jaw-droppingly advance to Third Grade.

  At that time, it had caused a noteworthy commotion within the elven kingdom!

  The unhealthy custom of the elves to judge people on their appearances was hard to shake off. Even though Spear of Vengeance Eijae had the power of a Third Grade, most elves still found it difficult to acknowledge her 'chivalry' and 'valor.' After all, elegant speech, noble aura, and pretty looks were what determined nobility and status in the tradition of the forest elves.

  As for bloodshed and means of murder? These were not necessities required for a peaceful life in the eyes of the forest elves!

  Thus, even with Spear of Vengeance Eijae's power and reputation, she was still rejected from mainstream society by the higher elves of the kingdom.

  Still, the priests under Saoirse were immediately overjoyed to hear that Eijae was currently living near Skywater City. Under their insistent orders, a mission delegation was quickly signed and sent out in the name of the Elven God's main temple.

  …………

  The battle at Quel'Lithien Lodge was still ongoing.

  When compared to the savagery of the insect sea, the elves' resistance was weak and powerless.

  Their lack of strong fortresses and untraversable terrain caused the wide and flat forest roads, tree bridges, and winding vines to become paths upon which the swarm could freely travel.

  The living space of the elves was being pushed back, becoming smaller and smaller.

  Most of the elves had even been forced up the canopy, relying on the winding vines and tree bridges to quickly move from tree to tree. Yet, it was at this moment that the fast magical mantises became even more terrifying.

  They were like wicked wolves hiding outside the herd, relying on the cover of the trees to quickly close in on the resisting elves. Once the magical mantises found the opportunity to rush forward, their lightning-fast speed and extremely sharp scythe-limbs were an absolute counter to the elven blade dancers and bowmen.

  While the forest elves were still running and escaping via the canopy, the magical mantises would catch up with unbelievable speed and cut them down or knock them off the tree one by one.

  The elves that fell from the treetops had no chance to get up again; they were instantly pinned to the ground by the swarm. It didn't matter how hard they fought. They could not escape the tragic end of being eaten alive by tens of thousands of bugs!

  Billis, still hiding within the sea of insects, didn't care for the deaths of these elves. He took advantage of the insects' cover to devour plenty of elven combat professions. The ordinary elves, on the other hand, would be dragged underground after being bitten to death. There, white eggs would be stuffed into their bodies.

  Many elf corpses were already bloated like balloons!

  With the nourishment of the elven meat, dozens and hundreds of black bugs would climb out of every hatched egg. These young black insects feasted on flesh and matured at a rate visible to the naked eye.

  When their slimy bodies hardened into tough shells that could resist blades and swords, they would surge to the surface and join the rumbling swarm.

  It was through such a technique of instant hatching and maturation that the boundless sea of black insects had not only not shrunk since the start of the battle, but had even started growing in size.

  The swarms of the past didn't have too many abilities apart from sharp fangs and limbs. However, with the increase of Bug Adept Billis' power, the swarm had also evolved and gained some strange abilities.

  Billis was only First Grade now. The only ability he could grant the swarm was the ability to tunnel.

  The reason why such a massive bug army had been able to hide from the elven patrol and their flying scouts to sneak all the way to Quel'Lithien Lodge was due to the swarm's ability to tunnel.

  One could easily forsee the swarm gaining new abilities with Billis' continued growth.

  If the swarm was said to be
the warriors commanded and controlled by Billis, then the magical mantises were generals and heroes of the hive. Their numbers were few, but every one of them had powerful combat ability that far surpassed ordinary insects.

  Even in their current form, the magical mantises possessed all sorts of strange abilities: Submerge, Rapid Flight, Looming Presence, Rabid Execution, Entrap, and many more. They were like assassins hiding within the swarm. It would be exceedingly difficult for the enemy to escape unscathed once they reached the enemy's side.

  The unique Entrap ability was like an invisible shackle. As long as the magical mantises' scythe-like limbs came into contact with the enemy's blood, the enemy would no longer be able to escape from them. The only way to survive was to kill these magical mantises!

  In truth, if one were to compare the numbers of the swarm and the First Grade warriors in the elven garrison, the garrison of Quel'Lithien would easily crush these magical mantises that barely numbered thirty. However, the elves possessed no ability to defend against the endless assault of the swarm, let alone being able to assemble formations to deal with the magical mantises.

  The blade dancers and elven archers had their formations scattered by the swarm, and could only escape in groups of two or three using the cover of the trees.

  Loose groups like these had no chance to retaliate or resist the squads of magical mantises. As long as they were forced off the trees by the mantises, the surging swarm would be able to devour any of the enemies.

  During such a one-sided battle, the magical mantises also encountered brave resistance from the elves. Three magical mantises had already died on the battlefield since the start of the fight. However, the elves had already lost over a hundred First Grade fighters.

  The elven powerhouses with eye-catching performance were immediately be swarmed by Mary and her Blood Knights the moment they showed themselves.

  Regardless of how individually strong these elven powerhouses were, they would not be able to fend off attacks from multiple Second Grade vampires unless they were of the undefeatable Third Grade.

  In this crimson cloud of vampires floating above the canopy, there were a group of blood elves with strange abilities apart from Mary and her three Blood Knights. The blood elves numbered only seventeen, three of them being Second Grade. The newly added Second Grade blood elf was the female captain that Mary had just embraced.

  The captain didn't look much different. She was still using the same weapons as well.

  The only obvious difference was her eyes– they were crimson red.

  The female elf that had just been fighting selflessly for the forest elves had now turned into a cold and bloodthirsty blood elf marksman. Her arrows filled with crimson energy cut across the sky. Every shot was accompanied by the sound of an elf howling as they fell from a tree.

  There were two deadshots in the three Second Grade blood elves that Blood Queen Mary had Embraced. The last remaining Second Grade blood elf was a weapons master. Now that they had the ability to drain blood, they became far more fearless and reckless with their attacks.

  If their techniques were said to be suited for combat while they were forest elves, then now that they had become blood elves, they had been modified to be ideally suited for slaughter!

  Combat and slaughter sounded similar; the difference didn't seem huge. However, when placed on a bloody battlefield where death and life were decided in the matter of an instant, then the difference between combat and slaughter was what determined the outcome!

  Every single elven ability was crafted too much in pursuit of beauty and elegance. The elves could never use vicious moves such as having an ally take a hit for them, trading blow for blow, or even simply rolling upon the ground. However, these modified blood elves did not hesitate to charge up to the enemy's side and trade wounds with the enemy, even if it meant them being more greviously wounded.

  In fact, they didn't even care if the enemy's blades slashed apart their delicate and pretty faces.

  These were all things that the forest elves could never do!

  …………

  At this moment of the battle, the forest elves were already starting to show signs of collapse.

  By the time the black sea of insects devoured the elven town, the garrison had lost all its home-field advantage. They had no choice but to blow the horn of retreat.

  The black forms of the swarm were everywhere across the deep woods.

  The elves could only jump upon the tall trees, desperately fleeing toward Skywater City.

  At first, they still gathered in groups of two and tree, covering for each other as they retreated.

  However, when the squads of magical mantises struck, these loose groups immediately fell apart. The elves could only give up on all hopes of retaliation and turned to escape as fast as they could.

  Up in the towering ancient trees, the black outlines of the magical mantises were like the silhouettes of roaming reapers. Apart from slightly wounding them, all elves that were caught by the magical mantises had no chance of escaping.

  One slender and tall silhouette after another was caught up to by the magical mantises and quickly fell to the ground. What was left was the constant repeat of the same unspeakably horrific scene.

  With the presence of the magical mantises, few elves were fortunate enough to escape Quel'Lithien!

  However, the three treant warriors that served as guardians of the town also delivered tremendous casualties to the army of insects. Be it the swarm or the vampires, none of them had powerful long-ranged attacks. Apart from swarming the treants with sheer numbers, they had no other way of dealing with the tough and sturdy treant warriors.

  In the end, Billis' bug army paid a price of fifty thousand insects to fell these three 'sacrificial pawns' that had stayed behind as the rear guard.

  In only one and a half hours, the insect-vampire alliance led by Mary and Billis had routed the elven garrison.

  They then spent another hour to pursue the elves and deal with the three treant warriors. By the time they returned to Quel'Lithien, it had been three hours already. This way, there was only one hour left for them to gather the spoils and scour the town for elven resources.

  As such, the horrifying insect army that had just been fighting promptly broke out into bustling work in a race against time.

  Chapter 667 Pursuit in the Nigh

  t

  Eijae sprinted under the bright and crisp moonlight.

  Ancient trees that were several dozen meters tall were like flat ground beneath her feet. Cliffs and rivers were left behind in a matter of moments.

  The damp winds of the night pressed against Eijae's face, soaking her armor and her face, yet they were incapable of extinguishing the burning fires of rage in her heart.

  Eijae had set off on the journey alone upon hearing news of Quel'Lithien's invasion from the mouth of a hippogryph rider, even before the envoy from the main temple had arrived.

  The garrison of Skywater City was still trying its best to assemble when she set off.

  Since the enemy had so daringly invaded Quel'Lithien Lodge, a mere one hundred kilometers away from Skywater, it either meant that they were immensely powerful and unafraid of a counterattack from the garrison of SKywater City, or that this was a conspiracy intended to draw the garrison away.

  The elven commanders and high elves of Skywater City broke out into an argument in the meeting hall, bickering non-stop over the scale of the incursion.

  Much like the corrupt and indulgent nobles of human society, the elven kingdom also had certain special classes– the high elves. The so-called high elves were still forest elves, and the only difference was their bloodline going even further back into history, into ancient times.

  They prided themselves over this, believing that only high elves were the purest and noblest of all forest elves. They refused to intermarry with peasants, trying their best to safeguard their bloodline from external contamination. They had exceptional authority within the kin
gdom. The positions of elder and council member in the elven kingdom could mostly only be taken on by high elves.

  Though the elven commanders of Skywater City had absolute military authority, they couldn't completely ignore the protests of these high elf nobles.

  The elven commander had intended to send all of their aerial forces to first hurry over as reinforcements the moment they received news of Quel'Lithien's invasion. An ordinary-sized ground force also had to be mobilized. Sadly, the variety of units and the number of soldiers continued to be cut down due to the protests of the high elves.

  The irritable Eijae furiously chose to move out alone, unable to tolerate such heartless and cold-blooded administrative delay!

  About five or six elven powerhouses made the same decision as Eijae. These were all Second Grade 'rogues' that refused to be bound by the military.

  Sadly, their speed and stamina could hardly compare with the powerful Eijae. Thus, they were quickly left behind by the Spear of Vengeance after the first fifty kilometers.

  How free and fun was it to travel through the sea of trees under the sacred and beautiful moonlight!

  If it weren't for the concern for her tribesmen that filled Eijae's heart, she would have shouted out in excitement at this moment. In fact, she would have even sought out a powerful magical beast for a showdown.

  The fearsome name of Eijae, the Spear of Vengeance might not be all that widespread amongst the elves, but she had an infamous title as the 'Madwoman' among the magical beasts of the central mountains!

  It didn't matter whether it was the immensely powerful Wyvern King, the incomparably strong Giant Raging Ape, or even the cunning and sly Silver-Tailed Fox; all of them would be endlessly harassed by Eijae, crying until they had no tears left and with no one to complain to. All other magical beasts with any fame or power would immediately be visited and challenged by Eijae.

  One could say that Eijae's terrifying combat techniques had all been honed in the thousands of life and death challenges she had initiated. The many scars of various sizes that covered her body were the best proof of her insane drive and combat will!