For the fire creatures, all of their fire energy and mental consciousness came from this fire core. If it were destroyed or removed from their bodies, the remainder of their flame body would become wild, unbound fire. It would instantly scatter to the winds.
"Bastard, hurry up and hand over Doug's fire core."
The blazefire spirits in the distance were furious upon witnessing this. They charged over madly under the lead of the Second Grade blazefire spirit.
They had clearly seen that the Flame Fiend of Terror that crushed their companion was a terrifying Second Grade creature. However, they had a Second Grade captain and four First Grade members in the group. They weren't at a disadvantage in a fight against this brute.
Sadly, their elementary intelligence couldn't possibly allow them to escape the schemes of a Second Grade adept!
By the time they arrived at the Flame Fiend, their path of retreat had been sealed off by Greem.
The battle lasted only fifteen minutes before ending!
Both parties were fire creatures, and thus, both of them were largely immune to fire damage. However, the fire spirits relied on their numbers to continuously use fire arrows, Firestone Shockwaves, and Ignites to attack the Flame Fiend constantly. That caused the Flame Fiend's Lava Shield's to splash everywhere.
Meanwhile, the Second Grade blazefire spirit demonstrated unparalleled courage and ferocity. He brandished his fists and engaged the Flame Fiend of Terror in a melee.
One had a body of flames, while the other had the body of a Flame Fiend. One only had Inferno Shields, while the other had the more sturdy Lava Shields. When these two giants bashed and struck at each other with bare fists, the battlefield turned brutal and violent.
Seeing that the Flame Fiend had the absolute advantage in the fight against the Second Grade fire spirit, Greem unhesitatingly struck at the remaining First Grades.
Both parties were using fire spells, but the flame bodies of the First Grade blazefire spirits were not as tough as Greem's Lava Shields. After two or three rounds of exchanging attacks, one of Greem's Lava Shields had been destroyed, while only one of the First Grade fire spirits was left.
The others had been blasted into pieces by the fierce and solid magma fireballs. Even the fire cores within them had melted!
Greem used a Fire Teleportation to appear behind the last surviving First Grade spirit. He then reached with his hand, and a blazing hand formed of pure fire elementium gripped the spirit.
"Let's go! The fire spirits on the mountain seem to have been alerted!"
Greem looked behind him and saw squads of blazefire spirits rushing down the black mountain. He snorted lightly and closed his fist. The First Grade fire spirit was then crushed into pieces by the blazing hand.
When the hand opened up once more, only a fist-sized fire core remained, its surface still burning with small licks of fire.
At this moment, the Flame Fiend of Terror conjured a twenty-meter-long flame whip from thin air and used it to bind the Second Grade spirit, who was desperately trying to escape.
The blades of Coldflame in Greem's hand ravaged toward the immobile fire spirit like an unrelenting storm, slicing off his head and arms. The Flame Fiend of Terror roared and punched through the spirit's chest before he could recover, forcefully pulling out the fire core within him.
Chapter 749 Forest Exploration
The fact that a Second Grade blazefire spirit had been taken down so easily was well beyond Greem's expectations.
However, the very next second, the surprise on Greem's face was replaced by deep terror.
[Beep. Warning. Detecting chaotic energy signals. Countdown to fire core explosion: 5…4…]
"Toss it...toss it fast."
Greem was already mentally connected with the Flame Fiend. Thus, the Flame Fiend swung its arm and threw the Second Grade fire core into the distance with all its strength the very moment Greem sensed something wrong with the fire core.
[2...]
[1...]
As the Chip completed the last of its countdown, the energy aura of the fire core suddenly erupted. Then a destructive mushroom cloud appeared on the spot.
At this point, the fire core was only a hundred meters away. Such a short amount of time hadn't been enough for Greem and the Flame Fiend of Terror to teleport away from the radius of the explosion. Just as the two of them appeared two hundred meters away with their Fire Teleportation, the terrifying flame shockwave was already upon them.
Greem's adept robe was instantly torn into rags by the blast. The Flame Fiend turned around and stood in front of its master, using its broad, tough back to shield Greem from the flame shockwave.
If someone were to look from above the fire tree forest, they would see a massively violent halo of fire engulfing everything within a radius of two and a half kilometers. Even the ten-thousand-year-old fire trees with deep roots were instantly uprooted by the ravaging shockwaves as if they were crude straw houses.
A terrifying mushroom cloud of fire, roaring shockwaves, destructive tides of flames; the entire place appeared to be a horrifying scene from an apocalypse.
If this were a material plane, such fearsome energy explosions would most definitely have left a massive crater. It was even possible that the blast would have corroded through the rock layers and forced out the underground lava, causing the formation of a small lava lake.
However, this was the fire elementium plane after all. The surrounding ground and air absorbed most of the fire damage. Even though the energy tides in the central area affected by the explosion seemed destructive and terrifying, it wasn't as threatening as it looked. For every thousand meters that the fire tide extended outward, the energy level would decrease by one or two levels. Two and a half kilometers away from the center of the explosion, the sea of fire had already fallen to a temperature of two to three hundred degrees from its original thirteen thousand degrees.
Such temperatures were already very close to the average warmth of the Fire Elementium Plane!
Greem forced himself to get up once the fire tides had calmed down. The body of the Flame Fiend was in tatters now. Massive damage could be seen across its robust body made of magma and lava.
Crack. The body of the Flame Fiend collapsed. It once again reverted from a seven-meter tall flame monster to a fist-sized magic golem core.
The self-destruction of the Second Grade blazefire spirit had severely depleted the elementium energy stored within the magic golem core. The Flame Fiend of Terror could no longer maintain its massive size and had been forcefully knocked back to its original form.
The sounds of roaring could still be heard in the distance, and they were quickly closing in.
Greem picked up the golem core without hesitation and turned to leave the battlefield.
He ran all the way back to where the Flamegate was, restored it to a size sufficient for passage, and immediately dove inside.
This massive door of light formed of pure flames quickly fell apart after that!
Fifteen minutes later, a large group of blazefire spirit arrived in pursuit. They surrounded this stretch of grass that still had traces of spatial flux remaining.
A short moment later, a female fire spirit with a complete humanoid form arrived amidst the blazefire spirits.
All the spirits, including the Second Grade blazefire spirits, respectfully bowed when she appeared.
"Lady Manzda, the enemy escaped from here." The Second Grade blazefire spirit in the lead took a step forward and respectfully explained the situation.
This high-grade fire spirit that had just appeared wasn't like her other low-grade companions with a humanoid upper body and a fire cloud for the lower half. Instead, she had the shape of a human female.
Her body was curvaceous and covered in an odd crimson armor. Even the features of her face were extremely defined, though not as gentle or soft as an actual human's. Reddish-brown hair flowed down her back, occasionally flaring with a small flash of fire here and th
ere.
"I smell the aura of a wicked otherworldly adept. It seems the one who assaulted our patrol group earlier was an adept from the World of Adepts. Since he's already run away, there's no further need to be concerned. However, from today onward, make sure to monitor all spatial weak-points in a fifty-kilometer radius of the mountain. If anyone finds those evil adepts sneaking over again, immediately send troops to exterminate them!"
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
The blazefire spirits acknowledged the order before slowly dispersing.
The few remaining spirits worked together to set up security traps around this weak point.
That way, they would be immediately notified whenever an outsider snuck into the fire elementium plane through this place!
…………
Greem was only relieved once the Flamegate had vanished entirely.
His short adventure in the Fire Elementium Plane had made him understand the terror and horror of the other world.
The Second Grade blazefire spirit might have had a sturdy body, but he didn't have too many combat techniques and methods of murder. Looking at their fighting methods from a bystander's perspective, they appeared to be primitive and clumsy. It seemed most of the battles between fire creatures ended up in close range fights. The fire spells were only methods used to control the enemy and grind away at their patience.
Still, though their methods might be primitive, their tempers were violent and ferocious. They were not only harsh toward the enemy but themselves as well. To think that they would detonate their fire core the moment they were caught!
That was the final medium that carried their consciousness core!
Once it was destroyed, the last trace of their existence would also be wiped away. Such ferocity and determination was not something possible for ordinary individuals!
Greem stood upon the high fire elementium altar for a while. He finally relaxed once he was sure that the spatial fluctuations had wholly vanished and that no signs of an invasion from another world were going to appear.
He opened his palms. The golem core of the Flame Fiend of Terror rested in his left hand, while three First Grade fire spirit cores rested in the right. The difference in grades and the absolute overwhelming of power had caused these three First Grade fire spirits to be destroyed and their cores taken before they could even self-destruct.
Now that they had fallen into Greem's hands, they could no longer self-destruct of their own free will, even if their soul consciousness was still attached to the fire cores!
However, Greem couldn't help but frown when he lifted up the golem core for further inspection.
He had the Chip do a complete scan of the Flame Fiend's golem core and finally got a more detailed report. The core couldn't be completely repaired without at least an entire month of work.
This expedition hadn't been entirely worth it!
He had obtained three First Grade blazefire spirit cores, but he had also caused the core of his Second Grade Flame Fiend to be damaged. This was an unprofitable trade!
No wonder adepts liked to go in groups when exploring other worlds; it was because the risk involved was so huge.
Greem shook his head and sighed. He could only turn and leave the secret room.
Let the next exploration of the Fire Elementium Plane be one month from now then!
…………
The forest was full of trees, tall and massive.
An adventure group of five individuals was cutting their way through the bushes and making their way through the Black Forest with much difficulty.
The person responsible for opening a path was a bald and muscular man of great stature. He wore leather armor and held a machete in his hands. He cut through the crisscrossing vines with difficulty and used his massive body to make a winding little path in this dense forest, slowly advancing.
Four odd individuals of various sizes stood behind him, all covered in thick, black cloaks.
The group walked along silently. Apart from some panting from the bald man, no other sounds could be heard.
"Where are we now? How much further is it from that Serpentfowl Cliff?"
Suddenly, the thinnest individual of the group couldn't help but ask.
Judging from the voice, it was a pretty, young woman.
"Eco, shush! This is the Black Forest. It's best not to make any sound before we discover any danger." The largest person among the four individuals in black cloaks scolded softly. His tone wasn't severe, but it possessed a prestige that commanded respect.
"It's fine, boss. We all know how good you are! This is just the edge of the Black Forest. Could there even be any threat to you?" The black-robed individual at the rear of the group had almost been driven insane by the severe and unbearable environment of the forest. He took off his hood and started taking in the cold and humid air.
They were all apprentice adepts with 'weak' Physiques. They would collapse after a quarter of a kilometer in the Black Forest if they were in metal armor. As such, with only light robes to protect them, they had to put on another layer of thick traveler's cloak to protect themselves from the sharp thorns and branches.
The direct consequence of this was that every one of them was dying from the heat!
The person called the 'boss' was naturally the young pseudo-adept with dark affinity– Ponta.
This time, he was personally leading four of his closest subordinates to Serpentfowl Cliff. Naturally, their goal was the delicious serpentfowl eggs. Of course, this was the serpentfowl mating season. If they could steal one or two serpentfowl chicks from their nests, they would make a killing with this venture!
However, serpentfowls were still pseudo-adept magical creatures. If their tracks were exposed, it would become much more difficult to escape unscathed.
That was the main reason Ponta had asked his team members to sneak about silently!
Chapter 750 Depths of the Fores
Shadow's Light. Apprentice squad.
Leader: Pseudo-Adept Ponta. Male, thirty-seven years old. Dark elementium affinity.
Four members: Body-Refining Apprentice Dakso (Advanced), Plant Apprentice Eco (Female, Intermediate), Transfiguration Apprentice Blanco (Intermediate) and Goblin Magical Mechanic Little Locke (Beginner).
Originally, Little Locke wasn't qualified to be a member of Shadow's Light with his current power. However, due to the insistent recommendation of Eco, the magical mechanic path's non-reliance on raw power, and special skills that it possessed, Ponta allowed Little Locke to become a member of the group.
This five-person group was reasonably well-formed. They had Body-Refining Apprentice Dakso as the tank, Plant Apprentice Eco as the healer, and a magical mechanic who specialized in reconnaissance and disruption. This way, the party would be able to deal with enemies reliably, even if they were powerful magical creatures. The core of the party, Pseudo-Adept Ponta, would be allowed to output damage with all he had.
On the other hand, the transfiguration class was a unique advancement trajectory that had suddenly appeared over the past six months in White Tower. Much of the knowledge system of the transfiguration path came from a mysterious world known as Faen. It was said that there was a wondrous profession known as a druid in that world. These druids could use their nature's affinity to converse with plants and animals.
Moreover, the most powerful ability of those druids was the ability to transform into ferocious magical beasts freely. They were unchallenged on the battlefield with the instant-cast racial abilities and powerful bodies that they gained through these transformations.
The adepts of the Crimson Clan had modified this knowledge system slightly upon obtaining it, creating a new subject branch within the clan– the Transfiguration Class.
Apprentice adepts who had mastered transfiguration would be able to freely change between three forms: hellbears, shadow cheetahs, and windhawks. That allowed them to possess more varied and unusual combat methods.
Of course, these tree transformations were only the basic subjects that every transfiguration apprentice had to master. If they wanted to possess more powerful transformation abilities, they would have to trade large numbers of points and magical crystals for the necessary knowledge in the clan's library. Consequently, over the past few days, the more profitable clan missions that took place in the Black Forest had become extremely popular. They were almost always taken by parties formed by pseudo-adepts the moment they were put up.
Meanwhile, the lone-wolves among the apprentices could only pick the smaller missions that no one fancied or stay within the tower and slowly do their daily missions.
The improvement of apprentice adepts was almost solely achieved through the accumulation of points and magical crystals.
If you were one step behind your peers, you would always remain behind. You could only rely on tasks like cleaning up labs, assisting adepts with selecting magical materials, or acting as management staff for magical facilities to make any profit. Trying to improve drastically with such menial tasks was no more than fantasy.
As such, all Crimson apprentices with some degree of ability and talent had started moving recently. They had almost cleared out the entirety of the Black Forest around White Tower. The magical creatures living here were not going to be expelled without a fight. They started to ambush the Crimson apprentices on a much more frequent basis.
Several parties had already been ambushed, and casualties had started to surface among the apprentices.
The clan had specially sent Bug Adept Lord Billis into the Black Forest for this matter. Lord Billis had killed eleven lord-level First Grade magical creatures in a single hunt. Thus, the arrogant magical creatures immediately fell silent once more. They started to show signs of migrating deeper into the Black Forest.
However, this also caused the danger levels of the Black Forest to fall by several degrees, making it the best place for all apprentice adepts to explore and train themselves.
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