Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Currently, this so-called Anti-Crimson Clan Alliance was still gathering their forces in the Kamala Clan’s territory. That was about a straight distance of a hundred kilometers away from Fire Throne, and it was already the closest rallying point that they could find.

  What stood between the Kamala Clan’s outpost and Fire Throne was a mountainous and tiny forest road. A small caravan might barely be able to travel by that path, but a massive army of several tens of thousands of soldiers would have immense trouble doing so. In particular, most of their supplies and logistics would not be able to make it through the path.

  Moreover, the Crimson Clan had no territory for them to conquer and take over. The only way for the enemy to wipe away the existence of the Crimson Clan was to assemble enough cannon fodder to invade the underground adept’s tower. It was undoubtedly a massive risk!

  As such, the main force of the enemy could only be the one hundred adepts they had put together. Rather than fighting a war, the ten thousand-strong army from the nobles were here to act as fodder.

  Ever since Mary had arrived in Fire Throne, the Crimson Clan had all of their members and subordinate forces retreat into the tower. Every single member of the clan was hiding underground instead of showing themselves outside.

  However, Fire Throne still managed to send out large groups of goblin construction machines to destroy the road between the tower and Pinecone before the enemies arrived.

  The main force of the enemy would first have to repair this road if they wanted to approach Fire Cave!

  The enemy seemed to have realized the intentions of the Crimson Clan. To completely seal the Crimson Clan within the underground cave, they sent out ten adepts ahead of the main force. These adepts rushed to the exterior of Fire Cave and set up a temporary camp.

  Once the Crimson adepts were contained underground, the enemy’s main force finally started marching down the forest road, slowly and with much difficulty.

  …………

  The night hung low, and the sky was full of stars.

  Fire Cave, after a dozen days of silence, was once again filled with traffic and liveliness.

  Extravagant and fancy tents popped up all over the place, like mushrooms after rain. They had almost covered the entire area.

  A hundred adepts from various factions were gathered here, spending night after night discussing the specifics of attacking the Crimson Clan. The servants they had brought with them were scattered around the camp, keeping watch over the Crimson Clan and guarding against any attacks.

  Meanwhile, as many as twenty or thirty adepts that represented their respective factions were sitting inside the massive camp at the center of the campsite. These adepts were silently listening to missions being assigned by the two leading adepts.

  There were only two leaders of the group, and both of them were Third Grade!

  One of them was naturally the Third Grade Vampire Haines Vik, who had volunteered to help, while the other was the only Third Grade adept of the Kamala Clan, the Death Heralding Crow, Yurga.

  There were also eleven Second Grade adepts of various attire at the side of these two Third Grade adepts. The rest were all combat adepts of peak First Grade.

  The Kamala Clan was the closest adept clan to the Crimson Clan. According to their private agreements, this place would become the territory of the Kamala Clan once Fire Throne was conquered. Once that was done, all parties that had participated in the battle would invest in the construction of a mid-sized human city and enjoy the profits from the Black Forest’s resources.

  It was precisely the allure of these massive benefits that caused the Kamala Clan to commit all of their resources and military force to the invasion of the Crimson Clan. They had brought almost all the adepts and soldiers of the clan along with them this time.

  Now that they had arrived here and successfully contained the Crimson adepts underground, they had to carefully think over the question of how to conduct the battle.

  The adepts might have traveled light, but all of their siege weapons and soldiers had been abandoned fifty kilometers away. They were still making the grueling journey across the muddy forest road.

  Given their current progress, it would take a minimum of seven days for the army to arrive.

  The adepts could not wait any longer!

  Every single day’s time was valuable to them. They couldn’t tolerate wasting seven days on waiting for those cannon fodder soldiers.

  On the very night they arrived at Fire Cave, the two Third Grade adepts had summoned all of the adepts. They started to discuss the matter of launching an early attack against Fire Throne to suppress the enemy.

  There was still a quarter of a kilometer of underground caves that needed to be traversed from Fire Cave to Magma Hall. One could easily foresee that the Crimson Clan adepts had set up layers upon layers of magical traps.

  As such, their most urgent priority was to clear a path toward the Magma Hall.

  This task was left to the fourteen adepts of the Magic Forest Hut.

  The Magic Forest Hut was a small adept force in the center of Zhentarim. They were known for their skill at creating low-grade magical items. The leader of this force was a Second Grade alchemist adept. His thirteen subordinates were also skilled in alchemy.

  Naturally, the Second Grade Alchemist Adept Roy was upset at such an assignment. However, once Third Grade Adept Yurga promised that the adepts of the Magic Forest Hut would not need to participate in the siege against the tower after they had cleared the traps, Roy finally assented, though still somewhat reluctant.

  While the adepts continued to rest and prepare for the upcoming battle, the fourteen Magic Forest Hut adepts dove into the dark Fire Cave.

  …………

  Fire Cave.

  Due to the existence of the underground lava sea, the temperature within the cave was a dozen degrees higher than the outside world.

  Second Grade Adept Roy immediately smelled the pungent and dense scent of sulfur after stepping into the tunnels. He couldn’t help but frown.

  It was said that the Crimson Clan had many Second Grade adepts!

  Even as a Second Grade adept, Roy couldn’t help but feel some fear at having to carry out such a task of spearheading the way.

  They intended to exterminate the enemy and uproot them with the mobilization of the army this time. It would be odd if the enemy didn’t fight back with all their might under such circumstances!

  Consequently, Roy immediately stopped walking upon entering the tunnels. He waved at his subordinates.

  As alchemist adepts, they naturally had their own unique way of battle.

  Two of the thirteen First Grade alchemists stepped forward. They took out a vial from their pouches strapped full of potions, took away the cork, and tossed it in front of them.

  The next second, two sturdy, one-meter tall earth elementals emerged from the ground and silently stood before the adepts.

  “Go forth and scout the way!” The two adepts immediately gave their orders.

  Two earth elementals with humanoid forms made of black earth immediately charged toward the other end of the tunnel with heavy steps.

  They only made it ten meters before a magical trap on the wall of the tunnel triggered.

  An explosive fireball instantly exploded between the two earth elementals!

  The fierce flames and violent shockwave knocked the earth elementals on their backs. The surface of their bodies quickly dried and cracked like smashed clay.

  Two advanced apprentice-level earth elementals were destroyed by an explosive fireball trap, just like that!

  The adepts of the Magic Forest Hut didn’t care about such losses. After blocking the remnants of the shockwave with a magical shield, the two adepts once again took out two blue potions and threw them in front of them.

  As the potion vials rolled forward, blue and viscous liquid flowed out from within and gathered in a ball upon the tough and warm floor.

  As the adepts perf
ormed a simple magical summoning rite, two ice elementals radiating freezing air climbed out of the liquid. They also only had the power of an advanced apprentice, but they possessed long-ranged ice attribute offensive spells.

  The two ice elementals clearly disliked the environment. They looked about in frustration the moment they were summoned. Only two blue lights glowed on their featureless faces.

  “Go!”

  These low-grade elementium summons lacked any full intelligence or consciousness. As such, they couldn’t understand complex orders. Consequently, the commands given by the adepts were often very simple and straightforward.

  The two ice elementals immediately roared and charged into the depths of the cave!

  Who knew that the moment they stepped past the remains of the earth elementals, an explosive fireball exploded between the two of them.

  A short moment later, once the fire shockwaves had subsided, only two scorch marks could be seen on the spot. Not a trace of the ice elementals remained!

  The two alchemists shrugged and tossed out another two new vials.

  This time, two advanced stone elementals rose from the ground!

  Chapter 763 - Slow Advance

  Earth elementals, ice elementals, stone elementals, lightning elementals, fire elementals…

  As long as it was a cheap and inexpensive elementium lifeform, the alchemists didn’t mind summoning them from a distant otherworld to use as the cannon fodder for this scouting expedition.

  At any rate, a single vial of low-grade elemental summoning potion was only worth three magical crystals. Trading them for explosive fireball traps worth twelve magical crystals was worth it, no matter how you looked at it!

  The thirteen First Grade alchemist adepts took turns at their job, continually summoning all sorts of elementium lifeforms and ordering them to charge into the magma tunnels that led toward the lower levels. The continuous explosions and waves of searing heat turned this underground world upside down. Even the loose rocks and dust on the walls were falling from above.

  The tunnels were filled with suffocating dust and the smell of fire and smoke!

  “Enemy detected!”

  Every summoned elementium lifeform had a fragile soul connection to the alchemist adepts who had summoned them. The adepts would be able to obtain some information about the enemy through the soul feedback when the elementals were destroyed.

  While the elementium servants of the alchemists continued to dive into the tunnels, one of the alchemists suddenly shouted.

  “It wasn’t a trap that killed my elementium servants, but…but a sort of never-before-seen metal golem!”

  It was obvious that the information he got from the soul connection was extremely vague and unclear. It made it difficult for him to describe the enemy.

  “Where?” The leader, Adept Roy, couldn’t help but ask solemnly.

  “To the front and right. The second magma tunnel.”

  Two new elementium lifeforms immediately charged into the tunnel he pointed out after he reported the enemy’s position.

  These were two strange wind elementals!

  They didn’t have humanoid bodies, and their appearances were simply miniature tornados. Two red lights in the center of the swirling winds functioned as their eyes. These elementals floated lightly in the air. They were almost weightless, which made them unsuitable candidates for triggering the traps.

  However, their flight speed was extremely fast, making them the perfect flying scouts.

  The two wind elementals had just turned a corner when they immediately ran into the strange metal golem that the adept had described. Both parties looked at each other from ten meters away, then immediately started charging at the same time.

  Several wind blades cut across the air and sent sparks flying when they hit the three-meter tall humanoid golem encased in a gleaming metal shell. The terrifying creature ignored the attacks of the wind elementals and lifted both of its thick metal arms. Several metal cylinders extended from the front and fired rapid metal bullets that were so fast they couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. The bullets struck the wind elementals, causing their bodies to tremble uncontrollably.

  The two beginner wind elementals completely scattered after three seconds, their consciousness cores having been destroyed.

  The alchemist adepts looking at the freeze-frame of the metal golem projected on the light screen frowned. They quickly assessed the grade level of this metal golem.

  Adept-level!

  Of course, comparing such a clumsy and slow metal golem to an official adept was thinking too highly of it. Still, considering its tough and impenetrable metal body and its rapid-fire goblin guns, it could easily counter ordinary apprentice adepts. Apprentice adepts would probably be murdered before they could even resist.

  Even pseudo-adepts had to watch out when dealing with these metal golems. After all, their weak magical defenses couldn’t deal with the wild barrage of these metal bullets.

  “It seems we need to take out some real fellows to deal with this.”

  An alchemist wickedly smiled as he took out a large vial and threw it onto the ground in front of him.

  The entire tunnel filled with the stench of rot as a gigantic slime-like monster emerged from the ground with its massive body.

  “Dammit, Singh! Can’t you summon some more conventional magical beasts? Have it move away from us.” The alchemist adepts covered their noses. A few of the female adepts even glared furiously at the guy that summoned the slime creature.

  “It can’t be helped. Other summoned creatures don’t have the advantage against this metal lump in such tight corridors. The only way to deal with metal golems is either through brute force or corrosive acid.” Adept Singh shrugged and ordered the ooze to crawl toward the other end of the tunnel slowly.

  Seven minutes later, the ooze successfully encountered the metal golem!

  There was no need for orders. The two creatures on opposing sides immediately started attacking each other savagely.

  Naturally, the metal golem was still using its rapid-fire metal bullets.

  In such a tight, narrow space, all it had to do was guard one end of the tunnel, and the enemy would have absolutely no chance at making it across. It was impossible to do it without paying a hefty price!

  One after another, the metal bullets filled with kinetic energy crossed the fifteen-meter distance and crashed into the large viscous body of the ooze.

  ……

  Several small holes appeared in the ooze’s soft body. Black and pungent acid water poured out from the wounds. However, the slime seemed utterly ignorant to this fact and several appendages extended from its soft, jelly-like body, reaching toward the Archer magical machine.

  Small openings opened in its body as it approached, constantly shooting pungent acid at the joints of the Archer. The black slime sizzled when it landed on the Archer’s metal body, and thick white smoke rose into the air.

  The Archer had been programmed by the goblin engineers to defend this place to its dying breath. As such, it did not take a single step back, even as the enemy continued to close in on it. The metal guns on its arms had already turned red from such rapid firing, but the stuttering gunfire of the bullets did not pause, even for a second.

  When the ooze reached the halfway point, two shoulders of the Archer split apart and revealed the array of goblin rockets within. The next second, eight goblin rockets shot out under the propulsion of bright yellow flames and embedded themselves in the body of the ooze.

  Beng! Beng! Beng!

  A series of energy explosions went within the fat and ugly body of the slime. It was like a water pouch that had been filled with too much liquid. Its body stretched to its limits and let out a terrifying straining sound.

  It seemed the expansion had reached a certain limit!

  Alchemist Adept Singh, who had been calmly watching the battle from behind the scenes, changed expressions.

  The next second, two more goblin
rockets shot into the ooze’s body and caused another round of explosions.

  This time, the ooze could no longer expand its body any further to neutralize the energy shockwave. It simply exploded before the eyes of the alchemist adepts.

  The entirety of the fifteen-meter-long tunnel was painted in a coat of sticky and pungent black acid. Countless animal bones and hide remnants were mixed in with the mess. The entire shaft started to melt under the effect of the acid, almost as if it had turned into the stomach of a horrifying magical creature. The suffocating stench of its acid filled the air.

  The Archer that had been ordered to guard the corridor has also been splashed with acid. The surface of its metal body had been corroded into mud. Two thuds rang out; the metal arms of the Archer had been corroded and fell to its feet.

  A short moment later, the Archer crumbled as sparks flew out from within its body. It had finally malfunctioned!

  An adept-level ooze against an adept-level Archer magical machine ended with both of them defeated.

  Of course, this had to do with the geography here as well.

  If the Archer had been able to maneuver about and kite the enemy freely, it could probably have taken down this ooze with minimal damage. Unfortunately, there were no ifs in war.

  Adept Singh finally managed to eke out a smile when he saw the metal golem defeated. Still, losing an adept-level summon caused his heart to bleed.

  After all, an adept-level magical beast such as this easily went for a hundred magical crystals on the market. Losing it here like this made his heart hurt, even though he wasn’t strapped for money.

  Just as his frown turned into a smile, a new Archer stepped out from the darkness on the other end of the tunnel. Its clanging footsteps were clear to all as it appeared in sight of the alchemist adepts.

  Wew!

  The next second, a small hole appeared in the machine’s chest as a thick stream of fire shot out, burning the entire tunnel.

  The acid might be terrifyingly corrosive, but even it couldn’t endure such intense burning.