Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  A short moment later, the magical machine stopped the flames, and the tunnel turned as hard as steel once again. However, the surface of the walls, made of volcanic rock, had become uneven and filled with craters, much like the surface of the moon when inspected at a close distance.

  That wasn’t the end of it. A sort of odd firing device appeared from its back and started to shoot out round metal discs at various spots of the tunnel. These metal discs let out spikes upon landing and fixated themselves.

  A layer of light shone over their smooth metal surfaces.

  Goblin Landmines!

  Having accomplished all this, the Archer squatted down and raised its thick metal arms, aiming at everything in the other end of the tunnel. As hot air was expelled from the vents on its back, the revolver rifles within its metal arms started to roar wildly.

  Chapter 764 - Advance and Ambush

  The advance on Fire Throne was unprecedentedly difficult!

  It was entirely beyond the imagination of the alchemist adepts. The Crimson Clan had stationed a shocking number of metal golems in the underground tunnel. Though these golems lacked any offensive elementium abilities, their impenetrable metal bodies and destructive goblin guns allowed them to exterminate any invader that appeared before them.

  Moreover, apart from the goblin revolver rifles, they were also equipped with goblin landmines, goblin rockets, and goblin flamethrowers.

  Armed with all these goblin weapons, they became one-man armies capable of stopping enemies many times their number.

  The Magic Forest Hut alchemist adepts’ dream to clear up the underground tunnel with the use of cheap elementium summons was shattered.

  The Archers were not unbeatable, but the price that the alchemists had to pay to destroy them was several times the original.

  Initially, Adept Singh had managed to destroy an Archer with an adept-level ooze. However, the goblin technicians behind the scenes immediately adjusted the equipment and attack patterns of the Archers, ensuring that such a thing would not happen again.

  In all of the following battles, the alchemist adepts had to pay three to five times the price of the Archer to take down any of the critical checkpoints in the tunnels. In particular, legions of magical machines appeared in some of the underground stone halls.

  They weren’t very many in number– usually only appearing in groups of five or six.

  However, when gathered together, their metal bullets became a terrifying barrage. Any living being that appeared in front of them would be shredded and torn apart. The powerful metal bullets could even ricochet multiple times on the rock walls of the tunnels, making it hard for the enemy to predict their trajectory.

  The alchemists even had to apply physical, magical shields to their adept-level elementium servants. Otherwise, they would be destroyed before they could even get to the enemy. They would have been reduced to comical target practice for the enemy.

  After charging through several paths, the Magic Forest Hut adepts had managed to destroy seventeen of the Crimson Clan’s Archers. However, they had also paid the price of forty-two adept-level summoning potions in exchange. They had made it no more than seventy-five meters of progress.

  Even the typically rich and wealthy alchemists couldn’t help but start gasping when they thought of the four to five hundred meters to come.

  Landlords might have quite a bit of grain to spare, but even the wealthy couldn’t waste things like that!

  However, even though the situation was terrible, and the adept-level beasts were so ineffective, the alchemist adepts didn’t intend to roll their sleeves up and participate in the fights personally.

  It was important to note that among the adepts, alchemists were often regarded as support adepts, along with potion masters, enchanters, and appraisers. Their personal combat prowess was extremely limited, and they relied entirely on magical potions to fight.

  Thus, after a long period of time, they became a unique group of fighters that were unwilling to risk their own lives and face the enemy personally.

  If they had to fight, they would rely on poisoning or summoning potions to gather a horde of cheap summons and flood the enemy. Furthermore, most alchemists liked to form groups to prevent enemies from diving at them and assassinating them before they could do anything.

  These alchemist adepts would definitely be able to endure the bullet barrage of the Archers and charge up to them if they were willing to take the risk. Their adept-level defensive spells were sturdy enough for that. When that happened, they would have much greater chances of exterminating the enemy and would be able to save quite a few of their adept-level summoning potions.

  Sadly, doing so would mean putting themselves at risk.

  If anything unexpected were to happen, they might be in danger of dying!

  Given the nature of the alchemist adepts, they would never lead the charge as long as there was a one-percent chance of a threat to their life. Hiding behind their elementium servants might come at a high cost, but at least they didn’t need to risk their own lives.

  It was better to pick the lesser of two evils!

  The alchemists of Magic Forest Hut continued their extravagance, justified in their logic.

  A group of vampires that had been hiding in ambush in the darkness of the caves for a long time cursed in annoyance.

  They’d seen cowards, but they’d never seen such cowardly ones!

  These sackless piece-of-shit adepts. What else could they do aside from summoning some elementium servants?

  Soros furiously cursed as he led several Second Grade vampires to hide in the shadows at the top of the cave.

  The enemy’s advance was too slow and too cautious. That undoubtedly made it impossible for the vampires to ambush them. The narrow and hard tunnels made advancing difficult for the enemy, but it also made it difficult for the vampires to ambush them.

  With no choice left to him, Soros could only send a secret message to Gargamel and have him recall some of the Archers to weaken the resistance in the first half of the cave. It finally allowed the alchemist adepts to enter the underground hall that they had chosen as their place of ambush.

  The enemies were retreating step by step. Though the price they paid for this was expensive, victory was in sight, wasn’t it?

  The enemies in the underground hall had been disposed of. It was only now that the Magic Forest Hut alchemists entered the next hall and started inspecting the area.

  The thirteen First Grade adepts formed several groups. Some focused on summoning offensive elementium servants to storm into the following tunnels, while others summoned powerful high-grade earth elementals to reconfigure the geography of the hall and create better conditions for the main force.

  Though plenty of elementium servants had died in battle, there was still an uncountable number of voodoo beasts and summoned creatures gathered around the alchemists.

  The alchemist adept’s concerns for their own safety had truly reached unbelievable degrees!

  It was already the second stone hall they had taken over.

  Much like the previous one, they swept away what they needed to and cleaned what they had to. There were also a few adepts who were mainly responsible for ensuring the safety of the tunnels.

  Several scanning waves of various elementium attributes swept across the stone hall, over and over. They did not sense the existence of any life forms or strange creatures. It was only now that the alchemists let down their guards and turned their attention to the attack and exploration of the underground tunnels to come.

  Just above the alchemists, in a spot they couldn’t see, something was happening. It was a natural dent in the ceiling of the stone hall. There, a fist-sized stone carved full of strange patterns moved, revealing a narrow space behind it.

  Four vampires that had transformed into their bat forms climbed out of the space and hung upside down in the shadows. They narrowed their crimson eyes and silently looked at the busy alchemists below.

>   These small stone spaces had been carefully dug out by the goblins. The stones sealing their entrances had even been carved with mysterious runes meant to obscure detection and hide auras. That was what allowed them to hide from the alchemists’ spiritual scans and magical probing.

  Now, they were only waiting; waiting for a signal to strike from the tower.

  When that happened, it would be time for them to go all out and slaughter the damned enemies below!

  …………

  Inside Magma Hall.

  Rows of neatly ordered Archers stood in silence as they waited for combat orders from the tower.

  Mary, dressed in her skintight crimson armor, stood proudly on the spot. She was listening to the explosions coming from the tunnels. Through all these loud sounds, Mary’s special hearing senses managed to filter and recognize the supersonic signals mixed within.

  “The enemies have walked into the trap! Tell the defense party to counterattack!”

  After coldly giving out an order, Mary transformed into a palm-sized bat and quickly flew into the tunnels.

  “Hurry, hurry, hurry…give out the order for all Archers to immediately counterattack.”

  Manticore Leader Charon immediately chased after Mary and gave out the order.

  The crimson bat that was Mary was like a flash of red lightning in these tunnels. She quickly glided through the dark underground space. Mary passed right by the magical machines in the tunnels and headed straight for someplace in the distance.

  Her appearance was like a signal for the attack that was quickly being sent out. The eyes of the Archers waiting in the tunnels lit up as they snapped out of their defense and security modes. They transformed into their humanoid combat forms once again as they strode after Mary and charged toward the upper levels.

  In the blink of an eye, Mary arrived at the underground hall where the battle was raging on.

  Three Archers and twelve adept-level elementium servants were clashing with each other. Two magical machine remnants rested in the corner of the battlefield, along with several times more corpses of magical creatures.

  Mary’s sudden appearance undoubtedly drew the attention of both parties engaged in combat, but Mary seemed unaware of their gazes. She didn’t seem to care about the battle happening below her. She passed straight by the fighting creatures and dove into the tunnel behind them.

  It was a powerful Second Grade adept!

  It was that vampire adept on the list!

  The alchemists who were observing the battle from afar with projection spells let out a gasp simultaneously.

  Dammit! That scary Second Grade vampire was headed straight for them!

  “What are you scared of? It’s just her alone, and there’s so many of us here. There’s no need to be afraid of one vampire.” Second Grade Roy lectured his subordinates, and the alchemists finally calmed down.

  “Have the voodoo beasts and elementium servants seal her path of retreat. We will surround and kill her here!”

  As Roy shouted, the adepts promptly gave the orders to their servants, and a temporary perimeter was hastily put together.

  When the colorful magical potions exploded, Mary’s lightning-like silhouette appeared at the end of the hall.

  “Tremble, weaklings, for I will bring death to your side!”

  Mary let out her battlecry and lunged at the enemy before her.

  She quickly locked onto the leader of the Magic Forest Hut, dressed in the most extravagant clothes and holding his composure– Second Grade Alchemist Adept Roy.

  The battle erupted in an instant!

  Chapter 765 - Battle Between Adepts

  Second Grade Vampire versus Second Grade Alchemist.

  Both of them were the same grade. At the very least, the strength of their souls was at approximately the same level. There were no concerns about grade difference suppression or a crushing defeat.

  As unconventional individuals amongst adepts, the power of Second Grade vampires was almost entirely invested into Agility. However, to avoid massive flaws appearing in the overall coordination of their bodies, they still had to work hard on their Strength, Physique, and Spirit.

  If her Strength were too low, Mary’s attacks against her enemies would be too weak.

  If her Physique were too frail, her speed would only make it easier for her to hurt herself.

  If her Spirit were insufficient, she would have trouble controlling the finer and more detailed movements of her body.

  All these factors combined made it such that Mary had to raise her other bodily attributes to a certain standard, even though her Agility was her absolute trump card. That was the only way for her to unleash the fullest potential of her extreme Agility.

  In contrast to Mary, the Second Grade alchemist adept stood on the extreme opposite of the spectrum.

  Alchemist adepts were still classified as elementium adepts. Naturally, this meant that their primary focus was Spirit. As they didn’t need to engage in melee combat like body-refining adepts, they rarely ever spent time improving their Strength or Physique.

  Meanwhile, Agility was their shameful weakness!

  However, all these weaknesses could not be said to be flaws for alchemist adepts.

  If they were too weak, they could simply drink an Elixir of Giants.

  If their Physique was too bad, they could drink an Elixir of Dragons.

  If their Agility was too low, they could use a Potion of Haste.

  In fact, even if they lacked Spirit, they could choose to drink a Potion of Ancient Knowledge.

  Either way, they would be able to drink away any flaws that they might possess!

  It was such an extreme thought process that drove alchemist adepts away from the habit of seriously training their own body. If they were to take off their magic robes, put aside their magical equipment, and remove all of their magical enhancements, their Physique would not be much higher than the average human.

  Moreover, they also didn’t seem to be all that passionate and active when it came to training their Spirit, which was supposed to be the one attribute they relied on.

  As Second Grade adepts, most elementium adepts would choose to spend much of their time on raising their Spirit. For example, Greem, despite only twenty years since his advancement, had managed to raise his Spirit from twenty-one points to twenty-six points.

  Alchemist adepts, on the other hand, spent most of their time in their laboratories on the collection, organization, and brewing of alchemical potions!

  That also caused Roy to only possess twenty-four points of Spirit despite having advanced seventy-nine years ago.

  This number might have been passable amongst ordinary Second Grade adepts, but it was utterly inadequate in the face of Bloody Mary, whose Agility was as high as twenty-six points.

  At the very least, Roy was at a certain disadvantage on the battlefield!

  After all, alchemist adepts were naturally not skilled in combat!

  The battle erupted the very instant Mary charged onto the battlefield.

  Roy had undoubtedly done very well as the defending.

  In just half a second, he had taken out various colorful potions from his pouches and activated them.

  The first vial thrown into the battle suddenly exploded, and a thick gray mist was released. A powerful aura appeared and the grey mist quickly gathered into a humanoid creature that was five meters tall.

  From a distance, this powerful lifeform had a body, arms, head, and even some vague facial features. However, everything below its waist was still a swirl of mist and fog.

  This Second Grade cloud giant roared loudly upon being summoned. It then rushed at the approaching Mary.

  Roy still didn’t feel safe, despite the cloud giant stalling Mary and him being protected by multiple alchemists and magical creatures. More and more vials exploded in his hands.

  Some of these potions exploded into brilliant magical lights and applied magical halos on Roy and the lifeforms around him. Som
e summoned odd wind spirits that giggled as they turned invisible and vanished in the air. Some solidified into an oddly-colored magical armor that clung onto his body. Some summoned a massive, twenty-meter long, one-meter thick black mamba on the spot that cautiously watched Roy’s surroundings for danger.

  That was only Adept Roy’s battle preparation. There were thirteen more First Grade adepts around him. When they acted together, the explosion of mysterious lights and magical enhancements, along with the summoning of their servants, was bright enough to blind an ordinary mortal.

  A moment ago, these alchemist adepts had been alone in the room. The very next, they were surrounded by a massive crowd!

  Just as they alchemist adepts completed their combat preparations, the cloud giant they had put out as a sacrifice vanished amidst its cries and roaring.

  Summoned creatures were summoned creatures after all. Even though it was of the same grade as Mary, there was still a massive difference in strength. Mary managed to pierce the consciousness brand within its body after thirty seconds, causing it to fade into oblivion.

  Mary had now returned to her Bloody Sorceress form: the skintight crimson armor, crimson wings, sharp claws, protruding fangs, and her blazing red eyes.

  Mary beat her bat wings and slowly approached the alchemist adepts. Her intimidating aura resembled that of an empress descending upon her subjects. The fearsome smell of blood filled every corner of the stone hall.

  The many alchemist adepts couldn’t help but turn white as a sheet, even while hiding within the horde of magical creatures and protected by layers of magical defenses.

  “Adept Mary, stop dreaming of fending off our invasion!” Adept Roy, who thought himself safe, couldn’t help but say, “The number of adepts in our alliance is beyond your imagination. Surrender quickly, and we can give you a chance to join us. Or else…”