Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

Adept Roy’s passionate gaze swept across Mary’s seductive body. A blazing flame of desire rose up in his heart.

  “What? Interested in me? Then come out and let me take a look at you!” Mary chuckled as a beautiful and sweet smile appeared on her face. Only those who knew her well could sense the anger bubbling in her cold eyes.

  “Fend off your invasion? Hahaha, why does it look like I’m the one attacking you guys now, then?”

  “Damned girl, don’t you talk back. Once we’ve broken into your tower, you will grovel before me and beg for mercy.” Roy cursed angrily, utterly ignorant that Mary’s crimson eyes were glowing ever brighter as he talked. They were almost as bright as stars at night now.

  “Hmph! Do you think you guys are the only ones with numbers? Numbers are useless before true power. Only power and power alone is fundamental for establishing ourselves. Come out, my servants.”

  Mary opened her wings to their limits and shouted with the tone and command of the Bloody Queen.

  As her high-pitched voice reached its limits, a horrifying energy aura abruptly erupted from the shadows on the ceiling. Four powerful bloodkin appeared simultaneously and dove at the backs of the alchemist adepts.

  Four more Second Grades?

  Though the energy aura in their bodies was one or two levels weaker than a Second Grade adept, that overflowing soul aura was indeed that of Second Grades.

  The enemy had sent five Second Grades to deal with the Magic Forest Hut. One of them was even the famous Bloody Queen. This…this was way too over the top!

  The thought of running arose in Adept Roy’s heart before the fight had even started.

  However, nearly eighty percent of the adepts of the Magic Forest Hut were here. If he, the leader of the organization, were to run now, the remaining adepts would be subjected to the slaughter of the enemy. It would be far too big of a blow to the Magic Forest hut!

  Thus, Roy expelled the idea from his heart the moment it appeared.

  Defend. Wait for our allies to send reinforcements.

  After making up his mind, Roy no longer dared to hold back. He threw out another two vials glowing with brilliant magical light. In a single move, Roy summoned a blood giant and a lightning elemental, both of them Second Grade creatures. It was only now that he felt a bit calmer and composed.

  “Charge! End it fast!”

  Mary laughed coldly as her silhouette turned into a crimson bolt of lightning. She leaped headfirst into the alchemists’ range of attack. The two blood knights and blood elves followed in order, launching their ferocious charge as well.

  The next second, blinding light erupted in the hall, and a dozen magical lights of various colors gathered together and turned into an overwhelming magical tide that engulfed the bodies of the vampires.

  The alchemist adepts were considered elementium adepts still. Though they experimented with potions a lot more, they did not wholly abandon their fundamental spells and magic. The thirteen First Grade adepts cast thirteen First Grade spells, while Roy’s Second Grade Starfire Poison Cloud engulfed all five of the vampires in a light yellow cloud.

  The next second, the spells exploded and rang out. The magical creatures roared as elementium explosions appeared everywhere. Flesh and blood splattered across the ground, and the sounds of elementium shields shattering mixed into the chaos, turning into a deafening sound wave that further complicated the scene.

  However, during this chaos, Mary and her four subordinates had successfully broken free of the range of attacks.

  Though their bodies and armor had been ravaged by the tide of magic, Mary and her two blood knights had each managed to catch a First Grade alchemist adept.

  These captured adepts hung limply from their arms; it seemed their limbs had been disjointed. However, they were still entirely conscious and yelling for help.

  Sadly, before the other alchemists could even respond, Mary and her two blood knights sank their fangs into the necks of their prey and started sucking.

  The wounds on their bodies healed and recovered at a visible rate as they were shrouded by blood energy. Soon, not a scratch was left.

  The faces of the alchemist adepts, Roy included, immediately turned green!

  Chapter 766 - Bloody Battle of the Stone Hall

  While the intense battle began in Fire Cave, everything happening underground was also being projected in the central tent on the surface.

  Sinister smiles appeared on the faces of the adepts in the tent when they saw the terrible performance of the Magic Forest Hut adepts. The alchemists had always relied on their monopoly over their potions to behave arrogantly toward their peers. Every single adept clan here had been subject to their attitude.

  Now that they got to see those alchemists being beaten like dogs, it wasn’t humiliation that arose in their hearts, but a genuine, heartfelt pleasure.

  These alchemist adepts should have been taught a lesson a long time ago. They should have been made to understand that the only thing that adepts should believe in was still power!

  And they were only a bunch of slaves to knowledge!

  Still, they were their allies this time. As such, they couldn’t just sit by and let them be ravaged by the vampires.

  Third Grade Vampire Adept Haines Vik looked at the pretty figure dashing between the alchemists on the screen. He couldn’t help but betray a sinister killing intent.

  Dammit, dammit, dammit. It was all because of this woman that his Vik Family had encountered their most significant defeat and loss in several hundred years. This woman…this woman caused the Vik family to regress by three hundred years.

  Haines couldn’t suppress his restless blood when he thought of his descendant’s blood flowing through the body of an outsider. He thought of his hundreds of years of efforts going to waste.

  This damned woman must die!

  This damned woman must die!

  This damned woman must die!

  Haines tried his best to suppress his emotions and elegantly said, “Since we have drawn out that woman, then let me end this thoroughly!”

  Haines was visibly inhaling to calm himself down when he said the words that woman.

  All operations of this alliance were led by Third Grade Adept Yurga of the Kamala Clan. As such, Haines still needed to tell him if he wanted to participate in the fighting.

  Third Grade adepts would never be held back!

  Haines’ suggestion was immediately approved. His silhouette flickered in the tent as the vampire had vanished without a trace.

  …………

  The Underground Stone Hall.

  The bitter battle between the two parties was still ongoing.

  As an official Second Grade adept, Mary put all of her attention on the Second Grade alchemist adept. In a mere three minutes, they had exchanged over one hundred and seventy-four blows. The amount of damage they had inflicted on each other was awe-inspiring as well.

  Only one of the two Second Grade elementium servants that Roy had summoned was left.

  The lightning elemental had fallen to Mary’s ferocious attacks, but it had also managed to shock and carbonize the right half of Mary’s body. If it weren’t for Mary sucking blood in time and regenerating her wounds, today’s battle would have come to a swift end.

  As a vampire adept, Mary’s combat style was exceptionally fearless and ferocious.

  She relied on her high Agility and swift figure to continually weave in and out of the alchemists’ defensive circle, occasionally charging in to wound or abduct an enemy with her sharp claws. These First Grade fellows were no more than human targets in her eyes. Their movements were stiff and slow, while their magic had trouble locking onto Mary’s phantom-like form.

  Most of the alchemists had no choice but to swap out their powerful single-target spells to area-of-effect spells in hopes of forcing back the ghostly vampire by stacking all of their damage.

  If Mary’s attacks were said to be like those of a phantom assassin, then the two blood knights wer
e like human tanks. They had been knights to begin with, and the battle techniques they knew were also mostly centered around mid to close range. Consequently, the two blood knights brandished their crimson longswords and tackled the enemy line at the very start of battle, enduring the constant attacks from the alchemists.

  Crimson Cross!

  Bloodrage Charge!

  Fierce Strike!

  Crimson Storm!

  ……

  The many knight techniques that came from their hands would easily exterminate groups of magical creatures and elementium servants. Meanwhile, most of the enemy’s attacks could not deal much damage to them after being weakened by the blood mist around them and wind indurium armor they wore.

  Even if a focused barrage of attacks wounded them, they could consume blood to replenish their lost life force. Their bodies were stuck in an endless cycle of being damaged and being healed.

  As for the two Second Grade blood elves? They didn’t have such tough bodies and could only use the Blood Bullet, Blood Boil, Bloody Slaughter, Vampiric Aura, and various other blood magics that they had just mastered to attack the enemy from afar.

  These blood magic spells might not be too powerful in terms of offensive effects, but they excelled at disrupting enemies.

  Blood Bullet was only a single crimson energy ball fired at the enemy. The energy ball contained some degree of blood corrosion effect.

  Blood Boil could cause the target’s blood to boil, thus depriving them of the ability to move.

  Bloody Slaughter was more like a charm spell. It could cause the target to lose their rationality and be overtaken by an impulse to slaughter.

  Vampiric Aura was an even more sinister blood-magic. Creatures engulfed by its halo would have all of their lost life force absorbed by the blood elves, turning into energy that sustained the blood elves in battle.

  These two blood elves were stirring up trouble from the outside. They periodically used Bloody Slaughter to turn one or two of the alchemists into red-eyed madmen, forcing them to take up their staffs and beat the people around them.

  Fortunately, adepts affected by Bloody Slaughter would temporarily forget their spellcasting abilities. The effect would also only last for three to five seconds on First Grade adepts. Otherwise, the alchemist adepts’ defensive line would have been torn down by their own magic.

  However, with the blood elves opening up holes in their defenses, the two rampaging blood knights could quickly increase the size of these holes, turning them into weak spots that the enemy could not patch up.

  The alchemists had no choice but to drink vials of soul-protection potions to defend against the killing impulse rising in their hearts. At the same time, they had to continually summon more elementium servants to stop the advance of the blood knights.

  Both parties were caught together in an arduous and bloody battle in the hall!

  When it came to combat power, it was clear that the adepts of the Magic Forest Hut had the numerical advantage.

  Apart from their magical creatures and elementium servants, each of these alchemist adepts also possessed one or two offensive magics of great power. Their focused fire would always inflict tremendous wounds on one of the blood knights and cause him to cry in pain. They weren’t weak in close quarters either. Every one of them had bundles of instant-cast magic wands. Even if they were to use each of them a single time only, they would be able to drown the enemy in a tide of spells.

  If it wasn’t for the blood knights’ unique ability to regenerate by consuming blood, there was a real possibility they would have been ground down to their deaths!

  The Magic Forest Hut adepts might be able to drive back the enemy with their ferocious firepower for the moment. However, if the battle drags on, the magical creatures and elementium servants that formed their defensive circles would be wiped away. The disadvantage of fighting against Second Grades as First Grades would immediately become apparent.

  They wove signs for casting, they quick-summoned servants, and they repeatedly used magic wands. Most of their attacks relied on magic potions and magic wands, causing them to use up very little of their own magic power. However, once the battle dragged out, their untrained and unrefined Spirits will have trouble keeping up with the opponent’s pace.

  For the four Second Grade vampires, these Magic Forest Hut adepts were like a herd of sheep working together to fend off a wolf pack. Initially, they could still square off against the wolves with their perfect formation and courage. If their defensive line was torn apart and one or two of the wolves made their way in, the flock would immediately fall apart. They would no longer be able to fight against the enemy like before.

  The moment the herd of sheep scattered, Mary appeared beside Adept Roy like a phantom assassin.

  “You want to kill me? You are not qualified!” Adept Roy yelled madly as he pulled out the cork from a small vial in his hands.

  As yellow and green mist spread into the air, he roared and took the fog into his own body, turning his skin a dark green.

  Mary brushed past him, and her sharp claws left three bone-deep cuts on his unprotected neck. Under normal circumstances, Roy would have had to cover his neck with his hand and retreat from battle.

  However, he roared and pulled out a magic wand from his waist. An instant-cast Solar Ray put a hole in Mary’s stomach.

  Moreover, the wound on his cleanly cut throat appeared to be pale and clean; there wasn’t a single drop of blood from the injury. Countless squirming tentacles emerged from the skin around the cut. They meshed together quickly, and the fatal wound was healed in a matter of seconds.

  Hmph! Zombification.

  Mary groaned in pain. She quickly understood why the opponent hadn’t died and had instead retaliated so quickly.

  The mist that he had just absorbed must have temporarily allowed him to possess the ability to zombify his flesh. This way, he was able to avoid some mortal flesh wounds. He took advantage of Mary’s ineffective strike to rapidly lock onto her position and counter with a magic attack.

  Mary smiled coldly upon understanding what had happened.

  If she didn’t possess the ability to regenerate by sucking blood, she might have been afraid of this strange ability to trade wound for wound. However, now…Mary let out a battlecry and extended her wings. She once again turned into a flash of lightning as she charged at Adept Roy.

  The two parties passed by each other!

  Two new holes appeared on Mary’s body while a terrifying gap appeared where Roy’s heart was.

  “You can’t kill me!” Roy yelled wildly, his face full of madness, “Once our reinforcements arrive, this will be your grave!”

  While he shouted, Mary turned about and launched a third charge.

  Roy’s face couldn’t turn any paler!

  Chapter 767 - Mary's Choice

  The moment of exchanging blows was extremely brief!

  With Mary’s exceptional Agility, she could choose to move around the outside and close in when she wanted to attack. Roy’s attacks would never be able to catch up to her.

  However, considering the enemy reinforcements that could arrive at any time, Mary could only choose to break through the situation by force and establish the battlefield advantage by trading wound for wound.

  The blood giant beside Roy had similar elementium attributes to Mary. As such, both of their blood magic lost effectiveness, and they could only rely on their strong bodies to fight.

  Mary had no choice but to pay the price to break through the blood giant’s defense quickly!

  The blood giant cut open a half-meter long gash on Mary’s right arm as she passed by. Some strange energies had been attached to her wound as well, causing her regeneration ability to be temporarily ineffective.

  However, this way, Mary would be able to confront Second Grade Alchemist Adept Roy.

  It was difficult to catch Mary’s phantasmal figure at this lightning instant. Only the powerful spiritual senses of a Second Grade
adept could make out Mary’s current position.

  Without any hesitation, two vials bubbling with purple potions flew at Mary. Meanwhile, Adept Roy crushed another potion in his hand as he stumbled backward, causing an earthy-yellow mist to gather in front of him.

  First, Mary felt her consciousness fade for an instant; everything in front of her began to turn chaotic and upside down. The mist engulfed her, and her body tightened up. Her skin immediately lost all feeling as this strange numbness quickly spread toward the insides of her body.

  Dammit! These were Hallucination and Petrification Potions!

  Other elementium adepts couldn’t possibly instant-cast so many offensive spells that could break through a Second Grade adept’s defensive forcefield, especially in such a short time frame. However, alchemist adepts were simply like broken bugs in a computer system. They could achieve such an astounding effect by using potions instead of spells.

  Of course, for this very express purpose, they had even invented and come up with a professional handling method to toss out potions rapidly!

  The retreating Adept Roy promptly stopped when he saw that Mary had been affected by his potions. He took out a mysterious wand glowing with rainbow light from near his waist and pointed the purple-red crystal at the tip of the rod at the immobilized vampire. He quickly chanted the activation code for the wand.

  Ruin!

  This magic wand was enchanted with a Second Grade single-target elementium spell– Ruin!

  All targets hit by Ruin would have the elementium power within their bodies go out of control and explode. The target of the spell would completely disintegrate, from their flesh bodies to their souls.

  There weren’t very many adepts who had mastered such a terrifying spell, and those that could enchant a wand with it were even fewer. Even Adept Roy had paid a high price to obtain this wand.

  In all honesty, if it weren’t for the massive loss they had suffered here today, Roy would never have been willing to use up such a trump card.