Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  After furiously reprimanding his subordinates, Artes once again walked to the magma pool with his substantial body and jumped in without any hesitation.

  The bottom of this fire pool was slanted downward slightly. The edge of the pool was only three meters deep, while the center was approximately seven or eight meters deep. As such, nearly half of Artes’ body was still exposed on the outside while he stood at the edge.

  The disruption had distracted Artes, causing him to pay no attention to the pool itself. He slowly sat down and leaned against the edge, only leaving his one-meter large head outside of the magma. Artes did not choose to nap while he waited for the results of the search. Instead, he slowly shut his eyes and silently absorbed the rich fire energy radiating from the roiling lava.

  Greem slowly reformed his body and opened his eyes while Artes was distracted.

  As a Second Grade fire adept, the fire energy within Greem’s body was also shockingly intense. There was no way Artes could not have detected him while he was right in front of the molten giant. That was why Greem had dispersed his form ahead of time and relied on the fire energy of the magma pool to conceal his existence.

  Now that he was about to act anyway, Greem started to reform his body as quickly as he could.

  First transformation: Body of Flames!

  Second transformation: Flame Fiend’s Body!

  As two towering Flame Fiends emerged from the pool, all of the fire energy in the magma pool was disrupted as an incomparably powerful mental consciousness quickly pressed toward Lord Artes.

  Mm…what was happening?

  Artes opened his eyes abruptly and glanced at the bottom of the fire pool.

  An intense surge of fire energy had suddenly gained substance there and was rushing toward him like a massive hill.

  Enemy!

  The enemy was at the bottom of the magma pool!

  Artes roared when he instantly understood. He then started to stand up and prepare for a fight.

  Unfortunately, Greem’s Spirit had already lashed outward.

  The first to hit Artes was naturally the magical trap that Greem had set on the wall of the pool.

  As a fire rune appeared and shattered, a brilliant crimson light the size of a fist hit Artes’ thick magma leg. The next moment, a red light spread out, and a frost aura that terrified Artes emanated from the spot of impact.

  In just an instant, Artes and the dozens of meters of magma pool around him were frozen in a layer of blue ice crystals. A layer of frost crept up Artes magma body and worked toward his chest, head, and arms.

  If this layer of frost reached his fire core or soul origin, then he would probably have no chance of advancing every again.

  Fire countered ice, while ice countered fire!

  Both of these attributes were counters to each other. There was no real strength or weakness between them, only partial numerical superiority or inferiority!

  With Artes’ power and the endless fire energy of the magma pool, the power of frost within the Forstmarrow would be exhausted in less than seven minutes. However, before it was exhausted, the sudden burst of frost energy still had the upper hand around Artes surroundings. It burned and caused Artes to howl in agony.

  While the fire energy that Artes gathered in his body fought against the invading frost energy, the lava at the bottom of the pool splashed everywhere. Two gigantic Flame Fiends rose from the lava and launched their most ferocious attack at him.

  At the edges of the pool, the red lava twisted together under the compulsion of some outside force and formed several dozens of meter-thick fire pillars, completely sealing off the pool.

  Through the gaps in the pillars, four molten giants who had hurried over when they heard the commotion could see their lord being attacked by multiple enemies. They immediately started to smash and tackle the pillars with all they had. Sadly, the endless energy being supplied by the magma pool repaired any damage to the flame pillars in an instant.

  The guards couldn’t help but roar out loud in anger.

  Chapter 793 - Blood Battle at the Fire Pool

  The Fire Prison had temporarily prevented the molten-giant guards from interfering, but Greem didn’t have that much time to act.

  Second Grade spells could only keep a six-meter-tall Fire Lord, made of volcanic rocks as hard as steel, in check. They wouldn’t be able to harm him in the slightest. Moreover, the casting of a Second Grade spell required a fairly long channeling and chanting time. There was no way that Greem would have the room to cast spells freely unless Artes was a deaf fool.

  However, Greem’s magical traps had still managed to trap the Fire Lord for five seconds, and these five seconds were enough for him and the Flame Fiend of Terror to work together to cast an extremely large Magma Fireball. Artes had just expelled the frost energy from the surface of his body and was blown to the ground by this powerful fireball. A deep crater one-meter in diameter appeared in the center of his chest, sending cracks in every direction around it.

  A battle between fire users was simply this violent and aggressive!

  The burning effect of flame was practically negated against each other. As such, the only damage that could be done to the opponent had to be with hard fists or the physical effects of the spells they used.

  When the berserk Artes roared and climbed up from the pool, the Flame Fiend of Terror charged forth with a magma executioner’s blade. Meanwhile, Greem stayed back and quickly chanted a profound spell.

  The Flame Fiend of Terror specialized in elementium powers and wasn’t possibly a match for the ferocious Artes in a close-range encounter. However, it still had to charge without hesitation to buy time for Greem’s spell.

  Greem absorbed all the fire energy he could from the mysterious array he had laid in the pool and used his Fire Molding ability to gather the fire elementium between his hands into sharp fire spears. He then shot the spears toward Artes.

  Though his eighteen points of Strength after transformation was still inferior to a monster like Artes, it was more than enough to break through Artes’ defenses when throwing weapons. The crimson fire spears turned into bolts of fire and pierced into the gaps in Artes’ magma body before detonating in shocking, explosion-like powerful fireballs.

  Artes might be immune to fire damage of this level, but he wasn’t resistant to the piercing damage from the spears themselves or the shockwave impact of the explosions.

  The magma armor on Artes’ body fell off, layer by layer. Soon, his true form was revealed.

  Artes enjoyed bathing in the lava for two reasons. He could absorb the pure fire energy within, while also drawing upon the magma to increase the thickness of his body’s surface. No wonder he never got sick of bathing in the lava, even after so many years.

  A tough outer shell provided one with a considerable upper hand in battles between fire creatures!

  At this moment, Greem truly understood what it was like to see two six-meter-tall fire creatures battle in front of him. As the earth trembled from the brutal fight, the entire magma pool was subjected to a calamity. Large pools of lava splashed out toward the surroundings as the fire hall itself quaked and trembled.

  Overall, it seemed like Fire Lord Artes was beating up on the Flame Fiend. His massive and heavy magma fists sent sparks flying everywhere when they landed on the Flame Fiend’s head. In fact, it seemed as if the Flame Fiend’s head had started to twist and distort in shape.

  If it weren’t for the mysterious array at the bottom of the pool supplying the Flame Fiend with energy, it would have been destroyed by Artes within one or two minutes of the fight.

  However, despite the overwhelming beatdown it was receiving, the Flame Fiend of Terror was doing its job. Every time Fire Lord Artes wanted to get up and lunge at Greem, the Flame Fiend intercepted him and continued the fight.

  Meanwhile, the constant fire spear attacks from Greem were also making it difficult for Artes to concentrate on the battle against the Flame Fiend. Even with all his
wild power and unyielding body, Artes could not fight off two opponents of the same grade at once.

  Artes started roaring as he fought.

  Several deep shouts rang out in succession from the center of the city, and towering molten giants emerged from the buildings. They knocked aside the low-grade fire elementals in their way and rushed to the fire hall with all they had.

  An unusually tall and muscular molten giant stood out among the rest.

  Judging from its size and its posture when striding, it was that Second Grade Guard Captain Firerend!

  Greem saw all of his happening through the magical eye he had left outside. His face, even hidden under the flames, flushed white.

  He only had three minutes at most now.

  There was no chance of succeeding at killing a powerful Second Grade Fire Lord if he took no risks. If he waited too long, then Artes’ many subordinates would arrive; the Fire Prison wouldn’t last more than a few seconds then.

  At this instant, Greem gave up on his long-range harassment tactics. He turned and roared as he formed a magma sword in his hands. He lunged forward and worked together with the Flame Fiend to fight against Artes.

  The power of long-ranged fire spells was too easily weakened and resisted when dealing with a Second Grade Fire Lord. A Second Grade fire spell was far less effective than a fire fist thrown with all his strength.

  It had only been two fire creatures brawling earlier. Now, it was three!

  Greem was not Artes’ opponent when it came to Strength.

  Even after transformation, Greem only had 18 points of Strength, while Artes had 27. Just a little bit more, and Artes would have an overwhelming advantage against Greem.

  Five points of difference in Strength caused Greem to be knocked back with every exchanged blow. He stumbled backward, having trouble even standing still. If the difference in Strength had reached 10 points, then Greem’s fire fists would have been smashed to pieces by Artes’ magma fists.

  That would have been an even more terrible scenario to behold!

  [Lower your head; dodge two meters to the left. Upward slash. Location of attack has been marked.]

  Greem himself had no talent for brawling and was relying entirely on the Chip’s notifications to aid him in battle. He lowered his head and dodged a violent fist from Artes. He then stepped two meters to the left and dodged another sneaky knee strike.

  Greem took advantage of Artes’ momentum and slashed upward with his magma sword, going from below to above, cutting right across Artes’ exposed chest. The serrated blade of the sword clashed with Artes’ strong magma body, sending sparks into the air and spilling red lava out on the ground.

  It wasn’t actual lava, but the blood flowing through Fire Lord Artes’ body!

  With the help of the Chip’s powerful combat-aid system, Greem’s vision was filled with colorful lights and continually appearing and vanishing red lines. The red lines appeared on Artes’ body, highlighting the gaps in his defenses and the weak points on his body.

  These red lines steadily shifted and changed as Artes continued to move about. A dark red line on his chest earlier would vanish by the time Greem reached a position to attack as Artes changed his own pose.

  The red lines vanished and appeared, always appearing on different parts of Artes’ body. Attacking these places would cause maximum damage with minimum force. According to the Earth terminology from Greem’s previous life, these were likely ‘critical hits’!

  The red lines were always shifting in position. Greem could hardly even catch one-fifth of them with his current fighting skills. However, just these one-fifth of these ‘critical hits’ allowed him to wound Artes repeatedly during the fight.

  However, Greem wasn’t doing all that well either. His magma sword had been snapped in half, while half his head and chest had caved in. Moreover, the Flame Fiend of Terror acted as the principal offense and was practically crippled now. It was in a terrible state.

  As Second Grade creatures, their battle shouldn’t look so crude and ugly!

  Ordinary battles between Second Grade creatures always started with long-range bombardment, trying to find the opponent’s weaknesses while they moved around and dodged the enemy’s projectiles. It was only when magical powers could not effectively harm the enemy that they would attempt to go into a melee. None of them would be like Greem, entering a cruel life-and-death battle at the very start of the fight!

  There was only one chance!

  Artes would never give him a second chance if he failed to kill him this time.

  Greem took out all he had and bet everything upon this ambush. He was giving his all!

  From the start of the battle until now, Greem had relied on the Chip’s assistance to leave seven or eight holes in Artes’ body. His own body had also been beaten up by Artes’ heavy magma fists and was in terrible condition.

  However, such damage wasn’t enough to kill the Fire Lord with his 24 points of Physique. At this moment, the molten-giant reinforcements had already arrived at the entrance of the fire hall. They would only need a dozen seconds to arrive at the Fire Prison.

  Greem didn’t have much time left!

  We’re going in.

  Greem roared and appeared near Artes with a Fire Teleportation. Untamed fire energy gathered between his hands and turned into a new magma sword which he stabbed into the crater on Artes’ chest.

  The Fire Lord’s reaction was swift. He opened his left hand and grabbed the front of the sword, allowing the red magma to splash onto his hands, refusing to let go. He then lifted his right fist and smashed it at Greem’s battered head with ferocious strength.

  The massive fist whistled through the air. The immense air pressure was already pressing against Greem’s Inferno Shield even before it had made contact.

  Greem’s eyes turned cold and solemn.

  Chapter 794 - Mission Accomplished

  Fire fists rained down from above.

  However, they were intercepted by a pair of fire hands that appeared out of nowhere.

  The Flame Fiend of Terror had been beaten beyond recognition, yet it still clung onto Artes’ heavy right arm with its crippled body. Three six-meter-tall fire giants were entangled together, rolling around and fighting in the magma pool.

  Greem took advantage of the Flame Fiend dragging down Artes’ arms to lean in toward the enemy. He then used his burning hands to stab the massive crater on the Fire Lord’s chest. Shattered stone dust from the hole fell as Greem pierced with his hands as the cracks started to spread further throughout Artes’ body.

  Artes began to struggle and resist with increasing intensity as if he sensed the threat of death. His powerful stone arms pummelled the Flame Fiend furiously. The Flame Fiend’s elementium body finally dispersed, incapable of enduring any more punishment.

  The crystalline magical golem core fell into the pool and vanished within, only leaving behind a few bubbles.

  It was already the third time the enemy had destroyed the Flame Fiend of Terror while it was summoned!

  As Greem’s enemy increased in strength, even a Second Grade Flame Fiend of Terror could not last until all of its energy was exhausted. Moreover, summoning a Second Grade magical golem took up too much of Greem’s Spirit, making it difficult for him to call up a swarm of golems to surround the enemy like he used to do in the past.

  With the Flame Fiend removed from the battle, only Artes and Greem were left in the fire pool.

  Fire Lord Artes’ massive magma fists thudded against Greem’s body, and Greem’s Inferno and Lava Shields exploded into shards within a second of their formation.

  The heavy blows made Greem dizzy. His entire field of vision was filled with splashing red lava, and his body was breaking at places, giving him trouble maintaining the stability of his form. However, Greem was already absorbed in the fight. He ignored the torrent of strikes and stabbed at Artes’ chests desperately.

  The crack there was growing larger and larger.

  Art
es, given his strength, could have blown away Greem with a single punch. However, Greem had turned his left hand into a fire whip and wrapped it around Artes’ waist to prevent this situation from happening. This way, he would be able to attack Artes’ chest with his left hand, even if the Fire Lord’s fists were also disassembling his body.

  Both of the giants rolled throughout the pool trading blow for blow. The ferocious battle threatened to raze the entire place to rubble.

  At this moment, Second Grade Molten Giant Firerend had already rushed into the fire hall and was attacking the Fire Prison with all he had. As expected of a Second Grade, the power he possessed was far beyond the total of those four First Grade molten giants. The destructive power of his strength was also incomparable.

  The Fire Prison was being taken apart at a visible pace.

  At this intense moment of the battle, a crisp cracking sound came from the crater on Artes’ chest.

  Greem had finally pierced through the half-meter thick magma shell!

  Greem’s ferocious fire hand instantly stabbed into Artes’ chest and grabbed onto a fire core that was the size of a human head. As fire energy with violent, destructive powers surged into Artes’ body, a series of explosions occurred within. Greem’s fire energy took the opportunity to enter and successfully restrain Artes’ soul consciousness.

  A soft sound rang out.

  Greem pulled out his right hand, and Artes’ massive fire core turned dark red in his palm before cooling into a gray heart of stone.

  The surroundings turned silent.

  The molten giants stopped their attacks and looked at the stone heart in Greem’s hands with expressions of shock and surprise. They had lost all desire to fight, in addition to the ability to think clearly.

  Their lord had died.

  All the molten giants dejectedly looked at this sight as the sentence echoed throughout their minds. Finally, Firerend was the first to wake up from the shock. His dimmed eyes turned bloodshot once again as he pointed at Greem and roared, “Kill him!”