Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

Greem turned back, looked at the priestess, and tilted his head to think for a bit.

  “I will bring you a companion tomorrow, but you must properly instruct her of the rules here. If your performance from henceforth continues to be at this level, I will release all of your companions, one by one.”

  Melinda’s pretty eyes immediately lit up. She hurriedly walked forward and said, “I will definitely be obedient! I will make sure they listen to me, as well. You…you don’t need to be worried about me!”

  The elven priestess had not undergone any combat training back in the Faen Plane.

  Her only daily tasks were to do some cleaning in the elven temples or altars, while occasionally hosting some public prayer ceremonies.

  That was why Melinda’s combat prowess was completely negligible despite her being at First Grade.

  Greem did not say anything else. He nodded at the priestess before walking two steps away and vanishing in a burst of fire.

  Melinda bit her lips and thought for a long time. Alas, she knelt in that beam of moonlight and silently prayed toward the moon in the sky, “Great Moon Goddess, what should I do? Is what I am doing now right or wrong? I pray for your guidance.”

  Unfortunately, this was not the Faen Plane. It was the incomparably powerful World of Adepts. The Moon Goddess Meve that she prayed to was not powerful enough. She could not extend her divine power to this corner of the multiverse.

  Her prayer was fated to fall on deaf ears!

  While Melinda once again fell into her trance-like state of prayer, Greem once again appeared somewhere nearby in the Black Forest. He looked across the two and a half kilometers of towering ancient trees, his gaze falling upon that cottage in the woods.

  A series of strange sounds came from the air. It was the sound of beating wings.

  A fanged bat, completely red in color, emerged from the dark woods. The bat transformed into a pale middle-aged noble in delicate robes in front of Greem’s eyes.

  “Lord Clan Leader, what orders do you have in summoning Vanlier?”

  “That cottage is a secret experiment location I have set up; you must not allow anyone to destroy it. Send some subordinates and seal off the area. Make sure no outsiders make their way in. I don’t care if they are magical creatures or adepts. Exterminate anyone that trespasses with extreme prejudice. Notify me as soon as possible if someone that you cannot deal with shows up!”

  “Yes! I’ll make the necessary arrangements now.”

  A defensive array might have already been set up around the cottage, but Greem was still worried. Thus, he ordered more forces to secure the area. It wasn’t until the place was well-protected that he turned and left.

  …………

  White Tower.

  In a secret room.

  A blast of fire erupted as Greem’s towering figure stepped out into his room.

  His mastery and control over fire were increasingly refined now. As long as he left a magical brand in a location ahead of time, he would be able to instantly teleport to that place using the subtle senses between the flames.

  Of course, a mid-ranged Fire Teleportation like this could not exceed twenty-five kilometers. It also required some degree of setup ahead of time, making it impractical in combat.

  However, ever since reaching Third Grade, many combat strategies that he had long since thought of but couldn’t enact in reality had become possible.

  Currently, what Greem wanted to optimize most was his mobility!

  As an elementium adept, being a cannon on the battlefield was the best way to make use of his powers.

  However, his severe lack of mobility spells in the past had often forced Greem to transform into the Flame Fiend and serve as a half-baked flame warrior. Now that he was Third Grade, his fire magic was increasingly elegant and excellent.

  After a long time of calculation and deduction with the Chip, Greem finally came up with a feasible enhancement plan.

  A Flame Jet Engine!

  Flame jets were a simple application of fire magic to begin with. It involved firing out concentrated fire particles in a cone shape toward a specific direction to inflict area-of-effect damage.

  Now, Greem combined his usual flame jets with the Fire Molding ability of the Fire Throne set and created flame armor for himself. The purpose of this armor wasn’t for defense, but mobility.

  Much like having many tiny jet engines, the fire armor could expel searing flame jets under the effects of Greem’s immense fire energy. It used the counterbalance force from the flame jets to employ rapid movement in a limited area.

  However, this kind of movement based upon sudden acceleration required Greem to get used to its application slowly.

  Thus, Greem took two to three hours from the coming days to train his reflexes.

  He set up hundreds of sharp stakes in a chaotic fashion within the room. He then forced himself to activate the Flame Jet Engine and weave through the stakes at an extremely high speed.

  Of course, out of concern for his safety, Greem also made sure to cast a few Fire Shields around himself.

  Unfortunately, during the first two weeks, Greem only succeeded at turning himself into a flaming cannonball. Every time the Flame Jet Engine was activated, he became a flaming meteor that crashed through the wooden stakes and smacked into the stone wall.

  If it weren’t for the Fire Shields, he would probably already be half-dead.

  These tragic days lasted for half a month before he finally managed, barely, to control the speed of the Flame Jet Engine. However, every time he weaved through the array of wooden stakes, some unexpected error in his cooperation with the Chip would come up. The result of every mistake meant disaster for the wooden stakes.

  They were either burnt to char by the flame jets or smashed to pieces by the scrambling Greem.

  Having no progress after so much training also caused Greem to lose confidence in his own athletic talent. He could only transfer all control over the Flame Jet Engine to the Chip in his mind.

  Compared to the vague athletic sense of the human mind, the Chip’s control over the Flame Jet Engine was more precise and agile.

  Every time the Flame Jet Engine was activated, Greem would turn into a flaming humanoid, rapidly weaving, advancing, and retreating through the dense array of wooden stakes. Unfortunately, though his movements were swift, his expression was utterly distinct from his actions.

  Greem’s screams never stopped as he watched the stakes rapidly flash past his eyes and quickly approach him. Though he was completely unharmed after all the practice and had correctly completed all of the actions, his robes were soaked through with bead-like drops of sweat.

  Such first-person point-of-view practice was more exciting than riding a rollercoaster from his past life a hundred times over!

  Chapter 858 - Dispute Amongst the Witches

  Entvija.

  As a large trading city, Entvija was well known throughout the Northern Lands.

  There were circles of trading areas and fancy mansions in the city with the adept’s tower at its core. The crowd here was massive, and people were brushing past each others’ shoulders when they walked through the streets.

  One had to admit that though the Northern Witches were a little too barbaric in combat, their attitudes toward civilians were the best among the adept organizations.

  Perhaps it was due to the cold, harsh weather of the Northern Lands, along with the vast land and a low number of civilians, but the population was a rare resource as well here.

  That was why massacres very rarely happened in the Northern Lands. Even conflicts between witches rarely ever involved ordinary people.

  Entvija was a classic public city. It did not belong to any one witch branch and was instead a trade capital left to the management of the Witch Council. The witches in charge of order in the city had to keep a fair attitude toward every single witch branch. They maintained a neutral stance in all situations.

  Arya was an official witch belonging to th
e Witch Council.

  It was currently her shift in patrolling this city.

  Arya sat upon her flying broom and casually flew across the sky of the city.

  Elegant and exquisite buildings stood below her feet as the crowds surged through the streets.

  Many carriages were slowly moving through the traffic with all sorts of goods and products stacked on them.

  The civilians took off their hats when they saw a witch fly across the sky, cheering at Arya’s silhouette as she passed by. It was enough evidence that the local witches were genuinely beloved by the commoners.

  Arya performed a patrol of the trade district on the eastern side of the city at this time every day. When she passed by the Biden Magical Hut, she would give Aunt Fenrin a visit and have a taste of her homemade honeycakes. Then she would fly over to the Kentor Florist in the outskirts, delivering a foxtail flower to her beloved Witch Minnie.

  As a witch on shift duty in Entvija City, Arya spent most of her time in a casual and leisurely fashion.

  The order and law of the city were maintained by the nobles and city guards sent by the Witch Council. They were only responsible for patrolling and having fun. It was only when a significant commotion occurred that the city guards could not deal with that they would appear as arbiters.

  When Arya swept across the sky on her broom as if it was yet another casual and uneventful day, a magical flame suddenly rose from the Paran district in the distance, bursting into fireworks in midair.

  Hm? That was an alarm signal from the city guard!

  Arya paused for a moment before driving her broom in the direction of the firework, flying quickly into the distance.

  By the time she arrived in the Paran District, two of her sisters had already arrived.

  They rode on their broomsticks as well, hovering above the streets and whispering into each others’ ears as if discussing something. They nodded at Arya when they saw her arrive.

  Paran District was a famous trade district of Entvija City. The stores of several major companies were located on the street, making it a top priority of the witches as well.

  Arya might have arrived late, but she could still clearly see everything on the ground while hovering sixty or seventy meters above it.

  At this moment, two parties were coldly facing off each other in front of the doors of the Kimbes Company. The city guards who had hurried over to the commotion surrounded the two parties. They held weapons in their hands, but none of them dared to intervene in the conflict between these two groups.

  There was only one type of people that could make the Entvija city guards hesitate– witches!

  As expected, as Arya’s eyes swept across the area, she immediately saw seven or eight individuals dressed like witches in the two groups. Arya quickly understood their identities through the emblems pinned on their chests.

  It was the Fate Witches of Dragonblight and the Coldwinter Witches of Icesnow Valley!

  Arya’s head buzzed the moment she saw them. She instantly felt a headache.

  “Arya, look,” One of the two witches that had arrived earlier flew toward her and said, “They started fighting here! Should we intervene or leave them alone?”

  “How should we intervene?” Arya couldn’t help but put on a bitter smile, “The Witch Council approved the battle between them. All witch branches are not allowed to interfere before their battle is concluded. That includes us as well.”

  “Then, are we supposed to just let them start a fight here? This is Paran District!”

  “Fight, fight…just let them fight! Either way, we will make them pay for anything that they destory. We just need to make sure they don’t cause any collateral casualties or hurt any civilians.”

  “Well…I guess that’s the only way we can do this!”

  The three witches mumbled to each other and quickly decided on a plan of action.

  Arya was the oldest among the three of them and the strongest as well. Thus, she flew above the witches of the two parties.

  The city guards surrounding the street finally let out a breath of relief when they saw the witch on duty arrive.

  They might have excellent equipment, rigorous training, and had dealt with trouble-makers in a heavy-handed fashion, but even these fearless guards couldn’t help but cower when dealing with witches.

  The witches squaring off against each other in the streets lifted their heads and looked at Witch Arya.

  “This is Entvija City. If your two branches have any conflicts, please take it outside of the city. Do not disrupt the order here!” Arya was still trying her best to the very end.

  “Hmph! They insulted our leader earlier. They must apologize to us now!” The leader of the Fate Witches was the Berserk Witch Sofia. Two young Fate Witches followed behind her.

  These two young Fate Witches were unfamiliar faces. It seemed they had only just advanced recently. Consequently, they appeared nervous when faced with the provocation of the other witch branch. Even the magic wands in their hands were trembling slightly.

  Four Coldwinter Witches were standing across from them. Each of them had crystalline ice shields floating around them and a snowstorm raging within their eyes. They looked upon the three Fate Witches with cold smiles on their faces.

  A dozen witch apprentices stood behind both parties, along with several dozen guards.

  It seemed the witches of the two factions had run into each other when shopping in the Paran District. That was what had led to the current conflict and stand-off.

  “Haha! You want us to apologize? Then let’s see if you have the might to back that up.”

  “Indeed. You Fate Witches have been re-established for over a hundred years, and yet you have no more than pawns in your entire faction. That is more than enough proof of your leader’s inability. If I were you, I would already be thinking of joining someone else.”

  “Just you few people and you hope to stand a chance against us Coldwinter Witches? We will teach you a proper lesson today.”

  It was clear that the Coldwinter Witches held the advantage in the current situation. That was why they were unwilling to let go of this golden opportunity and were so eager to start a fight.

  Seeing that her words had no effect, Arya shook her head helplessly and flew toward the city guards.

  “You guys, don’t just look. Hurry up and send people to evacuate the civilians nearby.”

  “Then…them?” A captain of the guards started stuttering.

  “Don’t concern yourself with them. Those witches will settle their conflict by themselves. Just seek the loser for compensation once the battle is over!”

  The face of the captain steadily turned sour when he heard this terrible job fall on his head.

  Regardless of how weak the witches of these two factions might be, the soles of their feet were higher than the top of his head.

  In all honesty, if it weren’t for the demands of his post, he would never want to be involved in a battle between two witch factions.

  The witches were about to fight!

  The city guards mobilized and immediately dispersed the crowd near Paran District, leaving a spacious battlefield for the witches. Everyone held their breaths and found cover as they silently watched the fight that was about to erupt.

  Arya and the two other witches on shift duty flew even higher above and observed the fight from the air.

  “Just surrender, Sofia!” The Coldwinter Witch in the lead stood out, “You Fate Witches are naturally inept at combat; it’s best if you surrender as soon as possible. You just need to sit in our clan’s prison for a couple of weeks and wait until the battle concludes. Then, you can go back to Dragonblight. Otherwise…”

  She didn’t finish the sentence, but the threat was fully expressed!

  “Hmph! Don’t start gloating too early!” Sofia waved the thick and heavy stick in her hands. She let it fall to the ground as it smashed through the tough stone tile, sinking deep into the earth, “Let the dogs out.”
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br />   As Sofia shouted, she and the two witches behind her simultaneously threw out a glowing elementium core. The elementium cores took in dense earth elementium as they flew threw the air. They then transformed into three towering stone golems amidst a blinding yellow light.

  Three advanced First Grade stone golems!

  These stone golems were all four meters tall, their bodies wholly pieced together with massive boulders. Their shocking weight caused the surrounding buildings to tremble when they landed on the street.

  The three stone-golems roared and charged at the Coldwinter Witches on the other side of the street the moment they were summoned.

  “Dammit! Elementium golems!” The Coldwinter Witch leader shouted out loud, “Guards, stop them!”

  The guards in white armor that stood around the witches immediately rushed forward upon receiving their orders. They raised their shields against the stone golems.

  A horrifying explosion rang out, much like that of a heavy truck running across a field of watermelons.

  The first few guards at the front were crushed to minced meat by the massive fists of the stone golems, their entire bodies exploding into blood and flesh. Even more guards were blown away by the swinging fists, turning into birds without wings as they soared across the air.

  However, their desperate effort allowed them to stop the stone golems in their tracks!

  Chapter 859 - The Savage Sofia

  Just as the stone golems were wreaking havoc with the guards, the attacks of the Coldwinter Witches arrived.

  Arrows of snow and ice crashed against the rock bodies of the stone golems, instantly coating their bodies with a layer of crystalline frost. The movements of the golems became dull and slow.

  With the assistance of the Coldwinter Witches’ magic, the guards finally managed to stabilize their formation. They surrounded the stone golems, taunting them into attacking while having the stronger guards use heavy weapons like warhammers and flails to smash the legs of the golems.

  Pebbles flew everywhere, and rocks started to fall.

  For a moment, the entire street was filled with dull thudding sounds of metal against rock.