Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Meanwhile, the real Greem had turned into a cluster of flames, sneaking back into the mines. He avoided Karak and Yunid and quickly made his way to the location he had uncovered.

  This intense battle instantly turned into a strange and unpredictable fight!

  Chapter 889 - The Scheme Succeeds

  Molten Fire City. The control center of the mine’s defensive arrays.

  Several dozen adepts were strewn about the hall, their bodies covered in wounds of varying severity.

  The array that had been carved into the center of the hall’s floor had now been destroyed beyond recognition and could no longer be activated.

  Meanwhile, Array Master Dorian lay in a pool of blood aside a broken pillar, silent as he received treatment from Adept Freina.

  Adept Karak’s face instantly turned dark when he stepped into the room.

  “What’s the matter? Who attacked this place?” Karak shouted loudly.

  “It’s…that flaming tiger.” Dorian stuttered through the pain.

  His left leg appeared to have been smashed by something and was now completely flattened. Black streaks of blood flowed down all of his orifices. It was obvious that his internal injuries were severe as well.

  “The flaming tiger?” The corner of Karak’s mouth twitched, and he spoke with a ghastly expression, almost as if he had seen a ghost, “How could it be the tiger? It…it was just fighting with the few of us in the underground mines!”

  Dorian appeared to be extremely weakened from his wounds, but even he had to roar in anger when he heard Karak’s words.

  “I’m the one that wants to ask you what’s happening! Why was I attacked by that tiger the moment I arrived here with my men? Moreover, that bastard summoned a molten giant again and smashed the central control hall to pieces.”

  Karak’s face was full of disbelief. He then turned to Freina and asked sternly, “You saw it as well?”

  “I saw it!” Freina hastily nodded her head before stuttering, “But…”

  “But what?”

  “I keep having a feeling that though this tiger appears the same as the previous one and emits the same aura, I have a feeling that it isn’t the same one.”

  Dorian also moaned feebly, “I have the same feeling! It feels like this tiger’s power is a bit weaker than the original one. However, the molten giant it summoned was the same as last time!”

  Karak drew in a cold breath of air.

  There…there wasn’t just one tiger?

  If there was more than one tiger, why was it that they never showed themselves prior to this?

  While he was brooding, a faint red light suddenly shone on the snake-eye ring on Karak’s right index finger.

  It was a communication ring he used when contacting some of his direct subordinates in Molten Fire City.

  He reached out and rubbed the ring, bringing it to his mouth and frustratedly said, “Antok, don’t bother me if you don’t have anything important to say. Right now, I’m…”

  “My lord, come here quickly, please! The lab and the warehouse are being attacked.” A desperate cry for help came from the other side of the ring the moment it connected. More screams and cries could be heard behind him; faintly, there was the familiar sound of a tiger’s roar.

  Karak’s face instantly turned black.

  Dorian and Freina, who had heard the message as well, showed the same expression.

  It didn’t matter how heavy their losses in the underground mines were, or if the slave miners were to all die– they would not even bat an eyelid. As long as Molten Fire City was around, and as long as they were around, everything would return to normal eventually.

  The worst that would happen would be a few weeks of the cities’ ore production would be lost!

  Losses of this amount were still bearable for them as deputies of Molten Fire City.

  However, the secret lab and resource warehouse were crucial locations!

  Even the lord of the city would have to come out of his ten-year seclusion if something were to happen there. And the consequence of disturbing the lord; the three of them shivered just at the thought of it.

  Dorian, who had intended to return to his room for further treatment, immediately pulled out a magical dagger from his belt. The cold light of the blade gleamed, and Freina’s left leg was severed perfectly.

  Strangely enough, not a drop of blood flowed from the wound.

  Freina let out a pained cry. Her face turned pale as her body trembled, but she dared not move at all.

  Dorian pressed Freina’s severed leg against his own. He then took out a vial of purple potion and poured it over the disjointed part.

  A light white cloud of smoke rose, and some translucent and adhesive liquid instantly appeared on the wound. It was a disgusting sight.

  However, the next second, Dorian could stand and walk normally with both legs.

  “Being Freina back for treatment!” Dorian waved a Molten Fire City adept over and handed Freina to him. He and Dorian hurried toward that secret location.

  As the two of them quickly traveled through the tunnels, Dorian questioned softly:

  “How many resources are stored there?”

  Karak replied with a pale face, “We typically send the resources to the lord’s tower every three months. It’s been ten years since the lord’s tower has been opened, and all of the stock is in there.”

  Dorian felt like the world was spinning around him when he heard this reply, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

  “Relax, don’t worry. The flaming tiger is just a beast, how big can its appetite be? How many of the resources can it take away with it even if it were to gorge on the stock? The missing share…if we grit our teeth, pool our resources together, and have the slaves work overtime in the mines, we might be able to make up for it.” Karak continued to console himself as they made their way to the warehouses.

  However, when he and Dorian arrived at the secret lab through a path laid with tracks, it was already hell on earth.

  Collapsed and broken experiment platforms and containers were everywhere in the massive alchemy lab. Yet, they couldn’t see a single one of the alchemists working here. Still, plenty of scorch marks could be seen on the clean floor of the laboratory.

  Piles of black ash and dust could be seen in the center of these scorch marks.

  These piles must have been the only things the alchemists left behind!

  The magical statues guarding the laboratory had all been blown to pieces, their remains scattered across the room. The two Second Grade adepts stationed in this place were also missing, their fates probably a bleak one.

  The two of them didn’t stay here for long. Instead, they quickly rushed toward the warehouse at the back of the lab.

  The moment they charged into the lab, they saw a terrifying flaming tiger standing proudly in the middle of the room.

  The beast was casually swallowing a storage ring into its stomach. The tiger’s lips curved when it saw the adepts arrive, betraying an almost human smile before vanishing in a blast of fire.

  The control center of the underground arrays had been destroyed, causing this place to lose the ability to restrict long-ranged teleportation.

  The two adepts could not stop the tiger from leaving, regardless of how furious and resentful they were.

  The two adepts looked around the warehouse after the tiger had left. When they saw the utterly empty room, they couldn’t help but cough up blood at the same time.

  It was big trouble now!

  …………

  In the depths of the lava sea. Cindral’s den.

  A flaming tiger appeared in a burst of flames. A shining red positioning rune was on the floor of the cave.

  The flaming tiger smiled and slowly shifted into Greem’s appearance amidst some twisting and contorting.

  Over the past few days, the fire clone had been silently scanning Cindral’s attributes and body structure. For this purpose, it had even constructed a flaming
tiger model with eighty percent likeness to the original thing.

  Greem used his Fire Molding ability and the flaming tiger model to give himself Cindral’s appearance. With this appearance and his use of fire spells, it would be difficult for the average adept to differentiate between him and Cindral.

  Moreover, before he committed to this line of action, he even made subtle contact with Alice in the Northern Lands and had her blur his Fate path. This way, even if someone discovered any evidence that he left behind, they would have difficulty pursuing the truth with divination spells!

  Since they had managed to return safely, they would have to finish the performance they had started.

  Greem closed his eyes and sensed for a moment before turning and charging out of the den. He hurried in a certain direction in the depths of the lava sea.

  The ‘battle’ in the lava sea was still ongoing.

  The ripples of shockwave churned the sea, but whenever Adept Yunid arrived at the scene of battle, the two fighters would already be at another spot, causing another wave of ripples.

  Yunid had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue chasing.

  Greem secretly snuck back to the battlefield and greeted Cindral. He then spat out a storage ring and threw it to the fire clone. The two swapped places and Greem continued ‘fighting’ hard against Cindral, while the Second Grade fire clone quickly escaped under cover of the shockwaves.

  This time, the adept and the tiger did not continue teleporting away. Instead, they started to fight even more fiercely on the spot.

  For the first time, Greem unleashed his full power.

  As his soul flux rippled outward, several pieces of strange magical equipment slowly appeared on his body.

  A fine, extravagant magical crown appeared on the head of the flame humanoid. At the same time, a pair of magical armbands with delicate carvings appeared around his arms. A flash of light appeared on his waist, while an intense magical aura appeared around his legs and neck.

  Moreover, all this magical equipment appeared to be deeply connected to Greem’s soul, forming a perfect magic energy system with his consciousness core at the very center of the system.

  A set. It was a magical equipment set!

  Adept Yunid almost cried out in surprise, and deep envy could be seen when she gazed Greem’s towering body.

  That wasn’t the end of it.

  A strange wooden doll covered in runic lines appeared on Greem’s shoulder, letting out a strange and sinister smile at the flaming tiger before it.

  More Soul Equipment!

  Moreover, it had already gained intelligence and the ability to materialize a body.

  At this point, Adept Yunid was no longer just envious, but blatantly jealous!

  Dammit! Where did this young fire adept find so much Soul Equipment? Was he the bastard of some important Fourth Grade adept?

  Chapter 890 - Mission Halted

  According to the agreement, Flaming Tiger Cindral and Greem had to have a fight between them!

  Moreover, they also needed this battle to conclude the entire incident.

  That was why Cindral also focused and prepared to fight with all he had when he saw Greem’s actions.

  However, Cindral could no longer remain as calm when he saw such powerful magical equipment appearing on Greem’s body one piece after another.

  Once upon a time, back on the Fire Elementium Plane, he had toyed with Greem like a cat did a mouse. Not a single one of Greem’s actions had managed to break free of his control. Today, when that same fire adept stood before him as a powerful and consolidated aura burst forth from Greem’s body, Cindral became somewhat disturbed.

  If one were to count the time, it had been less than ten years since they had last met. Yet, Greem had transformed entirely and grown so much?

  While Cindral became shaken, an armor of fire gathered around Greem’s body. The armor was covered in magical patterns and released a faintly intimidating aura.

  Cindral couldn’t sit still when he sensed the tremendous pressure coming from Greem. He let out a few roars as his entire body started swelling rapidly as if he was a balloon. His originally three-meter long body had now increased to five meters, and his ferocious aura had heightened and become more intense as well.

  Seeing that the two fighters were unleashing the fullest extent of their power and were seemingly putting their lives on the line, Adept Yunid quickly hid herself and silently started preparing her sealing spells.

  She knew that her arrival couldn’t possibly have escaped the tiger’s senses.

  However, as long as she stayed away from the battlefield, the flaming tiger clearly wouldn’t run away with his tail between his legs out of pride of his power.

  As long as she had a good grasp over this psychology, she might have the chance to capture this tiger today.

  Just as this thought appeared in her mind, a vast, massive, and powerful will descended upon the area. There was one second where even the furious and boiling lava sea seemed to halt for a brief moment before continuing surging forward unstoppably.

  That will immediately locked onto the three individuals.

  Cindral, who had been raring to go earlier, retracted his aura the next second and quickly fled into the lava sea like a terrified cat, tail between his legs.

  Judging from the way he was running, he wouldn’t be turning back again this time!

  Greem, who had just completed his combat preparations, was now shocked and at a complete loss. His fighting spirit had deflated in the blink of an eye when it came into contact with that vast will.

  Fourth Grade. It was the spiritual senses of a Fourth Grade adept!

  In just 0.1 seconds, Greem understood the source of this will and hastily retracted his own spiritual flux, guarding his mind and not resisting against that powerful will.

  That will was like a flowing sea of Spirit, quickly scanning the entire location.

  When the spiritual appendages caught the traces of fire that Cindral had left behind when escaping, a cold snort faintly rang out in the air. However, the spirit sea quickly turned its attention to Greem and Yunid, particularly focusing on Greem.

  “You…are the guests that Karak invited?”

  A spiritual flux silently entered the minds of the two adepts, and a sinister and dry male voice rang out in their minds.

  “My greetings, Lord Alfred! I am Yunid of the Horn Clan.” Adept Yunid might be a prideful adept, but she dared not display any arrogance before a Fourth Grade adept. Her reply was respectful, much like that of an apprentice to an official adept.

  “My greetings, Lord Alfred! I am Greem of the Crimson Clan.” Greem also hastily gave his greeting. Though the Fourth Grade adept had not physically descended upon the place, everything within the area engulfed by his powerful will was laid out before his eyes.

  Greem might not have met this Molten Fire City lord before, but he had done some investigations ahead of time.

  This Adept Alfred was also a powerful adept that had risen from the grassroots. He excelled at soundwave magic, and his affinities were also very uncommon. However, none of this stopped him from building a solid foundation and ascending to Fourth Grade after six hundred years.

  At this point, ordinary adept resources were mostly useless to him. The resources he required could only be slowly gathered from the tens of thousands of planar worlds. Molten Fire City might always claim that he was hiding in his tower, but no one knew if he was inside the tower!

  After all, many high-grade adepts would leave their soul brand in their personal towers before slipping out to explore the countless planar worlds. The purpose of hiding one’s tracks was to avoid enemies with vendettas from attacking their tower while they were gone.

  Naturally, there were benefits and downsides to such a way of doing things!

  The enemies would naturally not come knocking on the doors while they couldn’t confirm his absence. However, if the adept were to get lost or trapped in a dangerous ruin whil
e exploring the planar worlds, it would be incredibly difficult to find someone to save them.

  That was why in the Central Region, filled with powerful adepts, it was very common for the powerful adepts of various clans to go into several decades of seclusion, hiding from the rest of the world. It wasn’t until their clan found all sorts of ways to break into the tower that they would discover the soul brands of these adepts broken and shattered.

  Moreover, if news of this were to spread to the outside world, it was very likely to trigger a drastic change to the clan’s ranking.

  After all, many adept clans were propped up by a single powerful core adept. If anything were to happen to this core adept, then it wasn’t uncommon for the clan to just fall apart.

  That could be seen with the vampire Vik Family.

  Regardless of how tremendous a setback the clan suffered, they would have a chance to rise again while Old Vampire Haines Vik was still around. However, once Haines became the prisoner of the Crimson Clan, all the neighboring clans instantly tore the Vik Family apart. Greem did not even need to lift a single finger.

  That was why Greem suspected that this powerful Fourth Grade adept was held up at a particular spot in a different plane world, given that he had not been seen in over a decade. However, now that he sensed that overwhelmingly powerful Spirit, he immediately extinguished any thoughts he shouldn’t be having and suppressed all of his arrogance, offering the entirety of his respect to this powerful adept.

  “A creature from the Fire Elementium Plane? Hahaha, I never thought my Molten Fire City would be so lively while I was gone. Good work, the two of you. Come back for now! I believe that beast won’t dare to show up any longer!” Adept Alfred’s cold voice boomed in the lava, causing even Greem and Yunid to feel fear.

  Greem was glad that he had hidden the storage ring with all the resources on the fire clone. If all that loot were still on him, it would not have evaded the spiritual senses of this potent Fourth Grade adept.

  Though items in a storage ring should not be able to be discovered with spiritual scans, it might be a completely different matter for a Fourth Grade ‘old monster’ like this!