Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Meryl sat within the command center of the Mothership, acting as the highest command on the entire battlefield. Meanwhile, the Second Grade Crimson adepts that excelled at combat and slaughter were standing upon the deck of the Mothership, looking at the dragonflight circling in the skies.

  Standing before all of them was Greem, Mary, Alice, and the elementium magical machine.

  Greem had placed his fire clone within the elementium magical machine, serving as a copy of the Chip.

  Meanwhile, he personally stood at the edge of the deck, coldly surveying the dragon lords.

  Trading fodder? In all seriousness, the Crimson Clan had never lost the edge in a contest of fodder since obtaining the Goblin Plane.

  Once most of their cannon fodder had been whittled away, these dragons would probably not be able to resist the urge to step onto the battlefield.

  That was when today’s battle would truly start!

  Greem waited in cold silence.

  Chapter 926 - Battle Against the Dragonflight

  It was an uneven planar war!

  The number of plane natives surrounding the adept army was dozens of times larger, yet they were at a disadvantage on the battlefield. In fact, there were even signs of the battle turning into an organized slaughter by the magical machines.

  If the Crimson Clan had only still possessed those one dozen adepts, invading another world would probably have worn away at their numbers and eventually killed them. However, as the Crimson Clan established a powerful and complete magical machine army system, they possessed the ability to fend off repeated attacks from entire hordes of enemies.

  Realizing that the natives alone could not move the adepts’ defensive line, the dragon lords had no choice but to send forth the dragonborn and the Dragon Cultists.

  These two forces were the largest foundation stones by which the dragon lords had successfully maintained their rule over the tens of thousands of years. However, now that their very livelihoods were at stake, these excellent subordinates had no choice but to step forward without fear for their lives.

  The participation of the dragonborn and Dragon Cultists caused the atmosphere of the battlefield to boil over ever further immediately.

  The magical machines had managed to keep the frontline outside of the defensive perimeter as they continued to kill the enemy with their exceptional melee and ranged combat capabilities. Moreover, the magic energy cannons on the chariots functioned as a field of fire, continually bombarding the enemies’ route of attack and creating a no man’s land all over the battlefield.

  Yet, with the dragonborn army descending upon the battlefield and the rain of spells from the Dragon Cultists, the magical machines that functioned as the first line of defense started to falter.

  Under Meryl’s orders, many of the magical machines started to retreat. In their place, summoned creatures and newly crafted voodoo beasts roared and charged forward. Naturally, these minions could not stop the momentum of the dragonborn and Dragon Cultists. The defensive perimeter started to become increasingly unstable and shaky.

  However, while the dragonborn and Dragon Cultists were tearing away at the adept perimeter, mixed amongst the crowd of plane natives, the Mothership and all the other goblin skyships had got into position above them. Black gun barrels had extended out of their hulls.

  The next second, one thousand cannons fired in unison!

  An even more massive flame halo appeared around the adept’s defensive perimeter.

  It was not the effect of a spell, but the magnificent sight caused by a thousand scattered energy fireballs erupting at the same moment.

  To fully maximize the effect of this attack, the adepts had used the summoned creatures and voodoo beasts to draw the dragonborn and Dragon Cultist close to this line of extermination. It was only after many precise calculations that they conducted this indiscriminate bombardment.

  Of course, the lethality of this operation was shocking!

  This one all-out bombardment had wiped out thirty percent of the dragonborn and nearly half of the Dragon Cultists. No one paid any attention to the plane natives, but their losses were tremendous as well.

  Such ferocious energy attacks stunned to the dragon lords to their core as well.

  They knew very well the might of this bombardment. If these ferocious energy attacks landed on them, the First Grade dragons would not be able to escape unscathed. If they were unfortunate enough to be hit by more than five energy fireballs at once, they might just be killed on the spot. Such a blow would severely injure even the Second Grade dragons.

  Perhaps only the Third Grade dragons could roam freely in such a terrifying and brutal battlefield. The other dragons could only plead for their lives!

  However, the dragons weren’t all foolish creatures with brawns for brains.

  After such a long period of observation, they quickly discovered some of the ‘flaws’ of the adept faction.

  After the large-scale bombardment, the density of cannon fire from the perimeter would experience seven minutes of ‘low-tide.’ Though the magical machines on the ground were still propping up the frontline, their firepower had been reduced by over forty percent.

  The dragons also quickly locked onto a critical figure.

  It wasn’t Bug Adept Billis, who was uncontested on the ground, or the Third Grade human adept proudly standing above the Mothership. Instead, it was a three-meter tall metallic humanoid protected by both the golem dragon and the Mothership.

  They knew that his role in the adepts’ ability to defend against enemies a hundred times their number was immense, just by seeing the energy chains slithering about him and providing energy to the machines all over the battlefield!

  One could claim that he was the one that was sustaining the entire magical machine army.

  As such, the dragons circled as they roared and discussed their next strategy, even as they searched for defensive gaps in the adepts’ formation. The five Third Grade dragons of the flight undoubtedly became the core of the entire group.

  A crude and direct battle plan quickly formed as they bickered and roared.

  There was no conspiracy or scheme. It was violent and straightforward, in accordance with the dragons’ aesthetic and preference for violence!

  Seven minutes later, yet another large-scale bombardment was unleashed, and a massive halo of death appeared on the battlefield once again.

  The appearance of this death halo was like the dragons’ call to battle. They let out short and crisp roars as all one hundred of them joined together to form a sea of dragons, beating their wings and roaring as they lunged at the Mothership.

  To avoid falling into the Mothership and the golem dragon’s web of firepower, most of the dragons kept a high altitude and relied on the Mothership to shield them from the golem dragon’s attacks.

  Two to three kilometers of distance was plenty for an ordinary person, but it was no more than two beats of a wing for the dragons soaring in the blue skies.

  The intermediate and high-grade adepts of the Crimson Clan had been waiting for this for a long time. They narrowed their eyes, hearts beating uncontrollably.

  Greem stepped forward and let out a battlecry, “Mary and I will occupy them; the rest of you fight with the Mothership behind you. Remember, never go more than two hundred and fifty meters away from the Mothership.”

  Alice stepped forward, dressed in her starry robe. She pointed her radiant Staff of Divination lightly at Greem and Mary, and two mysterious and beautiful clusters of starlight entered their bodies.

  Fate Premonition!

  It was a mysterious enhancement that could not be specifically described with words.

  Whenever danger that threatened oneself descended, the one blessed with Fate Premonition would be able to sense the direction and intensity of the threat ahead of time.

  This Fate Premonition was more accurate and provided a clearer warning compared to the ordinary Danger Sense and Future Sight.

  That
wasn’t the end of it!

  Alice borrowed the power of the Cards of Fate and focused her energy to enhance Greem and Mary with even more enhancements– Luck, Fate’s Concealment, and Shield of Faith. Elementium Fairy Helen also waved her small magic wand to enhance the two of them with Enhanced Resistance, Rapid Reaction, Anti-Elementium Barrier, and four to five more barriers and enhancements of various effects.

  Add to that Greem’s own Lava Armor, Lava Shields, one dozen Inferno Shields, as well as Mary’s blood aura defense, and the two were beaming with magical light. Beautiful, magical halos and orbiting elementium shields clashed with each other, letting out brilliant and blinding light into the air.

  They looked at each as Greem stepped forward to grab Mary’s waist. The next second, both of them instantly vanished in a pillar of blazing fire.

  The flames erupted, and light pervaded the sky.

  Greem and Mary appeared in the path of the dragonflight’s charge.

  They looked at each other deeply once again before abruptly splitting off. At that same moment, a dozen dragon breaths of various colors and attributes swallowed their afterimages.

  Greem was flying quickly through the sky.

  It was not precisely flying anymore. Instead, Greem was gliding rapidly with the dozens of small flame jets installed all over his lava armor. That was why Greem’s flight was several times faster than an ordinary Fly spell.

  Regardless of how arrogant and wild he was, he would never dare to charge into the midst of the dragons. Instead, he chose to move around the dragonflight, using Magma Fireballs to disrupt the rhythm of their flight.

  The five Third Grade dragons could ignore an instant-cast Magma Fireball from a Third Grade adept, but that was not a luxury the other dragons could afford. If those First Grade dragons were hit by one of these erupting fireballs, they would instantly fall from the sky, howling in agony from their scorched and burned body.

  Even the Second Grade dragons would pay a heavy price if the Magma Fireballs hit them square!

  The massive dragonflight was thrown into chaos just by Greem’s appearance. All the First Grade dragons hastily dodged while the Second Grade dragons circled about and retaliated with short bursts of dragon breath.

  Only the five Third Grade dragons roared and rushed ahead to close the distance.

  One had to admit that the excessive size of the dragonflight was a burden to them as well.

  Greem could freely rain destruction amidst the dragons. The other dragons could do nothing to him as long as he avoided the five Third Grades. Meanwhile, the five Third Grade dragons had to avoid the panicking First Grades scurrying past them and were dragged into a game of cat-and-mouse.

  In just thirty seconds, Greem had sent three small dragons crashing from the sky. There were plenty more who had been injured by the flames and shards of magma.

  On the other side of the battlefield, Bloody Queen Mary had become a crimson devil, charging into the dragonflight and tearing wounds into the small dragons with her quick movements and rapid slashes.

  Two of the five Third Grade dragons had no choice but to split off, leading seven or eight Second Grade dragons in close pursuit of Mary. They used their furious breaths to eliminate one hyper-realistic afterimage after another.

  For a moment, the dragonflight was thrown into utter chaos!

  Chapter 927 - The Battle Continues

  The might of the dragons was well-known throughout the entire multiverse!

  Their melee combat ability, mid-ranged dragon breath, and long-ranged dragon magic were all incredibly dangerous and incomparably powerful.

  Under ordinary circumstances, a dragon could easily crush three to five human casters of the same grade.

  That could be seen from what was happening to the vampire adepts.

  The two blood knights and three Second Grade blood elves were flying around the dragons in a pack, delivering a beating to any dragon they caught. Those First Grade dragons were brutalized like sheep to the slaughter before them.

  However, this small pack of vampires felt like they were practically kicking an iron wall whenever they ran into a Second Grade dragon.

  The sharp attacks of the two blood knights might be able to harm the Second Grade dragons, but their defenses were inferior. Meanwhile, the three blood elves were completely defeated in offensive power, defensive power, elusiveness, and magical resistance. They quickly became targets of the Second Grade dragons’ pursuit instead.

  If it weren’t for the forcefield protection provided by the Mothership, these three blood elves would have long since been vanquished by the furious dragon breath of the Second Grade dragons.

  In preparation for their all-out fight against the dragons, a humongous semi-translucent forcefield had appeared around the massive hull of the Mothership. The breaths of the dragons and their dragon magic shattered into sparks when they crashed onto the forcefield, unable to damage the ship whatsoever.

  A small personal forcefield had also appeared around all the Crimson adepts engaged in combat, providing a defense of seven hundred points of power. Whenever the shields were on the verge of breaking, the adepts only had to hide within the Mothership’s forcefield, and the guards would quickly regenerate with Gru’s energy chains.

  It was equivalent to blessing every Second Grade Crimson adept with a Third Grade defensive spell that could be continuously regenerated!

  As long as they didn’t venture too far into the flight of dragons and get surrounded, their lives would not be at too much risk.

  It was this layer of protection that prompted the Second Grade Crimson adepts to be so exceptionally courageous and willing to commit. Even those who typically loved hurling spells from behind a wall of meat shields were now charging to the very front line, fighting bravely like warriors.

  Meanwhile, the golem dragon had raised its head and was silently looking at the battle in the skies. Its broad and scaled back started to twist and contort without stop. Several goblin cannons more than three meters in diameter rose from within its abdomen and began to adjust their barrels according to the movements of the dragons above.

  There were two reasons it had yet to attack. First, the dragons were too far away; it was easy for them to dodge the attacks from such a range. Second, the five Third Grade dragons had yet to enter optimal firing distance. Firing the cannons now would alert them prematurely.

  Greem and Mary might be keeping the Third Grade dragons busy, but they still needed the Fourth Grade golem dragon to take them down.

  This fight also demonstrated the power difference between Greem and Mary.

  In a fair duel, Greem could fend off any Third Grade dragon with the help of the elementium magical machine. If he ran into a dragon that was not skilled at flight or escape, he had a seventy percent chance to capture it alive.

  Mary could also fight any Third Grade dragon on even grounds without losing a single inch. However, the final result would most definitely be a stalemate, with neither her nor her opponent possessing any way of harming each other. The dragon could not catch up to Mary, and Mary could not inflict sufficient damage upon the dragons.

  After all, vampires did not have tremendous offensive power.

  It was merely the nature of her profession and affinities. There was nothing she could do about it!

  However, if Mary could obtain powerful magical equipment that was compatible with her origin attribute, she could instantly solve this flaw of hers. Otherwise, Mary would need to raise her current Second Grade subordinates to Third Grade and rely on numbers if she wanted to establish herself among all other Third Grade creatures.

  The thought of obtaining a Third Grade subordinate through the Embrace was best kept within her dreams. If Mary ever tried to put this thought into action, it would drain her of all her origin blood.

  It was only now that Mary thoroughly understood why the top-tier vampires of the World of Adepts did not use the Embrace to establish an organization utterly loyal to them and inste
ad resorted to primitive reproductive methods to create bloodline descendants.

  In the end, it was all about origin blood!

  Mary had created five Second Grade vampires and dozens of First Grade vampires through the Embrace. These vampires were, thus, constrained by her origin blood. Without Mary’s permission and unlocking of their restraints, none of the vampires beneath her would be able to advance.

  That was her right as their blood master!

  Correspondingly, if she Embraced far too many subordinates at once, it would bring a tremendous burden to her origin blood, even as it allowed her numbers to swell and increase. Such a strain would subtly affect the rate at which Mary’s power increased and the difficulty of advancing to the next grade.

  To lighten the burden on the origin blood while still raising qualified subordinates, most vampire clans still relied on primitive reproductive methods to give birth to the next generation. It was only when they had exceptionally excellent bloodline descendants that the blood master of the clan would break the exception to Embrace them and make them a loyal servant.

  If Mary were sufficiently powerful now, she could even directly raise one of her Second Grade subordinates to Third Grade through a bloodline blessing. However, this unreasonable act would consume far too much of her origin blood. It was something that would only happen at the later stages of Third Grade for Mary.

  By then, Mary’s origin blood should be much more plentiful. A strange situation where she promoted her subordinate would only happen if she also had no hope of personally advancing. No blood master would be willing to share the origin blood they had so painstakingly cultivated with an underling that had no hope of reaching greater heights otherwise.

  …………

  The bloody battle in the sky continued.

  It was a world of blood and fire on the ground.

  There were roaring dragonborn warriors, charging ogres, sinister Dragon Cultists hiding among the natives as they cast their spells, tough and sturdy trolls, chittering ratmen throwing rocks from a distance.