Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  She had prodded the hornet’s nest now!

  The already furious holy knights started to gather at Redwood Village, along with the two Gold Knights that had been sent out of the city.

  There were no weaklings among those who could become Third Grade witches. Moreover, Italil was a famous tower owner even amongst the Deceit Witches. Rena had brought her here precisely because of her tremendous martial prowess. It was unfortunate that they had been separated during their travel here. Otherwise, with Italil’s protection, Rena would never have ended in such a tragic situation.

  Indeed, how could a powerful witch like this ever be forced into retreat over mere natives!

  Witch Italil had broken out into a guerilla war against the holy knights pursuing her, making for a game of cat-and-mouse around Haisas City. With the exceptional shapeshifting and deception abilities of the Deceit Witches, Italil moved about like a phantasmal spirit, always appearing with a different form in a different place.

  She intentionally avoided the two Gold Knights, choosing the Silver and Iron Knights as the targets of her wrath. In this three-day-long pursuit, she alone forcefully killed over a few dozen holy knights above First Grade.

  The tremendous pressure of the conflict left the Haisas Holy Light Chapel with no option but to send another Gold Knight to participate in the witch hunt.

  With three against one, the holy knights finally managed to find the perfect opportunity and cornered Italil in a town known as Sea’s Bounty. The town had a population of over a thousand. Italil managed to severely complicate the holy knight’s search by hiding in the crowd with her shapeshifting abilities.

  After waiting in Haisas City for five days, Greem finally found the perfect opportunity to strike.

  Only two Gold Knights were left in the Holy Light Chapel.

  Witch Rena was imprisoned in a hidden confessional room in the Chapel, guarded by a Third Grade Gold Knight known as Kennet. On the other hand, through his observations, Greem noted that the magical array materials were most likely in the hands of a holy knight commander known as Lambert.

  Lambert was also a Third Grade Gold Knight!

  Of the two Gold Knights, one had been assigned to watch over the witch, and the other had been assigned to protect the materials. Such an assignment perfectly distributed the risk that each knight had to bear. Thus, Greem put into action the operation that he had planned for so long!

  …………

  Nightfall.

  Haisas City.

  Greem pushed open the wooden window of a luxurious room in the noble’s area in the western area of the city.

  The curtain of night hung low, and the stars were dim. Even the moonlight cast upon the earth carried a faint hint of crimson.

  Dong. Dong. Dong.

  Soft knocking sounds came from the door.

  “Sir Eadric, it is time for dinner!” The maid’s voice came from outside the door.

  “Tell your master that I will be praying for the Holy Light for the entire night tonight. I won’t be joining him for dinner. Do not let anyone come in and disturb my prayers!” Greem rejected in a stern voice.

  “Yes, sir!”

  Soft footsteps rang out, and it became quiet once again.

  Greem lifted his head and looked at the faintly crimson night sky. He raised a finger and slowly started to gather the fire elementium in the air.

  Radiant fire elementium was stripped from the colorless air and gathered at Greem’s fingertip, causing it to glow brighter as it turned hotter and hotter. It seemed as if it would burst into a great flame at any moment.

  At this moment, an intangible yet firm power appeared above Greem’s head and started to extend toward his position.

  Holy Ward!

  The fire elementium Greem had gathered upon his fingertip had reached a threshold. Any more and it would instantly burst into an actual elementium fire. When that happened, the Holy Ward that enveloped the entirety of Haisas would be triggered, and the holy knights at the Chape would be alerted.

  The holy knights of Henvic walked the path of faith, and their only mastery of magical powers was through the singular form of the Holy Light. However, thousands of years of development and focus had allowed them to discover alternative uses of the holy light.

  For instance, this Holy Ward that covered the city of Haisas!

  Using the sensitivity and exclusivity of the Holy Light, a gigantic Holy Ward had been erected around Haisas. Any active or passive gathering of magical elementium within this barrier would trigger and activate backlash from it. Fortunately, Greem was only gathering the fire elementium on a small scale and had not allowed it to turn into an actual fire.

  Otherwise, even an apprentice-level spell would have resulted in backlash from the Holy Ward.

  Apart from monitoring and detecting magical energy fluctuations, the Holy Ward could also create a single-elementium environment. It was also a trap that the holy knights had left for the adepts.

  If any adepts were to think too much of themselves and broke into Haisas City alone, the holy knights controlling the Holy Ward from the Chapel would switch the state of the barrier from passive to active. When that happened, all other magical elementium apart from holy light would be restricted within Haisas City.

  It was incredibly terrifying for otherworldly adepts who were now neck-deep in enemy territory!

  As such, apart from gathering information over the past few days, Greem had also continuously been testing the reactions and mechanisms of the Holy Ward. Through the Chip’s examination of the power flux, he had confirmed the exact location of the holy array.

  Greem would first have to dispel this ward if he wished to assault the Holy Light chapel.

  He would never be as foolish as to battle two Third Grade Gold Knights under the suppression of the Holy Ward.

  Greem sorted out his emotions beneath the crimson moonlight and once again reassessed his combat plan. After confirming that there were no flaws, he finally released an order to attack to a specific remote place in the distance.

  The Holy Ward might be exceedingly sensitive to magical elementium, but it clearly could not obstruct the faint connection between souls.

  With Greem’s orders given, the Spirit of Pestilence Remi finally put the plans into action!

  Chapter 971 - Assault on Haisas

  Haisas was attacked at midnight.

  The assault came from outside the city.

  Hundreds and thousands of infected civilians that had been transformed into poison zombies swarmed from every direction, wildly charging at the city gates.

  Spirit of Pestilence Remi had spread the plague seeds across all the nearby human settlements for this moment. The number of people who he had secretly infected reached into the thousands. To avoid alarming the knights, all of these plague seeds had remained inert within the bodies of the merchants and villagers, reducing their lethality to the minimum.

  When Greem gave the order, Remin instantly activated all of the plague seeds.

  In a single instant, thousands of humans across a dozen towns immediately collapsed to the ground, howling in agony. Their bodies then started to transform into terrifying poison zombies. Those with a weaker Physique died tragically in the painful transformation process.

  Only seven or eight hundred managed to survive the process and become poison zombies.

  However, this was enough!

  Remi gave an order, and all the people who had now lost their minds and turned into poison zombies surged recklessly toward Haisas. They scaled the city walls with inhuman speed and agility, instantly clashing with the city guards that had hurried to the defense.

  Rather than a clash, it was more like a bloody slaughter!

  These poison zombies did not know death. They had also lost all of their sense, making them fearless warriors. Each one of them leaped across the ground as if they had wings, moaning and howling as they lunged at the city guards.

  The guards’ swords felt like they had landed o
n tough hide when they struck the zombies. The impact alone caused their wrists to go numb, but none of their attacks could wound the enemies.

  These senseless poison zombies feared no sharp weapons and were tremendously strong. They leaped around the walls, pushing the warriors to the ground and tearing pieces of flesh off of their bodies. Their teeth and claws had become as sharp as beasts and were coated with terrifying poison. Even a slight scratch would be enough to cause a human warrior to die of poison within a dozen seconds.

  Moreover, these newly dead warriors began to twitch and scream once Remi floated past them. As soldiers selected to fight for the Empire, every one of them had excellent Physique. Most of them survived the poison zombie transformation and started to claw their way up from the ground.

  They tossed aside the swords in their hands and were still dressed in the armor they’d worn in life. Their skin turned a fearsome dark green color, covered with plenty of purple and black spots. They howled like the other zombies and sprinted on all fours like beasts, quickly joining the army of monsters leaping down the streets and attacking the civilians.

  There were still sparks of battle continuing across the city walls, but those were only the efforts of a few Iron Knights defending a single tower to the very end. When the impatient Remi personally stepped upon the battlefield, this last bit of resistance was finally squashed.

  Three zombies dressed in the standard armor of the holy knights now stood behind Remi, only capable of howling like beasts.

  It was effortless to create these poison zombies, but they were really only effective against ordinary people. Individually, each of them was only as powerful as a beginner apprentice adept. Even the trainee knights could quickly deal with multiple zombies.

  That was why Remi never treated them as the main force of the attack. Instead, he ordered them to scatter and break into the homes of civilians to infect as many humans as they could.

  Hundreds of poison zombies broke into Haisas City, instantly turning the place into a hellish purgatory.

  The helpless civilians ran in every direction, panicked and terrified. Their screaming voices, howls, cries, and pleas for mercy filled the entire night sky, waking the silent city from its quiet sleep.

  Ordinary humans had no means of retaliating against the poison zombies. Their only recourse was to close their eyes and wait for death.

  Apart from having no sensation of pain, no fear of death, and terrifying poison, these zombies also possessed the agility of panthers. They scaled walls as if they were flat ground and traveled from building to building as if they had wings.

  The people ran through the streets, helplessly crying for help. Meanwhile, all around them, lithe and agile figures could be seen freely jumping from building to building and wall to wall.

  These figures would occasionally lunge out of the darkness, pushing the humans to the shadowed ground before gathering together and sharing the feast of flesh.

  Some courageous and more powerful men finally stood forward, using their swords and knives to cut down the poison zombies. However, the zombies did not seem to mind the massive wounds and gashes on their bodies. Even if they were missing a hand or a head, they continued to bite and scratch away at their enemies.

  They were not thoroughly dead until they had been completely ground to pieces!

  Moreover, when they died, a green and yellow cloud would emanate from their bodies. Any living creature that came into contact with these clouds would be infected with plague seeds in the blink of an eye.

  Those who had mustered the courage to retaliate quickly lost all their will when fighting against such resilient monsters.

  They abandoned their wooden clubs and metal weapons, fleeing to hide. Not one of them was willing to continue fighting against such undying monsters.

  While the poison zombies ravaged the city of Haisas, squads of well-trained city guards in armor stepped forward and formed formations at all street junctions. Then, under the leadership of the holy knights, they shouted battlecries and slowly pushed ahead.

  A few of the unintelligent poison zombies leaped down from the houses above, lunging at the array of spears with their bare hands and feet.

  They jumped and successfully impaled themselves on the forest of long metal spears. They ignored such terrifying piercing wounds. Instead, they continued to wriggle their bodies, allowing the spears to pass through their flesh such that they could slowly approach the array of shields.

  Their black claws scratched against the metal shields, leaving terrifying marks upon the surface. Pungent poison smoke came drifting out of their wounds, quickly engulfing the front of the shield formation.

  Three shieldsmen started coughing intensely as the formation began to distort slightly.

  “Do not panic. Maintain formation and continue forward.” The holy knights acting as the commanders shouted.

  White holy light then descended from above, dispelling the plague virus that had just infected the soldiers and allowing them to recover. The holy knights lifted their swords and sliced the poison zombies hanging from the spears to pieces before using fire to ignite the smoke and burn it to nothing.

  Clearly, ordinary poison zombies were not very effective against the holy knights.

  The holy knights countered both their poison and sharp claws.

  From a particular perspective, the holy knights were indeed the bane of all evil creatures!

  At the moment, Haisas City was filled with powerful holy knights, many of them capable of fighting against Remi himself. As such, the Spirit of Pestilence chose to hide behind the scenes, furiously creating more poison zombies to assault the ranks of the holy knights. That might have inflicted tremendous casualties upon the poison zombies, but it also occupied many of the holy knights within the city.

  While the plague zombies continued to fight with the holy knights in the streets of the city, Greem had changed into proper Iron Knight attire and was slowly walking toward the Holy Knight Chapel.

  Along the way, he could see the holy knights and soldiers who had gathered in a hurry. The streets around the Chapel were already under strict martial law; no one was allowed to approach. Only a few of the higher nobility of Haisas City could seek temporary shelter in the Holy Light Chapel under the protection of the knights.

  The other nobles could not even take a step into the Holy Light Chapel, no matter how they cried or begged or cursed or screamed. However, they were still in a much better position than ordinary civilians. After all, they were surrounded by a large group of city guards and holy knights who could protect them.

  The city had now descended into chaos, and the command hierarchy of the city guards and holy knights had become less organized.

  Dressed as an Iron Knight, Greem managed to arrive at the gates of the Holy Light Chapel, almost entirely unobstructed.

  Towering barriers had been erected here, guarded personally by large groups of holy knights.

  These knights couldn’t help but grab their swords upon seeing someone approach. Their breath caught in their throats. However, they silently let out a sigh of relief when they saw Greem’s armor.

  A Second Grade Silver Knight walked forward and shouted, “What is your name? What are you doing here instead of staying at your station at this moment?”

  Greem spoke with a solemn face, “Bring me to see the Lord Commander, I have found tracks of the adepts in the city!”

  “What? Where are the adepts?” The expression of the Silver Knight froze, and he quickly and anxiously asked.

  “This is urgent. Bring me to see the Lord Commander now. I was sent to the noble’s area a few days ago and accidentally discovered someone colluding with the adepts. They brought the adepts into the city and even secretly held some terrifying and evil ceremonies.”

  “What? These damned nobles.” The Silver Knight immediately gritted his teeth and said, “Very well, this is useful information. I will bring you to see the Lord Commander now. Only he can give orders for such
an important matter. Come with me!”

  Having said that, the Silver Knight turned to leave a few orders to his subordinates. He then hastily led Greem into the interior of the Holy Light Chapel.

  As the two walked into the chapel, Greem looked around at all the buildings inside this place.

  “Sir, I secretly took a look at their evil ritual earlier. It is very likely going to be used to attack our Holy Ward. Is the security there sufficient?”

  “Don’t worry!” The Silver Knight casually pointed at a brightly lit hall to the right of the cathedral and explained, “Three Silver Knights guard that place. The enemy will have no chance of…”

  Suddenly, before he could finish, he felt an overwhelming elementium flux come from behind him.

  When he turned his head in shock, it was a rapidly growing metal fist that greeted him.

  Chapter 972 - Force Against Force

  The Holy Ward might be able to stop magical elementium other than holy light from gathering and taking shape, but the ward could not inhibit semi-summoned metal golems like the elementium magical machine.

  The elementium magical machine crippled the Second Grade Silver Knight with a single punch before roaring and charging toward the hall with thunderous steps.

  It ignored all the Iron Knights along the way, simply rushing ahead with no regard. A dozen Holy Flares and Holy Light Strikes landed on its metallic surface to no avail. They could only make sparks without the ability to harm its core in any manner.

  The magical machine charged ferociously. Both the blinding holy spells and the courageous holy knights standing in the way were blown to pieces by its impenetrable body of steel, shattered into nothingness.

  A Silver Knight heard the commotion outside and stormed in with sword in hand. He shouted, “Who dares make a comm…”

  Before he could finish, a giant metal fist the size of a washbasin crashed toward his face with whistling winds.

  The Silver Knight was barely able to shield himself with his sword, but both his longsword and his body were bent in a shocking arc from the impact of the punch. He returned to where he came from, coughing up blood as he flew into the hall.