Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  “When I joined your faction, you were already a Second Grade adept. And I…was a Third Grade brain monster. This difference in power let me see a chance to break free of your control. However, even though I hardly let a single opportunity slip past me, the rate at which your power improved far exceeded my expectations.

  “When you reached Third Grade, I still refused to acknowledge your authority. I still had hope of success in my heart! However, a while ago, I heard that you advanced to become a Fourth Grade adept. It was then that I realized for the first time that I might never be able to break free of your control, and everything that caused this was my own conservative, fearful stance.

  “There were so many opportunities in front of me. Yet, every time something even remotely threatened my actual being, I would instinctively choose to step back and give way. It was my personality that left me with no paths of escape. As such, I plan to take a risk and chase after you. At the very least, I can’t let you leave me stranded in the dust!”

  “This is space, beyond the realms!” Greem looked at the brain monster with a look of surprise. “The risk you will have to endure here is far higher than what you would face inside a material plane. Are you sure it’s fine to place your actual brain here?”

  “Don’t worry, master! I have already sealed a portion of my brain in the Capital of Eternity. If my actual body is destroyed, that split-brain will naturally grow and become a new ‘me’.”

  A brain monster was a monster, after all. It was an unusual lifeform incomparable to humans, with its own method of recovery and resurrection!

  Greem did not ask any more questions. Instead, he silently observed this new capital of steel rise from the ground before his very eyes.

  Due to the nature of space, ordinary creatures could not survive here.

  Even Second or Third Grade beings were no more than cannon fodder.

  As such, when Greem wanted to establish a base in space, his first thought was to recruit Gazlowe for the task.

  Only the brain monster, with his mega magic-generator furnace, could so quickly construct a shelter out of nothing with his endless supply of magic energy and Greem’s stockpile of magical alloys.

  The magical alloys used to construct the first foundations of the steel capital were more than enough. What came from the spatial rift after were various sorts of resources and materials.

  After all, it didn’t matter how powerful the brain monster was; he couldn’t convert magical alloy into food or magical machines.

  Greem used his authority as the clan leader to relocate a good half of the clan’s resources here and started making warehouses beneath the capital.

  After two hours of constant operation, the teleportation array finally deactivated.

  It had been completely exhausted!

  The magical nodes on the array shattered, one after another, causing considerable quakes to ripple across space and dissipate.

  During the final moments of the portal, a hundred high-grade magical machine warriors emerged from the portal and lined up neatly in the plaza at the entrance to the city.

  It was a personal magical machine guard that Gazlowe had made for himself. Even an ordinary machine had the might of an intermediate Second Grade. Meanwhile, the five magical machine captains of the army were all at beginner Third Grade.

  “Master, the Capital of Steel has been constructed. I will begin the activation immediately!”

  Gazlowe informed Greem and floated into the Capital of Steel under the protection of the hundred magical machines.

  As the brain monster entered the Capital of Steel with his mega magic generator furnace, the massive lifeless lump of steel immediately came to life.

  Countless metal refineries and workshops began operation.

  The rubble dug from underground was transported to ore crushing workshops, where they were reduced to smaller, fist-sized ores. They were then sent to the ore filtering center, where ore particles with metal composition would be selected and sent for smelting. The useless pieces of ore were compressed into stone bricks and used for the construction of buildings outside of the Capital of Steel.

  In just half an hour, the first batch of metals had been refined into ingots and was sent to the metal warehouses on conveyor belts.

  Greem also received an inventory from Gazlowe.

  One had to admit that there were no useless metals in the ores found in space!

  Even a seemingly insignificant rock could be broken down and refined into as many as thirty-seven rare metals and one hundred and sixty-four magical alloys, all of which possessed unknown magical features!

  That was predictable.

  After all, ordinary material substances from ruined planes would already have been eroded by the vicious energy tides in space. Only the true essence of the material planes could survive the spacestorms and be blown into this peaceful eye of the storm.

  Moreover, after spending such a long time in the eye of a spacestorm, they would naturally have been transformed.

  Even an ordinary piece of metal would have turned into a rare magical alloy after such a long time exposed to space energy!

  Forging ordinary magical machines with such rare metals would be a waste.

  The newly refined metals were stored in the warehouse. Gazlowe instead placed the conventional alloys he had brought from the Capital of Eternity onto the production line and started churning out batch after batch of magical machines.

  The first batch of machines to walk down from the conveyor belt was three hundred construction machines. They were the arms with which Gazlowe would manage everything in the Capital of Steel.

  With the addition of these machines, the Capital could finally be put to full use.

  All the factories, refineries, conveyor belts, and all the workshops began operating at full capacity.

  The loud rumbling of metal instantly filled the land.

  It was a region ruled by human adepts, after all!

  Five hours after the appearance of the Capital of Steel, a standard party of adepts appeared in the shadows near the rock.

  They were clad in energy shields of various colors, the shields flickering amidst the ‘gentle’ energy tide.

  The Fourth Grade adept in the lead took off his hood and frowned as he looked upon the happenings above the rock. He couldn’t help but take out a magical crystal and communicate with headquarters.

  “My lord, are they foreigners?” A Third Grade woman in white robes standing behind him asked.

  A small, jade-white staff was stuck to her belt, gleaming with pretty snowflakes.

  “Mm. Seems like it.” The Fourth Grade adept frowned and replied. “I seem to have heard of these metal lifeforms somewhere. They feed on metal and roam the galaxy in search of metal ore veins.”

  “It doesn’t matter if it’s a metal lifeform. It’s infringed upon the territory of us adepts. We just have to expel it from this land!” Another Third Grade body-refining adept shouted out arrogantly.

  The other five Second Grade adepts in the party looked around them at this shocking sight, not daring to participate in the discussion between the high-grade adepts.

  While the adepts were still talking amongst themselves, a red flash erupted above the rock. An obscure silhouette appeared not far in front of them.

  The members of the party immediately prepared themselves for battle.

  Lights flickered around the Fourth Grade adept as seven energy shields of various attributes enveloped him.

  However, when they saw the unusual man standing in flames with the golden plate in his hands, they let out a breath of relief.

  The leader of the group was a Fourth Grade man. His face was tan and long, without any particular features of note.

  When he saw the wooden plate in Greem’s hands, he took out a magic wand and waved it over the plate. The image of a burning first appeared on the plate, along with a long series of golden runes.

  “Greem. Fourth Grade Fire Adept. Zhentarim Associa
tion Elder. Leader of the Crimson Clan.”

  The adept mumbled as he read the runes. The look in his eyes shifted as he read.

  “So, you are Adept Greem!”

  The members of the entire party reacted oddly at the mention of Greem’s name.

  Chapter 1152 - Arguments

  “Is there any problem?”

  Even Greem didn’t know what was happening when he saw the weird expressions on the faces of the adepts.

  “It’s…it’s nothing.” The male adept hurriedly concealed his loss of composure with an awkward smile. He then shifted the topic. “We are Squad Fifty-Three from Exodar Camp, in charge of patrolling this area. May we know what you, sir, are doing here?”

  Greem smiled leisurely.

  “Building a base!”

  “Building a base?”

  “My clan wishes to participate in trade beyond the realms, so we need to establish a suitable clan outpost here. Are there any special rules from the camp that forbids such actions?”

  The male adept’s face froze. He hesitated for a moment and said, “I don’t believe so! That said, most adept clans would try and establish their outpost inside Exodar Camp on their first venture to the realms beyond. Building an outpost outside of the camp like you are doing probably won’t be too safe, will it?”

  While they were speaking, the Third Grade female adept behind the Fourth Grade adept let out a gasp of surprise. She said in a soft voice, “Sir, look.”

  The male adept paused for a moment and looked down. It was only then that he realized that an unusual transformation had occurred to the steel city in the short time he was talking with the fire adept.

  Several fortresses forged from metal had been erected around the city. Cannons lined the outside of the fortifications, their ghostly-blue metallic bodies gleaming with an intimidating light. Armies of magical machines marched out of the halls in the city and stationed themselves in the fortresses.

  They were stationary magic energy cannons and mobile magical machines. The Capital of Steel had become a hedgehog armed to the teeth, baring its fearsome defensive power at any enemy that dared to challenge it.

  The male adept couldn’t help but nod at this sight.

  “It seems like you have absolute confidence in your outpost, having built it here, sir. According to the rules of Camp Exodar, any adept clans that wish to join the camp will have to submit an application to Lord Caelf and wait for approval. However, considering that your outpost is located outside of the camp, there is no need to abide by the rules. I will make a report on your behalf once I return!”

  Greem was glad to see how cooperative the adept was.

  The two of them exchanged a few more words mid-air before bidding each other farewell and heading in their own directions.

  The patrol party returned to the camp and reported everything they had seen. Naturally, this caused a fairly large commotion in the camp. However, Greem ignored all of this and remained in the Capital of Steel to reinforce the defenses.

  Greem might have been improving rapidly, but he had made many enemies, both in the shadows and in public.

  If those people knew that Greem had established a base in space, they would undoubtedly rush over to make trouble. As such, Greem focused on the possibility of defeat above all else. His first and most important request of Gazlowe was to make sure that the Capital of Steel was impregnable.

  He had a feeling that the Crimson Clan would not be able to do proper business without first fending off several waves of enemies.

  And he was waiting here for those enemies to walk into the trap!

  …………

  Werning.

  Location of the Northern Witches’ Witch Council.

  Eight witch leaders were seated in a scattered fashion on both sides of the long table in the hall. Dark Witch Leader Circe was giving a passionate declaration of war.

  “—Shani’s death was a result of the male adepts’ conspiracy. We must move for action immediately and assert pressure on the Zhentarim Association to hand over the ringleader Greem.”

  Everyone had already heard of Dark Witch Shani’s death.

  However, when they heard Circe associate Shani’s death to the legendary fire adept, Greem, everyone turned and looked at Alice, who was sitting quietly in place with a smile on her face.

  Dark Witch Circe bent down and pressed both her hands on the table, pressuring Alice with her vicious and intimidating aura, glaring angrily at the girl as she did so.

  “Alice, your relationship with Greem is more than intimate. Do you still intend to shelter him under these conditions and work against all of us witches?”

  Alice smiled and said, “That’s a little harsh, isn’t it, sister? If he is indeed guilty, why would I ever cover for him?”

  “Very well, then. I propose—” Circe exhaled a breath of air from her nose, believing that Alice had finally compromised.

  “Don’t be in a rush, Sister Circe, I still have a few questions for you.” Alice interrupted Circe’s speech, causing her face to turn dark.

  “What questions do you have? Ask away!”

  “We are all saddened by the news of Shani’s death. However, since you want to launch a war against the outside world in the name of vengeance, we will need some evidence. After all, you are tying all of the witches to your bandwagon with this war!”

  “Shani died in Morrian Plane. What evidence do you expect me to produce?” Circe was furious. Her hands trembled lightly as dark mist rose around her, engulfing over half of the meeting hall.

  “Then you have no evidence. You can’t provide any evidence, and you want to use the full force of the Northern Witches against Greem and the Zhentarim Association. Don’t you think you are a little overbearing with this demand?” The angrier Circe became, the more relaxed Alice seemed to be. Her bright eyes unflinchingly stared back into Circe’s own.

  Seeing as the sparks between the two witch leaders was growing in intensity, Khesuna, the always composed leader of the Death Witches, couldn’t help but interrupt. “Circe, do you not have any evidence at all? If Greem were alone, it would be fine for us just to kill him on a whim. We Northern Witches have never been afraid of anyone. However, he is now an elder of the Zhentarim Association. If you can’t produce any evidence, how do you expect us to apply any pressure to the Association?”

  Alice took the opportunity to speak, now that someone had taken her side.

  “Sister, don’t you forget how you promised me during the last witch council never to lay a finger on Greem again. What exactly is this whole affair about Shani’s death? Why are you so certain that Greem was the one that killed Shani? Could it be…that you did something behind the scenes?”

  Circe’s entire body started trembling now.

  It was not fear; it was anger and fury at an extreme.

  Shani had participated in the Arcane Empire mission under her direct orders. It was equivalent to her personally sending a vital member of the clan to her grave.

  Moreover, the matter of Shani’s death was a minor one. The more pressing issue was the loss of the Orb of Shadows!

  However, these things concerned the reputation of the Dark Witches and many shady dealings. How was she supposed to talk about these things in front of the other witch leaders?

  “Alice, don’t you forget that you yourself are a Northern Witch! Are you not afraid of rumors behind your back? Why do you keep speaking in defense of a male adept like this?” Circe gritted her teeth and restrained her anger, choosing to retaliate with an insult instead.

  “Naturally, I would not stand by his side if he was merely an outsider. But sister, the person you are trying to deal with is my husband now!” Alice’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

  Alice was filled with joy, but the other witch leaders were shocked and surprised.

  “Alice, you can’t be saying things like these. What is all this husband business. What nonsense are you speaking?” Death Witch Khesuna glared at her, and a viol
ent aura of death instantly filled the hall.

  “Sister Khesuna, this is not nonsense. I have already decided to become husband and wife with Greem. The official ceremony will be held soon. I hope for your blessing at that time!” Alice’s smile faded as she replied with a serious expression.

  Dead silence. Absolute silence.

  The entire hall immediately became solemn as the witches frowned in frustration.

  “Alice, give it some proper thought, won’t you?! According to the traditions of the Northern Witches, there has never been a high-grade witch, let alone a witch leader, who has had a marriage with a male adept!” Khesuna warned with a stern tone.

  “Sister, you mean to say that the witch council will never let such a thing happen?”

  “We aren’t so absolute in our ruling. After all, the witch council has no specific rules or laws that bind us. That said, to maintain the independence and purity of the Northern Witches, it is an unwritten rule for us to never marry a male adept of another organization.”

  “The independence of the Northern Witches?” Alice laughed coldly, “Never working against each other, never harming each other’s welfare between all the various branches. That is meant to be another unwritten rule of ours, is it not?!”

  “Indeed!”

  “Then I want to ask a question. Of the thirteen witch branches lasting from the ancient times, how many remain? Where is the territory of all the witch branches whose legacies have gone extinct?”

  Alice questioned loudly at the top of her voice, and the witch leaders couldn’t help but fall silent.

  “Ever since I, Alice, became the leader of the Fate Witches, how many of you witch leaders here have abided by the principles of independence between the branches and refrained from intervening in the legacy of the Fate Witches? Circe, why did you imprison my grandmother, Endor? Wasn’t it to threaten me and make demands of me?” Alice was like a startled cat now. She stood up straight and glared at Circe with a vicious look in her eyes.