Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Circe let out a breath from her nose.

  “Endor is a witch of our branch. I have my own reasons for dealing with her. I don’t need a brat like yourself to tell me what to do!”

  Death Witch Khesuna’s expression turned colder by the minute. Her gaze wandered between Circe and Alice, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

  However, as an outsider to the conflict, she could not stop the growing tension between the two witch leaders.

  Alice might only be Third Grade and appear to be the weakest amongst them all.

  However, as weak as she was, she was still a witch leader and possessed equal authority as all of them on the witch council! No one could strip her of her power as a leader, and no one would ever dare to suppress or threaten her with violence. Otherwise, the so-called unity of the Northern Witches against the outside world would be no more than a joke.

  The entire organization that was the Northern Witches would fall apart and break into individual factions caring for their own welfare!

  It was the one thing that Khesuna wished to avoid at all costs.

  Chapter 1153 - Circe Caves

  “Alice, your accusations earlier are severe.”

  Khesuna glared at her with a dark face.

  “You are accusing Leader Circe of intervening and interfering in the affairs of your Fate Witches! Do you insist on this accusation, or are you willing to take back your words?”

  Alice smiled tragically, her beautiful face filled with sorrow and sadness.

  “What is there to avoid talking about? Are all my sisters here unable to see how the Dark Witches oppress us on a regular basis? Or is this the so-called unity in everyone’s mind? To shiver cowardly and remain silent? It doesn’t matter who wins in the conflict between Maysa and I. That is an internal matter of the Fate Witches. But ask yourself! All of you here! Who amongst you have not put me down, in public, or in the shadows?”

  “Is this the so-called independence of the witch branches? The neutrality you all like to speak of?”

  The witch leaders’ expressions didn’t change when they heard Alice’s sorrowful accusations, but none of them stood up in objection.

  They were neither blind nor deaf. Everyone knew what they had been doing behind the scenes, despite the appearance of unity on the surface.

  Now that Alice was bringing everything to light during the council, their expressions were ugly, but there was nothing they could say in defense.

  “Every witch branch had its own eras of prosperity and ruin. No one can ensure that their branch will remain forever powerful. We of the Fate branch had our legacy severed because the Great Witch Maysa continues to siphon the fate power of the World of Adepts, resulting in backlash from the planar consciousness on the Fate Witches.

  “With the Battle of Fate this time, I was only able to obtain the identity of the leader of the Fate Witches due to intervention from the planar consciousness. Naturally, what comes next is a showdown between I and Great Witch Maysa. It has nothing to do with any of you.

  “However, in the short time that I have been trying to rebuild the clan, I have faced countless aggressions and suppressive actions from my witch sisters. You might have perfectly acceptable reasons for doing so, but ask yourself: if a new seed of your branch were to be suppressed by their companions one day in the future, what would you think?

  “We of the Fate branch have never excelled at combat. We require the aid of our sisters to successfully grow and develop. Yet now, sisters on my side have become accomplices of my enemy. What else can I do aside from finding help and allies from the outside world?

  Of all the witch branches, the Deceit Witches, the False Witches, and the Coldwinter Witches all had intervened in the battle of Fate between Alice and Maysa to varying degrees. Their expressions were awkward upon hearing Alice’s speech.

  However, amongst them all, Dark Witch Leader Circe was undoubtedly the most involved in the conflict. She had practically participated personally. As such, her face was dark as the lead. If they weren’t here in the witch council, she would already have jumped at Alice.

  Khesuna, who had fury written all over her face, suddenly sighed. She spoke once more.

  “It is our past negligence. Great Witch Maysa is truly skilled at bending powers to her will. She has dragged us all into this unnecessary conflict. Alice, we are sorry for what you have suffered!”

  Alice’s eyes turned red when she heard the kind words come from Khesuna’s mouth, who had always been cold and vicious to everyone. Tears almost rolled down her cheeks.

  “The unity of the witches cannot be marred!” Khesuna stood up and glanced at all the witches in the hall with her cold gaze. “The battle between Alice and Great Witch Maysa is an internal matter of the Fate Witches. All other branches are henceforth no longer allowed to be involved in any fashion. I don’t care what dealings you have with Great Witch Maysa behind the scenes, or if you are only obeying the orders of the respective Great Witches of your clans. From now on, no witch is allowed to participate in their battle of Fate.

  “Anyone that breaks this agreement will have made an enemy out of all the witches of the Death branch!

  “Don’t blame me, Khesuna, for what comes after, should this ever happen again.”

  Khesuna glared at Circe and walked out of the council ahead of everyone else.

  The other witch leaders looked at each other and frowned. They left with solemn faces.

  When Circe and Alice were the only two people left in the hall, their eyes met each other’s. For a long time, there was only silence.

  “Why? Is Greem so important to you? That you would risk conflict among the witches just to protect him?” Suddenly, Circe spoke, her tone morose and filled with endless frustration.

  “Because he has always helped me! Whether it was before I was a witch leader or after, he has always helped with all his might and every fiber of his being! Moreover, as I have said, he will become my husband! If you dare to turn your spears against him, I will publicly and thoroughly split up the Northern Witches.”

  After a momentary pause, Alice continued, “You are free to slaughter every last one of us Fate Witches. This way, we can let all the other adept organizations see how united we Northern Witches really are, how we bully and suppress our own sisters.”

  Greem was Alice’s ally. Making an enemy out of Greem was making an enemy out of Alice. And making an enemy out of Alice would draw the ire of Khesuna. But how was she supposed to avenge Shani and retrieve the Orb of Shadows if she did not make an enemy out of Greem?

  Circe’s entire silhouette was hidden by a black shadow substance. A ghostly green light shone in her deep eyes, quivering as if she had gone mad.

  “Alice, the…Orb of Shadows, the origin treasure of us Dark Witches…might have fallen into the hands of Greem. If…if you can make him hand over the Orb, I…I promise…from henceforth, that the Dark Witches will never interfere in your conflict with Maysa again!”

  It was obvious that Circe was having a massive internal struggle while she said this.

  “Greem likes to pick up weird stuff everywhere he goes. Even I don’t know if he has the Orb of Shadows in his possession. However, I can try and ask for you! That said,” Upon hearing Circe give way, a smile finally appeared on Alice’s face, “the Orb of Shadows is a Fifth Grade artifact. An item of this is not something that you can just pick up on the street. So……”

  “I understand. A price has to be paid for it. Just state your demands!”

  “I need……” Alice chuckled, and her voice turned lower and softer.

  Soon, the only sounds in the hall were the whispers of the two witches.

  …………

  Fire Throne.

  Greem and Alice went into a hidden room and started whispering to each other.

  After a summary of what happened during the witch council, Alice lifted Greem’s right hand and looked into his eyes. She then said, “I agreed to Circe’s conditions without your approva
l. You won’t blame me for this, will you?”

  Greem laughed and pulled Alice into his arms, stopping her from saying anything else with his lips.

  After a long pause, Greem finally let go of Alice and laughed, “That’s your punishment for even suggesting that I would do that.”

  Alice blushed. She leaned her head on his shoulder and bit his chest lightly.

  Greem lifted his head, a lamenting expression on his determined face.

  “Alice, I can put a hand to my heart and say that the only two people I trust in the world are you and Mary. As long as the two of you don’t end up fighting each other, I will never be afraid of anything!”

  “I was asking you about the Orb. What are you talking about all this for? Are you trying to warn me indirectly?” Alice’s cunning eyes darted around as if she didn’t understand what Greem was trying to say.

  “Haha! Ever since I obtained the Orb of Shadows, I knew I couldn’t hold on to it for long. It is the origin magic equipment of the Dark Witches, after all. They would put their lives on the line just to get it back. That’s why I’m not at all surprised that this would happen. Moreover, with someone as smart and capable as you scheming for me, they will pay a hefty price to take it back.”

  “You’re a smart one!” Alice was all smiles when she heard Greem praising her.

  “That said, I can give up on anything else except for this one single thing. Circe must be able to provide us with something that can replenish your lifeforce. Otherwise, I will not hand over the Orb!” Greem grabbed Alice by the shoulder and turned her around. They stared into each other’s eyes, nose to nose.

  “You…you…know about it all?” Alice stuttered.

  “What is the Fate blessing you cast on me, exactly? Why would it devour over eighty percent of your lifeforce?” Greem pursued the issue.

  “It’s not as much as you make it out to be,” Alice didn’t even dare look Greem in the eyes. “It’s…it’s only seventy percent!”

  “Alice, I hope you understand. Our relationship is not one of mutual use. It’s a genuine relationship with genuine feelings. I am already used to having you and Mary by my side. You are my closest family and my lovers. I don’t want either of you to be in danger, do you hear me?”

  The embarrassment on Alice’s face faded away when she heard Greem’s honest words. She looked into his eyes, her own gaze filled with love.

  “I hear you, and I feel it! I won’t ever do something stupid like this again!” Alice quickly pecked Greem on the lips and whispered in his ears, “Don’t worry, some of the items I managed to win over from Circe’s collection can replenish lifeforce. In addition to the heir of the plane that you brought back with you, I have confidence in advancing to Fourth Grade very soon.”

  “Really?” Greem’s eyes opened wide in joyous surprise.

  “I want to reach Fourth Grade as soon as possible as well!” Alice leaned into Greem’s chest and sighed. “Fate Witches only get some offensive options once they reach Fourth Grade. Before that, we are just ‘useless beings’ that require protection. I am sick of those days. It’s about time to let everyone witness the might of the Fate Witches!”

  Greem laughed heartily at Alice’s bold words. His lips pressed down once again.

  Chapter 1154 - Shadowsteel

  Fire Throne. The fifth floor of the tower.

  Inside a secret laboratory.

  Greem stood before an intricate alchemy platform, silently examining the Shadow Diamond placed in front of him.

  The Shadow Diamond no longer looked dark and black as it used to. Instead, it was bright and brilliant like an ordinary crystal.

  However, the light reflecting from the diamond was not only unable to illuminate the room, but it even caused the brightly lit room to appear darker than usual. It was almost as if a veil had been placed over the light source.

  Delicate patterns and lines had been carved on top of the Shadow Diamond. Tiny, intricate designs now covered the entirety of the gem, without any empty spaces at all.

  It was Greem’s handiwork after one month of tireless effort!

  At the moment, this unusual, ‘half-finished’ product was embedded in the body of a three-meter-tall elementium magical machine. Meanwhile, the Orb of Shadows–the origin treasure of the Dark Witches–was floating in the sky. A flood of shadow substance surged forth from the diamond and entered the body of the machine.

  As the shadow substance continued to corrupt the machine, its body began to turn black and dark. The formerly solid metal body of the machine became translucent as the metal itself became elementiumized by the shadow energy.

  The Third Grade elementium magical machine could hardly help Greem at his current level. As such, out of a desire to recycle outdated equipment, Greem used the Fourth Grade shadow diamond to modify the machine’s original elementium core.

  Apart from an improvement of the core, Greem used the Orb of Shadows to modify the elementium magical machine’s body into an unusual darkshadow metal.

  If he successfully completed all these modifications, the elementium magical machine would successfully become the Shadowsteel unit, a powerful metal golem that could freely move in and out of the shadows.

  All of Greem’s magical machines in the past had possessed impenetrable metal bodies and horrifying weight. The ground rumbled where they went, almost as if they were weighed down by a powerful gravity barrier.

  Meanwhile, the Shadowsteel magical machine’s darkshadow metal would be powered by the energy of the Shadow Diamond. As long as there were shadows within fifty meters of the Shadowsteel machine, it would be able to hover through the air like a weightless ghost.

  More importantly, despite its massive size and weight, it could easily hide into a shadow the size of a palm without anyone realizing it.

  Out of all of Greem’s past works, the Shadowsteel unit was the machine that excelled the most at assassination.

  In addition to these modifications, Greem also made the necessary adjustments to the elementium magical machine’s equipment. Its robotic arms and legs were replaced with sharp metal claws. If he added a few anti-detection talismans and a magical cloak, then the magical machine’s movements would become even more stealthy.

  After confirming the progress of elementiumization on the Shadowsteel unit, Greem nodded in satisfaction.

  Without the Orb of Shadows, Greem would have required a hundred years to complete the shadow elementiumization of the machine. Now, he only needed half a month, and the shadow elementiumization process was 63% complete.

  It would only take another two weeks for this intermediate Fourth Grade Shadowsteel machine to be able to step onto the battlefield and fight on the frontlines!

  Over the past few days, Greem had spent over ten million magical crystals’ worth of resources to construct the clan outpost in space. Finally, he had managed to move Gazlowe and his entire Capital of Steel to the outskirts of Exodar Camp.

  The resources consumed in this process were large enough to bankrupt most adept clans!

  Even the Crimson Clan, with its two well-developed resource planes and considerable bank of resources, had almost been completely exhausted by this.

  Of course, if Greem were willing to auction away the nearly complete Shadowsteel unit, the clan’s losses would be immediately recovered.

  A ghostly assassin that could freely travel between shadows and unleash shadow powers, all while protected by thick metal armor; a machine like that could easily take on a Fourth Grade dragon alone.

  Greem had even added the newly researched memory alloy of the goblins to the Shadowsteel unit during its modification. He also added a small magic energy amplifier.

  The Chip’s technical assessment of the Shadowsteel unit appeared like this in Greem’s mind:

  Target Name: Shadowsteel Magical Machine

  Target Grade: Intermediate Fourth Grade

  Target Bodily Attributes: Strength 38 | Physique 44 | Agility 46 | Spirit 33

  Target
Ability Description: Possesses all low and intermediate-grade shadow abilities, as well as most high-grade shadow abilities. Is able to travel through shadow substance freely. Target’s weight is reduced to zero while there is a shadow substance within 50 meters. Possesses personal shadow space. Able to summon three shadow creatures at any time to aid in combat.

  Maximum Jump Distance: 700 meters

  Target Magic Resistance: Basic Elementium Resistance (Excellent), Shadow Elementium Resistance (Exceptional).

  Target Traits: Construct. Darkvision. Magic Immunity (Low, Intermediate). Lowlight Vision. Damage Reduction.

  Special Abilities: Shadow Assimilation (Passive), Light Absorption (Passive), Shadow Healing (Passive), Multi-Strike, Shadow Elementium Blastwave.

  The Chip’s complete assessment put the Shadowsteel unit at intermediate Fourth Grade once it was fully modified. In the right conditions, it would even be able to possess the might of an advanced Fourth Grade!

  After all, the Shadowsteel unit was now different from what it was before. It was no longer a warrior charging at the frontlines, but a mysterious assassin hiding in the shadows.

  It wasn’t hard to imagine how Greem’s Fourth Grade opponents would fall prey to the Shadowsteel unit. Whenever they fought with Greem, an intermediate Fourth Grade steel assassin would emerge from their shadow to stab them in their back.

  After completing his work on the Shadowsteel unit, Greem left the laboratory and went to another room.

  The decoration here was exceedingly simple.

  There was a stone table, a stone chair, and a thick tome lying silently on the table.

  However, the defenses here were unusually potent.

  Mysterious runes of complicated and elegant patterns could be seen on all four walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Together, they formed a small space with its own system of operation, utterly separate from the rest of the tower.

  This way, anything that happened inside the room could not be detected through divination or scrying spells!