The excessively concentrated and violent magic energy attacks were like a massive web of destruction. They enveloped the Darkblood adepts and rained down upon them.
The ferocity of the attack, and the surprising intensity of the magic energy, caused the faces of all the adepts to turn white.
Dammit! What a terrifying attack!
Just as the heart of the Fourth Grade adept plummeted, a massive cluster of fireworks went off in the center of the battlefield. A horrifying energy tide immediately devoured the first few hundred Darkblood adepts to arrive in the city.
Beng! Beng! Beng!
Such concentrated fire could not be defended against, even with defensive shields ten times more powerful than what the adepts had.
As their magical shields shattered, wild magic energy surged in, devouring the one hundred Darkblood adepts charging at the forefront.
Energy ripples, elementium explosions, severed limbs, and splattered bodies.
A hundred First Grade Darkblood adepts and eleven Second Grade Darkblood adepts had become the first sacrifices of the Capital of Steel’s retaliation. Most of the owls beneath the adepts had been riddled with holes and torn up by the energy blasts. Their ripped-up bodies and blood fell from the sky like rain.
Some of the adepts who were the focus of the attacks had been vaporized completely. Not a single trace of their existence remained!
The atmosphere of the battlefield froze over in an instant.
Chapter 1177 - The Might of Magic Energy
Darkblood adepts riding on large owls continued to dive down.
The energy beams firing from the Capital of Steel surged into the sky, so densely packed that there was simply no space to dodge.
The Darkblood adepts’ colorful shields glowed, rippling violently underneath the barrage of energy beams. The color of their shields quickly turned from yellow to red, signaling the shift to extreme danger.
The shields of many low-grade adepts shattered. Their bodies were wrapped up in the energy storm where they were torn to shreds, cast down from the sky like a rain of blood. At the same time, fearsome spells cascaded from the skies, instantly baptizing all of the city’s buildings in a torrent of destruction.
“Don’t bother with those buildings. Land now!” Zuval, the adept put in charge of the vanguard by the Fourth Grade adept, realized that breaching the enemy’s wild line of fire on their owls was near impossible.
He let out a battlecry and jumped off of his mount. His entire body turned into a meteor burning with black flames as he crashed down upon the metal plaza before the palace at the center of the city.
As fast as the wind, as fierce as fire.
The rapid meteor endured hundreds of shots from the energy beams and crashed violently into the edge of the plaza with immeasurable momentum and power.
A deep, muffled boom rang out.
Shockwaves of black fire spread out from the point of impact, blasting countless pieces of shattered metal into the distance. The metal shards shot into the buildings nearby, riddling them with holes.
A tall and ferocious Darkblood giant stood up from within the pillar of dust. It raised its head and let out an intimidating roar. There was in a massive crater that was twenty meters wide and seven meters deep. A one-meter thick metal foundation could be seen at the edge of the hole, distorted and broken from the impact.
However, as Zuval lifted his head and roared, all the magic energy cannons on the towers near the point of impact turned around. They pointed at this foolish, reckless Third Grade adept.
Ci! Ci! Ci!
The next second, countless energy beams crashed against the body of the giant. The destructive magic energy instantly devoured his form.
Violent energy, crackling electricity; the entire battlefield was filled with blinding light. Terrifying sizzling sounds could be heard, quickly followed by the pungent smell of burnt flesh.
The attacks finally paused for a moment, and the light of the energy beams faded away. Everyone could see the giant once again.
Tragic. Exceptionally tragic.
The opponent’s five-meter-tall body was now riddled with holes. Fountains of blood wildly spewed forth from the injuries. His crippled limbs were covered in signs of energy devastation. There was frostbite from the frost beams, scorch marks from the lightning blasts, and gashes left by the wind magic.
However, the magic resistance and resilient lifeforce of a Third Grade adept allowed Zuval to endure these attacks and successfully survive.
As the Capital of Steel adjusted its magic energy cannons and prepared for the second round of violent attacks, a strange soaring sound came. Over a hundred meteors burning with black fire crashed into the city, causing massive shockwaves and pillars of dust to rise and spread out.
The Darkblood Giant forces led by Zuval had successfully landed on the Capital of Steel!
However, just as they made a successful landing, the magical machines hiding in outposts and fortresses all around the metal plaza emerged. They began to attack these Darkblood Giants that were scattered all over.
Thus, a few dozen smaller battlefields of particular intensity immediately appeared on the surface.
This time, the magical machines, with their surprising numbers, were the ones on the offense. The Darkblood Giants were the ones that had to defend against all the attacks passively. The battle between the two forces instantly covered the Capital of Steel in the flames of war!
The forces led by Adept Wenno were the second group to arrive on the surface of the Capital of Steel.
Over three dozen Darkblood Giants, each standing at over five meters tall, formed a tiny circle. Using their companion’s body as a shield, the remainder of them were able to survive the barrage of cannon fire. Meanwhile, the other Darkblood Giants charged forward through the rain of fire and clashed with the magical machines.
On one side, you had giants of incredible strength, and on the other, you had a horde of fearless magical machines. The two forces clashed on the metal plaza in a banquet of flesh and blood. Neither side held back as they traded heavy blows in melee combat and inflicted terrifying casualties at every moment!
While the Darkblood Giants drew the violent firepower of the Capital of Steel, the Darkblood adepts led by Wenno took out green seeds from their magical pouches and threw them into the cracks in the rock beneath them.
They immediately began chanting an unusual spell, formed runes around them, and cast these runes into the ground.
A short moment later, the earth quaked as the rock itself rumbled!
Several terrifying, fiend-like magical vines emerged from the ground, quickly growing in size and length. They twisted together to form an even larger and more fearsome humanoid creature. The roots of the magical vines were still digging through the rocks below, but the humanoid monster on the surface was growing just as quickly.
In the blink of an eye, a hundred-meter-tall humanoid plant creature appeared in front of everyone. The plant monster struck at the few towers surrounding it.
Its method of attack was just as strange as its existence.
Two giant green hands made of thousands of twisting vines reached forward. The vines at the palm extended forward like a torrent and pierced the tower cannons. The next second, green vines started to grow from within the metal tower, moving about like agile tentacles.
These vines would be able to penetrate anywhere where there was space, filling the area with their wildly growing vines and branches. The plants, all twisted together, could whip and pierce any moving objects. They could also entangle and wrap around the cannons entirely before crushing them into scrap metal.
Even more of the vines were fighting against the magical machines stationed within the metal towers.
These vines slithered everywhere like snakes, whipping at everything within sight and trying to reduce the magical machines to scrap. Meanwhile, the magical machines fought as hard as they could with their chainsaws and flamethrowers, causing violent
battles to occur all over the towers.
This massive plant creature might be no more than Third Grade in power, but the amount of pressure it was exerting on the Capital of Steel was comparable to a Fourth Grade adept. With the monster’s resilient life force and the near-endless growth of the vines, the chaos it was inflicting on the city was superior to even that of a Fourth Grade adept.
If this plant creature were allowed to continue its devastation, the Capital of Steel would no longer be able to organize a retaliation of sufficient scale and organization to repel the enemies!
Gazlowe instantly activated Magic Generator Furnaces Three and Four, directing power from each of them to the giant magic energy cannons he had been hiding.
Two massive metal towers, each measuring two hundred meters in diameter, rumbled as they rose from the ground around the plaza. When they reached two hundred meters high, they stopped growing any further. Instead, they turned around and revealed the thirty-meter-wide cannons at the center.
When everyone saw the cannons, magic energy of shocking intensity had already been gathering within. Spiral runes lit up along the tower as the horrifying, howling sound of surging energy filled the air.
“Wenno, dodge.”
A loud voice boomed out in the air. It was the Fourth Grade adept of the Istanal Clan.
Third Grade Adept Wenno, who was hiding inside the plant monster, had long since realized that the two cannons had locked on to his position. However, while the giant magic energy cannons were charging up, his ears, mind, and thoughts were all occupied by the strange sound created by the charging energy.
When he finally returned to his senses and tried to dodge in horror and shock, his limbs felt as heavy as lead. It was like he was trying to swim against the current. Even taking a single step was incredibly difficult.
Spiritual pressure? Spiritual pressure from where?
With the vast knowledge and experience of a Third Grade adept, Wenno was able to instantly recognize the unusual power that was affecting his body and mind. However, before he could produce the appropriate magical equipment to neutralize the mental power affecting him, the magic energy cannons in the distance trembled. Two energy fireballs that had been concentrated to the limit curved through the air and crashed into the plant monster.
The vines that were supposed to be as tough as steel were vaporized instantly. The two energy fireballs penetrated several dozen meters of brambles and thorns, finally crashing onto Wenno’s magical shield.
A muffled boom.
A red sun of horrifying heat and brightness rose from within the plant monster, vaporizing everything within a thousand meters in devastating fashion.
Adept Wenno and all one hundred Darkblood adepts around him were turned to plasma without a chance to scream. Their life, soul, and anything that might have been part of them had vanished without a trace.
The only thing left in the world was the blinding white light and the unbearable waves of heat.
The power from the combined shots of two giant magic energy cannons was already comparable to the all-out attack of a Fourth Grade adept!
Back then, even the Fourth Grade amethyst dragon, Toril, had to retreat from the giant magic energy cannon. That was even though amethyst dragons were known for their resilience and excellent physical defenses. How could these Darkblood adepts of no more than Second and Third Grade ever survive such destruction?
Both the Darkblood adepts caught up in the fighting, and the patrolling adepts watching from afar, were horrified. Their faces flushed white, and their hearts beat violently in shock.
They tried to put themselves in poor Wenno’s position. Could they have survived such a terrifying energy attack? The answer in their hearts frightened them to their very core.
Chapter 1178 - The Fourth Grade
Wenno died!
And along with him, one hundred and thirty-two Darkblood adepts.
There were also over three hundred other adepts that were wounded by the shockwave from the giant magic energy cannons. Among them was Darkblood Giant Zuval, who had been fighting on the frontlines.
The two magic energy cannons had only fired the one time, and they had killed a Third Grade Darkblood adept while severely injuring the other. The plant monster that had been ravaging the battlefield had also withered and died in an instant. Such a result could be called miraculous, considering there were no Fourth Grade adepts on the Capital of Steel’s side!
This one attack had also shocked the Fourth Grade adept of the Istanal Clan to his core!
As a veteran Fourth Grade adept, he had looked down on the Crimson Clan for daring to venture into space despite being no more than a newly advanced clan. However, that horrifying attack from earlier had caused cold sweat to break out all over his body.
The combined power of the two magic energy cannons was already comparable to an all-out attack from a Fourth Grade adept. He would be at significant risk of injury if an attack like that struck him. After all, the magic shields that adepts sustained with their power weren’t a match for such a powerful energy attack.
It was the main reason why most adepts preferred to remain in their private towers!
While humans could be distracted in battle, magical machines would never be rattled.
Taking full advantage of the enemy’s distraction and shock, the magic energy cannons had immediately turned and focused on the individuals that had been wounded in the shockwave. Two rounds of concentrated fire took away the lives of another twenty Darkblood adepts.
The brazen attacks of the Capital of Steel had finally infuriated the Fourth Grade adept.
He, who had been hiding behind the scenes since the start of the battle, finally stepped up.
It wasn’t out of cowardice that he hadn’t lifted a finger. Instead, it was because of an unwritten rule in Exodar Camp.
As long as no Fourth Grade adepts were involved in an outpost in space, any of the battles that occurred were only considered ordinary skirmishes and fights. The authorities of Exodar Camp would not intervene.
However, if adepts of Fourth Grade and above were involved, the chances of intervention by the authorities would increase tremendously.
For instance, as ferocious at the battle earlier was and as many adepts had died, the patrolling adepts would only watch on from afar. They were content with not doing anything as long as the fight did not affect the necessary order of Exodar Camp.
However, now that the Fourth Grade adept of Istanal Clan could not help but join the battle, the fight’s nature had changed drastically.
Several patrol parties gathered together near the battlefield. They began to discuss whether they should intervene directly. Magical messages were sent over and over to Exodar Camp. Even Lord Kaelf, peak Fourth Grade and Head of Inspections, was stirred by the reports. He hurried to the scene of battle immediately.
When Sixth Grade Adept Ulnak finally received news of the incident and cast his attention to the battlefield, the fighting had already reached a peak!
The Fourth Grade adept of the Istanal Clan was a fearsome body-refining adept. He wore fine yellow leather armor on his body. He didn’t have too many other accessories or equipment and appeared rather empty-handed. However, he had a strange black sword on his back that emitted a concerning aura.
He was neither handsome nor ugly. His looks were as ordinary as they come.
However, when he took a step forward and released all of his power, everyone’s expression turned solemn. They could sense the wild, overwhelming force that was radiating through space.
Even Gazlowe, who was hiding in the heart of the rock, couldn’t help but become nervous. He immediately raised the security alert of the Capital of Steel to its maximum degree!
Through the clash of their auras, he could already sense the chilling killing intent radiating from the opponent’s very soul.
It was obvious that the Capital of Steel’s stubborn resistance and devastating retaliation had angered the Fourth Grade
adept. He intended to attack with all he had!
In the previous battles, the battle situation had appeared to be split sixty-forty due to Gazlowe’s intentional show of weakness. The Darkblood Army had a sixty-percent chance of victory, while the Capital of Steel only had a forty-percent chance.
On the surface, the Darkblood Army had some casualties, but the Capital of Steel was suffering even more.
However, if you were to perform the calculations, you would be shocked to find that the losses were not even at all, and not in the Darkblood Army’s favor! The losses incurred on the side of the Darkblood Army were actual Darkblood adepts. Meanwhile, the Capital of Steel had lost several metal fortresses, a few more metal towers, and over two thousand magical machines.
In numbers alone, the Capital of Steel had certainly lost far more than the Darkblood Army.
However, considering the fact that the goblin factories beneath the city could endlessly forge magical machines at practically no cost, it was a completely different matter. This trade of the lives of adepts for the lives of magical machines was undoubtedly terrible for the Istanal Clan.
As the true face of the Capital of Steel was always hidden underground, no one could see the truth of its operations through its thick metal plates and the thousands of meters of rock. That was why the Capital of Steel was able to drag the enemy into its favorite fashion of war– a ‘difficult’ and arduous process of attrition.
However, when the Fourth Grade adept decided to move, the entire condition of the battlefield change.
The might of a Fourth Grade adept couldn’t be more evident here.
The man took out his sword and stepped down from the air. One step at a time, he slowly walked towards the metal hall at the center of the city. With every step, he casually swung his sword at one of the metal buildings.
Where the shapeless sword aura reached, black smoke appeared. It didn’t matter how sturdy the buildings were or whether they were forged of rocks or metal. They shattered in an instant and exploded into countless twisted pieces.
Age of Adepts c1-1513 Page 720