Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  “Not just them,” Khesuna lifted her head, a sinister smile on her cold face. Her eyes were fixed firmly on a few dots circling above Stoneshard Valley. She spoke in a cold voice, “Who would’ve thought that even those greater-than-thou fellows would come as well?”

  Julia looked into the distance following Khesuna’s gaze. She could barely recognize those black dots as several mighty and majestic eagles. That was the extent of what she could see.

  However, as a Third Grade witch, the breadth and depth of Julia’s knowledge and experience were far beyond that of an ordinary person. Given Khesuna’s tone and the few keywords she threw out, Julia could quickly figure out the background of those eagles.

  “My…my lady. They are…they are……”

  “As long as you know who they are. There’s no need to speak their name! Otherwise, the threads of Fate will draw their attention toward us. These bastards that enjoy hiding behind Fate! Hmph! A bunch of peeping toms!”

  However, Khesuna’s gaze quickly turned elsewhere, to another region. She could faintly sense an incredibly revulsive and annoying soul aura over there.

  Cerveris. Dammit! Those old fools of the Adept’s Association let this butcher out? With him stirring the pot here today, no one will be able to leave uninvolved.

  Khesuna’s gaze turned cold at the thought of this. A bone-chilling aura surged out of her white body beneath the brown leather armor, instantly turning the area around her into a zone of death.

  Several majestic eagles circled high in the skies above Stoneshard Valley, occasionally letting out a few loud cries.

  The eagle that Indal had turned into soared in the skies. Looking down from above, the two and a half kilometer long Stoneshard Valley was no more than a short, gray line in the earth. Meanwhile, the two giants fighting with all they had in front of the valley were no more than two slightly more powerful ants.

  While he soared in the skies and felt the terrifying heat emanating from the ground, a human face made out of pure smoke appeared in front of him.

  “Indal, what is the situation over there?”

  “Tower master, it has been over two weeks since we arrived here. An adept war of the highest level just broke out here. As you can see now, two individuals with the might of ultra-powerhouses are fighting. What they are fighting for is control over the Central Lands for the next few hundred years.”

  “Indal, how many times have I told you, do not be tricked by matters beyond the main Fateline. Your task is to find that individual blessed by Fate, then observe and record how the Fate powers push forth the plane’s development! We should not involve ourselves in the schemes, plots, and conflicts of any adept or adept organization apart from this.”

  “I understand, tower master. We have been working according to your instructions. However…this is where the Fate powers led us to in the end. After we reached the Central Lands, I scattered the members of Eagle to track and investigate prominent organizations or individuals that could influence the events in this area. Today, all Eagle members have been guided here by the powers of Fate. My lord, this place has become a gathering spot for the Fate powers. A historical event that will change the Fate of the Central Lands is about to pass!”

  “What? The Fate powers are already gathering? No, I must project over the Omniscient Eye immediately. Have all your men keep their eyes and books open, ready to record everything without missing a single detail! We won’t run into such a good chance more than a few times in our lives.”

  The old scholar, who had always been the wisest and most composed among them, was now the most excited of them all. He waved his arms over and over as he ranted about his excitement.

  A short moment later, a small, vertical slit opened between Indal’s eagle eyes. It was a strange eye.

  “Fate…Fate……I see Fate. To think this tiny land has gathered so many powerful individuals who bear so many Fatelines upon their backs. Dammit! Let me count: one, two, three…bastards! How are there so many of them!? There are actually seven children of Fate here.”

  “Seven? That’s not possible!” Indal listened closely to the mental flux coming from his third eye and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “Tower master, isn’t there only supposed to be one child of Fate?”

  “Hmph! You ignorant dunce. Indal, it’s been so many years since you entered the Diviner’s Tower! You’ve also recorded so many major events all over the plane! How could you ask such a stupid question?” The third eye rolled as it said, “Do you think the Fate powers are like little teenage girls, always pouring their adoration onto the same person for eternity?”

  “When you feel as if you can see the future unfolding before you, when you feel as if everything is going your way, that means that the Fate powers have taken a liking to you and have invested their hopes upon you. However, such hopes do not come without a price! Anyone that obtains the favor of Fate is an agent selected by Fate. Their purpose of existence is to push forward the world’s developments in a predetermined path and trajectory.

  “However, do you think that Fate will continue to favor them, all the way to their deaths, even once they have completed their mission in history? To be frank, any person who has been a renowned individual in the long history of the World of Adepts was once a champion of the Fate powers. They can all be perceived as children of Fate at their specific points in time. However, once they’ve fulfilled their purpose, Fate will flow and look for their next agent that can push forward the world’s developments.

  “That is why we can call these individuals both children of Fate and bastards of Fate! Their value, their lives, all of it is in the hands of the great entity known as Fate! Meanwhile, we serve as eyes that roam beyond the river of Fate. That is our mission and our glory!”

  Indal listened closely to the Fate theory that the old tower master was describing. He couldn’t help but ask, “Then…who in this massive revolution is the current child of Fate?”

  “Don’t be misled by worldly power or influence. Close your eyes and quietly feel the flow of the Fate powers. Where the Fate powers gather will be where that person,” As the eye continued to espouse its theories, its mental flux suddenly fluctuated violently, “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit…what’s happening? Why are so many people shrouded by Fate mists here today?”

  The Omniscient Eye turned. When its gaze landed on a particular spot in Stoneshard Valley, an individual cloaked in glaring red light came into view.

  This individual appeared to be covered in some sort of magical invisibility.

  They appeared to have sensed the gaze of the Omniscient Eye, for they lifted their head and glared at the eagle. It was only when they sensed no danger or threat that they looked back at the battle in the distance.

  When this adept appeared in view of the Omniscient Eye, the strange eye embedded on the top of the Diviner’s Tower hundreds of thousands of kilometers away in the Castle in the Sky glowed with blinding prismatic light.

  Unfortunately, before the tower master could clearly discern the main Fateline that the person carried, a dense mist swarmed from every direction, concealing them completely.

  “Hmph! It’s Cerveris! He’s the most vicious among the ultra-powerhouses of the Adept’s Association. If the Adept’s Association has let him out, their intention must be to stir up a storm in the Central Lands. He reeks of the smell of that peeping freak, Maztan! Maztan might not be much of a diviner, but he’s still good enough to conceal an adept’s main Fateline for a while. Never mind! We can go look for the next person.”

  The eagle circled in the skies and quickly searched the entire battlefield.

  “Tartas of the Silver Union is here, and so is Khesuna of the Northern Witches. Eleven of the Central Lands’ Fourth Grade adepts are here as well, with four more hidden all over the place.

  “Judging from the flow of the Fate powers, none of them are today’s protagonist! It seems like the person we are searching for is one of the two combatants. Come, Indal, let us meet this c
hild of Fate!”

  Having said that, the eagle hesitated no more. It beat its broad wings and flew straight towards the violent battlefield.

  At this point, that battlefield had turned into an apocalyptic wasteland!

  When two powerhouses that stood at the peak of this world struck with wanton recklessness, they inflicted too much damage upon the world they resided in.

  The space that stretched for over two hundred kilometers was now beyond recognition. From a distance, you could see rampaging magical elementium everywhere, as well as spatial turbulence caused by clashing laws and unusual phenomena caused by mutated laws.

  The once black, rich earth was now scorched and dry. The dirt had turned into a strange substance somewhere between clay and crystal. Hot air hissed from the cracks in the ground every so often as red lava flowed below, causing many lava pools to appear when fireballs exploded and left craters in the ground.

  Even the ground was in such a terrible state. One could only imagine what had happened to the sky. The air was covered in dark red scars, terrifying spacestorms, and chaos energy leaking from these tears.

  Two towering giants, one golden and one blazing with flames, fought with no regard for their lives within all this destruction and carnage.

  Chapter 1301 - Outside Intervention

  Greem quickly weaved around the battlefield.

  Compared to his opponent, the Gold Titan, his advantage came from his devastating fire magic and superior mobility.

  In terms of long-range firepower alone, Greem had the upper hand. However, considering both factors of Physique and Strength, Mornashen was overwhelmingly superior to Greem.

  It was simple. Greem had 27 points of Strength while Mornashen had 49 points.

  In the face of such incredible Strength, Greem was as frail as a paper person!

  On the other hand, Greem had as much as 34 points of Physique. Such a high Physique already made him an oddity amongst most elementium adepts. However, when compared to Mornashen’s 47 points of Physique, he was completely dwarfed.

  Strength decided their melee combat prowess. While combat technique and fighting experience did make a difference, it wouldn’t matter at all before absolute, overwhelming Strength!

  Physique determined their physical resistance and regenerative powers. It was also the foundation of most body-refining and bloodline adepts. In this regard, most elementium adepts did not do enough. They hardly ever strengthened their Physique, believing that it would be sufficient as long as their bodies were strong enough for their minds.

  Spirit determined the potency and range of their spiritual senses while also making their minds work faster, their thoughts process quicker, and their memories expand. The level of their Spirit also directly affected the strength, range, duration, and penetrative power of their magic.

  Even though Mornashen had also reached the peak of 49 points in Spirit, it was obvious that he had not spent enough time researching and studying magic. It resulted in him only being able to cast a few lightning spells, apart from the special racial abilities of a Gold Titan.

  If one were to analyze everything seriously, it seemed like the only thing that Greem was genuinely superior to Mornashen in was Agility!

  He had 19 points of Agility compared to Mornashen’s 13 points.

  Mornashen’s gigantic size was indeed several times that of Greem’s blazing body after transforming into the Gold Titan. Greem could only employ guerrilla tactics, moving quickly through the sea of fire with his perks as a fire adept. Like a hunting dog teasing a rampaging bull, he led Mornashen around the battlefield, all while keeping distance between them.

  It wasn’t that Greem didn’t want to leave Mornashen in the dust, but that it wasn’t very effective to do so!

  If the distance between them were more than a thousand meters, it would be very easy for Mornashen to determine his fire spells’ trajectory. Should Mornashen be able to intercept the fire spells before they hit him, his 47 points of Physique would allow him to go unharmed. The flames from the spells’ explosions might still be incredibly powerful, but they were really no more than a warm breeze to the Gold Titan.

  The minor fire damage inflicted by such explosions couldn’t even compare to Mornashen’s rapid regeneration powers.

  Of course, Greem’s Invisible Flames law had helped a lot at the start of the battle, allowing him to toy with Mornashen over and over. While the Gold Titan wildly chased after his target, there would always be a barrage of fire spells mysteriously exploding against his back.

  Even though Mornashen quickly healed these wounds by drawing upon his bloodline powers, getting injured too rapidly and too frequently would also strain him.

  Moreover, it was not like regeneration came at no cost!

  Regeneration required the constant exhaustion of his stamina and bloodline powers.

  Should the bloodline powers in his body be exhausted, he would no longer be able to maintain his Gold Titan transformation. Once he lost the Physique, Strength, and Spirit enhancement provided by the Gold Titan, he would have absolutely no chance of beating Greem with his two artifacts.

  Every adept present today could see that, let alone himself!

  To reduce the drain on his bloodline powers, Mornashen stopped healing the minor wounds that did not affect his combat prowess. Instead, he focused more of his attention on the enemy’s attacks.

  His 49 points of Strength made him an utterly unstoppable juggernaut. Even ordinary pieces of rock and dirt could instantly become lethal tools when driven by his barbaric strength. Every time he swung his giant fists, a massive tornado appeared.

  His punch would affect everything a kilometer in front of him.

  Moreover, every time he struck with a physical attack, a corresponding bolt of lightning would also blast down from the skies. That constantly made the enemy endure twofold damage from the physical attack and the lightning strike. It was devastatingly powerful.

  That was why Mornashen would dig his feet into the ground and kick every time he attacked, flinging large clouds of dirt and sand into the air. He would then simply punch and, thus, create a small sandstorm.

  While all the sand obscured the enemy’s vision, and their defenses trembled from the rapidly flying pebbles, Mornashen’s real punch and tornado would arrive.

  When faced with this tactic from Mornashen, Greem had no other option but to move out of the way.

  Even an ordinary stone became a small blazing meteor with a smoking tail when flung with 49 points of violent Strength. Most stones were not hard enough and burned out halfway due to friction against the air.

  However, the surviving rocks caused Greem’s Fourth Grade Inferno Shields to tremble. Some could even punch straight through. The pieces of rock that pierced through the shields were able to inflict decent physical damage to Greem’s body.

  Unlike the elementium adepts who sought law powers their whole lives, bloodline adepts did not place so much emphasis on law powers. They pursued the purification of their bloodline in an attempt to revert to their ancestral origins. They hoped to reach the pinnacles of the ancient magical creatures through their research on bloodline magic.

  However, pure bloodlines also carried with them corresponding law powers of their own!

  After transforming into Gold Titans, the members of the Gaia Clan would naturally grasp the laws of strength and the laws of lightning. Moreover, they did not have to research or study these law powers as the elementium adepts did.

  As long as their bloodline power reached the required level, their understanding and mastery over the laws would naturally flow into their soul origin through their bloodline inheritance. It would almost be as if they had studied those law powers themselves for countless years.

  That was why high-grade bloodline adepts used law powers in a more instinctual fashion and lacked the flexibility and transformations of the elementium adepts!

  Take Greem, for example. He had only come into contact with the laws some two hu
ndred years ago, but his application and creativity with the use of law powers completely outshone Mornashen, who was a veteran adept who had advanced over nine hundred years ago.

  The Gold Titans’ powerful strength and lightning laws appeared to be distinct in Mornashen’s hands, showing no signs of assimilation or combination. Although there were instances of combined physical and magical damage during the battle, that was more a natural manifestation of the Gold Titans’ natural prowess rather than Mornashen’s own application.

  In contrast, Greem might only be a rookie that had only recently started studying the law powers, but he had already created many uses for the laws, such as his law fires and law shield. They gave him an advantage in the fight against Mornashen.

  At their levels, ordinary physical attacks and elementium damage could no longer leave lasting damage on their bodies. Only attacks possessing law powers could penetrate their forcefields and bodies to inflict lasting wounds.

  To some extent, Greem’s law defenses and Mornashen’s tough body already had the unusual effects of a body-refining adept’s immortal body. The only difference was how they achieved such a defense!

  After over ten hours of fearsome fighting, both Greem and Mornashen had sustained terrible wounds. Their stamina and Spirit were starting to deteriorate, and they could no longer continue fighting at peak condition.

  Generally speaking, it seemed like Mornashen had suffered much more grievous wounds. His combat prowess had declined to a dangerous tipping point.

  If he crossed this threshold, then the bloodline powers in his veins would no longer be able to sustain his colossal size. Should he revert to his original form, this battle between ‘ultra-powerhouses’ would conclude with his defeat!