Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Just as he was about to be defeated, an unexpected and sudden power broke into the battlefield and sped toward Greem.

  [Beep. Detecting the appearance of foreign curse energy. Able to threaten Host. Suggesting that Host conduct evasive maneuver immediately.]

  Greem erupted into flames the moment he received the Chip’s warning, vanishing without a trace.

  The sudden blast of fire pushed Mornashen backward, causing him to stumble for a hundred meters before he regained his balance.

  A dozen clusters of golden flames escaped in different directions. In the end, all the flames slowly dissipated, with only the flame in the northeast gradually growing larger until it turned into Greem’s mighty body.

  Greem frowned when he reformed. He looked down at his right chest. A dark spot wriggled there, squirming and twisting. The strange, dark patterns were arranged in the form of a rune, and an even more mysterious energy aura was growing within those patterns.

  This is the power of a curse!?

  Why is it so strange and so difficult to deal with?

  Greem was able to avoid the curse attack in time earlier. However, he had been grazed by the aftershocks of the curse energy when he escaped, leaving this strange curse mark on his body.

  This curse mark contained a profound and unusual energy aura. Even when Greem burned it with all his fire laws, he could only keep the curse constrained to the size of a palm on his chest. He could not remove it entirely.

  Moreover, after absorbing some of the fire energy, the curse mark underwent a transformation and turned into a wormcurse.

  The black wormcurse writhed as even more terrifying worms appeared, biting viciously at Greem’s body.

  Greem’s expression froze for a moment, and he frowned deeply!

  His gaze cut through the vast battlefield and landed on an enemy that had just revealed himself.

  So, it was him.

  Chapter 1302 - Internal and External Conflict

  “Cerveris…this is an internal conflict of our Zhentarim. What is it? Does your Adept’s Association intend to intervene as well?”

  Greem instantly recognized his opponent and remarked coldly.

  He gathered a prismatic ball of flame in his palm as he questioned the enemy, brushing it over the black wormcurse on his chest. Where the fire burned, the black spots faded away. The wormcurse let out a strange cry, almost like that of a living creature. It then turned into a puff of black smoke and vanished without a trace.

  Upon seeing Greem dispelling his wormcurse with fire laws, Cerveris couldn’t help but start cackling coldly.

  “You can drop all the nonsense. Weren’t you a real arrogant snob back at the Adept’s Association? You even beat up that brat, Olivia. I represent only myself today– no relation to the Adept’s Association whatsoever. I simply don’t like you and want to teach you a lesson. How about that?”

  Cerveris was a short male adept. His back was hunched over and curved like a bow. He had a hooked nose, ghostly green eyes, and when he smiled, you could see the black and yellowed teeth in his mouth. He had gone almost entirely bald. There was only a sparse ring of sickly yellow hair around his scalp.

  He wore a pure black robe on his person, adorned with all sorts of magical gemstones. With his every movement, the jewels would gleam and reflect blinding light, making it difficult to stare straight at him.

  Most elementium adepts became greatly affected by the law powers they continually studied and assimilated at the Fourth Grade level. Their appearances, bodies, and even their manners would begin to change. Cerveris was known for his curse magic. As such, he also used special magical techniques to modify his body and turn its attribute into voodoo poison.

  In doing so, his Physique became more compatible with his innate magical talents!

  However, this also resulted in an undesired consequence. His voodoo poison body was corrupted by the laws of darkness and became twisted beyond recognition. Moreover, this corruption occurred at the level of the laws. It was impossible to undo the corruption through ordinary means.

  That was why dark adepts that studied necromancy, curses, voodoo poison, or agony magic often had hideous appearances. They had all been affected by their law powers!

  When Cerveris emerged like the gargoyle he was, the adepts of the Central Lands frowned. Hesitation appeared in their eyes.

  Even though Cerveris had made it very clear that his assault on Greem was a personal action, he was still the most notorious ultra-powerhouse of the Adept’s Association. It wasn’t easy to separate his personal activities from the Adept’s Association’s stance.

  If the battle earlier had only been a civil war within Zhentarim, the appearance of Cerveris had changed the nature of this war!

  At this point, it wasn’t just the adepts of the Central Lands that hesitated. Even Mornashen, who had just been engaged in violent combat, couldn’t help but pause in doubt.

  He did not like Greem or the Crimson Clan’s forceful rise to power. That was why he had decided to teach this young Fourth Grade adept a lesson when Chairman Freed extended him an invitation to do so. However, to work with an outsider against an adept of the Central Lands was out of the question. Mornashen frowned, anger and fury taking over his face.

  Greem looked around him, his eyes sweeping past the faces of the adepts present. He then said, “Cerveris, even if you want to intervene in the affairs of the Central Lands, don’t you think you should ask for the approval of some people here? Chairman Freed, what are your thoughts on this?”

  Greem casually kicked the ball over to Chairman Freed, who had a helpless look on his face.

  When he heard Greem call him out, the frown grew even wider. However, he had to take a stance at a moment like this.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Freed stood forward and said resentfully, “Greem, ever since you advanced to Fourth Grade, you have constantly disrupted the proper order of Zhentarim. It has drawn the ire of all of your equals in the Central Lands. Everyone has gathered here to crusade against your tyranny and recklessness. That is why…I believe that Cerveris is justified in joining this battle!”

  “Seconded!” Vice-Chairman Mirva also stepped forth, “This war was caused solely by your foolish actions. There is no division of Zhentarim and the outside world in this war. Greem, don’t think you can escape judgment just by bringing up tensions between the different organizations!”

  “Indeed!”

  “If you are fearful, then admit your defeat now. As long as you lower your head, surrender, and sign a contract discontinuing your expansion, we will still allow you to remain in the Central Lands!” Nicolas and Matthew, who had always been more cowardly than the others, jumped out at the same time and fed the flame.

  Surprisingly, it was Adept Kerala–who had always been quick to act–who remained silent and speechless.

  Greem couldn’t care less about these clowns.

  The only people here right now that were a threat to him were the so-called ‘ultra-powerhouses’!

  Greem’s gaze fixated upon his opponent, Mornashen. He silently waited for him to take a stand.

  Mornashen had managed to heal all the wounds on his body with that short rest. His injured Titan body was now as unchanged as it had been before the fight.

  He looked around the battlefield and shook his colossal body. A blinding flash of golden light shone as he reverted to his original, three-meter size.

  “Ptoo!” Mornashen spat, his spit flying through the air with the speed of a bullet and punching a deep hole into the ground. “I’m not as shameless as you people! Even if it’s a war, it’s a war between us Central Land adepts. What is the damned point if you call for foreign help? I am done with today’s battle. You people are free to fight however you like. I am out!”

  Having said that, Mornashen ignored Freed and the other adepts’ purple faces. He waved his sleeve at them and turned away, vanishing from the battlefield in a matter of a few jumps.

  “Kehkehkehe! Who wo
uld’ve thought that there were still a few fellows with some spine here in the Central Lands? He’s free to leave. It’s not going to make a difference. Come here, come here, come here. Your name is Greem, isn’t it? Come! Let this great one trade a few blows with you. Let’s see what you are really made of, eh? Instead of you relying on your two artifacts to brush those Central adepts aside,” Cerveris then turned around and said, “You lot! I’m helping you people to get rid of a big problem today, eh? You’re not going to stand by and just watch, are you? Come, come. Everyone, strike together and take down this Greem fella!”

  Cerveris immediately extended a right hand as scrawny as a chicken’s leg and drew three sickly green runes in the air.

  The runes glowed with a pale green light when they were completed and vanished on the spot.

  A few hundred meters away, Greem felt a chill run through his body. Three unusual runes appeared directly on his blazing body. If it weren’t for the quad-colored law defense around him, the three runes would have entered his body and reached straight for the core of his power.

  [Beep. Host has been attacked by curse runes. Initial estimates suggest the runes’ effects to be: Decrepification, Blindness, and Confusion.

  [Rune attacks have been stopped by law defense. Effectiveness has been halved. Host will suffer from Decrepification (-5 Physique), Blindness (unable to see anything, range of spiritual senses halved), and Confusion (unable to visually lock on to enemy targets. Chance for a spiritual lock on to fail.).

  [Curse duration: 7 seconds.]

  Dammit! What terrifying curses!

  It was important to note that Greem’s Fourth Grade magic resistance and law defense had already made him impervious to most curse magic. Even the occasional curse that could affect him typically could not last for more than a third of a second. He had never experienced curses like those from Cerveris. Every one of them was so potent and persisted for so long.

  Seven seconds. And that was with the law defense mitigating half of its power! These curses were probably able to completely reduce an ordinary adept’s Physique by half and then turn them into a blind madman.

  Cerveris snorted when he saw Greem’s prismatic barrier neutralize half of the curse runes’ power. He reached into the air and pulled out a black wooden staff. His silhouette flickered, and he appeared right beside Greem. He lifted his hand, and a barrage of shadow arrows shot out.

  Greem sensed Cerveris approach, but with the curse placed on him, it was almost as if his eyes had been covered with a black cloth. He could not see anything at all. His spiritual senses were also poorly oriented due to the Curse of Confusion. He could not determine whether the presence he had locked onto was the actual opponent.

  Greem had no choice. The flames around him surged as he leaped a thousand meters away with Fire Teleportation.

  At that moment, Freed and the other adepts hesitated for a moment. However, their faces twisted in hesitation as they made up their minds. They took out their magical equipment and prepared to attack Greem.

  However, Mary, Arms, Shadow Demon, Remi, and the magical golem dragon wouldn’t just sit by and watch this happen. Their bodies flashed with color as they charged forward.

  Adept Kerala watched as everyone charged forward. She alone remained motionless, her brows fixed in a deep furrow. Freed couldn’t help but speak sternly to her, “Kerala, your Dener Clan is already in so deep against the Crimson Clan. Do you think that this can end peacefully for you still? Let this chance slip by, and what will you use to stop Greem from making further advances? Don’t forget, he is already an ultra-powerhouse. If we don’t unite our forces, we can only be defeated by him one at a time.”

  Kerala’s face twitched a few times, and a vicious expression took over.

  “Greem, if I help you now, would you say grudge between us is settled?” Adept Kerala suddenly shouted, but the content of her words was so shocking that everyone couldn’t help but be stunned from surprise.

  Damn, that was an option for her?

  “It’s a deal!” Greem laughed loudly and said, “In truth, I have always been quite impressed with you, Adept Kerala. It is my honor to be able to fight by your side!”

  “You had best keep your word! Hmph!”

  Kerala’s expression seemed to have lightened up slightly. She let out a battlecry, and the red-eyed monkey on her shoulder leaped forward in a somersault, instantly transforming into a terrifying, berserk ape. The ape howled loudly and lunged at Freed and the others.

  The battle instantly devolved into a chaotic mess!

  Chapter 1303 - Curse Adept

  Greem summoned Shadow Demon to his side the moment the chaotic fight began.

  The battle from earlier had been a ‘fair’ duel between two powerful adepts. It wasn’t the most appropriate place for a golem like Shadow Demon to appear. Mornashen would not acknowledge his defeat if Shadow Demon played a part in it.

  Even if Greem had the power to unite the Central Lands in the future, Mornashen would undoubtedly play a critical role in the united Central Lands. In fact, anyone who wanted to unify the Central Lands would have to find some way to bind the Gaia Clan leader to their side.

  The reason for that was simple. Mornashen’s power was the absolute guarantee for his status!

  That was why Greem could not do anything that would cause Mornashen to hold a grudge if wanted to placate Mornashen utilizing force.

  However, his opponent was now Cerveris of the Adept’s Association. The fundamental nature of the fight had changed. The two of them were not competitors, but enemies in the truest sense of the word.

  To hold back any further now would only make a mockery of himself in front of his opponent.

  That was why Greem instantly summoned Shadow Demon to him when he sensed the power of Cerveris’ curses. Shadow Demon was utterly immune to curses, after all.

  Cerveris noticed Shadow Demon the moment his shadowy aura approached.

  He smiled with his mouthful of yellowed teeth and laughed.

  “A shadow golem? Kehkehe! Greem, don’t think you are the only one with such things.”

  As Cerveris said that, ripples appeared in his shadow as Greem felt a familiar energy aura.

  Shadow Demon, who was hiding in Greem’s shadows, opened its dark eyes wide. It carefully scanned the shadow of the curse adept. As expected, it could sense a familiar presence in the shadow space within.

  The enemy also had a shadow golem. Moreover, judging from its aura, it was a Fourth Grade shadow golem.

  A spark of light appeared in Shadow Demon’s eyes. It sprang forward without hesitation, striking first at the enemy in the shadows.

  Two black spots of fire lit up in Cerveris’ shadow. A strange towering creature, also forged of Shadowsteel, opened its eyes. A cruel smile appeared on its face as it glided backward, avoiding Shadow Demon’s attack.

  Spells flew across the vast battlefield. Flames burned everywhere. As magic erupted all over the sky, all sorts of afterimages were left behind.

  The momentary shadows of these flashes and afterimages, some as large as wheels and others as small as the tip of a needle, became the battlefield where these two shadow golems pursued each other.

  They never appeared in front of the other adepts. Instead, they leaped rapidly from shadow space to shadow space. Even when they occasionally traded blows, the exchanges lasted for no more than an instant; the strikes were so fast that it was impossible to capture with the naked eye.

  Like two immaterial phantoms engaged in a ghostly dance, the two shadow golems chased after one another. Small energy storms that erupted from the shadow spaces outlined the trail of their chase while also indirectly hinting at their fight’s intensity and danger.

  The same advanced shadow techniques, the same impenetrable body of steel, the same fearless means of slaughter. It was because the golems were so similar that their battle to death seemed so slow and difficult.

  From an overall standpoint, Shadow Demon still held the up
per hand. The reason for that was the fact that it was equipped with two pieces of Fourth Grade magical equipment, while its opponent was no more than a well-crafted shadow golem!

  Greem could only sigh when he saw his Shadow Demon occupied by the opponent’s golem.

  After all, he had already revealed Shadow Demon back at the Adept’s Association. He would have to look down on the Association if they did not come up with preventative measures against Shadow Demon after that.

  The adepts had all picked their opponents and were fighting with all they had. In particular, Arms was surrounded by all sorts of summoned creatures and voodoo beasts.

  They might not be as powerful as the thunder dragon, but they were still able to hold him back when attacking in swarms.

  Meanwhile, Mary, Remi, and the clumsy golem dragon had to face five Fourth Grade adepts all at once. It was truly a dangerous and precarious predicament.

  Freed, Mirva, Nicolas, Matthew, and Fabres.

  Any one of the five would have been a fearsome opponent. They commanded their summoned beasts and voodoo beasts to occupy the most powerful Fourth Grade dragon while concentrating their forces on Mary and Remi. That put the two of them in a perilous situation.

  However, Adept Kerala had just turned coats and became Greem’s ally. She and her Redeye Tyrant joined the fray and held back Freed and the other Central adepts. It indirectly reduced the pressure on Mary and the other Crimson Clan adepts.

  Even though Remi and the golem dragon were both technically at Fourth Grade, they were clearly no match for true Fourth Grade adepts.

  Mary and Kerala, the two Fourth Grades, as well as Remi and the golem, the two pseudo-Fourth Grades, were supposed to fight against five adepts. It wasn’t hard to imagine how daunting of a task that was.