The demon in the distance might seem ferocious, but everyone felt calm when they saw how composed their clan leader was.
They had been corrupted by the aura of savagery from the Abyssal will and became incredibly bloodthirsty.
However, after being sheltered by the clan leader’s fire laws, all thoughts of slaugher and murder in their hearts had been suppressed.
Intelligence and composure, the traits expected of the adepts, returned to them once again!
Chapter 1383 - Crimson Ambition
“I’ll move when it’s time to!”
Greem was calm and composed as he looked at the battlefield in the distance.
“These Central adepts think too highly of themselves and are too used to having no restrictions. Making them obey me is no easy task. Naturally, I have my way of suppressing them while I’m around. But what do you all intend to do to maintain the authority of the Crimson Clan once I’m gone?”
Everyone couldn’t help but freeze up when they heard Greem’s words.
“Teacher, you…you are still so young. Why would you say something like that?” Concern flashed on Meryl’s face as her cheeks flushed red.
“Meryl, don’t fret. My lord doesn’t mean it that way.” Emelia was incredibly smart and sharp. She pondered for a moment and asked, “Clan leader, could it be…that you’re almost about to take that next step?”
The next step.
This shocking sentence shook everyone to their core. They opened their eyes wide and stared at this towering figure before them.
Everyone had felt something out of the usual from their clan leader this time.
The overwhelming fire energy their clan leader used to radiate had vanished without a trace. If it weren’t for his familiar voice, silhouette, aura, and scent, everyone here would have treated Greem like an ordinary human as he stood in front of them.
Indeed, the clan leader’s energy aura was completely concealed, replaced with a genuine warmth and an unquestionable aura of dignity.
His smile was like spring, able to infect the heart through some unseen, extraordinary means; it made one feel warmth throughout their bodies. His anger was like infernal fire, able to ignite the souls of anyone in the most violent and barbaric fashion.
They only had some vague idea of their clan leader’s might, but they did not know what made him so powerful. Now, having heard Emelia’s question, they understood what was being implied. Everyone held their breath and waited silently for the clan leader’s reply.
The smile on Greem’s face grew even wider.
Everyone here was a trusted member of the Crimson Clan. Naturally, there was no need to conceal anything.
Greem stared at the distant battlefield as he said in a soft voice, “That next step isn’t such an easy one to take. I have only found my direction. Actually taking that next step will require at least a hundred years or more.”
Even though Greem replied very leisurely, the Crimson Clan members were instantly able to pick up on the implications behind what he said.
If time was the only factor left, didn’t that mean that the clan leader was already prepared in terms of resources, knowledge, and all the other factors? A smooth path forward. The clan leader’s approach to Fifth Grade Great Adept was but a smooth way going forward!
Overwhelming joy and excitement flashed over the faces of the Crimson higher-ups. However, the status they held within the Crimson Clan now forced them to digest this information calmly.
Everyone fell silent for a moment and started to fantasize about the future.
The clan leader’s meaning was obvious now. He would probably devote all his time and effort in the next hundred years to the accumulation and training for taking the next step. Given that to be the case, the Central Lands would be left in their hands to maintain and expand.
Everyone present here was someone that the clan leader could trust and rely on. They would all likely have to take on tremendous responsibilities in the future. Authority and status were good things to have, but it was no different from sitting on top of a volcano without the corresponding power to back it up.
When all that backed up force came erupting in a single blast……
Fortunately, the Crimson Clan didn’t just have a single Fourth Grade at the moment. Apart from Greem, there was also Mary and Arms. Arms was a pureblood dragon, after all. He was a decent fighting force as an honorary elder of the clan. However, Fourth Grade Bloody Queen Mary was the only person who could sustain the Crimson Clan and keep the tens of thousands of Central adepts under her control!
Of course, if anyone present here could show more outstanding results, they would also have the chance to rise and become the leader of the Central Lands.
That position, status, and the authority of it- merely thinking of it all had everyone’s hearts beating faster. They could barely contain their excitement.
Rising to Fifth Grade, forging a legend, becoming an entity akin to a god for the World of Adepts. They had had such daydreams in their lives countless times. However, they knew their limits. Such fantasies would only remain daydreams. They seemed to be within reach, but they were incredibly far away. These dreams were not for them. Not with their current power and potential.
That was why Fourth Grade was regarded with such glory and reverence within the World of Adepts. After all, Fourth Grade was the absolute apex of power and achievement for most people.
It might just be a fantasy for other adepts. However, for these core adepts of the Crimson Clan, success was right before them. All they had to do was to put in that ‘tiny bit’ of effort!
Everyone’s breathing turned hot and heavy.
Greem did not turn to look.
He knew that these trusted subordinates of his needed some time to digest such a bombshell of news.
Mary was his most intimate partner. Naturally, he hoped that she would continue walking down the path of an adept instead of falling into the pointless politics and power games in the Central Lands.
Finding and raising a Fourth Grade successor within the Crimson Clan was the ideal course of action. This new Fourth Grade candidate had to be chosen from among these few individuals. That was why Greem revealed his personal plans ahead of time to provoke their ambition and will to strive.
Ambition wasn’t such a bad thing!
As long as you had the power to match your ambition, it would be a source of strength that continued to push you forward. However, if you didn’t have sufficient power, then ambition would be a seed of disaster. It would drive a person insane and push them toward their death.
However, the Crimson Clan would be protected by Greem and Mary for the next few hundred years. This next generation of the clan had plenty of time to grow and strengthen themselves.
If one of them could successfully advance to Fourth Grade, the Crimson Clan’s fame and the legendary fire adept would instantly propel them into a position of power and authority in the Central Lands. It was an incredible temptation to the Third Grade Crimson adepts, causing them to become somewhat restless.
While their minds were thoroughly distracted, blood and flesh had covered the entire battlefield.
After a bloody battle, the adepts had severely injured three of the six demons. They were the quasit, the flame fiend, and the marilith.
However, this battle still ended in the adepts’ defeat!
The reason for their defeat was because no one could stop the pit fiend’s reckless rampage.
Even with Mornashen, Mary, and Andrew’s combined power, they were not a match for the pit fiend. The pit fiend relied on his teleportation abilities to travel all over the battlefield, sending the adepts scurrying in every direction.
The terrifying combination of his teleportation and his fearsome Butcher Knife……
Every time the pit fiend struck, it was a trial of life and death for a Fourth Grade adept.
The Fourth Grade adepts had to simultaneously deal with their own opponents while being wary
of sneak attacks from the pit fiend. In all honesty, fighting a battle like this was an excruciating task!
Mary was perhaps the only one among them who could catch up with the pit fiend, on account of her exceptional Agility. However, she couldn’t support the entire battle on her shoulders alone. When she was unable to lure an enemy into the Nightmare Castle, she was no more than an intermediate Fourth Grade.
That much power was insufficient to stop the pit fiend’s rampage.
The only one with the might to match the pit fiend was Mornashen Gaia. However, his hundred-meter height made his every action slow. It was nearly impossible to catch up with the pit fiend.
If he focused too much on the pursuit, the pit fiend could suddenly turn around and strike him. When that happened, even Mornashen couldn’t guarantee he would come out unscathed against that strange Butcher Knife.
Thus, a somewhat comedic game of cat and mouse began on the battlefield!
Mary flickered around the pit fiend like a dragonfly but was simply unable to pierce his defenses. Meanwhile, the tall and ferocious Gold Titan chased right behind, hurling bolts of lightning at the pit fiend.
The pit fiend simply ignored the lightning bolts. It rampaged across the battlefield with its large and heavy body, recklessly chasing after the human adepts. Occasionally, it would activate Pinpoint Teleportation and appear beside a Fourth Grade adept, smiling as he swung his blade.
The massive executor’s blade burning with abyssal fire would always achieve something when swung!
Individually powerful human adepts might be able to endure the power of the blade with their resilient soul. The weaker ones could only avoid the fate of a shattered soul by using means like voodoo dolls and replacement puppets.
In all honesty, the pit fiend alone was enough to send the adepts packing.
Every time he disappeared from view, the adepts would become fearful for their own lives!
It couldn’t be helped. The pit fiend’s attacks were too fearsome. Death was the only result if they couldn’t stop the blade. It was no wonder everyone was worried and scared.
No casualties had occurred yet amongst the Fourth Grade adepts at this point in the battle. However, at the rate things were going, it was only a matter of time until one or two Fourth Grades died!
The disadvantage of the human adepts was becoming increasingly obvious, and their defeat increasingly certain.
It was because they knew this that the morale of the adepts was only slipping further and further.
Chapter 1384 - Greem Appears
Greem, who was hiding in the shadows, knew that it was his time to move!
Otherwise, if any of those cowards turned and ran, it would be a very messy situation to clean up.
With that in mind, Greem moved without hesitation.
There were no fancy lights or massive commotion. Greem simply strolled toward the battlefield, walking in the air.
As his feet left the ship, his body began to grow in size. His body became slightly larger with every step. The battlefield was three kilometers away, yet he arrived at the edge of the battle in just ten steps. At the same time, his body grew to unbelievable proportions.
A thousand-meter-tall body.
Greem did not transform into a molten giant this time. Instead, he retained his actual appearance. However, having grown a thousand meters, his every action appeared slow and stiff.
“Demons, leave our world, or you will die here today!” Greem’s lips moved only slightly, but his voice rumbled across the sky like rolling thunder.
Where it reached, the earth quaked and the adept towers trembled. Even the Crimson adepts, who had remained behind on the Mothership, were forced to clasp their ears as they were knocked around by the sound wave.
Greem’s sudden appearance cloaked all the combatants in a mysterious fear.
All the adepts and demons stopped in their tracks and turned to look at this fearsome giant in horror.
His crimson leather armor glowed with magical power, and an intricate black cloak wrapped around his body. He had a handsome and heroic figure, along with those black eyes that contained untold intelligence.
Every feature of his was elegant, fitting, and aesthetic. However, when they appeared on a thousand-meter giant body, they seemed so strange and intimidating.
Every adept and demon gulped at the same time. They felt as if even breathing was difficult.
“Greem. This…this is Greem?” All the adepts were stunned silent. They could hardly believe their eyes.
Meanwhile, the demons started roaring, insulting this frightening intruder with coarse insults in their abyssal tongue.
“Foolish human adept. You don’t think that becoming bigger makes you stronger, do you? True power requires—” The eight-meter-tall figure of the abyssal demon was like an ant before Greem. He cackled coldly and walked toward the giant. However, his words stopped short in his mouth as he suddenly turned anxious. “Dammit! Principle fires?”
Greem slowly landed beside the Ahlden Clan’s origin tower. The tremors from his landing caused the tower to tremble slightly.
“Andrew, you don’t mind if I borrow some of the energy from your tower, do you?” Greem was so large that even the looming adept tower was like a toy beside him. The tip of the tower could barely reach his waist.
Having said that, Greem bent over and grabbed the top of the tower with one hand. Violent, surging magic energy flowed into his body through the tower’s walls.
A strand of golden fire slowly appeared in his other hand, glowing brighter and brighter. Finally, the fire became brighter than the sun. It was as if a scorching sun had appeared in Greem’s palm.
The appearance of this fire caused the surrounding planar laws to become restless. The adepts and demons on the battlefield could all sense the unprecedented activity of the fire elementium around them. The fire elementium swarmed toward the fire like birds returning to their nests.
All laws related to fire within the surrounding space were distorted. All spells and magic that required fire elementium became chaotic and disorderly. The chances of a failed spell-casting increased exponentially.
The pit fiend felt this more so than the others.
It could sense the terrifying and mysterious changes befalling to the laws of this region behind the scenes!
His savage eyes remained fixed upon that ball of golden fire. His face was filled with shock, horror, and disbelief.
Principle fire. How could it be a principle fire? Was this not the World of Adepts? Could the planar laws here have mutated? Had the upper limit of power been increased to Fifth Grade?
The pit fiend sensed his surroundings silently. The laws had not changed. The greatest amount of power he could draw upon was peak Fourth Grade. What had happened to the planar consciousness of the World of Adepts, then? Why had it allowed a creature within this plane to come into contact with a principle power of this level?
No matter how great his disbelief, it was a matter of fact that such a thing was unfolding before his very eyes. The thousand-meter-tall giant pressed his mouth to the golden fire after absorbing magic energy from the adept tower. He puffed his lips and blew lightly.
The next second, an indescribably violent stream of fire came surging from the golden flames and rushed at the pit fiend as a furious tide.
“You piece-of-shit world consciousness! You bloody bastard actually allowed for cheating! The upper limit of power is supposed to be peak Fourth Grade! Why is this asshole able to unleash Fifth Grade principle fire?” The pit fiend was beyond furious. He cursed the planar consciousness of the World of Adepts over and over in his mind.
However, he did not dare take the golden flames lightly as he had with all his opponents before this. He hastily cast Pinpoint Teleportation and leaped out of the range of the flames.
He had no choice but to evade the flames. The demon lords behind him were no idiots. They quickly erupted into flames and teleported away.
Unfortuna
tely, while they could dodge the flames, the numerous low-grade demons behind them couldn’t.
The flames rolled across the land.
Every creature on the earth and above it stopped in their tracks as their bodies blazed and turned black. A light breeze blew over them, and they all crumbled into black dust.
The Third Grade demons had resilient life forces and were able to last slightly longer in the principle fire. However, they had been burned to a crisp. Flames came out of their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. They stumbled all over the battlefield like blind men. It was obvious they had lost all their external senses.
Soon, even this last bit of their life force was burned away by the principle fire. They collapsed to the ground as their bodies disintegrated into countless specks of ash.
This torrent of flame did not seem very large, but it was extraordinarily ferocious and terrifying. It engulfed every inch of space around the mega-rift in a few seconds.
Over half of the fifty thousand abyssal demons that had teleported here over the past month had died in the battles before this. Now, what remained of them had been turned to ashes by the principle fire.
The demon lords stared at the scene of this happening with eyes wide open. They gritted their teeth, wanting nothing more than to rush forward and crush their enemy. However, the flames were beneath them. They had to beat their wings and remain hovering a hundred meters above the ground; none of them dared touch the flames.
They might be Fourth Grade adepts, but they would sustain grievous injuries if the flames caught up with them. It would be a terrible time.
Fortunately, they were high-grade demons and sufficiently powerful. All of them could use abyssal fire with some degree of proficiency. There was a trace of the Abyssal consciousness’ aura contained within the abyssal fires that cloaked them. It helped shield them from the principle fire.
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