Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Greem frowned and shouted out, “You get to decide when we stop? Why don’t you stay now that you’re already here!?”

  Greem gave no chance for the elderly adept to reply. He opened his mouth, and a torrent of golden flames pressed down against the elderly adept.

  The adept was furious. He wanted nothing more than to instantly summon his true self from space and destroy this annoying brat with a single slap. However, he knew his limits. Great Adepts like himself had to practically smuggle themselves into the World of Adepts every time they returned. The amount of power they could bring back with them each time was minimal.

  Since there was no way of quickly defeating and killing this legendary fire adept, he should flee now.

  Should he continue fighting, something might happen to this clone of his; his reputation in space would be smeared.

  A Sixth Grade Great Adept had sent out his clone, only for it to be killed by a brat that had not even advanced to Fifth Grade? If news of this got out, it would become a permanent blemish to his reputation.

  Douglas shivered at this thought. The water giant roared and turned into a raging stream, blasting Greem’s curtain of fire apart and carrying Douglas away into the distant horizon.

  Greem did not attempt to chase after the adept. Instead, he stood silently on the spot as if thinking about something.

  The Chip was silently communicating with him in his mind.

  “Have you managed to find out anything about that old man?”

  [All known information on Great Adepts has been investigated. No corresponding file discovered.]

  Greem brooded in silence. He wasn’t surprised.

  At the level of Fifth Grades, adepts would have lifespans lasting for thousands of years. The more stubborn individuals could even live up to ten thousand years if they resorted to extreme measures. Thus, obtaining a census of all surviving adepts that had stepped out of the World of Adepts in the past tens of thousands of years was a nearly impossible task.

  Even as a Fourth Grade adept and the de facto ruler of the Central Lands, Greem only had information on twenty or thirty Great Adepts in the Chip’s database. Moreover, most of this information was incomplete.

  The Great Adepts that he had on record also had not contacted the World of Adepts in hundreds of years. No one knew where they were or if they were even alive. If these Great Adepts had died quietly in some ancient ruins or somewhere deep in space, there was no way the World of Adepts would find out about their deaths.

  The Great Adepts who were verified and in close contact with the Central Lands numbered fewer than five. That included Sixth Grade Great Adept Sarubo, who had stepped out of the World of Adepts only eight hundred years ago!

  The amount of information that Greem had available was minuscule compared to the ten thousand Great Adepts out there. It was only natural that he could not find the results he wanted.

  “Then what are the characteristics of the principle he has grasped?” Greem asked solemnly.

  After that long battle with a clash of their principles, it was only natural that they had gained an understanding of each others’ powers. Analyzing the characteristics of the opponent’s principle was only a reasonable conclusion.

  [A lesser branch of the water principle. Manifested characteristic is the Pressure of Water. It is able to transfer weight using the unique attribute of water elementium, causing tremendous pressure on localized regions.

  [Moreover, the water giant created by the opponent was not composed of ordinary water elementium; it was highly extracted and refined water essence. Said substance possesses a tremendous magnification effect on water principles.]

  Water essence?

  Greem contemplated for a moment.

  That could be considered a high-grade material in the laboratories of most adepts!

  Judging from how casually he had just summoned that hundred-meter-tall water giant, water essence was hardly valuable to him. A hundred-meter-tall water giant would have to weigh forty tons at the very least. If it was made entirely out of water essence, it would be ten times heavier.

  No wonder the water giant was able to clash with his gigantic body despite being ten times smaller!

  While Greem was deep in thought, Fourth Grade Adept Andrew flew out of his tower and cautiously approached him.

  The devastating principle battle from earlier had clearly terrified Andrew.

  Andrew didn’t know when it started, but he could no longer see this legendary fire adept as merely an equal. Even a Fourth Grade like himself trembled before Greem.

  “Mm? What’s the matter?” Greem asked solemnly.

  Andrew nodded hastily and waved the parchment in his hand as he said, “Big trouble over at the Adept’s Association!”

  Chapter 1397 - The Association Calls For Help

  Chapter 1397 The Association Calls For Help

  The Adept’s Association was really in trouble now!

  The parchment was a request for aid, and the person who had issued it was Vice-Chairman Domhnall of the Adept’s Association.

  The other two major organizations had probably received a letter just like this one as well.

  Greem stared at the parchment, and it flew out of Andrew’s hands toward him. As the scroll unfurled, the magical recording within started to play, showing Greem the terrifying carnage unfolding at Inkdeep Valley.

  A thousand-meter-long reptile with numerous heads and dark green scales climbed out of the depths of the valley.

  It released a blaring screech when it appeared, and its body glowed with a jade-green light. The radiance covered an area of a hundred meters. Every voodoo beast and monster within the green light rotted rapidly and turned into puddles of purple liquid.

  Meanwhile, three Fourth Grade adepts in Association robes stood around the monster, two men and one woman.

  The female adept was Gloria, who had fought Greem once before!

  Greem also recognized one of the two male adepts. It was Adept Cerveris. The other was an unfamiliar face.

  Three adepts, three ultra-powerhouses!

  These three ultra-powerhouses from the Adept’s Adept’s Association surrounded the fearsome creature and fought against it.

  Meanwhile, large hordes of magical creatures charged out of the mists of the valley behind the monstrosity. These creatures had the wings of an eagle, the head of a serpent, and the body of a lion. Every one of them carried a revolting aura of corruption!

  Mutated beasts. They were mutated beasts that had been affected by the Scourge Lord’s Scourge Aura. They weren’t of a very high grade individually. At best, they were First or Second Grade. However, there were so many that it was nearly impossible to kill them all.

  Judging by the number and strength of the mutated beasts swarming out of Inkdeep Valley, the Scourge Lords must have connected the spatial rift at the bottom of the valley to a plane that had been corrupted by the aura of disaster. All the mutated beasts of that planar world were now being herded into the World of Adepts.

  It was a typical move from the Scourge Lords!

  They first opened a spatial rift, then herded an endless stampede of disaster creatures into the world they were invading. Regardless of whether these disaster creatures lived or died, their existence would corrupt and destroy the planar laws around the spatial rift.

  Once the planar laws had been damaged to a certain degree, the Scourge Lords would then send their high-grade subordinates!

  The many-headed reptile, for instance, was barely a minor Scourge Lord. It was either the clone of a true Scourge Lord, or one of their high-grade subordinates. Regardless of which it was, its appearance was a calamity for the World of Adepts!

  Apart from the reptile, a many-armed giant and a colossal bone-fiend could be seen in the image projected by the parchment. These individuals demonstrated power at peak Fourth Grade, but their true forms were probably fearsome Fifth Grade creatures.

  The Adept’s Association was pulling all out the stops to de
al with these minor Scourge Lords.

  Greem could see as many as eighteen Fourth Grade adepts just from the projection. In addition to the adepts stationed in the towers behind and supporting from the backlines, the Adept’s Association had at least invested two-thirds of their high-grade forces in this battle.

  Even so, the situation did not look good for them!

  The endless swarm of mutated beasts continued to emerge from Inkdeep Valley, storming and assaulting the adept towers and forces like a dark, moving cloud.

  The vicious battle extended from the skies to the ground and even all the way underground.

  It could be said that every piece of land within fifteen kilometers of Inkdeep Valley had been fully occupied by the black and red forms of the mutated beasts. The adept forces could only retreat to the side of the war towers, their backs against the elementium barriers as they fought against the endless army of mutated beasts.

  Lightning crackled around the war towers as bolt after bolt of thunder crashed down from the skies, turning the beasts into ashes and dust.

  It was still not enough to stop the tide of monsters.

  These mutated beasts could fly and even burrow underground. Ugly and vicious carapace or scales covered their bodies. Ordinary elementium spells below Second Grade could not kill them quickly. Only powerful spells of Second Grade and above could slightly stall their mad advance.

  The Adept Association’s reserve of cannon fodder was quite plentiful indeed.

  Voodoo beast armies of strange shapes and sizes marched out of the towers- a rather brazen display of the adepts’ experimentations. They brandished their claws and rushed fearlessly at the mutated beasts.

  You could see voodoo beasts and mutated beasts tearing into each other everywhere on the battlefield!

  Due to the shocking numbers of mutated beasts and the three powerful minor Scourge Lords, the Adept’s Association was unable to push the enemy back into Inkdeep Valley, even with all their might. Naturally, there was no way they could purify the aura of corruption either.

  The parchment projection lasted only five minutes, but the information revealed was enough to frighten anyone.

  Greem didn’t know what the others thought about the situation. However, he knew that if the disaster creatures had chosen to invade the mega-rift instead, then the Central Lands would probably be swarmed with mutated beasts by now.

  Of course, entering through the mega-rift was a far more difficult task than doing so through Inkdeep Valley. To sustain the twisted and distorted forms of the Scourge Lords here would require at least several months of corruption.

  That was the main reason why the disaster creatures had chosen to invade Inkdeep Valley rather than the mega-rift of Ahlden!

  Once the projection ended, it quickly rolled itself back into a scroll with a thwack and returned to Andrew’s hands.

  Greem frowned and said coldly, “What’s the Adept Association’s intention in sending this to us? Do they want reinforcements? Hmph! Have they forgotten what they did in the Central Lands?”

  Andrew’s face was pale, and he appeared distracted. It was obvious he was still bothered by the images they had just witnessed. Upon hearing Greem’s question, he bowed and answered, “The Association didn’t just send this parchment. They also sent a Third Grade messenger. Should we grant him an audience, sir?”

  Andrew had witnessed two fights of alarming proportion and power. Even with his Spirit as a Fourth Grade adept, it was all a little hard to digest.

  “Call him over! I would love to hear what terms the Association can offer us,” It was no wonder Greem was so resentful. If not for the Adept Association’s intervention, his unification of the Central Lands would not have been as risky or difficult.

  If he had not held the initiative every step of the way and grew faster than the enemy’s expectations, all his hard work over the past hundred years would have been in vain.

  White light flashed in the adept tower in the distance. A young male adept with a handsome face and an air of elegance flew toward Greem, clad in white light.

  Even though he had already seen Greem’s magnificent figure in the distance, he still felt a genuine sense of fear and awe when he approached Greem’s gigantic face.

  Third Grade…his power of Third Grade, which he had always been so proud of, was nothing before this towering legendary fire adept.

  He had a feeling that all this man needed to do was move his finger, and he would be crushed to death as easily as an ant.

  This Third Grade young male adept hastily put his hand over his chest and bowed. He then said in a loud voice, “Association Special Messenger Germaine pays his regards to the great Lord Greem!”

  The terms ‘great’ and ‘respected’ were not words that were easily used amongst adepts. ‘Respected’ was a term usually used for high-grade adepts, while ‘great,’ naturally, was only used for Great Adepts.

  It was an unspoken convention. No high-grade adept would break this convention to enjoy the reverence of a Great Adept as a Fourth Grade.

  “Great?” Greem chided coldly, “You are stirring up trouble for me!”

  The young male adept hurriedly explained, “Lord Greem, please do not misunderstand! I have no means of putting you in a difficult position. I am only acting in accordance with the direct orders of Lord Domhnall. He said I was to treat you with the respect accorded to a Great Adept when I met you.”

  “Domhnall,” Greem smiled. “What did he send you here to say?”

  “Lord Domhnall said that all the unpleasantries of the past were simply a result of our misunderstandings. The Adept’s Association will fully reimburse the losses incurred by Lord Greem.” This young Third Grade adept was an eloquent individual. He was able to adjust his attitude appropriately and put himself in a very humble position.

  “Compensation…is not needed!” Greem said coldly. “All I want is the Adept’s Association to stop meddling with Central Land affairs. If you are here to apologize on behalf of the Association, you may leave now! You…are not qualified to give such an apology!”

  The expression on the adept’s face froze, but he quickly put on a smile again.

  “There’s no need to make me leave so early, my lord. I still have some information here from Lord Domhnall to relay to you!”

  “Speak!”

  “That…I,” The young Adept Germaine looked around at Andrew and the demigod lich standing not far away. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, “Lord Domhnall said that he hopes that Lord Greem will be willing to help the Association through these difficult times, on account of your past friendship……”

  “Past friendship…haha! Lord Domhnall is quite the jester!” Greem almost couldn’t help but start laughing out loud.

  “Lord Domhnall knows that he has wronged you in the past. As such, he instructed me to bring this to you,” Adept Germaine felt his heart pounding when he heard Greem’s mocking laughter. He took out a rectangular wooden box and respectfully presented it to Greem, sweating as he did so.

  First Cerveris and then Gloria. Greem had not forgotten these two gifts from the Association. The fact that they dared ask him for help after all that undoubtedly confused him.

  He was incredibly curious about what treasure Domhnall had produced to convince him to help them.

  Chapter 1398 - Strange Negotiations

  Chapter 1398 Strange Negotiations

  Greem waved the wooden box over toward him. He opened a corner of it and glanced at its contents expressionlessly before putting the lid back on.

  Due to his forcefield, no one else could see the box’s contents through the distorted space around him.

  Greem did not return the box to the young adept. Instead, he casually waved his hand and opened a spatial rift. He then put the box into a small fire dimension he had created. At Greem’s level, ordinary storage equipment could no longer be used.

  Storage belts and rings were utterly unable to bear his fire principle powers. As such, he
had to excavate small fire dimensions to store his more valuable possessions.

  As long as he wasn’t in some unusual environment where space was distorted, these small dimensions marked with his brand could be opened and closed at any time. They were more convenient than ordinary storage equipment.

  “This much will make me forget your transgressions in the past, at the very best. It isn’t enough to talk about reinforcements. You stay here for the moment,” Greem thought for a moment and said solemnly, “I still have some trivial matters to finish up here. Wait until the Fourth Grade adepts of the Central Lands have gathered together. I will discuss the matter of reinforcing the Association with them.”

  “Lord Greem, forgive my impudence…but the Association cannot afford to wait any longer!” Adept Germaine pled anxiously, “Even before I left the Adept’s Association, Inkdeep Valley…was already on the verge of being overrun.”

  “That can’t be!” Andrew, who had been standing to the side, couldn’t help but counter. “The disaster creatures might be ferocious, but the Association has always been powerful. They should have no problem fending off the invasion for at least a few more months.”

  Adept Germaine put on a bitter smile when he heard this. He then said, “That is supposed to be the case, but…but……”

  “Is there something you are not supposed to say? I should tell you that these are the Central Lands, not the subordinate territory of your Association. We have no duty or obligation to help you defend against an otherworldly invasion. So, it’s best if you tell us everything you haven’t told us yet,” Andrew had an ugly expression on his face. His clan was currently the one facing the most trouble in the Central Lands.

  If Greem were to actually redirect forces to the Association’s aid, who was supposed to defend this mega-rift?

  If it had been a few days ago, he would have had the confidence to push back the invaders using the clan’s accumulation of resources and power over the past few centuries. However, judging from the current situation, the invaders were all fearsome forces from places like the Abyssal World and the World of Disasters. A mere Fourth Grade adept like himself could not repel such terrifying enemies in such numbers.