Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Circe might not have sensed the arrival of danger, but Khesuna had a feeling that all the Dark Witches would be in trouble due to her recklessness and impulsiveness.

  The Northern Witches had gone from their original thirteen branches to the current eight. They were far weaker than they once were. Among these branches, the Coldwinter Witches and Fate Witches were newly resuscitated branches that had only rediscovered their legacies recently after thousands of years of extinction.

  If something were to happen to the Dark Witches, the Northern Lands’ situation would become even more unstable!

  Even though Circe’s words were reckless, they clearly resonated with the Northern Witches.

  Deceit Witch Leader Angelina couldn’t help but step forward and ask, “Sister Khesuna, do you not find the behavior of the Adept’s Association strange? They were at complete odds with Greem before this, and now they are being as nice as family. What exactly are they doing?”

  Khesuna looked at the witches around her and only saw confusion on the faces of her sisters. She could only shake her head and sigh, “This is an open conspiracy of the Adept’s Association!”

  “Open conspiracy?” The witches did not understand.

  “At this point, anyone can see that Legendary Fire Adept Greem can no longer be kept down. As long as he exists, the Central Lands will belong to him. None of our three major organizations will be able to take over.”

  “Doesn’t that mean that all three organizations should work together even more so to suppress Greem? What does any of this have to do with getting on his good side?”

  “You all still look down underestimate what it means to be a high-grade adept. You have no idea how terrifying an out-of-control powerhouse can be,” Khesuna looked around and said coldly, “Let’s put it this way! Given Greem’s current power, he would be able to exterminate any one of the major organizations if he was willing to drag his reputation through the mud and resort to guerilla warfare.”

  “Hsss,” The witches drew in a breath of cold air.

  They had witnessed the might of the legendary fire adept in the battle earlier, but they never expected Khesuna to rate him so highly.

  Didn’t that mean Greem had absolutely no equal match within the World of Adepts?

  “Of the three major organizations, the Silver Union has the Castle in the Sky, and the Adept’s Association has the Tower of Observation. With those two fortresses, they would be able to retreat into safety and defend most of their assets if they were to run into an insoluble problem. However, our Northern Lands have no such top-class facility. If our relationship with Greem falls out, the entire group that is the Northern Witches will face an existential threat.”

  Khesuna paused for a moment here and looked at Circe coldly. “I know you Dark Witches have made a lot of progress in excavating the Shadow World and that you have raised a large shadow army. However, think about what will happen if you continue provoking Greem. What can you do if he decides to crush your Black Mystery? Are you going to chase him around the world with your shadow armies?

  “It’s not like you haven’t seen the might of a powerhouse! Greem alone slaughter hundreds of thousands of mutated beasts and disaster creatures and kept them blockaded in Inkdeep Valley. If he activates his Burning Domain, Circe, do you think your shadow army will be able to survive?”

  Circe finally lowered her face. Her body, hidden in the black mists, couldn’t help but tremble.

  Khesuna didn’t want to demoralize Circe too badly. She quickly explained the Adept Association’s behavior.

  “It’s a good thing that the Adept’s Association is trying their best to get on Greem’s good side now. It means that they understand that directly suppressing him will no longer be effective. Such actions will only make an enemy out of him. So, they are using an open conspiracy. They plan to send Greem out of the World of Adepts as soon as possible.

  “If this process isn’t accelerated, Greem could easily ruler over the Central Lands for at least a thousand years, given how young and powerful he is. A thousand years is too long for our three major organizations. That is why the Association will definitely try to fulfill all of Greem’s needs so that he can advance to Fifth Grade swiftly and get banished from the World of Adepts.

  “A Central Lands without Greem…cannot be supported on the shoulders of the vampire Mary alone!”

  It was then that the witches finally understood. They couldn’t help but nod in unison.

  Indeed, given that they couldn’t suppress Greem anymore, shortening his time in the Central Lands was undoubtedly the best idea. Even if Greem realized their plans, he probably wouldn’t be able to suppress his desire and impulse to advance to Great Adept earlier if possible.

  However, the fact that the three famous major organizations had been relegated to such a means of dealing with an adept from the Central Lands was quite tragic!

  …………

  The battle had not actually ended.

  The disaster creatures might have been herded back into Inkdeep Valley, but they still resided down there, guarding the giant spatial rift.

  If things dragged on, they could erode the foundation of the plane; the Sixth Grade Scourge Lord on the other end would be able to enter the World of Adepts. All of their efforts up until now would have been in vain.

  It was only inside the plane and with the aid of the planar suppression that the Fourth Grade adepts had a chance to kill those Fifth Grade minor Scourge Lords. Should their home field advantage be lost, everyone here combined would not survive a single slap from a Sixth Grade Scourge Lord.

  As such, the planar barrier could not be lost, no matter the sacrifices!

  After a quick sweep of the battlefield and after purifying the disaster aura near the valley, large packs of voodoo beasts were herded into the valley.

  The voodoo beasts and mutated beasts switched positions now. The voodoo beasts were the ones on offense, while the mutated beasts attempted to repel them. The valley itself had become a bloody battlefield.

  To prevent the voodoo beasts from being corrupted and turning on the adepts, this attack’s main force was actually an army of animated constructs composed of iron golems and magical armors.

  Charging at the forefront were the animated armors.

  They stood over three-meters tall in the form of human warriors, despite having a hollow body. They were sustained purely by magical power. They held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other as they marched forth with heavy steps and perfect formation, five in a row.

  The mutated beasts howled and rushed forward the moment they entered the mists. The mutated beasts composed of flesh and blood immediately clashed with these warriors of steel and iron.

  These animated armors had been adjusted by the Adept’s Association and were much less stiff and clumsy compared to an average steel statue. Their movements were agile, accurate, and they were fearless.

  In the face of the mutated beasts, these animated armors stormed ahead and bashed with the shields in their left hands. Once the enemies were stunned, they raised their swords to slice.

  The animated-armor warriors had no life to speak off. Naturally, they had no fear of death either.

  They were simply a bunch of heavy-armor and swords animated through magical power. There was no other way to deal with them but to knock their shields and swords away and cave in their armor until they were incapable of fighting any longer.

  Their magical nature determined their combat style!

  It was a savage style of charging and fighting without pause.

  The magical armors raised their swords and shields, cutting their way into the valley, step by step.

  Meanwhile, the mutated beasts took full advantage of their agile figures. They approached from every direction: the front, the flanks, from the walls, or even from the skies.

  The entire Inkdeep Valley was swarming with their squirming black and red figures. They instantly surrounded the invading magical-armor warriors
!

  Chapter 1416 - Battle for the Slope

  There had never been such a thing as compassion or tolerance in a planar war!

  On one side, you had unforgivable invaders. On the other, you had the defenders of their home. There was no possibility of reconciliation between these two parties.

  Either the invaders would defeat the natives and become the world’s new rulers, or the native defenders would exterminate every last invader and defend their sovereignty. There were no other possibilities apart from these two!

  That was why the Adept’s Association was forced to use its hidden aces in the face of these ferocious disaster creatures. It mobilized large armies of magical constructs and metal golems.

  Of course, the Adept’s Association was not comparable to the Silver Union in this particular aspect.

  The main reason why the Silver Union chose to plant its roots in the continent’s eastern area was that most of the Continent of Adepts’ rare ores could be found there. It was able to excavate the ores, refine them, and forge them onsite, giving rise to an awe-inspiring empire of golems.

  In the face of the magic surge, all the major organizations were being extremely cautious. A single misstep on their part would cause hordes of magical creatures to swarm the human kingdoms under their management, thereby weakening the foundation and future of the organization.

  Only the Silver Union was an exception. Its military forces were overwhelmingly powerful. It mobilized armies of golems to fight directly against the Black Forest rulers and kept the unending stampedes blockaded at the edges of the Black Forest.

  If it weren’t for the fact that the golem armies could not fight away from the energy pools, the Silver Union would have stormed the Black Forest with their golems and exterminated every single one of those magical creature rulers.

  The invasions in Silver Union territory were also quickly and effectively suppressed by the mighty golem armies. Only a few small waves had rippled throughout their lands. With the golem armies keeping guard, the otherworldy invaders could not gain any ground against the tide of animated constructs.

  The might of the Silver Union couldn’t be more obvious!

  However, while the magical golems made them powerful, the golems also held them back!

  The golem armies were truly unstoppable and dominating. However, they were too big, too heavy, and too slow. As a defensive force, the golem armies were supported by an endless energy supply and proper transport lines. Thus, they were able to unleash devasting destruction on their enemies.

  However, upon leaving Silver Union territory, they would lose the numerous skyships that transported them and the countless energy pools scattered across the land. They would become much, much weaker!

  The Adept’s Association was the largest adept organization in the World of Adepts. In overall power, it was superior to the other two major organizations combined. However, their magical construct technology was inferior compared to the Silver Union.

  They did not have the Silver Union’s outstanding magical-statue forging technology, nor the same abundance of ores. The Adept’s Association could not create their own army of magical statues. They could only use the more simple animated-armor warriors.

  These constructs were called ‘warriors,’ but they were completely hollow inside. They were only metal armors that had undergone magical treatment and been animated. They could wage combat based on the will of the adepts.

  These magical-armor warriors were loyal, fearless, and easy to use.

  They had only one terrible weakness– insufficient defense!

  The magical statues created by the Silver Union were all solid metal golems of exceptional weight. These statues had arms that were a full meter thick. Even without weapons, the fists of these statues were as destructive as siege hammers.

  On the other hand, the animated armors were hollow. It saved on a lot of material costs, but it also made them exponentially weaker in defense.

  Under ordinary circumstances, the Adept’s Association preferred to mobilize armies of voodoo beasts during planar wars. The animated armors served a better role as defenders of their adept towers.

  However, voodoo beasts were extremely susceptible to the corruption of powerful Scourge Lords. The Association had no choice but to relegate the voodoo beasts to the sidelines and use these animated-armor warriors as their vanguard.

  After the adepts’ devastating assault, the mutated beasts that appeared from the other side of the spatial rift stopped swarming out of the valley. The disaster creatures restrained them and kept waiting in the depths of the mist. They silently anticipated the moment the principle chains around the spatial rift broke.

  The World of Adepts was a large world, after all. It contained a shocking number of powerful adepts. When all these adepts gathered together, the disaster creatures that had ravaged so many planar worlds were no match.

  After all, they were the invaders here. The planar laws continually suppressed them, stopping them from utilizing their full power. Otherwise, a ridiculous incident like a Fourth Grade adept slaying a Fifth Grade minor Scourge Lord would never have happened.

  The low-grade disaster creatures might not fear death, but the high-grade ones were just as smart and self-aware as any other intelligent race. They highly-valued their lives. They were eager to come when there were benefits to be gained. On the flip side of that coin, they became fearful the moment they discovered the presence of a powerful individual capable of killing them.

  These minor Scourge Lords, who were all Fifth Grade creatures in actuality, were like gluttonous bears that lusted after the honey in the hive on a tree. If there were only bees up there, they would dive right in for a feast, even if it meant getting stung a little bit.

  If there was a poisonous and potentially lethal snake lying in wait inside the hive, then it wasn’t quite worth it to lose their lives over a few handfuls of honey.

  The four minor Scourge Lords who had returned to the bottom of the valley were now in an awkward position.

  Continuing their invasion wasn’t a good choice. There were so many powerful adepts gathered up there. Even minor Scourge Lords like themselves couldn’t deal with the constant pressure of so many mighty individuals. Retreating wasn’t an option either. Their leader, the Sixth Grade Scourge Lord Dilmas, was waiting out there.

  If they returned without results, Dilmas would almost certainly devour one of them alive to punish them for their cowardice and failure!

  In a position like this one, the four minor Scourge Lords could only summon large numbers of mutated beasts from their own worlds. They hoped to defend the valley in this manner and wait until the principle chains around space finally loosened.

  As for rushing into a fight with the adepts? As long as the legendary fire adept remained at the valley entrance, doing so would be no different than suicide.

  That said, the fire adept was too massive. There was no chance of him squeezing his way into the valley. Without his overwhelming support, any of the other ultra-powerhouses that entered the valley would face the unified attacks of four minor Scourge Lords.

  If the stalemate continued like this, they would continue to corrupt the spatial chains here and might be able to buy time until the spatial rift could tolerate the power of Fifth Grades.

  When that moment arrived, the four minor Scourge Lords would be able to unleash all their power; they would certainly be able to ravage the World of Adepts uncontested. Those so-called adept powerhouses could only hide in their adept towers and tremble in fear.

  When that happened, the major adept organizations could achieve little more than self-preservation. All their territories and resource sites would be lost to the disaster creatures.

  If such a scenario occurred, the various major organizations would pull their final trumps cards and beg all the Great Adepts to return from the depths of space to aid them, no matter the cost.

  It was an unknown if the Great Adepts who had left the World of Adepts
and cut most connections would be willing to return and help, risking their lives in the process.

  Even if the Great Adepts were willing to help, their powers would be limited to the same level as the Scourge Lords while they were inside the World of Adepts. It was another uncertainty if they would be able to repel the Scourge Lords’ invasion.

  It was precisely because both sides had reasons that prevented them from stepping back that an unusually bloody battle broke out.

  …………

  The first army of a thousand animated armors was exterminated in just half a day after being sent into Inkdeep Valley.

  Tens of thousands of mutated beasts swarmed the valley, all squeezed next to each other. It almost seemed like the valley had turned into a sea of monsters.

  The animated-armor warriors were only able to advance five hundred meters before they were sealed above the slope by the mutated beasts. The two forces fought a violent battle there. In the end, the mutated beasts wiped out the armors after losing fifty thousand of their number.

  However, just as the first magical armor unit was wiped out, the second magical armor unit stepped across the bloody and muddy ground. They rushed onto the slope of death, sweeping aside the tattered corpses of mutated beasts and fragments of armor in the way.

  This time, they a squad of a hundred adepts followed them. All of them were elementium adepts.

  When the second unit of a thousand animated-armors clashed with the mutated beasts, an intense and terrifying elementium fluctuation arose from behind. A storm of elementium magic then devastated the frontlines of the battle.

  Lightning storms that seemed as if they would split the world apart, sharp earth spears that stabbed up from below, vortices with blades of wind, swords of snow and ice that descended from the skies, clouds of poison that filled the air.