Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  “However, the price of asking her for a divination is not cheap. Every individual that visits her will either owe her a favor or will have to pay an expensive fee. That is why her reputation has always been more infamous rather than famous!”

  “And where is Fate’s Domain?” Greem couldn’t help but grit his teeth and ask.

  Great Adept Sarubo looked at him weirdly before chuckling and saying, “This should be another question, but seeing as you’ve never laid a single finger on my clan, I will throw this in as part of the fifth question!

  “Fate’s Domain is a mystic realm. It has no specific planar coordinates. You will need her invitation to enter the mystic realm. And the means of obtaining an invitation is to visit the witch clones scattered across the various camps in space.”

  “Is there one in Exodar Camp as well?”

  “No, not in Exodar Camp! I’ve already said this. Many places in space dislike and reject someone sinister like her who loves digging around for secrets. Go to the Endless Gardens if you wish to find her clone!”

  Chapter 1480 - Horr’s Clone

  By the time Greem walked out of Great Adept Sarubo’s room, he was 2,700 siths of origin substance lighter than before.

  It was important to know that even though Greem led a prominent and rising organization in the World of Adepts and had gone on dangerous missions numerous times during this war, he only had 4,600 siths of origin substance in his possession.

  He couldn’t help but feel a little sad at having to part with over half of that sum.

  However, compared to the information he had obtained and what he could deduce between the lines, Greem felt it was all worth it.

  Greem returned to his room and, just as promised, Sanazar arrived for an audience in the night.

  They talked in secrecy inside the room for a moment before Sanazar quickly left.

  Another three hundred siths of origin substance were gone from Greem’s purse.

  Greem wasn’t in a hurry to return to the Fire Elementium Plane after sending Sanazar away. Instead, he remained in Boulder Fortress to treat his wounds.

  The injuries that the God of Tyranny had left him were quite serious.

  Even though he had not died after being hit with a weapon imbued with the ‘Execution’ trait, his soul had still endured a terrible divine blow. He was truly injured all over, from his physical form to his soul. Everything hurt, and everything was damaged.

  His body’s injuries were easy enough to fix, but mending the wounds to his soul was far more difficult!

  For the next six months, Greem practically spent every waking moment bathing in all sorts of healing waters, slowly recovering from the last battle’s injuries.

  His injuries had just healed when yet another wave of fighting once again greeted him.

  …………

  Cloudsea Front. Outside the planar barrier of Altbright Plane.

  A blinding light flashed in the depths of space. Greem and five other adepts appeared within a teleportation array.

  Greem quickly dispelled the discomfort brought about by the teleportation. He opened his eyes and took a good look at this vast and majestic battlefield before him.

  The battlefield this time wasn’t inside a planar world but outside the plane’s barrier.

  The teleportation array beneath Greem’s feet was etched upon a large green tile measuring a hundred meters wide and long. Four copper statues of dark dragons loomed on each corner of the array, erecting a semi-translucent barrier that kept the sea of corpses at bay.

  Meanwhile, a couple of hundred-meter-tall giants were fighting valiantly at the center of the battlefield, just fifty kilometers away. One was a blue giant, and the other was an orc god. Both combatants pursued each other around the battlefield at unimaginable speeds. With every clash of strength, an avalanche of magic would rush outward around them.

  The energy tides that they could unleash with every wave of their hand and every flick of their fingers were horrifying. When Greem looked upon them, the only feedback from the Chip was a blinding red light.

  Seventh Grade! The two giants engaging in combat were Seventh Grade!

  He could not see a single ally within fifteen kilometers of those two Seventh Grades.

  Meanwhile, fifteen kilometers away from them, four Sixth Grades were fighting with each other in pairs. Two adepts, two gods. Judging from the situation, the orc gods were the ones who were winning.

  Zooming even further out to twenty kilometers from the main battlefield, one could see the much more populated Fifth Grade battlefield. Great Adepts and orc gods–both in true forms and as their clones–fought with all their might. Their battle cries and shouts could be heard all the way over here. The space around them was torn into chaos, sending chaotic energy rippling in every direction.

  Disregarding everything else, the background radiation alone that the Chip’s scans observed was enough to make Greem’s heart tremble with fear.

  Even the Fifth Grade battlefield’s energy radiation reached an excess of three to four thousand points of power. An ordinary Fourth Grade adept would have trouble surviving in those conditions, let alone doing battle.

  Even Greem, who possessed the Chaos Physique, would have difficulty moving around in such a harsh environment; he would have to be very cautious. Should he slip up and end up being the target of the enemy’s focused fire, his odds of escaping alive from a battlefield like this were very slim.

  Zoom! Zoom!

  While Greem was assessing the battlefield, three more Great Adepts appeared on another teleportation tile not far away from them. They were Fifth Grades as well.

  It seemed like Great Adepts of other regions were gathering here as well. A small war was about to break out!

  “Let’s go! Watch your positions later. Don’t be all the way in front,” One of the Great Adepts in the group smiled viciously and rushed forward.

  The only acquaintance in Greem’s party this time was Antuso.

  The two of them looked at each other and flew out of the teleportation tile without another word. They quickly approached the Fifth Grade battlefield.

  “Let’s cooperate a little in the battle later, see if we can get our hands on some spoils!” Antuso had transformed into his spiritwolf form and vanished from sight. His voice rang beside Greem’s ear as a secret transmission.

  Greem understood what Antuso was referring to. He also transformed without hesitation into a dozen-meter-tall flame giant.

  “Nagus…Hemtam. Heaven’s Fire!”

  Greem completed a short incantation and pointed at the god clone closest to himself. Crimson light gathered above the enemy’s head as clouds of fire began to rumble, instantly turning the skies into a hundred-meter sea of fire.

  There was a loud crack when the sea of fire reached a climax. A fireball containing wild fire-energy crashed down from within. That was only the start. More and more fireballs crashed down from the skies toward the orc god’s body.

  Even the slightest touch would cause the fireballs to detonate into a giant cluster of flames. The wildfire that spread outward burned everything violently.

  The opponent that Greem had chosen for himself was obviously just a god clone.

  It was a Fifth Grade clone of the Sixth Grade God of the Hunt, Horr.

  This clone was a lithe orc with a red face and violet skin. He held a strange spear in his hands while three Fifth Grade divine animal companions crouched around him. One was a fierce mastiff lying at his feet, one was a purple hunting falcon perched on his shoulder, and the last was a fearsome snake coiled around his body.

  However, clones were ultimately just clones and not the real thing.

  The spear in Horr’s hands and the animal companions around him were all just projections of divine power and not the real things. Otherwise, Greem would never be interested in being involved with a hornet’s nest like this!

  The numerous explosive fireballs forced Horr’s clone to dodge constantly, but a part of his bo
dy still ended up igniting.

  He dispelled the fire principle power in the Undying Flames using his divine power, extinguishing the flames. Horr’s clone was infuriated by this attack. He cast aside his original opponent and leaped straight at Greem.

  The spear was the first to arrive!

  Several spear images cut across the air and shot toward Greem. The Chip could sense that each one of these attacks’ energy intensity was as high as 7,000 points of power. That intensity did not reach the Fifth Grade standard of 10,000 points, but the attack was fast and continuous.

  Trying to damage Greem’s body with these spear images was not likely to succeed. However, they could still shatter the magical defenses around him. As such, Horr’s clone constantly threw out these spear images to force Greem to reposition himself, even as he rapidly approached.

  [Beep. The enemy has locked on to Host. Initial estimates suggest the method of locking-on is the opponent’s Tracking divinity. From now on, all attacks fired by the target creature will automatically lock onto Host’s position.]

  Greem lifted his head and looked, only to realize that the image of a golden arrow had appeared on his head and was pointing straight at him. No matter how he dodged, no matter where he teleported, this golden arrow remained pointed steadily toward him as if locked in place above his head.

  It was probably the unique effect of that Tracking divinity!

  How bloody annoying!

  Fleeing was pointless now that he was being tracked in this fashion.

  Horr’s clone didn’t even have to aim. Even a random attack cast without looking would land unerringly on Greem’s body. The only thing that Greem could do was intercept the enemy’s attacks. Otherwise, he would have to endure the attacks with his own body.

  Deng, deng, deng!

  He teleported three times and still did not manage to cast aside the tracking arrow. Instead, half of the fire shields around him had been broken. Greem also flew into a rage now. He no longer wasted efforts on dodging. Instead, he summoned fierce fires and traded blows with the clone.

  Horr’s clone was very sly. He used his rapid movements to dodge most of Greem’s spell attacks while continuing his assault of spear attacks. At the same time, Horr pursed his lips and whistled. As his whistle rang out, the mastiff and falcon lunged toward Greem from above and below, one black silhouette and one purple.

  Meanwhile, the strange snake coiled around Horr’s clone flicked its tongue. It looked at its surroundings with its ghostly green eyes.

  It was obvious that though they had not discovered Antuso’s presence, the snake had felt an approaching danger through its bestial instincts.

  The mastiff had sharp claws with a terrifying Rend effect. If its attacks landed on an enemy, they would also apply a whole host of other effects, such as Eviscerate and Bleed.

  The falcon was like a bolt of purple lightning. It weaved quickly and turned sharply in the air, its movements so smooth and natural that it was hard to catch its actual position. Moreover, it occasionally let out a piercing cry when it attacked. The scream had the unusual effect of confusing and disrupting the enemy.

  Even as capable as he was, Greem started to fumble when he had to deal with two such annoying enemies.

  If he wanted to get things done, it was inevitable that he would have to pay the price for it!

  Greem let out a shout and summoned the Tome of Corruption from within him. He let loose Spirit of Pestilence Remi and had him help fend off the enemy’s attacks. He then finally focused and gathered his principle fire to make a barbecue out of the dog and bird.

  Large stretches of golden fire started to spread in every direction, turning an area within a thousand meters into a living hell. Greem stood in the center of the flames, enduring the numerous enemies’ wild attacks as he chased down the damned hound with invisible flames.

  Four or five horrible gashes had already appeared on Greem’s body, all thanks to this agile mastiff. In his rage, Greem focused his fire to exterminate this shiny black dog first!

  Chapter 1481 - Killing A Clone

  Any creature that could reach Fifth Grade, even if they had just been an ordinary dog before, would become a monster as terrifying as a demon!

  Moreover, the animal companions that Horr the God of the Hunt had chosen for himself were all fearsome magical beasts with outstanding abilities to begin with. When they were raised to the level of a god, their combat strength was enough to make a powerful fire adept like Greem struggle against them.

  With Remi’s aid, Greem managed to withstand the God of the Hunt’s assault. Moreover, to exterminate that damned hound, Greem had no choice but to use up one of his aces– The Fifth Grade Halo of Rot.

  A soft tearing noise could be heard as a rift tore open in space ten meters behind Greem. The accursed mastiff silently leaped out from within. With two swipes of its claws, it shredded the Inferno Shields around Greem. It ignored the flame backlash from the shields and pounced onto Greem’s calf, biting viciously into the magma.

  Flames scattered across the air, and lava spilled forth.

  The mastiff howled in agony as it was showered in the red-hot lava. It didn’t have time to treat the wounds on its body and the blisters on its face as Greem’s fiery hand came grasping from above. The hound stepped in empty air and dodged the attack. Most of its black fur had been melted by the scorching lava, revealing the horrifying mess of blistered and burned skin beneath.

  However, damage of this extent was still tolerable for the mastiff. It stepped on the empty air and dodged left and right, planning to put more distance between it and the raging Fifth Grade adept.

  The purple falcon in the distance let out a screech when it saw this. It tucked its wings and lunged at Greem’s face as a bolt of purple lightning. It reached out with its piercing talons in preparation to leave behind an unforgettable mark on the enemy as it grazed past.

  Horr’s clone took this opportunity to approach. His meter-long spear unleashed a flurry of golden thrusts, bombarding Greem’s defenses from afar.

  The three of them were old companions. Their combination of ambush, pincer attack, and reinforcement was flawless.

  However, Greem had already made up his mind to exterminate one of them at the cost of being injured. No degree of perfection in their teamwork could account for that.

  “Remi, intercept that falcon!”

  Greem’s mental fluctuation rose and sent a message to Remi. He then ignored the attacks from Horr’s clone and the falcon to focus all his power onto that damned dog.

  Greem abruptly stomped his feet, and a hundred red pillars of flame instantly rose all around him. These fire pillars’ positions were random and chaotic, scattered across a radius of a hundred meters and making them very unpredictable.

  The mastiff weaved left and right in the air as if it could sense where the flames were going to erupt. It was always able to dodge the fire pillars with inches to spare.

  Seeing as the opponent was about to escape the hundred-meter radius, Greem shouted out loud, “Fire Prison!”

  The next second, the fire elementium in the air gathered around the hound like blocks of wood. It turned into a cage of fire and locked the creature within.

  The mastiff did not panic in the face of this obstacle. It reached out with its claws and quickly tore the cage to shreds. However, this momentary pause gave Greem another opportunity to cast a spell.

  “Gamelio-Kannes…Land of Fireserpents! “

  As Greem finished his incantation, the air beneath the mastiff suddenly turned scarlet. Countless terrifying fire serpents appeared out of thin air. There were an alarming number of these serpents, and they instantly wrapped themselves around the mastiff, completely immobilizing the beast.

  The mastiff let out a furious bark. It began to tear and bite with all its strength. Land of Fireserpents might be a peak Fourth Grade spell, but judging from the strength the mastiff possessed, it would not keep it trapped for more than five seconds.

&n
bsp; Unfortunately, five seconds were more than enough for a legendary fire adept!

  Greem tossed out the Fifth Grade Halo of Rot onto the mastiff without any hesitation.

  The mastiff’s entire body turned black the moment the Halo of Rot entered its body. The fur on its skin, the skin itself, and all its flesh and bones started to shrivel and wither at a visible pace.

  Horr’s divine power, which used to permeate its body, was also corrupted and began to rot along with the dog’s body.

  A divine mastiff with the fearsome combat prowess of a beginner Fifth Grade had fallen at Greem’s hand in less than twenty seconds, just like that.

  Upon seeing his old friend–who had accompanied him for countless years–crumble into dust from the Halo of Rot, Horr’s clone let out a furious roar. He strode straight toward Greem.

  In truth, the mastiff that Greem killed was only its soul projection. The divine mastiff itself still loyally sat at the side of the true Horr!

  However, Horr’s clone could not bear to see his companion killed in such a cruel fashion, even if he knew it was only a soul projection that he could endlessly replicate.

  Horr’s clone roared and charged at Greem. Meanwhile, Remi kept the purple falcon occupied slightly away from the battlefield. They went back and forth, and it did not seem that their battle would conclude for a while.

  The snake coiled around Horr’s clone also slithered down under his instructions and slowly wound its way behind Greem’s back.

  Greem’s eye lit up in the face of this ferocious attack. He actively rushed toward his enemy.

  Spiritwolf Antuso, who had been lying in wait for a long time by the sidelines, secretly snuck his way behind Horr’s clone. His aura had risen to its peak, and he could unleash a devastating attack at any time.