Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  It was a giant stone creature measuring thirty meters in height. It had a humanoid form, but was composed of heavy steelrock, not flesh. Its legs were thick enough to require several people to wrap their arms around a leg to encircle it. The steelrock that formed its body was bound together with numerous dirt-yellow halos.

  Apart from its terrifying weight and Strength, this stone creature also radiated fearsome earth elementium power.

  Dammit! This stone creature also possessed spellcasting ability. It was an Earth Prophet!

  Greem’s face darkened in an instant.

  Of all the earth elementium creatures, these Earth Prophets were undoubtedly the most troublesome to deal with.

  Other earth elementium creatures might be just as large and resilient, but they only had a select few innate earth powers. None of them actually possessed elementium spellcasting ability. Against big fellows like that, Greem could tear the lot of them apart just by kiting.

  That strategy was useless against the Earth Prophet!

  Earth Prophets possessed fearsome earth origin power, also known to the adepts as earth principle power. They could keep their enemies bound to the ground using Halos of Gravity, thereby saving them the embarrassment of having to chase after a flying enemy.

  Meanwhile, the innate Mire, Earthquake, and Split Earth abilities they possessed were devastating to most creatures. If an opponent was caught and trapped by the earth principle powers, the Earth Prophet could simply finish the job with a savage strike of its giant stone palm.

  Greem was unfortunate. He had been afflicted with the Halo of Gravity without being aware of it.

  The Earth Prophet was a Fifth Grade elementium creature itself. Its Halo of Gravity was more than enough to keep Greem suppressed near the earth. He would no longer be able to return to the sky now.

  “Die, evil adept!”

  The Earth Prophet let out a booming shout from within its firm stone body. He strode to Greem’s side and lifted his right foot before stomping furiously downward.

  Ugh!

  A vicious gale pressed against Greem’s face.

  An Earthquake ability of Second Grade accompanied the Earth Prophet’s every action. Ordinary creatures would not be able to stand up around the being, let alone do battle against it.

  Boom!

  Greem’s body scattered into flames and escaped in different directions.

  Unfortunately, no matter how he split up his body, the damned Halo of Gravity continued to enshroud him. He was unable to move more than three meters from the ground.

  There was another loud thud as the earth cracked once more; yet another gouge appeared on the plaza.

  Greem didn’t dare drag the battle out against such a powerful opponent. The scattered flames reformed into four identical fire giants.

  All four of the fire giants started chanting their incantations at the same time. A short moment later, four massive fireballs the size of boulders crashed against the Earth Prophet’s body from four different directions.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  There was a series of explosions, and searing flames engulfed half of the stone giant’s body.

  Even the steelrock of the Earth Prophet’s body began to turn red and soften beneath the horrifying heat. It flowed toward the ground as half-molten magma. However, given the Earth Prophet’s thick body, these flames wouldn’t be able to burn through its four-meter-thick body even with fifteen minutes to do so.

  That was why the Earth Prophet simply endured the flames and turned around. It strode toward the closest fire giant and swung its fist. A rain of rubble and a wave of earth spears struck the fire giant.

  Greem frowned, and his expression turned solemn.

  That fire clone had actually been exterminated before it could escape!

  That might only have been a fire clone, but it possessed 30% of Greem’s fire damage, as well as all of his spells. It should not have been so easily destroyed under ordinary circumstances, given its ability to use Fire Teleportation.

  Greem’s expression was dark. He asked in a solemn voice, “What’s the problem, Chip?”

  [Beep. Halo of Slowing detected on Fire Clone 1 before it was attacked.]

  “How am I unaffected, then?”

  [Beep. Host is protected by the principle barrier of the Tome of Corruption from the affliction of earth principle power. The fire clones are only a projection of a portion of Host’s power. Deployment of fire principle power is required to resist the Halo of Slowing.]

  “Dammit! This Earth Prophet is really difficult to deal with.”

  Greem grumbled to himself, but he had no choice but to extend his fire principle power to the other two fire clones, shielding them from head to toe.

  Dong! Dong! Dong!

  The mountain itself seemed to rumble as the Earth Prophet charged at another fire clone. It summoned a hail of earth spears and engulfed the fire clone in a cloud of dust.

  It was a slow, heavy stone giant against a group of agile fire giants. A battle broke out just like that upon the broad stone plaza.

  Simultaneously, Adept Rick–who had been off conducting a special mission just like Greem–arrived late to the battlefield.

  Adept Rick chuckled coldly when he saw the Sixth Grade battle in the distance and Greem locked in combat on the plaza. He turned into black smoke and lunged straight for the orc’s main temple.

  He could sense that only a group of Fourth Grades remained in the temple. Dealing with them was obviously much simpler than dealing with a Sixth Grade god projection or a Fifth Grade elementium creature.

  Rick launched his attack against the main temple without hesitation.

  Just as he reached the main temple, a horrifying and chilling dragon’s aura of might radiated out of thin air.

  An exceptionally terrifying dragon’s head appeared. It opened its dark maw and let loose a two-meter-thick breath of black flames.

  “A dark dragon.”

  Rick instantly identified the enemy. He was absolutely horrified. His body erupted into black smoke, just barely escaping the dragon’s breath.

  The black smoke that remained within range of the breath did not last a single second before it vanished entirely, leaving behind the screeching of a soul fragment.

  Great Adept Rick reformed a thousand meters away and spat out black blood. His gaze at the dark dragon was filled with intense hatred and fear.

  Dark dragons were unusually powerful evil dragons!

  They were born with dark dragonfire, a flame that possessed the twin principle effects of corrosion and burning.

  They were magical dragons and possessed shocking magic resistance. In addition to the dragons’ unique aura of might and their own darkness Physique, the dark dragons were infamous even among evil dragons.

  The reason Rick was so fearful of the dark dragon was that he possessed a darkness Physique. Given their origin power similarity, the damage he could inflict on the dark dragon was far less than what the other attributes could do.

  To be honest, even three Ricks put together wouldn’t be enough to beat this Fifth Grade dark dragon!

  When he saw the dark dragon go invisible once more and rush toward him, Great Adept Rick had no choice but to flee in a flashy display of his powers.

  Chapter 1494 - A Brutal Battle

  The battle proceeded brutally!

  The individuals involved in the fight all possessed enough destructive power to reshape the lay of the land. Their every action unleashed energy of incredible intensity.

  The energy shockwaves radiating from the battlefield instantly caused a devastating disaster to the surrounding regions. Even so, the might of the enemy did not discourage the ferocious orc warriors.

  Muscular orc warriors from all over the central mountains rushed wildly toward the main temple. They tried their best to approach the battlefield and attack these foreign adepts with their crude metal axes and bone spears.

  The weapons they threw were often shredded to pieces by a
shockwave blast before they could get close to the adepts. Naturally, their bodies were also shredded and disintegrated by these shockwaves.

  However, even such a tragic fate could not dissuade the ferocious orcs. Even more powerful orc warriors rushed over from a distance and threw themselves into the ranks of those attacking the adepts.

  In response to this, the adepts had no choice but to send out a single Great Adept to deal with these fearless ‘ants!’

  Greem had been locked down by the Earth Prophet on the plaza, while Rick was being chased mercilessly through the sky by the dark dragon. The only ones who could mobilize any more power were the ones fighting on the main battlefield.

  Sixth Grade Great Adept Briel summoned a Sixth Grade storm giant and a Sixth Grade Death Gale in his fury. The two were sent to stall Garon’s projection, leaving Fifth Grade Great Adept Sala free to leave and attack the orc temple.

  Loud prayers could be heard within the temple. The unique crimson rays of a blood ritual shone from the building. It was obvious that these orcs were hosting a god-summoning ritual to bring down an even more powerful clone or projection of Garon Arcadas.

  This place was the orcs’ main temple, after all. With sufficient time, it wouldn’t be surprising at all for them to summon an entire squad of orc petitioners. Speed was the essence of it all!

  Great Adept Sala had just reached the main temple when a dozen orc powerhouses glowing with a fierce red light appeared before him. Regardless of their actual power, all of them had now been pushed to peak Fourth Grade–the power limit of this plane–by the possession of the petitioners.

  The orc powerhouses who were Fourth Grade to begin with might be able to endure the terrifying increase in their powers, but the bodies of the orcs that were only Third Grade were already starting to fall apart.

  The overwhelming strength caused their skin and muscles to tear. Blood ran down their bodies, staining their eyes, skin, teeth, and arms a bloody red color. Their muscles swelled, and foot-long steam rushed out of their noses as they exhaled. They shouted and intercepted Great Adept Sala with their weapons in hand.

  Judging from their circumstances, they were likely to die within the day to the overwhelming power they had just obtained, even without interference from Great Adept Sala. However, for the rest of the day, their power had increased exponentially, turning them into fearless peak Fourth Grade orcs.

  In just grade level alone, Adept Sala possessed an overwhelming advantage against these peak Fourth Grade orc petitioners. However, Sala would have to pay a steep price to exterminate all of them!

  After all, these were no longer the original orcs, but orc petitioners!

  Petitioners were unusual lifeforms.

  Devoted believers in life would find their souls brought to a god kingdom and given a second, eternal life. With an energy body bestowed upon them by the gods, they no longer possessed any emotion such as joy, anger, or even sorrow. They became ‘pure’ lifeforms that only knew how to ceaselessly pray to their god, offering up their worship and dedication.

  As petitioners, they were not typically allowed to leave the god kingdoms. However, they would sometimes join the fray to defend the gods they worshipped.

  Due to a petitioner’s energy body and unwavering faith, they could leave the god kingdom via certain ceremonies where they would possess followers’ bodies in the worldly kingdoms. However, due to their excessive soul energy, most worldly mortals would blow up due to the overwhelming power.

  Unless it were essential, no one would ever be willing to exhaust the foundation of faith.

  With the great invasion of the evil adepts, the orcs had no choice but to hold a summoning ceremony. They forcefully called down a dozen orc petitioners and managed to add yet another formidable squad to the temple’s defenses.

  At this point, both sides had already unleashed all they had, attacking the opponent with their full force.

  The main battlefield was the conflict between a Sixth Grade Great Adept, aided by the storm giant and the Death Gale, and the Sixth Grade projection of Garon. The skies cracked and the mountains split as they fought. Entire rivers and mountains shattered into dust. The terrifying scene of the battle sent shivers down even the Great Adepts’ spines, let alone ordinary people.

  Fortunately, as the two Sixth Grades continued fighting, they crushed every valley and mountain along the way, quickly arriving at the other side of the central mountains.

  Meanwhile, the battle had split into four tiny battlefields on the orc temple’s side.

  Greem was stuck on the thousand-meter-wide stone plaza by the Earth Prophet’s earth principles. The two of them were also engaged in a vicious melee that seemed incredibly dangerous for either side. The difference between life and death seemed to hang on a thread for them both.

  The Earth Prophet was tough and resilient. Apart from its two-meter-thick skin, it was also clad in three-meter-thick steelrock armor.

  Greem had tried every trick in the book.

  Area-of-effect fire spells against the stone giant were like setting fire to a mountain. The flames seemed to burn wildly and cause everything in its path to wither, but in truth, they hardly damaged the mountain itself in the slightest.

  Only single-target fire spells could concentrate enough power on a single point to penetrate the horrifying layers of defense to inflict damage on the opponent.

  However, these single-target fire spells were all-powerful spells that required at least seven to eight seconds of incantation. Meanwhile, the Earth Prophet’s every wave of a hand invoked a massive earth attack that engulfed an area of two to three hundred meters. Given the Halo of Gravity that he had been afflicted with, Greem could never find enough time or opportunity to unleash his spells.

  It was at this moment that the benefit of having spells sealed within his magical equipment showed itself! With this magical equipment, Greem finally had a tiny chance of inflicting lethal damage on the stone giant.

  The Halo of Rot…wouldn’t work!

  While the steelrock armor was still active, the Halo of Rot would not be able to penetrate the Earth Prophet’s actual body to inflict sufficient damage.

  The Berserk Eye…wasn’t worth the effort!

  Preparing the Berserk Eye required three entire days, and recovering from its use would require another fifteen days. Greem wasn’t willing to use such a potent ace against this enemy when there wasn’t much loot to be gained.

  There was only the Critical Wildfire of the Orb of the Fire God left!

  Greem made up his mind and started to become more patient and meticulous in his fighting.

  Even the slightest oversight against an enemy of the same grade could bring about disastrous results.

  The heavy stone fists and feet of the Earth Prophet were enough to badly injured Greem with just a graze. If the Earth Prophet got the chance to strike true, Greem might die on the spot.

  Earthquake, Mire, Quicksand Trap, Rocklance Forest, Rocky Howl, Split Earth, Summon Earthhounds, Boulder Smash. The Earth Prophet possessed a multitude of means to attack. Even with the degree of control that Greem possessed with the Chip in his mind, he had to move around cautiously, always careful not to make an unsalvageable mistake.

  Given Greem’s slight frame, he would really fall apart from a single punch or kick from the Earth Prophet!

  If Greem’s situation could be described as ‘difficult,’ then Rick’s situation was almost certainly ‘hazardous.’

  Great Adept Rick had nowhere to run against the dark dragon that was equally as sly as he was and possessed the same kind of power. He had no choice but to resort to guerilla warfare within the mountains.

  The two of them weaved and teleported throughout the skies, sometimes appearing in the east, occasionally peeking out in the west, suddenly flickering to the south, and then all of a sudden, they were north again. The two individuals skilled in darkness magic tussled against each other in this fashion, with the sky as their stage and the mountains as the
backdrop.

  The dark dragon might possess the absolute initiative, but it could not turn that advantage into a winning edge and deal a lethal blow to the adept. Meanwhile, Great Adept Rick was like a dancer spinning on a knife’s edge. He was having a horrible time, but he did not dare to flee into the distance and leave the dark dragon free to do whatever it pleased.

  Otherwise, whichever battlefield the dark dragon chose to join would instantly cause a collapse in the balance of power.

  When that happened, the mission would fail completely, and he would face severe punishment from headquarters upon return!

  In contrast, Sala and Colin were in a much better position.

  Sala was fighting against seventeen peak Fourth Grade orc petitioners. Each one of these fighters was fearless and wielded not only the combat techniques of the orcs they had possessed, but powerful innate abilities of their own as well.

  There were bonuses like +3 Strength, +10 Defense, +4 Resilience, +3 Reflect, +3 Physique, etc.

  Moreover, these stat boosts were only a minor deal compared to the Bloodlust ability that they possessed!

  All their stat bonuses would be temporarily doubled when Bloodlust was activated. Moreover, they would lose all sense of pain and become immune to instant-death effects. Their attacks would be enhanced with all sorts of terrifying effects such as Rend, Blow, Cripple, and Interrupt.

  The seventeen peak Fourth Grade orcs were still no match for one Fifth Grade Great Adept. However, whenever they got into a dangerous position, one of the orc petitioners would activate Bloodlust and beat back Sala’s offense with a mindless and savage assault of their own.

  An orc powerhouse was likely dead or grievously injured after Bloodlust ended. Still, while a peak Fourth Grade orc petitioner was fighting at full strength with Bloodlust activated, even Sala would have no choice but to fight defensively and hasten their deaths with his attacks.