Age of Adepts

Greem and Alice looked at each other speechlessly.

The two wiped away the bloodstains on their mouths and remained dazed for a moment before recovering from the shock earlier.

Alice moved toward Greem and carefully assessed the crescent moon projection on his head. She then tried to wipe it away with her hand gently. Strangely, enough, she didn’t come into contact with any material substance. It was almost as if the moon was just an image being projected from the crescent moon in the sky.

However, when scanning with her Spirit, Alice could very clearly feel the existence of that crescent moon.

Moreover, the projection seemed to be changing alongside the waxing and waning of the moon above.

Greem also used the Chip to sense the moon projections on both of their foreheads. He vaguely detected a trace of spatial flux within them.

”What is this?” Greem asked solemnly

”I’m not too sure, but it seems a lot like some kind of divine magic beacon,” Alice replied hesitatingly.

”Divine magic beacon? What is its purpose?”

”If I’m not wrong, it should function as a spatial coordinate. However, this is a spatial spell powered by divine power. I can’t neutralize it with the magic I currently possess.”

”Spatial coordinates?” Greem couldn’t help but start brooding in silence.

If the enemy had obtained the spatial coordinates to their whereabouts, didn’t that allow them to pinpoint where they were? When that happened, Greem and Alice would probably be locked onto by the Goddess of Moonlight if they ever came close to Garan once more.

”Don’t worry. This divine magic doesn’t seem to be complete either. As long as the two of us are not exposed to the moonlight, this divine rune will not be able to obtain sufficient power to send our spatial coordinates outward.”

”Damn.”

Greem had planned to go on a slaughtering rampage in the upcoming time. How could he not feel upset when he ran into such a strange moonshade rune at this points of time?

”Could you get rid of them?” Greem couldn’t even touch the crescent moon projection after several times. It was almost as if the image didn’t even actually exist. He had no choice but to ask Alice.

”This divine rune is constructed with the divine power of the Goddess of Moonlight. There is a huge difference in that and our own magical powers. It’s virtually impossible to find a way to remove it without sufficient time for research.”

Greem was utterly frustrated now!

Could he no longer show up for any of the following battles?

It was important to note that the flying ship was just too big. Even though it could hide in the cloud layers during the day, it would still tear apart the cloud formations when traveling at high speeds, leaving behind a clear path to be followed. That was why things such as ambushes against the elves were best done at night.

Now that Greem had become entangled in the crescent moon projection, any appearance at night would cause the moonshade rune to produce spatial ripples constantly. That would most definitely attract the attention of the Goddess of Moonlight.

After all, Greem had killed the elven believers of the Goddess of Moonlight. If she was able to track down the location of these invaders, it wasn’t hard to imagine how many powerful elves would be chasing after them.

According to Greem’s understanding, the Goddess of Moonlight Meve had a Third Grade elven god messenger as her subordinate. Even Greem didn’t have absolute certainty of escaping unharmed if this god messenger came to intercept the ship.

An elven god messenger that could temporarily borrow the divine power of the gods was a fearsome individual, even if they were only Third Grade!

Greem felt his head hurt at the very thought of pitting his clan adepts against a god’s messenger.

The solemn Greem continued to rub his smooth chin with his hand as his eyebrows furrowed. He couldn’t seem to come to a decision. Alice was watching all this from a side. She couldn’t help but poke him lightly.

”Feeling distressed over your subordinates’ wellbeing? If you don’t want to fight with the enemy head-on, then why not find our allies?”

”Allies?” Greem paused for a moment before his eyes gleamed, ”The allied army of the Dark and Pale Witches?” He chuckled, ”You are so nasty.”

Alice rolled her eyes at him unamusedly, ”Hurry up and get someone to make two circlets to hide the moonshade rune temporarily. I will be off to contact the Dark Witches.”

Greem left with a smile on his face.

…………

Garan Continent, the central mountains.

Several towering nature temples loomed over this mountainous stretch of forest.

No brick or stone had been used in any of these temples. Instead, divine power had been directly applied to stimulate the growth of the ancient trees, causing their large and dense branches to twist and weave into the basic shape of a temple. Jade green vines and pretty roses climbed to every corner of these temples, turning the place into the most beautiful human paradise in this world.

These temples didn’t all belong to the great Goddess of the elves– Saoirse. They also included the holy temples of the other deities of the elven pantheon, and naturally, a temple for the Goddess of Moonlight Meve as well.

The fact that these nature-attribute gods could build their temples together represented the organic and harmonious nature of their relationship. The pantheon of sea gods and the human’s pantheon of gods far outnumbered the elven pantheon, but these two pantheons were vastly inferior to the elven pantheon when it came to teamwork and unity.

These were the main reasons the two other two pantheons didn’t dare to provoke the elven gods easily!

A deep and silent sacred hall stood in an area at the edge of the multitude of massive temples.

Unlike the constant flow of followers, high priests walking among believers, and the constant hymns for the elven gods of the other nature temples, this nature temple appeared to be exceedingly quiet.

Apart from a few temple priests gathered in the main hall for a discussion, it was hard to see any followers coming to this large temple for prayers or offerings.

Third Grade Elven God Messenger Xenia, who held the title of Moonshade Messenger, was kneeling at a tall statue of a goddess and silently praying. Accompanying her sides were Temple Officiate Aurora and two female priests. They had their eyes closed and were focusing as if listening carefully to the words of their goddess.

Even though it was bright daylight outside, the inside of this temple was perpetually shrouded in a layer of dark, deep, and faint moonlight. No outsiders or gods would be able to see through the secrets within without stepping into the radius of the temple.

Any individual that was not a follower of the Goddess of Moonlight would trigger the divine barrier set up by Meve if they stepped within a quarter of a kilometer of the temple. Meve’s consciousness would then be sent over from the distant world of gods and judge if the guest was an enemy or a friend.

After this prayer and communion that had lasted for the greater half of the day, Third Grade Elven God Messenger Xenia finally stood up. The light of faith surrounding the tall statue that possessed a pretty figure whose face was obscured by faint moonlight also started to fade gradually.

Soon, this statue, which had previously been soaked in a dense sacred aura, turned into a perfect wooden carving once again. The woman of the icon might look beautiful, with a dignified and scared expression, but it no longer had the same feeling of holiness that compelled one to kneel and prostrate themselves.

”You have heard the holy words of the Goddess as well. Why don’t we all talk about how we can complete the mission assigned by the Goddess?” Even though they were all servants of the gods, this Third Grade God Messenger Xenia possessed much higher status compared to the temple officiate. That was why this conversation was being held with her at the very core.

Xenia was a tall, slender, and pretty female elf. She wore delicate elven armor decorated with plenty of beautiful patterns that resembled rose branches and jade green vines upon her body.

Moonshade Messenger was both her title and her advancement profession.

It was a unique profession that was somewhere in between a magical knight and a spellcaster. It also simultaneously possessed some offensive techniques of shadow assassins. As such, in terms of just combat strength, it could be categorized as a fearsome spiritualist class with tremendous dueling abilities and limited brawling abilities.

”Evil is breeding in the distance; the Goddess has already warned us. Those evil witches have once again invaded our home. In particular, a troop of especially wicked fellows have slaughtered the followers of our Moonlight Temple. They even destroyed a nature altar that the Goddess herself had personally established. A crime like this needs to be punished. I will summon and gather the followers of the Goddess of Moonlight and strike back with maximum force.” Temple Officiate Aurora’s words might suggest fury, but her tone and expression appeared relatively calm.

That was a classic trait of all elven followers that believed in the Goddess of Moonlight.

Elegant, noble, calm; these were the core beliefs that the Goddess of Moonlight most appreciated and encourage. That was why, as a follower of the Goddess, Aurora maintained an expression of composure while harboring intense feelings of rage.

The other two priests and the Third Grade elven god messenger were behaving in the same way.

”This doesn’t seem like enough!” Xenia confidently added, ”The Goddess has already used her divine powers and left a moonshade coordinate upon their bodies. I will be able to clearly sense their location if they ever bask in the moonlight. That’s why I will need you to gather some individuals who are skilled at fighting. The moment the enemy betrays their position, I will use divine power to teleport the group over instantly.”

”Understood, Lady Xenia!” Temple Officiate Aurora nodded her head slightly, ”I will gather the people you need in the shortest time possible. I will not hinder this great vengeance that we will be undertaking!”

The two priests nodded and accepted their orders. They then slowly exited the hall.

Seven minutes later, an aura of intense nature magic radiated from within the hall. Several emergency magical messages had rapidly spread throughout the divine power network that the elven kingdom had set up.

For a moment, all the high-grade followers of the Goddess of Moonlight left their homes within Garan and gathered toward the main temple in the central mountains.

Due to the exceptional size and width of the Fantasy Forest, followers of further areas would take days to get to the main temple. That was why the temporary group of vengeance-seekers was only made of elven followers near the central mountains. Among their number were over a dozen high-grade profession holders (Second Grade) and almost two hundred elite profession holders (First Grade).

Such a powerful force would inflict unforgettable scars upon the enemy if they stormed out of the central mountains.