Age of Adepts

Vindicator Athera’s room was to the left of the training grounds in the Holy Light Chapel. It was a simple wooden house.

As Greem stepped into the wooden house under Totti’s lead, Vindicator Athera was battling vigorously against the massive pile of documents on his table. Athera lifted his head at the sound and looked at the two with his crusty and dark-circled eyes. He stared at them in confusion for quite a while until his eyes finally regained focus.

Athera was a Second Grade Silver Knight!

Even though working a desk for so many years had caused his Physique to drop and a belly to appear, the holy light power he radiated was undoubtedly that of a Second Grade.

“Report! O’ respected Sir Vindicator Athera, trainee knight Totti…” the young trainee knight stood straight, saluted, and started reporting in a loud voice.

Unfortunately, he was stopped by the impatient officer before he could finish.

“Alright, alright. Totti, you come here at least three times a day. I’m already done listening to all your boring greetings, even if you aren’t. Also, remember to praise the Holy Light first the next time you open your mouth!”

“Yes, Lord Vindicator!”

“Very well, you can return to your post. I will welcome this brother myself.”

“Yes, Lord Vindicator!”

Totti saluted once again before turning and leaving the wooden house.

Vindicator Athera shifted his gaze to Greem.

“The Light be with us! My greetings, respected Lord Vindicator. I am…”

Greem did not dare to dally at all. He immediately started reporting to Athera according to the customs of the knights. Of course, he made sure to keep what he said consistent with before. Greem wasn’t worried that the enemies in this otherworld would expose his ‘lies’ without a comprehensive intelligence system.

Moreover, with Sodden’s Holy Ring, Greem could easily convert his elementium powers into pure light elementium. He would have no problem tricking these holy knights as long as he didn’t need to fight.

In all honesty, there was probably no one among the holy knights who could even imagine an otherworldly adept infiltrating their ranks. After all, the Holy Light was a product of the power of faith– one of the forces that the adepts hated above all else!

Naturally, the Vindicator was happy to see this young holy knight that had traveled from afar and was willing to sacrifice everything for the Holy Light. Though the legendary Lord Ad Carrhae would be arriving in a few more days, Haisas City was still in great danger before that happened.

The major city of Hakans in the Empire’s northern region was said to have already been destroyed in an adept invasion.

Two Third Grade adepts had broken into Hakans and started fighting. They even summoned a horde of terrifying fire creatures in the city. Even with a mighty Third Grade Gold Knight defending Hakans, it had fallen without question.

The Third Grade knight had died in the battle, and Hakans was reduced to rubble.

Over two hundred holy knights had burned to their deaths in that conflict, and their souls returned to the embrace of the Holy Light.

This loss had badly crippled the northern headquarters of the Holy Knights. They would not be able to regain their scale and quality of forces without a few hundred years of recuperation and development. The impact of this event on the Zambez Empire was not inferior to the first invasion of the evil witches a hundred years ago.

With Hakans City as an example, there were no longer any holy knights that dared to say that the Holy Light Chapel was an absolutely safe place. In particular, with the transportation of the witch and the magical array materials to Haisas, the atmosphere had turned unbearably tense.

Worried that Haisas would follow in the footsteps of Hakans, the Holy Light Commander and Vindicators of the city hurriedly sent a summons to all nearby Holy Light Chapels, calling for their knights to defend the glory of the Holy Knights.

Countless knights answered their call, and the Holy Knight Chapel of Haisas became overcrowded and overpopulated!

After giving Greem a brief explanation of the situation, Haisas apologetically requested that he stay in an inn near the Holy Light Chapel. Of course, all his living costs would be paid for by the Chapel.

Naturally, Greem expressed understanding over such a rude ‘request’ and pleasantly agreed to the proposition.

Thus, with two soldiers that Athera had sent to guide him, Greem successfully found himself in a large inn two streets away from the Holy Light Chapel. Greem met many holy knights from various large cities around Haisas here at the inn.

Of course, they were all First Grade Iron Knights.

Regardless of how lacking the facilities of the Holy Light Chapel were, they would always be able to make some space for Second Grade Silver Knights. Those who were arranged to live outside the Chapel were almost all Iron Knights.

Such treatment would have dissatisfied the knights of any other nation or kingdom. However, these holy knights were true believers of the Holy Light. Nobody was bothered by the difference in treatment. Instead, they gathered together to passionately discuss the news of the evil adepts that could appear at any time.

With Iron Knights of all walks of life settled together in one space, there were bound to be people who were better informed.

An audience quickly appeared around these knights to listen to them describe the ‘story’ that had occurred in the north of the Empire in vivid detail.

A Flame Fiend, a blazing giant, a mechanical witch, creatures of fire, and a dragon.

Any one of these many ‘story’ elements would have been enough to make these Iron Knights feel the danger of the situation, let alone so many of them put together.

Even the greatest of cities defended by all the holy knights in the world would have become a sacrifice to war against such powerful and evil adepts. Unless there were a guardian like a Fourth Grade Holy Knight, the knights would have to pay an unbelievable price to defeat adepts like these.

Greem also unexpectedly obtained extremely valuable information through the conversation.

A Fourth Grade Holy Knight was hurrying toward the city from the north. He was expected to arrive in Haisas within seven or eight days.

This news was spread by the high-grade holy knights of the Chapel to boost the morale of the Iron Knights and calm their spirits. However, they never expected that that terrifying fire adept would have infiltrated their ranks and obtained such valuable and strategic information.

Would Greem be able to fight against a Fourth Grade Holy Knight with his power?

Of course not! What a joke that was!

If the news were that the Fourth Grade knight would arrive at Haisas tomorrow, Greem would most definitely have left tonight without hesitation. This trip to Henvic was only a commissioned task after all. Greem did not need to put his life on the line for it.

The reason Greem had fought with such wanton abandon and recklessness in Hakans was that no one there could pose a threat to his life. Greem was more than confident in escaping even if multiple Third Grades had surrounded him.

It was this confidence that made him decide to take the risk and maximize his profits in the shortest amount of time possible!

Upon hearing all the scattered pieces of news today, Greem managed to piece them together to obtain a conclusion that sent chills down his spine.

The reason the Fourth Grade Holy Knight had so suddenly appeared in the north was likely to hunt him down.

Greem had only managed to avoid the blade of the Fourth Grade Holy Knight by sheer coincidence. The pursuit of the adept hunters after his departure of Hakans was what made Greem flee for over five hundred kilometers in a completely different direction.

Who knew if his pursuers had stayed in the north? If they had hesitated even slightly and remained in that region, they might just have run into that Fourth Grade Holy Knight.

The adepts might have always looked down upon warriors and knights, but they still had to pay their due respects to high-grade powerhouses. Otherwise, they would not even know how they died!

He had gotten a firm grasp of the situation in Haisas. The one who had fallen into the hands of the Holy Knights was none other than the Witch Rena, who had hired him for protection. The most crucial things on this trip–the materials for repairing the magical array–had also fallen into the hands of the holy knights.

Even Greem had to scratch his head in this situation.

He had to conduct a rescue operation! The question was how to save, and what to save!

If Greem could only choose one of the two, he would undoubtedly retrieve the magical array materials.

It was pretty simple. Greem could only return to the World of Adepts if he sent the materials and resources back to the witch’s tower and helped them fix the teleportation array. As for Rena? He would give it a try if the conditions allowed for it. If it were too much of a risk, then he would treat her as dead!

The current priority was figuring out the situation inside the Holy Light Chapel, the location of Rena’s imprisonment, and where the materials had been stored. Greem could only remain in hiding until he obtained more specific information.

However, passively lying in wait forever was not his personality!

He had to attempt his rescue before the Holy Knight arrived at Haisas. Otherwise, once the Holy Knight arrived in Haisas, the higher-ups would most assuredly hand the materials over to him. When that happened, Greem would never dare to rob a Fourth Grade Holy Knight, even if he had the courage of ten thousand bears!

Time was of the essence. He had no time to slowly infiltrate and make his way into the inner circles of the knights. As such, Greem immediately started his operation the night he arrived at Haisas.

Spirit of Pestilence Remi had already been released before they entered the city!

The Spirit of Pestilence was completely different from before. Its Third Grade powers gave it the ability to defend itself. The resonance between their souls allowed it to maintain a subtle and mysterious connection even with hundreds of kilometers between them.

Greem only needed to have a thought in his mind, and an order would be transmitted to Remi, who was hiding outside the city.

Thus, a sudden and abrupt plague immediately ravaged the outskirts of Haisas City!

In a single night, thousands of infected patients appeared in the dozen towns and villages around Haisas. Their symptoms were all the same, and their sickness was so incredibly infectious that the holy knights of Haisas were quickly alerted.