Age of Adepts

An arcane security tower quickly flew across a vast plain of golden wheat below an overcast sky.

Rolling black smoke rose to the sky at the edge of the plain. Rumbling roars and shouting could be heard without end.

From a distance, massive, strange creatures the size of hills thrashed about on a rampage. Fighting against them were giant arcane golems forged of a clear blue crystal, each of them standing at over a hundred meters tall.

The struggle on the ground shook the heavens, but the skies were not empty either. They were filled with strange creatures with eagle wings and circling security towers that fought against each other.

Above the security towers, a vicious starbeast charged at a floating city of enormous size. It roared furiously as a torrent of arcane spells and cannon fire bombarded its body as it wildly continued to destroy and massacre everything in its sight.

This starbeast was of exceptional size. It was practically the size of a human city.

Its massive body was covered in black scales, with hundreds of thick, jointed legs beneath it. The starbeast might look bloated and ugly, but it had agility disproportionate to its size.

It twisted its body and roared as it thundered forward rapidly.

The barrage of cannon fire from the floating fortresses and security towers left flames blazing on its body, along with many deep gouges. These were often several meters deep and dozens of meters wide. The wounds would be enough to kill any ordinary creature, but on a massive monster like this that measured several kilometers in length, they were no more than a scratch. They could not harm its life origin in the slightest.

However, such concentrated arcane attacks still inflicted tremendous suffering on the starbeast.

It reared its head and let out all sorts of earthshaking screeches. It raised its giant claw. With a single swipe, it caused blocks of tall arcane buildings to collapse in a massive pillar of dust. No human or building could survive intact in front of its long, sharp claws.

Even the barriers of the arcane towers creaked, distorted, and crackled with energy explosions whenever swept by the starbeast’s dozen-meter-long legs.

If the arcane towers could not avoid the starbeast in time and were hit by even more of its legs, they would explode in a thunderous explosion.

If even actual arcane towers were so fragile, it was only worse for the more simplified security towers.

To deal with this fearsome starbeast that had entered their floating city, many arcanists charged out of their arcane towers and floating fortresses in mighty arcane golems. They surrounded the starbeast and began attacking with all their might.

The parasites that lived on the surface of the starbeast’s body also swarmed forward to fight against the arcanists and the golems under the starbeast’s command.

The powerful starbeast unleashed thick energy beams of various colors from its mouth, carving large swathes of death zones onto the surface of the floating city. Meanwhile, it twisted with its body and crawled towards the majestic hall at the center of the city.

Buildings collapsed, and the ground cracked wherever it went.

Moreover, when the purple blood from its wounds landed on the ground, it would quickly gather into vicious and wild Bloodthirsters. These creatures were ferocious and powerful, almost as powerful as Second Ring arcanists.

A Second Ring arcanist was considered a well-respected scholar, even in the Arcane Empire! However, for this gigantic beast, a single drop from its body combined with substance from the material plane was enough to form a fearsome Second Grade monster.

It was evidence of the power and terror of a starbeast!

And this was only a Sixth Grade starbeast!

If this was outside the planar barrier, the massive Arcane Empire could have relied on their large number of Great Arcanists and their immeasurably mighty pseudo-planar fortresses to tear this monster to pieces. However, now that this Sixth Grade starbeast had broken into the plane, it was a completely different matter. Its offensive power might have been suppressed to the peak of Fourth Grade, but its massive size and incredible Physique made it an undying monstrosity.

Even the two Eighth Grade Arcane Emperors were hesitant to strike against such a massive creature.

Naturally, with their power, they would have no problem killing this starbeast.

However, it was precisely because of how overwhelming their power was, that even the slightest of shockwaves generated by their attacks would inflict even more horrendous damage to the planar world and the floating city!

It was this reason that caused the Great Arcanists to be hesitant in their movements. They were helpless in this situation.

The starbeasts could ignore the tremendous damage dealt to the planar world by its reckless fighting, but they could not do the same!

After all, Morrian Plane belonged to the Arcane Empire. It belonged to the arcanists and Great Arcanists. If they destroyed their own home with their reckless attack, what where they supposed to use to fend off those powerful enemies waiting outside the plane barrier?

…………

Truth’s Light. A floating city.

As the largest and most powerful floating city in the Arcane Empire, Truth’s Light had a pivotal function in Morrian Plane.

At the center of Truth’s Light stood a large, majestic arcane palace of ornate design. There were ten levels to this palace. Every level was over a hundred meters in height. Scattered all over its broad and flat platforms were arcane academies, public libraries, arcane research centers, academic promotion centers, observatories, arcane laboratories, and a significant number of golem workshops.

Administrator Garcia, one of the only two Arcane Emperors of the Arcane Empire, had turned Truth’s Light into the Arcane Empire’s one and only center for economics and politics.

Unfortunately, in this great crisis, Truth’s Light had also become the main target of the many foreign enemies. The two Arcane Emperors were fending off the waves of powerful opponents outside the plane barrier. Meanwhile, a Sixth Grade star devourer had entered Morrian Plane and was brazenly attacking Truth’s Light.

It seemed like its intention was to break into the floating city’s control center and cause Truth’s Light to crash from the sky. With the scale and size of Truth’s Light, it would not be able to take off into the skies again for the next hundred years if it crashed to the ground.

Moreover, if Truth’s Light were to crash, the pseudo-planar fortresses outside the plane’s barrier would lose their energy supply. When that happened, the frontline that was relying on the pseudo-planar fortresses to hold back the enemy would be at risk of an instantaneous collapse.

The arcanists had to exterminate this star devourer regardless of the cost. They had to stop the enemy’s plans!

There were three Sixth Grade Great Arcanists gathered in the arcane palace, furiously debating amongst themselves.

“Activate the Light of Annihilation. We must activate the Light of Annihilation. Otherwise, what are we supposed to use to stop the star devourer once it breaks into the control center?”

“No! The Light of Annihilation is too powerful. It will burn out the energy core. Do we still have the resources to fix the energy core once it’s damaged?”

“What should we do then? Watch as our citizens die before our eyes? Watch as our home is ravaged and torn to pieces? We can’t do this. We can’t do that. Why not just let this old man charge out there and fight to the death against that giant beast! I don’t believe a Sixth Ring Great Arcanist’s self-destruction wouldn’t be enough to kill it.”

The three arcanists continued to argue furiously, but no one was capable of convincing the others. The atmosphere of the hall was filled with frustration and urgency.

The star devourer had moved forward by another hundred meters while they were arguing.

Every building in its way had been knocked down and crushed to pieces, and every living person in them slaughtered and killed. The energy pillar it fired from its mouth had shot down an arcane tower from the sky, causing it to crash into the city as thick, black smoke continued to rise into the air.

“No. I cannot wait any longer; I will go hold back that star devourer. You two just keep talking!” The oldest arcanist of the three tapped the marble floor loudly with his walking stick, his eyes red with frustration.

At this moment, an unusually gentle voice rang out in the hall.

“Nigel, you are still as impatient as ever. You don’t have to go. Leave this wicked fellow to me!”

As the gentle voice sounded in the air, a large arcane array suddenly lit up in the center of the hall. Countless mysterious runes and arcane light shone in the sky, outlining the silhouette of a majestic arcanist.

The arcanists looked like an old man in a simple arcane robe. He had a bright white arcane staff in his hand and a stern and handsome face. It was like there were two blinding, miniature suns glowing in the depths of his eyes beneath his white eyebrows.

He looked like an extraordinarily ordinary arcanist!

If there was anything that set this man apart from the average arcanist, it would be that arcane crown upon his head. Visible waves of arcane flux radiated from the crown, faintly maintaining an intimate connection with this floating city and the entire plane itself.

However, the arcanist seemed to be glowing with bright arcane light. It seemed like this wasn’t a human’s body, but a humanoid projection formed of arcane energy.

The three Great Arcanists hurriedly bowed and paid their respects when they saw the projection.

“You are the pursuer of the arcane truth. You guide us on our path forward. We—”

“Alright, alright. Look at what time it is, and you people still want to repeat these meaningless and pointless greetings. Protect the arcane palace. I will go deal with that creature.”

Having said that, the humanoid projection flickered and appeared above the arcane palace.