Age of Adepts

“I found it.”

Isa suddenly shouted in joy.

However, before she could raise her hand and point in the direction of the troll empire, an incredibly thick blast of lightning fell from the sky, crashing furiously towards her frail and slender body.

“Divine lightning!”

Mary screamed and lifted one hand. Endless blood energy surged from her body, turning into a crimson barrier shielding Isa from above. The golden lightning clashed with the ruby barrier, causing countless sparks of electricity to crackle outwards. Even space itself began to distort from the intense energy.

“Hurry up and dodge!” Mary kept up the shield with all she had and shouted at Isa.

Isa finally came to her senses and backed away from the reach of the golden lightning with Soros.

Mary dispelled the barrier, and the golden lightning instantly crashed onto the stone plaza.

A loud, thunderous crack echoed throughout the forest.

All the stone slabs within ten meters of the impact turned into dust and fell downwards into the massive crater that had formed. Even the stones at the edge of the crater had been charred black as the thick lightning chains spread across them. The air was filled with a strange smell; it was the smell of lightning currents of incredible voltage.

Isa’s face flushed white with fear as she saw the lightning’s terrifying power. Even her body was trembling slightly.

“Master, this is…lightning of divine punishment?”

Mary did not reply. Instead, she turned around and hovered in the air. Her gaze landed deep in the mountains.

She could sense that this tremendous power of divine punishment had come from there.

Mary finally spoke up after a slight pause.

“It seems like the Feathered God these trolls worship is somewhat capable. To think it has already mastered the power of divine punishment! That bastard Greem. There’s been a great mistake in the information we’ve been given. There’s probably a powerful peak Fourth Grade lightning creature over there. If we run into its base with what few people we have, it would most certainly be a suicide mission!”

Peak Fourth Grade.

Isa and Soros looked at each other. They were shocked and terrified.

It didn’t matter whether Mary’s guess was right or wrong. A creature of such power was way out of their league. If they were to run into an enemy like that, all the vampires apart from Mary would only have one choice– fighting to their deaths.

The two of them couldn’t help but become nervous!

“Where’s the old fox? Call him over. Our plan forward needs to be revised!”

Upon hearing Mary’s summons, Vanlier appeared from the ranks of vampires, still dressed like an elegant noble. He bowed respectfully before Mary.

“Old fox, what do you think about what just happened?” Mary slowly landed, her crimson-crystal high heels clicking against the stone ground.

“Master, perhaps the situation isn’t as bad as we think?” Vanlier was still as cunning and sly as ever.

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“Given the habits and animistic faith of the trolls, the Feathered God that they worship is likely no more than a totem god! A totem god like this is a far cry from the faith gods of the World of Gods. They are also known as ‘false gods.’”

“What’s the difference?” Mary frowned and asked.

She might be a peak Third Grade vampire, but she excelled only at battle and slaughter. She seldom took the effort to memorize and organize basic magical knowledge. That was why she often consulted Vanlier when it came to such technical problems. He was more of a vampire scholar, after all.

“Master, totem gods and faith gods walk two entirely different paths. Totem gods more often appear amidst primal tribes and species. These barbaric beings will regularly actively worship powerful creatures to obtain more power for themselves. However, the target of their faith is either some sort of powerful magical creature in the wild, or a hero or king in their tribe.

“To pray for power, they will carve the target of their faith onto their flags, their totem poles, and other objects, worshipping these idols day and night. Every time they complete a hunt or win a war, they will perform a ritual sacrifice.

“As time passes, their faith power will gather on these totem objects, forming what are known as totem gods.

“You mean, the Feathered God of these trolls does not actually exist? Is it only an amalgamation of their faith power?” Mary couldn’t help but ask.

“Not necessarily!” Vanlier frowned and replied, “There are many primal tribes that will worship actual magical creatures that exist in the wild and hail them as their gods. Totem gods like these often have material forms and are incredibly powerful as well!”

“What are the strengths and weaknesses of these totem gods?”

“When it comes to strength, it would undoubtedly be the fact that they can physically descend to battle. They are often powerful magical creatures of the native continent, to begin with. With the faith power invested in them, they gain possession of certain fundamental skills unique to the gods. However, they are still very, very far away from being an actual god!”

“And their weaknesses?”

“Their weakness is that they cannot leave the area covered by their totem objects. Should they leave the area covered by the totem faith, they are no more than magical creatures, entirely and utterly incomparable to Fifth Grade gods.”

Mary nodded her head silently after hearing all this.

If the god worshipped by the trolls was only a totem god, then this war could still be won!

However, before they waged total war against the trolls, it would be best to figure out the target of their faith. If it were only a totem object, then they would face an immaterial spirit in the upcoming war. If it were an animistic faith, then they would have to fight against a powerful magical creature.

A magical creature that also possessed certain divine powers!

“Isa, you’ve absorbed the voodoo doctor’s soul, what have you seen? What kind of creature is this totem god?” Mary asked impatiently.

“Master, it’s a Feathered Serpent!” Blood Elf Isa replied with certainty. “This voodoo doctor visited the troll empire once when he was thirteen. He personally witnessed the Feathered God descend during a major ritual sacrifice. According to his memory, the trolls worship a giant Feathered Serpent.”

“A Feathered Serpent.” Mary couldn’t help but brood in silence.

The Feathered Serpent was not an unfamiliar name for the adepts.

Feathered Serpents were a type of serpent that grew wings!

They had the scales and body of a serpent, as well as the head and tail. However, they had a pair of feathered wings on their backs. These wings couldn’t let them fly too high. They only allowed them to glide quickly at lower altitudes.

Feathered Serpents were often mistaken as dragons in many planes, becoming a source of fear for many lower creatures.

Most Feathered Serpents possessed the lightning attribute, but some variants spat fire or ice.

Given all the information provided, Mary deduced that the Feathered God worshipped by the troll kingdom was a peak Fourth Grade Lightning Feathered Serpent.

Of course, this was a Feathered Serpent enhanced with the totemic faith of the trolls.

If Mary and the vampires could cut off the effects of this faith, the Feathered Serpent would fall to its actual grade level. That said, no one knew what the serpent’s exact grade was!

After all, only the higher-ups of the troll empire knew the true form of the Feathered God. Voodoo doctors in border tribes like these were lucky to witness the Feathered God even once in their lives.

The opponent was certainly powerful, but Mary and her vampires were not weak either.

They were backed by the Crimson Clan, along with the adepts’ deep and powerful magic system.

If they were willing to think things through, they had plenty of methods to deal with the false god of a lesser plane’s primal kingdom.

However, it didn’t matter what kind of faith the trolls held. Cutting down on the foundations of their faith was a necessity!

Thus, Mary gave an order, and the vampires disappeared into the woods, hurrying towards the closest troll tribe.

………………

World of Adepts, Northern Lands.

The Tower of Fate.

An exceptionally grand astrology ceremony had just concluded. The upper levels of the Tower of Fate glimmered with starlight, illuminating the desolate wastes of Dragonblight.

Many powerful magical creatures in Dragonblight were hiding and secretly absorbing the strange energy radiating from the Tower of Fate to further their mutations and evolutions.

A large group of astrology apprentices walked out of the hall in an orderly fashion under the lead of several Fate Witches.

The hall slowly returned to silence.

Alice stood in the center of the hall. She had her back against the entrance as her hands waved and guided the star power onto the astrology platform. The starlight slowly gathered and formed into a beautiful, naked woman.

Once the woman’s body had been created, Alice took out a soul-gathering crystal and blew on it. The faint figure of a human girl flew out from the crystal, quickly entering the beautiful body formed out of starlight.

Once ‘her’ soul and body merged, an incomparably bright pillar of light shone from her body, completely lighting up the hall and even Dragonblight itself.

An overwhelming surge of Fate power cut across space and entered the body of the girl.

The next moment, her pretty eyelashes moved as she slowly opened her eyes.

The moment the girl opened her eyes, the entire World of Adepts could feel an overwhelming pulse of Fate power and the instinctual joy that emanated from the very core of the planar consciousness.

The world trembled as several unusual law ripples spread across space.

Powerful adepts that had mastered different laws couldn’t help but push open their windows and their doors. They silently observed and sensed this unusual energy aura.

The Heir of a Plane…what was this? Since when did an heir appear in the World of Adepts?

Was a revolution about to come?

For a moment, the adepts couldn’t help but murmur and talk amongst themselves. No one was sure of what had happened!