Age of Adepts

Black Rose Manor.

It was deep in the night now, but the manor was still brightly illuminated, and many silhouettes flickering here and there.

However, the only people who could enter and exit from the manor were strange individuals dressed in robes or armor. Judging from the metal emblem they all wore on their chests, these people were official adepts of the Dener Clan.

Numerous powerful magical beasts were also looming in wait around the manor, some more hidden than others. They formed a tight and impenetrable defensive net that firmly protected the estate.

At the moment, about one kilometer southwest of the manor, a strange bat clung upside down to a branch in the sparse woods. It quietly monitored the movements of the estate under cover of the leaves.

Flap, flap, flap.

The soft sound of beating wings came from the darkness as three furry bats with red eyes the size of a human head landed in a clearing in the woods.

The bats then transformed into two men and one woman dressed like nobles.

The bat that had been left here as a lookout hastily emerged from the canopy. It landed on the ground and turned into a pretty, noble lady. She knelt before the three nobles and paid her respects.

“Viria’s greetings to you, Lady Spalla, Lord Kevin, and Lord Stevens!”

“That’s enough; you may rise! How long have you been posted here?” Blood Elf Shapeshifter Spalla stepped forward and asked coldly.

“It’s been five days! I was assigned here to watch Black Rose Manor ever since the Dener Clan’s forces occupied Andman. I have three companions on this task with me. They are scattered in several other locations.” This noble lady had clearly only been turned into a vampire recently. It was only natural that she was so shaken and excited to see the Third Grade Spalla suddenly.

“Since you’ve been watching for so long, are you able to confirm the location of Grand Duke Antoneil?”

“The enemy forces have strict security around the manor; we couldn’t find any chance to infiltrate. The last time we saw the Grand Duke was three days ago. He was seen briefly at a certain window on the second floor. We have not seen him since!”

“Which is to say, we can say with certainty that he remains in this manor.” Spalla took a few casual steps forward and looked at the bright manor through the sparse trees. A vicious expression appeared on her face.

“Yes, my lady,” First Grade Vampire Viria hastily lowered her head and replied nervously.

“And the manor’s defenses? Who’s in charge there?”

“According to our investigations, a Third Grade psionic from the Dener Clan is stationed here. Moreover, a strange group of adepts took up residence in the manor two days ago. We still haven’t managed to figure out where they came from and who they are.”

“A Third Grade…” Spalla’s face warped into a vicious expression when she heard this.

Her blood master, Mary, had recently made a promise to all of them. She was prepared to choose the most elite individual from among the best-performing Third Grade vampires and forcefully promote them to Fourth Grade to bolster their forces.

When news of this spread, the only seven vampires in the clan became incredibly excited. They wanted nothing more than to pull their hearts out to show their loyalty to Mary.

However, with the number of competitors, there had to be some sort of objective standard of assessment!

This sudden adept war became the perfect trigger for the vampires. They recklessly threw themselves at the battlefield to prove themselves.

To obtain greater contributions in the war, Spalla the shapeshifter led several of her high-grade subordinates and a party of weaker vampires here. She was prepared to break in and rescue the Crimson Grand Duke.

Time was wasting away!

Should news of Antoneil’s presence here reach the clan headquarters, this place would be swarming with the Crimson Clan’s forces. She wouldn’t have the chance to claim all the contributions for her own.

At the thought of this, Spalla didn’t dare delay any longer. She waved her hand, and her two advanced Second Grade subordinates bowed.

“My lady, what are your instructions?”

“Kevin, Stevens, the two of you lead the forces and infiltrate the manor from the flanks. If the enemies don’t discover you, then slip into the building and search for Antoneil. If you are discovered, then immediately retreat while covering each other. Remember, retreat to the southeast.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Let’s set out now, then!”

The two Second Grade vampires nodded to each other, then put their hands to their mouths as they let out a silent call in the direction they came from.

A short moment later, the strange, soft sound of beating wings could be heard.

The two vampires transformed into bats again in a poof of red smoke. They took to the air and joined the main force of vampires before flying towards Black Rose Manor under cover of night.

In the blink of an eye, only Spalla and Viria were left.

“Let’s go. You will help me infiltrate from another direction,” Spalla said coldly.

The minor vampire, Viria, trembled and acknowledged her orders.

She stood up and turned into a red-eyed bat, flapping her wings and taking to the night sky.

The two silhouettes–one big and one small–circled around and quickly approached Black Rose Manor from another direction.

High up in the night air, with the cold winds brushing against her face, Viria felt a bone-chilling cold, even with the fur on her body.

A not-very-large human manor was quickly approaching below them.

It was an incredibly ordinary manor.

The main building was a wooden, three-story structure. Several tiny wooden huts and warehouses were scattered behind the main building, with a small plantation on the side. In front of the building was a simple garden and plaza. The fountain at the center was already dried up, revealing the mud at the bottom.

A simple road paved with pebbles stretched from the manor’s entrance all the way to Andman City, not far off in the distance. It wasn’t hard to imagine how the city’s nobles and prominent individuals had ridden here on carriages for banquets when the city was still thriving.

Small manors and mansions like these that were close to the city were the nobles’ favorite places to party!

However, with the start of the adept war, this place had changed completely.

Powerful auras could be sensed everywhere, in every key entrance and hidden passageway. Packs of voodoo beasts patrolled the manor’s surroundings. Any creature not wearing an emblem of the Dener Clan was attacked on sight.

A troop of elite adepts stood guard at the entrance, carefully and seriously examining every individual that entered and exited the manor.

As for the three-story building? It was shrouded in a strange mist, fading in and out of view. It was hard to discern what was happening within.

A protective array…the building had been obscured by a protective array.

Viria beat her wings with all her strength and flew against the sharp winds. She spoke in a soft voice, like that of a mosquito, “My lady, that’s the building. The last place the Grand Duke was seen was…”

As the two of them communicated, the quiet manor was suddenly shaken awake by an alarm.

The vampires that had secretly descended from the skies triggered had the security arrays scattered all over the manor the moment they landed.

As the blaring alarms rang, the vampires gave up on sneaking around. They revealed themselves and charged toward the main building.

“Over here.”

“The enemy…they’re in the skies.”

Shouts could be heard all over as groups of adepts and voodoo beasts gathered from all over. They quickly surrounded the vampires.

The two Second Grade vampires had no choice now but to land along with their remaining four dozen subordinates.

They transformed into their human forms, and the battle started instantly!

“Careful, they are vampires! Watch out! Don’t let them bite you.”

There were several knowledgeable individuals in the enemy ranks. They were instantly able to identify the vampires based on their abilities and the way they dressed.

Everyone knew that vampires were powerful assassins with ridiculous Agility. They were also extremely resilient and hard to kill. The only way to kill them was to attack their only vital point.

“Adepts who can fight at melee range, intercept them. Everyone else, use your spells. Remember, aim for their hearts! That’s their true vital point!” The leader of the Dener forces shouted. He quickly made strategic arrangements while pulling out his staff and preparing a powerful spell.

It was a hundred times easier to create a vampire than it was to raise a human adept. Yet, vampires were not the mainstream force of the World of Adepts. The main reason for that was because adepts had thoroughly researched the vampire’s weaknesses and strengths. Thus, everyone had an idea of the techniques and means to deal with vampire adepts.

‘Major Illumination!’

‘Modified Stinking Cloud (Garlic Stench)!’

‘Static Forcefield!’

Several simple, modified spells explicitly adapted for use against vampire adepts crashed towards the vampires. Even the melee adepts had swapped their weaponry for silver weapons. They enchanted those weapons with a strange magic that prevented the vampires from healing through consuming blood.

Even an ordinary adept could inflict significant damage on a vampire with the aid of such equipment, let alone this army. The army was composed of elite-force adepts from the Dener Clan.

The enemy had badly beaten Spalla’s group of vampires in the blink of an eye. The vampires had suffered over a dozen casualties upon contact, while only three of the Dener adepts had stepped back from the battle due to injuries.

The Dener Clan had also lost nearly a hundred voodoo beasts. However, as voodoo beasts were a disposable force, neither party counted them as actual casualties.

The vampires that had broken-in were beginning to falter. They quickly started to attempt to escape the manor, even as they continued to fight.