Age of Adepts

As pure abyssal creatures, demons were almost always rejected by material planes.

The powers of evil, chaos, and corruption they represented were no different from a lethal poison for most planar creatures. In fact, their powers could directly corrupt the souls of planar creatures.

Souls killed and devoured by demons, even those belonging to believers of the gods, would not be able to remain in the higher planes. Those souls would fall to the Abyssal World, along with all the other tainted souls, to suffer all sorts of torture from the harsh environment there.

The reason the demons swarmed into the World of Adepts fearlessly was to obtain a chance to reap the souls of planar creatures. The more they killed, the more souls they corrupted, the more potent the feedback they would receive from the Abyssal consciousness after returning.

It was incredibly difficult to advance in grade in most worlds. It required constant training and the accumulation of energy. Meanwhile, the advancement of abyssal demons was fast and straightforward. All they had to do was kill without stop and steal souls without pause, and they would be able to grow stronger and stronger without limit.

Consequently, if they were fortunate enough, mere abyssal larvae could evolve into a Fourth Grade higher demon in just two or three years.

Such rapid evolution and a simple path of advancement spared the abyssal demons from thinking too much. There was no need for thought or research. All they had to do was focus on killing and devouring.

One had to admit that abyssal demons were terrifying murderers compared to most other planar creatures!

As legion upon legion of demons died on the frontline, their corpses and flesh turned into puddles of black liquid that continued to corrupt the land. The initial demonification of the area around the mega-rift had been completed.

The abyssal aura seeping from the mega-rift was able to repel the World of Adepts’ planar laws even further, converting part of the battlefield into a place like the Abyssal World, harsh and barren.

The human adepts weakened when fighting on such land. Meanwhile, the planar suppression that the invading demons experienced rapidly lessened.

This weakening of the adepts and strengthening of demons widened the gap in their power even further!

After a long recharge time, the giant magic energy cannon on the Versailles was finally ready. A thick beam of red light cut across the sky and blasted toward the demon lord once again.

Unfortunately, Fernus easily teleported and dodged this powerful attack.

The energy beam grazed past his shoulder, burning a bottomless hole into the black earth.

Meanwhile, Demon Lord Fernus had managed to patch up the massive hole in his chest with his potent regenerative power. His injuries had gone from ‘severe’ to ‘light.’

If he had a little more time, he might even be able to wipe away all signs of that wound. When that happened, Fernus would have entirely recovered to a fearsome demon of frightening power.

The overwhelming regenerative power of demonic creatures was incomparable!

The mega-rift was still spitting out all sorts of demons endlessly. There were chittering imps, horned demons, and firelobbers, as well as more powerful demons like vrocks, hezrous, succubi, and redflame demons.

These demons—which would usually fight and kill each other—had become allies on the battlefield under the command of Demon Lord Fernus. They might not see eye-to-eye, but large scale conflict within their ranks had not broken out.

They gathered with their own race of demons, and the legion of demons began to grow larger and larger.

Most of the abyssal demons rushed at the war towers in the distance without hesitation, provoked by Fernus’ lashes and cries. The rest of the demons were unable to suppress their raging excitement. They had smelled the unique scent of planar creatures and had slipped away to where the feast was waiting.

They couldn’t wait to explore this beautiful world filled with the fragrance of good!

If these abyssal demons were allowed to run rampant in human society, even a single First or Second Grade demon would be enough to cause a massacre.

After all, ordinary humans were far too weak compared to these abyssal demons.

Moreover, the demons were vicious creatures that had emerged alive from endless battles, while the humans were mere farmers equipped with only their tools. It didn’t matter if there were a thousand farmers for every demon; there was no changing a human’s tragic fate of being hunted down and devoured.

Even a fully equipped army of rabbits stood no chance against a lion!

Upon seeing the situation reversed, Commander Locke of the Versailles waved his hand. A seven hundred strong army of magical machines descended to the ground on steel wires. They marched toward the battlefield in tight formation.

Of the seven hundred troops in the magical machine army, five hundred were PG-52 combat magical machines, while the other two hundred were goblin machinist-sorcerers.

Unlike the voodoo beasts, they didn’t have to engage the abyssal demons at melee distance; they all possessed long-range fire. The moment they stepped onto the battlefield, their Mark-II magic energy cannons, rapid-fire guns, ray guns, and goblin rockets commenced firing.

That ferocious and overwhelming firepower riddled every abyssal demon in range with holes and shredded them into pieces. For a moment, the entire battlefield echoed with the sound of roaring cannons and a rain of energy beams. The demons were beaten back right after they had started gaining the upper hand.

Upon seeing this, a four-meter-tall Third Grade hezrou rushed at the magical machine army with bloodshot eyes. It raised its arm and pointed at the skies above the magical machines as it charged.

The next second, black and red clouds appeared as meteors crashed from the skies.

Meteor Shower!

A simple Third Grade fire spell.

Though the might of the spell was inferior to that cast by a Third Grade fire adept, it was enough to disrupt the enemy formation and stall their advance. Against enemies with weaker magic resistance, this Third Grade spell alone would be enough to wipe out half of their numbers.

The magical machine army displayed incredible discipline in the face of the demon’s retaliation.

The magical machines at the front of the formation put away their guns and cannons. They took out metal axes and longswords from their backs and rushed at the hezrou. Meanwhile, the magical machines behind them lifted their cannons and shot down the meteors with a barrage of attacks.

Even the cloud of fire in the sky was torn apart by goblin rockets, preventing any more meteors from forming.

The vast majority of the magical machines remaining were hardly fazed. They ignored the drizzle of flames drifting down from above and continued marching forward as they rained fire on the demons.

The Third Grade hezrou was injured all over before it could even reach the machines. Blood covered its entire body. The moment it came into contact with the machines, it smashed a magical machine to pieces with its overwhelming strength. However, it was then pushed to the ground by the rest of the magical machines and beheaded, all its limbs chopped off swiftly at the same time.

The Ahlden clan adepts were stunned when they saw this. They couldn’t help but start wondering about the true might of the machines.

It was important to note that a Third Grade hezrou was a powerful creature that excelled physically and magically. It possessed tremendous physical strength and the ability to instant-cast numerous spells. A creature like that could even survive several rounds in a battle against a Fourth Grade adept.

Supposedly, a powerful demon like that was not something that lesser creatures should be able to overwhelm with sheer numbers. However, this Third Grade hezrou had been forcefully taken apart by a group of magical machines of an average of intermediate Second Grade right before their eyes.

These magical machines relied on their ferocious firepower!

What if their opponent was not a demon but a Third Grade adept instead? How long would this Third Grade adept be able to last? And how many machines would they be able to take out before they died?

The Ahlden Clan adepts couldn’t help but sweat at the mere conjecture and estimation. Their hearts beat wildly.

None!

If both sides refused to back down and continued fighting to their deaths, then the Third Grade adept’s magical shields would be shattered and riddled with holes before they could even eliminate a single magical machine.

Of course, if they were a little more cunning, the Third Grade adept could retreat as they fought. They could flee after casting a single high-grade spell and return later to ambush again.

Through such a strategy, a Third Grade adept could slowly wear down this magical machine army due to their lack of a high-grade adept’s escort.

However, that was built on the assumption that the adept would be able to recover magic power rapidly, while the enemy had no means of reinforcing the magical machines. If the Mothership in the sky were to join the battle, such guerilla tactics would be no more than a joke.

Everyone had already witnessed the power of the giant magic energy cannon!

Just because a demon lord had managed to easily dodge its attack didn’t mean that human adepts would be able to do the same.

If the Crimson Clan were to wage war with the Ahlden Clan, the Crimson Clan wouldn’t even need to dispatch a single high-grade adept. The combination of the fleet and the magical machines alone would be enough to wipe out the Ahlden Clan.

Victory would most certainly belong to the Crimson Clan. The only question would be how many magical machines they would lose!

The death of the hezrou seemed to be the prelude of something. In the next fifteen seconds, another four Third Grade demons died under the magical machines’ barrage.

It wasn’t just the human adepts who had their attention drawn over now. Even Demon Lord Fernus couldn’t help but look over.

Fernus had raided over a dozen planes with his subordinates. Yet, even he couldn’t help but be surprised. It was the demon lord’s first time seeing a world use magical machines as the main force on a battlefield.

Did he mess up and enter the wrong plane? Was this…not the World of Adepts?

Fernus shook his spiky demon head and mumbled deeply in the demon’s tongue. Soon, another powerful army of demons traveled through the mega-rift and descended upon the World of Adepts, revealing their vicious and ugly forms in front of everyone on the battlefield.