Age of Adepts

Matthew quickly started summoning otherworldly creatures as if he had gone mad.

Soon, several tough-looking creatures appeared: a man-faced serpent, a beholder, and a devourer.

Declan, the only body-refining adept in the party, stood forward without any hesitation. He let out a battlecry and grew from his two-meter size to a muscular four-meter hulk. He rushed to the very front of the formation, radiating intimidation as he did so.

Bloodline Adept Ariza’s body also distorted and transformed into a strange lion-headed human.

It was a strange creature that stood three meters tall, with a human’s body and the head of a lion. The humanoid body’s skin was yellow and had no hair on it. Its muscles were developed and symmetrical. Meanwhile, the lion-head above its neck had a mouth full of sharp teeth, wide eyes, and a large nose. It was a majestic and fearsome creature.

This lion-headed human was more muscular than a regular human, but it looked like a gentle kitten compared to the disaster creatures. It was obvious that it didn’t specialize in Strength and Physique.

After completing his transformation, Ariza instantly rushed behind Declan and started casting a series of bloodline magics.

Charm Monster, Greater Illusion, Mirror Image, Suggestion, Wisdom Drain.

Despite Ariza’s might as a Fourth Grade adept, half of his bloodline magic was utterly ineffective against the disaster creatures. Only Greater Illusion and Wisdom Drain managed to affect them.

Two of the disaster creatures were distracted in this fashion.

One lunged forward and started fighting against a non-existent illusion, while the other suddenly started turning in circles as if it had lost its direction.

If Ariza was the only one fighting against these disaster creatures, then these charms and illusions clearly couldn’t help him win. However, today, he was backed by a group of Fourth Grade elementium adepts, all of whom walked quite unusual paths.

While the two disaster creatures were confused, three incredibly powerful Fourth Grade spells landed on their bodies.

Soundwave Dimensional Array; it was Molten Fire City Lord Alfred’s attack!

Water Dragon’s Rage. That was Nicolas’ spell!

Nature’s Wrath…was Roderick’s magic!

Unfortunately, even their three Fourth Grade spells combined could not compare to the meteor crashing down from the sky.

A red meteor, five meters in diameter, quickly plummeted from the skies and landed in the middle of these disaster creatures. The red meteor exploded instantly. It turned into thousands of molten rocks that blasted in every direction, blazing with golden flames. The explosion engulfed a diameter of a few hundred meters.

The violent force shockwave was able to stun even these ferocious disaster creatures. The rain of lava and magma that came after was even more lethal.

The three Fourth Grade creatures in the center of the explosion were instantly riddled with holes. The violent flames rapidly devoured their location. Meanwhile, the disaster creatures that managed to dodge in time were still affected. They scampered out of the attack’s range, covered in injuries.

Despite the devastating blow to their ranks, three disaster creatures still managed to charge through the numerous spells to reach Declan. They immediately started fighting with him. The other disaster creatures quickly gathered again and prepared to hunt down these ignorant human adepts.

Unfortunately, they were promptly greeted by Greem’s vicious fire magic!

Fire magic had always been known as the ruler of the battlefield. There was a reason for that. Moreover, Greem’s principle power made the fire spells even more ferocious than ever.

In the battle, every disaster creature had to endure the constant burning of the Undying Flames, bearing the agony as they fought with the human adepts. It indirectly increased their burden, infuriating them to the brink of absolute madness.

In all honesty, the Central Lands might have mobilized far more Fourth Grade adepts than the other three major organizations, but their battle results were mediocre. Their battle against the disaster creatures consisted mostly of stalling and delaying, with none of them being able to deliver a lethal strike.

After all, disaster creatures were savage and cruel beings. If they were truly forced into a corner, their final retaliation would put them in mortal danger!

It was precisely their lack of resolution and courage that bogged the battle down. The disaster creatures they were fighting were injured all over but could still rampage throughout the battlefield without restraint.

In contrast, the Central adepts appeared to be gradually suppressed. It almost seemed like the tables would turn on them.

If one were to be brutally honest, the entire battlefield was being held together by Greem’s power alone. If Greem had given up on the situation, the Central adepts would have long since fallen apart!

Greem stood at the very back of the formation, reinforcing the fighters with fire magic as he sighed to himself.

The Central Lands were truly weak!

Still, no matter how upset he was, Greem couldn’t simply let the disaster creatures defeat the adepts. After all, his reputation was on the line as well!

“Chip, dynamic battlefield analysis, please! I want to look for an opening on the battlefield.”

[Beep. Dynamic scan activated. A total of eleven Fourth Grade disaster creatures and twenty-four Third Grade disaster creatures detected. Detailed information is currently being processed.

[Beep. Adept Ariza will be in a precarious situation imminently. Coordinates: 225,087. Two Fourth Grade enemies are pincering him. Please reinforce immediately.]

Greem waved his hand and threw a magma fireball at a specific location on the battlefield. The vicious and violent shockwaves instantly blew away the disaster creatures attempting to pincer Ariza, temporarily alleviating the situation for him.

[Beep. Declan is now being attacked by three disaster creatures. The enemy might break through at any moment.]

Without another word, Greem raised both his hands. A Fire Pillar erupted a hundred meters in front of Declan. The flames licked at all the enemies around it.

The three Fourth Grade disaster creatures hastily fled, and the offensive against Declan was delayed for a moment.

[Adept Kerala is standing too far out. A disaster creature is currently planning a stealth attack on her.]

Greem’s eyes gleamed as two thick golden beams swept across the horizon. They arrived close to Kerala; a strange tiger with wings on its back and horns on its head tumbled out of the sky, just barely avoiding Greem’s attack.

Kerala screamed when she saw this. Her hands moved quickly and several gray and black halos wrapped around the tiger.

The beast hurriedly escaped from her range with a few leaps. The ambush ended without a result.

With the Chip’s absolute surveillance and Greem’s uncontested principle fires, the Fourth Grade Central adepts finally managed to survive the most challenging phase of all and get over their awkward movements.

They realized that they had no risk of danger when such a powerful ultra-powerhouse backed them. Naturally, they could forget about their worries. They could begin thinking about cooperation and the best way to inflict the most damage to their opponents.

The cooperation and teamwork finally allowed each individual to display the full extent of their power!

Driven by Greem’s actions, the selfish Fourth Grades of the Central Lands finally abandoned their narrow thinking and started to devote their all to the team.

They were Fourth Grades, after all. Even though it was just a slight change to their combat style and thinking, it reflected greatly on their battles. It was almost as if they had been reborn.

Alfred specialized in soundwave magic. He was far more capable than his peers when it came to detecting and locating hidden enemies. He actively volunteered himself to deal with the stealthed enemies. He used berserk music notes to disrupt the enemy, providing the more vulnerable adepts like Kerala and Matthew with an additional layer of protection.

Nicolas specialized in water magic and could create mirror images and teleport his allies. When he contributed his power to the team, all members of the party were instantly reinforced with effects such as Mirror Clone and Water Reflection. Several intricate and well-hidden Wells of Teleportation were also placed amongst the group.

If any of the group members sensed danger, they could flee to another place using these Wells of Teleportation. In doing so, they had an extra means to escape the enemy’s pursuit.

Meanwhile, Adept Roderick’s plant magic was incredibly well-rounded, with the capacity for offense, defense, and healing.

An extensive Nature’s Barrier enveloped the team, allowing all members’ bodies and Spirit to recover while they were within it.

He also caused giant vines to grow everywhere, delaying and slowing down the disaster creatures.

The Central adepts had always been too selfish in the past. They rarely thought about their ‘companions’ in team battles, let alone using their own powers to protect them.

When they finally tried it for the first time, they instantly gained positive feedback.

The entire group became orderly in their approach against the disaster creatures. With Greem covering for them with ferocious fire magic, the battlefield would not fall apart again.

The Central adepts’ battle got even easier as they gained confidence and the will to battle!

Using the disaster creatures to train his forces.

There was always a group of people keeping their eyes on the Fourth Grade adepts of the Central Lands all over the battlefield. This unbelievable scene rendered them speechless. They couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh.

Man…using such fearsome disaster creatures to make the team mesh together. That was…a little too daring, wasn’t it!?