Age of Adepts

The Northern Witches and Silver Union each took up a spot at the edge of the battlefield as they recovered in silence.

After hastily absorbing the planar feedback and catching the fleeting glimpses of the principles they were shown, the Northern Witches gathered around Death Witch Leader Khesuna and started whispering.

“What is the Adept’s Association planning? One moment, they’re bullying Greem. The next, they are trying to get on his good side. Do they actually intend to get on friendly terms with him?” It was Circe who said this.

Due to their prior disagreements, Circe had always harbored a deep-seated hatred for the legendary fire adept. No matter what she tried to do to set Greem back, he still managed to rise without stopping.

Even she, the Dark Witches leader, had to be extremely cautious in front of him out of fear that he would find some excuse to punish her. Circe couldn’t help but feel her fury flare at the thought of the humiliation she had just recently suffered at his hands.

The moment Circe said those words, Khesuna’s cold and icy glare landed on her.

“Circe, I don’t care what disagreements and conflicts you had with Greem before this. From now on, that is all in the past. You must maintain your basic respect and etiquette toward him at all times. Otherwise, if he were to take issue with your behavior, even I wouldn’t be able to save you. Understood?”

“I understand!” Circe immediately obeyed.

The two of them were both witch leaders of equal status, but Khesuna had established her reputation far earlier than Circe. Moreover, Khesuna was also an ultra-powerhouse. Among the witch leaders, Khesuna and Pale Witch Leader Silvia were the group’s respected big sisters. They were respected and feared by all the witches.

Khesuna let out a quiet sigh.

She could tell that Circe had not let go of her grudge.

These high-grade witches had taken on tremendous authority and influence since advancing to Fourth Grade. They led comfortable lives where their every whim and will were obeyed. They had never truly experienced the dark struggles and cruel conflicts that occurred among adepts behind the scenes.

They were too young and prideful. They did not know the severity of offending a powerful adept who was still rapidly growing in power!

The Adept’s Association was powerful, wealthy, and influential. Yet, even they chose to take a soft stance with Greem instead of establishing hostile relations with a future Great Adept. Meanwhile, Circe had rashly intervened in the conflict between the Fate Witches over some personal interests; she was only becoming more and more involved.

Circe might not have sensed the arrival of danger, but Khesuna had a feeling that all the Dark Witches would be in trouble due to her recklessness and impulsiveness.

The Northern Witches had gone from their original thirteen branches to the current eight. They were far weaker than they once were. Among these branches, the Coldwinter Witches and Fate Witches were newly resuscitated branches that had only rediscovered their legacies recently after thousands of years of extinction.

If something were to happen to the Dark Witches, the Northern Lands’ situation would become even more unstable!

Even though Circe’s words were reckless, they clearly resonated with the Northern Witches.

Deceit Witch Leader Angelina couldn’t help but step forward and ask, “Sister Khesuna, do you not find the behavior of the Adept’s Association strange? They were at complete odds with Greem before this, and now they are being as nice as family. What exactly are they doing?”

Khesuna looked at the witches around her and only saw confusion on the faces of her sisters. She could only shake her head and sigh, “This is an open conspiracy of the Adept’s Association!”

“Open conspiracy?” The witches did not understand.

“At this point, anyone can see that Legendary Fire Adept Greem can no longer be kept down. As long as he exists, the Central Lands will belong to him. None of our three major organizations will be able to take over.”

“Doesn’t that mean that all three organizations should work together even more so to suppress Greem? What does any of this have to do with getting on his good side?”

“You all still look down underestimate what it means to be a high-grade adept. You have no idea how terrifying an out-of-control powerhouse can be,” Khesuna looked around and said coldly, “Let’s put it this way! Given Greem’s current power, he would be able to exterminate any one of the major organizations if he was willing to drag his reputation through the mud and resort to guerilla warfare.”

“Hsss,” The witches drew in a breath of cold air.

They had witnessed the might of the legendary fire adept in the battle earlier, but they never expected Khesuna to rate him so highly.

Didn’t that mean Greem had absolutely no equal match within the World of Adepts?

“Of the three major organizations, the Silver Union has the Castle in the Sky, and the Adept’s Association has the Tower of Observation. With those two fortresses, they would be able to retreat into safety and defend most of their assets if they were to run into an insoluble problem. However, our Northern Lands have no such top-class facility. If our relationship with Greem falls out, the entire group that is the Northern Witches will face an existential threat.”

Khesuna paused for a moment here and looked at Circe coldly. “I know you Dark Witches have made a lot of progress in excavating the Shadow World and that you have raised a large shadow army. However, think about what will happen if you continue provoking Greem. What can you do if he decides to crush your Black Mystery? Are you going to chase him around the world with your shadow armies?

“It’s not like you haven’t seen the might of a powerhouse! Greem alone slaughter hundreds of thousands of mutated beasts and disaster creatures and kept them blockaded in Inkdeep Valley. If he activates his Burning Domain, Circe, do you think your shadow army will be able to survive?”

Circe finally lowered her face. Her body, hidden in the black mists, couldn’t help but tremble.

Khesuna didn’t want to demoralize Circe too badly. She quickly explained the Adept Association’s behavior.

“It’s a good thing that the Adept’s Association is trying their best to get on Greem’s good side now. It means that they understand that directly suppressing him will no longer be effective. Such actions will only make an enemy out of him. So, they are using an open conspiracy. They plan to send Greem out of the World of Adepts as soon as possible.

“If this process isn’t accelerated, Greem could easily ruler over the Central Lands for at least a thousand years, given how young and powerful he is. A thousand years is too long for our three major organizations. That is why the Association will definitely try to fulfill all of Greem’s needs so that he can advance to Fifth Grade swiftly and get banished from the World of Adepts.

“A Central Lands without Greem…cannot be supported on the shoulders of the vampire Mary alone!”

It was then that the witches finally understood. They couldn’t help but nod in unison.

Indeed, given that they couldn’t suppress Greem anymore, shortening his time in the Central Lands was undoubtedly the best idea. Even if Greem realized their plans, he probably wouldn’t be able to suppress his desire and impulse to advance to Great Adept earlier if possible.

However, the fact that the three famous major organizations had been relegated to such a means of dealing with an adept from the Central Lands was quite tragic!

…………

The battle had not actually ended.

The disaster creatures might have been herded back into Inkdeep Valley, but they still resided down there, guarding the giant spatial rift.

If things dragged on, they could erode the foundation of the plane; the Sixth Grade Scourge Lord on the other end would be able to enter the World of Adepts. All of their efforts up until now would have been in vain.

It was only inside the plane and with the aid of the planar suppression that the Fourth Grade adepts had a chance to kill those Fifth Grade minor Scourge Lords. Should their home field advantage be lost, everyone here combined would not survive a single slap from a Sixth Grade Scourge Lord.

As such, the planar barrier could not be lost, no matter the sacrifices!

After a quick sweep of the battlefield and after purifying the disaster aura near the valley, large packs of voodoo beasts were herded into the valley.

The voodoo beasts and mutated beasts switched positions now. The voodoo beasts were the ones on offense, while the mutated beasts attempted to repel them. The valley itself had become a bloody battlefield.

To prevent the voodoo beasts from being corrupted and turning on the adepts, this attack’s main force was actually an army of animated constructs composed of iron golems and magical armors.

Charging at the forefront were the animated armors.

They stood over three-meters tall in the form of human warriors, despite having a hollow body. They were sustained purely by magical power. They held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other as they marched forth with heavy steps and perfect formation, five in a row.

The mutated beasts howled and rushed forward the moment they entered the mists. The mutated beasts composed of flesh and blood immediately clashed with these warriors of steel and iron.

These animated armors had been adjusted by the Adept’s Association and were much less stiff and clumsy compared to an average steel statue. Their movements were agile, accurate, and they were fearless.

In the face of the mutated beasts, these animated armors stormed ahead and bashed with the shields in their left hands. Once the enemies were stunned, they raised their swords to slice.

The animated-armor warriors had no life to speak off. Naturally, they had no fear of death either.

They were simply a bunch of heavy-armor and swords animated through magical power. There was no other way to deal with them but to knock their shields and swords away and cave in their armor until they were incapable of fighting any longer.

Their magical nature determined their combat style!

It was a savage style of charging and fighting without pause.

The magical armors raised their swords and shields, cutting their way into the valley, step by step.

Meanwhile, the mutated beasts took full advantage of their agile figures. They approached from every direction: the front, the flanks, from the walls, or even from the skies.

The entire Inkdeep Valley was swarming with their squirming black and red figures. They instantly surrounded the invading magical-armor warriors!