Age of Adepts

A silent valley in the middle of a vast mountain range.

The trees in the forest were large and ancient, their broad canopies easily measuring several hundred square meters wide. Tall mountains and vast forests were everywhere. Ravines were strewn about the valley. The songs of birds and the calls of insects never stopped.

In all honesty, if this were the first time setting eyes upon this scenery, you would have a hard time believing that this was the most infamous forbidden land of death in Plane Gere.

Sacred Dragon Valley. The forbidden land that was rumored to be the tomb of dragons– the Sacred Dragon Valley!

A party of five adepts was making its way through the dense forest with much difficulty.

The individual in charge of leading the way was a Second Grade body-refining adept known as Ernst. He held two long, sharp magical knives in his hands. With every swing of these knives, the brush and the bloodsucking vines creeping across the ground were sliced into pieces. Flames extended from the blades and burned everything down until a path appeared.

The magical plants hidden among the bushes were revealed once the fire had done its job. These plants hastily uprooted themselves and attempted to shuffle away. Unfortunately, their movements were too slow. Ernst’s terrifying feet, heavier than a boulder and tougher than stone, crashed down upon them before they could even leave the ashes behind.

Squeeee!

The death throes of magical plants echoed throughout the forest. These screams that occurred on the mental level spread far and wide and were quickly greeted with a response from nearby plants.

Perhaps sensing how formidable these invaders were, the man-eating flowers, bloodsucking vines, and soulcatching herbs hidden within the bushes and brambles started to flee as quickly as they could, avoiding the path of the adepts entirely.

The party’s Third Grade leader betrayed an expression of disgust when he heard the rustling sound of uprooted earth and fleeing plants all around him.

“As expected of a forbidden land. To think there were so many magical lifeforms hiding here! Hmph! Ernst, no need to hold back against these magical bastards,” Having said that, the leader of the adepts turned around and asked in a soft voice, “Sina, did you discover anything?”

Sina was the only female adept in the party. She was also the only psionic.

She wore a tight moon-white robe. A wide belt fastened the robe to her body, making her waist appear slim and emphasizing her curves. Compared to the other adepts, Sina’s skin was smooth and white. Silver hair cascaded down her shoulders, and a crystal was embedded in her forehead.

“The east…walked toward the cliff there. I can sense it. The aura of death there is much stronger than everywhere else!”

Psionics specialized in mental magic. Naturally, their Spirit also tended to be the most powerful and sensitive. They could often discover abnormalities in places where others would gloss over.

Given the lack of a diviner in the party, psionics could function as human radars using their powerful Spirit.

“You all heard that! Toward the cliff.”

With that order from the party leader, the adepts continued forward and slowly approached the thousand-meter-tall cliff hidden in the depths of the forest.

The geography here was very unusual indeed. First, you had nearly fifty kilometers of nothing but lowlands. Then, you would come across a gentle slope. Finally, at the very end of the forest, you would find a thousand-meter cliff. The surface of the cliff was incredibly flat as if a knife had cut it. All sorts of green vines and unusual flowers grew across the rocky surface. Meanwhile, there was a snowy peak at the very top of it.

It was a beautiful and charming sight. The ancient trees all around were green and full of life. It was difficult to associate such beauty with the terrifying Sacred Dragon Valley.

However, behind all this beauty, Sina could sense a persistent and sinister aura lingering around the party.

“Hmph! Parlor tricks…show yourself!”

As the party approached the cliff, there was a cold gleam in Sina’s eyes. The crystal on her forehead suddenly glowed with blinding light. It shot a beam of light toward a towering tree beside the party.

Aaaaaah!

A scream that occurred solely on the mental level echoed in everyone’s mind.

The next second, the earth rumbled and dirt fell apart as the gigantic tree uprooted itself. Numerous thick roots lashed out from underground and started moving.

The bark that had been hit by the white light started to peel off in chunks, revealing an absolutely horrifying side.

If you peeled off the bark of an ordinary tree, you would only find wood and fiber beneath. When the bark of this withered tree broke apart, it was black, rotten blood that came pouring forth. If you were to look into the tree through the opening, you would see a horde of squirming corpses.

To think that the interior of this massive tree, measuring dozens of meters in height, was filled with corpses soaked in blood!

Perhaps sensing that it had been exposed, the tree commenced moving its body, creaking as its countless branches and vines wrapped together into a massive hand. The hand crashed down toward Ernst.

At the same time, countless other ancient trees began trembling and moving in the surrounding woods. It was a terrible sight, watching as numerous looming figures uprooted themselves all over the forest.

“We’ve fallen into the enemy’s ambush! Assume defensive formation immediately!” The party leader shouted out loud immediately. Intense elementium light shone around him as he said, “Sina, report our position to the camp and request reinforcements. Everyone else, prepare for battle!”

The next second, the sound of elementium explosions rang out throughout the forest!

…………

The camp in the clearing, just a few kilometers away.

Fourth Grade Adept Callum, who led this entire expedition, twisted the snake-eye ring on his little finger and concluded communications with someone in the distance.

He quickly called for ten elite adepts to reinforce the ambushed unit before turning to the resting Greem and speaking in a soft voice, “My lord, the forward unit has come across the enemy’s guards. We should be able to find the dragon tombs soon.”

“Mm, very well!” Greem nodded imperceptibly, but continued to rest with his eyes closed.

With the Chip’s incomparable calculation abilities, Greem had managed to analyze the planar laws here to a great extent. From now on, he would no longer be affected by the planar suppression.

Though he would still be affected when he drew upon power above peak Fourth Grade, it was still much better than before.

At the very least, Greem now possessed the ability to defend himself while within Plane Gere.

Even if multiple enemies attacked him and victory was impossible, he would have no problem escaping unscathed.

It was because of this additional layer of protection he had obtained that Greem had thought of going on this expedition in the lull between the fighting. He intended to plunder as much as he could inside Plane Gere.

Given his current status and identity, he could no longer explore alone like he always had in the past. Melora, the Commander-in-Charge of Dun Modr, assigned an elite adept force to Greem without hesitation. He was free to use this army as he wished.

And thus, he had the current situation: Greem sitting silently in the camp awaiting news while numerous underlings ventured forth and searched for the Sacred Dragon Valley.

The information that Greem had obtained indicated that Sacred Dragon Valley was little more than an ancient dragon’s tomb!

It seemed like some ancient dragons used to live in Plane Gere a long time ago. However, as the orcs slowly gained total dominance over the plane, the dragons could no longer bear their constant harassment; they were forced to migrate from Plane Gere.

However, there was no way they could take the dragons’ tomb–with the remains of generations of dragons buried underground–with them. They had no choice but to simply seal the tomb within Sacred Dragon Valley. As thousands of years passed by, a fearsome dracolich somehow emerged from Sacred Dragon Valley. That dracolich rapidly became one of the most infamous powerhouses of Plane Gere.

There might only be this one peak Fourth Grade dracolich in the tomb of the dragons, but it alone had managed to repel the orcs numerous times by relying on the tomb’s traps and guards.

If there were still living dragons in Sacred Dragon Valley, the orcs would never let this tomb filled with treasures slip by. However, if it was only a bunch of undead dragons, the orc barely had any interest.

Plane Gere did not have the exceptional alchemy techniques of the World of Adepts. They could not craft dragon bones and dragon crystals into powerful equipment. There were only warriors in the empire with brawns for brains. How were there supposed to process all that bone with their limited ability?

Because of this, the dragon’s tomb, located in a rural and remote region, had survived.

This place that the orcs were not interested in was no less than a treasure trove for an adept like Greem. That was why Greem had hurried here the moment he heard of this place.

“Squad Five has made contact with the guards outside the tomb.”

“Squad One and Squad Four have arrived on location and are helping.”

“The elite squad has also arrived at the battlefield and are now sweeping up the defenders.”

“Squad Two has made it past the defensive line and has discovered the underground entrance into the dragon’s tomb.”

“Adept Derrick has led three of his subordinates into the passageway. They are now clearing out the traps inside.”

“A Third Grade dragonwraith has appeared in the passage. The battle at the frontlines is exceedingly intense.”

“Urgent message! Urgent message! A large group of high-grade tomb guardians has appeared on the frontlines. Request reinforcements of elite adepts.”

Tomb guardians?

Greem couldn’t help but open his eyes when he heard this. Joy flashed across his face.

If even tomb guardians had appeared, that meant the dragon’s tomb that the adepts had discovered was the real thing!

“Let’s go! Bring everyone. We will crush this dragon’s tomb in one fell swoop and leave as quickly as possible. Better to leave than stay until the orcs catch wind of this!” Light flashed in Greem’s hand as the Tome of Corruption silently appeared.

“Remi, to the frontlines!”

“Understood!”

Remi, the Spirit of Pestilence, flickered and silently headed toward the frontlines of the fighting.