Age of Adepts

Any creature that could reach Fifth Grade, even if they had just been an ordinary dog before, would become a monster as terrifying as a demon!

Moreover, the animal companions that Horr the God of the Hunt had chosen for himself were all fearsome magical beasts with outstanding abilities to begin with. When they were raised to the level of a god, their combat strength was enough to make a powerful fire adept like Greem struggle against them.

With Remi's aid, Greem managed to withstand the God of the Hunt's assault. Moreover, to exterminate that damned hound, Greem had no choice but to use up one of his aces- The Fifth Grade Halo of Rot.

A soft tearing noise could be heard as a rift tore open in space ten meters behind Greem. The accursed mastiff silently leaped out from within. With two swipes of its claws, it shredded the Inferno Shields around Greem. It ignored the flame backlash from the shields and pounced onto Greem's calf, biting viciously into the magma.

Flames scattered across the air, and lava spilled forth.

The mastiff howled in agony as it was showered in the red-hot lava. It didn't have time to treat the wounds on its body and the blisters on its face as Greem's fiery hand came grasping from above. The hound stepped in empty air and dodged the attack. Most of its black fur had been melted by the scorching lava, revealing the horrifying mess of blistered and burned skin beneath.

However, damage of this extent was still tolerable for the mastiff. It stepped on the empty air and dodged left and right, planning to put more distance between it and the raging Fifth Grade adept.

The purple falcon in the distance let out a screech when it saw this. It tucked its wings and lunged at Greem's face as a bolt of purple lightning. It reached out with its piercing talons in preparation to leave behind an unforgettable mark on the enemy as it grazed past.

Horr's clone took this opportunity to approach. His meter-long spear unleashed a flurry of golden thrusts, bombarding Greem's defenses from afar.

The three of them were old companions. Their combination of ambush, pincer attack, and reinforcement was flawless.

However, Greem had already made up his mind to exterminate one of them at the cost of being injured. No degree of perfection in their teamwork could account for that.

"Remi, intercept that falcon!"

Greem's mental fluctuation rose and sent a message to Remi. He then ignored the attacks from Horr's clone and the falcon to focus all his power onto that damned dog.

Greem abruptly stomped his feet, and a hundred red pillars of flame instantly rose all around him. These fire pillars' positions were random and chaotic, scattered across a radius of a hundred meters and making them very unpredictable.

The mastiff weaved left and right in the air as if it could sense where the flames were going to erupt. It was always able to dodge the fire pillars with inches to spare.

Seeing as the opponent was about to escape the hundred-meter radius, Greem shouted out loud, "Fire Prison!"

The next second, the fire elementium in the air gathered around the hound like blocks of wood. It turned into a cage of fire and locked the creature within.

The mastiff did not panic in the face of this obstacle. It reached out with its claws and quickly tore the cage to shreds. However, this momentary pause gave Greem another opportunity to cast a spell.

"Gamelio-Kannes…Land of Fireserpents! "

As Greem finished his incantation, the air beneath the mastiff suddenly turned scarlet. Countless terrifying fire serpents appeared out of thin air. There were an alarming number of these serpents, and they instantly wrapped themselves around the mastiff, completely immobilizing the beast.

The mastiff let out a furious bark. It began to tear and bite with all its strength. Land of Fireserpents might be a peak Fourth Grade spell, but judging from the strength the mastiff possessed, it would not keep it trapped for more than five seconds.

Unfortunately, five seconds were more than enough for a legendary fire adept!

Greem tossed out the Fifth Grade Halo of Rot onto the mastiff without any hesitation.

The mastiff's entire body turned black the moment the Halo of Rot entered its body. The fur on its skin, the skin itself, and all its flesh and bones started to shrivel and wither at a visible pace.

Horr's divine power, which used to permeate its body, was also corrupted and began to rot along with the dog's body.

A divine mastiff with the fearsome combat prowess of a beginner Fifth Grade had fallen at Greem's hand in less than twenty seconds, just like that.

Upon seeing his old friend-who had accompanied him for countless years-crumble into dust from the Halo of Rot, Horr's clone let out a furious roar. He strode straight toward Greem.

In truth, the mastiff that Greem killed was only its soul projection. The divine mastiff itself still loyally sat at the side of the true Horr!

However, Horr's clone could not bear to see his companion killed in such a cruel fashion, even if he knew it was only a soul projection that he could endlessly replicate.

Horr's clone roared and charged at Greem. Meanwhile, Remi kept the purple falcon occupied slightly away from the battlefield. They went back and forth, and it did not seem that their battle would conclude for a while.

The snake coiled around Horr's clone also slithered down under his instructions and slowly wound its way behind Greem's back.

Greem's eye lit up in the face of this ferocious attack. He actively rushed toward his enemy.

Spiritwolf Antuso, who had been lying in wait for a long time by the sidelines, secretly snuck his way behind Horr's clone. His aura had risen to its peak, and he could unleash a devastating attack at any time.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Three golden spears were thrown in Greem's direction. It would be too difficult for Greem to dodge with his Agility and size. He let the spear images pierce through his right shoulder, lower abdomen, and left leg. His body trembled slightly as three giant holes the size of washbasins appeared.

Red fire, as thick as blood, started to flow from the wounds. Greem couldn't help but let out a grunt of pain.

"Scarlet Refinement, Flame Blast!"

Greem withstood the pain and shouted. A flaming stream of pure principle fire shot forth and crashed against the Divine Shield that had appeared around Horr's clone.

Hmph! Finally forced your Divine Shield.

Greem mumbled to himself in his mind.

It couldn't be helped. Every god and their clone possessed Divine Shield, which was the natural counter to adepts. The shield protected them from all magical effects as well as magical and physical damage while it was active.

If the Divine Shield weren't dealt with first, then the opponent would always have an ace in the hole they could use to save themselves at a crucial moment. Trying to kill a god while they still had their Divine Shield was a foolish thought.

For the sake of baiting out the Divine Shield, Greem had no choice but to use himself as bait. He had rushed at the enemy with all the fervor and ferocity he could muster. However, for the next dozen seconds after the Divine Shield was activated, it was Greem's turn to be beaten up.

Greem activated the Tome of Corruption's principle defense without the moment he saw the Divine Shield. He unleashed the Burning Domain and started to burn the Divine Shield, hoping to exhaust its divine power as quickly as possible.

Horr's clone stabbed Greem's principle defenses repeatedly. Every thrust caused the barrier to cave in severely and spread ripples across it.

The dozen-meter-long snake also coiled around Greem's barrier. It ignored how its body sizzled against the fire and quickly tightened its grip, causing the barrier to creak and groan.

Meanwhile, the snake opened its maw wide and waited patiently. It would strike and bite down the moment the barrier broke.

"Help me break the shield!"

Greem sent a magical transmission to Antuso as he continued to attack violently.

Even though this wasn't the perfect opportunity yet, Antuso listened and revealed himself behind the god clone. The ferocious attack he had been preparing landed right upon the Divine Shield.

The clone's expression changed slightly upon sensing the Fifth Grade enemy that had suddenly appeared behind him. He couldn't be bothered to attack Greem anymore. Instead, he prepared to leave.

A loud crack could be heard in his Divine Shield just then. Everyone's expression turned.

One side was shocked, and the other was overjoyed.

It made for a stark contrast!

Crack! Crack! Fine cracks began to spread all along the Divine Shield. In the blink of an eye, there were fissures all over it.

The next second, the Divine Shield crumbled without a sound into tiny pieces of divine radiance, which were quickly washed away by the magical tide around them.

The divine body of Horr's clone was finally exposed to the two Fifth Grade Great Adepts.

Kill!

There was no need for any rallying cries or shouts for morale. The very thought of the perfect divine authority fragment in the clone's body was enough to drive Greem and Antuso insane. They rushed forward recklessly as if they had just drunk a magical stimulant.

As a God of the Hunt, Horr's clone also had exceptional melee combat skills. He wasn't at a disadvantage even when he fought two against one. But for some reason, when he saw the two gleaming eyes of the adepts and felt their gazes full of greed and thirst, Horr's clone couldn't help but shiver.

Dammit! I can't get tangled up with these two bastards! I'll escape first and think about my retaliation later.

Horr's clone thought rapidly to himself while parrying Antuso's rapid attacks with his spear. He then started to move away from the battlefield slowly.

At this point, he no longer cared about his animal companions.

Horr's clone ordered the snake to hold back Greem with all its power. Meanwhile, the clone withstood Antuso's attacks while attempting to move away and escape this awkward position of being pincered by two enemies.

However, he had just moved a few meters away when he felt a foul wind behind him.

Horr's clone turned around, only to see a giant maw, followed by complete darkness.