Age of Adepts

Chapter 299 Battle in the Night

The return trip was much more pleasant compared to the lively trip here.

Even though they passed through the same places, there were fewer magical creatures that dared to chase after the battleship.

Greem was confused at first. However, after talking with some of the accompanying passengers, he discovered that the Silver Union was enraged after the abduction incident executed by the Harpy Kingdom.

Consequently, the Silver Union had gathered a group of Third Grade adepts and invaded the Harpy Kingdom. They slew nearly a thousand of the ugly creatures, including a hundred harpy witches.

Unfortunately, they only saved two of the kidnapped adepts. The remaining few had clearly been unable to endure the 'savage' mating process and were drained of all their essence.

The two survivors were both body refining adepts. Their Physiques were comparable to magical beasts.

Sadly, even they had been squeezed to the brink of death by the time they were finally rescued. It appeared it was going to be hard for them to completely recover without one or two years of rest!

The explosive reaction of the Silver Union caused the magical creatures to grudgingly settle down.

Two and a half months later, Greem, along with Alice and Snorlax, finally returned to the center of the Continent.

Their first destination was Guardia Port, the public city at the very west of the Zhentarim area.

They stayed there for two days before a flying ship heading towards the central area arrived. Five days later, they successfully returned to Motta City.

They didn't dare stay in Motta City for too long. The three of them quickly bought a small wagon and hurried out of the city.

…………

A dark forest. A temporary campfire crackled and sizzled.

Snorlax busied himself preparing dinner.

He put up a metal stand over the fire and placed the pot on it before moving to prepare the ingredients.

Alice propped her head up with her hands as she silently gazed into the distance.

She had been like this ever since the strict scolding from Greem.

Greem informed Snorlax that he was going out, then he stood up and walked into the dark forest. Before dinner started, he wanted to see for himself what the outside world of the World of Adepts looked like.

The Continent of Adepts' trees always grew tall and straight. Their leaves flourished in dense patches as well, almost blotting out all of the light from the sky. The only sources of light came from the faint and desolate glow of Moonlight Grass and Glow Shrooms.

There weren't very many bushes or fields of grass that grew above knee height. A thick layer of withered and yellowed leaves covered the ground, where a vast stretch of green grass spread.

There were very few critters here.

After all, this was fairly close to the road. Large magical creatures wouldn't show up around here. Consequently, apprentice adepts were able to freely use the wild beasts nearby as target practice. This was why Greem couldn't find the presence of a single carnivore or herbivore after walking a quarter of a kilometer into the darkness.

All of a sudden, just as he was about to turn back in disappointment, he stopped.

He turned and looked towards his side. He was keeping his guard up.

A towering figure made his way over with heavy footsteps.

His feet crushed rotting leaves as he strode over, the plants snapping and crackling as they were shredded to pieces. The sound reverberated far throughout the silent, shadowed forest.

Greem licked his lips and narrowed his eyes. A faint blue light started to flicker about his irises.

He was completely prepared for a battle.

Meanwhile, he had already sent a warning to Alice and Snorlax through their mental connection.

Under Greem's elementium sight, a bright, blinding-red light emanated from the figure. This was a sign of extreme hostility, as well as severe danger. Greem felt a potent, yet suppressed, aura on the person.

The energy reactions from the unknown man were intense in Greem's visual projection. Most of the energy nodes were spread across the person's limbs, joints, and key organs. It was because of this that Greem could tell the identity of the unknown man. He was a body-refining adept!

It was almost the dead of night in the middle of a silent and unpopulated woodland. His opponent's intent was obvious. Greem couldn't help but be curious. He had maintained a low profile when he returned. How had the Black Glove Association tracked him down?

"You are the Flame Demon Greem?" The tall shape spoke but kept a thirty-meter distance between them.

His voice was low and thick. It was a male's voice.

Just then, the man took a step forward and a sliver of moonlight pierced through the canopy. It fell upon the man, illuminating his true appearance.

This was a powerful body-refining adept wearing crimson metal armor. Crimson ripples surged in the air around him. He carried a gigantic two-handed greatsword on his back. His face was wicked and distorted beneath the moonlight. Several horrendous scars wriggled across his face like centipedes crawling about.

He wore crimson gauntlets as well. Every time he balled his fingers into a fist, Greem could see sharp blades sticking out of the knuckles. Just the sight of such a thing was enough to send chills into the heart of an ordinary man.

"Bloodhand Butcher?" Greem probingly asked.

The opponent's appearance was fairly unique, after all. He was quickly able to recall some of the more infamous characters from these areas.

"Knowing my nickname won't help you. You must die here today!" The Bloodhand Butcher said as a wicked 'smile' was splayed across his face.

His firm and threatening voice hadn't even dissipated on the wind when a red shadow shot towards Greem. His monstrous metal fist punched through the air. Violent winds blew in every direction, scattering a pungent odor of blood into the air. It was directed at Greem's heart.

A black and red Magma Shield suddenly appeared between the two.

The flames didn't even have time to spread across the surface of the shield before a crimson fist smashed right into the center of it.

Boom! The Magma Shield exploded.

For the first time, Greem's Magma Shield had been shattered into sparks and rubble before it could finish materializing.

The wind howled. The metal fist broke through his defensive barrier, the fire still blazing on it, and continued on its path towards Greem. The swift and powerful strike had been partially obstructed by the Magma Shield, but it could still deal as much as sixty points of elementium damage.

Most elementium attacks tended to be unconcentrated. However, the enemy's iron fist was a vigorous and concentrated blow. All of its strength had been gathered into a single fist. Its offensive ability was beyond that of an elementium attack.

Greem was caught by surprise. He hit himself on the chest and a brilliant 'Flame Halo of Repulsion' activated.

The Flame Halo of Repulsion was nothing more than a scorching flame shockwave that spread out it a halo. Everything within its range had to endure damage from the flames, as well as a certain level of physical impact.

This was why the spell was often used by fire adepts to create distance from their enemies!

That said, this last minute Flame Halo activation was not going to do much against a body-refining adept. Greem stumbled backward. The punch's air pressure struck his chest and sent him flying.

Greem heard his ribs cracking from the impact while he was still sailing through the air. He spat out black blood at the same time.

The crimson silhouette roared. The blood-colored aura shrouding his body blasted away the fearsome flames reaching towards him. A single stomp and the opponent charged towards Greem's falling body. Two iron fists sent a barrage of punches, and a curtain of furious crimson shadows flew at Greem.

Boom.

Flames appeared in the dark forest.

Greem's tall body instantly disappeared in the pillar of fire that had erupted out of nowhere.

Flames burst apart in an empty space a hundred meters away as Greem stumbled out of the fire.

The crimson attacker roared once more. His body twisted in midair and once again sped towards Greem like an arrow fired from a bow.

"Die!" Greem growled and lifted his hand. Three Explosive Fireballs exploded towards the enemy in a triangle formation. Greem lifted his right palm again, right after the Explosive Fireballs were launched. A Magma Fireball quickly formed in his hand.

The crimson silhouette did not choose to avoid the fireballs shooting towards him.

Bloodhand Butcher was an experienced body-refining adept. He knew very well what would happen if he dodged. If he stopped for even a moment, a storm of elementium spells would drown him before he could get close. The terror of a fire adept was fully demonstrated when they were able to put distance between themselves and the enemy.

Without any hesitation, the Butcher raised his arms up to cover his face. A powerful crimson forcefield trembled around him. He chose to endure the attack.

Bang. Bang. Bang...

Three consecutive explosions. The dark forest was painted a bright red.

The violent elementium flames dragged everything within a twenty-meter radius into a realm of fire and ash.

The tall, straight, and thick trees were instantly ignited, turning into towering torches in the night. Wood splinters were set on fire by the ocean of flames. The intense fire was blinding.

The Butcher fearlessly crashed through the center of the explosion. He had just reached the edge of the sea of flames when a speeding Magma Fireball entered his sight.

Dammit! The speed at which the Flame Demon fired spells was terrifying indeed!

He cursed internally as he drew the sword from his back. He slashed forward, a desolate crimson light streaking through the air, and slashed the fireball in half.

He tried once again to charge through the explosion, but a massive flame fist was waiting right behind the Magma Fireball. It smashed him directly in the face, knocking him right back into the flames he had attempted to escape from.

The scarlet lava from the shattered Magma Fireball fell upon the green grass, instantly scorching the earth. An oppressive figure, shrouded in dancing flames, silently stood before the Butcher. It cut off all routes of attack available to the enemy.

Greem finally saw a chance to counter-attack with the Infernal Tyrant covering him. He grabbed three potions from his belt and drank everything at once.

After quickly treating the wounds he had sustained, Greem lifted his head. Two bright sparks lit up within his ebony eyes.

A massive amount of wild, blazing flame energy started to gather around him!