Age of Adepts

The advance on Fire Throne was unprecedentedly difficult!

It was entirely beyond the imagination of the alchemist adepts. The Crimson Clan had stationed a shocking number of metal golems in the underground tunnel. Though these golems lacked any offensive elementium abilities, their impenetrable metal bodies and destructive goblin guns allowed them to exterminate any invader that appeared before them.

Moreover, apart from the goblin revolver rifles, they were also equipped with goblin landmines, goblin rockets, and goblin flamethrowers.

Armed with all these goblin weapons, they became one-man armies capable of stopping enemies many times their number.

The Magic Forest Hut alchemist adepts' dream to clear up the underground tunnel with the use of cheap elementium summons was shattered.

The Archers were not unbeatable, but the price that the alchemists had to pay to destroy them was several times the original.

Initially, Adept Singh had managed to destroy an Archer with an adept-level ooze. However, the goblin technicians behind the scenes immediately adjusted the equipment and attack patterns of the Archers, ensuring that such a thing would not happen again.

In all of the following battles, the alchemist adepts had to pay three to five times the price of the Archer to take down any of the critical checkpoints in the tunnels. In particular, legions of magical machines appeared in some of the underground stone halls.

They weren't very many in number- usually only appearing in groups of five or six.

However, when gathered together, their metal bullets became a terrifying barrage. Any living being that appeared in front of them would be shredded and torn apart. The powerful metal bullets could even ricochet multiple times on the rock walls of the tunnels, making it hard for the enemy to predict their trajectory.

The alchemists even had to apply physical, magical shields to their adept-level elementium servants. Otherwise, they would be destroyed before they could even get to the enemy. They would have been reduced to comical target practice for the enemy.

After charging through several paths, the Magic Forest Hut adepts had managed to destroy seventeen of the Crimson Clan's Archers. However, they had also paid the price of forty-two adept-level summoning potions in exchange. They had made it no more than seventy-five meters of progress.

Even the typically rich and wealthy alchemists couldn't help but start gasping when they thought of the four to five hundred meters to come.

Landlords might have quite a bit of grain to spare, but even the wealthy couldn't waste things like that!

However, even though the situation was terrible, and the adept-level beasts were so ineffective, the alchemist adepts didn't intend to roll their sleeves up and participate in the fights personally.

It was important to note that among the adepts, alchemists were often regarded as support adepts, along with potion masters, enchanters, and appraisers. Their personal combat prowess was extremely limited, and they relied entirely on magical potions to fight.

Thus, after a long period of time, they became a unique group of fighters that were unwilling to risk their own lives and face the enemy personally.

If they had to fight, they would rely on poisoning or summoning potions to gather a horde of cheap summons and flood the enemy. Furthermore, most alchemists liked to form groups to prevent enemies from diving at them and assassinating them before they could do anything.

These alchemist adepts would definitely be able to endure the bullet barrage of the Archers and charge up to them if they were willing to take the risk. Their adept-level defensive spells were sturdy enough for that. When that happened, they would have much greater chances of exterminating the enemy and would be able to save quite a few of their adept-level summoning potions.

Sadly, doing so would mean putting themselves at risk.

If anything unexpected were to happen, they might be in danger of dying!

Given the nature of the alchemist adepts, they would never lead the charge as long as there was a one-percent chance of a threat to their life. Hiding behind their elementium servants might come at a high cost, but at least they didn't need to risk their own lives.

It was better to pick the lesser of two evils!

The alchemists of Magic Forest Hut continued their extravagance, justified in their logic.

A group of vampires that had been hiding in ambush in the darkness of the caves for a long time cursed in annoyance.

They'd seen cowards, but they'd never seen such cowardly ones!

These sackless piece-of-shit adepts. What else could they do aside from summoning some elementium servants?

Soros furiously cursed as he led several Second Grade vampires to hide in the shadows at the top of the cave.

The enemy's advance was too slow and too cautious. That undoubtedly made it impossible for the vampires to ambush them. The narrow and hard tunnels made advancing difficult for the enemy, but it also made it difficult for the vampires to ambush them.

With no choice left to him, Soros could only send a secret message to Gargamel and have him recall some of the Archers to weaken the resistance in the first half of the cave. It finally allowed the alchemist adepts to enter the underground hall that they had chosen as their place of ambush.

The enemies were retreating step by step. Though the price they paid for this was expensive, victory was in sight, wasn't it?

The enemies in the underground hall had been disposed of. It was only now that the Magic Forest Hut alchemists entered the next hall and started inspecting the area.

The thirteen First Grade adepts formed several groups. Some focused on summoning offensive elementium servants to storm into the following tunnels, while others summoned powerful high-grade earth elementals to reconfigure the geography of the hall and create better conditions for the main force.

Though plenty of elementium servants had died in battle, there was still an uncountable number of voodoo beasts and summoned creatures gathered around the alchemists.

The alchemist adept's concerns for their own safety had truly reached unbelievable degrees!

It was already the second stone hall they had taken over.

Much like the previous one, they swept away what they needed to and cleaned what they had to. There were also a few adepts who were mainly responsible for ensuring the safety of the tunnels.

Several scanning waves of various elementium attributes swept across the stone hall, over and over. They did not sense the existence of any life forms or strange creatures. It was only now that the alchemists let down their guards and turned their attention to the attack and exploration of the underground tunnels to come.

Just above the alchemists, in a spot they couldn't see, something was happening. It was a natural dent in the ceiling of the stone hall. There, a fist-sized stone carved full of strange patterns moved, revealing a narrow space behind it.

Four vampires that had transformed into their bat forms climbed out of the space and hung upside down in the shadows. They narrowed their crimson eyes and silently looked at the busy alchemists below.

These small stone spaces had been carefully dug out by the goblins. The stones sealing their entrances had even been carved with mysterious runes meant to obscure detection and hide auras. That was what allowed them to hide from the alchemists' spiritual scans and magical probing.

Now, they were only waiting; waiting for a signal to strike from the tower.

When that happened, it would be time for them to go all out and slaughter the damned enemies below!

…………

Inside Magma Hall.

Rows of neatly ordered Archers stood in silence as they waited for combat orders from the tower.

Mary, dressed in her skintight crimson armor, stood proudly on the spot. She was listening to the explosions coming from the tunnels. Through all these loud sounds, Mary's special hearing senses managed to filter and recognize the supersonic signals mixed within.

"The enemies have walked into the trap! Tell the defense party to counterattack!"

After coldly giving out an order, Mary transformed into a palm-sized bat and quickly flew into the tunnels.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry…give out the order for all Archers to immediately counterattack."

Manticore Leader Charon immediately chased after Mary and gave out the order.

The crimson bat that was Mary was like a flash of red lightning in these tunnels. She quickly glided through the dark underground space. Mary passed right by the magical machines in the tunnels and headed straight for someplace in the distance.

Her appearance was like a signal for the attack that was quickly being sent out. The eyes of the Archers waiting in the tunnels lit up as they snapped out of their defense and security modes. They transformed into their humanoid combat forms once again as they strode after Mary and charged toward the upper levels.

In the blink of an eye, Mary arrived at the underground hall where the battle was raging on.

Three Archers and twelve adept-level elementium servants were clashing with each other. Two magical machine remnants rested in the corner of the battlefield, along with several times more corpses of magical creatures.

Mary's sudden appearance undoubtedly drew the attention of both parties engaged in combat, but Mary seemed unaware of their gazes. She didn't seem to care about the battle happening below her. She passed straight by the fighting creatures and dove into the tunnel behind them.

It was a powerful Second Grade adept!

It was that vampire adept on the list!

The alchemists who were observing the battle from afar with projection spells let out a gasp simultaneously.

Dammit! That scary Second Grade vampire was headed straight for them!

"What are you scared of? It's just her alone, and there's so many of us here. There's no need to be afraid of one vampire." Second Grade Roy lectured his subordinates, and the alchemists finally calmed down.

"Have the voodoo beasts and elementium servants seal her path of retreat. We will surround and kill her here!"

As Roy shouted, the adepts promptly gave the orders to their servants, and a temporary perimeter was hastily put together.

When the colorful magical potions exploded, Mary's lightning-like silhouette appeared at the end of the hall.

"Tremble, weaklings, for I will bring death to your side!"

Mary let out her battlecry and lunged at the enemy before her.

She quickly locked onto the leader of the Magic Forest Hut, dressed in the most extravagant clothes and holding his composure- Second Grade Alchemist Adept Roy.

The battle erupted in an instant!

Chapter Notes:

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