Age of Adepts

Reinforcements for the lumber mill camp arrived by dawn.

Three hundred and seventy-eight goblin warriors sat on tamed mounts known as hawkstriders. They traversed a distance of fifty kilometers at surprising speed and quickly arrived at the lumber mill camp. What came with them was a Goblin Zeppelin, three Goblin Tanks, and twelve Magic Mechas that were larger and more powerful than the goblin shredders.

The goblin zeppelin looked just like a wooden sailboat flying in the blue sky, only with copper plates placed all over the body of the ship itself. The reason the zeppelin could float wasn’t due to some supernatural power. Rather, it was because of a giant leather balloon filled with some mysterious gas.

The goblins had drawn a colorful shark on the floating balloon to make the zeppelin look cooler. They used metal chains to tie the balloon to the ship itself. This way, the goblin zeppelin was able to use the lift from the balloons to fly freely in the sky.

Moreover, apart from transporting things, the blimp also had four or five powerful magic cannons. Consequently, it also possessed air-to-ground offense.

Goblin tanks, on the other hand, were no more than metallic chariots that had been outfitted with magic cannons. The four wide metallic wheels were two meters tall, but the insides of the thick and heavy chariot had limited space. Only three goblins could fit in it at any one time.

A goblin tank captain, a cannoneer, and a watchman.

It might not have been able to fit many goblins in it, but its tough metal shell and powerful cannons still made it a terrifying magical construct that was not to be underestimated.

However, the core power of the goblin land corps was still the twelve magic mechas.

The magic mechas looked like metallic golems that were six meters tall. They possessed a head, a torso, and four limbs, just like humans did. Unlike the goblin shredder, magic mechas were complete-cover combat constructs. The goblin mechanics that operated them were hidden within the thick, wide bodies. The logging robots were only semi-cover construction machines. To make it easier for the goblins to see their surroundings, they did not have an upper body as the magic mechas did. Only an open operating platform remained atop the chest of the machine.

That was why goblins that operated the logging robots were easily subjected to long-range enemy attacks, while no such problem existed for the magic mechas.

Such a large goblin land corps suddenly flooded the small lumber mill camp, instantly turning the place into a lively and noisy place.

The incidents happening in this location naturally couldn’t escape the eyes of Billis’ flying scouts. That was why Billis once again snuck close to the goblin camp fifteen minutes later. He spied on the commotion from a distance.

He didn’t wait long. An hour later, a group of goblins with extremely recognizable outfits boarded the goblin zeppelin floating above the canopy. The camp that had gone quiet started to bustle once more.

With the zeppelin at the center, the three tanks and twelve mechas arranged themselves in a line and charged into the forest like an unstoppable steel chariot.

The goblin tanks continuously fired as they advanced. Magic fireballs consistently shot out of the mouths of the magic cannons. The magic fireballs caused tremendous explosions wherever they landed. A violent flame shockwave would also follow.

Even the massive trees couldn’t endure the explosion of a magic fireball at close range.

As the goblin tanks fired while advancing, the forest in front of the land corps was set ablaze. Splinters flew everywhere. One after another, the ancient trees toppled amid the sound of agonizing creaking. They were then shoved to a side by the logging robots.

Squads of goblin warriors on hawkstriders followed behind the tanks, the shredders, and the mechas. They rode on the tall back of the hawkstriders and held goblin guns in their hands. If they discovered any commotion in the forest, they would immediately shower the location with a rain of bullets without a second word.

The wild chickens, jaguars, and goats that lived in the bushes became the most tragic victims of their actions. They were shocked into running by the deafening report of the magic cannons. However, they were shredded to pieces by the metal bullets the moment they emerged from the forest.

Their blood and flesh soaked the black soil of the woods. Before the blood could even seep into the ground, large metallic feet stomped into the earth. When the feet lifted up, pools of sticky and disgusting meat paste had appeared in between the field and the bottom of their feet.

What were the goblins intending on doing?

Could they… could they actually be thinking of razing the entire forest?

Billis’ gaze fell upon the army of steel through the trees. Even though they were just a group of weak goblins, the murderous aura they possessed when hidden inside those massive and hardy machines made even Billis concerned about the difficulty.

The offensive power of the guns in the hands of the goblins was only thirty points, which was approximately the same as an attack from a beginner apprentice in the World of Adepts. On the other hand, those randomly bombarding magic cannons had energy attacks up to seventy points. This strength reached the levels of pseudo-adepts.

Such attacks would usually not be able to threaten a bug adept like Billis. However, regardless of how minor the damage was, there was no resisting their sizeable numbers. If Billis appeared within range of the land corps’ attacks, their focus fire could severely wound his immortal body of bugs.

His immortal body of bugs didn’t truly make him immortal. Billis was merely relying on the separation of his bug body to split the damage he would have to take indirectly. That was why every wound he suffered meant that part of his body of bugs would fall apart and disintegrate, taking the damage dealt along with it.

As the vanguard chosen for the planar invasion, his master Greem had also granted him with a Rune of Berserk. That allowed the bug soldiers under his command to wield a burst of combat strength twice that of their original power for a short time. However, these bugs would only wildly attack the enemies around Billis during this berserk period. They would not listen to Billis’ remote commands.

That was a bit of a shame!

That was why Billis’ mission priority was to stay hidden, investigate, and wait for incoming reinforcements, as opposed to foolishly storming up against the local natives.

As a result, Billis could only lead his bug soldiers back into the depths of the forest when he discovered the actions of the goblins. He made his way towards Beta Town in a roundabout fashion.

General Bezzek of the Seventh Goblin Land Corps stood high above on the goblin zeppelin, a hundred meters in the air. He led a group of officers as they leaned against the side of the ship, sweeping through the forest with telescopes in their hands.

It was beating the grass to alert the snake. The violent and ferocious attacks had turned this forest into a sea of flames. They were trying to use this method to force the terrifying intruder out of hiding. What awaited the enemy that was exposed before the steel army of the goblins was a storm of magic fireballs.

However, sadly, they couldn’t find any traces of the strange bug, even after thoroughly ravaging the forest. Instead, they had delivered plenty of collateral damage in the form of woodland beasts.

Even those incomparably savage black bears and apes could not hope to pass through that dense rain of bullets.

How the green goblins had managed to become the rulers of this plane was evident from their expert machine operation and their powerful machine weaponry.

When the plane itself lacked sufficient magical elementium, the quantity and quality of the magical creatures could not threaten the goblin tribes. The green goblins were then able to lean on their excellent engineering and alchemical knowledge to use various magical machines in a variety of ways. That was how they had become the masters of the plane.

Ordinary creatures that lacked supernatural powers had no means to fight back against them. It didn’t matter whether they were barbarians, trolls, humans, or other intelligent lifeforms. They could only bow before the goblin warriors and their guns and obey their every whim. They became the lowest slaves that helped the goblins dig their mines and manage their gardens.

As for civilizations; in this plane, there was only the goblin civilization. The other cultures had all been shattered into shards of civilization amid the sounds of rumbling fireball explosions. They had all been buried in the flood of history that crashed forward.

By relying on their powerful magical machines, the goblins that had always been known to be weak and foolish had turned the tables. They became the masters and placed the other races far below them to be humiliated as they wished.

An indescribable pride and excitement filled the heart of General Bezzek as he looked upon the unchallenged advance of the goblin land corps below. If he wasn’t a hundred meters in the air, he might not have been able to resist the urge to pull out his copper handcannon and fire a few shots into the air.

However, his reservedness as a goblin noble allowed him to suppress the bubbling emotions inside him. He turned and frowned at Uldum, who was beside him, ”Hey, country brat. Where’s that intruder you spoke of? Could they all have hidden underground out of fear? You confidently claimed that they were near the camp. What about now? Where are they?”

As the only goblin army in a five hundred kilometer radius, General Bezzek’s status in the Karlmek area was uncontested. Moreover, this Seventh Goblin Land Corps led by General Bezzek had experienced over a hundred battles, culling several slave rebellion armies.

That was why there were several rows of delicate badges of honor on his well-ironed military uniform.

Each of these badges had all been dyed red with the fresh blood of hundreds and thousands of slaves!

Uldum had no choice but to put on an apologetic smile and bow when he heard General Bezzek’s confrontational questioning, ”Lord Bezzek, it must be because your army is simply too powerful, causing them to ru… ”

Uldum’s voice stopped before he could finish. His pair of beady green eyes opened wide as he stared into the distance behind Bezzek.

A large could of black smoke rose into the air from the distant horizon. One could vaguely make out the smoldering flames that reached the sky. The place where the black smoke rose from was Beta Town!

”Beta Town. My Beta Town… ” Uldum lamented in agony.