Age of Adepts

This place was a peaceful and harmonious elven town.

Unlike the human towns, which thrived on trade, elven towns were locations meant to provide warriors of nearby villages with opportunities for interaction and training.

Unlike the humans, even a young elf would possess exceptional archery skills and decent close combat skills with a sword. However, most elves preferred the arts, favoring music, dance, flower arrangment and the like. As such, most refused to become combat professionals.

As free and easygoing forest elves, they could develop in whichever direction they so chose. No one could interfere with their free will.

However, the leaders of the elven kingdom wanted to avoid the elves being excessively self-absorbed. That would cause the military reserves of the entire elven race to be too relaxed. As such, they founded town-scale training facilities such as Jintha’Alor outside of the very common elven villages.

Elven villages located around Jintha’Alor had to send their most excellent warriors and all elves that had come of age to this town for training on a yearly basis. The former would all advance to combat professions and be drafted into the armies of the elven kingdom. The latter was more of a militia training so as not to let these young elves completely abandon and waste the traditional archery skills with which the elves had established themselves.

That was why Jintha’Alor was ten to a hundred times more powerful than the surrounding villages when it came to the elites they possessed.

Some of the elites that finished their training would join the proud elven army, while some who couldn’t give up on their hometowns would return and join their local garrisons. Both options strengthened and increased the pwoer of the elven kingdom.

Jintha’Alor was built upon a gentle hill. Training facilities could be seen everywhere on the hill from the base to the very top, from the very inside to the outside. The contents of the training covered most possible job advancements.

Of course, a small elven tribe of three to four hundred elves also lived in Jintha’Alor. They were not combat professions and were simply elf civilians. Their main reason for staying in Jintha’Alor was to provide logistics for the elven warriors who came to train.

Jintha’Alor was only a training facility in the border areas of the elven kingdom, after all. There usually wouldn’t be more than two hundred elites training here at a time. A similar training facility in the central mountains would easily see over ten thousand elites gather together to train and socialize.

As a standard training facility, Jintha’Alor also possessed a set amount of pegasi, hippogryphs, and chimeras. However, they were mostly used as training mounts. Usually, Jintha’Alor’s defenses and security wholly relied upon the flower fairies and the more powerful green spirits, both of whom were skilled at stealth.

Nature creatures that were allied with the elves were abundant in the forest surrounding Jintha’Alor. The flower fairies would pick up on any commotion from them, even if it were the slightest blow of the wind. These palm-sized flower fairies that could hide within blooming flowers or behind large tree leaves were the best scouts of the elves.

No enemy could silently sneak into an elven settlement while they were there.

It was because of all these advantages that the elves believed themselves to be completely safe as long as they hid within the forest!

The elves didn’t believe anyone could cross hundreds of kilometers of the forest to assault them as long as they were on their home ground within the Great Fantasy Forest upon which they grew and lived. Consequently, the security of Jintha’Alor was even looser and more relaxed than the elven villages by the shore.

It was currently the afternoon when the sun was at its brightest.

The hardworking silhouettes of the elven elites could be seen everywhere upon the rugged hill of Jintha’Alor.

Down on the blade dancer fields, surrounded by battle cries and the clashing of weapons, elven warriors bared their chests covered in confusing elven tattoos and swung their shining elven sabers around with both hands. They formed pairs and were engaging in duels.

Further up on a different platform was the archery range for the elven archers. The enthusiastic cheers of young elves would break out occasionally. Claps and cheers would arise whenever one of their companions stuck an arrow in the bullseye of the target with a fancy archery technique.

There was also a pegasus and hippogryph training ground on the slope of the hill. All of the youths who wanted to become elven knights would cautiously climb up the backs of the pegasi and hippogryphs before being taken into the skies as they screamed out their lungs.

Behind the hill was where the Druid Conclave gathered.

Young druid gathered there to listen to the teachings of the druid elders, trying their best to learn the heart of nature. However, most of the time, they would leave the camp and enter the wondrous Great Fantasy Forest. There they would eat and stay with those nature magical creatures, learning their behavior and personalities through such a method.

They druids learned their Wild Transformation through such observations and copying.

Most druids would even successfully recruit a powerful magical creature as their animal companion after a great deal of interaction and living alongside them. This way, when they stepped upon the battlefield once again, a strong and reliable partner would be at their side, charging and fighting with them.

…………

High in the cloud layers where the flying ship was cruising.

The weather today was simply too excellent. Most of the clouds were too light and thin. The flying ship had to be extremely careful not to expose its massive metallic body.

The various witches were standing by the sides of the ship, using their different methods to spy on everything happening in Jintha’Alor beneath them.

Sinister and chilling smiles appeared on their faces as they watched the energetic and youthful bodies move. Truly, they were a bunch of unsuspecting and fearless fools! They didn’t seem to have realized that their kingdom, their very home, was on the brink of war and that they had become prey in someone’s eyes.

While they arrogantly absorbed themselves in the fictional happiness and safety they had created for themselves, the beast of war had already opened its fanged jaw and was preparing to swallow them in one fell swoop.

”Deserra, you bring five Archers with you and set up an ambush to the south of Jintha’Alor. Dana, you bring your tribesmen and seal off the west. Unguja, guard the east properly with your fiendhounds. Snowlotus, take two Fate Witches with you and watch over the north. Everyone else; attack Jintha’Alor at the same time. We will try and throw the ranks of the elves into disorder at the very start of the fight.

”The main force of the battle will be the combat machines. Tigule, you bring fifty magical machines with you and lead the charge at the very front. Scatter all elves that try to form up. You don’t need to worry about the extermination and capturing that comes after. Just charge to the hilltop with all you have.

”Sofia, you lead the remaining Fate Witches and follow after Tigule. You guys are responsible for the second charge.

”Zacha and I will be responsible for clearing away the Second Grade creatures and powerhouses.

”Endor, you need to complete the poisoning before the fight starts.

”As for you noble Dark Witches, you can kill and slaughter as you like. There’s no need to be bound by any of our plans.

”How about it? Lady Uzzah, are you satisfied with these arrangements?”

Greem quickly gave out all the combat orders to the participants of the battle.

Even though they were slightly dissatisfied that a male adept was so proudly arranging all the combat matters in front of their faces, the Dark Witches still betrayed satisfied smiles upon hearing these plans. Witch Uzzah replied with a chilling laugh, ”Don’t worry, male adept. Once the battle starts, we Dark Witches will definitely not be dragging you down.

”Sisters, it seems someone still doesn’t believe in our power. Bring out your ferocity and power later. Let these foolish male adepts all go to hell.”

Uzzah’s arrogant speech immediately drew cold laughter out of all the Dark Witches. These sinister-looking witches in black robes all took out their staffs and scrolls and started equipping themselves.

The flying ship was now slowly drifting toward the skies above Jintha’Alor. With a single order from Greem, magical energy surged around the massive metal ship, and several energy fields and defensive forcefields were erected around it. The vessel then quickly descended toward the town.

It was hard to ignore it when such a large object pushed past the clouds and abruptly appear before your eyes while reflecting the blinding sunlight with its metallic structure.

From the uneven training grounds and platforms of Jintha’Alor, many elves noticed the abnormality in the sky. They raised their hands to block out the light and get a better look.

Just as they were murmuring and wondering about the identity of this suddenly appearing object, countless black dots emerged around the quickly descending ship. These dots flew toward the surroundings of Jintha’Alor.

The outer blockade squads had set off!

”Endor, the poison!” Greem solemnly spoke.

Endor was currently sitting crossed-legged upon an empty spot of the deck. Twisting and winding magical runes covered the floor around her. Pale green halos would occasionally rise from the ring of magical runes as Dense, almost solid-state green smoke was trapped within the array.

”Lord Greem, I need to borrow your Spirit of Pestilence for a moment!” Poison Hag Endor took out a black poison capsule from somewhere, crushed it, and threw it into the array. Meanwhile, she smiled and looked at Greem.

Greem didn’t reply. He merely patted his waist, and the magical tome suspended there with a silver chain flashed with a green light. A strange, green, and palm-sized puppet floated out into the air.

This doll had eyes, ears, a mouth, and a nose. It also had limbs. Its wooden body was also carved full of odd runes.

A compassionate smile appeared on the usually sinister face of Endor when she saw the Spirit of Pestilence. The Spirit of Pestilence also flashed and appeared in her hands, constantly calling out ’Grandma,’ ’Grandma.’

”Poison attribute magical golem?” Uzzah also saw this happen. She turned and looked at Greem, ”Brat, I didn’t think you knew something about poison as well. Guess you can go and seduce a Death Witch once we return.”

Greem couldn’t be bothered with this person who had never liked male adepts. He simply ordered with a serious tone, ”Do it, Endor!”

Poison Hag Endor acknowledged the order and sent the Spirit of Pestilence into the magical ring with a wicked smile on her face.

The next second, a horrifying scene instantly appeared in the skies above Jintha’Alor.