Age of Adepts

The introduction of the bloodline package instantly created a massive uproar within the Crimson Clan.

The package was split into three tiers– low, intermediate, and advanced.

Low-tier bloodline packages would only assimilate the bloodline of monsters and magical creatures, allowing the modified adept to possess some degree of unusual magic. Moreover, only intermediate and advanced tier packages could improve an adept’s power and let those who had reached a dead-end a chance to reach for the next grade.

The price of these packages matched their value– so despairingly high!

Even the lowest tier of bloodline packages required a minimum of twenty thousand contribution points, while the most sought-after intermediate-tier packages required fifty thousand contribution points.

However, on the clan’s mission list, the contribution points obtained by a First Grade adept through being stationed at an outpost or resource site only clocked in at three hundred points a year. The daily clan activities such as patrolling, hunting, potion brewing, or crafting only usually awarded a hundred points or so.

As such, the only way for most clan adepts to accumulate sufficient contribution points before the end of their lives was probably war.

Like all adept clans, the Crimson Clan’s rewards for participating in planar wars and adept wars was the most bountiful. They easily awarded three to four thousand points.

It also caused an unstoppable wave of requests for war within the Crimson Clan.

Greem, Mary, Alice, and few of the core adepts gathered together to have a discussion. They quickly came up with a feasible combat operation.

The various forces of the World of Adepts were intertwined in sophisticated relationships. Attempts to initiate a war here would very likely lead to the escalation of a conflict that could not be halted. Meanwhile, the Goblin Plane was entirely at peace; there was no need to stir any trouble there. As such, after some selection, the most suitable place for war had to be Lance.

After a few decades of expansion and development, the Crimson Clan had established themselves firmly in Lance. As long as multiple Fourth Grade dragons didn’t show up in the worst-case scenario, the Capital of Eternity was an indestructible steel fortress that could fend off the invasion of any number of dragons.

Over the past few decades, the Crimson Clan had remained subtle and low-profile in their excavation of Lance’s resources. That was to avoid backlash from the dragon lords. Even when they hunted dragons, they did it as secretly as possible, very rarely conducting an open invasion into their lands.

This time, Greem intended to go for a big one. He set his sights on the closest Fourth Grade dragon lord to the Capital of Eternity– Amethyst Dragon Toril.

The lair of this Fourth Grade amethyst dragon lay within Crystal Valley, twenty-three thousand kilometers northwest of the Capital. The forces that Greem organized would have to pass through multiple dragon territories to arrive there. There were a total of twenty-three First Grade dragons, seven Second Grade dragons, and two Third Grade dragons.

It was truly a difficult journey, laced with danger at every turn.

However, the Crimson Clan would have to pay the price if they wished to remove those annoying Fourth Grade dragons that clung onto the plane like stubborn nails.

The Crimson Clan might not have dared to provoke these Fourth Grade dragons ten years ago. However, with the introduction of the Fourth Grade metal golem dragon into the ranks of the Crimson Clan, they were confident. The dragon was also now outfitted with many magic energy cannons, and its ability was at the level of an average Fourth Grade creature.

That was the main reason why Greem dared to challenge a Fourth Grade dragon!

Greem also intended to take this opportunity to comb through the core fighting force of the clan to select individuals with potential for further grooming.

The announcement of this Lance expedition immediately drove the Crimson adepts to sign up eagerly. Those who were troubled by their lack of contribution points hastily hurried to the Capital of Eternity to join the expedition. All of their past fears of planar wars were swept away.

For a moment, nearly sixty percent of all elite Crimson adepts had gathered in the Capital of Eternity, making the scale of this expedition larger and larger by the day!

Year 32,889 of the Era of Adepts. The eleventh day of the sixth month of the year.

Seventeen days after the war order was issued, the expedition army at the Capital of Eternity finally set off.

The giant metal gates on the west side of the Capital slowly moved apart with grinding metallic sounds and clanking chains, revealing a massive, towering giant made entirely out of metal.

It appeared to be a fifteen-meter-tall, thirty-meter-long giant metal dragon.

It had two pairs of thick and firm metal legs beneath it, and its giant metal head gleamed with the cold blue light of magical metal under the sun. It dragged a ten-meter-long tail of steel behind it, filled with spikes and nails as if it was a morningstar.

When a steel dragon like this stepped forward and rumbled onward, the entire earth seemed to tremble slightly. The four metal legs left giant craters three meters in diameter and one meter deep whenever they landed.

Naturally, the massive expedition army would not just consist of such a steel dragon. Over a hundred goblin chariots followed around the dragon, like soldiers surrounding their general, charging into the distance in perfect formation.

Meanwhile, a silver Mothership silently hovered above the clouds and the army, surrounded by three to four dozen smaller, more agile goblin ships. Even further away from the Mothership, over a hundred eyeball combat machines wove about, diving into the bushes, the forest, and the swamps as scouts.

Every time they discovered a danger zone, they summoned a goblin ship and purged the area with goblin rockets and a barrage of energy beams.

It didn’t matter what had initially hidden there. Whatever it was, it would be riddled with holes and be of no threat to the army.

It was this three-dimensional scouting force that brought about disaster for the native creatures and lookouts in the path of the expedition army. They lost their insignificant little lives before they could understand what had happened.

Of course, with how large of a scale the army was, the more powerful native creatures fled at the very sight of them, as long as they weren’t complete idiots.

Greem and the other adepts resided in the Mothership above and could see the countless beasts and magical creatures emerge from their lairs in a panic. The creatures gathered into a massive swarm and fled toward the distant horizon.

The golem dragon was the slowest creature of the entire expedition, but even it moved at a decent fifty kilometers an hour. The vanguard chariots would always stop after pulling ahead to wait for the big guy behind.

Meanwhile, Greem and the higher-ups remained in the Mothership, making their own preparations as the party slowly advanced.

For this expedition, the Crimson Clan had mobilized one Fourth Grade magical machine golem dragon, one hundred and two goblin chariots, one Mothership, forty-five goblin flying ships, and one thousand one hundred and seventy magical machines. Those were only the combat machines. The Crimson Clan had also mobilized all of their combat personnel.

Third Grade: Greem, Mary, Thunder Dragon Arms, and Emerald Dragon Iritina.

Second Grade: Alice, Gru, Billis, Zacha, Tigule, Oliven, two blood knights, three blood elves, and seven green dragons.

The rest were sixty-seven First Grade adepts and three hundred and twenty-six apprentices.

Apart from these fighters, there were also two hundred and fifty-seven goblin pilots and technicians.

Naturally, the procession of such a vast army raised a commotion wherever they went, sending all manners of creatures fleeing in panic. Somehow, a small stampede had formed in front of the procession!

Adepts interested in the magical creatures and the natural environment boarded the goblin ships and spread out in dozens of kilometers of the army to search for samples and increase their collection. It was unavoidable that conflicts between native beings and magical creatures occurred during this process.

Every ship was accompanied by five to ten magical machines and equipped with three magic energy cannons. It was more than enough firepower to raze an ordinary enemy. If they ran into powerful magical creatures, the adepts would quickly send out magical messages to the army behind them.

Thus, even more adepts and goblin ships gathered to drown the enemy with ferocious firepower.

Most of the native magical creatures might have tremendous power, but they lacked the ability to fly.

They were no more than moving targets in front of the goblin ships, unable to escape the pursuit of the adepts even if they ran until they frothed at the mouth.

One magical creature after another that had been beaten within an inch of their lives were transported back to the Mothership. All sorts of magical plants with special traits were also collected and pocketed by the adepts.

Adepts who excelled at brewing potions or creating voodoo beasts also became extremely busy with work in the cabins of the Mothership. Though the army already had a large number of magical machines as cannon fodder, a few more voodoo beasts would also be a cheap means of reinforcement.

After such a brazen march and raid of the lands, the expedition party finally arrived in the territory of their first target after two days.

It was the province of a small First Grade dragon. It stretched for approximately a hundred kilometers and had two small cities and a dozen native villages within its area.

Sadly, the eyeball machines sent to the Steelback Mountain where the First Grade dragon lived revealed that the dragon had already fled. Even its crude lair had been emptied thoroughly. Not even a single gold coin could be found.

This situation undoubtedly left Gru, who had planned their marching route, in an awkward position. He could only curse and swear at the spinelessness of these dragons.

In truth, they couldn’t exactly fault this small dragon.

The adepts’ expedition army was so large and yet so audacious. The dragon lords would have heard news of their arrival even if they had practically no means of information and were the biggest sloths in the world. The dragon lords typically had many other flying scouts as subordinates apart from the dragonborn.

These scouts would be able to figure out the might of this massive army if they probed about a little.

Would a mere First Grade dragon lord dare to fight against a powerful adept army that had emerged from the Capital of Eternity? Dragons were not stupid. Of course, they would flee as quickly as they could.