Age of Adepts

Greem’s expression didn’t change when he heard Gloria’s battlecry, but his heart slowly sank.

He was already at his limits at this point of the battle. Mary wasn’t doing much better, either.

More importantly, the shockwaves from their battle had caused much of Nightmare Castle to collapse. Their home field advantage was slowly slipping away.

Meanwhile, Gloria’s injuries……

Despite all the tricks and techniques at his disposal, Greem was unable to find out Gloria’s condition through the purple mist. However, judging from the information provided by the Chip, Gloria wasn’t entirely unscathed, despite how much she was trying to appear to be.

Her current forcefulness might only be a front meant to force Greem and Mary to compromise!

However, even that was only conjecture.

If his conjecture were wrong, then the consequence that came after would be so terrifying that Greem refused to even think about it.

As the three of them prepared for another round of fighting, two fearsome auras arose simultaneously from the southwest and the north. These auras were gradually moving toward the battlefield.

A third party.

The three of them were both surprised and couldn’t help but look toward the distance.

With the aid of the Chip, Greem was able to record the soul fluctuation and energy aura of any individual he had met before. There was no way of eluding his detection.

Greem narrowed his eyes and sensed the spiritual pressure pressing in from a distance. Soon, he figured out the identity of the newcomers.

The aura from the southwest was unfamiliar to him, while the aura from the north clearly belonged to Death Witch Leader Khesuna. If that was the case, then the individual approaching from the southwest should belong to the Silver Union.

If they were appearing at the same time, they must have been watching the battle all this while and finally coome to a conclusion before showing themselves.

What exactly was it that they wanted?

The same question arose in Gloria’s mind, as well.

As members of the three major organizations, it was common for them to get in each other’s way and break out into fights. However, the fact that these newcomers dared to intervene in a battle between ultra-powerhouses meant that they were not ordinary people either.

Gloria was much more familiar and acquainted with the powerhouses of the other organizations. She identified the newcomers the moment their auras appeared.

It was Mechanical Adept Stephen that had come from the Silver Union, while the Northern Witches had sent Death Witch Leader Khesuna. W. Without a doubt, the two of them were among the most powerful ultra-powerhouses of their organizations.

If a fight were to break out at this moment, Gloria had confidence in defeating Mechanical Adept Stephen; she was much less confident with Khesuna.

Khesuna was an ultra-powerhouse who had made a name for herself hundreds of years earlier than her, after all. She possessed a fearsome army of undead at her command. Even someone as powerful as Gloria had to think carefully before engaging an opponent like that. It would be incredibly frustrating and upsetting to be defeated at the hands of Khesuna’s undead army.

With the intervention of these two people, there was no way the battle today could proceed!

Gloria grunted and slowly flew away from the Nightmare Castle, cutting across the sky toward the eastern horizon. She didn’t even glance at Greem or Mary when she left. The two of them did not stop Gloria from leaving, either.

The reason for it was simple. Gloria’s power made them incredibly wary!

Given where the fight had been heading, Gloria seemed to retain power enough to defeat Greem and Mary forcefully. She was only retreating because of the intervention of the two newcomers.

This understanding was a massive blow to Greem’s confidence. He finally gained a better glimpse into the depths of the might of the three major organizations. It was not something that he alone could hope to rival.

All the successful battles in the past few months weren’t so much him succeeding in intimidating the major organizations. Rather, it was the major organizations keeping each other in check that had provided him with the opportunity and time to deal with the Central Lands.

He was indeed quite powerful, but that was only relative to the Central Lands!

If any of the three major organizations were to march into the Central Lands freely, Greem would have no option but to flee the Central Lands or hide back in his clan.

“Why don’t you show yourselves and let us have a talk now that you are here, my esteemed guests!” Scarlet light flickered from Greem’s body as he transmitted a mental message into the distance.

“Hmph! I have no interest in souring the mood where that madwoman is. If you are interested, come seek me at Paradise House!” Having said that, the aura from the southwest was retracted and vanished into the distance.

Khesuna was much more straightforward and showed herself without any hesitation.

The terrifying figure of a gargantuan creature appeared on the top of a hill on the distant horizon. It beat its massive wings and arrived above the Nightmare Castle like a raging storm.

The winds had arrived before they had!

Death Witch Khesuna stood upon a mighty ice dragon. The dragon’s scales were dull and lightless, its body covered in sharp bone spikes and icicles. There wasn’t much flesh left on the dragon’s body. Its scales clung to its bony frame, and gray mist lingered on its long head.

Two terrifying soulfires burned silently in its empty sockets. They gave no feeling of warmth; they caused a terrifying chill to rise in the hearts of anyone that stared into the dragon’s eyes.

It was an undead dragon that possessed the ice and death attributes!

If Lich Kanganas had laid eyes upon this undead dragon, he would undoubtedly leap up in excitement. That was because this undead dragon was perfectly compatible with his soul origin. If he could have the dragon as his subordinate, the Reliquary would help it grow into an even more powerful and terrifying undead dragon.

The undead dragon was over forty meters in length and larger than Arms. Judging from the fearsome frost and death aura it radiated, it was far more powerful than Greem.

At this moment, Khesuna was standing on the head of this powerful undead dragon, silently sizing up Greem and the beaten-up Mary.

Khesuna was a powerful Death Witch of the ultra-powerhouse level who had made her name a long time ago.

She was not ugly. Quite the contrary, there was an indescribable beauty to her. She had white and smooth skin, a delicate but cold face, silver hair tied behind her head, and intricate leather armor on her body.

It was hard to tell she was an old witch nearly a thousand years old just from her appearance, let alone believe that she was the leader of the large branch of Death Witches.

However, when she stood proudly atop the Fourth Grade ice dragon and glared at everything with her cold and merciless gaze, everyone could feel her terrifying might as an ultra-powerhouse. Her piercing spiritual pressure, combined with the ice dragon’s chilling aura of might, made for a frightening experience.

Greem and Mary’s hearts trembled. They got closer to each other and combined their powers, barely able to endure the spiritual pressure weighing on them.

“Greem…who would’ve thought we would meet again!” Khesuna said calmly. Her tone was cold, but there seemed to be some sort of emotion behind it.

It was no wonder that even Khesuna couldn’t help feel something at their reunion. Greem had only been a puny Second Grade who could barely stand in her presence the last time they had met. Yet now, he had grown and matured, becoming an ultra-powerhouse who could talk to her as ‘equals.’

It was no wonder that Khesuna felt like this!

Two hundred years. What could be done in the span of just two hundred years? Increase one’s Spirit by another 1 or 2 points? Improve by one minor grade? Anyone who could accomplish such feats could already be considered prodigies amongst the Fourth Grades.

Yet, this man before her had gone from Second Grade to Fourth Grade in two hundred years. Now, he led the Central Lands as an ultra-powerhouse with mighty fire powers. This transformation was shocking, even for someone with Khesuna’s power and status.

Moreover, this male adept had even come into contact with the principle powers. That…that was progress that even Khesuna envied tremendously!

Greem didn’t dare show any pride or rudeness before this infamous Death Witch. He hastily nodded and acknowledged, “I have only accomplished what I now have due to Lady Khesuna’s care in the past. I, Greem, thank Lady Khesuna sincerely!”

There was no need to respond to a smile with a slap.

Since Greem had already lowered himself so humbly, Khesuna couldn’t quite put forth forceful and unreasonable behavior.

She silently retracted her spiritual pressure and said softly to Greem, “Who would’ve thought…truly, who would have…? I had already overestimated your powers as much as I could before I came here, but I never expected you would have managed to force Gloria into a corner like this. Not bad! It was quite enjoyable to watch!”

Greem could only smile bitterly in response to Khesuna’s praise.

He was already completely exhausted, and Mary was badly injured. The Nightmare Castle had also been torn to pieces. In all honesty, even if this battle could be considered a victory, it was a brutal victory!

The Crimson Clan had almost exhausted all its resources in this one battle alone!

Khesuna couldn’t help but chuckle coldly when she saw Greem’s expression.

“If you aren’t satisfied with yourself having brought the battle to such a standstill, I can only say you don’t know Gloria well enough. It’s about time you properly investigate Gloria.”

Greem nodded at Khesuna’s advice.

As a newly risen force, they were far inferior to the major organizations when it came to information.

For an infamous ultra-powerhouse of the Adept’s Association like Gloria, the Crimson Clan should already have started collecting information. With this experience behind them, Greem was sure to develop targeted means of dealing with her the next time they met.

“Since Lady Khesuna is already here, we can’t exactly leave her hanging out here in the wind!” Mary, who had been healing her wounds, finally spoke up. “The Nightmare Castle is a little tattered, but it should still have no problem hosting a guest. Please, Lady Khesuna, let us talk in the castle!”

Having said that, Mary was the first to fly into the Nightmare Castle.