Age of Adepts

There were simply too many types of demons.

In the World of Adepts alone, they had several hundred tomes and books dedicated to the recording and illustration of the various abyssal demons. Even so, the adepts still had a hard time differentiating the demons at times.

However, this new demon was clearly no small fry. He was a fearsome higher demon- an abyssal pit fiend.

That meant his original form was that of a Fifth Grade demon, though the World of Adepts currently suppressed him; he was only capable of unleashing the power of peak Fourth Grade. Even so, his terror and strength were enough to shock everyone.

It was said that pit fiends were terrifying monsters that had climbed out of the depths of the abyss. Their bodies blazed perpetually with eternal abyssal fire. Where they went, all life withered and died. They were the incarnation of the death and destruction brought down by the Abyssal consciousness.

When this powerful demon appeared, he did not need to lift a single finger to intimidate every human adept present. His vicious appearance and dominating aura alone were enough to achieve that.

All the human adepts began to move toward the adept tower and gathered together. They looked upon this strong and vicious pit fiend cautiously.

In particular, the executor’s blade that he held in his hand drew everyone’s attention.

It was written in the books that the weapons of the pit fiend was known as Butcher Knives. They were forged with an unusually robust abyssal metal. They were demonic weapons with numerous fearsome abilities, including destroying the soul or stopping regeneration.

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Matthew at the thought of this.

Could this abyssal pit fiend have yet to forge his own personal weapon? How else was Matthew still alive?

Matthew was ghastly pale right now. He trembled as he took out a wooden doll the size of his palm. It was intricately carved with all sorts of complicated runes and lines. The wooden doll looked quite similar to Matthew himself when it came to appearance and dress. It even had eyes and eyebrows drawn on.

However, a deep crack ran throughout the wooden doll’s body, almost threatening to split it in half. The voodoo doll was obviously useless now!

Everyone finally realized what had happened.

Matthew had, in fact, ‘died’ once to the demon already. However, his voodoo doll had died in his place.

Upon this revelation, everyone looked toward the massive executor’s blade in the pit fiend’s hands, their eyes betraying a trace of fear and cowardice. Even though everyone had their own secret means of saving their lives, no one could bear to be cut by the pit fiend’s Butcher Knife.

Even Mornashen Gaia, the hundred-meter-tall Gold Titan, was intimidated by the blade. His pupils shrank abruptly when he saw it.

He could hear the resentful howls of spirits emanating from the blade. He could feel the fearsome threat that the weapon posed to his soul.

He couldn’t help but feel his heart tremble slightly. He stood silently in front of the adept tower, scanning the battlefield over and over.

However, he quickly let out a cold laugh.

“What are you all scared of? This is our territory! If he dares step close to the adept tower, it’ll be the perfect chance to skin him, tear out his tendons and, slice him apart. If he doesn’t dare come closer, then we will just deal with them with our long-range spells.”

Having said that, Mornashen Gaia raised both hands into the sky, calling bolts of violent lightning the size of pillars from above. They crashed down onto the battlefield in the distance as a waterfall of lightning.

The other adepts followed his example, leaning against the adept tower as they conjured powerful and violent spells down on the battlefield.

One had to admit that the might of Fourth Grade adepts was extraordinary.

When the Fourth Grade adepts unleashed their power in this fashion, it instantly pushed the demon army swarming ahead of them to the brink of extermination. However, with so many dead demons, their corrupt blood and evil souls were able to further corrupt the surrounding planar space.

The demonification of the area around the mega-rift progressed even further!

The more dead demons there were, the more power the Fifth Grade pit fiend could unleash within this world. Overall, the situation was certainly not in the adepts’ favor!

If it were only ordinary demons that died, the demon lords couldn’t have cared less. Instead, they would be glad to see it happen. However, many of the demons on the battlefield were their elite subordinates or trusted tribesmen.

They couldn’t just let these demons die!

The demon lords followed behind the pit fiend and strode toward the human adepts.

The abyssal pit fiend was unusually large and heavy. Every step he took with his hooves left a half-meter-deep crater in the ground. Cracks ran across the earth from them.

Moreover, wherever he stepped, the earth would crack and burn. Even the rocks and pebbles were corrupted by the abyssal aura and seemed as if they had turned more depraved and evil.

“We can’t let this demon keep growing stronger on our land!” Mornashen Gaia’s expression turned solemn as he shouted, “If we let his power break the limit of Fourth Grade, no one here will be able to be his opponent. We need to banish him from this world before he adapts to the environment.”

“Mornashen, if you are planning to strike, count me in!” A crimson figure appeared in the air and said, “I’ve been wanting to taste the blood of a higher demon for a while now.”

“Count me in as well!” It was Andrew who spoke up this time.

This place was Ahlden Clan territory. If everyone decided to flee out of cowardice, the Ahlden Clan had the most to lose. Out of both reason and emotion, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and step forward.

Two ultra-powerhouses and an intermediate Fourth Grade adept, against a powerful Fifth Grade pit fiend versed in both the magical and martial arts. Even though he only had the power of a peak Fourth Grade, it was still a perilous battle for the adepts.

However, since the three adepts had agreed to deal with the strongest demon, the others had no excuses.

The adepts and the demons let out their own battlecries and charged toward each other.

…………

High up in the sky, three kilometers away from the battlefield, the silver Mothership Versailles sailed in the air, blocking the demons’ path to the rest of the Central Lands.

This way, even if the Ahlden Clan was defeated, the demons would first have to get past the Mothership to enter the inner territories.

A few of the Crimson Clan’s higher-ups were silently observing this battle on the bow of the deck.

“Teacher, are you not going?”

Meryl’s red dragon bloodline had been stimulated by the sight of the bloody and terrifying battlefield. Her blood boiled, and her red wings had appeared.

Her body was now covered in fine crimson scales, and her usually seductive eyes now had a glaring, scorching quality to them. Four horns, two small and two large, quickly grew on her forehead, making her appear like the red dragon adept she was.

Meryl was having trouble suppressing her restless red dragon bloodline after sensing the air of savagery and bloodthirst pressing in from the distant battlefield.

Behind her, the beautiful Emilia, dressed in a soft green robe, also had a tense and combat-ready look on her face.

Commander Locke, who stood even further behind them, was also on edge. His green goblin face had turned scarlet, and specks of red light had appeared on the edges of his beady green eyes.

Bug Adept Billis stood at the end of the group. His hood hung low, and his black robe obscured his figure and his face. However, you could sense his restlessness just from the occasional lumps that rushed across the surface of his robe.

Greem was wearing plain, crimson leather armor. He turned back and looked at the eager Meryl and glanced at Emilia, whose face was flushed red with excitement. Her hands were balled into fists as she suppressed the urge to fight. Greem shook his head and chuckled, “Of course I’m going. Otherwise, the mega-rift will be breached today!”

“Then…then we will…go as well…to help you!” It was a short sentence, but Meryl hesitated as her voice fluctuated.

“This is a Fourth Grade battlefield. Third Grades like yourself could die at any moment!”

“I…we……aren’t scared!”

“Cough!” Greem shook his head again and waved his hand. A radiant red barrier engulfed everyone.

Strangely enough, the moment the barrier enveloped them, the Crimson higher-ups instantly snapped back to their senses. They broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of what just happened.

“Awake now?” Greem smiled faintly.

The few of them that represented the Third Grade core members of the Crimson Clan lowered their heads, wiped away their sweat, and bowed. “Thank you for your help, clan leader!”

“No need to feel guilty over that. This is a battlefield of two planar civilizations, after all! Only Fourth Grade adepts can sense the laws’ presence and resist the Abyssal will’s temptation and corruption. All of you will have to keep growing before you can participate in a battle of this level!” Greem stood their leisurely, calmly observing the battlefield in the distance as if victory and defeat in this battle did not matter to him.

“That demon is too strong. I am only concerned…that Lady Mary will be injured at his hands!” Of all the adepts present here, only Meryl dared to speak to Greem in this fashion as his disciple. The rest of them could only wait silently and listen.

The demon in the distance might seem ferocious, but everyone felt calm when they saw how composed their clan leader was.

They had been corrupted by the aura of savagery from the Abyssal will and became incredibly bloodthirsty.

However, after being sheltered by the clan leader’s fire laws, all thoughts of slaugher and murder in their hearts had been suppressed.

Intelligence and composure, the traits expected of the adepts, returned to them once again!