Age of Adepts

Plane Gere. The Valley of Flowers.

The flames of war had yet to be extinguished. The entire battlefield lay in ruins and devastation.

The once beautiful scenery of the Valley of Flowers, filled with blooming flowers and fluttering butterflies, had now been reduced to a horrible scene of scorched and ravaged earth. Countless tattered corpses could still be seen on the green plains.

These corpses were all dressed in magical robes of various designs. The accessories on their bodies still glowed with magical light.

Apart from the dead adepts, the bodies of countless vicious and fearsome voodoo beasts could also be seen on the battlefield. The number of these voodoo beasts was dozens of times greater than the dead adepts.

Squads of orc warriors walked through the battlefield, searching for survivors as they cut off the ears of their dead enemies. The pouches on their waists were already bulging from all the trophies they had collected.

Apart from these orc warriors, there was also a group of scrawnier shaman apprentices walking around. They were dressed in leather robes, and their faces were covered in violet paint. They were not at all interested in trophies such as the ears of their enemies. Instead, they were carefully searching for those glowing magical accessories and equipment.

As elementium spellcasters themselves, the orc shamans could also use magical equipment. As such, the price of magical accessories had always been extremely high within the Orc Empire. They were considered rare and valuable treasures in great demand.

It couldn’t be helped. The orcs were an intelligent species with violence and barbarism flowing through their blood. Their societies had always revolved around personal courage and might. Orc empires almost always consisted of a large majority of warriors. Only a few shamans and voodoo doctors possessed some extent of spellcasting ability.

While most orcs did not possess elementium powers, they were believers of the orc gods. Through their system of faith, the orcs had constructed a powerful and alternative system of beast souls.

Powerful individuals within the orc empire, when assisted by shamans, could obtain the blessings of the orc gods through sacrificial rituals. This blessing came in the form of sealing the souls of powerful magical creatures within their bodies.

During battle, they could summon the beast soul from within them, allowing them to possess incredible Physique and powerful techniques comparable to magical beasts.

That was why the strongest individuals in Plane Gere were beastsoul warriors!

The simplistic power system in Plane Gere generated numerous warriors, but also a lack of a crucial alchemy system. That was why even the most powerful beastsoul warrior in this world only used primitive weapons forged in the simplest, crudest fashion.

At the moment, five tall and muscular figures stood shoulder to shoulder on a hill beside the Valley of Flowers.

They all had green skin and wore dark-green leather pants. Their exposed upper bodies bulged with muscles, causing them to give off a cruel and savage aura. Lifelike drawings of ferocious beasts were etched onto their chests and backs. These drawings looked so real it almost seemed like they could come alive and leap into existence.

“The adepts’ reinforcements have arrived,” The orc that stood at the center of the group and had the most ferocious aura opened his large and fierce eyes abruptly. He pointed in the direction of Dun Modr and said angrily, “Just earlier, I sensed the appearance of five completely different energy auras from there. It seems like the enemy’s Great Adepts have entered this world!”

“Oh?” Another orc who had a tiger tattooed onto his chest sneered. “If my lord’s senses are correct, why don’t we ambush them at their base? Those Great Adepts have only just arrived. They must not have adapted to the environment here yet. It’s the perfect time.”

At this, he couldn’t help but extend his long red tongue and lick his lips.

“I disagree!” Another orc stepped forward. “That place has been turned into a base for the invading adepts. A lot of annoying arrays and traps must have been laid down. Rushing over without an understanding of what lies in wait is too rash. If we fall into an ambush, the tides might turn against us once again.

“Moreover, the few of us have yet to fully assimilate with the beastsoul seeds bestowed upon us by the gods. The amount of time that we can maintain the orc gods’ projection is limited. Why don’t we wait for a little while until we can fully unleash the power of the gods’ projection?”

“Wait, wait, wait…you people only know how to wait. By the time you’re ready, the human adepts will be fully ready as well. How much better will the circumstances be compared to now? You cowards. I wonder if you are still fit to be called beastsoul warriors.”

“Shut up, Blackbar! I’ll challenge you to a duel if you continue being so unreasonable!”

“Feel free to do so! Let’s see who’s the fool.”

An orc that was obviously of a higher grade than the rest let out a shout upon hearing his companions’ tempers flare.

“Silence, all of you! Whether we should fight or whether we want to fight– we will be able to decide after a quick look. Come, let us take a walk to Dun Modr now. If the enemy is unprepared, we will charge over immediately. If the enemy came prepared, then we will retreat to Blackwater City on my orders. We will gather all the beastsoul warriors of the plane and prepare for a final battle.”

“Understood!”

“Understood!”

“Understood!”

This orc was clearly very well-respected amongst the others. None of the other orcs fought among themselves after he spoke. Instead, they commenced inspecting their weapons and equipment, making preparations for the battle that might break out later.

“Go!”

The five orcs immediately started sprinting toward Dun Modr at this battlecry.

Meanwhile, the orcs who were cleaning up the battlefield could only stare dumbfoundedly as those silhouettes instantly vanished over the horizon, leaving behind a massive trail of dust. It was only then that the five orcs’ guards and servants realized what had happened. They let out their own battlecries and chased after their masters.

…………

“Everyone prepare. The orc warriors should be upon us soon!”

Sixth Grade Great Adept Windsterm stood above the tallest building in Dun Modr. He silently contacted Greem and the others with mental messages.

“So soon?” An adept with a mouse’s head and a golden band upon that head let out a shrill cry of surprise. “They aren’t charging directly at us because they sensed our auras, are they?”

“Hehehe, Adept Poya, it’s not like you don’t know that those orcs have no brains to speak of. The higher their grade, the dumber they are. There’s no point in playing tricks or plotting against them. They can only charge forward and fight like those Abyssal demons,” The only female adept of the party chuckled and said, “I reckon they will charge straight at us without any bodyguards to cover or protect them.”

Greem couldn’t help but frown. “The beastsoul warriors of this plane are already quite powerful individually. In addition to the blessings from the beast gods, they will become quite troublesome to deal with. We haven’t even completed the analysis of the planar laws here. Our combat power is greatly suppressed. Fighting them now will be—”

“There’s no need to worry about that!” Adept Windsterm chuckled. “I brought a share of Taintroot Water with me this time. If those orcs push us into a corner, we will strike them with a vicious retaliation and teach them a lesson.”

“Taintroot Water? That’s amazing,” The other Great Adepts broke out into smiles when they heard that name.

Greem was perhaps the only one among them who had never heard of that name.

However, he had heard of a name similar to that one in the past. He had heard of the Root of Corruption!

When he had followed the Northern Witches during their invasion of one of the Beast God’s planes, they had sacrificed hundreds of thousands of orcs to the Root of Corruption and turned it into a strange, wicked, and powerful tree. That wicked tree possessed the fearsome might of being able to corrupt and destroy the world consciousness.

It had resulted in the descent of Seventh Grade Vassal God Garon of the Orc Pantheon in person!

If that Seventh Grade vassal god hadn’t been drawn away by an equally powerful witch, not one person in the party would have survived the onslaught of Garon, the God of Slaughter.

The Taintroot Water that Windstern mentioned made Greem think of the Root of Corruption. Maybe there was some sort of connection between the two of them.

Perhaps sensing Greem’s indifference to the mention of Taintroot Water, the female adept known as Catherine couldn’t help but send him a mental message. “Taintroot Water is an incredibly powerful and valuable magical item. By sacrificing even a single drop of it, you can cause all law chains within ten kilometers to crumble and fall apart.”

Greem couldn’t help but draw in a breath of cold air when he heard this. He exclaimed in shock, “Doesn’t that mean that every drop allows us to instantly rob ten kilometers of planar authority from the planar consciousness?”

“That is indeed the case!” Adept Catherine laughed. “If it weren’t for the Taintroot Water, Boulder Fortress would never have so easily deployed us into the enemy planar world. It’s fine if the orcs don’t come, but if they are foolish enough to come at us, it’s the perfect opportunity for us to teach them a terrible lesson. Don’t forget to take good care of me when that happens, ay, handsome boy.”

Having said that, she giggled and winked at Greem!

Adept Catherine’s voice was sweet and beautiful. It sounded seductive if you shut your eyes and heard only her voice. However, she had an incredibly heavyset figure, comparable to a boar that was a few hundred kilograms in weight. The rolls of fat on her face and body folded upon each other, layer upon layer. They even glistened with a greasy sheen. A single glance sent goosebump across Greem’s entire body.

Her incredibly seductive voice and revolting figure were such an extreme contrast that anyone who set eyes on her would probably be driven insane, torn between believing their eyes or their ears!

Greem did not judge by appearance, but even he could not bear dealing with such an exceptional and exotic ‘beauty.’ For some reason, Greem felt his forehead and back become covered in a cold sweat. A terrible feeling washed over his entire being.