Age of Adepts

Birds and bugs constantly chirped in the dim forest as flocks of colorful birds extended their beautiful wings and wove through the branches joyfully.

Dappled sunlight projected through the fine gaps between the leaves and the branches, leaving strands of brilliant light in the middle of the air. Sadly, these pillars of light couldn’t illuminate the forest. In fact, they made Spear Valley seem all the more quiet and complex.

The Spear Valley was a long, deep and narrow valley, known as such because its geography resembled a spear. An underground mine excavated by kobolds could be found in the deepest point of Spear Valley. The mine was famed for its abundant production of high-quality metal ores.

In all honesty, this place was a restricted military area carved out by the Elven Empire. No other individuals apart from elven convoys and kobold miners were allowed anywhere near it.

Kobold mines would often collapse easily due to excessive excavation and the lack of light. Other creatures and beasts were very reluctant to enter kobold mines. As such, the defense of kobolds unknowingly turned lax under such circumstances.

One could see that the only two kobold warriors guarding the dark entrance to the mines were nodding off while leaning against the rock wall and cradling their spears.

Towering trees still covered the cliffs on either side of Spear Valley, their full canopies blocking out the bright sunlight and leaving only tiny rays of light in the valley.

Yet, amidst this peaceful land, a female elf in delicate armor cast off her robe. She appeared out of her disguise from the shadows of a tall tree’s canopy.

"Aizac, will that metal monster really come all the way to this rural place for a robbery? There’s nothing in the kobold mine down there besides metal ores. What would the witches want with these lumps of metal?" The female elf flung her head of short green hair and turned to look at the tree beside her.

A human figure strangely started to emerge from the dry and wrinkled bark on the tree that the female elf was looking at. The human figure then turned into a male elf who was draped in grassy green vine clothes, wore a stag helm upon his head, and had a wooden staff in his hands.

The man had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a straight nose, and a full mouth. His headful of green had been tied into wild braids that scattered and rested upon his shoulders. He wasn’t exactly handsome, but he had a kind of wild and whimsical charm to him.

One could tell from his appearance that this elf was an individual with the special class of the forest elves– a Druid.

If one were to go by a profession’s traits, the druids were like a combination of warriors and spellcasters. They had powerful nature magic and could not only cast spells but also use Wild Transformation at any time. In doing so, they could transform into a true magical beast, capable of using powerful racial traits and their physical strength to engage the enemy.

However, the targets of druidic transformations were mostly wild, natural magical beasts. They couldn’t transform freely into any being they wished.

This druid known as Aizac was also a Second Grade individual. He had especially hurried over from the central mountains to intercept the metal monster. However, the urgency of the situation left him no time to gather his forces. The druid conclave he had brought with him was not the complete one. They were only a third of the total number.

Even so, this group of forty druids was a significant and influential force, regardless of where they went.

"Commander Merina has already given me instructions before I came here. We must figure out the strength and intentions of these enemies this time. The General Staff Division has already researched the movements of these enemies, and it seems they are here for the mines of Garan. They have already robbed four wild mines on their way here. Given their flight path and the location they last appeared in, this kobold mine is very likely to be their target."

"If the General Staff Division is so certain of this, why did they only send you people here? What about the Blades of Glory war band? What about the Fury of Nature deadshot squad? What about the Silver Lightning flight patrol? Where are they?"

One couldn’t fault the female elf for being so angered.

In the end, she was no more than the guard captain (Second Grade) of a nearby elven city. She had approximately a hundred warriors under her, with the majority of them being fairies and blade dancers. Less than half of them could advance to elites (First Grade).

Even if all the druids that Aizac brought with him were elites, that would make for no more than fifty or sixty elite warriors. The female elf captain was genuinely anxious about ambushing the metal monster and the witches aboard it with such a meager force.

"It can’t be helped! "Druid Aizac shook his head and said, "We are in an emergency right now. We have already received credible news that a large fleet of witch warships are closing in on the east coast. The elite forces within the empire have all been assigned to Silver Moon City to the east. The commander is worried that this metal monster is only bait that the enemy is using to split up our forces. Why else have they yet to attack any elven town until now? Thus, before we figure out the basic strength of these group of enemies, we are the only ones who could make it here in this short amount of time."

"Then at least send us the Silver Lightning or the hippogryphs! The enemies are flying in the sky. How else am I supposed to fight with them if not with flying units?" The female elf captain was still upset.

"The forces you mentioned have all been directed to the east coast to scout the enemy’s movements. It is impossible for them to cross great distances and hurry over here for the moment. If the enemy enters our ambush and lands the metal ship, then we will find a way to barge our way inside and take over the ship. The druids I have brought with me have all advanced, so they can transform into windhawks and wield some level of air combat ability. Leave it to us if the enemy has any sort of air unit! However, when necessary, we might need your long-ranged attacks as support fire.”

The female elf captain nodded silently upon hearing this.

There were twenty elven archers in the guards she brought with her. They weren’t as powerful as the deadshots, who had already advanced, but they had no problem with support fire at mid to close distances.

The only problem now was that the elves had absolutely no idea what kind of enemies were hiding within the ship. What complicated matters was the ability of the enemy to choose their targets from the height that they were at. The elves could only passively defend and guard against the enemy before they could confirm their target. They had no way of efficiently gathering troops to combat the metal ship.

For example, the female elf captain had to silently wait here for an enemy that might show up while also worrying about Moonshade Village located forty kilometers away from here. That place was her hometown and the land upon which she had lived her entire life. She had brought the whole garrison of the village here with her.

If, by chance...

The female elf captain shook her head and cast away the terrifying thoughts from her mind. She then pulled aside the dense foliage of leaves before her and started to scan the blue skies to the west.

Suddenly, the captain’s body trembled. She let go of the branches and squeezed even deeper into the canopy. Her blue eyes were still fixated upon the black dot that was slowly increasing in size on the western horizon.

The female elf captain didn’t dare to delay. She cupped her mouth and shouted at the nearby forest at a high frequency. High frequency shouts like these would only be ignored by outsiders as background noise, especially in the woods, where leaves were constantly rustling. Only creatures of nature such as forest elves, druids, and fairies could decipher that drawn-out call.

The enemy had truly arrived!

Moreover, they were heading straight for the kobold mine.

All the elven warriors hiding in the forest by Spear Valley hid themselves after receiving the orders of the captain. They perked their ears and silently waited for the next combat order.

The female elf captain took one step backward and shook the elven cape on her, completely concealing her armor and body. Her silhouette completely melded into the surrounding environment after a series of strange shifting lights and shadows; it was impossible to distinguish her from the surroundings anymore.

The Second Grade druid known as Aizac also used a concealing spell to merge himself with the trees. Unless the enemy happened to come into contact with his body, there was no way they would find him, regardless of how many times they looked at his current position.

............

The flying ship swiftly glided above the skies.

Tymo discovered the unique Spear Valley from a distance.

With his guidance, the flying ship blasted out dense wind elementium particles and slowly stopped above the kobold mines.

The geography of Spear Valley was too narrow. It didn’t allow for the flying ship to land within.

That was why Greem leaned over the front of the ship to judge the distance. He then waved his hand and had the vessel lower its altitude as much as possible.

The flying ship slowly started to descend while aligning with the center line of Spear Valley. Soon, it was level with the two cliffs beside it. Just then, the canopy of the trees scratched against the flying ship, letting out ear-piercing sounds of grinding metal and snapping branches.

The two kobold warriors guarding the entrance of the mine were already shocked awake. They dropped their spears when they saw the gigantic object crushing toward them and escaped into the tunnels while yelling and hollering.

Dong! A muffled boom rang out.

The bottom of the flying ship had touched the cliff, and The entire ship trembled before finally stopping.

At this moment, the ancient trees of the stone cliffs surrounded the ship, tightly wrapping around it as if they were the swaddling clothes of a baby.

A ten-man squad emerged from the inside of the ship.

It was composed of two goblin technicians leading eight Archers.

Apart from half-elf Tymo, only Greem, Billis, and two other Fate Witches were on the deck.

It was the two young witches’ first time coming to such a beautiful and different world. They were excited, joyful, and had already made plans to go touring through the nearby forest.

Who knew? They might be able to find some rare plant specimen that didn’t exist in the World of Adepts in these strange lands. Such things were worth quite a lot of magical crystals back in the World of Adepts.

Just as Greem commanded the ten-man exploration squad to dive downward, the two witches at the bow of the ship suddenly shouted ’enemy assault.’

The whistling of arrows came from the skies above.

A large cluster of enchanted arrows glowing with magical light shot toward Greem and the others.