Age of Adepts

The battle from earlier had been a ‘fair’ duel between two powerful adepts. It wasn’t the most appropriate place for a golem like Shadow Demon to appear. Mornashen would not acknowledge his defeat if Shadow Demon played a part in it.

Even if Greem had the power to unite the Central Lands in the future, Mornashen would undoubtedly play a critical role in the united Central Lands. In fact, anyone who wanted to unify the Central Lands would have to find some way to bind the Gaia Clan leader to their side.

The reason for that was simple. Mornashen’s power was the absolute guarantee for his status!

That was why Greem could not do anything that would cause Mornashen to hold a grudge if wanted to placate Mornashen utilizing force.

However, his opponent was now Cerveris of the Adept’s Association. The fundamental nature of the fight had changed. The two of them were not competitors, but enemies in the truest sense of the word.

To hold back any further now would only make a mockery of himself in front of his opponent.

That was why Greem instantly summoned Shadow Demon to him when he sensed the power of Cerveris’ curses. Shadow Demon was utterly immune to curses, after all.

Cerveris noticed Shadow Demon the moment his shadowy aura approached.

He smiled with his mouthful of yellowed teeth and laughed.

“A shadow golem? Kehkehe! Greem, don’t think you are the only one with such things.”

As Cerveris said that, ripples appeared in his shadow as Greem felt a familiar energy aura.

Shadow Demon, who was hiding in Greem’s shadows, opened its dark eyes wide. It carefully scanned the shadow of the curse adept. As expected, it could sense a familiar presence in the shadow space within.

The enemy also had a shadow golem. Moreover, judging from its aura, it was a Fourth Grade shadow golem.

A spark of light appeared in Shadow Demon’s eyes. It sprang forward without hesitation, striking first at the enemy in the shadows.

Two black spots of fire lit up in Cerveris’ shadow. A strange towering creature, also forged of Shadowsteel, opened its eyes. A cruel smile appeared on its face as it glided backward, avoiding Shadow Demon’s attack.

Spells flew across the vast battlefield. Flames burned everywhere. As magic erupted all over the sky, all sorts of afterimages were left behind.

The momentary shadows of these flashes and afterimages, some as large as wheels and others as small as the tip of a needle, became the battlefield where these two shadow golems pursued each other.

They never appeared in front of the other adepts. Instead, they leaped rapidly from shadow space to shadow space. Even when they occasionally traded blows, the exchanges lasted for no more than an instant; the strikes were so fast that it was impossible to capture with the naked eye.

Like two immaterial phantoms engaged in a ghostly dance, the two shadow golems chased after one another. Small energy storms that erupted from the shadow spaces outlined the trail of their chase while also indirectly hinting at their fight’s intensity and danger.

The same advanced shadow techniques, the same impenetrable body of steel, the same fearless means of slaughter. It was because the golems were so similar that their battle to death seemed so slow and difficult.

From an overall standpoint, Shadow Demon still held the upper hand. The reason for that was the fact that it was equipped with two pieces of Fourth Grade magical equipment, while its opponent was no more than a well-crafted shadow golem!

Greem could only sigh when he saw his Shadow Demon occupied by the opponent’s golem.

After all, he had already revealed Shadow Demon back at the Adept’s Association. He would have to look down on the Association if they did not come up with preventative measures against Shadow Demon after that.

The adepts had all picked their opponents and were fighting with all they had. In particular, Arms was surrounded by all sorts of summoned creatures and voodoo beasts.

They might not be as powerful as the thunder dragon, but they were still able to hold him back when attacking in swarms.

Meanwhile, Mary, Remi, and the clumsy golem dragon had to face five Fourth Grade adepts all at once. It was truly a dangerous and precarious predicament.

Freed, Mirva, Nicolas, Matthew, and Fabres.

Any one of the five would have been a fearsome opponent. They commanded their summoned beasts and voodoo beasts to occupy the most powerful Fourth Grade dragon while concentrating their forces on Mary and Remi. That put the two of them in a perilous situation.

However, Adept Kerala had just turned coats and became Greem’s ally. She and her Redeye Tyrant joined the fray and held back Freed and the other Central adepts. It indirectly reduced the pressure on Mary and the other Crimson Clan adepts.

Even though Remi and the golem dragon were both technically at Fourth Grade, they were clearly no match for true Fourth Grade adepts.

Mary and Kerala, the two Fourth Grades, as well as Remi and the golem, the two pseudo-Fourth Grades, were supposed to fight against five adepts. It wasn’t hard to imagine how daunting of a task that was.

Regardless of how furious their fight turned out to be, they were only the side characters, after all. The only ones who could genuinely decide the victor of today’s battle were still the two ultra-powerhouses.

Ordinary adepts were not qualified to involve themselves in that battle!

Greem was not currently in good condition.

Cerveris’ curse magic possessed unusual penetration power. Greem was susceptible to its effects, even when protected by his barrier of four fire laws.

The Curse of Decrepification could reduce his Physique.

The Curse of Debilitation could reduce his Strength.

The Curse of Blindness could weaken his senses.

The Curse of Deceleration could reduce his Agility.

The Curse of Confusion could disrupt his mental consciousness.

The Curse of Pox would cause blisters to appear all over his body.

The Wormcurse could absorb a portion of his magic energy and convert it into strange worms that ate away at his flesh.

The Bigtongue Curse could cause his tongue to swell and make him lose his ability to cast spells.

Visions of Madness could cause illusions to appear and drive him into a manic state.

......

......

As an ultra-powerhouse, Cerveris was most proficient at reducing his opponents to a shambling mess with a series of curses before finishing them off with powerful magic wands or even his staff.

The reason Cerveris was so terrifying was simply because of a piece of powerful magical equipment that was completely compatible with his soul origin– the Book of Curses.

It was also Fifth Grade Soul Equipment!

Cerveris held in the book in one hand while making gestures with the other. Every time a curse rune was formed, it would vanish instantly and appear on Greem’s flaming body.

Greem was already thoroughly annoyed by these unstoppable curses. He roared and created boiling Magma Fireballs in his palms, which he viciously shot at the enemy.

Every time that happened, Cerveris would turn into a cloud of black smoke, scattering and reforming elsewhere. Like most elementium adepts who had elementiumized their body, Cerveris had no vital spots. Naturally, he was not afraid of the fireballs’ explosions.

However, even though he was not afraid of fire, it didn’t mean he wasn’t fearful of the fire laws!

The most significant characteristic of the law powers was that they could not tolerate other law powers.

Should law powers in a certain region gain the upper hand, they would naturally start to contaminate the surrounding planar laws in an attempt to assimilate them. It was a characteristic of the laws and also an instinct of theirs. There was no stopping such a phenomenon from happening!

That was why even Cerveris’ curse laws had to back away when the fire laws blazed across the sky. He had to gather even more intense powers to retaliate against the fire laws.

However, the curse laws were innately sinister and excelled at contamination. They were not as ferocious or explosive as the fire laws, especially in a direct clash.

Even though the battle was fairly even, with the curse laws pushing back and forth, Greem appeared to have the absolute advantage. He was forcing Cerveris to scramble around constantly with his violent and vicious fire spells.

The molten giant that Greem had turned into was like a deity of fire. Blinding golden flames shrouded his entire body, and the air itself was filled with bone-melting heat. Whenever he lifted an arm to hurl out a barrage of Magma Fireballs, an entire region of the battlefield would be devoured in waves of fire and devastating shockwaves.

Every time Cerveris approached him, Greem would swat at him with his gigantic palms. Magical flames washed over the world in waves, and the black smoke that Cerveris had turned into scattered into pieces.

By the time he reformed with much difficulty within the fire, his black robes hung in tatters over his bony body.

“Hack! Hack! Hack!...dammit.” Cerveris coughed violently, expelling the shocking heat and annoying flames frum his lungs. Only then did he feel a little better.

He hadn’t thought that Greem had grasped the very rare law of Invisible Flames that allowed him to conceal his fire spells.

It was because of this strange law that Cerveris experienced so much trouble in this battle.

If foreign fire laws managed to infiltrate his body, even Cerveris would have to exert himself to expel them. The fire damage that he would have to endure in the meantime was so severe that even a Fourth Grade curse adept as powerful as himself couldn’t help but turn pale.

“Dammit! Didn’t this Greem only advance two hundred years ago? How is he so proficient with the application of law powers? Bastard! Bastards! I’ve been tricked by those old foxes at headquarters again.”

Cerveris cursed angrily as he turned into smoke and reformed again, avoiding a series of spells that had been flung his way. Meanwhile, in the gaps between Greem’s attacks, he cast as many vicious curses at the fire adept as possible.

The two adepts continued to battle against each other, rapidly draining their opponent’s stamina and Spirit.

The battle was as intense and dangerous as when it first started.