Age of Adepts

It was quite an unimaginable thing to think of, but it was also the bloody reality.

There were no rookies among those who could advance to Fifth Grade and step beyond the planar barriers. These Great Adepts were adept elites who had emerged from bloody competition above the corpses of millions. Unfortunately, even they were still pawns that could be tossed aside for the schemes and plots of their superiors.

It was just a matter of whether they were worth the sacrifice!

God of Hatred Enus might have been fortunate enough to escape as a demi-god and avoid death along with his god kingdom. But after falling to the level of demi-god, he lost most of his divine power as well as his ability to create clones and projections.

He would have to show up in his Fourth Grade true form if he wanted to join the battle. Of course, his chances of dying if he appeared on the battlefield were almost a hundred percent.

If he chose to hide, Enus might be able to raise himself to his former glory with what followers remained in his faith worlds and with several hundred years. However, to maintain the divine power requirements of his followers across several worlds as a demi-god was unfeasible. He would have to borrow power from the other orc gods, turning him into a black hole of divine power.

That was why in the battles to come, Enus would not only be of no aid to the orc pantheon but would even severely weaken them.

That was because he was too weak now!

He retained part of his divine authority, divine virtue, and divinity as a demi-god. Consequently, he was little more than an unprotected cake in the eyes of both the adepts and the other gods.

If they weren’t in the same pantheon as him, the other orc gods would probably have torn him apart and devoured him alive!

Meanwhile, after the severe injuries Greem sustained, he had no choice but to keep a low profile and hide in his room. He began the painful and challenging journey of recovery. It was fortunate that he had protected his soul with the Orb of the Fire God when he was contaminated by the shattered principles, preventing them from reaching his soul.

Otherwise, his journey as the legendary fire adept would have come to an end. He would lose all hope of any further advancement!

Even so, Greem’s injuries were still unusually grievous.

He spent three entire years recovering in the Boulder Fortress before recovering to his strength before the battle.

This period of recovery also caused him to exhaust all of the divine virtue he had obtained earlier.

He used most of the divine virtue to repair his body, damaged by the mutated principles. A small amount of it went to nourishing the starbeast bloodline. Greem also realized that the battles of ultra-grade adepts were no longer the same as those of low-grade adepts. Gone were the endless stalemates and days of going back and forth.

The battles of ultra-grade adepts were more frightening and intense. Victory and defeat were often decided in one or two moments.

Great Adepts would have to possess sufficient hidden aces and abilities. These were the only things that could grant them even the slightest initiative in the cruel and savage battles they had to face. If they were constantly suppressed by their opponent, turning the tides would be near impossible.

When Greem once again came to the station hall, he immediately drew the attention and welcome of the Great Adepts. Even Great Adept Gerritsen, who had always been relatively cold toward him, pulled him to his side and started talking passionately with Greem.

“Your wounds have recovered, yes?” Gerritsen asked warmly.

“Thank you for your consideration, my lord. I am almost completely recovered now,” Greem replied politely.

“Good, good,” Gerritsen flashed a smile. “You should know that in the time you were recovering, quite a few people asked me about you!”

Greem’s heart moved when he heard Gerritsen’s implicative words.

Quite a few people...could anyone that a Sixth Grade Great Adept would take note of be Fifth Grade or lower?

What is it that had caused even Sixth Grade Great Adepts to take notice of him?

Greem wondered to himself as he intentionally asked curiously, “Could I know who it is that has been concerned about me? I must pay them a visit and offer my gratitude, granted the opportunity!”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. All you need to know is that people care,” Gerritsen had a mysterious look on his face. “Speaking of which, there couldn’t be a better time for you to have recovered. We are going to launch our primary offense against the orcs soon. Grab the opportunity and grab as much loot as you can for yourself!”

“The primary offense?” Greem said in surprise. “To my knowledge, our progress in the past three years hasn’t been all that successful, has it? Of the seventeen gods of the orc pantheon, only Fifth Grade God of Hatred Enus has been demoted to a Fourth Grade demi-god, while Sixth Grade God of the Hunt Horr has been downgraded to a Fifth Grade low-ranked god. Trying to wipe out the orcs after such limited results doesn’t seem wise!”

Gerritsen suddenly let out a laugh. “It seems like you still haven’t gotten used to the pace of life as a Great Adept. With our lifespans that last for upward of ten thousand years, do you think it would be worth it for us to fight the orcs to death over lesser planes? The main reason why Lady Barbara started this war wasn’t for land or resources. It was for the divine origin within the orc gods!”

Divine origin was a loose term that referred to divine authorities, divine virtues, and divinities!

“What does that have to do with a battle against the orcs?” Greem was still confused.

“Without a war, how are we supposed to get divine origin? Without divine origin, what are we supposed to use to craft high-grade magical equipment? Lady Barbara has no grudge against the orc gods. She chose the orc pantheon as her opponent purely because the orc gods are infamous, even within the World of Gods. There’s no concern that gods of other pantheons would aid them while we fight!”

It was Greem’s turn to be speechless now.

Even though he had already vaguely guessed this to be the reason, to have a Sixth Grade Great Adept tell him all this in person was still unexpected.

It wasn’t about values, justice, glory, or being right.

The adepts had mobilized the force of hundreds of planeworlds and a hundred Great Adepts to wage endless war in the hundred planeworlds of the orc pantheon for nothing other than the divine origin contained within those gods.

Countless worlds were destroyed in this process, and the number of planar creatures slaughtered in the process was in the trillions. How could those poor bastards ever understand? All the life of a small planeworld could not compare to the value of three to five divine authority fragments.

How could those individuals fighting on the bloody frontlines understand? That their lives were so cheap and worthless that they were bargained with by their superiors that controlled everything behind the scenes?

Gerritsen couldn’t help but let out a cold chuckle when he saw Greem’s face turn pale.

“Given how powerful the orc pantheon is, we will likely trigger a violent retaliation if we push them into too much of a corner. The price we would have to pay for that would be immense. That is why we ought to stop while we’re ahead. It’s fine to give them a break now that we have torn a few pieces of flesh from their bodies and filled our stomachs for the moment. If you still want to obtain any more spoils, the upcoming final battle will be your last chance. Miss this battle, and you won’t be able to find another opportunity to harvest divine origin!”

“Unless, of course, you challenge a god alone! Hahahaha!”

Gerritsen seemed to think his joke was funny and started laughing out loud.

With how frank Gerritsen had been, Greem naturally understood what was being said.

In all honesty, what Gerritsen said probably resonated with the thoughts of most adepts.

It was not as if there weren’t treasures more valuable and better than divine origin across the universe. However, the cost of obtaining those treasures was often far greater than simply waging war with the orc pantheon!

The Great Adepts could gather together and lay siege to a mediocre pantheon, scrambling to scrape together some divine origin from the gods. Such a convenient and inexpensive affair suited the benefits of all adepts. Otherwise, this war wouldn’t have been able to attract so many Great Adepts to join its cause.

Greem was only feeling somewhat shocked and stunned, having abruptly been exposed to the truth and immersed in this reality!

He had personally witnessed the deaths of two Great Adepts.

Those had been Fifth Grade Great Adepts!

In a planeworld, that would make them akin to gods!

Greem would feel better if they died for some ideal or greater belief. However, to know that the only significance to their deaths had been to obtain some ‘meager’ material benefit made Greem feel hollow inside. There was a deep sense of emptiness and pointlessness to it all.

As a Great Adept, he would have to accept the cruel reality of the world.

Moreover, divine origin was not a ‘meager’ benefit. It was a top-class resource that all Great Adepts pined after. If Greem possessed endless divine origin at the moment, he would be able to forge a dozen pieces of origin equipment and nourish his bloodline to its limit. How difficult would advancement be after that?

That was why, as shaken as he was, Greem would never give up this opportunity to obtain more divine origin!

“My lord, where will the final battle you mentioned occur?”

“Plane Saka!”

“Plane Saka? That...that’s the origin plane of the Beast God Arugel!” Greem couldn’t help but gasp.

Most gods regarded the world in which they first ascended to become a god as their origin plane. All the planes they conquered after that were referred to as faith worlds. The status of these two kinds of worlds was utterly different.

A god would be fine if they lost a faith world. It just meant a reduction in followers and a loss in faith power. However, if their origin plane was destroyed, their god kingdom would also be destroyed. Their grades would lower– if they were lucky. If not, they would die. It was no wonder that all origin planes were a cause of concern for the gods!

The adepts had chosen Plane Saka as their main battlefield. It seemed like the adepts did this to force the orc pantheon into battle.

However, the plots and schemes were none of Greem’s troubles. All Greem needed to worry about was whether he was prepared for this battle to get a share of the spoils for himself.