Age of Adepts

As the second mightiest ultra-powerhouse of the Adept’s Association, Gloria’s return meant that the Association’s combat strength had increased considerably, making up for the difference caused by Cerveris’ injury.

Consequently, the Silver Union and the Northern Witches became slightly nervous.

It was said that the Speaker of the Silver Union personally approved recalling one of their only two ultra-powerhouses from the Vortex Tower– Mechanical Adept Stephen.

Meanwhile, the Northern Witches summoned the Witch Council. They unanimously agreed to send a witch of an ultra-powerhouse level to the Central Lands to ensure that the Northern Witches’ benefits were not infringed upon.

Naturally, this task fell on the shoulders of Death Witch Leader Khesuna!

It couldn’t be helped. There were only two ultra-powerhouses throughout the Northern Lands. One of them was Death Witch Leader Khesuna, while the other was Pale Witch Leader Silvia. Furthermore, of the two of them, Khesuna was undoubtedly stronger at offense and direct conflicts. She was the most suitable candidate for this errand.

Everyone could clearly tell that the once weak Zhentarim now faced a massive structural revolution. If this development were allowed to continue as is, it was likely that a new major organization would appear in the World of Adepts.

The appearance of such an organization clearly did not benefit any of the three existing major organizations!

However, if they were to intervene carelessly, the other two major organizations might be able to rob them of the most significant slice of the pie, thereby affecting the future development of their own organization. All three organizations took the same line of action despite not having discussed anything between themselves. They waited patiently to see what happened next, all while sending ultra-powerhouses in preparation for intervention.

The Silver Union and Northern Witches were even making contact behind the scenes, looking for a way to suppress the Adept’s Association and the Central Lands simultaneously.

Their ideal scenario was undoubtedly for the Adept’s Association to clash directly with the Crimson Clan, leaving them both battered and bruised. They could then rush into the Central Lands and sweep the battlefield.

However, when they heard that Gloria of the Adept’s Association had returned, they couldn’t help but become concerned for the Crimson Clan. If Gloria were able to defeat the Crimson Clan and wipe out the Central Lands alone, this well-cooked pot of rice would go straight into the maw of the Adept’s Association.

Due to this concern, the two major organizations had hastily sent out individuals with equal combat prowess in hopes of intimidating Gloria and keeping her from acting rashly. However, given Gloria’s typically brash and unreasonable personality, it was unknown how well this intimidation could work!

The three major organizations were practically intervening directly now, leaving the situation in the Central Lands even more unpredictable and shrouded in mists.

If it was impossible to predict, then there was no point mulling over it!

Greem, who had conquered all the Fourth Grade forces of the Central Lands, returned to Nightmare Castle without any hesitation and joined Mary once again.

Hiding back at one’s lair was probably the right decision in the face of impending danger!

However, Fire Throne was only a small adept tower, after all. Neither its offensive nor defensive power could match Greem’s current ability and status. Moreover, Fire Throne was truly not an intimidating structure given the power of his opponents.

That was why Greem instinctually chose to flee to Mary’s Nightmare Castle the instant he sensed danger approaching.

Greem’s injuries were still severe, and Mary had only just recently gained control of the Nightmare Castle.

Both of them might have power rivaling that of ultra-powerhouses, but they knew that they were still slightly lacking when compared.

However, their forces combined should be enough to ward off any malicious forces!

On the third day after Greem returned to Nightmare Castle, the enemy he had been awaiting finally arrived.

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

Another dark, lightless night.

The moon in the sky was nowhere to be seen, leaving only patches of stars glowing in the night.

Even these stars were soon obscured by thick, black clouds.

The entire world was pitch black.

Nightmare Castle stood lonesome upon the plain.

There did not seem to be a single source of light within the castle, nor any signs of life.

Both the Crimson Fleet and the magical machine army had retreated to Ailovis. The only thing left upon these scarred lands was the Nightmare Castle.

The castle appeared like a ferocious monster waiting with bated breath and an open jaw for its prey’s arrival.

Thick mist shrouded the castle, making it appear even more dangerous and evil than it already seemed!

Skrra! The sound of space being torn apart.

A small portal appeared two and a half kilometers away from the castle. A petite figure clad in purple light stepped out of it.

Gloria did not go into hiding. Nor did she immediately start her offense. Instead, she teleported once more near the Nightmare Castle and examined this silent castle with a wry smile.

“Hmm? What a strange power,” Gloria had heard of the strangeness of this castle, but no amount of detailed information could compare to the sensation of experiencing it for herself.

A very unusual lifeform. It had both the unique magical aura of alchemical lifeforms and the soul fluctuations of intelligent, biological life.

From a certain angle, this dead silent castle could be seen as an intelligent lifeform, albeit with a unique form of existence. However, through the castle’s soul core, the only thing that Gloria could sense was the insuppressible aura of bloodshed and murder.

This thing was a forbidden lifeform created utilizing a blood ritual!

Gloria quickly managed to put an accurate label on the castle.

She had traveled far and long in space. She had witnessed and heard of countless unusual lifeforms, even one or two forbidden lifeforms similar to this castle. Most of these forbidden lifeforms did not have good endings!

It was simple. They often couldn’t suppress the murderous instinct that came from the core of their being, causing the lifeforms to make enemies that were far too powerful for them. Such forbidden lifeforms would eventually meet their match, no matter how powerful they became.

However, that was in space, an environment that was actively hostile against all living beings. This was the first time that Gloria had ever seen a forbidden lifeform that had yet to mature and reach the peak of its power.

Gloria lifted her head and sniffed a few times. She was finally certain that the prey she was hunting was hiding inside this castle. That said, the scent was obscured by a unique and powerful blood aura, leaving her unable to obtain more specific information on her target.

It was a special tracking method that Gloria had figured out on her own!

Creatures that could survive in space were all formidable and fearsome opponents. They either had bodies or scales as tough as magical alloy, absolute power enough to crush everything in their way, or horrifying, inhuman agility.

If they lacked such combat powers, then they would have to rely on exceptional stealth or incredible spiritual senses.

Without these abilities, one would be nothing more than prey in space. You would not qualify to be a terrifying predator!

The means by which Gloria tracked her enemies wasn’t through smell, tracks, or other physical marks. Instead, she followed the energy aura of the opponent. It was possible to hide and obscure tracks, but it was impossible to change one’s unique energy aura.

Moreover, the more powerful an individual, the more likely they were to absorb wandering magic energy from their environment unconsciously.

For instance, a typical fire adept would often leave behind a clear trail of fire where they traveled due to the radiation of their life force. The fire elementium where they had passed by would not only become more concentrated, but more energized as well.

This phenomenon could persist for months.

A legendary Fourth Grade fire adept could even permanently change the distribution and laws of fire elementium in a region.

That was why Gloria was always able to track down her opponents. Even if the adept were to conceal their aura completely, there would still be tracks left behind due to their unconscious elementium interaction with their environment.

Greem. Fourth Grade fire adept. Raised in the Sarubo Clan of the Central Lands before leaving and establishing the Crimson Clan. Possesses exceptional talent and is well-versed in golem creation and fire magic. Fire specialization.

Addendum: Possesses two artifacts. The first is a Fifth Grade fire-attribute principle aggregate that is entirely compatible with his soul origin. The second is tome-shaped magical equipment suspected to be Soul Equipment. Fifth Grade, unknown origins.

Addendum: Constantly escorted by a powerful Fourth Grade shadow golem. Said golem possesses multiple Fourth Grade shadow magical equipment. Known abilities are as follows......

Mary. Fourth Grade vampire adept. Also raised in the Sarubo Clan. Has an intimate relationship with Greem. Both of them advanced to adept at the same time and left the Sarubo Clan at the same time. Publicly acknowledged lover of Greem.

Addendum: Possess the following magical equipment– Stinger, Cursesinging Crystal, Boots of Dodging, Ghosthaunt Plaque......

Addendum: She appears to have ventured into Kerslin Castle and gained control over the half-evolved alchemical lifeform. An energy forcefield that can suppress Fourth Grade adepts exists within the castle. Initial estimates suggest that Mary and the Nightmare Castle’s combination has power somewhere between advanced Fourth Grade and peak Fourth Grade, making them a formidable threat to ultra-powerhouses.

Gloria had been away from the World of Adepts for far too long. She was not quite acquainted with all the strange changes that had happened to the Central Lands.

However, being backed by the powerful Adept’s Association, all data on the enemy had been readily provided for her. That was why Gloria only had to recall the information in her mind as she stood outside the castle.

Two pseudo-ultra-powerhouses...weaklings that had never ventured through space nor experienced the bloody conflicts of foreign worlds. How could these people ever be considered rivals to actual ultra-powerhouses?

Gloria smirked and strode toward the sinister castle looming in the darkness!