Age of Adepts

As the commander of the undead army, this dark knight did not charge forward to battle with the Flame Fiend.

Instead, it stood at the rear of the battlefield, using a wound-up throw of its dark spear to interrupt the Flame Fiend’s spell channeling. The dark knight didn’t make any more moves beyond that and instead assessed the battlefield from upon its skeletal steed.

As an intermediate-grade undead, it had sufficient intelligence to determine the individual that posed the greatest threat to the undead army.

The terrifying flame giant charging at the forefront was not the strongest enemy in front of the sensitive and sharp senses of its soul fire. Instead, the few human adepts hiding behind the flame giant gave it the most significant and direct sense of threat.

Thus, the dark knight shifted most of its attention upon the three odd casters after interrupting the Flame Fiend’s spell.

As expected, not long after the dark knight’s attack, the black-robed caster at the very rear of the enemy’s formation vanished without a trace.

The dark knight tugged at the reins of its steed. This skeletal steed covered in black barding and outfitted with a spiral horn upon its skull immediately stood upon its hind legs and let out a terrifying whinny. Its eyes and hooves burned with an eternal black flame of death and sparks of fire came out of its nostrils.

The dark knight drew the longsword hanging by the skeletal horse’s neck and swung it about as if it was an extension of its very body. The knight scanned its surroundings with the utmost caution.

Even the dark knight was deeply wary of these foreign casters!

These outsiders might not be that much stronger than the local natives when it came to the power of their spells, but the diversity and strangeness of their abilities and magic was extraordinary. Even two or three casters on this plane put together could not compare to the flexibility of these evil witches.

While the dark knight was utterly focused, his steed was starting to writhe about in discomfort and anxiety.

A large mass of shadow appeared beneath the skeletal horse without a single sound. As dark substance gathered around the shadow, thick and massive tentacles extended from within the shadows, twisting and winding around the limbs and torso of the skeletal beast.

Dammit.

The dark knight cursed and patted the horse on its head. It intended to have its steed leap away instantly.

However, this magic was cast by a Third Grade Dark Witch. How could it possibly allow a mere Second Grade undead knight escape?

As the shadowy substance abruptly expanded, a few dozen additional tentacles wrapped around the skeletal steed and its rider like the appendages of an octopus. The tentacles continued to tighten their grip despite the hacking and struggling of the dark knight, and its skeletal steed and slowly dragged them into that immense mass of shadow.

A short moment later, once they had completely vanished into the shadows, the shadow let out a burp much like a beast that had just finished its meal. It was only then that the darkness started to shrink and disperse.

Finally, the shadow vanished without a trace along with the dark knight and its steed!

Uzzah once again appeared at the rear of the formation, without a single sound.

Greem watched this entire process unfold from a distance. His heart was filled with shock.

The dark knight was a Second Grade undead creature. Greem would have had to pay a price to murder it, even if he was going all out. Yet, in the hands of a Third Grade Dark Witch, the knight had been...had been...

Greem hesitated for a moment, clueless as to how he should describe the battle he had just witnessed.

He had very clearly ’seen,’ with the senses of the Chip, Uzzah hiding her presence and arriving beneath the enemy before opening a tiny passage leading straight into the shadow plane. In all honesty, the dark knight hadn’t died. He had simply been dragged into the shadow plane by the techniques of a Dark Witch.

That said, the shadow plane was practically the second home of the Dark Witches. It wasn’t hard to imagine the fate of the dark knight after arriving in that realm.

Uzzah might not be so arrogant as to waste her energy to connect two distinct worlds if she were faced with an enemy of the same grade. However, the enemy was only a dark knight that had nothing other than brute strength. A crude technique like the one she had just unleashed was even more effective against such opponents. An inconsequential and cheap battle was avoided by crushing the enemy with her superior grade and instantly knocking out the monster without expending much energy.

The undead army quickly fell into chaos when they lost the command of the dark knight.

Greem immediately transformed into a towering Flame Fiend and started to sweep the battlefield alongside the Flame Fiend of Terror.

The first to be exterminated were those bone mages.

Two five-meter-tall Flame Fiends simultaneously teleported into the ranks of the bone mages. They then boldly spread fire and destruction across the land, turning the space into a terrifying hell of fire and brimstone.

The bone mages might have shocking power when attacking in unison, but their individual defensive power was even weaker than those Ironhide Zombies. Naturally, they were destroyed and routed when ravaged by two Flame Fiends.

Greem and his golem had obliterated these bone mages in no more than five minutes. He then cast his attention toward the dark cavern that was continually spitting out these undead.

First, Greem used a Demonic Wall of Fire to seal the entrance of the cave and cut off the reinforcements of undead. He and the Flame Fiend of Terror then turned into master pyromancers, igniting the entirety of the battlefield.

Burning, scalding, and the large-scale Scarlet Firestorm that raged in the cave slaughtered all the undead within the giant cavern. Only a ground full of scorched bones and burnt corpses remained when they were done.

At the very same time, the mindless undead had sacrificed their cold bodies to suppress the blazing wall of fire at the cavern’s entrance. More reanimated monsters were once again surging into this tattered battlefield.

What should he do now? Was he to continue squaring off against these undead here?

Greem couldn’t help but turn and look at Alice.

Alice instantly understood his intentions. She lifted a finger and pointed at a cave where undead were surging out of, "Over here!"

Greem charged toward that cave without hesitation.

He first manipulated the fires and sealed the other entrances, leaving only this particular passage. The Flame Fiend then stomped his way across and charged straight into the passage, wading through the tide of undead.

Meanwhile, Greem cleared away the undead remnants that had survived the Flame Fiend of Terror and followed the golem into the tunnel.

The entire process was clean and surgical, without any hint of hesitation. It was a demonstration of Greem’s complete trust in Alice!

An odd glint lit up in the eyes of Dark Witch Uzzah as she observed this scene wordlessly.

The relationship between Alice and this adept didn’t seem quite like what the outside world claimed it to be.

For the first time, curiosity toward them sprouted in Uzzah’s mind!

Affection. Such a thing was practically non-existent amongst adepts.

Most Northern Witches believed that affection would only weaken oneself. They thought that love could become a fatal weakness to a witch. There were plenty of powerful Northern Witches in history that ended with a tragic fate due to their lovers or family being captured by the enemy!

That was why affection had always been regarded with disdain and fear amongst the circles of the Northern Witches.

The male adepts that belonged to the Northern Lands were either in positions of servitude or were the representatives or concubines of powerful Northern Witches. Their statuses and identities were incredibly awkward.

Yet, there existed a trace of tacit understanding and trust between Alice and this male adept known as Greem. It was an assurance that went beyond an ordinary relationship.

It infuriated Uzzah tremendously!

Most Northern Witches might not have acknowledged Alice’s identity due to her grade, but she was still the leader of the Fate Witches to the outside world! Even the Third Grade Uzzah had to treat her as an equal when talking to her.

This woman that stood side by side alongside other powerful witches as one of the eight witch leaders was actually weak enough to develop affection with a male adept. That undoubtedly challenged the sacred witch’s creed that existed within Uzzah’s heart!

How could a weak witch such as herself be qualified to lead the Witches of Fate? How could she be qualified to lead the branch of Fate on the path toward their past glory?

Uzzah thought silently to herself.

Her thoughts were completely shrouded by a dense barrier of shadows. Alice couldn’t pick up on any shred of her fury, even though she was mere inches away from the witch.

Moreover, at this moment, all of Alice’s attention was focused upon the guiding instructions from Fate as she continued to steer Greem toward the correct path.

Many sizeable caverns could be seen along the way. As they walked against the tide of undead and went deeper underground, the caves and tunnels started to shrink in size, becoming ever more narrow.

A massive cavern that served as a crossroad would appear every hundred steps they took. Greem and the others would then have to choose between a series of different paths. Every cave was constantly spitting out shambling zombies and creaking skeleton warriors.

In truth, these zombies and warriors had already set out from the depths of the underground when the battle started. However, their slow movement speed had allowed the ghouls to take up the battlefield before they had even arrived.

Now that the three adepts had intruded into this underground space, they found themselves stuck in a horrifying sea of undead once again. Even if they managed to reach Mary and her vampires, they would have a hard fight escaping to the surface.

Just as the party passed through the caves under Alice’s instructions, vanquishing countless undead as they moved, a strange commotion seemed to stir in the distant depths of the earth.

All the tunnels trembled slightly. The adepts could vaguely hear loud, consecutive roars through the winding tunnels, quickly followed by an earth-shattering sound.

It seemed that there was yet another unknown battlefield!

Greem’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.

The Third Grade druid had pursued Mary into this underground world. If there were any other outsiders in this playground for the dead, it would have to be them. Moreover, Mary had no powerful casters in her group. As such...

"Prepare for battle. Lady Uzzah, if it’s actually that fellow, then you will probably have to fight!" Greem’s emotions started to soar at the very thought of having to face off against a Third Grade druid. That said, as the leader of the group, he calmly started assigning the duties of combat.

Uzzah did not respond, but the shadows shrouding her body silently started to grow in size and power.

The adepts stopped advancing. Their eyes turned toward the cave where the sound was coming from, and they waited in silence.

Finally, a large group of undead was swept away by a thick chain-lightning as a ferocious and towering figure strode out of the tunnel.

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