Age of Adepts
chapter-611

Greem returned to the metal fortress once more after deciding on an initial list of combatants.

The newly captured frost dragon had already been sent to Fire Throne. She would be sold away via special means once the time was ripe. The name of the Crimson Clan had been founded after the clan establishment banquet last time. They had left a deep and lasting impression in the minds of many adept clans.

Snorlax was now using his private social circle and trying to spread the name of his own brand using the high-quality dragons that Fire Throne could occasionally provide. It made plenty of adepts who went home empty-handed extremely excited. They would visit Fire Throne every day, constantly looking out for specific news of the next dragon.

Some of the wealthier adept clans even provided Snorlax with the gender, attribute, and all sorts of data for the dragon they needed. They claimed, very boldly, that they would be willing to accept any price as long as the Crimson Clan could provide them with a dragon that suited their specifications.

Snorlax was an extremely smart goblin as well. He decisively put on display a dragon scale taken off of Frost Dragon Aruntini's body at the goblin shop he had opened at the hall on the first floor of Fire Throne. This way, visiting adepts would only need to examine the milky-white dragon scale to be able to figure out the bloodline purity and innate attributes of the frost dragon.

For a moment, word of a new dragon in Fire Throne spread everywhere.

Many high-grade adepts sent their own representatives to hurry to Fire Throne and negotiate the purchase of this frost dragon with Gargamel and Snorlax. For a short time, the Crimson Clan based at Fire Throne was at the center of attention, presiding above even the five great clans of Zhentarim. They had become the most popular and well-received, newly established clan of Zhentarim.

Yet, behind this popularity, all of the Crimson adepts had vanished one after another. They had started a new wave of seclusion.

They were about to step on a journey to a new plane in three month's time. There was far, far, far too much preparation to be done before then.

Firstly, they needed to finish the newest batch of miniaturized magic energy furnaces as soon as possible.

Not only did the Tigule's Goblin Shredder require the furnace as its energy source, but some of the larger construction machines also demanded the use of the magic energy furnaces. Greem needed first to ensure the safety of the clan adepts before they made it into Faen.

Secondly, Greem had been busy with planar invasions ever since he advanced to Second Grade. He had unknowingly let up on his fundamentals– the research and crafting of elementium golems.

Now that they were about to enter a mature mid-sized plane governed by a host of deities, high-quality elementium golems were an irreplaceable support force. Greem needed to use this last period of free time to convert all the high-grade elementium crystals he had been accumulating into suitable and indispensable elementium golems.

That was the fastest way to increase his personal power!

Furthermore, apart from these usual tricks of his, Greem also worked out the Spirit of Pestilence and the Stitch Ghost Golem. They gave him two new ways to deal with enemies.

However, these two alchemical creations had independent soul consciousness. Greem needed to cultivate and train them for a long time if he wanted them to unleash their full potential. As such, these two beings could only act as Greem's assistants for the moment. He couldn't use them as the main fighting force.

On the other hand, three of the talent-stealing bugs being bred in Fire Throne's secret room had entered maturity. They would soon be able to undergo the second phase of the bloodline experiment.

Greem's heart raced when the prospect of being able to steal the bloodline talent of a mighty race perfectly crossed his mind.

Ever since he had advanced to Second Grade, the daily meditations had been incredibly ineffective at raising his Spirit. In the end, the original owner of this body of his was no more than an ordinary human apprentice adept. The body's potential was minimal.

Greem had relied on his tenacity and the Chip's help to rapidly climb to his current grade. However, the increase of his Spirit had suddenly slowed down tremendously at this stage. It even showed signs of completely stagnating. Without the use of special means, Second Grade might be the limit of this body.

Greem had to do something about his soul origin or bloodline source if he wanted to improve further.

However, soul experiments and bloodline research of this nature were always hazardous and risky. Any mistake could lead to devastating and irrecoverable consequences. So many Second Grade adepts turned themselves into monsters and abominations precisely because of a slight error in the process of modifying themselves.

Moreover, when such mistakes involved the soul origin and bloodline source, it was virtually impossible to undo the damage. The more that was changed, the further the soul and bloodline would deviate from an ordinary human until the adept finally turned himself into a strange monster that no one could recognize.

The main reason the Second Grade dragons the Crimson Clan provided were so popular was because the dragons were ubiquitously known for their robust Physique and bloodline powers. Being able to uncover the secrets within the dragon's bloodline was equivalent to excavating a new bloodline development path for any high-grade adept.

Disregarding the dragon's bloodline legacy, just the immense lifespan and great elementium talents of the dragons alone were things that the human adepts were extremely envious of. If they were able to turn themselves into dragon bloodline adepts, they would be undefeated amongst adepts of the same grade.

Moreover, the longer they were able to live, the more time they would have to improve themselves and advance. The powerful elementium strength from the dragons' bloodline would also make it a breeze to destroy adepts of the same grade.

Bloodline adepts emphasized their bloodline powers, elementium adepts prioritized their elementium skills, and body-refining adepts focused on their physical strength.

That was why living dragons became the most sought-after bloodline creature in the World of Adepts!

Though Titans, Phoenixes, Hydras, and Behemoths were all bloodline creatures that were even more powerful than the dragons, they were few in number, hard to find, and extremely difficult to capture. Moving one step backward, it was only natural that the dragons became so sought-after by all high-grade adepts.

…………

The World of Adepts.

Land of the Northern Witches, Werning.

As the location of the Witch Council, Werning was a neutral territory that existed independent of the various witch branches. In particular, during these past years, the witch branches had set up the entrances to all the shared lesser planes at Werning, making the place livelier than ever before.

Today was the day the Pale Witches were opening up their plane. A large group of individuals had gathered upon the road to Werning at the break of dawn.

Those ordinary merchant groups had already retreated to both sides of the road upon seeing the forces of the witches arrive. Coachmen, slaves, guards, and all manner of small fry crouched on the ground. Their heads were lowered, and none dared even look up to sneak a peek at the witches. Only merchant group leaders with titles could stand before the witches and bow to welcome their arrival.

A group of black carriages that was extremely well-covered rolled past their respectful gazes. The handsome horses pulling the carriages all whinnied and pressed forward with all their strength. It seemed as if they were having a tough time.

Knight Ed Kinsville was the manager of the Edie Chamber of Commerce. He often traveled upon this road and was used to such a scene. However, this was the first time his youngest son Finney was accompanying him on a trip; he had never seen such a view before. He secretly looked at the legendary group of witches while hiding behind his father, also tugging at his father's sleeve as he did so.

"Father, which branch are these witches from?"

Finney's voice was extremely soft, but it still shocked Ed tremendously. The man quickly turned back and scolded.

"Silence! Put your head down low and look at the earth at your feet. Do not stare at the carriages directly."

Just then, black-armored guards by each side of the witch carriages walked past the father and son while looking straight forward.

Ed hurriedly used his hands to cover his son's mouth. He then turned and frantically bowed before the black-armored guards.

However, the guards completely ignored Knight Ed. They continued to advance while guarding the black carriages.

At this moment, one of the carriages hit a rock on the road before Ed and his son. The tightly covered curtains flew upward, revealing the horrifying monsters packed within.

They looked like humans who had been skinned and soaked in a filthy gutter for several days. Their bodies had a sickly pale color to them that resembled victims of drowning. Their skin was also slimy, wet, and let out a pungent smell.

They had no eyelids either. Only milky-white eyeballs could be seen in their deeply sunken eye sockets. They were so white that not a spot of black could be seen.

They were like a group of dead creatures, unmoving even as they were packed within the small and narrow carriage. However, they immediately sensed the trace of a living human when little Finney's gaze fell upon them. Their slimy bodies trembled and started writhing about, wildly sniffing for the scent in the air. They became restless.

The commotion in this carriage caused a chain reaction.

Soon, all the nearby carriages also trembled intensely. One could even occasionally hear the 'howls' of these terrifying monsters.

"What happened? Who alerted these ghouls?"

Two young witches appeared in the sky on flying brooms. They silently hovered above the carriages.

The restless carriages once again fell silent as they sang a strange and drawn-out song. The monsters within calmed down once more.

It was the Death Witches!

The knowledgeable Knight Ed immediately recognized the identities of the witches by the styles of their witch robes and the emblems they wore. He immediately fell onto the damp dirt in surprise. Little Finney, who had crossed eyes with the ghouls, had already fainted.

"Hmph! Useless fellow. If you had alerted the big guys in the other carriages, they would not have stopped until they devoured you. You– go and tell the people in front to have all unwanted personnel retreat thirty meters away from the road." The witch in charge of guarding the carriages cursed unamusedly. She then whistled and took to the skies on her strange broom again.

The black-armored guard that the witch had pointed at immediately bowed in acknowledgment. He dismounted from his horse and rushed toward the front of the formation.