Chapter 254
Chapter 254 The Battle Begins
On the battlefield.
Everybody looked on intently.
As Greem shouted and cast his spell, the sunny skies quickly turned crimson red. High above the layers of clouds, a massive and blinding meteor was crashing down, leaving a blazing trail as it plummeted.
Roiling flames, burning fires and a terrifyingly unstoppable momentum…
The meteor had yet to land, but already everyone’s hearts were beating furiously. They held their breath and looked on in terror as this apocalyptic disaster quickly crashed towards the retreating army of steel.
“Idiots! He wanted to bait you into attacking him. That’s the only way he has any excuse to exact vengeance on you and your men! Have them run for their lives!” Carlos furiously scolded the foolish lord. Green light flashed around him, as if he had just cast Godspeed on himself. Without even bothering to hide himself he rushed towards the battlefield.
The old adept Cochran couldn’t help but shake his head as he watched the tremendous might of the falling meteor, “As expected, fire adepts are the most suited elementium adepts for the battlefield. Especially a terrifying person that has chosen fire mastery like this one. It seems your bunch of iron can-heads are not gonna come out of this unscathed!”
…………
A single blow had crushed nearly seventy percent of the heavy infantry’s combat forces.
Greem looked at the struggling soldiers from a distance. He didn’t finish the job with another blow.
According to the rules of the Zhentarim area, no adepts were to involve themselves in worldly wars. It was only when themselves, or the clan’s profit, were involved that the adepts were allowed to enter the war. Even so, they were not allowed to launch any attacks at the nobles or their subordinate forces.
Of course, idiots that actively provoked the adepts and infringed upon their honor were not included in this rule.
As such, no adept could fault Greem for returning the soldiers’ attacks with such a devastating blow. However, now that the opponents had suffered such heavy losses, he stopped. If he continued to press the issue, despite having exacted his vengeance, even the Zhentarim Association wouldn’t let it slide.
Greem’s three meter tall flame body stood on the spot, silently waiting for the arrival of the enemy adepts.
Two hundred meters to his left, Keoghan had just landed on the ground. He couldn’t help but exclaim happily when he saw the dire state that the heavy infantry had been reduced to, “Idiots, the lot of them, set on fire. Burn them, scorch them, send the ashes back home to their mothers! That arrogant Tras is probably lying in a pool of his tears right now.”
The two didn’t mind fighting together. However, as adepts, both of them had different styles of combat. Greem’s hundred-meter-wide Ring of Fire was indiscriminate. Even Keoghan had to burn if he walked into its radius.
As a result, the two had to keep a distance of one to two hundred meters in order to avoid interfering with each other.
The two raised their heads at the same time and stared at the three adepts that had gracefully landed three hundred meters away from them.
“Carlos… Cochran… McThran!”
Keoghan clearly kept a close account of all adepts in the neighboring clans and organizations. Just a single glance and he could recall their names. His tone became especially heavy when he swept past the strange cloud of black mist.
Meanwhile, Keoghan was already communicating with Greem in secret. He quickly gave a basic introduction of the three adepts before them.
Carlos. First Grade Curse Adept (a branch of elementium adepts). Subordinate to the Mikayne Clan (Hostile). Known to be cruel and scheming. Well-trained at all debuffing and weakening curse spells.
Cochran. First Grade Summoning Adept (a branch of esoteric adepts). Subordinate to a neutral adept organization known as ‘Wheel of Time’. Well-trained at summoning otherworld creatures.
McThran. First Grade Dark Adept (a branch of elementium adepts). Subordinate to the Black Glove Association (Neutral). Personality traits remain unknown. Natural affinity with dark elementium. All of his attacks have a strong corrosive effect.
Greem couldn’t help but ask once Keoghan had finished his introduction, “Are adepts not forbidden from participating in worldly conflict by the Zhentarim Association? With how brazen they have been, are they not concerned about punishment?”
“Hmph! Rules are dead things while humans are well alive!” Keoghan let out a muffled grunt, “They must have signed some sort of hiring agreement with Tras. And so, this suddenly turns into something that involves their ‘personal benefits’ and therefore… “
Keoghan didn’t continue; Greem already understood.
It seemed all the rules of the Adept’s Association were only meant to be formalities and courtesies. The existence of the rules were only to avoid large-scale adept conflict. No one cared about small skirmishes and fights.
In the end, the cause for this battle was because the neighboring forces wanted to make a quick buck by profiteering off of the Sarubo Clan’s weakness. It had nothing to do with fairness or justice. Even the excuse for war had long been forgotten!
If the Sarubo Clan wanted to protect its properties and regain its strength, it would have to display much more viciousness than its preying neighbors. Otherwise, if they waited until the higher-ups were able to come back, all that would be left waiting for them might just be broken and burned ruins.