Age of Adepts Chapter 638 Pawn Against Pawn, General Against General

Three large-scale spells erupted almost simultaneously inside the ranks of the elves.
Icy Frost Ring!
Shadow Army!
Meteor Crash!
A massive tide of frost exploded in the very center of the elven lines. The churning cold of dangerously low temperatures raged in every direction, sealing most of the ordinary elves in a thick casing of ice. Only the individuals who had elementary magic resistance could avoid the fate of being sealed in ice.
The Shadow Army that the dark witches had worked together to summon was a horde of ferocious shadow creatures that came from the Shadow Plane.
Shadows were not equivalent to darkness. Shadow was a sort of energy that had no material substance to it, but also naturally possessed spatial traits. There were countless types of shadow creatures. Most of them hid within the Shadow Plane, for there were no suns or moons there. There was only the infinite darkness.
Of course, some powerful shadow creatures would choose to wander between the planes. The chaos energy between the planes was their natural sustenance. These shadow creatures were sly, dangerous, and powerful. Consequently, they were a species of beings that summoner casters both loved and feared tremendously.
Shadow Summoning was a mature magic and could be strengthened all the way from First Grade to Fourth Grade.
First Grade Shadow Summoning could only randomly summon some ordinary shadow creatures, such as shadow mastiffs, shadow snakes, or shadow warriors.
On the other hand, Second Grade Shadow Summoning could summon a whole squad of shadow warriors. Though they were not planar creatures, they were still intelligent lifeforms with elementary intelligence.
As for what the dark witches had just worked together to summon? That belonged to the level of a Third Grade Shadow Summon and could conjure a massive shadow army that numbered as many as a hundred shadow creatures. A hundred-man shadow army like this could easily slaughter a mortal army of a thousand soldiers with their immunity to physical damage and their ability to bypass defenses.
Of course, the shadow energy that formed the creatures was a sort of negative energy. This negative energy was naturally countered by the unicorns, who had positive energy. Thus, as the darkness spread and the slaughter extended its reach, three blinding suns lit up within the boundless shadows, two big and one small.
Of course, these weren't actual suns, but nature's light glowing at the tip of the three unicorns' spiral horns!
With the origin suppression from the three unicorns, the previously unchallenged shadow army immediately started fleeing in every direction. They shrieked as they dove back to hiding within the shadows. There was no longer a single trace of their previous fearlessness and recklessness.
At this moment, a massive fireball that measured a whole five meters in diameter crashed from the skies. It brought with it a blazing sea of fire and horrifying temperature as it went straight for the towering tree hall.
The fireball had yet to arrive, but the heat wave had already swept the ground.
Everything on the ground heated up and became scorched. The green quickly faded as fiery red was the only thing left within the massive space, along with the suffocating heat.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit. You will kill all of the elves this way." Third Grade Dark Witch Uzzah, who had been watching all this unfold without lifting a finger, started to curse repeatedly.
She lifted a hand, and a thick Spear of Darkness crossed several hundreds of meters to strike the plummeting meteor. The meteor instantly shattered, exploding into four or five smaller meteor shards. These pieces continued to fall from the skies like a rain of fire that sought to burn the air to ashes.
The shattering of the meteor meant the destructive impact of its descent was negated. Still, the rain of fire from above forced the elves to scurry about to avoid being killed. Their formation was thrown into complete disarray. Even the tall and fearsome treant warriors seemed to feel unspeakable fear toward the rain of fire. Much like the elves, they frantically fled.
The formation of the elves had been completely disrupted.
Almost as if someone had blown the horn for a charge, all the magical machines started their advance at the direction of the goblin technicians. They unleashed a storm of metal toward where the treants, elves, and unicorns were as they marched.
The witches roaming along the perimeter also seemed to have spotted the opportunity. They all used their various techniques to cut into the battlefield quickly. They charged onto the battlefield in groups of three to five, targeting the elven powerhouses that had been isolated due to their frantic running from the large-scale spells.
Tigule piloted his Goblin Shredder and kept his eye on that Second Grade Deadwood Guard.
The Deadwood Guard was covered in wooden tendrils and sharp thorns. It waved the massive tree in its hand freely, sweeping away the rain of fire descending upon his head. It was trying its very best, but sparks of fire still ignited upon its dry and withered body.
The Deadwood Guard was approximately ten meters tall. The Goblin Shredder was reasonably big on its own, but it was still no more than five meters in height. Tigule piloted the Goblin Shredder and rushed at the enemy, the five pairs of spider-like metallic limbs clanging loudly as he advanced.
As the Goblin Shredder advanced, it waved the four metal arms on its torso.
A metal saw and an alloy drill spun rapidly, emitting a loud grinding noise. Meanwhile, the two magic energy cannons fired continuously without any restraint, instantly flooding the Deadwood Guard's massive body with fearsome energy shots.
If he had the choice, Tigule would definitely not have wanted to pick a fight with this ten-meter giant. However, when he took a look at the forces on their side, the only one that could compare to the Deadwood Guard in terms of size and strength seemed to be him.
That was why Tigule had no choice but to roar and clash with the Deadwood Guard despite how reluctant he was.
They were two massive giants. One was larger but was created from the animation of a withered and ancient tree, while the other–despite being half the size–was a magical construct and a true metal golem.
An apocalyptic melee erupted when these two individuals crashed into each other.
One had large wooden fists, while the other possessed joints of steel and fists of iron. The two humanoids clashed together and rolled around. Whenever they raised their fists, they would be thrown straight into the head of the other. Mountainous sounds rang out as they punched each other, almost as if the very earth was being pounded into gravel.
However, splinters were flying everywhere from one of them; visible cracks had appeared all over the body of the Deadwood Guard. The other continued to dig and slice with its saw and drill, as its energy shots ceaselessly bombarded the enemy at practically zero distance.
The two of them were both of the same grade, but the power that they displayed in combat against each other was vastly different.
The basic attributes of both creatures slowly appeared before Greem's eyes like a book as he scanned with the Chip.
[Goblin Shredder.
Second Grade Magical Machine Warrior.
Five meters tall, seventeen tons.
Core energy source: Magic Generator Furnace (Miniature Version).
Magic energy weapons: Two magic energy cannons, one metal saw, one alloy drill, twenty-four goblin rockets, one energy field generator, and one anti-gravity levitation system.
Basic attributes are as follows upon conversion:
Strength 27 | Physique 34 | Agility 18 | Spirit 11
[Deadwood Guard.
Second Grade Treant.
Ten meters tall, eight tons.
Basic attributes are as follows upon conversion:
Strength 24 | Physique 27 | Agility 9 | Spirit 13]
Greem had a sudden revelation when looking upon the attributes of both parties.
The Deadwood Guard might not be too far off of the Goblin Shredder regarding Strength, but it was inferior when it came to Physique and Agility. A Second Grade creature like itself was mostly determined as Second Grade based on its primary attributes rather than its overall combat prowess.
Thus, the Deadwood Guard only had the form of a Second Grade creature without the essence of one. It was a Second Grade creature that had an innately powerful body, but a weak soul consciousness.
On the other hand, the Goblin Shredder both had primary attributes that compared to Second Grade creatures, as well as the piloting of a top-grade goblin mechanic like Tigule, the God of War. The power it could unleash in combat, and its use of its own capabilities and attributes, was vastly superior to the opponent.
If it weren't for the green vines and thorns on the Deadwood Guard's body that constantly entangled the Goblin Shredder's arms like serpents, things would be a lot different. These entangling vines were preventing the Goblin Shredder from making any significant movements, especially when thick roots were also emerging from the ground to further tie it down. With the difference in their combat power, the Goblin Shredder would have only needed fifteen minutes to utterly destroy the body of the Deadwood Guard!
According to Greem's understanding, the Deadwood Guard, regardless of how powerful it became, was no more than a slightly stronger Pawn. However, the Goblin Shredder was a true General. It was a hero on the battlefield.
The two individuals couldn't even be compared to each other!
Now that the battlefield was quickly turning into utter chaos, Greem spent no more energy trying to command the situation.
At any rate, the more chaotic the battlefield, the greater their advantage. After all, the magical machines completely rolled over the opposing elves when it came to individual strength.
Thus, Greem transformed into a four-meter-tall giant flame humanoid and casually strolled across the battlefield. He swept across the field with his bright yellow eyes of flames, continually looking for his opponent.
Such an eye-catching target naturally drew some overreaching opponents.
Ci. Ci. Ci.
Three consecutive arrows pierced into the Lava Shield in front of Greem, blasting it into a rain of fire and lava that fell from the skies.
Greem looked around with his blazing eyes.
It was that Second Grade female elven deadshot!
She stepped upon the tall ancient trees and leaped off of the soft and slender branches to advance on Greem. As she did so, she continued to pull her bowstring rapidly.
After that Triple Shot, she unleashed yet another Double Shot.
This time, the strength behind the arrows was even more intense and its piercing power was a lot more ferocious than before as well.
"Hahaha," Greem laughed arrogantly, "You alone can't possibly be my opponent. Why don't you call him over as well!"
As Greem spoke, he raised a hand to shield his face.
The two enchanted arrows that were so fast as to avoid being seen by the naked eye dug deep into the back of his hand. They then exploded abruptly.
A massive wound was blasted into Greem's left hand made of only lava and fire. The magma shards and boiling lava instantly splashed in every direction.
Greem couldn't care less for such a minor injury. He continued to laugh as he made a waving motion towards a lithe silhouette in the distance. A large pillar of crimson fire quickly blasted out from under that person's feet.
With Greem's current power, this crimson fire pillar only required half a second to form and erupt. Even so, it still failed to wound the enemy.
The agile form flashed and turned into a rapid beam of light. It then dashed past Greem's side.
At the same time, a fountain of fire blasted out of Greem's side. A deep slash mark appeared on his dense waist.