Age of Adepts Chapter 778 Bug Adept Advances

Icewind, White Tower.
Though White Tower was in the Northern Lands and did not have accurate information on everything that was happening in the clan headquarters, gossip and rumors still quickly spread throughout the land.
Most of the clan adepts within the tower had been drawn back into Fire Throne where they were desperately fending off the invaders. However, judging from what news they received, the situation didn't seem to be looking up.
That caused the members at White Tower to become anxious and concerned!
Fortunately, Majordomo Adept Meryl was still here. With the collective efforts of her and Icelady Snowlotus, they quickly managed to suppress the hint of chaos and uprising that was stirring amongst the others.
Meryl had been beyond busy during these few days.
On the one hand, she had to work hard on managing the daily matters of White Tower. On the other, she had to keep a close eye on all the news from Fire Throne and remain prepared to provide headquarters with the most significant backup of resources and manpower that she could muster.
Of course, Meryl also had to split off part of her attention to watch over all the commotion on the ninth level of White Tower!
The most famous of Crimson Clan's First Grade adepts, Bug Adept Billis, had suddenly returned and shut himself in his room on the ninth level right before the crisis at Fire Throne had broken out. According to what Meryl knew, the clan had already provided Billis with the necessary materials for advancement to the Second Grade a long time ago. Billis choosing to shut himself away at this moment was most likely so he could advance to Second Grade in the shortest time possible.
The addition of another Second Grade to the Crimson Clan while the battle raged on at the frontlines was an extremely beneficial thing from every possible perspective. As such, Meryl sent Old Fox Vanlier to Billis' door in hopes of getting news of his advancement at the first possible moment.
…………
Inside Billis' room.
The disturbances of the outside world could no longer affect Billis' mind.
Here in this wholly sealed magical room, Billis had taken off the thick black robe he always kept around himself and completely revealed his wicked and ugly bug body.
After the past hundred years of murder and slaughter, there was no longer a trace of human features on him.
Gleaming black shell, ugly lotus-like mouthpart, sophisticated compound eyes at the front of his insectoid head, and thick, clumsy claws.
Billis was crouching against the ground like a true bug. His abdomen rapidly swelled and shrunk as crackling sounds rang all over his body. It was almost as if his current bug body could no longer host the massive amount of power that he had devoured.
Countless cracks appeared on his dark black shell, widening over and over with every passing second. One could even see the semi-translucent abdomen sac swelling to its limits through the cracks on his shell. Some unknown, yellow viscous liquid was churning within there. One could also occasionally see strange eggs in the shape of tadpoles.
As a bug adept, Billis' advancement was most definitely different from an ordinary adept.
His current situation was nothing like an ordinary human adept's advancement. Instead, it bore more similarity to the evolution of magical insectoid creatures.
Billis rolled and ground against the floor in agony as dense acid mist spewed out of his ugly mouthpart and hid his body within a fog. The acid mist sizzled when it came into contact with the air and the ground. However, Billis' screams and cries toned down when his splintering body came into contact with the mist.
It was almost as if this terrifying acid mist had the ability to nourish and heal him, soothing some of the pain of his shell tearing apart!
As a core adept of the Crimson Clan, Billis was able to enjoy many unique benefits.
The Crimson Clan had obtained a large number of life-attribute crystals after the war in Faen Plane. These crystals had now all been devoured by Billis, turning into his biggest reliance to sustain himself until he completed the evolution.
However, Billis was once again faced with a difficult choice during this process of evolution.
The process of advancing to Second Grade was a decisive turning point of deciding the path of his insect evolution. Billis needed to choose between the two options of strengthening his bug body and enhancing his swarm.
If he chose to strengthen his bug body, he would leave behind his weak self and allow his shell toughness and magic resistance to increase by a hundred times. When that happened, he would be able to rely on his sturdy body to endure the attacks of ordinary Second Grade adepts.
That was clearly a choice that would lead him onto the path of a combat insect!
If he chose to strengthen his swarm, he would only experience a minor increase in his physical and magical defenses. Most of his evolution abilities would be concentrated on the swarm that he led. Moreover, all the magical skills that he has mastered would be able to benefit his swarm through the effect of his amplifying aura.
This choice would undoubtedly allow him to remain the master of his swarm and a brood leader that relied on his insects to fight!
After some thought, the cowardly Billis, who preferred not to have direct confrontations, chose to walk down the evolution path of a Brood Leader.
Once he confirmed his evolution path, strange changes started happening to Billis' body.
The color of his black shell shifted continuously, while his thick claws and limbs became even denser and stronger. However, these changes were still not as obvious as the changes to his abdominal sac.
Digestive and excretory organs could no longer be seen in his evolved sac. All the space within there had been segmented into cavities of various sizes. Billis could freely breed unique insects to his specifications in these cavities.
The evolved Billis could no longer accumulate life energy by devouring food and flesh as he had before. Without his stomach and digestive acids, he had lost the ability to sustain himself through food consumption. Instead, he had to rely on the life energy that his swarm obtained to support his own life.
Thus, it should be said that the evolved Billis was more a mobile insect hive than an adept!
The first thing Billis did after completing his difficult evolution was summoning the magical mantises he had created. Twenty-three Intermediate First-Grade magical mantises gathered around him like loyal guards. They bent down slightly and silently offered him their loyalty.
Billis' appearance might not seem to have changed much from before his evolution, but if someone were to examine his insides, they would find that he had undergone a tremendous transformation.
Billis looked upon these magical mantis bodyguards of his seriously. When he extended his Spirit onto their soul brands, these Intermediate First-Grade mantises started to writhe and cry in pain, even as tremendous changes occurred to them.
Their bodies stretched out, their wings expanded, and their bones grew while their terrifying scythe-shaped arms became even sharper. They even glowed with a strange magical light.
Five magical mantises had successfully advanced into Voidreavers before Billis' face.
It was a ferocious Beginner Second-Grade magical creature!
They might have kept their appearances as magical mantises, but they were far more formidable and ferocious.
Voidstep gave them the unique ability to enter the interspatial layer temporarily. This ability was remarkably suited for walking through obstacles or avoiding attacks. They could only maintain Voidstepping for three seconds with their current power, while the cooldown was eighteen seconds.
Moreover, they could also allow this ability to temporarily enhance their scythe limbs and imbue them with the ability to ignore all defenses.
However, sadly, their Physique after evolution was considered weak among Second Grade magical creatures. They were predators with weak defenses yet powerful attacks.
Upon completing their evolutions, the insects' life-grades changed.
The five Voidreavers beat their mighty wings and crouched right before Billis, while the other magical mantises retreated further away out of fear. They silently crouched on the ground, not daring to compete with these Voidreavers for the position at the front.
Meanwhile, the massive swarm spread out even further away, turning into a squirming circle as they silently protected their swarm leader.
Billis looked upon these newly advanced Voidreavers with satisfaction on his face. For the first time, he felt the power of being a bug adept. Billis did not feel like a Second Grade adept would have the chance to escape or survive if they were surrounded by all five of these Beginner Second-Grade Voidreavers.
If one were to pick out any weakness of the Voidreaver, it would be their inability to use scrolls, potions, or magic wands like other human adepts. They fought purely with their powerful bodies. Otherwise, Billis would have absolute confidence in simultaneously fighting three or four Second Grade adepts and coming out victorious.
After all, adepts treasured their lives, while his insect generals were fearless!
…………
Adept Meryl immediately hurried over once Billis stepped out of his room.
Though Meryl couldn't see any part of Billis' body hidden under his black robes, she was certain that he had successfully advanced.
That was because the Beginner First-Grade Meryl felt an odd sense of fear and terror from the depths of her heart just from standing near him. If it wasn't because Billis knew well enough to restrain his ferocious insect aura, Meryl might not even be able to stand straight before him.
The spiritual pressure from the grade suppression and Billis' unique aura of cruelty blended together, elevating him from being a mere master of insects hated by all!
"Billis…Lord Billis," Meryl bit her lips and tried her best to suppress the wild fear surging from the depths of her heart, "Congratulations…on becoming…a Second Grade adept!"
"Tsssss..."
Billis savored her fear with an expression of intoxication. He could no longer suppress the joy within him as he let out an unbridled shriek.