Age of Adepts

The entire battlefield is silent!

Although deep down the Olympians had long since stopped thinking of wizards as their own kind, and saw them as creatures as evil and cruel as calamitous creatures and star beasts. But when they witnessed a two-headed sorcerer transformed into a flesh-and-blood giant 'crunching' off the skulls of his companions like a monster and chewing on them, they all trembled and shuddered inside!

Thus, as the flaming giant, the two-headed sorcerer, and the dread sorcerer hiding inside the astral construct closed in together, the Olympians' spirits collapsed.

The Arcane Vigilance Tower swing that was entangling with the Holly Witch was overflowing with a violent arcane aura, pushing it back raw, then throwing out a tractor aura, pulling the 'companion' that was still fighting the Starlight Witch Formation and flying away without looking back.

'Retreat' now....

Shocked by the evil sorcerers, this group of Aurors actually retreated without a fight!

Looking at the other party's slightly terrified and frantic fleeing figure, the two-headed wizard couldn't help but poo-poo a mouthful of blood foam and said contemptuously, "Hmph, a bunch of soft-headed people who haven't been in battle before..."

Even Grim sighed inwardly as he watched the other party's rapidly moving away back.

These Olympians were too weak in their will to fight!

Perhaps within the Austrian Empire, the theory of knowledge alone was clamoring, and those with profound knowledge, the old scholars and antiques also possessed a higher status and power at the same time.

With the arcane tower, the floating city, the half-bit fortress, and the arcane guards, the arcane masters naturally did not need to do anything themselves, much less run to the front lines of the battlefield like savage warriors to kill the enemy in blood.

In their perception, the so-called war was to leisurely stay in the safety of the big rear, pressing the crystal hub, commanding the sturdy ships and cannons (the half-bit fortress), and driving the bottom fodder (the arcane guards) to swiftly rip apart the enemy's defenses.

They, however, only need to throw a grand ocarina at the enemy with a smile on their face, protected by an arcane barrier.

War is an art, and all we need to do, is use our knowledge to crush all enemies!

It was under the influence of this kind of warfare mindset that the Austrians became a group of poor guys who were extraordinarily fond of their bodies and lives. When the bloodshed on the battlefield surpassed their limits, they did not hesitate to turn around and run away.

In fact, if they had been more sensible and determined, with the cooperation of the two Arcane Vigilance Towers, it was probable that they would have been able to entangle or repel the attacks of the three evil sorcerers. But unfortunately, although the Arcane Vigilance Tower was not breached, the heart defense of the Arcane Sorcerer who was manipulating it all within the tower was viciously crushed.

This bunch of losers....

The Holly Wizard skimmed his lips in disdain as he dropped down to the wrecked guard tower, smashed open a passageway with his large, hard, starry hand, and flew into it.

After a moment, he flew back out of it, tossing Grim a huge crystal of knowledge with it. And by the look of his flying eyebrows, he had obviously gained a lot in the tower.

The war was over, and the three regrouped in front of the arcane guard tower.

The two-headed sorcerer had retreated from his transformed state, revealing a somewhat weakened breath, and his body was densely covered with large and small wounds. A striking blood hole the size of a fist on the small abdomen spilled scarlet blood all over the floor.

However, even with such injuries, Mangus was still full of excitement and joy.

With a muffled puff, Mangus flung the remains of the 4-ringed Olympian to the ground, and a stream of blood from the headless neck continued to swim out, staining the large patch of dirt beneath him.

Grim's eyes scanned and did not find any spatial equipment like storage rings on the Olympian's mutilated corpse, and also turned his head to look elsewhere, not mentioning the matter. The Holly Wizard, on the other hand, seemed to have noticed this as well, but seeing as Mangus had also fought hard enough just now, he didn't pursue the matter any further.

The three of them hastily cleaned up the battlefield, and before the new enemy appeared, they hurriedly burrowed into the mountain forest and headed straight for their next target.

.................

Regent's Garden, Floating City.

The fury of the Grand Auror of Furya was so overwhelming that it nearly took the lid off the entire Auror Hall.

She roared in rage, slapping the long obsidian conference table in front of her with a mountain of thud, her sharp and pointed accusations even more so, making it difficult for the two 4 Ring Olympians to raise their heads in shame.

After ordering the arcane guards to squash the two arcane masters with a stern tone, Furilla looked around the room at everyone, the anger on her face suddenly disappearing and replaced with a sadness and exasperation that came from the depths of her soul.

Gazing at the language, Furilla finally spoke up.

"I have received an evacuation order from the Imperial Commander... The order was delivered by His Majesty Garcia himself, with the signatures of the eleven 7 Ring Grand Aurors..."

Hearing the super harsh word 'retreat', many of the Austrian masters present instantly turned pale. During the 127-year-long Bit Defense War, they had heard countless bad news and knew that the Austrian Empire was struggling to sustain itself.

However... the word 'retreat' still scared them!

The Morian Plane is the native plane of the Aurors, the enemy has hit home, where else can they retreat to? Is it possible to abandon the original plane, retreat to some secondary plane, and live as a lost dog?

"Why only His Majesty Garcia, His Majesty Newman?" An aged 4-ringed Olympian stood up trembling and stared intently at Frilla as he asked.

Garcia and Newman were the two emperors who held the supreme power in the Austrian Empire, but the children of the Austrian Empire preferred to call them 'Garcia the Regent' and 'Newman the Arbiter'.

In reality, the Austrian Empire actually practiced a parliamentary republic. The Austrian Emperor was more of an honorary title, which did not mean that the Austrian Empire practiced the so-called imperial system.

Hearing the old Occultist's question, the muscles on Frilla's face twitched a few times before she finally spoke up to answer.

"There has been a split in the upper echelons of the Empire, and His Majesty Newman doesn't agree with His Majesty Garcia's view that the Empire can continue to persist. So..."

"So His Majesty Garcia advocates escape, and His Majesty Newman advocates death...what about those great Olympians?"

"The Grand Aurors are also divided into two factions, with one faction believing that the Morian Position is already difficult to preserve, and that the core of the Aurorian Empire must be moved out as soon as possible, before the outer defenses are completely crumbled. On the other hand, the other faction...believes that it is possible to fully retreat inside the bit plane and use the Floating City and the Arcane Tower to hang those enemies who dare to invade our world. After all, the strongest strength the enemy can exert once they enter the interior of the bit plane is only at the peak of the 4th stage, and it's entirely possible for us to wipe out the enemy's elite by sitting on the power of the land and waiting for our turn..."

"That would be to use the entire bitworld as a battlefield... If this kind of bitworld war is fought, even if it's won, I'm afraid there won't be anything left of the entire Morian Plane!"

Frilla was dumbfounded.

It wasn't like the Austrian Empire hadn't invaded other bitworlds before, they certainly knew how much damage was brought to the common people when a bitworld was invaded by a terrifying alien race. Rivers of blood and lives were lost, these words were not enough to describe the horrors of a bit war.

After a bit war, not one in a hundred ordinary people were lucky enough to survive.

What's more, the Austrian Empire was not facing a single enemy this time, but a huge group that gathered several powerful races from the Multiverse. It was almost impossible for the Austrian Empire to survive this 'natural disaster'.

Thus, the deeper they thought about it, the more the Austrians felt their souls being torn in half.

They also wanted to stay behind with His Majesty Newman to fight those otherworldly monsters for a chance to live in death. However, the Occultist's unique sanity told them that this would only be a dead end, but instead, the Occult Empire would be wiped out and there would be no chance of a comeback.

Thus, silently listening to Furilla's softly spoken account of the split that had occurred in the upper echelons of the empire, all of the Austrians affiliated with the Rikei Garden Floating City were bloodied inside and were torn in two by life.

"So what do you mean?" Another Olympian stepped forward.

"Currently, the Empire's defenses outside the bit barrier are pretty solid, and besides the odd fellow who broke in, the only enemies in large numbers are those calamity creatures and individual star beasts. Therefore, the news that the Empire is preparing to retreat cannot be leaked out easily yet."

"Keep in mind that the upper echelons of the Empire left us with limited time and numbers, and each Olympian above 3 rings can only take two people with them, while Olympians below 3 rings can only take one. In addition to that, the imperial upper echelons have reserved a transfer quota of 200 people for us. You guys go back and carefully select and screen the names of those particularly talented youngsters, and I'll include them on the transfer list at my discretion..."

"I emphasize once again that the news of the Imperial retreat is still in high secrecy, and any Olympians in attendance will need to maintain strict secrecy. At least until the evacuation plan begins, I don't want internal chaos in the Floating City caused by the leak of information. Do you all hear me?" When it came to the last sentence, Furilla's voice turned steeply cold and harsh, and that great Olympian's majestic air instantly enveloped the entire Olympian Hall.

"Yes!" All the Aurors stood up in unison and nodded their heads in response.

"Remember, whoever leaks the news out, his transfer quota will be instantly cancelled. When that happens, don't you dare blame me for turning my back on him!" After another stern warning, Furilla then relaxed her appearance and waved her hand wearily, "Go down and get ready, all of you!"

As the fish came out of the Olympians, Frilla sighed quietly and turned to return to her residence.