Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 292: Midnight Crystal (Part 17)

Adam, as one of the strongest K1-Phantoms at the moment, gained his position largely by defeating Essence Thunder Demon, a Top-2 Monster.

That was why, even a Phantom like Erla felt as if she was a fan in front of a celebrity, even though she was strong enough to kill Giant Rogo, a Top-18 Monster, with a single accurate attack.

It was worth remembering that K1-Phantoms started from Blue Threat Level monsters, then they progressed to Purple Threat Level and gradually reached Top-100 monsters. Each successive monster defeated was proof that the Phantom's power had increased.

However, Oskar's words were able to interest or even slightly scare Katrin and Adam.

A monster stronger than the Purple Threat Level? Sure, there were more than enough of them, but they should be in territories for K2-Phantoms such as Prago.

"How is that possible?" Adam asked as he narrowed his eyes, "Black Cinder Forest is a dangerous territory, but not so dangerous that such a strong monster would appear here! Moreover, Igno Ants though numerous, they are weak!"

Oskar nodded, he wanted to say something, but at this time another Giant Rogo approached them.

The Giant Rogo opened its jaw wide, about to unleash its flames on them. The fire needed some time to build up enough strength, so Oskar had a chance to do something about it.

"Shit, where did it come from? Alright, let's destroy it and continue our conversation later." Oskar gritted his teeth and gripped his sword tightly. He was as ready to fight as ever.

Erla turned around abruptly, going to grab her sniper rifle and aim to destroy the monster with one clear shot.

Step. Step. Step.

At the same moment, quick confident footsteps sounded behind her. Before she could realize the source of the sound, a tall shadow leaped at Erla, using her shoulder as a springboard for itself.

From the surprise, Erla fell to the ground, unable to withstand the pressure from Adam's jump. He simply stomped her into the ground.

Then, finding himself in front of Giant Rogo, Adam cast a cold stare at the monster. Even though the monster was right in front of him, Adam hadn't used a single ability yet.

"Wait... What is he doing? I have to help him!" Lero exclaimed going to use his book, but someone's hand stopped him.

Turning around, he saw Katrin with a serene look.

"Calm down. He doesn't need your help since he's not even going to use his abilities. That bastard killed Thunder Demon and he's only gotten stronger since then." Katrin said calmly.

Lero gulped. He still wanted to use his Nexus and help Adam somehow, but to his surprise, Katrin's grip was stronger than he had assumed.

"Hah, pathetic the support." Katrin snorted arrogantly before stepping back.

Osana tilted her head in confusion with a slight but mysterious smile and almost closed her eyes.

'Well, well, looks like someone has some serious self-esteem issues. I wonder why she's on the same team as Adam Vinter then? Being his support must be torture for her.'

Crackle.

Adam grabbed the scales on Giant Rogo's chest and quickly climbed up onto the monster's shoulder. Giant Rogo's gaze filled with rage as he turned towards Adam, about to unleash all of his flames on Adam to turn him into a handful of ashes.

What should Adam have done in such a situation? Perhaps he should dodge, thus forcing Giant Rogo to make a pointless attack, but he had a better option.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Adam burst forward, stepping on Giant Rogo's broad shoulder. In a heartbeat, he found himself under Giant Rogo's head, from whose maw flames were about to burst out in the next second.

Before that could happen, Adam threw his hands up, lifting the monster's jaw and forcing Giant Rogo's wide-open maw firmly closed.

Giant Rogo's eyes went wide as he tried to open his maw, but Adam held it tightly, not allowing even a tiny gap to appear between the monster's teeth.

Erla's eyes went wide as she realized what Adam's plan was.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Giant Rogo's head shook as the flames tried to escape, but it was impossible because his jaws were tightly clamped together.

Soon, the flames came out through the monster's ears, nose, and eyes in a multitude of thin, dense streams that burned through everything in their path. Naturally, Giant Rogo's brain turned into a liquid slop burned by the heat of the flames.

Adam nodded slightly and leaped upwards, climbing on top of Giant Rogo's head, waiting for the huge monster's body to finally reach the ground.

Bam.

With a slight rumble, Giant Rogo's body sank into the ground raising waves of ash.

Erla and Lero were shocked, their eyes wide open, not believing that Adam had handled Giant Rogo so easily. Osana stared at him thoughtfully, no one knew what was in the mind of such a sweet and harmless-looking girl.

Oskar grinned widely as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Damn! Dude, that was freaking awesome!" Oskar nodded.

'Well done, good job.' Silvana said quietly. .net

"Yeah, that wasn't hard." Adam muttered before casting a glance at Katrin.

There was a wicked smirk on her face, she was clearly quite pleased to finally see Adam's power in action with her own eyes and not from a video.

"I thought you were going to smash through his skull, but your method was better than I thought it would be." Katrin spat out a comment.

"Well, I was afraid the flames would burst out and burn me, so I had to improvise." Adam replied calmly before turning to Oskar.

"So... What were you saying about the Igno Ants? Why do we have to destroy them? How will they summon a monster stronger than Purple Threat Level? And, if all of that is true, why are we killing Giant Rogoes while helping the ant's defense?" Adam asked many questions at once, staring intently at Oskar.

Oskar looked at his squad, now that Adam showed his power in action all eyes were on him.

"Sure, you're right, Igno Ants are weak monsters, but why do you think Giant Rogoes decided to attack Igno Ants? You know, it would take a good reason for such a fierce battle to break out between two groups of monsters." Oskar said looking into the distance.

There were three Giant Rogoes corpses lying around them, so the monsters chose to avoid that area, but that didn't mean the battle was over.

The Giant Rogoes were burning ants, trying to get closer to their Nest. They had a precise intent.

"Apparently you know, right?"

Oskar smirked.

"Yeah, the Igno Ants have gathered a lot of different resources, including plants from the Black Cinder Forest and underground flame crystals and even energy-infused black tree roots."

Adam nodded. He realized that the Giant Rogoes wanted to take it all for themselves, or rather he had thought this way before. Now, he realized that the reason was something else.

Oskar scratched the back of his head and glanced at Igno Ants Nest.

"We took the mission to destroy them, after all, the mission department figured out why they gathered so many resources."

Oskar looked intently at Adam, his gaze serious like a warrior ready for mortal combat.

"They are preparing for the birth of their king. It is the Igno Ant King who is the monster above the Purple Threat Level. If he appears, both your and our missions will be in danger as well as our lives."

Tap.

Oskar punched himself in the chest with a fiery gaze.

"Help us! With your help, we will complete this mission quickly and without casualties!"

Adam and Katrin just looked over at each other.

'Agh... Headache.' Katrin inwardly muttered.