Chapter 1190: No Chase (Part 2)

It is unknown what Fromund would have thought if he had known that the powerful Elder was moving to the Kirani Colony precisely because Adam was there.

Sure, Bathild would have helped the Kirani Queen in any scenario, otherwise, she would have lost the opportunity to obtain the Twilight Crystal, but Adam was more valuable than that.

By defeating Adam, Bathild would not only fulfill her part of the agreement with the Kirani Queen but also absorb the energy from his body. After he revealed the Path Construct, the fact that it contained two types of energy was a big deal.

But, in addition to the energy, Bathild also wanted to defeat the powerful Phantom.

Despite being an Elder in terms of power level, as she was an Awakened Monster, she still did not have a title.

This did not happen very often, but sometimes it was the case.

Many of Bathild’s battles were not well known enough to other monsters for her to be given a title.

It wasn’t her top priority, but it was an important detail for her that she wanted to finally obtain.

Thus, her motivation was enormous. She had all kinds of reasons to fight Adam.

What about him?

Well, he didn’t even know yet that the Kirani Bugs wouldn’t be his main problem.

…

Thump. Thump.

Adam and Fromund collapsed to the ground as they looked up. Amidst the dark sky, lightning flashed through a small hole.

“Damn, how deep is this passage?” Fromund looked around in disbelief.

He had to slow his fall several times because he was afraid of hurting his legs when he landed.

“Well, when you’re an insect, something like that is normal for you. It’s a problem for us, but they’ll fly by and not even notice. But… something else is bothering me.”

Adam pointed ahead at a massive round seal resembling a gate.

At the seal were four empty cells that were clearly meant to be filled with something.

Step. Step. Step.

Fromund walked forward, looking at several winding passages. These passages were more like the ones in caves than dug tunnels.

“Fuck, those four guards didn’t escape. Was this all part of the plan?”

Approaching the seal, Adam nodded slightly.

“Yeah, looks like it. They probably let the other bugs through, then closed the gate and took whatever was in those cells. Most likely some kind of crystals… Fuck, this is a problem.”

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

Fromund scratched the back of his head, puzzled. All the caves were dark, and he couldn’t see anything that might indicate the Kirani Guards.

“Damn, now I think your theory is right. They’re trying to buy time. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have done that, they would have prepared an ambush. But they want us to play cat and mouse with them!”

Then, Fromund shook his head and banged his fists together.

“Alright, I’ll go to the passages on the left. You take the ones on the right.”

Fromund was ready to go when Adam’s voice rang out:

“No.”

“Hmm?” Fromund gave him a questioning look.

Adam stepped back, looking at the seal, which was several times larger than a normal house.

“We’re not playing by their rules. If we were at the Dark Shore, I wouldn’t suggest this, but in the Dead Lands… It’s possible.”

Fromund tilted his head, lost.

“What are you talking about?”

In response, Adam pointed at the seal.

“We’ll break it. I’ll break it. I’m sure these gates are strong as hell, but I have the right tools for the job.”

Without another word, Adam’s aura intensified as two needles appeared in his hands.

However, Fromund was still skeptical about the idea.

“Maybe we should try to find those guards first? I mean, it’ll take us as long to find them as it will to destroy this thing, but it’ll take a lot less effort.”

Adam shook his head.

“No. We’ll be delayed too long. Even here, I can hear the storm getting worse. No matter how you look at it, that can’t be a good sign.”

Then, he stepped forward as streams of energy ran through his shoulders and headed toward his needles. The second needle glowed brightly, while the first needle sank deeper and deeper into darkness.

“They want us to waste time, we won’t let them.”

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The second needle turned into a flash, ending up in the center of the first needle as Adam changed his grip, holding the handle tightly with both hands.

Last time, he used the great path against Arnoth, because the lesser path wasn’t powerful enough to break through Arnoth’s defense.

Enough time had passed since that day.

Adam had grown stronger, and there were significantly fewer barriers in this world that he couldn’t destroy.

“Just step aside. I’ll do the rest.” Adam’s low voice rang out as he leaned his torso forward.

Fromund nodded silently. He hadn’t seen Adam this serious in a long time, not since their battle at the Moon Colosseum.

“Good.” Fromund smiled faintly. “With that look, he’ll definitely break that thing.”

As soon as Fromund was at a safe distance, Adam sprang into action.

The entire path was laid out between him and the point behind the seal.

With his next breath, he was ready to attack.

At the same moment, a multitude of green eyes appeared from the shadows as the Kirani Guards revealed themselves.

Fromund’s eyes widened in shock as he watched four guards rush toward Adam.

All this time, they had been nearby, hoping to track Adam and Fromund’s movements by the tremors in the ground caused by their footsteps. The Kirani Guards wanted Adam and Fromund to run after them in an endless circle.

However, when they sensed Adam’s aura, they realized that their plan had failed.

Tap.

Fromund reached out his hand, and his spear appeared next to him in a burst of flame.

But there was no need.

Step.

Adam stepped forward, and the great path shook.

Pure force tore the Kirani Guards to pieces as Adam found himself behind the gates, smashed to pieces.

A tremor swept through the Kirani Colony, momentarily distracting thousands of bugs from their tasks.

A chill ran down their spines, causing them to tremble as they all looked up, sensing the power moving toward them.