Chapter 1247: Red Barrier

Adam didn’t want to get involved in the problems of the dark forest. He had many other tasks to distract him from monsters, flowers, and barriers.

However, he had no choice but to get involved. If he wanted to reach the Glass Bridge, he had to destroy the barrier.

But the Red Bloom knew everything that was happening in the dark forest. This place had become her hunting ground.

Any monster that tried to get close to the flower was killed and eaten by its roots. She controlled everything and watched over what was happening.

She knew that Phantom had entered her territory. She waited for Adam to reach the center, where she was waiting for him and was ready to fight to kill and devour him.

Instead, an unpleasant tremor woke her up.

She came to the dark forest from another territory with only one goal in mind: to safely go through evolution and gather enough energy for it.

Stronger monsters captured the territories of weaker ones in only two cases.

A monster could simply not withstand the competition in its territory and therefore had to flee to safer places, but this was not as common as it might seem. If a monster was weak but claimed the role of leader, it either survived and got everything or perished at the hands of the most deserving one.

The situation with Bathild and Marhen was unique, as Marhen, being the weaker monster, was ultimately able to take the leading position. This happened from time to time, but it was very rare.

There was another scenario in which this happened—the monster had already consumed all the resources in its territory or territories, if there were several. So, it had no choice but to move on to the next one.

The Red Bloom was just such a case.

At the Tarnished Lands, there were not as many Lords as at the Dark Shore, especially in territories that were not under the influence of the Renegades. Thus, for many areas, the strongest monsters were the Black Threat Ones or the Elders.

So, the Red Bloom had no competitors in the territory where it was originally located, and there was no supreme leader like Saegar for the wing monsters.

She acted wisely and headed for the dark forest, rather than the Forgotten Mills or another territory where monsters were capable of tearing her to pieces in an instant for her audacity.

Here, she was the strongest. She proved it by coming to the forest and subjugating all the monsters, taking their energy, and not allowing them to do anything. Moreover, the barrier at the forest’s borders kept them within her influence, under her constant control.

Now, she was about to face a new threat—the K4-Phantom.

‘Tsk… Why did this have to happen now?’ the Red Bloom frowned.

The bud of the great red flower trembled, showing her anger as the scarlet vines around the dense barrier began to move.

‘He’s trying to break my outer barrier, and… Is he actually succeeding?’

The Red Bloom quickly realized that her outer barrier would not last long if she did not do something.

And the reason for this was a random young man who had come here with a completely different purpose.

Ironically, if the Red Bloom hadn’t surrounded herself with a barrier, Adam would have simply walked through the dark forest. Now, everything would only become more difficult.

…

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The pulses ran one after another along the barrier from the point of impact, and soon cracks appeared in the air, causing a satisfied smirk to appear on Adam’s face.

‘Damn, this barrier is really strong. I thought I could destroy it in an instant and pass through, but… I’ll have to try a little harder!’

Step.

Adam stepped forward, putting more force into it.

Soon, shards flew before his eyes, bouncing off the barrier. It showed that the barrier was multi-layered, which once again indicated how much stronger the Red Bloom was than the monsters of the dark forest.

Garrah, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn’t believe his eyes.

He didn’t expect to see anything more than pulsations, but cracks ran through the barrier and fragments broke off.

A little more, and Adam would break the barrier. He had enough energy to do it.

However…

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The Red Bloom couldn’t let that happen. It would disrupt her plan and hinder evolution.

“Agh?” Adam glanced down.

Several dark red tips appeared from the ground and shot upward sharply.

Dark roots with red flowers towered over Adam, but he was not their target. The Red Bloom wanted to show that even Adam was not capable of destroying her complicated barrier, which she had put so much effort into creating.

The roots became part of the barrier, preventing the pulsations and cracks from spreading further. Then, the flowers glowed brightly, filling the weak spots in the barrier with energy, making the vulnerable area much stronger.

Adam’s eyes widened in mild panic. He felt that he was close.

“No! I won’t let you!” Adam exclaimed as the energy bursts erupted from his body, strengthening his path.

However, it was too late.

The barrier was repairing itself faster than it was being damaged.

In the end, Adam’s energy came to an end, forcing him to lower his needle and admit defeat.

BAM!

Adam’s fist slammed into the barrier, sending tremors dozens of meters away.

“FUCK! Where is that bitch hiding?!” Adam exclaimed, looking at Garrah.

Slowly, Garrah pointed to the center of the forest, where a faint red glow emanated from.

“Here, but you shouldn’t rush…”

“Why not?!” Adam frowned. “Although, maybe you’re right. I have to try again! On the second try, I’ll definitely break through this damn barrier!”

“No.” Garrah’s cold voice made Adam stop.

Adam turned, waiting for an explanation, but his patience was running out.

“You’ll keep trying and failing every time. You’re spending way more energy on attacking than she is on strengthening the barrier. Eventually, she’ll realize you’re a real threat and come after you. You’ll be weakened, you’ll lose, and she’ll kill you.”

After a few moments, Adam nodded.

“Alright, then what should we do?”

Garrah looked at the forest.

“Attack together… and this time you’ll break through her barrier…”