Chapter 1250: Four Fighters and Four Crystals (Part 1)

The Red Bloom was a stranger in the dark forest. She understood this, just as she understood that all the monsters would try to drive her away in order to regain control of their home. However, this wasn’t her first time doing this, and she knew how to assess her strengths correctly.

She knew where the monsters would be able to resist and where they would not.

Sure, sometimes unexpected situations arose, which is why the Red Bloom kept an eye on changes inside the barrier, watching for every suspicious movement and monster that could suddenly pose a threat to her.

However, due to her tactics of complete control and observation, she could not protect herself from a random Phantom falling into the territory.

The chances of this happening were too small for the Red Bloom to worry about. Also, she was sure that a regular K4-Phantom that came to the dark forest could not be a threat to her.

If a K4-Phantom had a mission in this forest, it meant that it did not possess any great power.

The plan was good, it had worked flawlessly several times before. During her life, the Red Bloom had devastated many territories and killed a large number of monsters and Phantoms.

But sooner or later, everyone faced failure or a difficult test that could become one.

The only question was whether the Red Bloom could cope with the greatest threat to her evolution in her long journey, or whether it would be the end for her.

The reason for this was the appearance of a Phantom that seemed simple at first glance, but the Red Bloom realized too late that it was Adam Vinter.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” The Red Bloom exclaimed internally, biting her lip until it bled. “Why did this happen to me? They came up with a plan… Fucking Garrah, I’m sure he came up with it all!”

Through the red flowers scattered throughout the dark forest, the Red Bloom watched their squad.

In the end, Garrah, the Thorn Hunter, and the Dark Blobs agreed to Silvana’s plan to attack the crystals all together, one after another, instead of splitting up.

In fact, there was only one flaw in this plan — they might not have enough time. If the Red Bloom managed to restore the first crystal before they destroyed the fourth, all their efforts would be in vain.

And next time, the Red Bloom would prepare and strengthen the barriers around the crystals so that they would have no chance.

She could have done this before, but the more energy she spent on strengthening the barriers, the slower her evolution progressed.

She still needed a lot of energy to move on to the next level. She couldn’t waste energy on every aspect unless it was necessary.

Step. Step. Step.

At the same time, in the southern part of the forest, Adam, Garrah, the Dark Blobs, and the Thorn Hunter were moving together.

There were no other monsters near them. Following Silvana’s plan, they went to the other crystals to distract the guards.

“Hey, Garrah, how strong is the barrier around the crystal?”

“Well… It depends…” Garrah shook his head, thinking. “But if you do the same thing you did to the outer barrier, you’ll definitely be able to break it. I’m sure of it.”

Adam smiled broadly.

“Alright, let’s see what these guards are capable of!”

Strangely enough, there was not one bloom guard waiting for them at the northern crystal, but two. The Red Bloom took this risk to seriously slow them down.

“W-What…? Why are there two of them?” Adam blinked several times, puzzled.

Silvana hummed thoughtfully.

‘Hmm, she probably left one crystal without a guard, but strengthened its barrier. We didn’t expect that, but it’s actually good news.’

“Agh? How so?” Adam raised an eyebrow.

‘It shows that this is her limit and she’s actually afraid of us and other monsters, even if they’re weaker. If she were confident that the crystals could withstand the attacks, she would have brought all four guards here, but she didn’t.’

With every second, they were getting closer, the distance between them decreasing.

The two bloom guards stepped forward as red auras enveloped their bodies. Armor made of dark wood and twisted roots covered their frames, and instead of heads, they had a single crimson, round crystal encased in wood.

Their weapons were identical — great spears with crystal tips that glowed brightly amid the light, wandering mist.

The energy and regeneration of the bloom guards were practically limitless, for they were directly connected to the Red Bloom. The bloom guards’ feet remained firmly on the ground, where roots leading to the center of the forest were hidden.

Sure, this limited their mobility, but the bloom guards had no intention of going anywhere. They could move freely near the red crystal, and that was enough.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he looked at the great crystal supported by a multitude of intertwined roots like the crown of a tree.

From time to time, a transparent barrier flashed around the crystal, releasing some of its light.

“So, I’m leaving the guards to you?” Adam asked one last clarifying question.

Garrah nodded deeply as his pace slowed.

“Yes. You attack the barrier. The Thorn Hunter and the Dark Blobs will do the rest.”

Without further ado, the three of them rushed forward.

The Dark Blobs were first. They ran at the first guard with predatory grins.

“Hahaha! Kill guard!”

“Kill it!”

“Eat it!”

The first guard prepared for battle. He had orders to protect the crystal, and he was going to carry them out at any cost.

Whooooosh.

In a heartbeat, the Dark Blobs jumped on top of each other, transforming into a tall monster with a great hammer.

Before the first guard could react, the Dark Blobs swung their hammer, unleashing all their power on the unprepared guard.

Crash!

The force of the blow was enough to smash the first guard to smithereens, causing its crystal to go out for a moment.

“Hahaha!”

“It’s dead!”

“We won!”

However, their joy was short-lived because very soon, the Red Bloom would restore the guard and make them understand that she would not let them destroy the crystals without a fight.