Chapter 1197: Last Minutes Before the Thunder

The Kirani Knights were burned in Fromund’s fire. They fought bravely and were stronger than most of the Kirani Bugs, but they simply had no chance against Adam and Fromund.

Perhaps if they had been in an open field and had help from the entire colony, from the guards and sentinels, the outcome would have been different.

Well, that’s not counting the fact that Adam and Fromund could have used their trump cards at any moment to change the situation, especially Fromund.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam moved forward, finding himself at the edge of the wall gap.

The other Kirani Bugs did not rush to approach them. They feared not only for their lives, but also that their deaths would be useless and would not help the colony survive.

They had all seen how quickly the Kirani Knights had lost after Adam and Fromund started working together. It was not a speed and power they could compete with.

Soon, Fromund approached Adam, grinning widely as he glanced at the frightened bugs.

“Do you feel it too?”

“I hope you’re talking about that?” Adam pointed to the wall full of hexagon sockets, where hundreds of larvae were nestled, ready to be born as soon as they absorbed enough energy.

Strangely, Fromund nodded.

He understood that besides the excitement of battle, they had an important task—to find the Twilight Crystals.

They had partially accomplished this mission. Fromund had obtained his crystal, but Adam deserved one as well.

“Yeah, but we need to check. Just because this crystal was inside the wall doesn’t mean the other one is there too.”

Adam shrugged as he jumped off the slope.

The Kirani Bugs flew away, fearing him like fire, which was not a mistake, especially because of Fromund, who was always ready to help Adam.

But this was only the beginning.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Adam closed his eyes as his aura emerged in its full power.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I wonder what it looks like now?’

Energy like white flames came out of Adam’s body, while at the very end, a little black, ancient one appeared that did not belong to him originally. He took this power from other monsters and made it part of his aura.

This was enough to make the weakest Kirani Bugs collapse to the ground and fold their wings. They couldn’t withstand the pressure.

However, this wasn’t enough.

Adam’s goal wasn’t to defeat the Kirani Bugs with his aura. He wanted to increase its area of influence as much as possible.

To do this, he needed to summon his Spirit.

The energy trembled as black and white streams came into motion to form a great figure.

Fromund watched the process from the front row and couldn’t hold back his emotions.

A lone warrior woven from a myriad of threads stood on one knee with a sad look on his face, staring ahead.

But his loneliness did not last long.

A dark silhouette appeared behind him, with shoulder-length hair that reached out to the warrior, covering his shoulders with a long coat.

Adam did not know what his Spirit would look like, but now he could see it.

‘Hah, even if it’s just an aura… Now we’re together, forever, right?’ Adam muttered to himself.

Silvana heard it, but didn’t react, only a slight smile appeared on her face. She didn’t know if Adam wanted her to hear it or not.

Then, Adam nodded deeply and waved his hand.

“Alright, as Fromund says, it’s time to act.”

A long needle appeared in the warrior’s hands, more like a sword as he raised it high above his head.

Energy gathered at the tip in a tiny orb before exploding, sending a pulse around it.

With each energy surge, a new orb and pulse appeared.

Gradually, the area of Adam’s aura expanded.

Apart from the hundreds of bugs surrounding them, he didn’t notice anything. He was completely focused on sensing anything unusual.

Then… It happened.

Adam’s eyes flew open when he caught a glimpse of a round object in the distance. It looked like a dark spot or a black hole, standing apart from everything else.

“Hah… Hey, Fromund, you were right.”

Whoooooosh.

Fromund appeared to his left as he nodded toward the nest.

“The Twilight Crystal, it’s there, right?”

“Yes.”

This search was necessary because they couldn’t just cut one wall after another in half.

The previous incident was only possible because Adam used the Imaginary Cut. Only that ability was powerful enough.

However, his goal was not to split the wall, but to kill the Kirani Sentinels.

Now, they knew where the Twilight Crystal, the second of the four, was located. All that remained was to retrieve it.

Exchanging glances, they simultaneously rushed forward, soon finding themselves in front of the nest.

In fact, the location of this Twilight Crystal was logical, much more effective than the first one.

The Kirani Bugs had built their nest where the larvae developed next to the Twilight Crystal so that the young monsters would grow faster and become stronger.

That was why the nest had its own defenders who did not attack Adam and Fromund when they invaded the colony.

But now their time had come, they had to protect their offspring.

Whoooooooooosh.

Four figures appeared out of nowhere, crashing into Adam and Fromund with flashes of amber.

Adam and Fromund reacted just as quickly, blocking them with their energy-filled fists.

Then, Adam and Fromund were left in the middle as the four monsters surrounded them.

In many ways, the Kirani Keepers were similar to the Kirani Knights, they were just better in every single aspect.

The Kirani Keepers were slightly taller, their eyes were amber like the energy wandering around their chiseled bodies. Unlike all other bugs, they had no wings, they didn’t need them.

Their job was to protect the larvae at all costs, not to hunt monsters or Phantoms on the surface.

“You… You dare not do that!” The first keeper exclaimed, his eyes filled with rage.

Fromund shrugged.

“As my friend said, you have only yourselves to blame. Hah, the Twilight Crystal is behind the nest? That can’t be a coincidence. You knew that sooner or later someone would come here for the crystal, you just thought you could handle them more easily.”

The other keepers frowned but said nothing. They understood that Fromund and Adam were right to some extent, but they weren’t wrong either.

Step.

The second keeper stepped forward, energy swirling around his hands.

“Every member of the colony does everything for the colony’s development, no matter who you are, a simple worker or the Queen herself! The Twilight Crystals are too useful to get rid of because of the risks.”

Crunch.

The third keeper cracked his knuckles.

“Yeah. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re doomed. Even if you kill us, you’ll spend too much time on it. Our Queen made sure that someone would come here to turn you to ash!”

His words caught Adam’s attention, but he didn’t respond. Flaming monsters weren’t uncommon.

‘Or… Maybe he’s talking about lightning?’ Adam thought, feeling a moment of hope.

“Hah, I’ll deal with you quickly!” Fromund exclaimed.

Ten seconds later, they had exchanged several blows. No one was seriously injured, which alarmed Fromund.

He was surprised at how strong the Kirani Keepers were.

Step.

Fromund stepped forward, ready to rush back into battle, but Adam stopped him.

“Agh?” Fromund glanced at him, puzzled.

Tremble.

With the space shaking, a dark crown appeared in Adam’s hand.

“Silvana has already explained everything to Arayna, so just listen carefully and work with me. That way, we’ll defeat them quickly. If recklessness is on our side, they don’t stand a chance.”

Before Fromund could say anything or the Kirani Keepers could react, a red pulse emanated from the crown, engulfing them in a field.

At the same moment, everyone saw a dark sword hovering above them.

The Kirani Keepers were confused. They had never seen such an ability before. Fromund was in a similar situation, but when he heard Arayna’s voice, a smirk quickly appeared on his face.

With each word Arayna spoke, his smirk grew wider and wider.

“Fuck!” Fromund stamped his foot on the ground. “Why do you have that ability? Argh? I want one too!”

Adam waved his hand as needles appeared in his grasp.

“Just don’t hold back. Remember, every second counts. I don’t know who’s coming to help them, but it’ll be difficult to defeat them all at once.”

Then, they rushed into battle, a bloody one where the Kirani Keepers had no chance of winning from the start.

…

At the same time, Bathild crossed the borders of the fiery lands and flew over one lava lake after another.

In the distance, she could see a volcano large enough for clouds to hover around its peak, but her attention was focused elsewhere.

She stared at an empty spot, where there seemed to be nothing, but she knew that was where the entrance to the Kirani Colony was located.

“Alright, Queen, let’s see what Adam Vinter is capable of. This human, no… this man! He will give me my title!”