Chapter 1198: Bathild, One Without a Title (Part 1)

A few minutes after Adam and Fromund encountered the Kirani Keepers, their bloody battle came to an end.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam moved forward, looking at the Kirani Keepers who were unable to adapt to Adam’s ability, unlike Fromund, who, thanks to Arayna, quickly understood what needed to be done.

Sure, none of them were injured because Adam’s artifact forced them to regenerate at an incredible speed, but in the end, the Kirani Keepers had to pay a high price for this.

“Damn, Adam, that ability, how can I get one like that?” Fromund exclaimed, still under the impression of their battle against the Kirani Keepers.

In response, Adam smiled bitterly.

“Well, I’m afraid that in that case, you’ll have to walk my entire path, repeating every step to get to the point where I created this artifact. To be honest, I don’t think that’s a good idea, even if it were possible.”

Fromund said nothing, he just nodded weakly in understanding.

Neither Phantoms nor monsters could simply create or choose any abilities they wanted. It didn’t work that way.

Sure, sometimes the abilities of Phantoms could be similar or even practically identical, but there were always some details that differed. And even if that happened, the next time the ability was changed, the result would be completely different.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The sound of hundreds of Kirani Bugs flying around echoed, but they simply couldn’t get close to the two Phantoms.

They knew that if Adam and Fromund activated their auras at full power at the same time, the Kirani Bugs wouldn’t even be able to lift off the ground or move their wings.

Adam had to get the Twilight Crystal, he knew where it was — behind the nest — but before doing so, he glanced back at the empty throne in the distance.

The trees continued to absorb the energy wandering through their amber veins, each surge ending at the sharp tips of the branches, where dew dripped directly into the pond at the foot of the throne.

After defeating the Kirani Keepers, one thing became clear to Adam: they were the strongest monsters among the Kirani Bugs.

The strongest, except for one.

“Where is the Queen?” Adam wondered.

The first time he saw the empty throne that clearly belonged to the Queen, he decided that she was simply hiding and waiting for a better moment to attack.

However, it was now clear to him that the Queen had no intention of taking part in the battle in the first place.

“Hmm, Silvana, are you thinking the same thing I am?”

Silvana nodded.

“Yes, that pond… If you don’t take into account all the other resources this colony has, it’s probably the most valuable, except for the Twilight Crystals, of course. All the energy is directed to these trees, where it condenses and is directed into the pond.”

“Do you think the Queen is there?”

After a few moments, Silvana sighed heavily.

“Maybe, maybe not. In any case, even if the Queen is hiding at the bottom of the pond, there’s no point in looking for her or attacking right now. That aura… It’s getting closer, and very quickly. What’s more, I recently started to sense another one, it’s moving from the north.’

Adam nodded.

Initially, he thought that the Kirani Bugs had only one ally, but during the battle against the Kirani Keepers, he realized he was wrong.

It was Marhen and the Black Threat thunder monsters. Adam didn’t know who they were, but he knew they were enemies.

What he needed to do now was not to look for the queen or fight the Kirani Bugs wandering around, but to absorb the Twilight Crystal and become stronger.

Whooooooosh.

Without wasting another precious second, Adam rushed forward and swung his needle several times.

He was strong enough to cut his way through the wall, through stone and cobblestones. It wasn’t as easy as using the Imaginary Cut, where he split the entire wall in two, dozens of meters deep, but it wasn’t difficult either.

Thanks to the fact that Adam was using the Spirit and was in the center of the colony, he knew where the Twilight Crystal was, so the path was clear to him.

Slash. Slash. Slash.

With each swing of the first needle, Adam carved a tunnel for himself until a powerful dark energy poured out of the cracks.

Fromund, who was watching from afar, grinned.

“Hah, it was there, huh?”

Adam’s voice came from inside:

“Yes, I’m going to consume it! Don’t let anyone stop me!”

Fromund shrugged as he swung his spear, leaving a trail of flames floating above the ground.

The Kirani Bugs that were too close to the entrance immediately flew away. They were afraid that the flames would touch their wings and burn them completely. That would definitely have happened if they hadn’t reacted in time.

“Of course, don’t worry about that. Just hurry up!”

Adam understood this well.

Unlike Fromund, this wasn’t the first time Adam had attempted to absorb the Twilight Crystal. However, he couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“Wait…” Adam raised an eyebrow, confused. “Why is this one so small and weak…?”

Because Adam had been fighting the Kirani Knight while Fromund absorbed the crystal, he hadn’t had a chance to get a good look at the previous one.

But now he had a little time.

“The one Fromund absorbed was the same, even a little smaller.” Silvana’s voice echoed in his mind.

“This… This is strange…”

Silvana nodded.

‘Don’t forget that Twilight Crystal was at the Dark Shore. That’s a big difference. Even though these bugs gave the Twilight Crystals time to grow and become stronger, it’s still not enough to compare to the ones that appeared closer to the First Star.’

“Do you think this could cause problems for me?”

Silvana shook her head.

‘No, you just need the energy of the First Star to fulfill the condition. Everything will be fine, I’m sure.’

With a final nod, Adam stepped forward and touched the Twilight Crystal.

It was time for him to fulfill the second of three conditions.