Chapter 1222: Red Threads (Part 1)

Marhen reached out his hand to Fromund, helping him out. At the start of the fight, they were enemies, but things had changed enough that there was no need for them to fight anymore.

Even if there had been some fierce monster warrior in Fromund’s place, he would not have been able to attack Marhen.

Without Marhen’s help, Fromund would not even have been able to reach the surface. Considering that he was a K4-Phantom, this showed how exhausted he was.

Tap.

Fromund collapsed to the ground with a heavy sigh.

This wasn’t the first time he had used his Evolution Vein ability, but he hadn’t needed to before. As an experienced warrior, he understood that if it weren’t for this ability and Marhen’s plan, he would already be dead.

“Fuck… This time the risk was much higher than I expected, right?” Fromund said aloud, scratching the back of his head. His words were directed at both Marhen and Arayna, who were even more exhausted than he was.

Arayna wasn’t used to fighting to the last drop of blood. What they had done today was a difficult test for her. However, they had completed their part, and now all they had to do was wait and hope that Adam would emerge victorious as well.

Fromund didn’t show it, but despite Marhen’s words, he didn’t believe that Marhen would let Bathild live. He believed that Marhen had decided for himself that he would be the leader of the Thunder Peaks.

Sure, Marhen was weaker than Bathild, even when she wasn’t using her external power, but Marhen could easily change that.

Either way, there were still two Twilight Crystals left at the Kirani Colony.

Who would get them?

There could only be one answer.

Fromund couldn’t even stand on his feet for too long. No matter who won, Adam and Bathild would both be barely able to move from their wounds and exhaustion by the end of the fight.

Thus, no one could stop Marhen from absorbing the two Twilight Crystals and becoming as strong as Bathild or even slightly surpassing her level.

Considering Marhen’s reputation among monsters, he would easily take the leading position in his region. He had big plans for the Thunder Peaks, and thanks to how strong Adam and Fromund turned out to be, he now had a chance to make his plans a reality.

Marhen glanced at Fromund.

“It doesn’t matter how big the risk was if it’s in the past. You won, which means you made the right decision.”

Fromun chuckled. “Hah, yeah, maybe you’re right, but that makes you want to do the same thing again next time. Then, again and again, until you reach the final battle where the risk finally leads you to your grave.”

“Well, you make dozens of decisions every day, some more important than others. Each one has a certain amount of risk, some more, some less. You just have to remember that every situation is unique.”

“Like this one?” Fromund grinned, nodding toward the dead Moroya.

Marhen nodded in response.

“Exactly. In the best-case scenario, I would have remained number two, and Bathild would have gotten one Twilight Crystal. Now, I will have everything. It is precisely for results like this that it is worth changing the plan of action.”

Fromund didn’t answer, he just hummed silently.

Strange as it may seem, he saw the benefit of talking to Marhen. At such a high level, a conversation between a monster and a human could be no different from a conversation between two people.

Marhen was smart, and Fromund saw no harm in admitting it and perhaps learning something.

At the same time, two shadows appeared in the distance, colliding with each other again and again. Lightning bolts tried to suppress the white flames emanating from Adam, who responded to each of Bathild’s attacks.

Clash. Clash. Clash.

The sword collided with the needle as the impact threw Adam aside. This wasn’t the first time this had happened in the last few minutes. Adam was almost used to it.

Still in midair, Adam prepared to parry Bathild’s next attack as his gaze shifted upward.

Black swords hovered above him and Bathild, and Bathild’s was almost completely filled. In fact, this was only possible because Adam had recently used the Imaginary Cut again and inflicted a serious wound on Bathild that immediately filled the black sword by more than 50%.

Silvana’s ability, the white heart, had been working practically since the beginning of their second fight. This allowed Adam to have enough energy to respond to Bathild’s attacks and use his abilities one after another.

However, he was reaching his limit.

Whooooosh.

Bathild lunged forward, in a heartbeat, finding herself in front of Adam. Instead of swinging her sword, she grabbed Adam by the wrist and threw him high into the air using her immense strength.

“Try to survive that, bastard!” Bathild exclaimed as electric discharges ran through her horns.

Adam quickly concentrated energy at his feet to get out of the line of fire, but Bathild’s abilities were now much greater than before.

A dense, lightning-fast ray shot out of the orb between her horns, heading straight for Adam. All she had to do was turn her head, following Adam as he tried to escape, bouncing off the air again and again.

However, unlike the Second Rank Phantoms and the Lords, his movements in the air were still rather clumsy and short-lived.

Eventually, the lightning ray caught up with him.

“FUCK!” Adam exclaimed, holding the needle in front of him.

BALST!

An explosion of blue flames and electric discharges sent a shockwave through the air, causing Bathild to smile smugly.

The drops of blood did not reach the ground as they immediately headed for the black sword to fill the strip.

But Bathild should not have rejoiced in victory too soon.

With a swing of his needle, Adam dispelled the flames as the second needle appeared in his hand. He was going to use the great path, which would be the first step to his victory.

Marhen wasn’t the only one who could act according to plan to achieve the desired result, and now Adam wanted only one thing—victory over Bathild.