CHAPTER 1348: KNIFE IN THE STONE

"So, boss, when should we expect Adam’s return?" Karso asked casually before turning his gaze away from the Silver Beacon.

He was looking at the Blighted Scar Lands, but not at the red scar cutting across the sky or the city in the distance, but beyond all that, at the endless darkness that lay far beyond.

After a few moments, Misty nodded slightly and looked in the same direction.

However, Norax did not follow them. He understood that they would not be able to see anything from here and that only if Adam survived would there be any changes at the Silver Beacon.

"Well, it all depends on how he proves himself. The Silver Beacon acts majestically and proudly, but she is just as arrogant as I, all of you, and Adam. She probably thinks Adam has no chance against the Lords, but she is wrong."

Nollura shuddered when she heard this.

"W-What? Adam is going to fight the Lords?"

"Yeah, roughly speaking, that’s right. They won’t be real Lords because they will get their power from the Silver Beacon and White Spire, and the Silver Beacon won’t be able to stop Adam because she is bound by the rules she herself has set."

Norax’s eyes darkened.

"However, even if these monsters have temporary power and don’t have the experience and abilities that the Lords have, their pure power will still be more than enough to suppress a K4-Phantom like Adam."

"But... How can he win then? If he chose the amber crystal and now has to fight the Lords, doesn’t that mean he has no chance? He should have chosen the other crystal!"

In response, Norax chuckled.

"It’s all about the rules. Any trial prepared for him by the Silver Beacon must have a solution and a reward, especially the last one. Thus, Adam cannot defeat the Lord Level monsters in a 1-on-1 battle, but at the White Spire, he has the opportunity to both survive and move on."

He slowly turned his gaze to the side with a predatory gleam.

"He must find the solution to the problem, otherwise, he will die, and I will be very sad. Hah, as if that will happen!"

...

Everyone had their own opinion about Adam’s chances of winning. Some were confident that he would succeed, while others understood that it would be a miracle if he passed even the first trial.

But, in the end, everything depended on him and the Silver Gargoyle.

Whoooosh. Whoooosh. Whoooosh.

The Silver Gargoyle’s heavy wings flapped slowly, causing gusts of wind, while its amber eyes stared at Adam with a broad grin.

Creatures from distant lands rarely came here, especially young Phantoms, so this was a unique occasion.

Now, the Silver Gargoyle could kill Adam and absorb his energy, and it couldn’t pass up such an opportunity.

With the next flap of its great wings, the Silver Gargoyle lunged forward, leaving a shockwave behind.

Adam decided to summon the threads, but quickly realized it was useless, and the dicks above his hands disappeared.

’Shit! Why is it so fast?!’

Realizing that he needed to use his strongest weapon from the start, Adam summoned the Dual Demon Sword and prepared to attack.

"Take this!" Adam exclaimed, unleashing the full power of his ability on the Silver Gargoyle. After this attack, the knight collapsed to the ground with only one silver wing seal remaining.

However...

"AGH!" Adam cried out in pain as the Silver Gargoyle simply rammed into him like a wild bull.

The impact threw Adam sideways as his back crashed into a random piece of the bridge floating in the void.

The Silver Gargoyle grinned and folded its hands, wrists together, palms facing outwards. Streams of white energy ran through the monster’s silver body, condensing into a bright flash between its hands.

Adam’s pupils narrowed as the destructive ray moved toward him.

Without hesitation, he activated the Dual Resonance and became significantly faster. Only this helped him get out of the debris in time and bounce onto another floating rock.

In an instant, the white ray destroyed the rock in front of him, leaving nothing behind.

Then, the Silver Gargoyle turned its gaze to Adam and began charging its next attack, realizing that Adam could do nothing against it.

’Tsk, Silvana, do you have any ideas? I hate to admit it, but even if I use the Imaginary Cut several times in a row, I doubt we can bring this stupid bird down to the ground!’

Silvana bit her lip as her eyes darted from one spike to another.

The bridge leading to the gate was huge, but almost destroyed, as hundreds of rocks and dozens of islands floated around the White Spire. Other than that and hundreds of gargoyles hovering high above, there was nothing here.

’Mona said that passing the trials with the amber crystal would be difficult, but obviously, there is a chance. Most likely, everything here works according to some rules, otherwise, the Silver Beacon would not have set up such a complex system.’

Whooooooooosh.

Adam jumped aside after another attack from the Silver Gargoyle, but this time the ray tore part of his coat.

The Silver Gargoyle was learning from its mistakes and becoming more accurate, which was bad news for Adam.

’And? What does that mean?’

Silvana frowned as she tried to find an answer.

’It means you have some way to get its fang. However, I still don’t understand what exactly can help you cut out the fang of the Lord Level Monster.’

Adam jumped aside again as he swung his sword.

"Damn, I need a knife like a hunter’s or something! I’m sure my sword or needle won’t even scratch it!" He pointed at the Silver Gargoyle.

As soon as he said that, Silvana’s eyes widened in realization.

"R-Right, a knife!"

"Agh? Did you understand something?"

Silvana’s eyes shone brightly like stars.

’The rocks, the islands, and even the bridge itself! If there is a weapon somewhere that can harm this gargoyle, it is somewhere out there, and most likely this gargoyle knows where that weapon is.’

Adam was glad that Silvana had figured something out, but he still didn’t get it.

Silvana grinned.

"Adam, just try to dodge in different areas. As soon as it doesn’t want to attack a certain part of the islands, we’ll know where to look."

Now it was Adam’s turn to grin.

"Hah! You should have said so right away! You can consider us already victorious!"