Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 671

Chapter 671: The Wild Lands

For a long time, Adam stood atop the walls, looking out over both the Dead Lands and the night city of the Citadel. Gradually, the evening grew deeper.

The military and the middle-aged woman said nothing, they had to inform Adam of his tasks and escort him to the fighter.

“You know a lot about me, though that’s unsurprising.” Adam said slowly directing his gaze to the woman.

Then, he stepped forward, shortening the distance.

“My mission was prepared for me by the Operator, I have a clear target. If there are monsters in my path then I will get rid of them, but I will not waste my powers and put my life in danger to clear – the Red Zone.”

The woman gulped, no matter what she thought or her orders were, she couldn’t contradict a Phantom who was more valuable to the Citadel than dozens of her kind.

Step. Step. Step.

He walked over to the fighter, nodded to the pilot through the window, and climbed inside using the ramp.

The fighter had been ready a long time ago, so as soon as Adam sat down in the only available seat, the pilot lifted the fighter into the air.

The military watched as the SH-L01 soared above the ground, two bays opened from below for small engines with blue flames.

Then, the pilot pulled the lever and the SH-L01 turned into a blue flash disappearing into the dark sky with sparse gray clouds.

The woman took a deep breath, turned around, and walked to the edge of the wall with a wide stride.

“Three months later he went to Dead Lands again, he became a completely different Phantom, but the Dead Lands isn’t as easy as it was for K0 and K1 Phantoms.”

…

One advantage the SH-L01 had over other fighters besides its impressive speed was the ability to fly much higher than the others.

Sure, if desired, both SH-01 and BH fighters could rise to such an altitude, but it would take a great deal of time and resources and would last only a brief period due to the heavy workload.

This feature allowed the pilot of the SH-L01 to fly over areas that other fighters had to partially avoid, as well as pass over monsters.

Thus, most of the way, the SH-L01 traveled at tremendous speed in a straight line – the shortest path.

Adam would occasionally direct his gaze down to his familiar territories.

“Silvana, how long will the flight last?”

‘The fortress is far away, even with the impressive speed of the SH-L01, you’ll need 20 to 25 minutes, but after about 15 minutes you might have a problem.’ Silvana replied quickly.

His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes filled with confusion.

“Hmm? Don’t tell me SH-L01 is that low on fuel?”

‘No, that’s not it at all. You’ll have reached the edge of the Wild Lands by then.’

Adam raised an eyebrow. It was the second time this evening he heard the unfamiliar term.

“The Wild Lands? What does that mean?”

‘It’s the territories that go beyond the Pacific Lands.’

Even though he had gotten an answer to his question, it didn’t help him in any way and only made things more difficult.

Silvana was well aware of this, so she immediately jumped into an explanation:

‘The point is that Dead Lands is divided into parts, like the Citadel in Three Rings. The place where K0 and K1 Phantoms fight is called the Pacific Lands, where monsters up to Yellow Threat Level can be found.’

After a few seconds, she continued:

‘That is, the Phantoms can meet the weakest Yellow Threat monsters, the Light Yellow ones inside the Pacific Lands only in case of exception. The maximum is the Purple Threat Level and monsters like the Essence Thunder Demon or the Plague Reaper.’

Adam smiled bitterly while shaking his head.

“Hah, so I’ve only been to Pacific Lands before? And… who picked that title in the first place? The territories I fought in weren’t peaceful at all, there are many strong monsters, dangerous anomalies, and the Phantoms die often.”

There was no indignation in his voice, more like confusion.

“Even on my first mission, there was death and blood everywhere.” Adam waved his hand.

Silvana nodded deeply, her gaze completely serious.

‘I understand you and how you feel, but it’s not about Pacific Lands being safe, it’s about how much more dangerous Wild Lands is.’

‘As you’ve already realized in the Wild Lands you’ll encounter the full range of Yellow Threat monsters and that’s not the limit, but that’s not the only difference from Pacific Lands.’

Adam listened carefully, he knew a lot about Dead Lands, but this was the first time he heard of it. After all, except for the situation with the Midnight Crystal and the Fume Cathedral, he was always inside the Pacific Lands.

‘In the Wild Lands, the External Artifacts are starting to appear, and also, there are various Irregular Energy everywhere.’

The two terms Adam was already familiar with. In fact, he met three External Artifacts on his path, two of which he saw in action.

They were the Fume Throne, the Moon Colosseum, and the White Cube. Their peculiarity was that they were not ordinary artifacts that could be absorbed by Phantoms or monsters to become Essence Type.

The External Artifacts weren’t just energy-rich debris born from anomalies, they were objects with special effects that affected the area around them, they set their own rules.

In the case of the Moon Colosseum, it was to protect spectators from fighters’ attacks, while the White Cube created by Refesa had a similar function – energy absorption.

The Fume Throne was different, it offered a challenge in return for giving a reward – control over the Fume Armors, the monsters of the Fume Cathedral. The Plague Reaper passed the challenge by suppressing the power of the Fume Throne.

The Irregular Energy was no stranger to Adam, but he had one experience with this power – when Osana used her ability before her fake death. This gave Adam the strength he needed to win against the Plague Reaper along with Katrin.

“The Irregular Energy… Silvana, tell me more about it.”

“Sure.”