Endless Evolution: Last Star

Dozens of monsters with wide wings quickly approached the fighter, cutting through the wind currents.

They resembled bats in some ways, especially in the shape of their wings. Their bodies consisted mostly of iron and gears, actively rotating to keep them alive.

They were not dangerous in appearance, and some inexperienced Phantom would not take them seriously - that would be his fatal mistake.

The fact that the mechanical bats could outrun a fighter controlled by an experienced pilot was enough to realize the level of threat they posed.

Well, that didn't mean they were adversaries for Adam. After all, in his current condition, he surely was one of the Top-20 strongest K1-Phantoms, due to a combination of many factors.

Sure, Adam could be even higher, for example, in the Top-10 or even in the Top 5, but everything depended on the situation, and it was impossible to know for sure his exact position in the rankings.

Adam effortlessly handled every mechanical bat, a few swings of the needle would be enough, but... after Fall Hill Prison, he didn't even need to take his hands out of his pockets.

His aura was more than enough.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

White flames spread around for dozens of meters, increasing its area of effect. Sure, the density of the aura suffered from it, but Adam condensed it into one large stream. He didn't need to use Spirit to defeat the mechanical bats.

The monsters tried to defend themselves from the white flames that they only saw for a moment, thanks to their weak auras. However... it was not enough.

The mechanical bats took serious internal damage and, one by one, fell down, spinning rapidly and approaching the ground. They didn't have enough resilience to withstand even the weakest attack by Adam's aura.

"Agh? Have they stopped?" Lang muttered in confusion, looking at the radar - the red dots were gradually getting farther away as the fighter moved forward.

Adam looked at the fallen mechanical bats and returned to his seat.

"Well, I've got them sorted out. You don't have to worry about that." Adam shrugged.

Lang gulped, then quickly glancing at Adam, he asked, "Hey... That was the so-called aura, right?"

Adam looked at him slightly surprised. There was nothing strange about it, though. Lang was a fighter pilot, so he was familiar with many Phantoms, and he knew that usually, K1-Phantoms didn't know how to use their aura to its full potential.

Adam nodded with a satisfied smile.

"I learned that recently. I'm not going to say it was easy, but... defeating weak opponents without wasting energy is pretty satisfying."

Lang smirked, nodded slightly, and clicked on the radar. He quickly marked the area where the mechanical bats had fallen. The Harvesters would be able to use this information later and gather materials.

"How many more are left?" Adam asked, with fire in his eyes.

Lang sighed heavily.

"Not much. About ten minutes, but, I won't be flying right up to the border. The Six-Winged Iron Stingray is quite a dangerous monster, moreover, it's an Essence Type. However, the main problem is that it absorbed a lightning artifact."

Adam nodded slightly. He understood what Lang was talking about.

Lang wouldn't be so worried if the Essence Iron Stingray had absorbed another element, such as earth or water. It wasn't that lightning was stronger than earth or water, it was that lightning was one of the fastest elements.

Lang realized that he would most likely just not have time to dodge the lightning shot if Essence Iron Stingray was capable of it. Such nuances and decisions distinguished an experienced pilot from a novice who had yet to realize the full dangers of the Dead Lands.

"Sure. Just drop me off over the Iron Beacon. I'll get myself from there." Adam said calmly, Silvana had warned him that this could happen.

The Iron Beacon was an old structure located near the Rusty Ruins and Salt Village border. The area around the Iron Beacon was marked on all the maps, as there were many Nests and various monsters.

The Mission Department gave many missions in this area, and Iron Beacon was a popular place for Phantoms and various squads.

The monsters here were strong, but not as strong as in Salt Village, and also... for some reason, this was the place where anomalies appeared more often than in other places.

Maybe it was the number of monsters here, or maybe it was the Iron Beacon, no one knew for sure.

"We're in position. "Good luck. I hope this is far from the last time you and I met." Lang waved his hand away from his head with two fingers before opening the hatch.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to end my journey when I've only taken a few steps. There's still a lot of work ahead." Adam said with a serious look, looking down - at the ground that was several kilometers below.

Lang grinned, "That's right."

At the same moment, Adam jumped, opening his parachute when he was only a few hundred meters from the ground.

No matter how much stronger he'd gotten compared to the day he'd become a Phantom, heights were still as dangerous to him as simple physical gravity.

If he didn't use the parachute, he would turn into a bloody mess when he landed. Someone like Damien could just fall, his knees wouldn't even be hurt.

Bam.

At high speed, Adam caught the edge of the Iron Beacon, finding himself on its peak. He strained his arm to climb sharply to the top, where he could see the farthest part of the Rusty Ruins and the beginning of the Salt Village.

"Oh, this isn't bad at all... It's even romantic in a way. If it weren't Dead Lands, I'd want that view out my window." Adam muttered, looking at the unique landscape unfolding before him.

Distant structures and old buildings peeked out from under layers of salt, occasionally reflecting the light from the bright, blazing sun. This unusual white desert contrasted strongly with the land filled with rust, old metal, and iron dust that had long since become part of the land.

Adam turned around, leaning on the fence. Right below the Iron Beacon and almost everywhere else were Phantoms.

Adam could see nearly every squad, all of them, fighting monsters, planning their goals, or already resting while the Harvesters did their work.

The area around the Iron Beacon was huge, as was the density of monsters here, so sometimes random squads or lone Phantoms would run into each other.

The Mission Department had no way of controlling this due to the specifics of the area.

All the Phantoms here were K1s since K0s would just die here, and there was nothing for K2s to do here - missions were waiting for them in more difficult areas.

"Hmm... Teamwork definitely has its perks." Adam muttered, glancing at one squad in the distance - a girl with long blond hair was telling something to her mates.

They listened to her intently, nodding from time to time. Obviously, she was their leader, and a lot depended on her.

"Hah, their target looks pretty dangerous. I wouldn't have wanted to meet someone like that when I first got to Rusty Ruins." Adam smiled bitterly, looking at the huge monster a few warehouses away from this squad.