Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 738: Blood River

Sudden attacks were always one of the main weapons of predators, especially successful ones, but sometimes it was monsters that just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

The unknown creatures that attacked Adam were small, not even one meter tall - the Carnage Jaws.

The Carnage Jaws had two short flesh-covered legs as well as their main body: a meat orb with a wide jaw and one large eye set with a red pupil.

In some ways, they resembled piranhas, as they both had jaws with blade-sharp teeth and an aggressive temperament, willing to pounce on any target in their path.

The reason there were dozens of the Carnage Jaws behind the serpent seal was not because it was a trap set by someone, but because they smelled Adam’s blood.

While his inner space was dealing with the crimson mist and the serpent seal was slowly opening, the Carnage Jaws were already clustered in a bunch, waiting to get a taste of the source of the delicious blood.

Had Adam expected to be attacked? Perhaps, but the Carnage Jaws were monsters unknown to him, and there were quite a few of them.

Yet, Adam wasn’t even going to waste his time on them. Enjoy more content from .Côm

Tap.

The flaming needle fell from his hands, plunging its tip into the solid surface.

Then, purple energy waves swept through his hands, filling them with gravitational force, an active shudder ran through the air, even Carnage Jaws’ teeth trembled slightly from the impending power.

With a calm gaze, surrounded by the monsters, Adam spread his arms wide apart before clapping his hands in a deafening motion.

Clap.

The two palms made contact, compressing all the energy into one point while simultaneously blasting it at the peak.

A lone shockwave moved away from Adam, throwing all the Carnage Jaws away from him, they hadn’t yet realized they couldn’t bite him.

Splash.

In a heartbeat, dozens of the Carnage Jaws crashed against the walls, turning into bloodstains.

A powerful shockwave traveled up the stairs, making the densely packed bricks shake. The Voracious Krigias nestled on the walls, hiding under their powerful petals, afraid to face the shockwave.

Step.

Adam stepped forward, pulling his flaming needle from the ground.

[That was wasteful...]

Lone Blaze’s voice wasn’t disappointed, rather it was frustrated.

[With your speed and strength, you could easily destroy them in a few deadly swings, my flames would do the rest of the work.]

Adam shrugged as he looked over his shoulder at the walls.

”Yeah, maybe you’re right, but most likely one of them would bite me, and I don’t know if their teeth have any special effect. Furthermore...”

Adam was silent for a while, watching the bloodstains.

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

The blood was thickening, chunks of surviving flesh trying to reach each other, but there was too little left of the Carnage Jaws for them to recover.

”It seems like the further we go, the stronger the effect of the new irregular energy, regeneration has clearly become stronger, both for the monsters and me.”

Whoooooooosh.

Without hesitation, Adam swung the needle, leaving a long cut on his palm. The edges of his wound burned due to the intense fire bringing him an extra wave of pain.

Silvana and Lone Blaze wanted to exclaim, thinking Adam was insane, but before they could say anything they realized what his plan was.

The bloody ribbons reappeared, ridding him of the cut in less than a minute. He watched the ribbons closely, studying how they worked.

’I see... Unlike the Regenerative Monsters, they don’t restore flesh and skin to its original state, they heal.’

Then, his gaze dropped lower as he gripped the edge of his coat tightly, pushing it aside to reveal a section of his chest.

Strangely enough, there was no scar in his shoulder area, recently there was a through wound there, but thanks to the bloody ribbons there was no trace of it.

’How strange, I thought there should be scars, curious.’

”Silvana, how much faster has the regeneration gotten? I’m sure you’ve recorded everything.”

The corners of her lips turned upwards as she nodded eagerly.

’Sure, I think it’s wrong to compare the cut on your palm to the wound on your shoulder, but I think regeneration has gotten twice as fast, but I don’t know what its limits are. By the way, the monsters you killed are called Carnage Jaws, not very strong but aggressive and numerous. Their teeth are just sharp blades, but if they drink your blood, they will become much stronger for a short period.’

Adam nodded deeply, mulling over her words.

”Got it, but what do you mean by regeneration limits?”

’Well, the Regenerative Monsters can easily regenerate their paws or even their heads, but... What happens if you lose your finger or hand? You definitely shouldn’t test that, but it would be useful information.’

A bitter smile appeared on Adam’s face as he nodded slightly.

”Hah, sure. Well, let’s see where this long journey has led me.”

Step. Step. Step.

Adam took a few steps forward, passing through the seal’s border. Ahead of him was nothing but a ledge of scarlet stone, as if on the side of a mountain.

Soon, Adam heard a splash of water, but it was not as noisy as the still-active waterfalls at the statues.

Directing his gaze downward, Adam’s eyes went wide. He watched the bloody river flowing from beneath the slope, slightly downhill, heading further towards the great structure beyond.

Many shadows passed close to the river bank, occasionally fishing out bones and scraps of retained flesh as they cleaned the river and gathered the important resources needed for the ritual - the preparations for which were almost complete.

It was this scene, but from a different angle, that Adam saw when he touched his First Wall. Neither he, nor Silvana, with the help of the military, could find where the bloody river was, as the place had never existed before.

Adam was the first Phantom to find the Temple of the Fallen Serpent hiding beneath the fortress, something about this place made even the External Artifact fearful.