Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1970: Clan’s Problems and the Rule of the Strong

Thanks to Haworg, Adam learned quite a lot about the Veiled Souls Clan. This was important because they, along with Breydar, would become his rivals.

Sure, Adam could have stayed out of it and hoped that the clan squad would kill Breydar. That way, Adam would fulfill his mission without putting himself at risk.

But… What was the point of that?

He had promised Farla that he would kill Breydar, that he would avenge all the Phantoms Breydar had killed on the way to the Gray Sea. Now, he realized that many of those Phantoms had simply become energy sources for Breydar. He needed to replenish his energy reserves, and he could do that quickly by killing a few Phantoms.

Moreover, the Veiled Souls Clan didn’t exactly seem like the kind of monsters he could be friends with. They were from the Dark Shore and were members of the Befallen Crown.

If Adam had any direct enemies in this world, it was definitely the Befallen Crown, who had tried to kill him countless times.

In short, Adam was going to kill them all. That way, he would weaken the Befallen Crown, fulfill the promise he made to Farla, and fully test his new powers.

“Haworg, so the Veiled Souls Clan is in a desperate situation now, right? I mean, if they don’t kill Breydar, they’ll have to answer to the Befallen Crown. That’s a grim fate.”

“Yes. That’s exactly why they keep pursuing him, even though he kept going farther and farther away until he decided to stop at Island A215.”

Sip.

Adam took a sip of coffee as he mulled over his plan of action.

“The Befallen Crown are quite ruthless. It seems impractical to me to kill an entire clan because of a single mistake, even one as gross as this.”

“Well, if an entire clan can’t handle a single Viscount who was recently a Baron, then it’s a weak and useless clan from their point of view. But there’s one detail you don’t know about.” Haworg smirked.

“Hmm? Does this have anything to do with the Veiled Souls Clan?” Adam raised an eyebrow.

Haworg nodded.

“To some extent – yes. You see, the Befallen Crown has elevated the main rule of all monsters to an absolute: the stronger one is right. This applies to them as well.”

Adam was still confused.

“I’ll explain everything to you now.”

Haworg raised his hand.

“The Veiled Souls Clan is fairly powerful, among them are several Ascended Lords who rule the entire clan. But there isn’t a single True Lord in their ranks. If there were, the Befallen Crown wouldn’t have acted so radically.”

His smirk widened.

“If the Veiled Souls Clan had even one True Lord and they hadn’t been able to kill Breydar, then in the worst-case scenario, the Befallen Crown would have spoken with that True Lord and asked him to punish the guilty clan members – that’s it. It’s unlikely they would have done anything more than that.”

“Huh…” Adam chuckled before taking a sip of coffee. “Yeah, I’m willing to believe that, it sounds more than plausible.”

In fact, Adam had experienced this himself.

When he first arrived at the Dark Shore, he was lucky enough to run into Kenward, who was a member of the Free End. He was also helped by Saegar, who was one of the few Neutral Lords.

But what really mattered wasn’t that, it was that they were both True Lords. If not for that fact, nothing would have helped Adam that day. Well… If Wilfred hadn’t been there.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Haworg tapped on the counter, looking at Adam.

“So, I take it you’ve already made your decision, right?”

Adam nodded.

“Yes. I’m heading to Island A215. Since you’ve told me so much and welcomed me into your bar, I’ll be honest with you.”

At that moment, Adam’s blue eyes grew deeper as his piercing gaze sent a chill down Haworg’s spine.

“I’m going to kill Breydar, and if the Veiled Souls Clan gets in my way, I’ll deal with them as well. Given the situation… there’s no point in me worrying about ruining my relationship with the Befallen Crown. It can’t get any worse.”

Haworg nodded in understanding.

“Yes. I think you’re right. Well, in that case, I can only wish you luck, young man. I hope you’ll visit my bar again sometime.”

Adam finished his coffee as he prepared to leave. But he had one more, final task here.

“What about the flowers upstairs? Were you the one who planted them that way?”

Strangely enough, Haworg shook his head.

“No. They were here long before I arrived. No one is supposed to touch or alter the spots where the island numbers are written. It’s sort of an unspoken rule of the Gray Sea.

“If you do that and someone finds out, you’ll be in big trouble. So, even if for some reason I wanted to replace these beautiful flowers with something else, I wouldn’t do it.”

“Hmm… That makes sense. Every island had a number.”

“Huh,” Haworg chuckled. “That’s the whole point.”

Adam took one last look at the bar, nodded, and headed for the exit. He’d had a good time here and learned far more than he’d expected. Now it was time for him to take action.

Click.

The door closed as Haworg sighed heavily.

“Well, well… Adam Vinter. You’re definitely not the kind of guest I expected to see today. Huh, I wasn’t lying, pretty interesting characters do show up at my bar quite often.”

Then, he nodded, picked up the cups, and went to wash them while calm music played in the background.

Not all monsters at his level and age were willing to spend their time so peacefully, but a significant number chose exactly that lifestyle.

However, there were also monsters like Midgar who always strove for power and new achievements.

After all, for both a bartender and a bounty hunter, everything came down to their strength.

Haworg had his bar only because he could protect it.

Tap.

He set the cup aside and looked up.

“So, three Viscounts, three Barons, and one K4-Phantom who’ll become the next Second Rank Phantom, right? Huh… I’m in for a lot of interesting news soon.”