The six trekked through the path rather quickly. With their prowess and means, they didn’t come across much of a hurdle or obstacle that could hinder their progress.

They had long crossed into another corruption zone, but this time they decided to play it safe.

In a mission like this, stealth and the element of surprise were still key.

If they waltzed in and cleared the zone, that would be the same as practically announcing their arrival. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Though they didn’t know how this cult might react, they still decided to be cautious.

Seth’s hand whipped through the air in a backward slap, carrying the culled might of an Awakened.

Splat!

Instantly his rabid attacker was reduced to a bloody paste of meat and blood.

So far, the trail had led them to the Killdeer Mountains of Duncan County in North Dakota.

Staring at the withered rise of lands that were once thriving with lush greenery and forestry, Seth frowned.

This apocalypse didn’t only affect humans. One could even argue the destruction it caused on nature was worse.

Compared to humans, who were wise and smart enough to hide and seek refuge, the wildlife consisting of beasts and forestry fared worse.

Rooar!!!

A half-rotten elk burst out from the side, rearing its mighty horns. Its crimson eyes blazed with madness as its snout twitched from the stench of the Origin.

Its hooves scraped against the earth, steam flaring from its nostrils, and it burst into a furious charge.

Seth’s gaze flickered, his brows raised in amusement...

[Boss monster detected!]

He remembered a time when weaker-grade beasts, mini-bosses, gave him such a tough time, almost claiming his life.

He chuckled. The others behind him hardly reacted, as though they didn’t see the 2.10-meter-tall robust corrupted elk barreling their way.

Seth’s essence stirred with a gentle, soft ripple, a delicate surge of essence channeled through his pathways.

Like they say, practice makes perfect. On their way, he had persisted in practicing how to wield his power at as minimal capacity as possible.

He raised a finger, and hair-thin black currents cracked in the atmosphere. The watch on his finger lit up for the slightest of moments, only to calm.

Seth’s smile widened. He flicked his finger at a calculated moment, and it landed the instant the elk was right before him, snapping against its skull.

There was no noise, no shockwave — only silence. The annihilative effect of the Armageddon gene skill erased the boss monster in a heartbeat.

Seth’s attack was so finely controlled that even the earth nor the surroundings were affected.

Glancing at his finger, he felt quite content. Though he couldn’t hope to get rid of a charm beast as easily, he still felt satisfied.

Fortunately, not all corruption zones were guarded by charm beasts, and it seemed these creatures were quite rare.

After all, even after eight zones cleared so far, they still hadn’t encountered one. The best they’d seen were half-baked defiles, still limited in prowess by their forming corruption zones.

It made it quite clear how unlucky they had been to encounter a charm beast at the very start of the apocalypse.

It was akin to being put against the final boss when the game had barely just begun.

Suddenly the group froze in their tracks as a sound rang out.

Naturally, they couldn’t be startled by the corrupted. The sounds were voices of people having a conversation.

The group glanced among each other, saying nothing and just communicating with their eyes.

With a brief nod, Seth and Jack went ahead to scout while the rest remained behind — mainly because of the blind Trisha.

Seth had already drawn a black steel sword, something he had gained from a Shackled creature.

His grip over the hilt was quite loose out of fear of snapping the weapon, plus he didn’t dare run his essence through the blade.

He still wasn’t confident in culling the effects of his essence traits. A single slight mishap and the blade might just vibrate into ash... or even crumble from its own weight imposed by his essence trait.

Seth stealthily hid his silhouette behind a tree. He glanced at Jack from the corner of his eyes, and it seemed he was also faring well in keeping himself unseen.

Seth peeked from the side of the tree, restraining his presence as much as possible.

Sealing shut every leak of will that subconsciously spilled from his eyes.

On the path ahead, two male fellows trekked through, chuckling as they joked and conversed.

Seth’s gaze turned cold, his loose grip on his blade subconsciously tightening a bit.

"They should be cult members," Seth deduced their identities right away.

As for how he knew, it wasn’t because of the flowing crimson cloaks they donned, even though that was also a dead giveaway.

Seth’s nose twitched as a wave of killing intent brewed in his heart, but he reined in restraint enough not to let it spill.

The stench of blood was thick on these two — the blood of humans, to be precise.

The thick metallic stench trickled down Seth’s hypersensitive nose, fueling a raging killing intent.

Killing your fellow race to win approval of the enemy... in Seth’s eyes, death would be too much of a mercy for these scums.

The fact that they could still joke and laugh after such vile acts showed how much they’d lost touch with their humanity.

Seth felt a gaze settle on him. He met Jack’s gaze and could see a similar shadow of rage boiling behind his eyes.

’Still, we can’t kill both of them.’ Seth silently concluded, and he was sure Jack was smart enough to figure this out.

Killing could come later. Right now, they had to flesh out as much info about the opposing side as possible.

Both men glanced at each other and nodded. In that very instant, the chuckling scums in crimson drew close.

Both Seth and Jack lunged out in a blur of motion.

You see, compared to the Origin Realm, Earth was too weak currently.

Meaning not only was its terrain weak, the pressure of the flow of air wasn’t comparable to the Origin Realm at all.

Meaning on Earth, the speed these two Awakened figures could muster — even while consciously holding back — wasn’t something a Shackled creature could react to or even comprehend.

The two figures streaked through the wind, almost flying. Seth’s blade drew a streak in the air.

No essence, no technique — just pure raw but suppressed strength. A head of a cult member popped right off its shoulder.

The second cult member, just smiling a second ago, froze, his expression stiffening. But instantly he comprehended what was happening.

His mouth widened, his chest heaved in air. He was ready to alarm the rest of the patrol members.

But before he could even let out as much as a squeak, a figure had already appeared behind him.

Jack’s eyes remained cold. Since Seth had killed one, it was clear that killing the other was not an option.

Like Seth had trusted, he was smart enough to comprehend this fact. But that didn’t mean his brutality could be culled.

His arms moved in a blur, grabbing the lower jaw of the cult member, his fingers digging bloody imprints into the cheeks.

His gaze chilled, a ruthless light flickering in its depths. His elbows whipped back, ripping off the lower jaw straight from the cult man.

Blood streamed as wheezing gurgles rang out, the man’s arms flailing and searching for a jaw that just wasn’t there.

Unable to scream or even moan, blood just streamed, panic reflected in his eyes as he slowly collapsed.

But just before he could crumple, a hand grabbed him by the hair, pulling him up.

If this was done to a normal human, they would have died, no doubt. But to an evolver, even a Shackled Rank, this at most could be considered a serious injury.

But it definitely posed no imminent threat to his life.

Exactly what Jack was aiming for...

Seth waved his hands, and thin streaks of annihilation cracked, dissolving the body of his target and all traces of blood and the crushed piece of jaw on the ground.

And with a signaling nod, both parties once more burst into blurs, Jack dragging his flailing captive by the hair.