Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 167: Giant Goat Hills
After Remedy and the others left, Adam was alone in the manor.
He glanced at the clock.
"Time to get ready."
His role in the plan was the most important and if he failed, the entire operation would collapse.
Adam returned to his room.
He pulled on a dark green jacket.
Then he raised his hand to his face.
Bone shifted beneath his skin and a bone mask formed over the lower half of his face, locking into place smoothly.
It wasn’t elaborate.
But it didn’t need to be.
It would serve its purpose.
Adam checked his phone.
Remedy had already sent him the coordinates.
He memorized them.
Then dismissed the screen.
"Alright."
Adam activated Rapid Charge.
Crack!
Sparks of lightning burst across his body.
In the next instant...
He vanished.
Adam shot through the streets of Tristan like a bolt of electricity.
Buildings blurred past him.
Cars crawled along the roads like frozen objects.
To everyone else, traffic moved normally.
To Adam, the world looked almost completely still.
District after district passed beneath his feet.
Soon, he left the city behind.
The concrete skyline of Tristan faded and wild terrain replaced it.
He had followed the hidden route Remedy had given him, a path few people knew existed.
And after running through the wild zones Adam saw it.
A Rift.
But not a regulated one.
This lay beyond Tristan’s jurisdiction.
A true wild Rift.
Adam didn’t hesitate, as he stepped inside and the world shifted instantly.
When the distortion cleared, Adam stood inside a massive open plain.
Rolling hills stretched endlessly into the distance.
Except these hills moved.
Because they weren’t hills.
They were giant sheep.
Each one the size of a tank.
Their wool looked like thick armored plating.
And the moment they noticed Adam, they charged.
But Adam didn’t slow down.
He didn’t have time for them.
This was a Level 5 Abnormal Rift.
Giant Sheep Hills.
The creatures inside carried Star Power between 28 and 31.
Simply put, they were obstacles.
Nothing more.
Judgement flashed.
One strike.
Two.
Three.
Massive sheep monsters collapsed instantly as Adam cut through them without stopping.
Notifications For Existence gains flashed through his eyes as he continued moving deeper into the Rift.
When he was deep enough Adam activated Connect.
His perception expanded across the Rift.
Life signatures appeared instantly in his mind.
Dozens.
But something about them was wrong.
They didn’t belong to the giant sheep.
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
Because these signatures
We’re human.
****
Adam followed the cluster of human life signatures.
The deeper he moved into the Rift, the stranger the readings became.
Then he reached the location.
There was nothing there.
Just rolling hills and scattered giant sheep wandering in the distance.
Adam frowned.
Then he took one more step forward and crossed an invisible boundary.
The world shifted, as a massive industrial building suddenly appeared in front of him.
Hidden.
Camouflaged behind a barrier.
Adam’s eyes hardened.
He knew exactly what this place was.
This was where The Family produced and tested Reliance.
Hyper was nothing more than a cover company.
No real production happened there.
The real work was done here.
In secret.
Victims were brought into this facility and injected with Reliance.
Their bodies were studied, observed and pushed past their limits.
The survivors were shipped into various Rifts and released like monsters.
Once the victims turned into Reliance-induced corpses, they were left to wreak havoc.
Later, the Alliance would simply record the casualties as rift accidents.
Just another tragedy blamed on monsters.
Meanwhile....
The chaos generated by those creatures fed the ambitions of The Family elders.
More chaos meant more opportunities.
More power and More Saints.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
If Reliance was successfully released as a mainstream cultivation drug.
Tristan would collapse within months.
Which meant Adam had a simple mission tonight.
Get the evidence.
Destroy this place.
And make it back to the launch event in time.
Fortunately for him.
None of that sounded difficult.
Adam stopped a short distance from the building.
Then he summoned his Profound Spirit, as sharp and violent wind gathered around him.
He had no intention of being subtle.
Adam raised judgement slightly.
"Wind Carnage Requiem."
A massive blade of compressed wind screamed through the air.
BOOM.
It slammed into the side of the facility and a huge section of the wall exploded inward.
Concrete shattered, metal screamed and alarms immediately began blaring throughout the compound.
Red lights flashed across the structure.
Moments later...
The doors burst open and dozens of Reliance-induced corpses rushed out, charging toward Adam.
Behind them....
Family agents scrambled into action.
Some drew weapons.
Others began shouting orders.
A few turned and ran deeper into the facility.
Trying to escape.
Trying to hide the evidence.
But they had already made one mistake.
They let Adam find this place.
Inside a Rift...
Messages couldn’t leave.
Which meant no one outside would hear their distress calls.
Adam’s death aura erupted outward like a storm.
He lifted his hand again.
Wind gathered violently around him.
"Wind Carnage Requiem."
****
Rama Syx was a Profound Lord and he had been placed in charge of the Reliance production facility.
Normally, the assignment was considered an easy one.
The base operated far outside Tristan’s jurisdiction.
Hidden inside a wild Rift.
Shielded behind layers of concealment barriers.
Even if someone somehow discovered the Rift itself, they would still need to find the hidden entrance.
Which meant the operation was supposed to be simple and secure.
Just like every other Family project.
Cause chaos.
Reap the benefits.
Leave no witnesses.
But the scene unfolding in front of him now, was anything but simple.
Rama Syx stood on the upper balcony of the facility, staring down at the battlefield.
His expression had long since frozen.
Below him a single figure moved through the compound.
A man in a dark green jacket.
A bone mask covering half his face.
A massive scythe resting easily in his hands.
And the pressure coming from that man...
Was only that of a Profound Apprentice.
