Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 31: The Plan Never Changed

It didn’t take long before Adam finished the remaining eight goblins.

Poison turned every single death into a writhing, agonizing end, and he revelled in it.

The corpses twitched, then stilled and for a moment, silence blanketed the battlefield.

The martial artists stood frozen, staring at the fifteen dead goblins they had been struggling against moments ago.

Some had bruises, some bled through torn clothes, but all shared the same expression: disbelief.

Adam ignored their looks.

He crouched beside a corpse, hands moving quickly as he harvested granulites and whatever parts hadn’t been corroded by poison F.

The stench didn’t bother him.

A shaky voice finally tore through the stunned silence.

"We’re... alive."

Emotion trembled in the man’s words, raw relief, shock and disbelief.

And his realization spread like wildfire.

They were alive.

And they all knew: they shouldn’t have been.

Even the most optimistic fool couldn’t deny what had been obvious minutes earlier.

Their fight had been a desperate struggle, prolonging the inevitable.

The outcome had already been carved in stone, and it was death.

Yet somehow... they had survived.

Because of one person.

Footsteps approached.

The martial apprentice with the five-star Martial Spirit stepped toward Adam, approaching only when he noticed Adam had finished harvesting.

Adam rose, his eyes locking with the man’s.

For a second, no one breathed.

Then the man bowed low, placing his right fist into his left palm.

"Thank you... for saving us."

One by one, the other twenty-eight martial artists followed.

A wave of martial salutes, all directed at Adam.

"Thank you for saving us!"

"Thank you!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Thank you for avenging our comrades!"

Adam stared at them, saying nothing.

Their gratitude washed over him, but at that same moment, something pricked at the edge of his senses.

His killing intent flared.

Before anyone could even react, he drew his dirty bronze knife.

Rapid E sharpened his movements while Poison F coated the blade in a faint toxic sheen.

He spun once, posture smooth and fluid, and hurled the knife.

The air cracked.

A sharp thunk echoed as the blade buried itself deep into the chest of a goblin.

The force sent the creature skidding backward across the dirt.

Scarlet froze.

The knife had passed inches from her ear, close enough to ruffle her hair.

Her heart pounded in her chest, a cold sweat running down her spine.

She had been so focused on Adam’s fight, she hadn’t even sensed the goblin creeping up behind her.

Adam walked past her, briefly resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Group up with the rest," he said calmly, not breaking stride.

Scarlet turned, watching his back as he moved away.

Then she swallowed nervously and headed toward the others, who were still stunned by what had just happened.

They had been thanking Adam for saving them.

And another enemy had walked right into their midst.

If Adam hadn’t noticed it, they would all be corpses by now.

A voice soon rose among the crowd.

"It was just one goblin. With the way he threw that knife, that thing didn’t stand a chance."

"Exactly! If a knock-back throw did that, imagine an actual attack!"

"That woman... is she part of his group?"

The martial artists grew lively again, chatter bubbling up.

Meanwhile, Scarlet stared into the direction Adam had gone, replaying the moment in her mind.

But that pressure... wasn’t that an unranked Level 2 Elite?

Before she could further voice her thoughts, light rippled in the air.

As scarlet and the martial artists gathered suddenly felt the energy of an exit portal in Adam’s direction.

Adam emerged from the tall grass, stepping into view without a single stalk rustling behind him.

He lifted a hand, gesturing for the others to follow.

The martial artists didn’t hesitate.

They scrambled to their feet, lifting the corpses of the six fallen comrades.

Everyone knew exactly where Adam was leading them to.

The exit portal.

After seeing what Adam had done earlier, none of them doubted it for a second.

Of course he had killed the last monster needed to reach the 0.5% reduction.

Of course the portal had appeared because of him.

The only thing that mattered now was leaving this damn rift alive.

Excitement buzzed through the weary group. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Adam led them through the trees until the shimmering mirage-like portal came into view.

The temporary exit glowed faintly, it was akin to an oasis in a desert of dread.

"Move quickly, Unless you’d prefer to stay here."

Not a single person argued.

They marched through one by one, disappearing into the swirling light.

With a three-minute duration before collapse, the portal easily accommodated the rush of martial artists.

Soon only three remained: Adam, Scarlet, and the middle-aged martial apprentice with the five-star Martial Spirit.

The man turned to Adam, gave one final respectful nod, then stepped through the exit without another word.

Now only Adam and Scarlet stood before the fading portal.

Scarlet watched him for a long moment.

Her thoughts tangled, replaying the earlier pressure, the burst of intent, the sheer force that knife had carried.

I must have imagined it. That couldn’t have been an Elite.

If it were, it wouldn’t have been sent flying that easily.

She exhaled, convincing herself with shaky logic.

"I’ll see you on the other side," she finally said.

Adam opened his mouth to respond, but she had already stepped through, as silence settled.

He stared at the portal, the swirling Mirage-Like light reflecting in his eyes.

He still intended to clear this rift.

A breath escaped him, it was calm, cold and steady.

Then he activated Rapid E.

His figure blurred and vanished into the trees just as the exit rippled one last time, the light tightening inward before collapsing entirely, snuffed out like a dying ember.

Only the empty clearing remained.

╭───────────╮

〖Name: Adam〗

〖Rank: None〗

〖Cultivation Talent: G〗

〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect〗

〖SLOT〗

↳ SOUL (2): Rapid E ❖ Poison F

↳ BODY (5): Empty

╰───────────╯

STAR POWER: 14+

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{Authors Note}

Thank you for reading! Please consider sending power stones, golden tickets, or gifts; your support keeps me motivated.