Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 54: Outclassed

Dickson turned and found Abigail standing behind him.

Her sunglasses reflected the light as her gaze stayed locked on the jeep Adam had entered.

Dickson followed her line of sight for a moment before answering respectfully.

"Yes, my lady, he’s the one."

Abigail asked another question, this time turning her head slightly toward Dickson. "Do you know what kind of relationship he has with the manager?"

Dickson scratched the back of his head, a little awkward.

"No, unfortunately, I don’t."

Abigail stared at him through her sunglasses for a brief moment. Then she exhaled, her attention finally drifting away from the jeep.

"You both aren’t as close as I thought."

Dickson looked at her, waiting and wondering what conclusion she’d reached, but she said nothing more.

The roll call continued.

One by one, the clan heirs were seated in the trucks. The cargo bays filled until they were packed tight, bodies pressed together like sardines.

Yet Adam never emerged from the jeep.

Not once.

Murmurs rose again, this time sharper and more resentful. While they were crammed into the backs of trucks, he was clearly relaxing in an air-conditioned vehicle.

More than a few silently swore to give him a piece of their mind when he came out of the jeep.

Then something strange happened.

The jeep’s engine rumbled to life.

And Adam still didn’t step out.

The vehicle began to move.

Silence fell, as the clan heirs watched, stunned, as the trucks followed behind, rolling forward in formation, through the fortified gates of the Sector.

No one spoke.

They simply stared as the convoy left the safety of the sector and headed straight toward the incursion, Sirens’ Swamp.

Inside the jeep, Adam and the manager sat opposite each other in silence.

A small assortment of snacks rested on the table between them, neatly arranged, and clearly meant as refreshments. Yet Adam hadn’t touched a single one.

The quiet was too awkward for that.

The manager had said she wanted to have a word with him.

Yet from the moment Adam entered the jeep until it rolled out of the Sector, neither of them had spoken.

At this point, it was obvious, she hadn’t called him over to talk.

She’d just wanted to offer him a ride. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Adam shifted slightly, settling more comfortably into the seat, and let his gaze wander as he took in the interior of the jeep.

From the outside, the vehicle looked rugged, almost brutish, something built for warzones and hostile terrain.

Inside?

It was a different story entirely.

A steel frame sealed off the driver’s seat, blacked out and isolated from the back. The rear compartment was spacious, with a large foot area and two cushioned seats facing each other.

Above them was a sleek roof console, hologram projector. Beneath the seats sat a compact storage fridge, the source of the snacks the manager had taken out earlier.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, indeed.

As the jeep drove smoothly along the road, Adam relaxed further, enjoying the ride.

There’s really nothing like having connections.

Then the manager finally spoke.

"Your armament fits you well."

Adam, who had been sinking comfortably into the plush seat, straightened, at her comment it was not stiff or awkward, just enough to acknowledge her properly.

He met her gaze and replied evenly,

"I have you to thank for that."

The manager smiled faintly.

"As long as I could help."

Silence returned, as the jeep continued forward, its engines humming steadily as it carried them closer and closer to the Sirens’ Swamp.

It didn’t take long for the convoy to reach the site of the Sirens’ Swamp incursion.

Despite being deep within the wild zones, no monsters attacked along the way. The reason was simple. Constant clearing operations, combined with proper barricading around incursions close to the sector, had created a safe, well-maintained route.

For security reasons, a clear path had been kept open at all times.

As the vehicles slowed near the site, the jeep came to a smooth stop.

The manager stepped out first.

Acolytes positioned around the area straightened instantly, saluting her presence. She acknowledged them with a short nod.

Adam stepped out next.

The acolytes froze for a split second, clearly surprised.

They hadn’t expected anyone to ride with the manager. Judging by his age, they immediately assumed he was a clan heir. And the fact that he’d shared a vehicle with someone who famously disliked showing favoritism could only mean one thing.

Highly Important personnel.

They saluted Adam as well.

Adam mirrored the manager’s demeanor, nodding calmly in return before turning his attention elsewhere.

The incursion perimeter stretched out before him.

Calling it a barricade would have been misleading.

Unlike the sector itself, with its massive walls and heavily fortified gates, the Sirens’ Swamp was enclosed by a chain-wired fence.

It formed a wide perimeter rather than a sealed enclosure.

Adam wasn’t shocked for long.

He understood immediately.

Building rigid fortifications around an incursion would be a massive waste of resources. Incursions expanded over time. Walls would need to be torn down and rebuilt repeatedly, bleeding funds dry.

A flexible, cheap, and easily expandable chain-wire fence was far more practical, even if it looked lacking in safety.

They must have other measures in place for the monsters.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it.

The sound of engines grew louder as the trucks finally arrived, rolling in behind the jeep and lining up near the perimeter.

The clan heirs stepped out of the trucks one after another.

A few of them shot Adam looks of undisguised contempt, irritation still fresh from the ride over. But Adam didn’t spare them a second glance.

Children’s games didn’t interest him.

The incursion did.

A sharp clap cut through the noise.

All eyes turned to the manager.

"As stated previously," she said evenly, "your safety inside the incursion lies in your own hands."

She raised an arm and pointed toward the chain-wired fence.

"As you can see, our acolytes will be fully occupied protecting the perimeter. We don’t have any free hands to spare."

Her veiled gaze swept across them.

"So try not to die," she added flatly. "I don’t want to bother my men with searching for your corpses."

A wave of offended expressions rippled through the clan heirs.

The manager didn’t care.

"Open the gates!"

A small section of the fence was pulled aside. It was low enough to jump over easily, but the formality mattered.

The clan heirs tensed, ready to rush in.

Some of them glanced toward Adam, clearly planning to follow him inside, to teach him a lesson or two once they were beyond the manager’s reach.

However, their plans were cut short when a sudden gust of wind tore through the area.

Dust exploded upward, momentarily blinding everyone.

And when it cleared...

Adam was gone.

The heirs who had been watching him froze, eyes widened as they realized a single, undeniable fact.

Adam moved with such incredible speed that, despite their pride as noble heirs, most doubted they could keep up; some even outright accepted they were outclassed.

However, as they stood rooted in shock, one of them voiced exactly what everyone was thinking:

"What the hell was that?"