...
[... so that was your plan.]
While tailing the scouts from a safe distance, Endevil's voice resonated inside Adam's head.
The reply was a nod.
Adam had already travelled about two kilometres yet the scouts hadn't reached their destination yet. Suppressing his urge to pounce ahead and tear them to pieces, he patiently followed them.
Almost a minute later, the scouts began to run in a zig-zag motion.
[Adam, something's not right.] The mechanical voice had a tinge of distress.
Adam merely skimmed his eyes across the nearby trees. 'I noticed them too.'
There were countless tiny yet deep incisions on the trees as they proceeded further ahead. They were clearly made by a sharp and sturdy object like a sword or a sabre.
'Human presence confirmed.' The amplified olfactory reception was exceptionally powerful as Adam quickly picked up the distinct smell of sweat of humans in the vicinity.
[Correction. They're Zoomorph.] Endevil did an in-depth analysis of the scent and derived a more accurate conclusion.
Adam decelerated his pace and came to a halt not too far from the location of the scouts. He quickly hid behind a tree and peeked ahead.
To his surprise, a village-like settlement was established in the depth of the jungle.
'Clever fellows.' Catching the sight of the myriad of vines and leaves hung over the wooden spike barricades as a camouflage, Adam felt a desire to appreciate them.
He wouldn't have noticed the presence of a settlement there, in the midst of a forest without tailing the scout hogs or without picking up the faint scent.
[They're truly cautious. Look at all those traps.]
Adam instantly pivoted his head around and saw the inconspicuous spikes and traps laid with utmost carefulness.
From all these, one thing was evident to Adam.
'These people, whoever they are, have no good intention toward the farmers. Since you confirmed that they're Zoomorph, they are possibly beast tamers. But why would such fellows live inside jungles hiding from sight while they could have a good life inside the city? Unless...'
[Unless they don't have ulterior motives.]
Due to the vast array of traps, Adam couldn't proceed further. Thus he could only assume the multiple possibilities.
[They don't have the scent of bandits. Also, the area doesn't emit any hostility.]
'You can smell bandits?'
[They will have a peculiar stench of blood on them. I'll explain it to you later.]
'Okay.'
Endevil quickly began to recall the weird zig-zag manner in which the hogs danced before entering the vicinity. But before it could complete the analysis, Adam stepped out of his hiding spot.
"There's no fun in that."
Saying so, he bent his knees and squatted.
Fuu~
The potential energy he amassed in his legs were released like a launched arrow. When coupled with his agility, the momentum behind his figure was simply huge!
[Okay. How about descend?]
'Let the gravity do the rest.'
And just like that, Adam came down like a huge chunk of rock with a loud...
Boom!
The entire vicinity was startled by the sudden noise. The serene and silent atmosphere tensed at once and the sound of drawing weapons could be heard.
"Endevil, for the record, I want to tell you that this is so exciting."
[But others don't think so.]
The cloud of dust was slowly settling and many silhouettes could be seen.
"Breeze." A feminine voice sounded and a faint breeze came out of nowhere to sweep away the visual obstruction.
At once, the figure of an armoured individual standing at the centre of cracked ground was disclosed to the strangers.
"I don't know who you are, but your life ends here." A voice reminiscent of a young man rose from Adam's behind. Before he could turn and catch a glimpse, a thin sabre had already collided with the back of Adam's neck.
Ting~
"..."
The crisp note was faint but it swept across the vicinity with unreal clarity.
'What was that?'
The next second, Adam's hand rose instinctively and caught the blade of the weapon which had struck his back of the neck.
Twirling on his toes with an intention to see who attacked him, all Adam was able to saw a giant hammer charging at his thorax.
It's too late to dodge.
Before he could cross his arms before his chest to dull the impact, the strike had hit his chest square.
Crash!
Shattering two tiny settlements and killing three strangers in the process, Adam finally lodged onto a tree outside the barricade after breaking the wooden spikes.
[Adam, I caught the glimpse of a flag while flying through those huts. It belongs to the Aquila Empire.]
'Bad guys, right?' Releasing himself from the sturdy bark, Adam dashed back into the premise.
But before he could near the spot, he was showered by a rain of arrows.
Kning~ knang~ kning~
The futile attempt to deter the enemy only made Adam grin as he flicked his wrist. The spear that appeared in his arm was thrown at the ranger standing at a distance. Before that guy could even cry, his heart was pierced by the lance!
'This is so exciting!'
The adrenaline rush literally spiked and Adam began to flash across the premise. Several soldiers bearing the crest of the Aquila Empire were slain with his bare hands.
[Two beast tamers are escaping.]
Adam quickly squatted and picked up two swords lying nearby. As if he knows their location, his figure leapt straight up while executing a beautiful side flip as the swords shot from his grip.
Puchik~~
Two more bit the dust.
With the overpowered surveillance of Endevil, Adam missed all the strike and blows with millimetre precision.
Within two minutes, almost all the hostile entities fell into the ground's embrace.
"How long are you going to stand and stare at me?"
Snap~
Releasing the two lifeless figures in his grasp to the influence of freefall, Adam turned his head and asked at the seven figures.
[They're powerful.]
'I can tell.'
Turning his blood-dyed torso to face the group of extraordinary individuals, Adam probed. "Why didn't you interfere when I was killing your accomplices like breaking twigs?"
The paladin let out a hearty chuckle before spitting, "Did you think they're our accomplices? You're absolutely wrong!"
Hearing the paladin's words, Adam's head tilted.
"They are pawns at our disposal, the sacrifices for a greater good, mere footsteps for our successful mission. Until a few seconds ago, a tool to measure your abilities." The female knight with extravagant armour and twin katanas hanging on either side of her waist spoke with a tinge of arrogance. Her unveiled face displayed her cold-heartedness.
"..."
What did I just hear?
Behind the headgear's obscurity, Adam was startled to the core.
Fortunately, the armour was absolutely flawless when insulating the inside to the outside world.
Did they just say that these men and women are pawns? footsteps? sacrifices?!
At that moment, Adam felt his concepts of equality and morality tarnished and violently ripped apart.
[Don't be disheartened. Where strength reigns supreme, this is the case. There is no point in talking to them.]
Adam was silent for a moment. 'You're right.'
Taking a step forward, he raised his hand and gestured to come at him.
"Take out your weapons." The hammer-wielding dwarf spat with disdain.
Adam simply turned his head in the direction and declared. "I don't need a weapon to deal with spineless bastards like you!"
Boom!
A dense deluge of killing intent enveloped Adam instantly sealing his mobility. But the armour nullified the effect and regained the movement.
Of course, poking the pride of someone was the pinnacle move of insulting them.
"You have some abilities, I'll give you that. But your death is inevitable."
A voice came from the crowd but the dagger emerged from behind.
Knang~
Instinctively, Adam's hand swiped horizontally at an unbelievable speed. Before the elf assassin could retreat, a sword had materialised and cleaved apart the person's neck.
Thwack!
The dull thud with which the head rolled over from its position and kissed the ground was as clear as the sky.
"Do you need any more proof that you all are born from a street prostitute?"
Taking one more step, Adam declared again. His pace didn't stop as he took another step and yet another.
By the third step, the paladin's broadsword came rushing at him.
But the unsealed form of stats proved its potential.
Adam took a sidestep and grabbed the sword. With a small push, the weapon was sent down and got lodged on the ground.
But the paladin wasn't helpless, yet.
[The shield bash is approaching.]
The notification of Endevil turned the tide of battle as Adam was revealed to all sort of hidden strikes.
But in the eyes of the remaining five, the fully armoured individual evading the darts and traps were nothing short of a menacing war veteran deployed by the alliance.
It was at this moment that their arrogance receded and they saw the true reality.
Krack~