Meanwhile, the earthling was literally running amok.
"HAHA...THIS IS AWESOME!!"
Nothing short of a deranged madman, Adam howled in ecstasy. With an impenetrable fortress attached to his body, there was no need for him to hold back. Frost and flame rushed at him, only to be dissipated by his unparalleled strength.
To his surprise, his mana reserve remained constant. There never arose a need for him to utilise mana to augment his attacks.
Most importantly...
He was so absorbed in the slaughter that he completely forgot the existence of Arcane Glyphs!
Roar!
The tarragons found the berserker's dance devastating. It was no exaggeration to say that he was slowly transforming into the invincible grim reaper as time flew.
Doubt and fear slowly crept the hearts of the creatures and they turned their focus onto the soldiers. But to their astonishment, the previous bunch of cowards were behaving like undefeatable gladiators. The tarragon blood smeared on their faces and armours had cast a ruthless demeanour to them.
The corpses of fellow tribesmen lying around lifeless enraged them beyond reason.
"Where do you think you are going?"
As the brutes turned to dart at the inferior entities, a thunderous voice came from their behind. A pair of hands extended and caught the neck of two tarragons.
Snap!
Like breaking a twig, Adam's steadily increasing strength had reached a level where he can break the necks of these savage existences. The crisp crack emerged and the unfortunate pair of tarragons collapsed.
Without waiting for anyone, Adam leapt ahead and began to cut and slice those around him. The silver-coloured plates were no longer glittering and the dull golden shade of the armour was veiled by the viscous red liquid. The scent of blood looming around Adam was nauseating.
But these factors didn't deter our protagonist partially because the armour filtered out the stench. And as for the remaining half, Adam didn't care.
Adam realised that he had strayed away from the team because of his recklessness. Thus he dashed back to the crowd and joined them.
"...he died."
Falling into the line, Adam perceived the absence of a familiar face. Pivoting around, he saw the old mercenary lying on the floor. There was a gaping wound on his chest accompanied by claw marks.
"He died a hero." Aaron's voice accompanied by the backdrop of slashes rang in his ears as Adam saw a faint smile on the deceased's lips. With a nod, he remarked before charging ahead. "He couldn't be anymore happier."
There were two more soldiers lying lifeless. They both had an intoxicated grin on their lips. Those eyes reflected an aura of satisfaction even after the soul left the vessels. They faced death the way they wanted, Adam commented in his heart.
Literally charging into the midst of the tarragons, Adam felt the need for a weapon. The dense congregation of savages were more than what his four limbs could handle.
With a swift flick of his finger, a spear appeared out of nowhere and fell into Adam's grip. The weapon untouched by the blood of the tarragons seemed out of place when Adam tightened his grip.
Slash!
But it was only a matter of time the new face took a shower in the oozing thick redness.
'Endevil, you've gone awfully silent.' Adam couldn't help but probe at the voicelessness of the armour.
[I was taking a skim through your memories, Adam.] The nonchalant tone responded.
Adam abruptly came to a halt after hearing the words. Instantly, a tarragon's foot struck his chest and he flew away with the force.
'Come again.' Raising his torso back on his legs, Adam dashed at the creature.
[My purpose is not limited to protecting you and amplifying the attacks. I am also capable of skimming through the memories and learn the martial art techniques of my master. That way, I can correct, guide and raise my owner's physical prowess to a whole new level.]
Throwing back the damage with interest, Adam verbalised his surprise. 'Amazing.'
Puchik!
The jab pierced the opponent's throat and Adam probed further. 'What did you find in my head?'
After a short silence, Endevil replied.
[I have served many masters in my lifetime. There are kings, queens, nobles, merchants, adventurers, chefs, thieves and even a beggar on the list. But it's my first time meeting an actual immortal.]
Adam stood idle and scratched his head in embarrassment. 'Thank you, I gue-'
This time, it was an overwhelming punch to the back of his head that made him fall on his face. A series of stomps landed on the back as a couple of tarragons danced over him.
"Pay for your insolence!"
Adam's face warped and anger clouded his eyes. He swiftly rolled out of the dented ground only to receive another kick. The force launched him airborne and into a distance.
'Endevil, I have matters to deal with. I'll converse with you as soon as I can.'
Channelling every bit of his strength into his legs, Adam charged back at the creatures. While closing the distance within an instant, he took care to slice through the necks of the nearby tarragons.
"Aargh...!"
With a roar, Adam's spear drew an arc horizontally. The extended range inflicted more damage than he expected and the tarragons didn't stand a chance. The fatigue building up in their body also played a vital role in enhancing the effectiveness of the slash.
Within seconds, Adam slew the tarragons ganging up on him effortlessly.
[Adam, four soldiers just died.]
Instantly, the earthling turned to witness the pale and sweat-dripping faces holding onto their shields. The enthusiastic halo covering them had vanished a while ago. With fatigue and constant oppression pressing them to go on defence, their offence lost its sharpness and lustre.
"Fatigue."
Instinctively, Adam executed a glyph. But due to the lack of sufficient mana, the AOE effect was largely shunned. Thus, he could only inflict the debuff on about 17 or 18 tarragons.
'Endevil, do you have any mana-related function?' Adam couldn't complete his question previously due to unforeseen disturbances.
[The only mana-related function I have is Magical Attack Nullification. The material I was fashioned out of, can protect you from mana embedded offence. I cannot explain how it works, but you should have seen how the fire and ice projectiles crumbled when collided with the shell. Yet, there is a limit to how much magic I can annul at a time.
I can also quicken the pace at which my master replenishes the mana. But that feature is ineffective on you.]
As soon as Endevil finished the first sentence, Adam rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist. The fragmented beast cores were supposed to disappear from the storage ring and materialise in his palm. Surprisingly, they directly manifested inside his mouth. Before he could shake off the astonishment, the pieces have travelled to his stomach.
"That's convenient and thoughtful." Adam conveyed his amicable reflection while stabbing through a few tarragon heads.
Without wasting a moment, he stepped forward and began to sprint around the surviving soldiers. As they were completely focused on deflecting and resisting the weakened version of clawing and stabbing, Adam's flashing silhouette didn't catch their sight.
'Fatigue.'
Another twenty or so creatures suddenly fell on their knees with an unanticipated burden weighing on them. Their eyes reflected horror upon experiencing vitality drained away all of a sudden. To make matters worse, the sudden lassitude caused the tarragons to assume that their end is near and many began to crawl away in fear.
No matter how big or strong you are, death always makes the bravest go limp!
Adam repeated the same method seven more times until reality struck him.
"I only have a handful of fragments remaining."
Taking a mental count, he realised that the amount of mana expenditure for the glyphs remained the same while his efficiency in extracting mana from beast cores are significantly falling.
If this goes on, then one day, I'll no more be able to acquire mana from the crystals.
Puchik!
A crisp note reminiscent of a sharp object piercing flesh emerged from his behind and Adam at once turned around. His vigilance had spiked assuming that some misfortune occurred. His fists were ready to deal damage.
"Huff...huff...we...survived..."
Aaron was evidently gasping for breath and barely had enough energy to stand up but his courage was immense. Even on the verge of collapse, he had managed to drive his sword through a tarragon's chest.
Witnessing this scene, Adam swung his spear while heaving a sigh and the blood coated on the long lance sprayed around. As he paced to the crowd while feigning tiredness, he took note of the number of the survivors. Coincidentally, his eyes saw the faces of half a dozen fallen soldiers.
'Glad I used the glyph.' Adam felt guilt in his heart and scolded himself for being intoxicated in the warmongering sensation. Endevil also advised putting a lid on his reckless and impulsive behaviour.
But discomfort was yet to let go of Adam's heart.