Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Silvana." Adam said seriously, preparing for battle.

'Yes. This is Worm Crushers, Purple Threat Level, White Book. However, I'm sure some Type will appear soon, so be prepared to face the Red Book one.' Silvana quickly replied while relaying the necessary information to him.

"Hm. Such a fitting name... Those jaws look more than dangerous." Adam frowned.

Several rows of teeth rotated rapidly in the worms' jaws like blades in a crusher capable of turning anything into dust.

'Sure, but aside from their jaws, the Worm Crushers have nothing else. However, if you get caught in the jaw, you'll have to use half your arsenal to get out alive.

Adam nodded and stepped forward.

Their squad was set up specifically to defend this area, for one night, just for this Eclipse. So, they only had the leader - Alexia, though the squad was really big, even without the Harvesters. They would get to work later, gathering massive amounts of resources.

Still, in such a large squad, besides the leader, there were bound to be captains. Not necessarily to command the others. The main purpose of captains was supposed to be to take on strong monsters that posed a threat to the others.

True, the mission department and the military could have appointed captains in advance as they did with the leader, but they didn't, for one simple reason - it had to happen naturally.

Monsters chose opponents of roughly equal strength, so there was nothing stopping the Phantoms from doing the same. There was no need for words, for the first two waves, everyone had already understood their role.

"Well, well, looks like we have a lot of work to do before we can stand in their places... In one of the next Eclipse." The man with the thick beard muttered, shaking his head.

Up ahead, away from the other Phantoms and quite a distance from each other, stood six Phantoms. In the center was Alexia, the leader, the others had just become captains or second-in-command.

'One out of six, right?' Adam internally muttered as his gaze traveled to Alexia, 'Well, more like one out of five. I can't match her, yet.'

Adam stood to his left, to his right was a redhead with an axe - they had been on the same team during the first wave. Farther away was a man with black hair and a huge triangular spiked shield, even though the monsters were fast approaching, he wasted no time and smoked with a careless attitude.

'This is Ester Rynger and Owen Yaxley.' Silvana said, 'They're definitely not inferior to you in strength, and they probably even outperform you in experience.'

Adam nodded and shifted his gaze further - to a woman in long black robes and a dark book in her hands. Then, to the last one - a man with gray hair and a massive bow emitting white vapor through six gaps at the base.

'Bryda Hille and Fred Hemmingsen. They both specialize in ranged attacks, so I'd suggest keeping an eye on them. If you lose them, your squad could be in real trouble.'

Adam nodded. He didn't have a ranged weapon like Bryda and Fred, as well as protection like Owen or a massive axe like Ester. Still, his arsenal was no less impressive than the others.

Whooooooooooosh.

A powerful torrent of wind headed toward them, signaling the approach of the Worm Crushers.

There was no more time to think, for the opponents were already right in front of them.

"Alright! Cover me!" Ester exclaimed with an excited expression before rushing forward. Her axe burst into a bright red flame, hot enough to melt the snow around her - clearing her path.

Adam looked at the four Worm Crushers. He realized that Alexia wouldn't fight them, because... none of the Worm Crushers were heading towards her. The monsters realized what she would do to them if they dared to challenge her.

'Hmm. Suppose Ester handles one, Owen holds off the second, and in the meantime, Bryda and Fred shoot the third. In that case, it's settled.' Adam nodded slightly before turning around.

Ten meters before him, he saw a massive round jaw with rotating teeth and only darkness in the depths. The Worm Crusher carried on at tremendous speed, breaking the ice in front of it and consuming the snow like a black hole.

Despite this, Adam remained calm since, in his mind, he saw how he would win with just one attack.

'Surely, you must have a thick and tough hide. That would be a problem for others, but not for me.'

Electric shocks covered his legs as he jerked sharply to the side, dodging Worm Crusher's jaw at the last moment. The worm swept onward like a train, but Adam wasn't about to stop either.

He called out a needle, plunged it into the worm's body with ease, and ran forward at full speed, slicing his opponent lengthwise.

Even if Worm Crusher realized how great a mistake it had made, speed and inertia wouldn't allow it to stop fast enough - before Adam inflicted critical wounds.

The blood of the massive monster poured over meters of ground, leaving a long crimson line behind it as Worm Crusher lost his strength.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Losing control of its body, Worm Crusher ran into the icy debris, breaking it and gradually coming to a stop, knocking a ton of snow into a single pile, leaving behind a wide trail of pure ice.

Worm Crusher was dying, its life was quickly coming to an end, and with each second its heart beat slower and slower until all movement stopped completely.

Adam walked towards the monster's head with a calm gaze, and reached forward, causing a white vortex to form.

[Received the gene of the Worm Crusher - x1, Purple Threat Level!].

'Good job. The rest of you are almost there as well.' Silvana said encouragingly.

Adam jumped on the Worm Crusher, looking out over the entire battlefield.

The remaining Phantoms were fighting Snow Imots and Horned Lizards. They didn't need to face the Worm Crushers, so gradually, they would have to cope.

Then, Adam looked at his fellow captains.

"Hahahahahaha, don't you dare run away, I'm not done yet!" Ester exclaimed with a mad grin, slicing her Worm Crusher to pieces. Either in a few seconds, she would burn it or cut it up, there were no other options.

Bryda bombarded the massive worm with projectiles from the thick darkness, while Fred fired several shots of mist arrows once a second, passing through the monster.

Owen was the only one who was focused on defense rather than attack. However, that didn't mean he had to wait for help from the others.

"Hey, you want to eat me huh?" Owen smirked, holding back the monster's jaw with his shield with no apparent difficulty, "Well, I'm afraid you'd rather break your teeth before you eat me!"

Owen's eyes shone brightly as his shield was covered in a dense blue layer of energy, laced with spikes. Then, he stepped forward, and the spikes became dozens of times longer, piercing the Worm Crusher like a hundred spears, bloody tips coming out the other side.

Alexia glanced at Owen and nodded slightly. She looked forward with a calm gaze as if expecting something.