Published at 26th of May 2026 6:40 am

Chapter 1758 First Strike

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The dark silhouette of the Shadow relentlessly pursued Adam.

Its body wasn't humanoid at all. It was just a mass of shadow, constantly writhing and moving. It transformed its body into any shape that it deemed convenient for the task at hand. It did have a feature that remained constant, no matter its change in shape and size, however.

A pair of small gray orbs. They glowed fiercely inside the shadowy mass, serving as the creature's eyes. Wherever Adam went, the gray orbs followed.

After several minutes trying to catch up to the human, the Shadow arrived at what seemed like a public square — or the remains of one, anyway. The ground was cracked, and the neighbouring buildings had long since crumbled away.

At the center of a square was a half-broken obelisk. Through the cracks in this stone pillar, a thick black rod pulsed with undescribable darkness.

The moment the Shadow's gaze fell upon the half-broken obelisk and noticed that the human was running straight toward the pillar, its gray eyes gleamed with rage. Its incorporeal body twisted and manifested a gaping maw in its torso.

Roaarr!!

Its screams thundered across the square, piercing the ears of all those who heard it. Adam, who was going through his battle plan in his head, stumbled and nearly collapsed to the ground. Thankfully, he kept his balance. He turned around to see just what had gone wrong with the Shadow.

The moment his gaze landed on the creature, his eyes widened. The Shadow's formless body had now taken shape. It ran on two legs and sported four thick arms that ended in claws. The place where its head should have been was missing.

There was nothing above its shoulders. Instead, its face was carved in its torso. A pair of gray eyes glared at Adam with boundless hate, and a serpenting dark tongue spilled through the gaps of black, jagged teeth.

He didn't know what had happened for the Shadow to suddenly react like that. But he did know… that things had gotten worse for him.

Just as he had turned to catch a glimpse of the Shadow, it disappeared in a black blur. The following moment, it appeared right behind Adam and struck him with its four muscular arms.

Adam's eyes gleamed with shock. Why had the Shadow suddenly lost its senses? Why was it attacking him out of the blue? He did not know. And he didn't have the time to ponder the creature's mind.

The moment he saw the four sharp claws come at him, he knew he had to react. But instead of evading, his expression hardened, and he rapidly weaved the hand seals to attack.

Winds of Emanatation!

The Shadow's gray eyes flickered. At the last possible moment, just when its claws were poised to swipe through the human, and Adam's wind magic was about to cut through its body in turn, its instincts flared.

It suppressed the surge of irrational fury that had driven it to attack the human. The following moment, in a bizarre display of magic, Adam's Winds of Emanation passed right through the Shadow's body. At the same time, the Shadow's claws also passed through Adam's frame.

"Coward!" Adam spat condescendingly.

But the next moment, he was the one to turn and flee. There was no way he was going to stay back and fight an enraged Mana Core-level Shadow. What he was doing wasn't cowardice. It was a tactical retreat.

He'd already expected the Shadow to madly chase after him. But surprisingly, the creature took a sharp turn and instead rushed to the base of the half-broken obelisk.

The hell? Adam thought, confused.

But right at that moment, the shadows around him stirred, and in the blink of an eye, two shadowkins burst from the ground, closing in on him from both sides.

"I was wondering where you rats went," Adam muttered in disdain.

He jumped in the air and twisted his body at an unnatural angle to evade the first wave of attacks from the assassins. Then he expertly cast Mana Barrier and blocked the second wave of attack.

Something about the shadowkins seemed unusual to him. These otherworldly assassins would usually retreat back into the shadows if they missed the first strike. But these guys had just followed up with a second attack as if they were ready to go all in.

He was still in midair when suddenly, a third shadowkin rose from the shadows directly below him. And a fourth appeared right above his head. In that moment, Adam's expression darkened. There was no way he was going to come out of this exchange unharmed.

With a vicious look on his face, he weaved a series of hand seals. Then he pointed his finger upward, and a bolt of powerful lightning surged toward the fourth assassin. It was important to note that Adam was still pouring mana into the Mana Barrier, trying to keep the first two assassins at bay.

As he defended against the attack of the three shadowkins, the fourth one had already reached him from below and plunged the poisonous dagger straight through his calf.

Right at that moment, Rekan appeared in front of Adam like a ghost.

Without muttering a single word, the shadowkin leader drove his twin daggers straight through Adam's chest. The corner of his lips curled upward in a smirk when he felt one of the blades pierce through the heart.

He spun midair and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to Adam's face. The raven-haired youth was sent flying, with three daggers sticking out of his body as blood sprayed through the air.

Adam miserably landed on the ground, rolled once, then got back to his feet. With a painful expression, he removed the dagger that had pierced his calf. Then his expression turned even more ruthless as he gripped the hilts of the daggers stabbed into his chest.

He looked Rekan straight in the eye and then viciously yanked the two blades!

A blood-curdling scream escaped his lips. Adam cast a hateful glance at Rekan and the four shadowkins. Then he turned and sprinted toward the half-broken obelisk.

The shadowkins were momentarily startled by the Dark King's ferocity. But a heartbeat later, Rekan's urgent voice thundered in their ears.

"After him!" he roared. "We almost have him!"

And thus, the shadowkins chased Adam all the way to the town's center, where the Shadow stood watch, guarding the mysterious obelisk.

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