Published at 27th of May 2026 6:53 am

Chapter 1761 Undercurrent

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Adam remained silent for a long time.

He gazed at Rekan's corpse that twitched for a few moments before ultimately falling silent. The devil had been one of the most powerful foes he had fought to date.

Along with the rest of the shadowkins, the devil posed a great threat not only to him but to the entire army.

But now, all the devils lay dead. And the Dark King was the last man standing.

He glanced at his left hand. Rekan's dagger was still embedded straight through his palm. With a steady hand, he pulled the dagger out of his palm and watched the blood slowly slither inside the wound. The blood on the dagger's blade also magically returned.

Adam couldn't help but sigh. He put the dagger away, then turned his attention to the black rod. He took a few steps and walked toward it before finally clasping the surface firmly in his hand.

Ominous black tide erupted from the rod and spread across his flesh. But before it could even reach the shoulder, the tide slowly started to disappear. Adam watched this phenomenon take place with a light frown on his face.

He did not know how to feel about it. The black tide — which, according to Rekan, was the essence of Shadowmuir's magic — should have consumed him and tainted him. But instead, something deep inside him had greedily consumed it.

My body is treating this… thing the same way it treats toxins, he thought to himself.

That was the only conclusion he could draw from what he knew. After his transformation, something deep within him had begun to devour any foreign element it deemed lethal.

That was the extent of what he understood about himself after transplanting the eyes and infusing his body with the blood of that mysterious abomination. That and the fact that his blood always magically returned to him, and his injuries healed at a quicker pace.

The rest was a mystery.

Where is this dark energy even going? Adam watched as the black tide receded into him and vanished, and he couldn't help but wonder.

Energy can never be destroyed. Nor can it be created. It can only be transferred or converted from one form to another. So then… just what is happening in this case?

Adam was unable to find the answers to his questions. He couldn't feel himself growing stronger. Nor could he sense his mana replenishing. So then, where exactly was the dark energy from the rod going? He did not know.

After what seemed like forever, the rod finally stopped producing the ominous black tide. Adam didn't know if the dark energy had been depleted completely, or if the rod, for some strange reason, had given up trying to taint him.

He clasped the object with both hands and applied great strength to his arms. Veins bulged along his forearms as he clenched his jaws. When physical strength wasn't enough, he coated his muscles with tyrannical mana.

With a thunderous crack that made the land tremble and sent a faint shockwave rippling outward, he finally wrenched the rod free from the ground.

Heavy!

That was the first thought that appeared in Adam's mind as he spun the object in his hands. He performed a few combat moves with the thick black rod. Unbeknownst to him, a small smile crept onto his face.

This heap of iron may be rough and ugly, but it was something he could work with. Although it could never substitute the Staff of Calamity, he could still work with it.

Just as he was swinging the staff around and testing out a few moves, his senses picked up on several creatures rushing toward the town.

Shadows, he thought, his eyes narrowing. The strange residents of this sunless world had been drawn to the loud commotion from earlier.

Adam quickly put away the staff inside his storage artifact. Then he retrieved Rekan's body, as well as the remains of the other shadowkins.

He cast one final look at the battlefield, his sharp gaze scanning for anything he might have missed. After confirming there was nothing worthwhile, his figure rippled and he disappeared.

It was time to find a way back to the material world.

***

The tide of battle had shifted. And it had shifted greatly in favor of the Union's army.

As the sun glided across the horizon and the end of the day was near, the battlefield was full of corpses. The sheer number of lifeless bodies was unlike anything both sides had seen since the war began.

The poisoned food and water had taken their toll. The Empire's Mana Foundation and Mana Liquefaction Magi had been left severely weakened as a result. Thus, they had become easy prey in the chaos of the battle.

Meanwhile, the Union was just the opposite. The Dark King's words still burned in their hearts. Fear and doubt had been driven out, replaced by a fierce, unyielding resolve.

They fought with everything they had, throwing themselves into the fray without hesitation. Even if it meant dying in the process.

Plenty of Mana Vortex Magi from the Empire's army had also died in the battle. Although they might not have been that affected by the poison as the lesser Magi had been, they had still been slightly weakened.

And as for the Mana Core Magi on both sides, the numbers remained more or less the same. Though the ones on the Empire's side were more grievously injured in battle.

When the sun dipped below the horizon and the trumpets rang across the battlefield, signalling the end of the day's fighting, a grim and bloody image was etched into the minds of every survivor.

Hundreds of thousands of corpses littered the field.

The Sovereign Union had lost up to thirty thousand soldiers.

As for the Haynam Empire…

They had lost more than a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers!!

However, the Union's soldiers, although victorious, had paid a great price to secure this triumphant moment. Almost all who had made it out of this day's fighting alive had been grievously injured. Still, the joy in their eyes could not be concealed.

Just a day ago, these men had been thinking about deserting the army and fleeing for their lives. And now, they had slaughtered more than half of their enemy's forces. This was the day the war had truly turned.

Yet beneath the air of victory, a dark and ominous undercurrent lingered.

In the Union's command tent, all the Mana Core Magi had gathered. Their expressions froze in shock and terror as Valerian revealed the truth…

The Dark King was gone.

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