Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1572 1572: Escape and Fog

During Adam's previous trip to the Dead Lands, the delay stretched out over many grueling months.

Back then, valid excuses held him up, yet none existed this time.

Vaarh lay slain.

Within the snowy plains, after their fierce exploits, neither he nor Alexia faced any bold assaults, while fresh beasts wouldn't swarm the Frost Ridge for a good while.

Creatures lurking in the woods or remote meadows cowered before the chilling presence radiating from the Frost Ridge. None would venture near these peaks in the near future.

"Agh..."

Adam let out a frosty breath, extending his limbs following the intense clash. Every part of him groaned like it might snap apart.

'I need to chat with Lone Blaze. No clue what went down over there, but if not for her, the Highest Bliss would've wiped me out.

'Still... Priority is heading home first.'

Summoning the fighter jet in this spot proved impossible, just as retracing their arrival path back to the Citadel wasn't feasible.

The location of the spatial rift that transported them remained a mystery now. In the luckiest scenario, hours might pass; more realistically, days of waiting loomed until it resurfaced exactly here.

For now, their smartest move involved locating a secure spot to recover their vigor and recuperate, enabling them to press forward toward the Citadel.

Crack.

Alexia pressed against the icy spire, attempting to rise, yet her efforts failed. She tumbled back down.

"SHIT!" Alexia pounded her fist against the earth. "I only got a busted leg! Why can't I even manage to walk!?"

Adam offered a wry grin.

'With damage that severe, isn't it obvious? Silvana, got any suggestions for a rest spot? We need to hold out till her fracture mends at minimum.'

Oddly enough, no reply came his way.

"Silvana?"

Worry etched across Adam's features. Alexia seemed equally puzzled by the silence.

All at once, a yell echoed inside Adam's mind:

'Adam! Above!'

He instantly tilted his gaze upward, confronting a heavens swarming with dark silhouettes.

Vaarh's invoked tempest had faded away, yet post his demise, peril lingered for the pair of Phantoms amid the Primal Lands.

Over a dozen ice wyverns circled overhead, their wingspans projecting gloom across the frozen tundra.

"W-What...?" Adam swallowed hard upon grasping the situation. "They hung back till the fight wrapped up? Sneaky devils. These aren't true wyverns—they're vile opportunists!"

No matter Adam's outburst, the ice wyverns descended seeking their prime prize—vital force from the duo of formidable Phantoms.

Moreover, Alexia fixed her gaze on the lead ice wyvern plunging straight at them in assault.

This beast she knew all too well.

"Bitch. That's the culprit! Damn it, Adam, we gotta take it down, or—!"

Yet her outburst clashed with their dire straits.

Exhaustion gripped both her and Adam, rendering battle impossible. These ice wyverns embodied sly hunters, striking at the ideal instant against the weary Phantoms.

The ice wyvern loomed right before Adam, jaws parting wide. Mere moments away, doom awaited.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Precisely then, an odd sight flickered in Adam's vision.

From thin air surged a dense, potent gray mist, swiftly molding into a massive fist within an instant.

Crack!

The misty fist crashed against the wyvern's maw, wrenching its skull aside and dislodging a single tooth.

Ere the wyvern's stare could refocus, another fist materialized from the side, followed by a third descending from on high. Strikes landed with minute intervals, too rapid for even Adam to track fully.

Whoooooooosh.

Rather than a fourth fist rising from beneath, a figure emerged clad in cozy winter garb crafted from top-grade pelts. His leg whipped out in a blistering strike, smashing the wyvern's jaw and generating a sonic boom from the velocity.

The blow hurled the massive creature skyward while the man's form blurred, repositioning beside Alexia as he hoisted her onto his back.

Green eyes, half-veiled by his sleek silver locks, locked onto Adam.

"Can you run?"

Adam gave a quiet nod.

The man surged ahead without pause, his velocity so immense that the glacial pillar supporting Alexia fragmented into shards.

A fierce wind blasted by Adam as he pivoted and strove to match the man's stride.

Despite the man forging the route ahead—plowing through heavy drifts, demolishing ice formations, and driving off beasts—Adam labored to stay close. The man's silhouette pulled further distant, despite bearing Alexia's weight!

"Adam, tap into the ancient energy! Your reserves ought to suffice for breaking free from these wyverns!"

Sage counsel indeed, which Adam heeded without delay. Speed surged through him, power flooding his limbs.

Uncertain of its duration, he pressed on until the wyverns' cries faded into the distance, their wing shadows ceasing to pursue.

Still, halting wasn't an option. He chased the man with every ounce of endurance.

Behind them faded the snowy plains, the Frost Ridge, and the woodland barrier that proved yet another hurdle.

"GRRRRROOOOOHHHOOOO!!!"

The ice wyverns persisted in their pursuit, bellows echoing through the trees as wings sliced amid the skeletal limbs.

'Shit, shit, shit! When does this nightmare end!' Adam cursed silently, eyes fixed forward.

The man hit the precipice yet kept charging.

Alexia's extended limb and stunned expression were all Adam caught.

"Wait... Seriously? What's our drop target?!"

Glancing back, the sight of the swarm of wyverns flipped his resolve instantly.

"Shit!" Adam clenched his jaw and leaped in the man's wake.

He slammed onto the frosted incline, tumbling downward while battering aside limbs. Razor-like points scored his face, yet he eventually halted.

"Agh...?"

Silence enveloped him for the first instance, though it wasn't the silence that drew his focus.

In front, nestled in the underbrush at the slope's base, stood a dwelling by a lake spilling into a thundering cascade.

This spot resembled a genuine sanctuary amid the brutal frozen wilderness.