Chapter 187: Phantom Combat

Halfway through the meal, one of the men in a black suit set down his fork.

His eyes shifted toward Henry.

“So, Mr. Henry…”

The casual tone disappeared.

“About your distribution routes.”

The sound of cutlery against plates slowly faded, as silence settled over the table.

“What makes you believe they’re suitable for investment from our company?”

Henry looked up calmly.

They were straight to the point with no small talk.

Good.

He had expected that.

Henry gently placed his utensils down and wiped his hands with a napkin.

Then he leaned slightly to the side and picked up a thick file resting beside his chair.

“Well,” he said smoothly, sliding his plate aside.

“Since you brought that up…”

The file landed softly on the table.

He pushed it toward the three men.

“It’s only proper that I show you this.”

The men exchanged brief glances before pulling the file closer.

Henry’s voice remained calm.

“That should clarify any doubts.”

Remedy’s father, Henry, was a businessman.

Normally, he operated out of Tristan.

His company specialized in conduit distribution, acting as a contractor that supplied conduits to various martial clans across the sector.

For years, the business had done well.

But recently…

Everything had begun to fall apart.

His primary supplier had suddenly cut ties with him.

They had simply switched to another distributor.

The consequences were brutal.

Without supply, Henry couldn’t fulfill contracts.

Without contracts, clients began leaving.

One after another.

Now his company was standing on the edge of financial collapse.

If he didn’t secure a new supplier soon, bankruptcy was inevitable.

That was the real reason Henry had moved his family to Sector 601.

He had received information about a new supplier that had recently started operating in the lower-tier sectors.

On paper, they weren’t nearly as prestigious as the major suppliers in Tristan.

But Henry had done his research.

And what he found convinced him.

These people were capable and more importantly, they were willing to work with smaller distributors.

Which meant there was still a chance to save his company.

Across the table, one of the suited men flipped through the documents Henry had provided.

Then the man paused.

“You also secured a license to sell in several small regions outside Tristan.”

Henry nodded calmly.

“As you can see,” he said, his voice steady, “our company is not to be taken lightly.”

In reality…

That statement was a bluff.

Henry’s company was barely holding together.

The distribution routes listed in the documents were real.

But actually operating them would require massive funding.

Loans.

Risky ones.

But that problem could wait.

First, he needed supply.

Without goods to distribute, the company would die before those routes even mattered.

Henry maintained a confident expression as the men continued reviewing the file.

Meanwhile at the edge of the table, Remedy watched quietly.

And outside the house…

Only a few blocks away…

Something else was beginning to move.

****

Back in the void of Adam’s soul.

The Raped Hare and the River Lion lay sprawled on the ground.

Dead.

It hadn’t been easy, but Adam had taken them down.

Even without his equipped talents, he still had access to his affinities.

And that was more than enough.

The ground suddenly bulged.

A second later…

BOOM!

The Infinite Worm burst out of the ground exactly where Adam had been standing.

The explosion of earth launched him into the air.

Adam twisted mid-flight.

In his right hand was the fang he had ripped from the River Lion’s jaw.

His Profound Spirit manifested instantly behind him.

Wind gathered.

Death aura seeped into the blade.

The fang vibrated violently.

Then Adam swung.

A razor-thin wind blade tore through the air.

The attack sliced straight into the Infinite Worm’s massive body.

Normally, the creature would regenerate instantly.

But the moment the blade struck, the Death affinity devoured its vitality.

The regeneration stopped and the worm convulsed once before going still.

Dead.

But Adam didn’t even get a second to breathe.

A Goblin leapt toward him while he was still in the air.

Adam twisted sharply.

The creature’s poisoned claws missed by inches as Adam’s leg snapped upward.

CRACK.

The kick caved in the goblin’s gut.

Green blood sprayed from its mouth.

Adam spun in the air and swung the lion fang.

The blade flashed and the goblin’s head separated cleanly from its body.

He kicked the corpse downward as he landed.

The moment his feet touched the ground, another Goblin and a Rapid Hare charged him.

Adam recognized them immediately.

The second Rapid Hare.

From the duplicate Rapid talent he had once equipped.

And the goblin, from the useless G-rank Poison talent he had quickly thrown away.

Adam didn’t wait.

He lowered his center of gravity and exploded forward.

Two strikes.

Two kills.

Both phantoms collapsed before they even understood what happened.

But suddenly, something moved behind him.

It was too fast.

Adam’s instincts screamed and he dove to the side.

A bone spear stabbed into the ground where he had been standing.

The Foul Hound lunged forward.

Its skeletal body shifted violently.

Bones grew and twisted from its flesh, forming multiple spears that shot toward Adam like arrows.

Adam moved like the wind.

Left.

Right.

Slide.

Step.

Every spear missed by a hair.

He countered instantly.

Wind blades coated in Death affinity shot toward the beast.

But the Foul Hound answered with even more bone weapons.

The air filled with flying blades and spears.

Then a sword swung toward Adam’s back.

The Faraday goon.

Adam had sensed him at the last second.

He shifted his body slightly.

The blade missed.

Adam turned.

For a brief moment, he stared into the man’s empty eyes.

A small flicker of regret passed through him.

I never even learned your name…

But the hesitation lasted less than a second.

The lion fang flashed and the man’s head fell.

Adam kicked the body aside.

Then he turned.

His eyes locked onto the Foul Hound.

Now….

He was fully focused.

****

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