Chapter 99: One Respects Power The Other Respects Potential

Adam and the heirs reached the walls just as final deployment was underway.

The Acolytes stationed at the foot of the sector wall stiffened in shock. Adam’s presence alone would have been expected, but the line of clan heirs and their followers behind him drew immediate alarm.

Hands tightened on weapons.

Before anything could escalate, Adam stepped forward and vouched for them. That was enough. He didn’t place his trust in words alone, he had already read each of their soul flames on the way here and there was no malice, hidden intent or ulterior motive buried beneath bravado.

Trusting Adam’s judgment, the acolytes gave the signal, permitting him and the heirs to pass.

A reinforced opening in the wall led inward to a long staircase spiraling upward. Beside it stood a heavy-duty elevator, its doors already open. They took it in batches, the platform rising steadily with a low mechanical hum.

Adam chose the last batch.

When the elevator doors slid open at the top of the wall, the atmosphere changed instantly.

The air was tense and alive.

Acolytes moved with purpose, checking formations, relaying updates, recalibrating positions. Some stood behind massive artillery armaments mounted directly into the wall, their frames thick and angular, radiating restrained firepower. Even at a glance, it was obvious these weapons were built to annihilate.

Adam was impressed.

The top of the wall itself was enormous, wide enough to fit two highways side by side. From there, most of the sector stretched out behind them, buildings and districts packed neatly within the circular defense. In the distance, the wall continued unbroken, enclosing the entire sector.

On the opposite side lay the wild zone.

By the time Adam stepped fully onto the wall, he found himself standing ahead of the heirs, his presence naturally drawing the line forward.

Moments later, the manager arrived in a rush.

She had received word that the heirs were present and, fearing disruption, had come personally. Her gaze moved from the heirs to Adam, stopping on him.

“Mr. Adam, is there a reason they’re with you?”

Adam didn’t bother with half-truths. “They’re here to help. Don’t worry.”

The manager studied him skeptically. But Adam’s confidence and certainty gave her pause. If he trusted them, she wouldn’t interfere.

She let it go, as her expression shifted, becoming grave.

“It’s good you’re here. The tide is almost arriving.”

Adam’s face hardened instantly.

“We’ll be counting on you, Mr. Adam.”

Adam nodded.

He was the strongest person present, their practical trump card. His presence alone was the reason the operation had been classified as manageable. The true danger wasn’t whether they could kill the monsters.

It was that Adam couldn’t be everywhere at once.

And wherever he wasn’t, casualties were inevitable.

But luckily, the heirs were here to take on some of the load as well.

Just as Adam had said, they were cooperative, almost unsettlingly so. Even the Acolytes and the manager couldn’t hide their surprise, as one question echoed quietly through their minds.

How did Adam do this?

Yet questions aside, it was good to see. The heirs, usually stubborn, prideful, and difficult, were actively lending a hand. Even Sebastian was fully engaged, listening intently as positions were assigned. He spoke up more than once, offering suggestions based on his own combat style and that of his followers, adjusting formations so they would integrate smoothly with the Acolytes rather than clash with them.

Similar scenes played out all along the wall.

Orders were exchanged. Positions refined. Gaps closed.

Watching it all, one truth became painfully obvious.

The heirs had never been dumb.

Their pride, stubbornness, and arrogance had simply buried what lay beneath. Strip those away, and what remained were warriors trained since childhood, talented, disciplined, and frighteningly capable.

Vanessa observed the scene for a moment before approaching Adam.

“What did you do to make them this cooperative?”

Adam didn’t turn. His eyes remained fixed on the distant horizon as he answered,

“I showed them my potential.”

“…?”

The manager frowned, confusion clear on her face.

Adam glanced at her from the corner of his eye and caught it instantly.

I guess it’s a martial clan thing only.

To the heirs, potential was everything. Growth. Trajectory. What someone could become. That was what earned respect, even more than current raw power.

But the manager didn’t see it that way.

She had already seen Adam’s strength. Repeatedly.

That baffled reaction revealed something important to him.

Compared to the heirs who value potential… the mission hall values current power.

Adam narrowed his eyes slightly.

Or maybe it’s just the low tier regions that think like that.

Before he could reflect further, hurried footsteps approached.

An Acolyte rushed up, breath tight. “Ma’am, the tide is a hundred meters away.”

Vanessa opened her mouth to respond…

And then the ground began to rumble.

A deep, rolling vibration surged through the wall, shaking concrete and metal alike. Conversations died instantly. Every eye atop the wall snapped forward.

Out there, beyond the edge of the wild zone…

The tide was clearly visible now.

It spread across the observable wild zone like a living flood, monsters covering the ground so completely that the earth beneath them vanished from sight. From a distance, it looked less like an army and more like an unstoppable disaster rolling forward, consuming everything in its path.

The composition of the tide could be seen as it drew closer.

Unranked level-2 giant rats surged at the front, a writhing mass of teeth and filth. Alongside them ran unranked level-2 sabre wolves, their lean bodies eating up distance with terrifying speed. Above, unranked level-2 gargoyles beat their stone wings, while shrill laughter echoed from swarms of unranked level-2 evil pixies flitting chaotically through the air.

On the ground, unranked level-2 kobolds charged in loose packs, crude weapons raised, weaving between the heavier frames of unranked level-2 wood tigers whose massive bodies crushed everything beneath their paws.

And behind them, commanding the tide by sheer presence…

The first-generation mutant Unranked level-3 sirens.

They moved in swarms, their numbers dense enough to blur together, their collective presence pressing forward like a suffocating wave. They were the core. The ruling force of the tide. The ones that made the entire mass feel capable of swallowing the walls whole.

Vanessa reacted instantly.

“Units—get in position, now!”

The wall erupted into motion. Acolytes and heirs snapped into place behind the artillery armaments, expressions hard, breaths controlled. Essence flared as the cannons were manned, mechanisms locking and aligning with practiced precision.

The monsters closed in fast.

Adam walked calmly through the controlled chaos and took position behind one of the armaments, his presence unnervingly steady amid the rising tension.

“Ready the cannons. Fire on my signal!”

A deep, resonant hum spread across the wall as essence was drawn into the artillery. The sound layered over itself, growing heavier and denser, as power coilied, waiting to be unleashed.

The closer the tide came, the worse it became.

Growls, screeches, wingbeats, shrill cries, they crashed together into a deafening roar. It felt as if the monsters were already right next to their ears, as if the wall separating them was nothing more than an illusion.

Still, Vanessa held her hand raised.

No one moved.

No one flinched.

Then…

“FIRE!”

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