Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 63: One Man In The Midst Of Devastation

Vanessa and her group maneuvered steadily through the swamp, heading straight toward the location where the explosion had erupted earlier.

They passed several fleeing heirs along the way, panic written clearly on their faces, but Vanessa didn’t spare them a second glance.

Neither did the Acolytes behind her. Their objective was singular, Focused and Purpose-driven.

Thanks to the chaos the heirs had already caused, they didn’t initially run into any sirens.

Most of the weaker ones had either been slain or scattered. But the closer they drew to the center, the heavier the air became, and that was when they saw it.

Their first siren.

The creature rose from the murky water ahead, its slick blue skin glistening beneath the swamp’s dim light.

The Acolytes tensed instinctively behind Vanessa.

She didn’t slow down.

She didn’t hesitate.

Vanessa tightened her grip on the halberd, drawing it back with both hands. In the next instant, essence surged.

A seven star martial spirit materialized behind her, a tall figure clad in a flowing red dress, a wide crimson hat casting its face in shadow. A halberd identical to Vanessa’s rested in its hands.

"Blood Pierce."

Vanessa thrust forward.

A spray of condensed, blood-red essence erupted from the halberd’s tip, punching through the air.

The siren raised its arms to block, but the force was overwhelming, it was hurled backward, crashing violently into a tree as foul blood spilled from its mouth.

Before it could recover.

The halberd pierced through its body, and the siren went limp instantly.

Vanessa didn’t even glance at the corpse.

She pressed forward, her pace unbroken, the Acolytes following closely behind.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

This wasn’t the first time she’d killed sirens.

But something felt off.

Did it get stronger?

She pushed the thought aside as they continued toward the center of the swamp.

As they advanced deeper into the swamp, they encountered more sirens.

Vanessa dealt with them efficiently.

Each time a siren emerged, her halberd moved with ruthless precision, thrusts clean, decisive, lethal.

The Acolytes assisted occasionally, stepping in to finish off wounded creatures or cover blind spots, but it was clear who carried the weight of the fighting.

With every kill, her certainty grew.

The sirens were getting stronger.

She could feel it in the resistance of their bodies, the force behind their attacks, the density of essence they carried.

She didn’t yet know why, but she was confident she would find her answer at the center. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

And it didn’t take long.

They closed in.

Despite the rush, the group eventually slowed to a halt.

The area surrounding the center lay in utter ruin.

The ground was charred black, smoke rising lazily from cracks and craters. Empty pools of swamp water steamed violently, the heat beneath them still lingering. The air itself felt heavier, thick with residual essence and pressure.

One of the Acolytes swallowed hard.

"What in the world caused this level of destruction?" he asked. "Can anyone even survive something like this?"

No one answered.

Not even Vanessa.

She stood still for a moment before finally speaking.

"Stay alert."

Then she stepped forward.

The further they moved in, the worse it became.

Upon reaching the center, they found corpses scattered across the ground, burnt, twisted shapes that looked as if they’d been left to roast and then forgotten.

Their faces were unrecognizable, flesh charred beyond identity. The destruction here was far greater than anywhere else they’d passed, and the air crackled faintly with lingering energy.

Vanessa’s gaze snapped toward the rift.

Her eyes widened as she realized something crucial.

But before she could speak.

"Manager," an Acolyte called out sharply. "There’s a survivor."

Vanessa tore her eyes away from the rift and followed the direction indicated.

Sitting atop a charred, collapsed tree log was Adam.

His posture was calm, almost casual, his gaze fixed on the rift as though he were waiting for something.

For a moment, the rift vanished from Vanessa’s thoughts entirely.

Why is he still here?

That question, along with a dozen others, surged through her all at once. She quickly steadied herself, and with that calm came an answer:

He must have figured it out, too.

There was only one reason someone like Adam would remain here despite everything.

Vanessa shook her head lightly and began walking toward him.

Adam had noticed when the manager arrived.

He just didn’t look at her.

Not because he couldn’t, and not because he was trying to avoid her. His attention was locked on something far more unsettling.

The rift.

The breached rift that had created the Sirens’ Swamp had changed.

It was no longer just a breached rift.

It was mutating.

That alone made Adam’s stomach tighten.

A mutant rift wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Mutant rifts were natural disasters, rare distortions born from unstable convergence.

They weren’t controlled. They weren’t triggered. They definitely weren’t something people could force into existence.

And yet... here it was.

Something that shouldn’t be possible.

Adam stayed where he was, despite the ringing in his head and the blood running down his temple.

And although the mutant rift held importance, it wasn’t because of it that he stayed behind.

It was for a reason only he knew.

A reason he intended to keep to himself.

Footsteps approached.

Vanessa came to a stop a short distance from him. Her gaze swept over his condition. Blood matted his hair. His armor was blown open at the chest. Black soot clung to his clothes and skin, with smaller injuries scattered across his body.

She took it all in.

The question she planned to ask stalled for a more important one.

"Are you okay?"

Adam finally turned to look at her.

"I’ll manage."

Vanessa nodded and that was it. For a martial artist, these were nothing more than flesh wounds. She wouldn’t have asked if it were anyone else.

"So, Mr. Adam," she said, her voice steady and controlled, "what led to such a devastating scene?"

****

[Authors Note]

Thank you for reading; your support is the source of my inspiration.