"So... Shall we begin?" Katrin muttered while looking at the hundreds of Igno Ants in front of the southern passage.
The Igno Ants didn't pay attention to them as they were busy with the more important task of digging out Red Lizards from the ground.
Thanks to their tactics, the Red Lizards had already killed more than ten Igno Guards, and the ants couldn't allow it anymore. Igno Guards were the most valuable fighters of the ants and the main defenders of the Nest, so every single one of them was immensely worthwhile.
"Agh, even though I don't like it, I will help you. Stand in front of me, I'll use my Nexus. After all, we work on the same team, don't we?" Katrin smiled slightly, pointing her staff at Adam.
Even though Katrin didn't like her abilities and didn't want to be the support, she had nothing against Adam, even though it might seem that way because of her bad temper. After all, he was the one she had asked for help because she could trust him and believed in his strength.
"You shouldn't."
However... Adam said no.
"Agh?" Katrin's eyes went wide in confusion.
"Save your powers for Scarlet Pyromancer or if Igno Ant King awakens. I can deal with those weaklings myself." Adam said calmly as his eyes shone brightly and electric shocks ran through his body.
His speech sounded arrogant, but there was no pride or overconfidence in Adam's words, for he was simply stating facts. The Igno Ants were indeed weak opponents for him.
Katrin gulped, she just watched as Adam's tips of black hair shone brightly, a lightning horn appeared on his head and he soared slightly above the ground, about to unleash his power on the ants.
Whoooooooosh.
Adam tilted his body forward and turned into a blue flash, instantly reaching the ants and whizzing through them, turning them into bloody shards.
He didn't need to use his needle or other abilities, the lightning power, his speed, and physical stats were more than enough to tear the ants apart.
As soon as Adam's palm touched an ant, electric shocks passed through the monster, turning it into ash.
Katrin watched Adam's performance with wide-open eyes. She felt awe and genuine envy towards Adam.
Her envy was in some ways the right one. Katrin didn't want to take away what Adam had and take it for herself, she wanted to reach the same level as soon as possible. She wanted others to look at her the same way she looked at Adam now.
'Lero and Osana... Those two seem more than satisfied with their role as the supports in the Golden Light Squad.' Katrin inwardly muttered tightly clenching her fist.
"You can't name a squad after yourself, no matter who you are, no matter how strong or smart you are. Not that I'm a major fan of teamwork, but it's pretty damn obvious."
Then, Adam turned around and headed toward the west side of the Igno Ants Nest.
"Catch up. I think I'll deal with all the monsters in front of the west entrance in ten minutes." Adam said before disappearing in a blue flash.
Katrin smirked as she watched Adam's distant silhouette covered in lightning. She was once again convinced that asking him for help was the right thing to do.
It was true that Adam worked in squads much less often than the other Phantoms, but there were reasons and circumstances for that.
Moreover, there were often conflicts and problems in the squads, Katrin was well aware of that because to earn money she had to do a lot of missions, often working with large squads that could complete several missions in a day.
During this time, she met a lot of annoying Phantoms and real bastards.
Sure, Katrin wasn't a person of perfect temperament as well as Adam, but she had goals and principles. That was far more important for trust than supposed kindness and respect.
"Hey, Silvana, you can hear me, right?" Katrin smiled, stepping forward among the dead lizards and ants, heading for the west passage.
For a while, there was only silence, but soon Katrin heard Adam's Operator's voice.
'What? Katrin, you have your Operator. I'm supposed to be helping Adam.' Silvana replied coldly.
Katrin nodded with a slight smile on her face.
"Hah, we both understand that he doesn't need anyone's help right now. He's just tearing those ants apart."
Katrin continued as her gaze became more serious.
"Answer me one question and I won't bother you again."
'I'm listening to you.' Silvana replied emotionlessly.
"You know Adam better than anyone, so... If you were Phantom and you were fighting with him on the same battlefield, would you trust him with your life?" Katrin asked in a low tone.
The question was serious and complex, Katrin had expected a detailed answer with explanations and praise from Silvana to Adam.
'Yes.' Silvana said quickly, disconnecting from the channel.