"What a huge mural."
Inside the Tetragon Temple, Cartethyia and Noah looked up at the mural on the temple wall.
On the left side was a black, twisting tide, with a figure standing atop the waves—its colors even darker than the pitch-black tide itself. On the right side, a sudden burst of golden light erupted; the blade-wielder seemed to carry a great sun on their back as their massive blade slashed toward the evil figure on the left.
In the center of the mural was a blank space where the wall plaster had peeled off, and the Book of Prophecy was placed in front of the mural.
"Only the Hero King who grasps extraordinary power and rises from the black tides can make Septimont eternal. He will calm the turbulent undercurrents and storms, and crown himself with the supreme glory of the old king's blood."
"'The Crown'—what does that mean?"
"In simple terms, whoever kills the god-king among the Dark Tide creations will become the Hero King of Septimont."
Upon hearing the explanation, Cartethyia's eyes lit up:
"Even non-Septimont people can become the Hero King?"
"Pretty much." Noah's mind wasn't on these prophecies: "Little Cart, you look at the mural for a while. I'll go outside for some fresh air."
Walking out of the temple, Noah gazed into the distance at the Red Forest Hunting Ground shrouded in black mist, his brain working rapidly.
So far, everything was developing almost exactly like the original plot.
Yet this very calm made him extremely uncomfortable.
"In the original plot, the Dark Tide creations on the Hunting Ground were all very cunning. They were experts at playing mind games with the gladiators and would even set traps to ambush them."
The current calm felt more like something big was lurking deep within the Hunting Ground, waiting to ambush him.
"Noah."
Avidius walked over from behind and stood beside him, teasing:
"Just as I thought, you would also be very interested in the mural in the Tetragon Temple."
"Uh..."
Actually, it was the complete opposite. Noah had long been familiar with the content of this mural. If Cartethyia hadn't wanted to see it, he wouldn't have come at all.
But he couldn't say that directly, so Noah simply changed the subject:
"Why did you come here too? Are you also longing to become the Hero King of Septimont?"
"No. Although I still want to protect Septimont's glory, I understand even more clearly that the title of Hero King should not be seized by a fictional person."
Avidius smiled and explained:
"I just don't want to listen to those old nobles in the Senate nagging anymore, so I came here to clear my mind."
"To be honest, after learning my own identity, watching those old men scheming against each other feels like watching ants fight—quite entertaining."
"The crisis on the Hunting Ground should have been a calamity that all of Septimont faces together with one heart, yet it has become a tool for them to fight for power and profit. I plan to give them two lessons."
The first lesson: loyalty.
The second lesson: not forgetting one's roots.
Noah immediately understood—Avidius was deliberately becoming the most valued person in the Senate, then planning to help Augusta kill the tyrant Spinosaurus at the critical moment.
"Please keep this secret until the matter is over." Avidius seemed to imagine the wonderful expressions on the Senate members' faces and couldn't help laughing: "I'll take my leave first, sir. Actually, compared to the so-called Hero King, I'm more looking forward to your wonderful performance."
On the other side of the Tetragon Temple, at a higher position, Iuno watched Noah chatting and laughing with Avidius. Her delicate nose wrinkled slightly:
"This guy is actually colluding with Avidius."
"No, it should be Avidius who took the initiative to approach him."
"Avidius definitely wants to pull Noah over to the Senate's side. Too bad he doesn't know that Noah has long been standing with us."
Not to mention anything else, she knew full well that Noah had driven away the Senate's little spies twice.
Thinking of this, Iuno couldn't help but curve her lips:
"That guy is a bit annoying, but he's still very firm when it comes to his stance."
She secretly calculated the time. When she looked up again, Avidius had already left, replaced by the most senior elder in the Tetragon Temple, Granny Lillibet, who was talking with Noah.
"What the—"
Iuno frowned again:
"What exactly is so good about this guy? That Cartethyia clearly has feelings for him and even gave him a special nickname. Now even Granny Lillibet is approaching him."
Does he charm everyone, young and old?
Whatever. The time was about right—she should get moving.
On the other side.
Watching Granny Lillibet approach step by step while holding a golden candlestick, Noah proactively started the conversation:
"Elder, did you need me for something?"
"Child, there is a prophecy about you. Would you like to hear it?"
The steady candlelight illuminated Lillibet's kind face. Without waiting for Noah's answer, she began speaking, her voice carrying heat at the end:
"When a person acts for justice, the whole world will help him. The mountains will part for him, the seas will open a narrow path, and even the God of Death will pause their scythe, only swinging it down again after he has finished everything."
Upon hearing this, Noah thought for a moment. In the original plot, Granny Lillibet had said something different to the Rover—evaluating the Rover as a blank slate capable of creating all possibilities.
But what she said to him gave him the feeling that he was about to face enormous difficulties.
Joking aside, with his six-chain Jinhsi, six-chain Cartethyia, six-chain Augusta, and six-chain Carlotta, he could slaughter even Threnodians if they came. What difficulties could he possibly encounter?
"Uh... Elder, forgive me for being blunt, but your prophecy for me actually..." Halfway through, Noah changed his tone: "Never mind. As long as you're happy."
A sharp sound of something breaking through the air caught his attention. Turning his head, he saw a sapphire-blue arrow streak across the sky and hit the torch stand, igniting roaring flames that illuminated the Red Forest Hunting Ground.
The sound of a hunting horn, extremely penetrating, rang out. The originally quiet Hunter's Camp suddenly filled with the voices of many people.
"It's the hunting horn."
"Warriors, get your spirits up!"
"Move out, move out."
Bringing Cartethyia hurriedly down from the Tetragon Temple, Noah proactively found Augusta.
"Here, this is the directional anchor."
Augusta handed Noah a stone shaped like a giant diamond:
"Later, we will plant directional anchors at three locations in the Red Forest Hunting Ground. Using the special magnetic field they generate, we will drive the prey toward the Asphodel Barrens."
Noah took the directional anchor. He had no objections to this plot point that matched the original story exactly and asked:
"Ephor, I want to know—have you heard any whispering temptations lately?"
"Whispers?"
Augusta's eyes flickered with slight surprise:
"Indeed, sometimes I do hear some whispers, but I've never mentioned this to anyone. How did you know..."
She glanced at the gladiators who had finished assembling around them and lost the mood to inquire further.
"Never mind, we'll talk about this later. Those whispers used to be very noisy in my head before, but now, for some reason, I haven't heard them for a long time."
After answering, Augusta turned her gaze toward the gladiators in the Hunter's Camp and gave a deep command:
"Everyone, please follow me to the hunting ground!"
"Let the flame of the sacred fire ignite your resolve! The enemies of Septimont will witness what true fearlessness is!"
...
Deep within the Hunting Ground.
"Noah has arrived, and he even brought my Resonator. Two Calamity-class combatants at once. Should we... hold back for a while?"
Leviathan's suggestion only drew a contemptuous laugh from Ovathrax:
"Leviathan, are you scared by just two Calamity-class combatants? I have no intention of retreating."
"I am a War Threnodian, Solaris's ten-thousand-year nightmare. What kind of scene have I not seen? With my ability to continuously absorb battlefield frequencies and grow stronger the longer I fight, victory in this war is already decided."
"Just wait until they follow the bait into the depths of the battlefield. At that time, all the elites of Septimont will fall here. Destroying Septimont will be as easy as flipping a hand."
These confident words made Leviathan eager to move.
It was a Plague Threnodian; all its talents were invested in harvesting spirit. In terms of actual combat power, it was far weaker than other Threnodians.
In contrast, the many Overlord-class Tacet Discords created by Ovathrax possessed the undying nature of Dark Tide creations. Even if they couldn't kill Noah, if Ovathrax ate its fill of war frequencies, it could help restore Ovathrax to its peak.
Back in the Suspended Ruins, Noah had spent nearly two hours fighting it, while Ovathrax's combat power was far higher than Leviathan's and had the characteristic of growing stronger in battle.
If it really turned into a war of attrition, it was uncertain who would live and who would die between Ovathrax and Noah.
The more it thought about it, the more Leviathan felt this was very promising:
"Alright, Ovathrax. I fully support you!"
It couldn't help falling into a fantasy moment—
Once the Dark Tide submerged Septimont, it could harvest a massive amount of spiritual consciousness at once, recover its strength, then submerge all of Rinascita, devour Imperator, and reach the peak of its Threnodian life.