Chapter 319: A Name Bestowed by the Masses, Foundation of the Fire King

Chapter 319: Chapter 319: A Name Bestowed by the Masses, Foundation of the Fire King

[Achievement Effect 1: A Name Bestowed by the Masses]

[Upon final clearance of the Summer Crown, your final title will no longer be forcibly assigned by the Underground City. Instead, the Underground City will generate a selection of candidate titles for you, based on the "praises and names" given by the tens of thousands of people, as well as the "Underground City’s evaluation."]

[You will exercise your "Royal Authority" to freely choose the title that best suits you from the list of candidates!]

[Achievement Effect 2: Foundation of the Fire King]

[The title buff, sublimated from the "Gathering Heart" dimension, will have a 100% chance to undergo a beneficial mutation.]

Lance’s eyes quickly scanned over these two achievement effects.

Under the Underground City’s normal reward mechanics, the title an Adventurer received after completing the Summer Crown was determined solely by the will of the Underground City.

You got what you got, and there was no room for negotiation.

If you were unlucky, you could even be stuck with a ridiculous-sounding title.

But with the "A Name Bestowed by the Masses" effect, he could now carefully choose his title during the final reward phase.

And the second effect, "Foundation of the Fire King," was an even more pleasant surprise.

It was a purely positive failsafe mechanism.

In the Underground City’s title system, the "Gathering Heart" dimension represented group-wide buffs.

If such an Aura underwent a 100% beneficial mutation, the resulting bonus would be something to look forward to.

Compared to the [Dungeon Villain] achievement he’d gotten before, he felt the effects of [Gathering Stars into Fire] were far better.

As Lance was carefully examining the achievement effects,

Felix, standing behind him, was looking down at the crowd with a complex expression.

Following Lance’s speech, the once-listless crowd below had sprung into action.

The desperate atmosphere that had filled the air was swept away completely.

Adventurers opened their bags, quickly checking the durability of their weapons and taking stock of their few remaining Potions and rations.

The once-crowded streets were now buzzing with voices.

Everyone spontaneously began helping one another, repacking heavy supplies, and the entire camp moved with structured order.

Those who had already written their last wills didn’t hesitate to tear the parchment into pieces, letting the scraps scatter in the air.

Watching this vibrant scene, the anxiety that had gripped Felix’s heart finally subsided.

In its place, a sense of profound admiration welled up from the bottom of his heart.

Seeing that order in the camp had been preliminarily restored, Julius strode onto the high platform and walked to Lance’s side.

"Lance."

Julius’s voice carried a hint of worry. "You just said you were going to hunt the Heroic Spirit Species. Have you found the exact location of the Lord’s chamber?"

He paused, then continued, "How many people are you planning to take with you to hunt the Heroic Spirit Species?"

Hearing this question,

Lance, who had already turned around, didn’t answer directly.

He raised his right hand and pulled up his sleeve.

A complex, shimmering mark glowing with a faint Dark Gold light was faintly visible.

It was the special insignia representing the highest Crown Buff: the [Crown of the King].

Lance explained in detail the "Seizing Proof" Effect that came with the Crown of the King to the three captains before him.

"Since the entire Underground City has been forcibly taken over and sealed by the Heroic Spirit Species,"

Lance said, pointing to the mark,

"Then, as long as I use this state to initiate ’Seizing Proof,’ I can forcibly strip it of its control over this Underground City’s exit for a period of time."

"When that happens, the gate will open, and everyone can take the opportunity to evacuate safely through the original exit."

Hearing this plan, Julius astutely spotted its blind spot.

"But..." Julius frowned. "According to your description, after initiating ’Seizing Proof,’ both parties enter an independent dueling environment. Doesn’t that mean... only you can go in to face the Heroic Spirit Species alone?"

Lance nodded calmly, acknowledging this fact.

"Correct."

"That’s why from the very beginning, I never planned to take anyone else in,"

he explained.

"If we all went to fight the Heroic Spirit Species, not to mention how many needless casualties there would be in the process,"

"the enemy could also manipulate a Demon Tide and completely wipe out the entire camp. If it comes to that, all our previous efforts will have been for nothing."

To the others, Lance’s words sounded like

he was planning to trade his own life for the lives of the more than ten thousand people below!

In the Kingdom’s recorded history of Underground City exploration, there were indeed records of successful hunts against Heroic Spirit Species.

After all, the power projections of Heroic Spirits from the Star Realm were restricted by the laws of the Material Realm and absolutely could not exceed the Tier cap of the Underground City itself.

For example, in this "Rusted Stone Echo" Underground City, the maximum Level for Demons was strictly capped at Level 5.

Even if a legendary Heroic Spirit were to descend, the highest Level it could manifest would not exceed this threshold.

Therefore, in the limited successful records of the past,

the large, well-established Guilds had all relied on large-scale teams of heavily armored elites, using formations and consumable items. They used pure human-wave tactics, throwing lives away to barely overwhelm the unlucky Heroic Spirit Species that had descended into low-level Underground Cities.

If the Underground City’s Level was even slightly higher, allowing the descended Heroic Spirit Species to display a higher Tier of power, it would have been completely impossible to defeat them with human-wave tactics.

It would be a pure slaughter.

However!

The reason the Heroic Spirit Species inspired such Fear was never because of how high their restricted Basic Attributes were.

It was because of the legends they had created on the continent during their lives!

The will of the Underground City would manifest a special, temporary physical body for them based on the legendary deeds of their past lives, and grant them various exclusive, ridiculously overpowered Specialties unique to that Heroic Spirit.

The older and more powerful a Heroic Spirit’s Legend, the more unbeatable its Specialties would be!

And the one who had descended this time was "Galeos," the founder of the Empire.

The power of this Bronze Dragon was absolutely unquestionable.

"No! It’s too dangerous!"

Felix was the first to step forward, his tone urgent.

"Can that buff be transferred? If you have a way to strip the Crown of the King off, I’m willing to go in your place!"

Seeing their anxious and worried expressions,

Lance gave a helpless smile.

"Relax. I haven’t lost my mind. Of course I’m not going there just to die."

As he spoke, Lance casually flipped his hand over in the air.

A black Magic Cube appeared in his hand.

Then, as the others watched,

the Magic Cube quickly deconstructed and reassembled into a scroll that looked like a very old and luxurious parchment Hand Decree.

This was the very spoil he had looted from Cassis.

"This is a special item left behind by the Crimson Bell Squad."

Lance showed the Hand Decree to the three of them.

"The reason they dared to attack us so recklessly before, even going so far as to sabotage the area’s clearance, wasn’t because they had a death wish."

"It was because they had this item in their possession. With this Hand Decree, they could forcibly break the rules of the Underground City and leave this space directly to get their rewards."

Looking at the Hand Decree,

although Julius and the others were astonished that such an item even existed in the world,

seeing that Lance truly had an ace up his sleeve to save his life, their tense nerves finally relaxed, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

At the very least, if he found himself outmatched by the Heroic Spirit Species, he would still have a way to retreat.

"As long as you’re confident you can get away, then we can rest easy,"

Viters said in a low voice.

However, just as everyone began to feel a bit relieved because of this "ace,"

a slender figure had silently walked onto the high platform at some unknown point.

It was Nieve.