Chapter 321: Evil God Faros, the Firewood Bill

Chapter 321: Chapter 321: Evil God Faros, the Firewood Bill

Lance had originally thought he was just participating in an ordinary Summer Crown event.

Who could have guessed he’d be wading deeper and deeper into these murky waters?

A King Level Heroic Spirit Species, something that shouldn’t even be in a low-level area, had already appeared. Now, he was also entangled with a massive cult of fanatical Evil God worshipers.

’He was starting to regret coming here.’

Fortunately, however.

Lance immediately called back the three who had just left.

Under his leadership, the three captains—Julius, Felix, and Viters—drew on their solid professionalism.

After a brief moment of shock, they began shouting into the chaotic crowd, forcefully maintaining order.

"Everyone, don’t panic! Gather immediately at the entrance to the First Area!"

Julius drew his Longsword, his voice booming across the entire area, amplified by Magic Power.

"First through Third Squads, shield wall! Get to the front of the formation and clear a path!"

"Wanderers and Archers, spread out on the flanks! Form a security cordon and provide mobile fire support!"

"Casters and Healing Professions, fall back to the safe zone in the center of the formation! Surround all non-combat Professionals and injured comrades and protect them!"

Julius methodically arranged the defensive formation for the retreat.

They did their utmost to protect the weak, giving others a chance to survive.

This was the silent consensus reached in this moment by all the combat-capable Adventurers present, forged over more than ten days of shared life and death.

No, perhaps...

This was the true spirit that had been forged within the temporarily assembled Red Dragon United Strategy Team.

Seeing that the vast procession had completed its initial assembly under the command of the captains.

Everyone lit their Magic Crystal Lamps and began an organized retreat toward the outer passage.

However.

Just as the main force began to move.

Someone in the crowd suddenly pointed to the sky above the camp and let out a cry of alarm.

"Wh-what is that?!"

Everyone looked up.

No light was needed for illumination.

Everyone could clearly see it. Accompanied by a swirling, eerie red light, a vast, illusory, mirage-like image had been projected into the air without any warning!

Within that flickering image...

The entire sky was dyed a deep, viscous blood-red.

The ground was covered with charred trees and mountain-like piles of mangled corpses.

A massive army in archaic, full-body armor was raising a tattered war banner emblazoned with a blood-red Iris Flower. They were engaged in a brutal, hand-to-hand slaughter against another army, wading through a mire of blood and flesh that rose past their ankles!

"Th-this is..."

Viters stared at the war banner, clearly recognizing what the image was showing.

"You recognize this period of history?" Felix immediately turned his head and asked.

"This was a rebellion that took place in our White River Province several hundred years ago!"

Lance had walked over to them by now and clearly heard Viters’s explanation.

A thought struck him.

He immediately recalled the intelligence he had seen in Cassis’s secrets.

’So, the special item that the Faceless Hermitage Association wants is hidden within this materialized scene from history?’

Viters pointed to a tall figure in the image, standing atop a mountain of corpses in a sea of blood, clad in menacing scarlet armor.

"The man standing there is the instigator of that rebellion, the ruler of the White River Province at the time—the Scarlet Duke!"

"In that era, their Valerius family was a great house that possessed a dual heritage of top-tier blood Magic and Knight traditions!"

Viters quickly recounted the history.

"The Scarlet Duke was stuck at the peak of Level 15, unable to touch the threshold of the Legendary Tier."

"In order to break through the limits of his lifespan, he secretly allied with the Faceless Hermitage Association and launched the rebellion."

"However, there are no records in the Kingdom’s official archives about what specific ritual they performed or what they did in this Province. That secret Knowledge seems to have been deliberately erased."

"But..."

Viters looked at the other army in the image, which was desperately fighting the rebels under a war banner with a golden lion.

"That was the Kingdom’s Third Legion from that time."

Viters took a deep breath.

"The commander who led that legion to the White River Province to suppress the rebellion was the ancestor of the current Rosenthal Clan, Duke Aldo Rosenthal."

Before he could finish recounting this epic, turbulent tale...

Suddenly.

A clamor of footsteps could be faintly heard coming from a dark passage connecting the camp to other areas.

The expressions of Viters and the others, including Lance, instantly grew grim.

Everyone realized that without the protection of a safe point, trouble would soon find them here.

Lance knew he couldn’t delay any longer.

He had to set off for the Heroic Spirit Species’s room immediately.

To "open" the gates of the Underground City for everyone!

"There’s no time for stories."

Lance turned and looked at the captains.

"Let’s go complete our respective missions."

Finally.

Lance held out his right hand, which was covered by Hand Armor.

Seeing this, Julius, Felix, and Viters all extended their right hands as well.

The men’s fists slammed together in mid-air.

"See you outside the Underground City!"

Then.

Lance took Nieve’s hand, turned, and strode away down a tunnel leading deeper into the Underground City.

...

「At the same time.」

「Hundreds of kilometers away.」

White River City, Violet Academy.

Professor Gideon, who had been leisurely sipping black tea in his office, suddenly received an extremely urgent magical message.

He immediately put down his teacup and went to the "Truth Observation Station" suspended in the center of the "Ring of Truth."

This observation station was a facility jointly managed by the Violet Academy and the Iris Flower Mage Council.

It was a semi-official institution, primarily responsible for monitoring the Ether tidal fluctuations throughout the entire Province day and night.

And now.

The moment Professor Gideon stepped through the observation station’s doors, he saw the entire control room flashing with red warning lights.

Seeing him enter, several sweat-drenched Astrologers immediately rushed over and reported in urgent tones.

"Professor! The Earth Vein Detector just detected an anomaly!"

"During the Summer Crown event, the Chaos Ether within more than ten Underground Cities on the border of White River Province has suddenly entered a state of forced siphoning!"

"It feels... as if all the Ether Energy is being forcibly gathered and stitched together by an extremely immense external force."

An elderly Astrologer swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.

"The characteristics of this energy fluctuation... are very similar to the recorded... Star-Stealing Festival?"

But the Astrologer didn’t dare say it with certainty.

After all.

A ritual like the Star-Stealing Festival, which directly draws Power from the Star Realm, was arguably the greatest taboo in the entire Kingdom, and even the entire continent.

Once initiated, it would inevitably invite a full-scale purge by the Kingdom.

But the energy signs displayed on the instrument before them were indeed somewhat similar to what was described in the literature.

"Impossible."

Gideon strode to the massive Alchemy Instruments and immediately refuted the guess.

"If it were the Star-Stealing Festival, that level of energy extraction would be enough to affect the stability of the Star Realm. What manifested in the Material Realm would be far more than a simple Ether siphoning."

He began to examine the contents on the Earth Vein Detector.

He quickly searched his memory for matching Knowledge.

Soon, his expression changed.

"This... this is a ritual to summon the Evil God ’Faros’!"

Gideon said in shock.

"Those madmen, they actually dare to borrow the Evil God’s Power to forcibly interfere with the operation of the Summer Crown in the Underground Cities."

"This will definitely provoke the wrath of the Underground City’s will."

Because among all the gods...

only "Chaos," due to the authority he wields and his inherent nature, could naturally interfere with the workings of an Underground City.

Any other god, however...

if they wanted to extend their reach into an Underground City, would have to have their followers in the Material Realm perform a massive ritual to forcibly bring down their Power.

What the Faceless Hermitage Association was doing now...

was tantamount to summoning Faros, then holding down the Underground City’s will by the head and forcing it to obey!

This action would inevitably incur the backlash of the Underground City.

And the consequences would be borne by the surrounding towns!

Gideon didn’t hesitate for a second.

He immediately turned and issued his decision to the Assistant Mages behind him.

"Activate the Magic Communication Array immediately!"

"Transmit this analysis report to two departments simultaneously!"

"One is the [Ash Judgment Bureau]!"

"The other is the [White River Province Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters]!"

"Tell them!"

"The Faceless Hermitage Association is summoning the Evil God Power of ’Faros’ to interfere with the Summer Crown! The Underground Cities are about to go completely berserk!"

"Activate the ’Firewood Bill’ immediately!"

"All surrounding towns within the affected area are to be forcibly evacuated, by any means necessary!"