Returning to the Silver and Tin Palace
The protection of the Lord of Scales and Feathers is particularly effective at night.
Even though Avalon and Star Antimony were at war, Iver, the advisor, Grape, and Olive managed to avoid both sides and safely arrive at the Silver and Tin Palace under the cover of night.
However, the Silver and Tin Palace at this time had completely lost its original shape.
The palace, which had been occupied by the Balrog, had now become a stronghold of the Balrog. The walls and floors were scorching hot, and just entering them made it hard to breathe. The soles of boots melted slightly due to the high temperature, and walking on them made a sticky feeling and a tearing sound. If you touched the walls directly with your hands, you would get blisters.
You can still see patrolling knights and servants wandering around the palace from here.
What they had in common was that they had all been assimilated by the flames. The knights' armor burned with raging fire, but the flames did not scorch or melt the armor; even the wandering servants in their tattered clothes, who wandered aimlessly like zombies, flames constantly seeping from the cracks in their skin and from their faces, did not ignite the few remaining pieces of clothing on their bodies.
The only good thing is that the palace is now quiet. There are no sudden bursts of flame, and no sudden burning and collapse.
It was as if the palace and the fire demon had merged into one, and had fallen into a deep slumber.
"... If only the Master Nobel were here."
The consultant couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath, "He should have been working with us..."
Although Grape didn't understand what the consultant was saying, she obediently nodded in agreement.
If that kid Lore were here, he could distribute Alchemy Potion to everyone to help them withstand the high temperatures.
The monk's body was too fragile; he was the only one of the four present who could not withstand the high temperature of the environment.
The scorching airflow was so intense it could kill ordinary people—the walls of the Silver and Tin Palace were made of a lot of metal, and now they were like a simmering boiler; if you added a little water, they'd probably be cooked alive.
The hot air traveled from the mouth and nose to the trachea and then to the lungs, making the consultant feel an incredibly clear burning sensation.
According to the consultant's understanding of the human body, prolonged exposure to this environment could lead to inhalation damage to the respiratory system. The mucous membranes of the trachea and bronchi would become congested and develop blisters, potentially causing pulmonary edema and insufficient oxygen intake, resulting in decreased blood pressure and reduced cognitive abilities, which would also impair one's spellcasting abilities.
Moreover, there is a distinct Sulfur smell in the air—if there is Sulfur in the hot air, it will cause even greater damage to the mucous membranes and lungs.
Therefore, even if there were a bishop nearby who could provide treatment at any time, the advisor would not dare to put himself in such a dangerous state for an extended period.
If a battle suddenly breaks out, he will be unable to resonate with the Path of Wisdom and cast spells due to his unclear mind, and will directly lose his fighting ability.
Fearing he would attract the attention of the patrolling Flame Demon Knight, the advisor dared not perform large-scale spellcasting. He could only cover his mouth and nose with his hand, using Water Attribute magic to create a purifying circle in his palm, filtering and cooling the air in this way.
The drawback of this is that it results in a continuous loss of mana. Although the loss is small, it cannot last for very long.
"Hurry up and look for it," the consultant said in a low voice, a hint of anxiety in his voice. "If we can't find it, let's go out first."
"Mr. Hermes, if you can't stay here, you can hide outside."
Iver kindly reminded him.
The consultant immediately shut his mouth.
Outside?
—A fierce battle is raging outside! Golem and griffins are clashing, knights are battling Demon Scholar, and the dead are rising again as undead. He was lucky to have gotten close without being noticed; he didn't want to go over there and cause trouble, or see if they could even see through his invisibility.
Even if he wasn't exposed, he simply couldn't withstand being suddenly swept away by the Golem! Thinking is like fire; it needs intelligence as fuel.
Even the most intelligent person cannot force anything out of nothing. In most cases, the reason why intelligent people are intelligent is because they are perceptive enough to obtain more information—but "perceptiveness" is not a characteristic of the Path of Wisdom, but a talent for Path of Adaptation.
Now that the advisor has no information at hand, he can only elevate his perspective and analyze from a higher level—that is, from a perspective outside the Promotion Ritual.
According to the consultant's experience, the Promotion Ritual designed by the Pillar God are not as random and unpredictable as reality. The essence of the Promotion Ritual is simulation, and the fact that they are about future Promotion Ritual indicates that He must have specifically wanted to see something or convey a secret, otherwise there would be no need to put so much effort into them... Any random passage from history could be used for ascension.
If we analyze it from this perspective, we can at least make some speculations. That is, we can assume that "the Lord of Scales and Feathers ' designs and arrangements must have meaning," and then deduce what kind of plot He would set up.
Although the time was skipped by two days, the Promotion Ritual must have had an internal logic that pushed them forward even if they had no clue what to do.
Furthermore, the Promotion Ritual always has a main shot, which is the scene that the Pillar God who designed this dream wants to see. It's like when a reporter conducts an interview, the spotlight is always focused on a particular person.
There are now six people left, and half of them are on their side. That means escorting the Princess to the Theocracy is only half of the mission; the "Iver" that the Princess is looking for is the other mission line.
If Iver is indeed a native of the Promotion Ritual, then everything becomes clear: since Iver is the only native among their group, it means that the current "plot halo" must be on him.
If you simply follow Iver, you will only encounter the expected trials and dangers, which may be difficult or even life-threatening, but there is definitely a chance to overcome them and you will not die from inexplicable accidents.
But if you stay away from him, you might very well die in some unknown corner.
Therefore, even if it meant forcing his way in, the consultant didn't want to leave. Even if it meant being shameless, he insisted on staying with Iver as long as it didn't expose him.
That way he can at least live until the final battle... and then it's up to each of us to rely on our own abilities.
The premise is that Iver is a native, not an ascendant. Otherwise, all his deductions would be wrong. That's why, after Grape reminded him of the possibility that "Iver and Isabel might have seen through his act of pretending to be asleep," he developed a slight suspicion.
But now he thought about it carefully. Whether Iver and Isabel were acting or not had nothing to do with whether they were Ascended or not. Even if they were Ascended, where did they get the information about the "Shadow of Avalon" from? The final First Ring of Grape's personal mission was to "assist in completing a certain ritual to end the invasion of Star Antimony," and this information matched the "Shadow of Avalon."
So he remained silent and followed Iver into the Queen's bedroom, where they had left earlier.
This place is now almost completely destroyed—it was the room where the Balrog hatched, and also the site of General Karl's final battle before his death.
Fortunately, the Flame Demon's true form wasn't here... but Iver's reckless actions still made the advisor's heart pound.
This time, Iver searched carefully and found that the dagger was indeed not here.
"Could it have been destroyed during the battle?"
Olive have proposed a possibility.
Iver shook his head. "Impossible. The Balrog doesn't have the power to destroy Divine Weapon... If it were that easy to destroy, then the Red Hilt Sword wouldn't need to be sealed."
"I'll try to find it through prayer. It might disturb the Fire Demon, but who knows..."
Iver reminded them, "Prepare for battle."