He tried to wake the Golden Lion Head again.
"My teacher—answer me! In the name of Wang Zhu, I command you...!"
"...Mydei!" Phainon gripped Mydei's shoulder. "Let him rest. He must be exhausted."
"..."
Mydei sighed.
He fell silent.
Remembering what the Golden Lion Head had just said, he told the other two:
"...Perhaps those were only the dying words of an old lion. Pay them no mind. Let's keep moving."
"Wait."
Phainon took out a stone tablet and handed it to Mydei.
"We found this earlier. I nearly forgot about it."
"The writing looks like ancient Kremnosian. We couldn't decipher it ourselves."
"Let me see." Mydei took the tablet and studied the ancient script.
"..."
The more he read, the deeper his frown grew.
"...I'll read it aloud."
Holding the tablet, Mydei began in a low voice:
"Though the Black Tide is an enemy of unknown origin, properly used, it may also become a weapon against our old foe."
"Order infiltrators to transport several corrupted creatures, wrap them in a specially prepared layer of earth, and conceal them among the Earth Beast Caravan's cargo to smuggle them into Okhema."
"Once inside the city, dispatch people under cover of night to hide the creatures throughout the city."
"After several days, the earth will weather and flake away, and the creatures' foul aura will permeate every street and alley of Okhema."
"???" Yan Huan's eyes widened. "The Black Tide? Does this mean they're going to bring the corpses of Heavenly Punishment Soldiers infected by a plague called the Black Tide into the city, hide them, and infect ordinary people?"
"More or less." Mydei glanced at Yan Huan. "I'm not finished. Don't interrupt."
He continued reading:
"By then, the people of Okhema will be exhausted from searching for the source of the