"How come you got ahead again... But there are still quite a few enemies left here. What, are you tired?" Phainon looked at Mydei, who was still ahead of them in the distance.
"This is the last chance I'm giving you; you might as well not take it."
"You're really generous." Phainon put one hand on his hip. "This is the 'material storage area,' right? We should be quite close to Nikador now?"
"That's right. By the time you get there, it might already be a corpse in my hands."
"We need to finish this quickly; we can't just stand by and watch you go to your death, can we?"
Mydei gave no further response and left without looking back.
"The road is blocked. Strange, how did he get across? Could it be... that guy deliberately set up a roadblock?"
Looking at the broken passageway before him, Phainon seemed lost in thought.
"How insidious, Kremnosians."
Star had no choice but to use the " Eternity " necklace, which was really just an excuse to find a way to skip class.
"Wow, the stone platform of the Hand of Zagreus has been completely overlooked."
" The Hand of Zagreus?"
"In short, Zagreus is Titan of Trickery; theft, fraud, betrayal—all despicable words are associated with him."
"That Titan has fallen, but left behind ' Hand of Beguilement ' all over the world. People also use these giant hands to move things, and... cough, steal them."
Buzz!
As Phainon explained, the " Elation " mask on Xing's arm would occasionally flash, seemingly resonating deeply with the " Trickery " Titan he described.
A quarter of an hour passed in the blink of an eye. After clearing away the obstacles with the hourglass necklace, Phainon and Xing reunited with Mydei once again.
"Too slow," Mydei said.
"Sorry, but someone didn't clear the obstacles from the road."
"Enough with the nonsense, let's see the results."
Mydei was the first to display his collection of thirty Castrum Kremnos emblems. Xing and Phainon were not to be outdone and directly showed off their 'spoils'—nearly a hundred Castrum Kremnos emblems, winning with an overwhelming advantage.
"Ha! Looks like we're the winners!"
"..." Mydei remained silent, his gaze gradually moving towards the hourglass necklace in Xing's hand. The suction power of this thing was truly terrifying.
"A bet's a bet, this is your final blow."
"Wait, I thought about it again—the stakes are still too high. Deciding glory through a contest is not a sign of reverence for God."
"I've changed the note: you just need to share half of the loot with us. As for Nikador... we'll join forces to defeat him."
"... provided that you and I can do it." Mydei said bluntly, tossing the spoils to Phainon: "Here's the spoils you wanted."
"Sigh... so it's right ahead?"
"Its presence is faint, but it is here. Our paths with ' Strife ' are about to intersect."
Xing unconsciously gripped the milk tea and hourglass necklace tighter, "What's with this sudden feeling of oppression...?"
Why make the atmosphere so tense? With the three of us working together, slaying a god is a piece of cake!
Phainon tried to lighten the mood, but it clearly didn't work, and he was forced to change the subject:
"Cough... Is that big guy in the distance the Mouthpiece of Truth?" He looked at the huge iron lion head by the wall, which was no different from the Okhema.
"Show some respect. This is the ' Golden Lion Head,' don't compare it to those things that spout rumors and unfounded tales."
" The Golden Lion Head is the foremost strategist of Castrum Kremnos. His advice has won many battles for our people and thwarted countless conspiracies."
"Unfortunately, it has now lost its voice. If only the Chrysos Heirs could borrow its wisdom—"
"Maide... Moss..."
The next second, the heavy and weak voice of the Golden Lion Head suddenly rang out.
"Crown Prince..."
"... Lion head? Many years have passed... Are you still awake?" Mydei's voice trembled slightly.
"Maide... Mos... I will never... forget your voice. I have always... been waiting for this moment."
"Speak, my teacher! I will listen to your teachings."
"Crown Prince... Castrum Kremnos has lost everything. Its people... its traditions... and its most precious possession, its glory."
"People migrate for survival, traditions are eroded by time, but glory? Even if it is hidden in the thick fog and the city walls crumble, Castrum Kremnos has never betrayed the honor of its warriors. Why do you say such things?"
"Our god... has utterly lost all understanding. It is no longer the revered war totem... It has fallen, and is brewing a disgraceful conspiracy..."
"I beg you, Mydeimos... end its long suffering, let it die as a warrior! It must... with glory..."
The Golden Lion Head fell silent, and its pale golden light vanished in an instant, like a firefly.
"My teacher?"
"My teacher—respond to me! In the name of the Crown Prince, I command you..."
"... Mydei." Phainon stepped forward. "Let it rest; it must be tired."
"... Perhaps it's just the delirium of an old lion on its deathbed; let's not take it to heart. Let's continue on our way..."
Before she finished speaking, Xing had already walked to the bottom of the Golden Lion Head and placed a cup of milk tea for Ye Yan. She had lost count of how many cups of " Eternity " milk tea she had placed in Amphoreus.
A magical thing happened: the moment Xingjiang placed the milk tea on it, the Golden Lion Head regained its vitality and could steam again!
"Be careful... Lycurgus... Eternity..."
"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"
"The messenger... deceived you..."
After he finished speaking, the Golden Lion Head dimmed again, and even when Xing placed several more cups of milk tea on it, there was no response.
Don't play the Riddlers at a time like this!
Xing angrily sipped her milk tea. Despite her complaints, she figured she might as well drink it. She wondered who this "messenger" the old lion had mentioned before his final moments of lucidity was.
Phainon took out the Kremnos that he had obtained earlier and handed it to Mydei, a native of Kremnosians, for him to interpret.
To everyone's surprise, Mydei's expression grew increasingly strange. What did Nikador mean by setting up a "Trojan horse"?
They've wrapped up their families and mingled them with the goods carried by the Earth Beast caravan; when the time is right, they can wipe them all out... You're playing dirty tricks, aren't you?
"No... Nikador would never..."
"No wonder Okhema was attacked; who would have thought that Titan driven to madness could still have such a scheme..."
" Okhema is facing annihilation; someone must come to its aid."
Phainon hesitated for a moment, then said, "No, that's not right. We must keep moving forward and complete our mission."