"Lady Ruan Mei, I shall take my leave then."
Luocha, noticing Ruan Mei's gaze still lingering on the coffin behind him, quickly suggested his departure.
"Mhm."
Ruan Mei nodded with a hint of regret.
Derick, watching her from the side, thought to himself that if she were confident she could take him, she would have made her move already. One shouldn't doubt whether Ruan Mei was capable of such a thing; she lacked even a basic moral compass.
Tingyun, meanwhile, was still in a state of shock. She truly hadn't expected events to unfold in such a way. One moment she was contemplating how to deal with a potential invasion by a Lord Ravager; the next, someone was telling her they were going to take on the Plague-Author, the Fount of All Sins. The speed of this turnaround left her reeling.
But seeing Ruan Mei and the dark monster about to board the spaceship, Tingyun quickly ran to catch up. Only after she was on board did she sit on the ground, panting.
"Lady Ruan Mei, slow down a bit!"
"It seems your constitution is a bit poor. Do you need my help to enhance it?" Ruan Mei asked, looking at Tingyun.
"Of course… I don't need it." Tingyun was about to nod in agreement, but one look at Ruan Mei's eyes made her quickly shake her head. Tingyun had a feeling that if she agreed, she would probably end up with a few extra parts on her body.
"Alright." Ruan Mei didn't mind. She then piloted the spaceship and began to fly out of the planet.
***
Amphoreus, Marmoreal Market.
While Ruan Mei was on the move, Derick was accompanying Castorice on a stroll through the market.
Looking at the citizens in the market, a genuine smile bloomed from the bottom of Derick's heart. This was the Amphoreus he knew, and he didn't want anyone to destroy it. Not even through something like a re-creation of the world.
Sensing Derick's joy, Castorice also smiled from the side.
A perfectly tranquil moment.
However, this tranquility was soon shattered.
A hurried figure ran over, a man covered in blood, stumbling towards Derick.
"Help… help me…"
Seeing the approaching man, Derick was greatly startled.
Wasn't this Iason, the man who had brought him to Okhema and provided him with a house?
Seeing the situation, Derick quickly stepped forward to support him and asked with concern, "Brother Iason, don't panic. I'm here. No one will hurt you."
Feeling Derick by his side, Iason's condition stabilized slightly. He swallowed hard, and then burst into tears.
"Heracles… Heracles, he… he died for me. I… I've failed him…"
Heracles was the great beast that Iason always had with him. Derick didn't see it now, and hearing Iason say it had died for him…
What had happened?
Derick continued to ask, "Did someone attack you? Was it the Black Tide? Or the minions of Nikador?"
Iason's state of mind stabilized a bit after seeing Derick. He looked at him, swallowed, and said, "It was… it was a swordsman in a tattered cloak, with a fishing rod and a mask. We were just coming back from outside Okhema when we were attacked by him. He… Heracles was killed by him in one blow!"
At this point, Iason broke down into loud sobs again.
The Flame-Reaver? He actually attacked passersby outside Okhema!?
Hearing Iason's words, Derick immediately knew who it was. But he never imagined the Flame-Reaver would start attacking civilians.
"Has that guy started stooping to such despicable acts?" Derick said to Castorice. "Castorice, you all stay here. I'm going over there to take a look. If he's still hurting people outside the city walls of Okhema, I'll find a way to stop him again."
"Mhm, you be careful," Castorice urged Derick.
Through today's spar, she knew Derick's current combat power, but she still couldn't help but worry.
"Don't worry, I will." Derick nodded.
The Lance of Divine Retribution appeared in his hand, and he charged towards the outskirts of Okhema.
Derick rushed to the city gate, where more casualties had appeared. Seeing this, the fire of anger in his heart burned even hotter.
Arriving at the area between Okhema and Castrum Kremnos, the ground was heavily damaged. And on this ravaged road lay numerous corpses.
Derick looked up and saw a tall, dark figure in the distance.
"Flame-Reaver!" Derick shouted.
At the same time, he tossed a coin into the air. Pushing off with his feet, he appeared in front of the Flame-Reaver in the next second. Filled with rage, he swung the Lance of Divine Retribution in his hand towards the Flame-Reaver's chest.
The Flame-Reaver was also somewhat surprised that Derick had arrived so quickly. But he was prepared. He swung his sword to block the attack in front of his chest.
The power of the Titan of Discord erupted from Derick's body, knocking the Flame-Reaver back a great distance.
"You've gotten faster. But… it's still not enough," he said to Derick.
He swung the longsword in his hand, his body dissolving into several phantoms that attacked Derick all at once.
Derick quickly swung his sword to attack, but in that moment, the Flame-Reaver's main body had already broken away from the battlefield. The power of his phantoms was not weak either. By the time Derick dealt with them, the Flame-Reaver had vanished without a trace.
Derick wanted to give chase, but the Flame-Reaver was already gone. Even with the super speed of the Titan of Deceit, he couldn't track him.
That guy… is he not even going to fight me head-on anymore? What is he plotting?
Derick thought to himself. He sheathed his sword and returned to the devastated area. Hyacine and Castorice had already arrived. Hyacine was currently using her healing arts to treat those who were still alive.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine soon," Hyacine said, comforting the injured as she healed them.
Castorice, on the other hand, had gone to those who had already died, using her mortician's ritual to help them rest in peace.
Tribbie was questioning those with minor injuries. Seeing Derick arrive, she quickly ran over.
"Derry, Derry, are you alright? You were too reckless just now, going after that Flame-Reaver all by yourself. It was too dangerous," Tribbie asked with concern.
"I'm fine. We disengaged after a brief contact. Sister Tribbie, have you questioned those people? I feel like the Flame-Reaver's actions are very strange. It's completely different from his previous behavior of focusing solely on finding the Titan Core Flames."
Derick gestured that he was fine and then shared his doubts with Tribbie.
"Indeed, this matter is very strange. On my way here, I learned from Aglaea that this area outside the city is a place her Golden Threads can't cover. The Flame-Reaver attacking the citizens here… there was no time to react."
Hearing this, Derick couldn't help but frown.
"What is he planning? Does he intend to continue these kinds of attacks? But while doing so will cause considerable losses to the citizens of Okhema, it ultimately won't affect the situation with the Titan Core Flames, will it?"
Derick's expression changed slightly.
"Unless… he plans to make these attacks a regular occurrence."
The Flame-Reaver's strength was undoubtedly extremely high, and crucially, he was alone. If he wanted to hide, unless he was in a place like Okhema, which was covered by Aglaea's Golden Threads, his whereabouts would be very difficult to find.
The only reason they could find him before was because his target was too clear. At the same time, when faced with attacks from Derick and the others, he wouldn't easily let go, but would choose to fight head-on. This was how Derick had managed to get the better of him a few times.
Now, Derick found that the Flame-Reaver's actions were completely unpredictable, rendering his previous tactics useless.
The enemy was powerful and in the shadows, ready to strike from anywhere at any time. This situation made things much more difficult for Derick.
"That Flame-Reaver." Hearing Derick's words, Tribbie also clenched her fists in anger.
Hyacine walked over at this time, her tone somber. "Lady Tribbie, Derry, of the thirty-seven injured, I've treated them all and ensured their lives are not in danger. But the remaining fifty-two…"
Derick and Tribbie sighed.
Castorice was still performing her mortician's duties. Seeing this, Derick quickly went over to help her. Aglaea had sent others to assist Derick with the aftermath, preparing to hand over the remains to their families upon returning to Okhema.
After they finished, Derick and the others headed towards the Marmoreal Palace. In this situation, they had to report to Aglaea, and they needed to discuss what to do next.
The group returned to the Marmoreal Palace.
Aglaea was waiting for them.
"Teacher, Derick, Castorice, Hyacine, Polyxia, you're here."
"Mhm, we came over after handling things over there," Derick nodded. "The losses this time were not small. The matter of appeasing the citizens will probably have to be handled by you, Lady Aglaea."
"I will, of course," Aglaea nodded lightly. "But more than that, I want to ask for your opinions on how to handle this. Will the Flame-Reaver attack again? What is his purpose in doing this? These are all things we need to consider."
Hyacine thought for a moment and said to Aglaea, "Lady Aglaea, can we temporarily withdraw the citizens from outside the city?"
The Flame-Reaver's attacks were also in a blind spot of Aglaea's Golden Threads, which at least proved he was wary of them. In that case, they could gather everyone under the protection of the Golden Threads, which would prevent the citizens from suffering further losses.
"That would be very difficult to do," Aglaea shook her head at Hyacine.
"Putting aside the panic that not allowing the citizens to go out would cause, the crops outside the city, and the mushrooms growing in the shaded areas, have become a source of food that the entire population of Okhema relies on. If we abandon them completely, it won't be long before Okhema faces a food shortage. The final result would be even more devastating than the Flame-Reaver's attacks."
"I see…"
Hearing Aglaea's explanation, Hyacine's face instantly fell.
"Aglaea, do you have any ideas? Can you suggest a good solution?" Tribbie asked Aglaea.
Aglaea shook her head. "I have no good ideas for this matter either. The only thing we can do now is expand the range of the Golden Threads and attack the moment the Flame-Reaver appears."
"Aglaea, doing that will be too much for your body to handle," Tribbie immediately said with concern upon hearing Aglaea's words.
Releasing the Golden Threads consumed a great deal of Aglaea's energy. After a thousand years, the life force and energy she had left were already very little. With Derick's appearance, Tribbie had hoped Aglaea could rest a bit and recover some energy. But this would only consume Aglaea's energy even more. She might not even last until they succeeded in saving the world.
"Teacher, this is the only way. Otherwise, the Flame-Reaver's attacks will become even more rampant."
As she said this, her brow furrowed again.
"What's wrong? Aglaea?" Tribbie asked anxiously.
"The Flame-Reaver has attacked again," Aglaea said softly. "While we were talking, he went straight for Castrum Kremnos, wanting to attack the citizens there."
"Then I'll go support them immediately." Derick took out a coin, preparing to use his super speed.
Aglaea raised a hand to stop him.
"Not for now," she said to Derick. "I anticipated that possibility and have already sent Mydei to guard over there. If the Flame-Reaver is just like before, hitting and running, the battle will probably be over soon."
The group waited for a few minutes.
The furrow in Aglaea's brow eased slightly.
Castorice asked Aglaea, "Is the battle over?"
Aglaea nodded lightly. "Yes, the Flame-Reaver has retreated."
The group waited a while longer, and the injured Mydei and Krateros, along with a few other warriors from Castrum Kremnos, walked in. The place they were in was not the Hero's Bath, so Krateros and the others could come over.
Derick saw that several of them were not lightly injured. Mydei was the most seriously wounded; one of his arms was gone. Hyacine was about to treat him, but Mydei raised a hand to stop her.
"I'm fine. You go deal with the others first. I'll recover on my own in a bit."
"Mhm, alright, Lord Mydei." Hyacine immediately went to treat the others.
Derick asked Mydei, "How is the situation?"
"Ten injured. These few are quite serious, so I brought them here for treatment. There are also three…"
Mydei clenched his fist, unable to continue. The people of Castrum Kremnos had all been brought over by him; every one of them was a comrade who had fought by his side. Now that these comrades had died at the hands of the Flame-Reaver, one could imagine the fury in Mydei's heart.
"We'll find the Flame-Reaver and get our revenge sooner or later." Those people had also fought alongside Derick, so he could empathize with Mydei's anger.
As Mydei spoke, he recalled the details of the battle. He suddenly spoke up to Derick and Aglaea, "Wait, I noticed a detail when I was fighting the Flame-Reaver."
"What is it?"
Hearing Mydei's words, everyone perked up.
There had to be a traceable reason for the Flame-Reaver's change in behavior. Mydei speaking of a detail from the battle had to be taken seriously.
"When I rushed over, I clearly felt that the Flame-Reaver was in an excited state. But after he realized it was me, his state clearly became less excited. After fighting with me for a bit, he left."
Mydei recounted the recent battle to the group. He was the prince of Castrum Kremnos; if Derick hadn't appeared, he would have inherited the Core Flame of Discord. He had a beast-like intuition for the emotions of his enemies in battle.
Contemplating this emotional shift, Derick and the others couldn't help but start thinking.
Castorice said to the group, "Hmm… is his target the Chrysos Heirs? By attacking the citizens, he's luring us out to defeat us one by one."
"Besiege a point to ambush reinforcements? Indeed." Derick felt this was the most likely possibility.
The Flame-Reaver's goal was only the Titan's Core Flames. He didn't care much about the citizens or the situation in Okhema.
"He saw it was me and knew he couldn't possibly kill me, so that's why he was disappointed," Mydei said proudly.
"In that case, are we supposed to just hide all the time?" Hyacine asked with some worry.
Compared to dying in battle as a Chrysos Heir, hiding was even harder to accept.
Derick spoke up at this time, "I can protect you all. With the power of the Titan of Death, even if you are attacked by the Flame-Reaver, I can use my blood combined with the Titan's power to help you resurrect. But you can't be too far from me, or I won't be in time."
"This method is still no different from you acting alone. Your strength can match the Flame-Reaver in a direct fight, but killing him is still extremely difficult." Mydei frowned.
"Indeed." Derick lowered his head in thought.
At that moment, Castorice spoke up. "Since we can't decide the Flame-Reaver's line of attack, then let's just follow our own ideas. No matter what he does, his goal is definitely the Titan Core Flames. If we go directly to receive the remaining flames, we'll force him to show himself."
You fight your war, and I'll fight mine. Let's see who can't hold out first.
Hearing Castorice's words, everyone's eyes lit up.
Tribbie nodded. "Indeed. I don't believe he can just sit back and watch all the Titan Core Flames be gathered. He doesn't know if we'll proceed with the re-creation of the world or not. If we gather them all and he does nothing, and we go ahead with the re-creation, won't he be dumbfounded?"
"He threatens us, so we must threaten him back!"
***
Outside Amphoreus, Lycurgus crossed his arms, looking at the several human figures that had appeared.
Derick, Polyxia, Cerces… what is Derick's purpose? If he continues to infect more people, the entire operation of Amphoreus will undergo an irreversible change.
This was a change that even he couldn't comprehend.
This made Lycurgus's heart feel very panicked.
"If this continues, the only thing I can do is to expel them."
_____
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