MoP: Ch. 173

---Third POV---

Viktor asked back in confusion, "A gift?"

Were they at the stage where they exchanged gifts?

Was his argument that effective?

Or had the famous Desert Hero King actually been broken by his future self?

Wolcen didn't answer. He simply opened his right hand. The swirling clouds and drifting snow around them seemed pulled by tremendous force, rushing toward his palm.

Whooo!

A sudden gale sent Viktor's robes flapping wildly, and exposed pebbles were swept high into the air. Zycotl instantly formed a shield behind him, blocking the wind.

The storm raged for quite a while.

When it finally died down, the clouds, fog, and snow had completely vanished. Even the snow layer on the ground had sunk by over a meter.

He raised his hand to block the sunlight and looked toward the vast, majestic sea of forest below the mountain.

"The clouds cleared?"

They had walked for days in the dim, fog-filled snow.

Suddenly seeing the sky again was indescribably shocking.

A thought flashed through his mind. He quickly ran to the edge of the crater, scanning the endless green below.

"You're looking for that, aren't you?" Wolcen's voice came from the other side.

Viktor followed the sound.

The snow-covered ground gradually sloped downward. The emerald landscape before him made his steps falter.

The trees near Mount Wolcen were all enormous and ancient, shrouded in mist, as if one could glimpse the distant era of their birth.

However, what truly stunned him was the colossal oak spanning the center of the forest.

It stood like a silent giant god, towering above the countless other trees, its vast form almost filling his entire field of vision.

It was nearly as tall as Mount Wolcen, the birthplace of the God of Snow.

It was also the namesake of the Great Oak Forest.

Viktor walked step by step to the edge of the cliff, feeling as though he could reach out and touch the oak's canopy.

"Thanks. It's my first time observing it from this close."

"Observing it?" Wolcen tilted his head in surprise.

"It was the earliest monster to take root at my mountain's foot. Because of the restrictions left by the gods on Mount Wolcen, its roots could never climb upward. But after countless years of accumulation, this oak monster has already grown to the peak of Level 8. The area covered by its roots forms its magic tide, and its body has become the magic tide of countless low-level monsters. It's easily one of the top beings across the entire continent. If you intended to become a god, that'd be another story. But without absorbing the divine power inside the essence, you're just a Grand Mage. You'd barely manage against Level 6 or 7 monsters. Why bother looking at it?"

Relying on Mount Wolcen's special defensive mechanisms, Viktor took a full, clear photo of the giant oak.

"Well, since I'm already here, I might as well bring back a local specialty."

Adding this photo to the game's trailer would definitely boost players' leveling enthusiasm.

He added, "And isn't this your gift to me?"

Wolcen remained silent, then shook his head.

"No. Broadening your view was only incidental."

He held out the snow-white crystal that had formed in his hand.

"This place was where I first ascended to godhood, and because of the prophecy, it was blessed by the power of many gods. It can condense a considerable amount of divine power. Since you can use a divine essence without actually becoming a god, there must be a safe way for you to use divine power too. I hope it's useful to you."

Viktor tried taking it.

[Detected: 100,000 Divine Power Crystals, plus one God of Snow's Blessing.]

One hundred thousand?!

Viktor was astonished.

That was no small amount of divine power. The purpose couldn't simply be stray divine energy, it was clearly meant to sustain the other party's existence.

He looked up.

"If you give this to me, what about you?"

"My task is simply to wait for the savior. Whether I fade early or late makes no difference, it's just a longer sleep for me."

Wolcen gazed at the landscape below, so different from the memories in his mind.

"A long time ago, I too once thought of overturning the order of the gods. But it was far too unrealistic, so I chose another path. The path you've chosen is difficult, with bleak prospects. This is the greatest help I can offer you."

Viktor stared at the divine crystal for a long while before speaking slowly.

"You're much smarter than you'll be a thousand years from now."

Although he no longer lacked a hundred thousand divine power, he still put the crystal away.

The ancient Hero King didn't need his pity.

He nodded solemnly.

"You're the second god to stand on my side."

Even if it was only the consciousness fragment of the past God of Snow.

Wolcen flashed a wild, unrestrained smile, placed his left hand over his chest, and made a tribal farewell gesture.

"Good luck!"

Viktor returned the gesture. "Until we meet again."

Wolcen's figure grew fainter and fainter, like a mirage. In the last second before disappearing, he spoke quickly, "Actually, consider it an apology as well. I did prepare an exit route, but only a god can pass through. As for you, you're on your own."

Viktor stared. "What?!"

The next moment, the calm winds roared back to life.

Snow and fog once again filled the air, and within the mist came eerie monster cries.

Their numbers and species were far greater than when he had climbed up the mountain.

He gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the icy crystal.

"I knew it!"

These petty, grudge-holding gods, of course they would get back at him for insulting them earlier.

But what happened to "supporting" him?!

Leaving him, with only Grand Mage strength, on Mount Wolcen at the exact moment the defenses vanished?

Were they not afraid he'd die here?

---

Back in Nary Town, three floors underground beneath the auction house.

Garble leapt into the large pit and landed directly atop an iron cage.

Looking down, he indeed saw five sirens with fish tails trapped inside, surrounded by White Dove's seven-person team.

The area was covered in shallow water. Even the fallen stone tiles were still partly above the surface.

Josef was gripping William by the neck. When he looked up, his eyes sharpened instantly.

"Human!"

"Don't!" Selina grabbed him. "He's with me!"

Hannah flicked her tail forcefully, leaping onto the cage, and asked anxiously, "Why did you come here? I told you to leave!"

Josef's gaze swept over Selina, Hannah, and then lingered on Mona, who was staring intently at the top of the cage. He let out a cold laugh.

"So he's the reason you three left the team without permission? A useless human?"

"Watch your mouth!"

Selina's glare was icy.

"If you want to handle the human uprising outside all by yourself, we can walk away anytime!"

Thinking of the news the newcomers had brought from outside, Josef shut his mouth.

To deal with that Magus, all four of them had been seriously injured.

A rebel force with hundreds of low-level magicians definitely wouldn't lack top-tier fighters. If they wanted to escape safely, he really did have to rely on the three who arrived later.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He squeezed William's neck harder.

"It's all because of that untrustworthy human!"

"Cough, cough!"

Blood spurted wildly from William's mouth as he forced open one eye with the last of his strength.

In that eye was nothing but unwillingness and despair.

"I didn't..."

Before he could finish, his entire body was flung away.

Then, splash.

A huge burst of water erupted where he landed in the distance.

He crashed among the pile of soldiers whose life or death was uncertain, their severed limbs scattered everywhere. Blood slowly spread across the water around them.

Seeing this, Garble's forehead twitched violently, and he cursed inwardly.

The situation had deteriorated too quickly. Even an 80+ level boss was beaten to the brink of death!

Who else could deal with a conscious siren?

Hannah noticed the expression on Garble's face and thought he was frightened. She hurried to comfort him softly, "We're usually very friendly to humans. This time they broke their promise first and attacked our companions!"

The black-haired siren agreed, "We're only fighting back."

Hearing this, Josef sneered, "Friendly?"

Selina's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Hm?"

Josef immediately shut his mouth and turned away irritably, refusing to bother with their chatter.

He stepped across the water toward the unconscious William and effortlessly lifted him.

A cruel smile tugged at his lips.

"Human bodies really are fragile. Still, he's a Magus. If we bring him back, he might be of some use to us."

Tina nodded repeatedly beside him, her face full of disgust and gloating pleasure.

"Agreed! Anyone disgusting enough to want to make sirens into slaves, there's no way he should be allowed to die too quickly!"

However, Selina frowned deeply and objected, "No. If we take him, what about those fallen sirens?"

As she spoke, she pointed toward the center of the iron cage. Heavy chains hung there, imprisoning five sirens. Aside from their faces, their bodies were covered in horrifying wounds.

From the very beginning, they hadn't struggled at all, terrifyingly silent.

Josef replied indifferently, "Just kill them. They won't live long even if we drag them out. Better to bring back more 'parts.'"

"His Excellency will believe we completed the mission anyway!"

Hearing this, Hannah hesitated. She had no intention of returning with this group. Of the other six who arrived late, only Selina and Mona still had intact spatial storage items.

Not nearly enough to hold the corpses of five sirens.

After hesitating for a moment, she still chose not to speak.

What happens afterward has nothing to do with her. If these people want to mess around, let them.

She reached out to grab Garble's hand and said, "It's too dangerous here. Let's get out first."

But before she could touch him, he had already leapt down into the iron cage.

"It's fine. I also despise fallen sirens. I can go down and give you a hand."

Garble had barely landed when a sharp fragment of stone shot past his ear like a hidden weapon.

With a thwack, it lodged itself in the wall not far away.

He turned to look and saw Josef standing there with a dark expression. His right arm was dripping with blood, a large chunk of flesh, and the bone was visible.

"Human, don't push your luck."

It was the worst injury he had suffered since becoming an adult.

He was in a foul mood and wanted nothing more than to vent his anger on every human he saw.

"If it weren't for Selina's sake, you'd already be lying on the ground like the rest of the humans."

Garble stiffened inwardly, but his expression did not change. He slowly raised both hands,.

"You're all badly injured. If I help, maybe we can get out of here faster."

He sent an instruction on the forum: [Make some noise.]

The next second, from the second floor above came the sound of thump, thump, thump, neat and orderly footsteps.

Judging by the sound, there were quite a few of them. The sirens below all looked up in shock.

Selina slapped down the arm Josef had raised.

"Look at the time. Just focus on the mission!"

Josef's facial muscles twitched from pain, his expression twisted and frustrated. His remaining hand clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.

It took him several seconds to swallow his rage.

"Fine!"

He strode into the iron cage, hatred simmering within him.

A group of idiots whose brains were full of nothing but romance!

Bang!

He slammed his fist into the cage bars, producing a grating metallic creak. He glared viciously at a fallen siren, who was imprisoned inside.

"You heard her, didn't you, Helena? Hurry up and tell us where the Song of the Dead is, and I'll give you a quick end."

Helena slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was calm, as if she were looking at a clown performing tricks.

"You're still as reckless, arrogant, and impatient as ever. No wonder you fell right into the humans' trap."

Josef's face darkened instantly, black as soot.

He suddenly reached out and violently tore off a shining scale from Helena's blue fish tail.

"Mm!"

Helena's body trembled sharply, her teeth biting her lower lip until blood seeped out.

"Trying to endure it?"

Josef's lips twisted into a cruel, distorted smile.

"It's said no siren can withstand the full punishment of scale-plucking. How long do you think you'll last?"

Selina stood nearby, looking thoroughly impatient.

"Hurry up already. I don't have time to waste on your nonsense!"

A cold gleam flashed in Josef's eyes.

"Before the humans find this place, I'll finish everything."

He stretched out that wicked hand again.

"Will you talk or not."

Helena's features contorted with pain, but her eyes still shone with stubbornness and mockery.

"I don't know... mm!"

"WILL YOU TALK OR NOT!" Josef tore another scale without mercy.

"I don't... mm!"

The golden-haired siren tied beside Helena, eyes red and brimming with tears, could no longer remain silent.

"If you have guts, pick on me too! You bastard!"

Tina strode over and yanked off one of the golden scales.

"Of course I won't forget you!"

"AAAH!!"

She let out a piercing scream.

Then the remaining sirens in the cage did not escape either. They too were forced into interrogation.

Hannah quietly approached Garble.

"They're insane. Barely able to protect themselves, yet they still want to extract information about the Song of the Dead?"

Garble shifted slowly in the water, puzzled by her words.

"Song of the Dead?"

"Song of the Dead, Claire. Leader of the fallen sirens. One of the members of the evil organization. You don't know?" she asked, confused.

Garble laughed it off.

"My memory's not great."

He slid another step to the side.

"Is she strong?"

"Of course!"

Hannah responded immediately, unable to hide a trace of fear in her voice.

"The bounty on her within the White Dove organization is higher than even the leader of the evil organization. Just knowing her whereabouts is worth an outrageous amount. Way more than the reward we'd get for bringing fallen sirens back. Josef probably wants answers to salvage his reputation."

After all, leading the team straight into a human trap would sound terrible if word got out. But if it were up to her, she would simply kill the five sirens now. Otherwise, she felt increasingly uneasy.

Suddenly, something hard jabbed the sole of Garble's foot.

He looked down at the white stone beneath him and let out a quiet breath.

"Good. Strong enough."

"What?" Hannah asked, confused.

Crack!

The white stone shattered.