"What did you say? Hero Summoning!"
Night Owl's sharp cry suddenly exploded beside his ear, and Nova felt a tearing pain in his eardrums.
Ivan and Gal nearby also looked as if they had suffered a sonic attack.
Nova could somewhat understand Night Owl's feelings—he himself felt much the same way.
After their party arrived at Oath City, they discovered that the entire city was actually under martial law.
Subsequently, the personnel responsible for guiding them informed them of the true purpose of this journey.
They were also assigned a position where, while assisting with defense, they could observe the summoning ritual from afar.
This was a Hero Summoning!
Which adventurer hadn't heard as a child the story of how, three hundred years ago during humanity's hour of peril, the hero Link had single-handedly driven back the demon race and ultimately even slain the Demon King?
Now they actually had the fortune to witness the birth of legend, and could even participate in it!
Though their participation was utterly insignificant.
In this city, nearly half of the kingdom's diamond-ranked powerhouses had gathered, not to mention two beings who stood at the very pinnacle.
The Silver Thorn squad wasn't particularly outstanding among them...
---
On the day of the ritual, the gray-white stone slabs of Victory Plaza had been polished to a bright shine by the morning light.
In the central area surrounded by four hero statues, a summoning magic circle forged from various precious materials glowed with a faint blue light.
The High Priest of Light stood on the eastern side of the circle, holding a triangular scepter, with the Vice President of the Relic Association in gray robes standing half a step behind him.
Both were among the strongest humans at level 70.
Around the magic circle stood twelve priests holding bronze bells.
Within the second circular formation, over a hundred clerics summoned from various locations knelt on gold-threaded cushions, sacred parchment scrolls spread across their knees, responsible for prayer during the ritual.
At the plaza's perimeter, the heavy armor of the Silver Knight Order formed a dazzling metallic barrier under the sunlight.
The knight order's emblems on their regulation kite shields faced outward in uniform alignment.
In contrast were the diamond-ranked adventurers scattered in twos and threes under the shadows of stone pillars—some leaned against statue bases with cloth-wrapped longswords, others repeatedly tossed and caught daggers.
The peripheral vision of the duty knights remained locked on these non-official combat forces.
There was no choice—most adventurers weren't officially affiliated. Though they participated in security, they were simultaneously half-subjects of that security.
Looking at this formation, Gal suddenly became frightened.
"Do you think... gathering so many experts here isn't just to let everyone observe the Hero Summoning?"
"Obviously it's to prevent demon race sabotage!" Ivan glanced at him. "Don't tell me you're just realizing this now?"
"But what if the demon race attacks..."
Before Gal could finish, Ivan interrupted: "Are you stupid? Didn't you notice Duke Alama isn't here? The border has definitely been reinforced—only select elites could come."
"Oh, right."
Gal scratched his head. With just select elites, he wasn't afraid—no matter how you looked at it, the big shots would be in front while they just played atmosphere.
"But I still don't quite understand," Ivan said, rubbing his chin in confusion:
"Why summon so many adventurers? While it increases combat power, it also makes it easier for enemies to infiltrate.
Not to mention choosing a place like the plaza—it's big enough, but very unsafe, right?
If it were me, I'd definitely arrange it in an underground chamber..."
"Maybe there's some deeper meaning? Vampires are weakened under sunlight, right? Or maybe Hero Summoning has to be done in this kind of setting?" Gal analyzed wildly.
"Maybe. Gal, crouch down."
Gal looked at Ivan puzzledly but crouched down.
Ivan jumped onto his shoulders.
"Alright, you can stand up now."
No one was permitted to use flight magic here. Ivan, borrowing the half-dragon's height, peered through the crowd toward the central summoning circle.
"Strange..."
"What is it?" Even Nova couldn't help asking this time.
"I've never seen a Hero Summoning circle—that thing is the Church's highest secret.
But this circle feels so familiar... where have I seen it before?"
"Don't all magic circles look like one circle inside another? Isn't it normal for them to seem similar?" Gal expressed complete bewilderment at what was strange about it.
Ivan directly stepped on his foot: "Shut up, you fool."
However, before Ivan could continue pondering, the sun had already risen to its highest position.
The High Priest glanced at the sky and waved his scepter. The summoning ritual officially began.
Under the noon sun, the magic circle emanated a purple-red glow. The twelve priests, holding bronze bells, began slowly walking along the runic tracks.
From the moment the first bronze bell rang, the clerics began chanting the summoning prayer:
*Ikthion of the Ever-Burning Wheel*
*Wielder of Sin-Cleansing Flames*
*Watcher suspended above the Chaotic Tide*
*We beseech you to cast down the wedge of judgment*
*Grant us the vessel to bear divine punishment*
*Let the hero's blade become the extension of Your will*
*Transform silver holy light into Your world-purifying hammer*
...
...
...
The summoning circle's glow grew brighter and brighter, as if something was about to break through its restraints.
Everyone gazed at this magnificent summoning scene—except for Night Owl.
Nova noticed Night Owl's unusual behavior and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Night Owl, completely focused, didn't respond.
Nova followed Night Owl's gaze and saw a knight squad captain positioned within the outer defensive circle.
"What's strange about him?"
Nova's question received no answer.
The next moment, Night Owl actually melted into shadow, shuttling through the intersecting shadows of the crowd, charging straight toward that knight captain.
The three left behind were immediately alarmed: "Night Owl? Oh no!"
---
[Assimilative Absorption LV3]
In the mushroom forest, countless mycelia from all around were drawn over, wrapping around the puffshroom that had just been officially named Scout.
This raised its height from the original 80cm to a full 2 meters, turning it into a giant puffshroom.
However, this only looked intimidating—the outer mycelia wrapping was actually a hollow, very fluffy structure.
Dilan nearby tried poking it, and his finger sank right in, exposing its soft nature. When he pulled it out, his finger was covered with mycelia.
Like wearing thick cotton clothing, this appearance wasn't conducive to combat.
This was Lin Jun's intention—its only purpose was to serve as a cushion, preventing Scout from being killed by the fall when it appeared in mid-air.
Today was departure day.
Dilan had long been unable to wait.
Not only did he hope to find his daughter soon.
Ever since gaining [Mana Storage LV6], the way Little Black looked at him made Dilan somewhat afraid.
It was a gaze full of affection and curiosity...
Dilan instinctively didn't want to explore the reasons behind this gaze.
Fortunately, they could leave today.
"Scout puffshroom goes out first. Dilan, you'll rendezvous outside in a moment."
Two tentacles extended from the fluffy mycelial coat, grasping the escape scroll.
As mana flowed in, Scout puffshroom's body began glowing with teleportation light...
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