Chapter 156

Fu Qing, if I cannot return, I entrust you with the important task of reporting the full cause and effect to the other divine vessels.

Jing Yuan was unusually solemn, causing Fu Xuan to take a deep breath, wait until his emotions calmed, then solemnly reply: "... I will not say anything like 'please come back personally to report for duty.' What you have ordered, I will surely not disgrace the mission."

"Ha, you have a bit of the general's bearing." Jing Yuan gave a relieved smile.

After the orders were arranged, Jing Yuan nodded at everyone, indicating they could set out.

The crowd descended the long stairs; at the entrance of the Scales Abyss Realm, they saw two past Chiming mirages gazing at the magnificent view before them.

The old voice said, "Using the Scales Abyss Realm to seal the Established Tree? Treason! This is the utmost disrespect!"

The old voice exclaimed, "You're crazy?! Do you think this can earn the trust of the Astral Express people? Not of our kind, it's impossible to ever be of one heart!"

The Dragon Lord's voice said, "I understand the elder's meaning, but my resolve is firm; it cannot be changed."

The old voice said, "Good... good, I will report to the Dragon Masters, stripping you of your Dragon Lord title and power!"

Even though the mirage was merely a uniformly dark blue fuzzy shadow, everyone could almost picture the Chiming Elder, his beard trembling with anger.

"Not of our kind..." Lein repeatedly savored these four words, a sour feeling instantly welled up in his heart.

Lein, who grew up in the internment zone since childhood, was not unfamiliar with these four words; in fact, all Eldians living in Marley are not unfamiliar with this.

The Chiming Elder's words were like a sharp knife, carving another wound into Lein's already wounded heart.

He took a deep breath, looking toward Bertolt not far away: "Hey, Bertolt, you say... even if we complete our mission and bring back Eren, will we Eldians be accepted by Marley?"

"... Well, Lein." Bertolt sensed the tremor in Lein's tone, comforting: "This is what we've firmly believed since the day we were chosen to become warriors, right?"

"Don't think too much, Lein... as long as we bring back Eren, we can return to our homeland."

"Is that so..." Lein let out a wistful sigh, his trailing tone tinged with moisture, like the damp rain about to fall in the forest at this moment. Homeland is their unspoken vocabulary, and also the place they yearn for but cannot return to.

"Annie, what do you think?" Lein again looked toward the lone girl curled far away, lying on a branch as thick as three or four people, covering her face with a book.

Annie rarely voices her opinion; normally she seems like a silent machine. Even though they've grown up and trained together since childhood, from beginning to end, her clear, gem-like eyes are always an unfathomable ancient pool, inscrutable.

"I don't know." Annie replied stiffly, "Before I thought dying any day didn't matter, but now... I just want to return to my father's side, that's all."

"This is... the Dragon Lord who first accepted the mission to suppress the Established Tree..." Dan Heng was deeply shocked, "According to tradition, from now on, all successive Dragon Lords must return to the Manifest Dragon Grand Sacrifice Hall, here to guide the Ancient Sea Tide, to watch over and reinforce the seal of the Established Tree."

"You remembered?"

"... Yes." Dan Heng nodded, "Knock Bless Three Claws, Audience Measurement Wood... the road to the depths of the Mysterious Root will then open."

"What kind of riddle is this?" March 7 scratched her head, "Knock Bless Three Claws... what does that mean?"

"No need to worry, just follow me." Dan Heng said calmly.

Since Teacher Dan Heng said that, she also couldn't be bothered to worry. She curiously looked around, somewhat pouted her lips feeling sorry: "Such a big palace, to say abandon it is to abandon it; if it were me, I'd feel sorry for weeks..."

Under Dan Heng's leadership, the group sequentially unlocked three seals, and the road to the roots quickly returned to its original state.

"Three Claws Knock Bless completed; next, it's time to go to the Established Tree's Mysterious Root." Dan Heng looked solemnly at the surroundings: "The roots of the Established Tree are constantly growing..."

"It's Phantasm... we need to hurry."

At the end of the road, a huge dragon head was hidden among the clouds and mist, divine light speckled on its forehead, looking majestic and sacred.

"What is that? Is it a dragon?" March 7 exclaimed, eyes wide, looking at the dragon head hidden among the cloud mountains and sea of mist, she wished she could take a picture.

"We've already reached the end; this is the Established Tree's Mysterious Root, the location of the Abundance Divine Relic." Dan Heng explained, "Knock Bless Three Claws, Audience Measurement Wood... refers to this place. Under the restraint of dragon power, the Established Tree's Mysterious Root has taken on a dragon's form."

"Now, I will unveil this final seal..."

Labyrinth Meal——

"I thought this dragon was a kind of guardian spirit of the Chiming... after all this fuss, it's just a piece of wood." Marluce's expression was rather regretful; she thought Dan Heng could command that dragon spirit, to fight side by side.

Looking at the various murals and reliefs inside the Scales Abyss Realm, and the densely packed palaces, Leioth couldn't help but sigh: "If we could come here for adventure, that wouldn't be bad; I feel there would be plenty of Chiming tribe's treasures here..."

"By the way, that faintly glowing egg..."

"——Can't eat!" Marluce immediately drew a big X on her chest: "This is what General Jing Yuan specifically emphasized, called the Chiming Egg; the Chiming people are all hatched from this kind of egg."

"Hatched from an egg into a person?" Senshi widened his eyes, "Really, nothing is surprising."

"But speaking of which... I remember the Established Tree is from the Abundance Divine Relic? Can abundance be affected by immortal power?" Leioth gazed at the towering huge dragon head in the light curtain; merely making eye contact, he, from outside the sky curtain, could also feel its vigorous vitality.

"Perhaps it's related to the Path?" Marluce pondered slightly, "I recall that Paths can merge with each other; a narrow Path gets devoured by a broader Path. In the Scales Abyss Realm, the abundance represented by the Established Tree's Mysterious Root is gradually being influenced and consumed by immortal power, right?"

"Moreover, the Established Tree had already been cleaved by an arrow from the Hunt Star God before the seal; a piece of withered wood, being transformed like this is not surprising."

Dan Heng raised his hand, pointing at the forehead of the dragon head that the Established Tree's Mysterious Root had transformed into.

In an instant, brilliant light filled the sky.

Star only saw a dazzling white light flash before his eyes; when he opened them again, they found themselves in a vast misty space.

Here, the Established Tree's roots are everywhere, thick branches intertwined, as if one were in a celestial realm.

Under their feet is also a void, as if they were walking in midair.