Chapter 73: 73 Night Owl, What Are You Doing?

"What did you say? Hero Summoning!"

The Night Owl's shriek suddenly exploded in his ears, and Nova felt a tearing pain as if his eardrums were being ripped apart.

Ivan and Gar, standing nearby, looked equally as if they had been hit by a sonic attack.

Nova could somewhat understand the Night Owl's feelings; in fact, he felt much the same.

After the group arrived at Oath City, they discovered the entire city was under martial law.

They were then informed by the personnel assigned to guide them of the true purpose of this journey.

They were also assigned a position where, while assisting in the defense, they could see the summoning ritual from a distance.

This is a Hero Summoning!

Which adventurer hasn't heard as a child the story of how, over three hundred years ago when humanity faced extinction, the hero Link single-handedly pushed back the Demon Race and even slew the Demon King?

Now they were fortunate enough to witness the birth of a legend, and could even participate in it!

Although their participation was merely insignificant.

This city now gathered half the kingdom's Diamond-class powerhouses, not to mention the two existences standing at the very peak.

Among them, the Bai Yin Thorn Squad was not particularly outstanding...

On the day of the ritual, the gray-white stone pavement of Triumph Square was polished bright by the morning light.

In the central area surrounded by four hero statues, the summoning array, cast from various precious materials, glowed with a faint blue light.

The Grand Archbishop stood on the east side of the array holding a trident scepter, while half a step behind him stood the Vice President of the Relic Association, clad in a gray robe.

Both were among the strongest humans at level 70.

Surrounding the array were twelve priests holding bronze bells.

Inside the second circular formation, over a hundred priests summoned from various places knelt on gold-woven soft cushions, with sheepskin scrolls spread across their knees, responsible for praying during the ritual.

On the outer perimeter of the square, the heavy armor of the Bai Yin Knight Order formed a dazzling metal fence under the sunlight.

The knight order crests on the surface of the standard kite shields were uniformly facing outward.

In contrast to this were the Diamond-class adventurers scattered in the shadows of the Shi Zhu, gathering in small groups—some leaned against statue bases holding long swords wrapped in cloth, while others repeatedly tossed daggers in their hands.

The peripheral vision of the duty knights remained locked onto these non-regular combat forces.

There was no choice; most adventurers were not official personnel, so while they participated in the defense, they were also considered half of the objects being guarded against.

Gar looked at this scene and suddenly felt afraid.

"You say... bringing so many experts here, it's not just for everyone to observe the Hero Summoning, is it?"

"It's definitely to prevent the Demon Race from causing sabotage!" Ivan glanced at him, "You didn't realize that until now?"

"But if the Demon Race attacks..."

Before Gar could finish, Ivan cut him off: "Are you stupid? Didn't you see Duke Amara didn't come? The borders must be reinforced now; only a few elites could come."

"Oh, right."

Gar scratched his head; with only a small number of elites, he wasn't afraid. It looked like the big shots would be at the front, and they would just be the atmosphere crew.

"But I still don't quite understand,"

Ivan rubbed his chin, puzzled:

"Why summon so many adventurers? Although it increases combat power, it also makes it easier for enemies to sneak in.

Not to mention choosing a place like the square; it's big enough, but isn't it very unsafe?

If it were me, I would definitely arrange it in a basement..."

"Maybe there's another deep meaning? Don't vampires weaken a bit under the sun, or does the Hero Summoning have to be held in such a setting?" Gar analyzed randomly.

"Maybe so, Gar, squat down."

Gar looked at Ivan in confusion and squatted down.

Ivan jumped onto his shoulder in one leap.

"Okay, you can stand up now."

No one was allowed to use flight magic in this place now; using the half-dragon's height, Ivan's vision pierced through the human wall to look at the central summoning array.

"Strange..."

"What's wrong?" Even Nova couldn't help but ask this time.

"I've never seen a Hero Summoning array; this thing is the Church's highest secret.

But this array feels so familiar to me... where did I see it?"

"Aren't all arrays one circle inside another? Doesn't it look normal?" Gar indicated he completely didn't understand what was strange.

Ivan stepped directly on his foot: "Shut up, you idiot."

However, before Ivan could think further, the sun had already risen to its highest position.

The Archbishop glanced at the sky, waved the scepter in his hand, and the summoning ritual officially began.

Under the noon sun, the array glowed with a purple-red halo; the twelve priests held bronze bells and began to walk slowly along the rune trajectory.

From the moment the first bronze bell rang, the priests began to chant the summoning prayer:

Ixion of the Ever-Burning Wheel

The one who holds the Flame of Purification

The Watcher suspended above the Chaos Tide

We beseech you to cast down the wedge of judgment

Grant the vessel that bears divine punishment

Let the hero's sword edge become an extension of your will

Make the Bai Yin Holy Light into your hammer for purifying the world

……

……

……

The halo of light emanating from the summoning formation grew brighter and brighter, as if something were about to break free of its bonds.

Everyone gazed at this spectacular summoning scene, except for the Night Owl.

Nova noticed the Night Owl's odd behavior and asked, "What are you looking at?"

The Night Owl, utterly focused, did not reply.

Nova followed the Night Owl's gaze and saw a knight squad leader positioned within the outer defensive ring.

"What's strange about him?"

Nova's question went unanswered.

The next moment, the Night Owl actually melted into the shadows, weaving through the overlapping shadows of the crowd, and charged straight at that knight captain.

The three people left behind were instantly shocked: "Night Owl? Damn it!"

——

【Assimilate & Absorb LV3】

In the mushroom forest, countless mycelia from all around were drawn in, wrapping around the Puji that had just been officially named Scout.

They forcibly stretched its height from the original 80 cm all the way up to 2 m, turning it into a giant Puji.

However, this was only intimidating in appearance; the mycelia wrapping the outer layer were actually hollow in structure, very fluffy.

Dilan, at the side, tried poking it, and his finger sank right in, exposing its soft nature; when he pulled it out, his finger was still stuck with mycelia.

Like wearing a thick cotton coat, this appearance was not conducive to combat.

This was deliberate on Lin Jun's part—its only use was to serve as a cushion, to prevent Scout from being smashed to death when it appeared mid-air.

Today was the day of departure.

Dilan had long been unable to wait.

Not only because he hoped to find his daughter sooner.

Ever since obtaining 【Mana Storage LV6】, the way Seeing Xiao Hei looked at him made Dilan a little afraid.

It was a gaze full of affection and curiosity…

Dilan instinctively did not wish to investigate the reason behind that gaze.

Fortunately, they could leave today.

"Scout Puji goes out first; Dilan, you head outside to rendezvous in a bit."

Two tentacles extended from the fluffy mycelia coat, curling up the Escape Scroll.

As magic power surged in, a teleportation glow lit up around Scout Puji…

(End of this chapter)