Chapter 268: The Second Banquet Opens

Ending the exploration of the ruins, Xia De felt much more relaxed in his heart. After Miss Anate left, he also prepared to go home. At this moment, he missed the lazy, cowardly, and very cute cat at home very much.

First, he had to determine where he was now. After the three left the printing factory, they ran for a while and came to a place one street away from the printing factory.

Walking a few steps along the low wall by the street, he saw the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company standing quietly in the night fog. Xia De had encountered many things in this vicinity; for example, he had seen the Orthodox Church arresting sorcerers of 【Mercury Blood】 at the silver shop at the next intersection; he had also discovered the statue of the Old God "Blood Duke Lauel" in the small alley diagonally opposite the milk company.

"The alley where Mercury Blood hid the Old God statue is a dead end, so it is actually very far from that printing factory, but it is so close to the milk delivery company; what a coincidence."

He thought in his heart, looked left and right, and walked toward the rental carriage parked at the intersection. The coachman sat alone on the carriage shaft smoking, and the faint light of the cigarette butt flickered in the fog tonight.

Returning to St. Deran Square, when he took out the key to open the door, a smile he couldn't suppress appeared on his face. Although the entrance hall was pitch black, the familiar feeling of home made Xia De feel very good. Afterward, he heard the sound of Mia running down the stairs, so his mood was even better.

"Oh, my Mia!"

He bent down and picked up the soft cat. The small orange cat meowed happily, squinting its eyes and rubbing its furry side against the back of Xia De's hand.

He turned on the gas lamp, held the cat and the box, and walked up the stairs to the second floor.

When sitting in the bright living room, tilting his head to look at the darkness outside the window, while relaxing his body and mind, Xia De felt that no matter what happened tonight, his current joy would not change.

"Ending a long adventure and being able to safely return home and sit on the sofa is truly great."

Of course, there were other things to do tonight. For example, choosing a suitable way to store the three relics he brought home, and testing the two new wonder arts he had obtained.

"Forget it, I'm a bit tired; let's push these things to tomorrow."

But there was one thing that couldn't be pushed, and that was the time key for the year 3002 of the General Calendar. Other things could be delayed, but every second this time key was delayed meant that all future keys would be delayed by a second. So no matter how much he needed a long rest at this moment, Xia De could only catch his breath and prepare to start a brand new time journey.

The Fifth Era lasted a total of 5793 years, so the time point corresponding to this key was equivalent to the middle of the Fifth Era. Xia De investigated this year a little, but because of the blurriness of history before the Sixth Era and the deliberate blockade of the Academy, he couldn't find much information. He only knew that everything was peaceful that year, just like the year 1068 of the Fifth Era recorded in history.

"So, investigating in advance is useless. If the 【Infinite Tree Father】 really took a fancy to me, it's impossible for Him to let me conduct the journey easily."

Although investigation was useless, the things that should be investigated still had to be investigated.

Putting the 【Relics】 on the coffee table one by one, the cat standing on the sofa looked at them curiously. When Xia De took out the brooch that could release a one-time sunlight gun, the cat instinctively stretched out its claws to paw at it.

Xia De smiled and picked it up, ignoring Mia's "meow meow" protest.

Holding the cat, he walked to the window and looked at the night together:

"Don't always be so curious; these are all very dangerous things."

"Meow~"

The small orange cat waved its claws and made a lazy sound. Then it suddenly froze. The cat quickly squirmed in Xia De's arms, turned around, and its amber eyes looked at the night sky outside the window.

Xia De didn't notice its movements and was still talking:

"I'm in a good mood tonight, so I won't lecture you, but while I'm away, you can't touch those 【Relics】... Ha, I actually talked to a cat again; how strange."

He was indeed in a good mood tonight, not because of the two kisses, but because of that drop of divinity.

"Meow~"

The cat let out a cry of fear toward the window. Xia De looked at the window suspiciously, but the night sky was covered by thick fog; it was a very normal night:

"What's wrong?"

He patted the cowardly cat, thinking it was frightened by the dark shadows outside.

The darkness outside and the brightness inside created an optical effect, allowing the glass to reflect his face. His face reflected in the glass overlapped with the dark city outside; he was undoubtedly smiling very happily:

"No matter what Mia saw, even if an angel-level relic went out of control, it wouldn't be able to affect my good mood tonight."

【Is there really nothing that will affect it?】

She asked softly, her words carrying a smile that couldn't be hidden.

"Of course."

Xia De nodded at himself in the glass, judging the appearance of his face.

Subsequently, with a loud boom, blood-colored light shot into the sky from a very distant part of the city. Blood mist sprayed from the ground toward the night sky, and subsequently spread to the entire city. Countless scarlet light spots appeared abruptly all over the city, guiding the blood mist and swallowing Tobesk.

The smiling face of Xia De reflected in the glass froze.

"This..."

He clearly perceived that a certain huge, twisted, and indescribable existence was stepping toward the material world. He was right there, at the location where the blood-red light pillar appeared in the distance, watching the entire world:

"But, how could this be, clearly the banquet was all controlled by the church..."

The destiny ring appeared behind him, and the dazzling golden light shone as the metal rotated. Countless clues converged, and Xia De suddenly widened his eyes; he understood:

"Besides Lawrence, there are two other divine descent containers. And besides that charity banquet, there is another blood banquet. Milk, I understand! I understand! The milk from the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company, that milk with a strange taste that the coachman mentioned was on sale recently has a problem! Quick, burn divinity..."

A gaze like substance was projected from the distance, as if something in the high sky was staring directly at him.

"It's Him! He is watching me!"

He had not yet fully descended, but His gaze had already connected with Xia De, and he understood the meaning in that gaze—

He was inviting Xia De, inviting this bold mortal who had devoured His power to join yet another blood banquet. This was not coercion, but He had already arrived, and he couldn't run away.

"He has his eyes on me!"

The blood mist had completely swallowed everything around St. Deran Square and was seeping inside from the window cracks. Xia De took a step back while holding the frightened cat, and the cat waved its claws forward, wanting to protect Xia De.

【The Saint has not fully descended yet; do you want to burn divinity? Note, you only have one drop of divinity; if you don't want to lose the divine afterglow, you must, during the action, again...】

"No, not now. The false god is prepared; I cannot guarantee that I can defeat it before one drop of divinity is completely burned."

Xia De watched the blood mist retreat step by step; they were about to have nowhere to retreat. His eyes became firm; he had long thought that he would sooner or later confront a god for the sake of divinity. The current situation was not the worst; at least that god seemed not to know that he could transform into a god.

【No matter what kind of surprise you want to give the other party, please hurry.】

"Three seconds! Mia, trust me completely, don't resist at all."

Watching the blood mist seep into the room, Xia De said softly while retreating, then grabbed the thin blanket on the sofa and covered Mia, who was trembling with fear and waving her claws. Removing the blanket, the small Mia cat had turned into an even smaller Mia cloth doll cat. The cat gave Xia De absolute trust:

"I want to seek a way to defeat a god using divinity from another god."

Holding the time key, he inserted it directly into the keyhole of the pendant on his chest:

"May the World Tree protect me in infinite time."

With a click, the keyhole of the pendant door was rotated. After opening it, inside the small door was endless white mist.

The blood mist had completely seeped into the room. Holding the Mia cat doll, Xia De's right index finger reached into the white mist door.

With a *pat*, the pendant fell to the floor, Xia De vanished from the spot, and the blood mist swallowed the room.