"What did you say? Hero summoning!"

The sudden scream of Night Owl exploded in Nova's ears, causing a tearing pain in his eardrums.

Beside him, Ivan and Gall also looked as if they had been attacked by sound waves.

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

After arriving at Oath City, the group discovered that the entire city was under lockdown.

Then, the person responsible for guiding them informed them of the true purpose of their visit.

They were also assigned a position from where they could assist in the defense and watch the summoning ceremony from a distance.

This was the hero summoning!

Which adventurer hasn't heard, as a child, the story of Hero Link who, over three hundred years ago, single-handedly repelled the Demon Race and ultimately slew the Demon King?

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

Although their participation was insignificant.

In this city, more than half of the Diamond Level powerhouses of the kingdom had gathered, not to mention two beings at the pinnacle of existence.

The Silver Thorn Squad was not particularly outstanding among them...

...

On the day of the ceremony, the gray-white flagstone ground of Triumph Square was polished by the morning light until it shone.

The central area, surrounded by four statues of heroes, held a summoning array forged from various precious materials, emitting a faint blue glow.

The Archbishop of Light stood on the eastern side of the array, holding a triangular staff, one step behind him stood the vice president of the Relic Association, clad in a gray robe.

Both were among the strongest Level 70 humans.

Around the array were twelve priests holding copper bells.

Inside the second circle of the array, over a hundred priests gathered from various places knelt on gold-embroidered cushions, with parchment scriptures laid open on their knees, responsible for praying during the ceremony.

On the outskirts of the square, the heavy armor of the Silver Knight Order formed a dazzling metallic fence under the sunlight.

The knight order's emblem on the kite shield faces outward in unison.

In contrast, there were the scattered Diamond Level adventurers under the stone pillar shadows, grouped in twos and threes—some leaning against statue pedestals with longswords wrapped in cloth, others repeatedly tossing and catching daggers.

The patrolling knights' side glances always locked onto these unofficial forces.

There was no choice; most adventurers were not official members, participating in the defense but also being partially guarded against.

Gall looked at this array and suddenly felt afraid.

"Do you think... they gathered so many experts here just to let everyone watch the hero summoning?"

"Of course, it's to prevent the Demon Race from causing trouble!" Ivan glanced at him, "Didn't you just realize that?"

"But what if the Demon Race attacks..."

Before Gall finished speaking, Ivan interrupted him: "Are you stupid, didn't you notice Duke Alama isn't here? The border defenses must have been strengthened; only a few elites could come."

"Oh, true."

Gall scratched his head; he wasn't afraid of a small number of elites. It was clear the big shots were taking the lead, and they just needed to be there for atmosphere.

"But I still don't quite understand,"

Ivan rubbed his chin in confusion:

"Why gather so many adventurers? Although it increases combat power, it also makes it easier for enemies to infiltrate.

Moreover, choosing a place like the square, it's large enough but isn't it extremely unsafe?

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

"Maybe there's a deeper meaning? Vampires get weakened under sunlight, or maybe the hero summoning needs to be in such a setting?" Gall speculated wildly.

"Maybe, but Gall, squat down."

Gall looked at Ivan in confusion and squatted down.

Ivan jumped onto his shoulders.

"Alright, you can stand up now."

Flying magic was strictly prohibited in this area now. Ivan leveraged the half-dragon's height, peering over the crowd to look at the central summoning array.

"Strange..."

"What's up?" Even Nova couldn't help but ask.

"I've never seen a hero summoning array; this thing is the church's top secret.

But this array feels so familiar...where have I seen it before?"

"Aren't arrays just one circle inside another, isn't it normal to look like that?" Gall said, completely oblivious to what was strange.

Ivan stomped on his foot: "Shut up, you fool."

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

The Archbishop glanced at the sky, waved his staff, and the summoning ceremony officially began.

Under the midday sun, the array glowed with a purplish-red halo, twelve priests holding copper bells began to slowly stride along the rune paths.

From the first ring of the copper bell, the priests chanted the summoning prayer:

Ikezion of the Ever-burning Wheel

Master of the Flame of Purity

Watcher above the Chaos Tide

We humbly request you cast down the wedge of judgment

Grant the vessel to bear divine punishment

Make the hero's blade an extension of your will

Transform the silver holy light into your world-purging hammer

...

...

...

The light of the summoning array glowed brighter and brighter, as if something was about to break free from its bonds.

Everyone watched the spectacular summoning scene intently, except for Night Owl.

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

Night Owl, wholly focused, did not reply.

Following Night Owl's gaze, Nova saw a knight squad leader within the outer defense circle.

"What's strange about him?"

Nova's question was met with silence.

In the next instant, Night Owl melded into the shadows, darting through the intersecting shadows toward the knight commander.

The three remaining were instantly shocked: "Night Owl? This is bad!"

-----------------

[Assimilation Absorption Level 3]

In the Mushroom Forest, countless hyphae tangled in and wrapped around Scout Puki, who had just been officially named.

It stretched its height from the original 80 cm to a towering 2 meters, becoming a giant Puki.

However, this was only for show; the outer layer of hyphae was actually hollow, very fluffy.

Nearby, Dylan tried poking it; his finger sank in, revealing the soft nature. When he pulled it out, a finger was stuck with hyphae.

Like wearing a thick cotton coat, this appearance wasn't conducive to combat.

This was Lin Jun's intention; its sole purpose was to act as a cushion, saving Scout Puki from crashing to death if it appeared mid-air.

Today was the day of departure.

Dylan couldn't wait any longer.

It wasn't just about hoping to find his daughter sooner.

Ever since obtaining [Magic Storage Level 6], Xiao Hai's gaze had unnerved Dylan somewhat.

It was a gaze full of adoration and curiosity...

Dylan instinctively didn't want to delve into the reason behind that gaze.

Fortunately, today they could leave.

"Scout Puki goes out first; Dylan, you'll meet up outside later."

Two tentacles extended from the fluffy hyphae coat, grabbing the Escape Scroll.

As magic power poured in, the teleportation light enveloped Scout Puki...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.