Teresa stared in disbelief at the banner shimmering with a faint glow.

Chloe stepped forward and picked up the banner.

The energy flowing through the banner was warm and familiar.

Chloe looked at it over and over again.

Finally, he confirmed that the energy came from him and the Sword Hero.

To be precise, perhaps from some reincarnation?

The Tribulation Halberd wasn't damaged in the battle on the Extraterritorial Battlefield.

But after countless years, when he found it again, the Tribulation Halberd had been broken.

Similarly.

Until his death, he never saw the Sword Hero again.

So the energy lingering on this banner must not be from the beginning with him and the Sword Hero.

Yet, the unmistakable power on the banner was incredibly familiar.

It distinctly came from the Titan Race and the Holy Bone.

These two forces were clearly different, converging on the flagpole and banner, as if awaiting their destined master.

"Is it a one-time power similar to a blessing?"

Chloe sighed.

This power's essence was nearing Angel Class.

However, since he and the Sword Hero from that generation had already died, it meant they had both fallen.

He stepped forward and grasped the flagpole.

The banner dropped, revealing a letter hidden beneath it.

He hesitated for a moment but chose to open the letter.

...

[From today, the dancer admired by everyone is gone; only the hermit remains in this world]

[I was supposed to fight on the front line until the last moment, but this time, a chance return to my alma mater overlapped past and present memories, leading me back here unconsciously]

[I seem to hear the laughter of a fool who only knows how to move forward]

[Every day, he only knows to shout Menilanka, without pausing to admire the scenery behind]

[But I like him like this, because he possesses a clear goal that I do not]

[Fortunately, my pride does not lose to anyone. When I heard the evil whispers reaching my ears, I knew it was time for me to act]

[I was born into a family engaged in the Shadow Stab path for generations, a descendant of the second generation president of the Adventurer's Guild]

[Our ancestors left us a gift, an artifact carrying the belief of the first Adventure King]

[That is the Shadow Battle Banner]

[Legend has it that the Adventure King was the strongest wanderer in the human realm, and the one who reached the end on the Shadow Stab path]

[Yet, hardly anyone in the human realm has heard of this strongest Shadow Stab]

[Because he charged at the Evil God with the banner held high, disappearing into the Star Realm before his fame spread across the continent]

[The Shadow Battle Banner is his relic, the last spark he left behind]

[The Snake Family has protected the spark for generations, but in our future destined to remain anonymous, the spark might never see the light of day again]

[So I dared to leave this precious artifact in the Amber Hall]

[Perhaps one day, the lions of Amber Hall will open this secret chamber and take the spark away]

[The Shadow Banner doesn't necessarily have to belong to the Snake, does it?]

[I had a troublesome friend who always said I liked maintaining a gentleman's manner, too mild, but I found I'm more stubborn than I imagined, even when family opposed, I took it away]

[Though, allow me to apologize, although the Shadow Banner is a treasure of His Majesty's, apart from its sturdiness, it holds no special qualities]

[I held the Shadow Banner for a long time, year after year in my life, but never discovered its power]

[Now, I'm about to abandon my name and invest in an unseen career]

[I just want to leave it in this secret treasury I discovered by chance, for the future little lions]

[Today's me has no means to leave the little lions any precious treasures]

[If anything could be called a legacy, perhaps it's only the burning belief still on the banner]

[Whether or not to take the banner and fight the Evil God, it's for you to decide]

[For I believe, to voice for the public and for oneself are different]

[Fighting the Evil God is to voice for the public. For the public, sacrifices must be made]

[No one else can force this path upon you]

[The Shadow Battle Banner accompanied me on a long journey, guiding that naive young man to this day, from childhood, fulfilling the dream of becoming the first Adventure King]

[My grandfather once carried it in battles at the front line, becoming the banner for the Adventurer's Guild in every expedition]

[At that time, I desperately wanted such a banner, even made one myself]

[But you know, until the day grandfather handed over the Shadow Battle Banner to me, I realized]

[It wasn't really a banner at all, it was the fragmented body of a broken gun or battle halberd]

[So maybe its name isn't Shadow Battle Banner]

...

The letter ends at this point.

Only Chloe remained silent for a long time.

He felt he hadn't really left anything behind, nor was he as noble and upright as they thought.

But from the moment he chose to walk that path, someone would continue to follow in his footsteps.

Nording Snake is one of them.

"What did the letter say?"

"Nothing much, Teresa, let's keep moving forward."

"Uh, still want to keep searching?"

"Yes." Chloe said firmly: "Until we find him."

...

The two followed the trail, leaving the secret treasury behind.

In a hidden room in Amber Hall.

Teresa told him:

"He lingered here for quite some time, back then, another person was present."

"Can you remember the scent of the other person?"

"I can."

At this point, the person Nording would contact at Amber Hall would either be the Ethereal Emblem contact or the Evil God's Followers from the Void Erosion Sect.

Whichever it was, he had another chance to track them down.

But after that, they found no more useful information.

Because Nording's scent cut off at a rarely frequented low flat house.

There, a Teleportation Array had been destroyed.

They couldn't determine where the Teleportation Array was pointing.

"Let's return to where we began. Instead of tracing back, let's investigate the trajectory of his subsequent actions," Chloe sighed.

"Alright."

The two returned to where Chloe was abducted, shifting from searching for the path Noding came from to the path he went.

This time, however, Noding's footsteps pointed toward the Adventurer's Guild.

Judging by the direction of the trace, it's almost certain that Noding entered the Maze Teleportation Gate controlled by the Adventurer's Guild.

But if they and Teresa want to understand where the Teleportation Gate led at that point in time, it's impossible.

The Adventurer's Guild wouldn't allow them to do that.

"What will you do next?"

"This is when the influence of the school comes in handy."

"...…"

Teresa watched as Chloe directly called the principal and explained the current situation.

The principal quickly said he would communicate with the Adventurer's Guild to confirm the direction of the Teleportation Gate.

Throughout the process, Chloe never mentioned Teresa's talent, only saying they found traces of the Void Erosion Sect's activities.

Teresa smiled and said:

"It's really surprising that the principal believes you."

Chloe said calmly:

"That's what reputation is."

...

While Principal Alfredo was coordinating with the Adventurer's Guild, Chloe and Teresa went back to take a rest.

On the way back, he remembered something and turned to find Rephya.

Seeing Chloe, Rephya was apprehensive.

Chloe helplessly said:

"What's with that expression like you're afraid I'll bully you?"

Rephya nervously and cautiously said:

"N-no?"

"How not, look, everyone around thinks I'm bullying you!"

Rephya turned to look around, only to find a group of people glaring at Chloe, as if ready to rush in and rescue her if she screamed.

Xiaolu shyly stuck out her tongue, trying to forget certain things from the simulation, and changed the subject:

"Senior, what do you want from me?"

"Take this."

Chloe took out the Shadow Battle Banner from the Space Backpack.

When the Battle Banner landed in Rephya's hand, it began to emit a faint glow.

——Just as it did when the Battle Banner fell into his hand.

Chloe fell silent for a long time, his gaze toward Rephya becoming more complex.

Rephya looked at Chloe blankly and said:

"Senior, is this some kind of valuable magic item?"

Chloe didn't speak, but dismantled the Shadow Battle Banner.

He placed the flag in Rephya's hand and said:

"Take this, if you encounter a life-threatening danger, use the flag to protect your body."

"Huh?"

"Just think of it as containing a certain power inside, which will be triggered upon an attack."

"Oh."

Xiaolu didn't ask more questions, she just obediently accepted it.

The Shadow Battle Banner contained the combined power of him and the Sword Hero.

Accurately speaking.

The shaft of the Battle Halberd originally held his power.

While the banner embodied the power of the Sword Hero, or rather, Rephya's power.

Like the Red Moon Fragment's power that cannot be called upon.

The Shadow Battle Banner's power is not inaccessible.

Instead, its power, its Blessing, has always belonged solely to its original owner.

Chloe had doubted Xiaolu.

After all, Rephya and the Sword Hero seemed cast from the same mold.

But the Sword Hero's personality was vastly different from Rephya's.

So he never wanted to imagine that the aloof Jian would become someone as silly as Rephya.

But the Blessing doesn't lie.

Confusedly sent back to the dormitory, Xiaolu blinked.

Being called down out of the blue.

Receiving a gift out of the blue.

Then being sent away out of the blue.

She couldn't figure out what the senior wanted to do.

Only Chloe knew.

After sending Rephya back, he slapped himself across the face.

Dammit.

Chloe, you damn bastard, you first wooed Kai's daughter, then thoroughly took Jian.

In the future, if this comes out, would the Seven Brave Heroes Team fall apart because of him?

He already felt the bad omen star flashing above his head.

...

That night.

Principal Alfredo called, sending him the list of Mazes accessed through the Teleportation Gate at that time:

"When you make your move, I will provide you with support."

"Much appreciated, Principal."

"Pursuing Evil God's Followers is nothing to thank for."

Chloe glanced at the list.

According to Teresa's calculated timing, there were 11 Underground Cities accessible through the Adventurer's Guild's Teleportation Gate at that time.

With Teresa present, they could easily use the method of elimination.

With that in mind, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

By tomorrow, perhaps all answers will be revealed.

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