A rustling sound could be heard, the sound of a pen scratching on paper.
Looking in the light,
At a desk in the living room, Alka was writing something.
Sofia came up to his back and gently rested his head on his shoulder.
He leaned against his shoulder, looking at what he was writing.
The booklet originally had eleven numbers, but now most of them had been crossed out.
Only three remained on the page.
"Are these the crossed-out ones the Trial Towers that have been collected by the Church of the Four Gods?" Sofia asked.
Alka shook his head.
"On the contrary, eight Trial Towers are already under the control of the Church of the Four Gods."
This information was recently given to him by Brave.
With the intervention of the Church of the Four Gods, almost all the forces controlling the Trial Towers were willing to hand them over to the Church.
This was primarily because, while the Trial Tower was useful to many large forces, it wasn't so useful that they would even risk offending the Church to retain control.
After all, without official status, a Trial Tower would at most be a training machine.
Entrance to the Trial Tower also depended on meeting the requirements.
Those who saw the Trial Tower as valuable to their forces, but couldn't afford to offend the Church, or even dared to incur the slightest wrath, were forced to hand over control.
Furthermore, of the eight Trial Towers already under control, only four were actually controlled by a powerful force.
The other four remained in place, though smaller forces occasionally used them.
Their status was similar to that of the Trial Tower previously used by Alka and his companions.
As for the remaining three... Apparently, the faction in charge was unwilling to hand the tower over to the Church of the Four Gods for various reasons.
Alka and his team's main goal now was to capture the Trial Towers of these three factions.
Sofia watched as Alka added a number to the front of each serial number.
"What are you writing?" Sofia asked, puzzled, not understanding.
After adding the numbers, Alka smiled and said, "They'll be ranked in order of distance from the World Scar."
Sofia nodded in understanding, then frowned as a thought occurred to him. He asked in surprise, "So fast? You...you're going to advance to the seventh stage?"
After all, with this kind of plan, if you're still far from the seventh stage, it would be a bit too fast.
Hearing this, Alka nodded.
Before obtaining the Meditation Stone, the speed of strength improvement from the sixth stage onwards wasn't very fast.
But after the Meditation Stone was created, they entered a fast-track of rapid improvement in their meditation power.
They then further exploited the Meditation Stone's potential, maintaining it in overload mode.
Because it was a treasure, overload mode had no effect on the Meditation Stone.
Coupled with the rapid increase in Alka's dream power, and the reality corresponding to his dreams, the gap between him and everyone else widened rapidly.
He was now on the verge of advancing to the seventh stage, and the spiral within him had already reached the sixth stage of perfection.
It was currently in the incubation stage, and it would only take a few days to reach the level necessary for advancement.
"So fast?" Sofia couldn't help but ask.
Alka smiled and asked, "How long do you estimate it will take to reach the seventh stage?"
After hearing this, Sofia paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Based on my current rate of improvement, I'll have to wait at least a year before I can even reach that level."
A year later.
Based on their current meditation and everyone's improvement speed, Alka still ranked first, followed closely by Jason and Urulius.
Then came Sofia.
The common trait among the three of them was that they had already collected scepter-level treasures.
The others were a bit slower than Sofia, but not much different.
"Are you planning to leave after reaching the seventh stage?" Sofia asked.
Alka nodded.
"Yes, we can actually start preparing now."
The two of them recalled their conversation in a corner of the night.
...
Time flew by.
In the Vastva parliament.
Alka was sitting there.
"Are you ready to leave?" a council member asked Alka and the others.
They had just received the news.
Alka nodded. "Although there's no way to deal with the Devouring Mouth right now, it no longer poses any threat to us.
The thorny issue has been resolved. It's time to leave, and you've already established yourself here."
Hearing Alka's words, the councilors looked at each other, unsure what to say.
Only the Great Elder sat hunched over in the main seat.
"So, what suggestions do you have for our future development here?"
They had clearly settled here, and Alka and his group were treasure hunters, so leaving was inevitable.
Alka looked at the Vastva people before him, a thought slipping in his mind. He sighed and said, "Don't spread what I'm saying now. Just carry it out silently."
Hearing Alka's words grow serious, the Great Elder and the surrounding councilors immediately nodded, sitting up straight and listening intently.
Then, with a gentle wave of his hand, as if controlling something, the windows and doors of the entire conference room completely closed and soundproofed.
Observing this situation, Alka nodded and began to speak.
"Simon should have helped you thoroughly research several perfect weapon templates, right?"
One of the councilors in charge of this matter nodded.
"Your first priority now is to assemble a defense force and then build the City of Return into a fortress strong enough to resist demons, with the defensive side facing directly in the direction of the demons."
After so many years of development, the average strength of the Vastva armed forces has reached the third stage of perfection.
Some of those who possess treasures have even reached the fifth stage.
They have firmly established themselves here.
Without waiting for their questions, Alka continued, "The weapons factory needs to be expanded, and the equipment produced will be specifically targeted for city defense.
Continue the previous demon research, develop targeted protective and offensive equipment, and be ready to defend against demons at any time."
"Second and most importantly, the production line for the magic gathering stones should have been completed some time ago, right?"
Hearing this, one of the councilors immediately nodded and said, "Yes, although the production volume is low and the defect rate is high, it has indeed been built."
The magic gathering stones themselves already exist in the Vastva records, and combined with Alka's experience, they established such a production line.
"The magic gathering stones produced will be the key to your firm foothold here and your integration into this world.
It's best to take these and your weapons and join the Anti-Demon Alliance."
This is the alliance formed by the Four Gods Church and various major factions to defend against demons.
Joining would mean that the Vastva people were now considered a faction.
While not comparable to other factions, they were still located directly within the World Scar's territory. They also possessed a production capacity for weapons and magic gathering stones, which alone was sufficient.
They fell silent at Alka's suggestion, their thoughts unsettled.
It wasn't a rejection, but rather a reflection on the underlying principle.
Because Alka's suggestion sounded very straightforward, implying a high probability of a demonic counterattack.
And the front lines might suffer a crushing defeat, forcing the defenses to retreat.
Ever since Alka had advanced to the sixth stage and headed to the Demon-Proof Fortress to resist the demons,
The demonic offensive had been steadily declining, remaining at a minimum until now.
This had continued for years, and now the front lines were constantly exploring the demonic territory.
They were even preparing for a counterattack, determined to push the Demon-Proof Wall forward.
But what's interesting is that they didn't push the entire demon-proof wall forward, but instead planned to build a closer wall in front.
They were also constructing more defensive facilities in the rear.
Some of those with keen senses had clearly noticed something. The Vastva people certainly had their own ideas, but Alka's suggestion now made theirs clear.
"Will the demons... launch a major counterattack?" a councilor asked quietly, looking at Alka.
Even though they were the only ones in the meeting, he couldn't help but lower his voice.
Alka looked at him, neither nodding nor shaking his head, the meaning was self-evident.
Then he stood up and said, "The difficulties you will face this time are the first and perhaps the greatest tribulation you'll encounter since establishing your foothold here.
If you can make it through, you'll have completely established your position here. Both the Church of the Four Gods and other major factions will recognize you. Your future prosperity will depend on this moment; it presents both a crisis and an opportunity."
Leaving a few Vastva people to ponder, Alka departed.
He then said goodbye to Braif and his acquaintances in the City of Return.
Using a rapid mirror teleportation, he arrived at the frontline anti-magic fortress.
"Are you leaving?" Greyfar asked him.
At this moment, Greyfar was standing on the city wall, gazing into the distance.
A small bulge could be seen at the end of his field of vision. It was the newly constructed city wall after the advance into the demonic territory, where most personnel had been relocated.
Alka nodded. "It's time to leave. There are more important things to do."
"I've heard a little bit about it. By the way, thank you for the Magic Gathering Stone."
Some samples of the Gathering Stone had already been delivered to the front lines.
It was clear that he wasn't thanking himself, but rather his subordinates.
The appearance of the Magic Gathering Stone accelerated everyone's meditation.
After a brief chat, Alka met with the members of the Holy Mother Church again. After a brief exchange, he left and returned to the City of Return.
They were in the hall of the house they had lived in for many years.
Everyone was ready, and many things in the room had been packed up. The puppet girls were still jumping around.
"Then let's leave."
As Alka spoke, a huge mirror appeared before them, and within it, a spiral of dreams appeared.
Everyone looked around. They had been here for a long time, and it was time to leave.
With a touch of nostalgia and excitement. They passed through the mirror and disappeared from the room.
They reappeared in a seaside cave.
They appeared on the deck of the Voice of the Dawn.
Simon had already arrived on the deck of the Voice of the Dawn before them, conducting a routine inspection.
This inspection was done every year.
Now that they were leaving, they naturally needed to conduct a more thorough inspection, though such an action was meaningless to the Voice of the Dawn.
After all, the Voice of the Dawn was no longer a ship, but rather a tree-like creature with the appearance of a ship.
"Ah, home."
Urulius hopped barefoot across the deck, her feet making a thumping sound.
Everyone couldn't help but smile at her words.
To them, the Voice of the Dawn truly was like home.
They placed the supplies stored in their pocket rings into the Voice of Dawn.
Since the Voice of Dawn had already been cleaned, there was no need for them to continue cleaning. Once aboard, they could sail away directly after getting ready.
Or perhaps sailing was no longer necessary for them.
The Voice of Dawn slowly retreated from the cliff cave.
It sailed towards the distant sea.
This time, everyone gathered at the bow, facing the sea breeze and gazing at the ocean.
How long had it been since they had sailed the sea like this?
"Now that I think about it, we've been in the World Scar for over a decade," Sofia said, standing beside Alka.
Time really didn't feel real; it truly passed too quickly for them.
"In the end, we still haven't solved the Devouring Mouth," Jason said, watching the bow split the sea surface, sending waves splashing in both directions.
When they first arrived at the World Scar, it was because the Devouring Mouth was targeting them.
At that time, they had generally only just reached the fifth stage. Facing the Devouring Mouth's attack, they could easily fall into an irretrievable situation.
Especially as the Devouring Mouth became more familiar with them.
Entering the World Scar, they relied on the World Scar's magic-proof properties to gain safety so close to the Devouring Mouth.
After advancing to the sixth stage, they even went to the front lines to face it directly.
But after reaching the sixth stage, the Devouring Mouth no longer targeted them, as if it had given up.
Not only that, the demonic offensive force had slowed down.
Now, the defenders had even pushed them back dozens of kilometers.
"The revelation you saw earlier..." Sofia suddenly turned and looked at Alka.
Hearing this, everyone around them fell silent.
Alka sighed, "So our duty now is to gather the Trial Tower as quickly as possible."
The so-called revelation was the revelation Alka had received from the Reverend Mother a few years ago.
He saw hordes of demons, their overwhelming numbers seemingly taking over the entire world. It was a terrifying number of demons.
Even more terrifying was his vision of the Devouring Mouth. However, demons like the Devouring Mouth, even more powerful than the Devouring Mouth, were no longer just three of them as before.
Now there were five.
Alka probably had some understanding of the revelation.
He had even personally consulted the Reverend Mother.
The revelation wasn't a prophecy, but something that already existed, though he hadn't known about it.
So, it was shown to him.
The problem was that the Reverend Mother herself couldn't control such a power.
Simply put, this revelation wasn't the Virgin Mary's power, but rather a power she was learning to master.
But once the image appeared, the meaning became clear.
How could the devil possibly give up on him?
Our world? The so-called slowdown in the World Scar's offensive is merely a gathering of stronger forces.
Judging by the number of leaders, the Devouring Mouth has gained two new allies, both powerful beings.
That scene even happened years ago, but the attack hasn't begun yet. Perhaps they're still drawing strength, determined to capture the entire world this time.
According to their research on the Abyss, the attackers won't just be one Abyssal plane; there will be at least one more.
Their forces might even double.
"Once we gather the Trial Towers together, what incredible support will they provide to the entire frontline defense?" Alka said, looking at the crowd.
Even if they stayed on the front lines now to resist the massive attack that was about to arrive,
They were merely a group of sixth- and seventh-level warriors.
But if they gathered all twelve Trial Towers together, their combined power would grant temporary treasures to those who passed the trials.
This means that these personal treasures belong only to them in this lifetime and cannot be passed down upon death.
But that's enough.
How many people on the front lines have no treasures but have already reached the third stage of perfection?
They are countless.
The limit to their strength has never been their numbers, but their treasures and the rules of this world.
After all, they are mortals, with a limited lifespan.
Without the aid of treasures, pushing beyond the limits of life is something only a true genius can achieve.
Once they gather at the Trial Tower, the pressure on the front lines will rapidly ease, and the reduction will accelerate over time.
"And don't forget, the Magic Gathering Stones are supplying scars throughout the world, and will even spread throughout the Infinite Sea."
Alka said with a smile.
The Magic Gathering Stones, combined with the Trial Tower they now need to attack, will greatly alleviate the problem of troop strength.
Furthermore, the major factions and the church have already begun quietly gathering forces around the world.
As the demons gather enough power to devour the world, that world is naturally gathering enough power to resist.
"Where are you going?" Jason asked.
Hearing this, Alka gazed at the boundless sea ahead and said, "Enter the channel first, quickly pass through the storm zone and reach the outside world, then advance directly on the spot."
He hasn't reached the seventh stage yet.
But he could advance at any time.
However, the magic power absorption required to advance to the seventh stage is excessive, so Alka chose to advance once they left the World Scar and reached the outer sea.
Primarily, excessive magic power absorption makes it difficult to eliminate impurities, especially in the presence of the Abyss's aura.
Also, he couldn't help but wonder if he would encounter various influences again.
He was primarily concerned about the possibility of being affected if he couldn't eliminate the Abyss's aura. (End of Chapter)