Stelle and Dan Heng walked along the path through the ruins for a while longer. Eventually, they saw a massive stone gate across a broken bridge. They exchanged a look and walked over.
Standing at the edge of the broken bridge, Dan Heng pointed to the gate opposite them and asked Stelle, "Want to take a picture?"
"Sure. This gate looks like it has a lot of history."
Stelle raised her camera and snapped a picture of the great gate before them.
"Let's go."
Just as the two turned to leave, they discovered that several stone statues had appeared behind them out of nowhere.
"Hmm…" Stelle turned her head to Dan Heng. "Weren't there supposed to be statues here when we walked over just now?"
Dan Heng raised a hand, and Cloud-Piercer appeared in his grasp. He moved protectively in front of Stelle and said in a cold voice, "Obviously not. Prepare for battle!"
Stelle immediately followed suit, pulling out her baseball bat. Just as they took their stances, the stone statues before them instantly came to life and charged toward them.
Dan Heng was the first to engage, swinging Cloud-Piercer to send the fastest few stone monsters flying off the broken bridge. It was a long time before the sound of them crashing could be heard.
Stelle provided support from the side, using her baseball bat to smash the heads of any monsters that tried to attack Dan Heng from the flank.
In no time, with their coordinated efforts, the duo had made short work of the suddenly appearing stone monsters. Just as they were about to clear the area, dozens more burst forth from the surface of the broken bridge.
Dan Heng's brow furrowed. Although these monsters weren't strong, being held up here was still a problem.
"Stelle, prepare to break through. Observe and Adapt."
Stelle nodded, sending a monster flying with her bat. "The Lord's Command is Absolute!"
"By the city…"
Just as Dan Heng was about to utter the last two words of the code, he suddenly froze.
Stelle, who was waiting for the final part of the signal, grew anxious and, after knocking away a few more monsters, shouted, "Dan Heng? What's wrong?"
She followed Dan Heng's line of sight and saw a "monster" covered from head to toe in green moss, its true form almost unrecognizable, lumbering towards them with heavy steps. Any stone monsters that stood in its way were sent flying into the air with a single punch, before crashing violently to the ground in pieces.
And in the eyes of Stelle and Dan Heng, even though nearly 70% of this monster's body was covered in moss, they recognized its true form in an instant.
"An Iron Golem?!"
The Iron Golem let out a low groan in their direction and continued to help clear away the monsters blocking their path.
Stelle and Dan Heng seized the opportunity to rush to the Iron Golem's side. Using it as their center, they cleared out the surrounding monsters while retreating off the bridge.
Before long, the two of them, following the Iron Golem, had retreated off the broken bridge. For some unknown reason, once they were outside the bridge's perimeter, the monsters stopped appearing and gave up their pursuit.
"That broken bridge and the temple opposite it must be the monsters' protected territory, which is why they attacked us."
Dan Heng assessed the situation and immediately gave his conclusion.
Stelle nodded. She wasn't concerned about that. What she cared about was, why was an Iron Golem inside Amphoreus?!
And it was covered in moss, too. It looked like it had been in this world for a very, very long time!
Dan Heng also retracted his gaze from the bridge and turned to the Iron Golem beside them. He knew that all the Iron Golems created by Fu Zhu, except for the ones used for iron farming in Belobog that didn't have time to receive the Amber Lord's blessing, possessed a certain level of intelligence. Asking it a few simple questions should be possible.
After a moment of thought, Dan Heng asked his question.
"Iron Golem, were you sent by Fu Zhu to find us?"
The Iron Golem nodded. Then, it raised its hand and, with some effort, reached into a gap in its own body, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to Dan Heng.
Dan Heng took it, and Stelle leaned her head in to look at the contents with him.
[To: Dan Heng and Stelle]
[When you see this note, you should have met up with the Iron Golem. It was a sudden development; when we first entered Amphoreus, I encountered the same situation as when we entered the Dreampool in Penacony. So, you don't need to worry about my sudden disappearance. I'm just temporarily separated from you. Take care of yourselves. Next, I'm going to share some important information with you.]
[First, before we set off, I went to see Elio of the Stellaron Hunters and obtained a prophecy about our trip to Amphoreus. The prophecy is as follows: One person goes to the past to search for the heart of the world; two people stay in the present to aid the Flame Chase Journey; one person's body and soul are split, hard for others to find but close at hand.]
[Second, I asked Tixi, the Saintess of Janusopolis, for the current date. It is Light Calendar 3760. Based on the prophecy, I might be in the past, but I can't be certain. I hope this information is helpful to you.]
[Finally, take care of yourselves.]
[From, Fu Zhu.]
After Dan Heng and Stelle finished reading the note, their worries about Fu Zhu eased considerably. But at the same time, they started to worry about March 7th.
From the wording, the two of them were meant to assist the Flame Chase Journey. If Fu Zhu was in the past, then the person whose body and soul were split must be March 7th!
"Dan Heng, what do we do now?"
With Fu Zhu, their external brain, absent, Stelle subconsciously turned to their other external brain.
Dan Heng folded the note neatly, put it away, and analyzed the situation seriously.
"Although I disagree with the Stellaron Hunters' prophecies, since Fu Zhu left this information, it means he will definitely try to act according to the prophecy's contents. Our primary goal right now is to first figure out what era we are in in Amphoreus, and then learn what the Flame Chase Journey is, and find more clues about Fu Zhu and March along the way."
Stelle nodded. "Got it. In other words, we find a place to stay first!"
"Yes, more or less."
Stelle reached up and brushed some of the green moss off the Iron Golem's arm. As she started to climb onto its shoulder, she muttered, "Iron Golem, let's go together."
Dan Heng glanced at her and then looked away. Just as he was about to set off, a man's and a woman's voice came from behind the Iron Golem.
"Teacher Tribbie, why is there an Iron Golem here? Aren't all the Iron Golems supposed to be guarding the Holy City? And look, it's completely covered in moss. It must have been wandering outside for a long time, right?"
"It seems like it. The Iron Golems are basically all in the Holy City… Hey, Snowy, look, there are two other people!"