Time is like water in a sponge. The harder you try to grasp it, the faster it slips away.
"Sis, we're back!"
On the Vault plaza, Ciaccona hurried over and enthusiastically hugged Carlotta.
"With the Sentinel's help, the whole journey went very smoothly."
"That's right." Brant nodded.
"The Troupe of Fools originally didn't have much faith in the gods. We never expected that when Rinascita was in danger, our Sentinel would actually step forward to help."
"Our faith is pure and undivided. This is the Sentinel responding to Its people."
Phoebe walked forward with a smile and asked Carlotta.
"Miss Carlotta, how is the populace transfer work on your side?"
"Just as smooth. After all, it is a rare joint effort of the three major forces—Montelli, Fisalia, and the Order."
After a simple answer, Carlotta looked toward Zani behind her and smiled faintly.
"Of course, it is also inseparable from everyone's efforts. For example, this Nightwalker of Flame behind me."
"Ahem. Boss cultivated me well. Those Black Shores Bloom Bearers who suddenly appeared also helped a great deal."
On the vast plaza, the entire populace of Ragunna cast their gazes over and looked up together at the pure white, flawless tall flying horse.
"Sentinel! Mommy, I saw a living Sentinel!"
"Oh my god. It's said the last time the Sentinel appeared was during the first Dark Tide outbreak, hundreds of years ago."
"So the Sentinel really is a pure white horse. I always firmly believed It had a horse head and a fish body."
"People of the Fisalia Family, maintain order. Do not let everyone offend the Sentinel…"
Cantarella left a sentence behind and quickly walked up to Imperator.
Sharp as she was, she noticed that the frequency on the Sentinel's body right now was very unstable.
"Sentinel, Noah asked me to pass a message to you."
Imperator nodded.
"Please speak."
"He said he will enter the Heaven entrance inside Septimont's Hunting Grounds and take the initiative to attack the Threnodian inside."
"What!"
Imperator's expression changed at once.
"How can the Righteous One face something like this alone?"
It lowered its gaze, searched left and right, and finally found a member wearing a Blake Bloom.
It took a few steps and crossed a hundred meters in an instant, arriving before the Black Shores Bloom Bearer. The latter asked politely.
"Sentinel Imperator, may I ask what you need?"
"Please report to the Shorekeeper of the Black Shores. I need to be teleported to Septimont."
"Wait!"
Suddenly called to a stop, Imperator turned its head. The crowd that had just been chatting and laughing all hurried over at this moment.
"Why didn't you say something like this earlier?" Carlotta chided Cantarella once, then turned to look at Imperator.
"Lord Sentinel, please take me along. The situation in Ragunna is already stable. I want to go to Septimont to help Tall Chestnut."
Phoebe: "Mr. Noah has contributed greatly to Ragunna. If possible, I also want to go help."
Brant: "And me, plus my first mate."
Roccia: "Pero and I have no objections."
Zani: "Count me in."
Ciaccona: "I'll go over and cheer you all on."
"Nonsense!"
Imperator gave a low rebuke.
"This matter is full of dangers. You need not get involved."
"Sentinel, no matter how small the power, when connected together, it cannot be ignored, can it?"
Cantarella walked to the front of the group and looked up at Imperator.
"What's more, don't you also hope to hand the direction of civilization over to humanity to lead?"
"..."
After a short silence, Imperator felt the remaining Time power inside its body.
This complete-form posture had not lasted as long as It had expected. Right now, it could probably only hold on for less than one more hour.
If the Righteous One stayed inside the Dark Tide Heaven for more than one hour, It would no longer be able to help at all.
But if It divided the power among these people… perhaps they really could become the Righteous One's aid?
"Alright."
Imperator finally nodded.
"I will go to Septimont together with all of you."
If after this battle Rinascita still exists, then it will be time to thoroughly hand all leading rights of civilization over to humanity itself to control.
...
[Team: Jinhsi, Carlotta, Rover (Aero).]
Inside the Dark Tide was the Heaven that Leviathan had not yet fully shaped. Beneath the glorious and sacred surface, the essence was a hellish world filled with hatred and fear.
Passing through one burning candle altar after another, Noah had already used the lantern to travel through this Dark Tide Heaven for a long time.
"Without a Chimera leading the way, I really took a lot of detours."
With another sword, he scattered several Dark Tide creations that came to block him. Looking at the Chimera avatar on the map module that was getting closer and closer, Noah's mood eased a little.
While he was chasing, Galbrena was also moving. Fortunately, the distance between the two was shrinking smaller and smaller. He had already seen Galbrena's footprints. The tracking from now on would save a lot of effort.
After turning a corner, what met his eyes was a glorious and sacred altar. Several burning candles illuminated it. Six Tacet Discords of the Sufferers knelt in a circle, chanting low murmurs.
Bloodpact's Pledge swung out a sword aura and easily killed this group of Tacet Discords. Noah walked toward another direction.
The route Galbrena had walked would not have any Tacet Discords remaining. This was also the basis on which he judged the path.
"Although it's a trial character given by the panel, it feels the same as a normal character. Nothing particularly special."
He weighed the Bloodpact's Pledge in his hand and felt the power inside his body, muttering to himself.
"If I keep using the trial character, when I take fatal damage, will it lock my HP? Leave me with one drop of blood so I don't die?"
His thoughts turned many times, but in the end he still gave up the idea of testing it.
If he courted death, what if he really died?
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if the trial character locked HP, he would still feel pain, get tired, and faint.
Whether that blond next door fainted or not didn't matter. After all, cameras or no cameras, it was fine. But he could not faint.
Throwing the distracting thoughts in his mind aside, Noah quickened his steps. After another corner, a glorious and majestic giant building came into view from afar.
Dark and pitch-black Dark Tide lake water surrounded that Heavenly Sanctuary that reached the height of the sky, also blocking Noah outside.
If a living person wanted to wade across this Stygian Lake, they would inevitably be dragged into the abyss by the pure Dark Tide and completely swallowed. If they wanted to soar, it would likewise alarm the Dark Tide into rioting.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, even the Rover and Galbrena in the original plot had relied on the Grand Architect of the Fractsidus posing as a ferryman to cross this Stygian Lake.
The moment this thought occurred to him, Noah, who was about to switch to Jinhsi and fly across the water, suddenly paused in his gaze.
Not far away, a figure draped in a black robe came ferrying a boat. Under the black robe was a face as terrifying as a skeleton.
"Evil spirits… do not hope to see paradise again. I have come to ferry you to the underworld on the other side. And the living—"
That figure finally stopped in front of Noah and sincerely advised.
"The living should not pass by this ferry."
"Schwarzloch, isn't reciting these lines tiring?"
Noah tugged at the corner of his mouth and stretched out a hand to form a seal.
"Celestial—"
"Stop. Don't be so impatient." The black-robed figure unhurriedly raised a hand.
"—Court Radiance!"
Surging white light blasted Schwarzloch into the pitch-black Stygian Lake, stirring up a splash.
"A mere clone still wants to block the road."
Noah jumped onto the boat and rowed away.
"I don't give a damn about you."
On the other side.
Avidius led the gladiator squad and broke through the wind the whole way, finally rushing back to Septimont.
"Over here, Avidius!"
Lupa waved from high up. Avidius followed and led the team down.
"Weren't you going to support Ragunna? How did you come back so fast?"
"There's a Sentinel holding the fort over there. Everything went smoothly. By the way, what's the situation in Septimont now?"
"It's still alright. No more Overlord-class Tacet Discords have appeared on Septimont City's side. Let's go. Perfect timing for us to head to the Hunting Grounds together. There are countless Dark Tide Tacet Discords over there."
They hit it off immediately. Lupa sat on her own griffin and flew toward the Hunting Grounds together with the gladiator squad.
The Septimont City under their feet grew farther and farther. The Hunting Grounds grew closer and closer. Avidius narrowed his eyes and tried hard to observe the battle situation in the Hunting Grounds, only to suddenly see a familiar "tall" figure.
"Is that… the person in charge from Ragunna's side?"
After recognizing Carlotta, Avidius rubbed his eyes in surprise and could not help feeling bewildered.
What the—he hadn't dared to rest even a little, so how had these Ragunna people arrived before him?
On the ground, Carlotta, who sensed the gaze, raised her head and immediately noticed the mechanical Echo at Avidius's side. Her brows and eyes brightened with joy as she actively waved.
"Sentry Construct, come here."