Chapter 116: Infusion

As the light faded, the Sword of Promised Victory slowly shattered and dissipated, and the white flames surrounding Zhao Tianhe gradually extinguished.

The Sword of Promised Victory wielded by Zhao Tianhe was likely beyond the capabilities of Gawain himself. This was not because Zhao Tianhe was stronger than Gawain, but because the system’s power surpassed Gawain’s. Under the effects of the Mystic Code, Zhao Tianhe had an infinite supply of magical energy, allowing him to unleash the theoretical maximum power of the Noble Phantasm—a luxury Gawain did not possess.

Looking down at the lake of lava beneath his feet, Zhao Tianhe’s first priority was to cast defensive spells upon himself. Such terrifying heat, even from hundreds of meters away, would have incinerated him instantly had he lost the physical constitution of a Saint. Relying on the power of the Gem Sword, he gritted his teeth, layered his defenses, and plunged into the magma. There was no choice; he couldn't leave the loot behind. If he waited for the lava to solidify and the Grand Battlefield to be retracted, he would have nowhere to turn for his losses.

The strength of that boss had exceeded that of the Wind Lord, Wei Luan. While the Unlimited Blade Works version of the Sword in the Stone was slightly inferior due to being a forgery, this "Divine Construct Authorization" was different; the Sword of Promised Victory it produced was even more powerful than the original. In reality, all spoils would have been automatically recovered by the Grand Battlefield hub, as the projections in the hub’s basement were far from mere decorations. Seeing Zhao Tianhe dive into the lava, the old mage understood his intentions, smiled, and shook his head without saying a word.

On the battlefield, the army of monsters had achieved a crushing victory, yet they fled in terror in the opposite direction of the explosion. The mere aftershocks had wiped out tens of thousands of common monsters, and they were understandably terrified. The heroes, dragging the stone statues of their defeated comrades along with the eight hundred virtual Heroic Spirits, huddled together. Being turned into a stone statue by the Life Link did not grant invincibility; while their defense and resistance were absurdly high, they could still be destroyed if an A-rank boss kept attacking them.

Fewer than fifty people survived, mostly A-rank mages, with Li Mei being the only B-rank. Zelos flew over to her, asking urgently, "Where is A-he?"

"He..." Li Mei pointed toward the direction of the fire pillar, her face filled with shock. "He should be there."

Zelos glanced at the area still shrouded in distorted, superheated air, stunned. "What do you mean?"

"Brother Zhao killed that boss! I just received over a hundred thousand experience points!" Li Mei trembled, tears of excitement streaming down her face. "He really did it! I can finally reach the second-tier promotion!" The second-tier promotion referred to reaching the level ten cap of the Hero system. Because Zhao Tianhe and Li Mei had been together, they had subconsciously activated the party system, which split experience points within a certain distance.

"You're not joking, are you?" Zelos shook his head, clearly skeptical. However, after staring at Li Mei’s ecstatic expression for a long moment, he finally murmured, "It’s really not a joke... How did he do it?!"

On the other side, Zhao Tianhe crawled out of the lava lake. As the heat source was gone, the magma was already cooling. He stood there, looking at what he held in his hand, completely bewildered. It was a human hand—a delicate, soft-skinned female hand that looked disturbingly alive, even twitching slightly.

Zhao Tianhe had used his perception, boosted by two level-ups, to detect the anomaly in the lava and successfully retrieve the loot: a hand.

[Gudako’s Hand, Disposable Relic. Usage: Consume.]

"What the hell..." Zhao Tianhe cursed. What kind of item was this? No instructions, just "eat it"? And the design was far too grotesque. Yet, the item could not be stored in his inventory; it had to be consumed on the spot. He looked around cautiously, gritted his teeth, and took a bite.

*Well, it’s definitely not a human hand. The texture is like a mix of gummy candy and mochi. Subtle, a bit sweet...* Discovering the taste wasn't as bad as he imagined—the cross-section even looked like pink jelly—he swallowed the whole thing in one go.

"Holy crap! That’s so twisted!" A male mage watching the scene covered his mouth, nearly vomiting.

In the basement of the Grand Battlefield hub, the staff had magnified Zhao Tianhe’s projection to observe his performance, only to be greeted by this sight. Seeing Zhao Tianhe wolfing down a human hand left them all stunned.

"A fetishist, and... a bit of an exhibitionist?" A female mage muttered, her eye twitching as she looked at Zhao Tianhe’s outfit. His upper body was still covered by his tattered short robe, *Dark Tide*, but the central part of his metallic battle skirt had cracked, leaving it dangling open and revealing what was underneath.

The fragments of the forged Sword of Promised Victory had been part of his crotch armor. Zhao Tianhe, however, remained oblivious. Though his perception was high and he kept a constant state of vigilance, he instinctively calibrated his awareness to everything one meter outside his body to maximize precision, leaving him completely blind to the state of his own armor—a classic case of "the darkest place is under the lamp."

After finishing the hand, several system notifications chimed.

[You have unlocked the hidden talent 'Grand Caster (Incomplete)'. You have unlocked the special attribute 'Charm (vs. Heroic Spirits).']

[Grand Caster (Incomplete): Grants special attribute 'Charm (vs. Heroic Spirits) +2'. Each Heroic Spirit summoned increases this by +1. 'Charm (vs. Heroic Spirits)' increases the natural favorability of Heroic Spirits toward you and prevents favorability from dropping after you make unreasonable requests.]

"Wait, this means..." Zhao Tianhe licked his lips, his eyes gleaming. "I’ll confess tomorrow!" Having defeated two powerful enemies, his confidence was through the roof, and now with this artifact, he was unstoppable. *I'll start with Ereshkigal! Future daily tasks will become actual daily tasks!* Zhao Tianhe rubbed his hands with a menacing grin, leaving the mages at the hub trembling in fear.

"He's looking at the remaining monsters, isn't he? That hungry, desperate look... extreme bloodlust? His mental state seems severely compromised," a male mage remarked with a frown. Zhao Tianhe was indeed hungry, but not in the way they imagined.

Afterward, even though the monsters regrouped, the heroes held their ground under the leadership of the old mage, Ralph, ensuring the last statue did not fall. Half an hour later, the first wave of reinforcements arrived, significantly easing the situation. Within the hour, more troops arrived, including nearly a thousand A-rank heroes and two S-rank squads, completely turning the tide of the battle.

An S-rank hero looked at the solidified lava lake and then at Ralph. "Old friend, are you about to hit level ten?" It wasn't strange for him to think so, given that such firepower was rare even for ninth-level magic.

"Bah! I haven't even passed my ninth-level exam yet!" Ralph laughed. "That was the work of a young man with S+ potential. A strange fellow, but a good man at heart." Although Ralph could cast ninth-level magic, the incantation time was too long for practical combat, so he didn't count as a true ninth-level mage yet.

Nearby, Zhao Tianhe sat on the ground, wearing a makeshift outfit made of leaves, feeling depressed. Returning from his victory, he saw Li Mei talking to Zelos and the others. Undoubtedly, she was recounting his feat of defeating the Wind Lord single-handedly.

*Sigh, I didn't really do much; I just got lucky,* he thought, flying toward the crowd with a calm expression, though the curve of his mouth betrayed his delight. Because he was trying so hard to suppress his emotions, his face looked like it was twitching. However, when he landed before them, he was met with nothing but avoidant gazes.

Zhao Tianhe was confused. *Has my hero aura become so blinding that everyone is afraid to look at me?* It wasn't until Zelos, looking embarrassed, handed him a cloak and pointed at his lower half that he realized.

*Hero image completely ruined... whatever, I was just too happy and wanted to be happier.* Zhao Tianhe lay on the ground and sighed. *Besides, the real good stuff starts tomorrow. Actually, looking at the favorability, I should probably confess to Artoria first, but the 'Battle Trooper' mode isn't very practical... wait, no!*

He suddenly remembered that although the Battle Trooper mode was said to be unchangeable, he had seen Artoria Alter change her spirit garments with his own eyes. *If I can change it to something more... intimate... wouldn't that be more exciting than wearing nothing at all?* Ambition surged in his heart once more. *But to reach that level would surely count as an 'unreasonable request'. Better take it slow, wait for the favorability to rise, and then go for the home run in one go. Yes... stability is better.*

The situation on the battlefield had calmed, but the problem wasn't fully resolved. According to Zhao Tianhe and Li Mei, nearby dungeons had likely been occupied by the Wind Demons. Dozens of A-rank squads and one S-rank squad remained to clear them out.

In the office of the Bal Island Dungeon Association branch, Li Mei and Zhao Tianhe were speaking to the Director-General, Wilford, via a crystal ball.

"I didn't expect you to be able to unleash that kind of firepower. It’s no wonder you managed to kill Wei Luan," Wilford said, nodding. He had seen the footage from the battlefield, and the image of Zhao Tianhe pulling a giant sword from his crotch had left a deep impression on him—he had almost burst out laughing. "However, is this incident related to the event at the Royal Capital?"

That was the mystery. The previous incident had been an attempt to extort the "Rainbow Heart," but Zhao Tianhe lacked the clearance to even know of its existence. This time, it looked like a simple terrorist attack.

*No, I should investigate the surroundings using the Rainbow Heart as a lead,* Wilford thought calmly. *But it’s a pain. The Rainbow Heart’s level is too high; I can't delegate this. I have to investigate it personally... How many years has it been since I did frontline work? Whatever, time for overtime.* He sighed and cut the communication.

"It’s hard to believe that the Wind Lord, Wei Luan, would betray us... I really want to know why," a middle-aged woman, the branch director with flowing golden hair, sighed. "He worked at St. Rose Port ten years ago. Was he triggered by something back then?"

*St. Rose Port...* Zhao Tianhe heard the name and recalled some unpleasant memories of being chased by magical insects. *But it shouldn't matter, right? I'm not Conan, and they aren't some mysterious dark figures. Why would everything target me?*

At that moment, in the basement of a newly built funeral home in the northern suburbs of St. Rose Port:

"Is Number Nine dead? I didn't expect him to be the famous Wei Luan," a dark shadow looking at a crystal tablet sighed. "But he accomplished everything in the plan. St. Rose Port is completely empty now."

"As long as the A and S-ranks are drawn away, there's no problem," a hulking shadow beside him added. "With your power and mine, the rest is just trash. Even if we do it out in the open, it's fine."

"More or less, but this time it's quite difficult," the dark shadow said, stowing the tablet and shattering the floor with one foot. The two dropped into the underground passage Zhao Tianhe had traversed earlier, flying rapidly downward.

Soon, they reached the vast cavern that the Association had labeled a "discarded dungeon." The smaller shadow looked at the eerie, massive space and drew a circle with his hands. A circular spatial rift opened, emitting a faint glow.

"I’ve been collecting this 'essence' for a long time; it should be enough to activate this place," the smaller shadow said. "There are no more monsters here, so we must at least increase the concentration until it can 'birth' them."

As he spoke, a massive amount of pitch-black liquid surged from the rift. An intense, alien life-energy fluctuation began to permeate the space. This small shadow could actually manipulate—or rather, harvest—this special energy capable of generating monsters. There were two possibilities: either their organization possessed a forbidden technique, or this small shadow was a Heroic Spirit from another world.