A few more days passed. The Stellaron Hunters, except for Silver Wolf, the Astral Express Crew, except for Misha and Pom-Pom, along with Sparkle, Hyacine, Yunli, Lingsha, and others arrived at Okhema on Amphoreus.
Acheron, Herta, Screwllum, and the others continued their standoff with Lygus.
Seeing so many new arrivals, even the prepared Aglaea couldn't help but feel that Derick had made a great many friends on his trip.
However, when she later observed Yunli's condition, Aglaea's eyes widened.
Polyxia, Mydei, and Phainon also noticed this, their eyes filled with surprise. After arranging for Yunli and the others to rest, Polyxia quietly walked up to Derick and said in an annoyed tone, "Derick, who could be such a beast? How old is your friend Yunli? To get her pregnant..."
"Actually, Yunli is of legal age..." Derick said to Polyxia, feeling guilty.
"Even so..." Polyxia's words were cut short. She suddenly felt that Derick's response was out of character for him, unless...
Nearby, Aglaea had already reacted a step ahead of Polyxia and was already looking at Derick with a speechless expression.
This guy... it feels like after breaking the seal of Amphoreus, he's really let himself go. He's been far too careless in certain aspects.
"I'm not that old either..." Derick hastily defended himself.
Polyxia and Aglaea thought about it and realized it was true.
Other people's ages might be an issue, but Derick and Yunli were around the same age, so it wasn't a problem.
"Oh, you... really..." Polyxia shook her head, then patted Derick's thigh. "Derick, I need to teach you a proper lesson. Come on, follow me..."
Aglaea didn't have the standing or authority to lecture Derick, but Polyxia had long considered him a younger brother. It was always perfectly reasonable for her to lecture him. Now, seeing her 'little brother' being so 'promiscuous,' she felt she absolutely had to teach him a thing or two.
"Yes, I understand..."
Faced with Sister Polyxia's lesson, Derick could only obediently follow and listen.
...
The next day.
The Golden Scions and the others who had entered Amphoreus with Derick gathered once again at the Hero's Bath.
It was rare for the bath to be so crowded.
Aglaea was the first to speak, offering a greeting. "I trust you all rested well yesterday? I wasn't sure if you would be able to adapt to Okhema's perpetual daylight."
"It was fine, quite interesting actually," Stelle was the first to reply. She had spent half the day soaking in the hot spring yesterday, nearly getting boiled before March 7th and Himeko dragged her out.
Welt Yang pushed up his glasses and replied to Aglaea as well, "Compared to our previous Trailblazing journeys, the conditions on Amphoreus are excellent. We all rested very well yesterday."
At this point, Derick spoke up.
"Since everyone is well-rested, we can begin the next phase of our plan: saving the world of Amphoreus."
Whether considering his relationships, his power, or his understanding of Amphoreus, Derick was now the undisputed commander for the salvation of Amphoreus.
Himeko asked Derick, "What's your next move? Are you going to continue collecting the Titan's Coreflames?"
"Yes. That's the only way to make Irontomb appear, so we can completely annihilate its existence. And only by absorbing Irontomb can we maintain the stability of Amphoreus, this Imperial Scepter," Derick nodded.
Hearing this, Aglaea's expression soured slightly. After a moment of thought, she said to Derick, "Derick, there's something I need to tell you. The Titan Coreflames that were in the Vortex of Genesis—the Coreflames of Earth and Ocean—were stolen by that pitch-black creature."
Hearing they were stolen by a pitch-black creature, Sparkle shot Derick a teasing look. Derick naturally saw her expression and glared back at her, then said to Aglaea, "Don't worry about that. I also have the power of the Earth and Ocean Titan Coreflames."
As he spoke, he released the power of the two Titans.
Seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces, Derick explained the identity of the Coreflame Thief.
When they heard that the Coreflame Thief was Phainon from a previous cycle, Aglaea, Polyxia, and Mydei all looked towards the White Dragon. The White Dragon gave a helpless smile and spread his hands. "I don't have any memories. Whatever happened in the previous cycles, the me of this cycle knows nothing about it."
After Phainon said this, he looked at Derick with gratitude in his eyes.
He was thankful that Derick was here for this cycle; otherwise, the burden of over thirty million cycles of memories would have fallen on him. Of course, Phainon could have accepted bearing those memories. What he couldn't accept was carrying that weight and still being powerless, even becoming the executioner of his former comrades when the next cycle began.
"The Coreflames can be reignited. Now that all the Coreflames have been gathered, we can proceed to the next step."
Derick said to Aglaea.
"What preparations do you need from us next?"
Aglaea asked Derick what they could do.
"Over the next few days, let's gather all the inhabitants of Amphoreus. When the Coreflames are assembled, the entire world will begin to collapse. To preserve our strength, we can only protect a small area. Gathering everyone on Amphoreus—no, all living beings—will be the best course of action."
Derick was reminded of the legend of Noah's Ark from his past life.
This time, he too would build a 'Noah's Ark' to protect everyone on Amphoreus.
However, unlike the legendary Noah's Ark which could only wait for the calamity to pass, Derick's plan was merely a temporary shelter for the people. He intended to resolve these disasters with his own hands.
"Mm."
Naturally, no one had any objections to Derick's words.
Aglaea immediately said, "Leave the task of finding and gathering the life on Amphoreus to us, the Golden Scions. As for building the sanctuary, we'll have to rely on our guests from beyond the sky. Derick, you should rest for the next few days. After all, your task will be the most difficult."
"Indeed, this battle is crucial, and I do need to prepare more. For the next few days, I'll stay in the Vortex of Genesis to rest and wait for everyone to be ready."
Derick fully agreed with Aglaea's suggestion.
He was facing a Lord Ravager again, but this time was completely different from the last time against Phantylia.
With Phantylia, it was the Xianzhou's home turf; Phantylia was fighting an away game and could get no support. But now, this was Amphoreus, Lygus's home turf. Even with Herta and Screwllum watching him, Derick worried about what Lygus might still be capable of.
To prevent any last-ditch counterattack from Lygus, Derick had to be exceptionally cautious. Getting himself into optimal condition was undoubtedly a good choice.
Having agreed on the plan, the group split up once more.
Derick went alone to the Vortex of Genesis.
Within the Vortex of Genesis, there was nothing but a pool of clear water and the patterns of the Titan Coreflame sigils hanging in mid-air.
Here, Derick could wait quietly for the moment of battle.
Closing his eyes, Derick savored the rare silence, regulating his breathing and bringing his body to its most perfect state.
However, this tranquility lasted less than half a day before an image of Herta appeared before Derick.
"Yo, preparing all by yourself over here, are we?" Herta said to Derick.
Hearing Herta's voice, Derick immediately opened his eyes and asked her, "Miss Herta, has something unexpected happened on your end?"
"No, nothing unexpected on our side. It's just that the pressure we're about to face is going to be immense," Herta said, shaking her head.
"Pressure? What kind of pressure? Does Lygus still have some hidden power?"
No matter how deep he hid it, even if he were on par with the Lord of Serenity or Marshal Hua, with four or five Emanators watching him, he wouldn't be able to turn the tables.
"Lygus might have something hidden, but he's not our main concern," Herta told Derick. "We just observed that the gaze of Destruction may have turned this way. To prevent the birth of Irontomb from being disrupted, it's highly likely that other Lord Ravagers will come to assist."
Other Lord Ravagers...
The names of the Lord Ravagers flashed through Derick's mind.
Phantylia was already dead. Besides her, the remaining Lord Ravagers were Guiying, Xingxiao, Guangshi, Zhuwang, and the strongest, most terrifying one of all—Zephyro.
Including Lygus, the enemy would suddenly have six Emanator-level figures. Zephyro, in particular, was no weaker than Acheron, and might even be stronger.
His own side would be at a disadvantage.
"Miss Herta, do you have a way to deal with this?" Derick asked Herta.
"The Lord Ravagers of the Antimatter Legion don't communicate much with each other, so their arrival times will vary," Herta said. "This gives us an opportunity to intercept them in waves. However, it means your side needs to act faster."
"We will."
Derick nodded firmly.
Fortunately, the Antimatter Legion wasn't like the Hunt, where they would all arrive at the same time regardless of when or where they started. If that were the case, things would be much more troublesome.
If that happened, Derick would have no choice but to ask Grandpa Huaiyan and General Jing Yuan for help. And even then, he wasn't sure if they would make it in time.
"Also, since we'll be moving to intercept them, you'll have to deal with Lygus personally," Herta added.
Derick nodded firmly.
"Perfect. Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor. It's only fitting that I be the one to get revenge on Lygus."
Derick remembered the Coreflame Thief's thirty-million-plus cycles of memories clearly. He wouldn't be able to rest easy until Lygus was dead.
_____
🔥 New stories are available now! 🔥
🪦 Get 25% off on my support site (P...)!
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan