stonecrandall Page 113
Page 113
"Oh?"
When the topic of heroes came up, Altote and Mino instinctively perked up their ears. This wasn't something you could hear from just anyone; only a veteran artifact like Apophis could casually mention that a hero was among the most powerful, even in terms of titles.
"That swordsman from a thousand years ago? He seems to be a powerful figure who tore through the demons' heavily fortified border defenses, cleared a path through the demons' second line of defense, and reached the gates of the Demon King's city?"
Speaking of that hero whose fame was no less than Mino's, the blade of Altotai gradually ignited. This was the style that a sacred weapon and a hero should have: one man, one sword, piercing straight through the demon army, reigning supreme beneath the Demon King's castle, defying even millions!
Altottai was somewhat envious: "So, in the end, did he win?"
"No." Apophis chuckled.
"He gave it away very quickly."
"Grass!"
"Then why did you bring that up?" Altote rolled his eyes, then realized something was wrong: "Wait a minute... I remember, in the legend, the Sword Hero defeated the Demon King, which is why the next strongest Demon King, the Time Demon King, was born, a hero that no other hero could defeat in the next thousand years?"
That demonic sword Apophis, not a single word of truth comes out of its mouth! It really is here to mess with my mentality!
"Let's make this clear beforehand: the last interrogation was just a coincidence! This time, don't expect to get any information out of me so easily!!!"
Altotei looked at Apophis with great vigilance.
The opponent's jet-black, gleaming sword, far from being damaged after the great battle, seemed to have been blessed, its luster more vibrant than ever before, as if it had just used a legendary sword technique!
The blade was incredibly sharp, gleaming with a cold light, and accompanied by the demonic energy surrounding it, it was simply the dream sword of every demon!
Tsk—Altoté secretly felt a little envious; this old swordsman was better preserved than him…
"Heh, Artotai, what you're saying really chills my heart... We're both relics from the same Holy Church, so we're on the same side now."
"Bah! Who's on the same side as you, you traitor?!" Altothai roared indignantly.
"If it weren't for your betrayal hundreds of years ago, the confrontation between humans and demons wouldn't have gradually turned against each other. If you had been there during that holy war ten years ago, you could have unleashed the most powerful force alongside Pope Brad, completely crushing the demons' front line!!!"
"After that, with the birth of our lord, the strongest hero, what we can do is not just to restore the sacred border, but to directly destroy the demon race's first and second lines of defense, gather the strength of all humanity, directly confront the strongest demon king, and end this long war!!!"
"The Iron-Blooded Pope, Brad..." Apophis's sword slowly rose and fell, his tone shifting:
"I truly didn't expect that the near-death Saint of Artifacts could unleash such power at that time. Heh, if I had the chance, I would really like to ask him for his 'way to maintain longevity'..."
“But you can’t sway me, Altottai. My desire is ‘balance.’ Now that humanity’s power is about to cross the sacred border, the resurrection of Saint Lena must not be allowed to happen… and you will be our breakthrough.”
Apophis's sword condensed terrifying spatial power, and the opposing forces of the holy and the demonic sharply carved out a spatial rift.
Apophis moved his sword and took out two familiar objects filled with both heat and cold.
Altottai was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter:
"Lava from a lava volcano and snow from pure white ice peaks, ho ho, ho ha ha ha!!! Apophis, are you out of your mind, resorting to old tricks to test me?"
The tense atmosphere that had been building up instantly vanished, and Artotai laughed so hard that his sword rolled on the ground, unable to contain his amusement.
"Not to mention that my mineral constitution hasn't been firm for long since the last time I experienced—or rather, torture—a tempering process, both lava baths and ice baths have become far less appealing to me now—"
"Even if a long time has passed, do you think the same torture method can be used on a sacred artifact twice?"
"Apophis, I think you're either senile or have run out of ideas, hahaha!"
Altotai laughed heartily, speaking from the bottom of its heart.
It's only been a little over ten days since the last interrogation. It's like soaking in a hot spring; no one can enjoy soaking in it every day, right?
At least for this moment, it still has the most basic "resistance to being given away for free"!
Altotai was secretly excited, feeling that he was about to create a great feat that even his master had never achieved, and wash away his previous stigma in one fell swoop: He would win!!!
“Sore wa do kana (That’s hard to say) –”
Suddenly, Apophis's voice came from the dark spatial rift.
"Altothai, when did you get the idea that I'm trying to repeat the same trick?"
"What?" Altotai was slightly stunned as he watched Apophis take out another large piece of pale golden paste from the spatial rift. It had a slightly shiny luster and looked like a transparent light-attribute slime, but in a solidified state.
Judging from Apophis's words, it seems that the lava and snow he initially presented were merely supplementary: what he had in front of him was the main ingredient.
"This...could it be honey?"
Looking at the pale golden luster on it, Mino was slightly curious, but after sniffing it, she quickly sensed that something was different and it didn't seem like something edible at all, which made her a little puzzled.
"No, it's not honey..."
Suddenly, a gulping sound was heard in the room, like the sound of swallowing saliva.
The blade of Altotai trembled slightly as it looked at the high-grade lava and snow on the ground, and then at the translucent solid that Apophis had just taken out, its surface shimmering with a magnificent and pure pale golden light, as if it understood something.
As a sacred artifact extremely sensitive to materials, it almost instantly determined what the material in front of it was intended for:
"This is beeswax extracted from honeycomb, and it's inherently dozens of times more expensive than the inferior paraffin wax on the market!!!"
Chapter 150 Divine Artifact: Artotai
Altothai's attention was almost entirely drawn to the beeswax that Apophis had pulled out.
If it were just ordinary beeswax, that would be one thing, but Altotai knew very well that something that could be collected by Apophis, an old sacred artifact, a seasoned holy sword that was well-versed in the art of health preservation, and even placed alongside the essence of lava volcanoes and the snow on the top of pure white ice peaks, could not possibly be that simple.
That alluring pale golden sheen, that flawless, transparent cream—
The sword trembled slightly, and Altothai couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Could it be... the finest beeswax produced in the legendary Honeybee City, a paradise on the edge of the world?!"
"Hehe, it is a sacred artifact with some knowledge, so I won't have to explain it to you."
Upon hearing Altotei's exclamation, Apophis smiled slightly, his words implicitly acknowledging Apophis's guess.
"Impossible!!! Absolutely impossible!" Altottai immediately exclaimed in shock and disbelief.
"I heard that even the Elven Queen wanted to trade some honey from Honeybee City for tea, but she was turned away! Beeswax is a more precious material than honey, how did you get it?!"
At this point, Altotai couldn't help but show a hint of surprise: "This is a sacred item that can lock in 100% of the body's moisture, isolate it from all external radiation and wear, making the blade firm, supple, and shiny. Using it to wax a sword is simply... Hiss, could it be that you?!?"
The blade of the Altotate trembled violently.
Then Apophis unleashed his full power, extracting the essence of magma from the lava volcano. Through the ice bucket, he melted the precious snow and ice of the ice peaks into incredibly pure water, as clear as air, without a trace of impurity!
The heat from the lava volcano is gradually released, but it is firmly locked in by the snowmelt from the ice peaks, maintaining an incredibly balanced temperature amidst the boiling!
Just then... a pale golden light reflected off the steam, creating a dazzling brilliance!
Apophis carefully controlled the power of space, enveloping the exquisite beeswax and slowly submerging it in boiling snow water. Heated evenly through the water, the pale golden wax melted perfectly…
A golden wax liquid, as clear and translucent as amber, and as tempting and alluring as honey, appeared in the room—
Gudong!
Altottai couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of non-existent saliva!
The wax liquid before it held an unparalleled attraction for it—a holy sword not maintained by honey and snow beeswax was destined to have a relatively unsuccessful life.
This is unlike mint, which can only satisfy your appetite for a day or two, or provide a pleasant feeling on your skin.
Once amber undergoes that level of treatment, it's like experiencing an alchemical purification process—Fe + AuCl3 → FeCl3 + Au—allowing the mineral quality within the amber to undergo a profound leap forward!
Although this process is quite slow, and a single maintenance can only last for a hundred years, it is no problem at all for the long-lived Holy Sword!
Not to mention the smooth, soft wax layer left on your skin after waxing, the comfort is comparable to the high-end base of a cathedral, it's so tempting just thinking about it...
"What? This torture was actually so enjoyable for Altottai?!"
On the bed, listening to Apophis's description, Mino was stunned.
"No, what gives it that right?"
Mino tensed up instantly.
I'm afraid my brother won't give up easily, and I'm also afraid he'll have too much fun... No way! I can't just stand by and watch Altotai be corrupted by the demons' despicable torture!
In an instant, Mino's face was filled with righteous indignation.
"Altotai, don't waver, don't forget what you're carrying on your shoulders!" Mino encouraged in a deep voice, a warm light shining in his eyes:
"You are the noble Holy Sword of Light, now the most powerful artifact of the Holy Church! How could mere demonic temptations sway your mind and cause you to betray the human race?!"
"Don't forget what we've been through! Arduous battles, treacherous conspiracies, and desperate situations beset by internal and external troubles!!! We've survived even the toughest struggles. What did we rely on? Generous treatment and superficial enjoyment? Wrong!" Mino clenched his fists, his resolute face radiating the brilliance of humanity:
"No, it was through our strong inner will and the help of our close friends, such as Chief Lark, that we emerged from this dire ordeal!!!"
"We are not just one person with one sword; behind us stands the invincible human force!!!"
With tears welling up in her eyes and deep emotion, Mino spoke with all her might:
"Wake up, Artotai!"
The passionate and powerful voice, like a thunderclap, exploded in the cell—!
"This... my lord, I... you..."
Artotai jolted awake, instantly snapping out of his daze: "You're right!"
Taking a deep breath, Altottai's tone gradually hardened:
"Thanks to your memory, my lord! I am now filled with conviction. Rest assured, such a small favor... is not enough to make me do something as despicable as giving away money like you!"
"I still have a sense of shame!"
Does that mean I've lost all sense of shame? Mino glared at him, ready to retort.
However, seeing the gleaming light on the blade of Altotai, Mino breathed a slight sigh of relief, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes: although the gold coins in the bet might have been lost, he was still very gratified as the master that Altotai had held the line.
The hero and the holy sword are of one mind, so the holy sword wasn't given away for nothing, which means... it's almost as if he wasn't given away for nothing either!
Thinking of this, Mino decided to stop dwelling on it and encouraged him with bright eyes:
"That's how it should be, Altottai, let's remember the hardships we went through..."
[Ding—The interrogation mission "United as One" has been refreshed]
[Torture Mission: The holy sword Altair, your contracted familiar, is once again being tortured by the demonic sword Apophis. In this moment of inner turmoil, as the wise and mighty master of the holy sword, you have a responsibility to give Altair a push from behind. Please assist Altair in revealing information during the torture, so that it may become a holy sword worthy of its master!]
[Quest Reward: Artifact of Artifact Altotai's "Artifact Advancement" unlocked (bound to Master's bloodline)]
"—Do you really want to go through those tough times again?!"
Mino clenched his fists, his voice filled with sorrow: "Give up the resistance, Artotai!!!"