"The preparations we''ve made long ago don''t need any more consideration. We''ve agreed to face this together, no matter how dangerous it may be. Our resolve will not waver."


    Listening to ria''s response, John wasn''t surprised at all.


    Beforeing back, John should have already prepared himself mentally for everything, so...


    "Since we''ve made the decision, you should also know what we''re about to face. Simply put, it''s the Divine Emissary of the God of Light and Prophecy, who intends to resurrect an apostle in Antis. If he seeds, we will have to face two Demigod-tier opponents at the same time, which will be extremely troublesome.


    Therefore, what we need to do now is to stop the Divine Emissary before he can resurrect the apostle. It''s best if we can kill him, but at the moment, we haven''t been able to pinpoint his exact location, leaving us in apletely passive position."


    Hearing this, ria frowned, realizing the difficulty they were facing.


    "But, no matter what, having one more person always means more strength, right? We can definitely stop all this before it bes irreparable."


    ...


    Meanwhile, in Spartonia!


    In this world that worships martial prowess, Qing had already gained some fame, carving out a position for himself with his fists. Now, walking down the street, passersby would show their respect to Qing, and many women had be his admirers.


    In contrast, Exiled Immortal and Helena were much more restrained.


    During their time in Spartonia, Helena and Exiled Immortal had also gathered a lot of useful information, such as news about the main quest.


    In fact, every new area they arrived at had its corresponding main content.


    For example, the underground city of Calia, the maze of Deep Forest, and the mine maze of Talcavano.


    Naturally, the city of Spartonia also had its main quest: the arena.


    Unlike other ces, there were hardly any wandering monsters near Spartonia. After all, in front of these battle fanatics, where were the monsters? Clearly, they were prey. No monster could leave Spartonia unscathed.


    So, toplete the main quest, they had to join the arena and be a diator, defeat all their opponents in the challenges, and be the final winner to gain the chance to meet the king of Spartonia, earning glory and rewards.


    But here''s the problem: in the arena, there aren''t just NPCs; there are also other yers joining in. Additionally, the diators are divided into lower-tier, middle-tier, and upper-tier.


    Only by umting forty victories can a diator advance to the next tier. After bing an upper-tier diator, one must go through at least twenty-five battles against other upper-tier diators and win at least twenty of them to qualify for an audience with the King of Spartonia.


    In other words, toplete this main quest, one needs to go through at least a hundred battles, which clearly requires time and considerablebat power.


    They certainly have thebat power. Whether it''s Qing, Exiled Immortal, or Helena, each of them hasbat power exceeding five figures. It can be said that in the entire city of Spartonia, aside from the King, there are very few who can defeat them.


    But time...


    Even if they fought one hundred consecutive battles without rest and won all of them, it would probably still take a week. If you factor in the scheduling of matches, this time might be extended tenfold.


    "Sigh... What should we do?"


    Helena pinched her brow, looking particrly troubled.


    It had been almost a week since they split up with John, andpleting the main quest might take another two months or even longer. Helena was really worried about how things were going on John''s side.


    "If you ask me, there''s no need to worry at all. We know John''s strength; it''s unfathomable. Ordinary people can''t do anything to him."


    Qing, on the other hand, was carefree and enjoyed every day.


    "I''m still a bit uneasy. After all, the threat of the Emissary and the Apostle hasn''t been eliminated. If they target John at this time, and we''re not by his side..."


    "Believe in John. He''ll be fine. Who knows, we might see the server-wide announcement of John clearing the Antis dungeon before we evenplete our main quest."


    "Let''s hope so... By the way, Qing, how''s your injury?"


    "It''s nothing serious. A good night''s sleep should heal it. If you two have no objections, I n to apply to be a diator today. I''ll fight those hundred battles as soon as possible, then meet the head of Spartonia and im the first-clear rewards."


    "For now, that''s all we can do. Qing, you must be careful. Your safety is more important than victory."


    "Don''t worry, I know what I''m doing."


    Qing grinned and patted his chest confidently.


    After downing hisst ss of strong liquor, Qing let out a long sigh, as if suddenly remembering something, and said in a serious tone, "By the way, I discovered something new yesterday during my fight. I thought I should tell you guys.


    Yesterday, I randomly picked a fight with someone on the street. Before we started, I heard him mumbling something about... blessings of war and being invincible, things like that. It seemed strange to me.


    In Spartonia, shouldn''t they worship the God of War? How could this be rted to war blessings? Can these two things be mixed up?"


    Hearing this, Helena frowned, realizing that something seemed off.


    "Qing, are you sure the person mentioned blessings of war?"


    "I''m sure, because after the fight, he mumbled again about receiving blessings of war and how it was impossible to lose. At first, I thought he might just be crazy, but I heard simr words from two different people yesterday. That''s quite strange.


    Helena, do you think these blessings of war could be some sort of trick by a Divine Emissary?"


    "...It''s possible. But if there really is a Divine Emissary in Spartonia, we need to be extra cautious. ording to John, they are Demigod-tier enemies, not easy to deal with."


    Exiled Immortal nodded slightly and said, "Remember the apostle we encountered? John said he only had about one-fifth of his full power, and we still struggled to win. A Divine Emissary should be even stronger than an apostle, so we can''t take them lightly.


    Qing, you shouldn''t act alone for the next few days to avoid bing their target."


    Hearing this, Qing nodded and agreed readily.


    "Alright, I''ve had enough fun fighting these past few days anyway. A few days of rest won''t hurt. As for the main quest..."


    "Let''s put it on hold for now. We can''t act rashly until we understand the truth."


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the Silent Sea!


    "Here it is, Antis."


    John stood by the seaside, taking a deep breath, and said, "Antis is buried beneath this ocean. The teleportation scrolls can''t transport us there directly, so we''ll have to dive deep to reach it."


    "There... won''t be any sea monsters, will there?" Lily asked, looking at the deep ocean with a tremble in her voice.


    "Although I don''t want to scare you, there are many strange and even grotesque creatures down there that we will inevitably encounter during our dive."


    "But since we''vee this far, we can''t just turn back, right? Don''t worry, Lily, you just need to close your eyes. I''ll hold onto you tightly," ria reassured her.


    "ria, aren''t you afraid?" Lily asked.


    "A little, actually. I''ve never seen the ocean before, so I can''t really imagine how terrifying those monsters might be. I guess it''s true what they say: ignorance is bliss," ria smiled. "Besides, we have John to protect us. Don''t worry, we''ll be fine."


    "Alright... Here are two Waterproof Pearls. Keep them in your mouths, and you''ll be able to breathe underwater. No matter what we encounter, don''t panic. As long as we don''t provoke them, those sea monsters usually won''t bother us. Of course, if you really can''t handle it, turning back is always an option.


    Lily, are you okay with this?"


    "...I''m okay!"