Hero Altar

With the last murmur, Kang De suddenly realized that he understood Tina, including the words these natives had shouted at him.

Cathay.

Princess.

Something like that.

Wait, wait, wait.

The brilliant array behind Tina shattered, and the starlight flowed into Kang De’s body.

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He felt that some change in his body was continuing.

Kang De suddenly heard the princess behind him say, “I’m sorry, this must be a misunderstanding. I don’t know what just happened, but now, we can communicate with each other. You can understand our words. I’m Tina Tedrell, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Goethe. I hope we can temporarily resolve the misunderstanding and resolve the conflict calmly…”

Kang De tried to speak, but suddenly his body swayed.

He gritted his teeth, held the gun, pushed the princess behind him away, and stood up. “Gorilla!”

The gorilla holding a steel rod ran over quickly.

Kang De heaved a sigh of relief and his feet went soft. He fell into the gorilla’s arms and muttered, “I’m a little sleepy. Bring me back. Don’t trust these people…”

After saying that, he tilted his head and fell asleep.

The other animals slowly surrounded him.

The princess was shocked. She spoke sincerely to these spiritual creatures and tried her best to show kindness and convey that they were harmless. At this point, she had to do her best.

“Please don’t worry, he’s fine. He’s really fine…”

She had just said a few words when she discovered that explaining was meaningless because these animals did not show any hostility or killing intent. For some reason, they seemed to look at her with kindness.

Most of their gazes focused on Kang De as they surrounded him.

Those pairs of beast eyes revealed complicated emotions like humans.

They stared at Kang De in silence, thinking.

A moment later, the kangaroo cried a few times, then the wolverine, and then the groundhog… To be honest, such a scene was a little funny. If it happened in the circus, it would probably make the audience clap eagerly.

However, the humans present could not laugh.

They clearly felt a solemn atmosphere.

It was as if these animals were seriously discussing an extremely important topic that could even change the course of history.

It was as if they were voting.

Then, the kangaroo growled at the gorilla.

The gorilla also replied with a cry. Then, it carefully picked up Kang De and dragged the steel rod. Without looking at the people present, it left.

The animals followed it.

At this moment, the other teams who were searching the surroundings rushed over. They were shocked, but when they saw that the princess was fine, they could not care less about stopping this strange circus team and came to Tina.

Tina said softly, “I’ve made everyone worry. Please treat the injured people and ask them about the exact situation. As for me… I want to follow and take a look.”

Lady Bedolla, the head maid, wanted to stop her, but Knight Cleveland’s gaze stopped her.

She and the captain looked at the situation and could not help but feel a chill in their hearts.

More than half of this elite team of more than ten people were injured and could be said to be in a sorry state.

The princess looked at her knight. “Let me bandage you.”

The knight quietly retreated and bowed. “There’s a difference in status between master and servant. Just let Lady Bedolla do it.”

In this conflict, he was the most heavily injured. His head had been struck by a tungsten bullet. Two rubber bullets directly exploded on his forehead, and a large bump appeared. There was a terrifying purple bruise around him. On the other side, Kang De had used the handle of the gun to firmly attack him. Blood flowed.

This was him. If it was anyone else, their skull would have shattered.

The captain was checking the injuries of the crew when he saw the fire axe left on the ground.

The axe blade was sharp and was used to slash people. The back of the axe had an awl and was used to break armor. It was really a terrifying and efficient killing weapon. Moreover, it was painted red. It was too threatening.

He picked it up and flicked the axe, his expression changing slightly. “What a powerful weapon made with amazing steel.”

“However…” He muttered to himself, “Why is the material of the axe handle so lousy?”

On the other hand, the princess had already silently followed the animals.

After a simple bandage, the commander followed and protected Her Highness.

The others looked at each other, not knowing what to do. In the end, the captain discussed with the head maid and sent half of them to follow and protect the others. The other half returned to the camp to continue working.

The princess moved forward in silence, with Cleveland half a meter behind.

After hesitating for a long time, the knight finally said, “Princess…”

Tina turned to look because the commander’s voice was very strange.

He sounded teary.

This knight who was famous for his bravery did not retreat even when faced with the worst battlefield. At this moment, his eyes were red. It seemed that he had suffered a huge blow.

He took a deep breath. “I… I’m feeling huge shame and guilt now. I wish I could use death to cleanse my humiliation. It’s all because of me, Princess, that you…”

“My Guardian Knight, please stop.”

Tina said softly, “You didn’t do anything wrong, and Mr. Kang De didn’t do anything wrong. If you want to blame anyone, you can only blame fate for liking to tease people…”

She had already roughly asked about the previous conflict.

The knight and the sailors were not wrong. Because she had been kidnapped, everyone was furious. Under the premise that the suspect was a Cathayan, they would definitely not be polite to the other party.

Kang De was not wrong. In that situation, with a language barrier, no normal person would surrender and hand their life and dignity to others.

Suddenly, the commander gritted his teeth and said, “Even if we don’t blame that Cathayan, we have to blame those beasts. If they hadn’t kidnapped you, what happened just now wouldn’t have happened!”

Tina sighed. “Please don’t say such things again. It’s meaningless to trace responsibility now. The reason why we’re here is that we have to take a boat to the capital and because the Empire is unwilling to help Goethe. Then, should we blame the Empire for this? If we continue, should we blame the elves who started the war? It’s meaningless to pursue this.”

She said, “In that situation just now, I could only do this. This is because the root of all conflicts is the language barrier. Only smooth communication can resolve the greatest conflict…”

The knight gritted his teeth and said, “I’d rather die than let you do this!”

Tina sighed softly, “That’s easy to say… If you’re dead, an expanded conflict will be inevitable. This matter won’t be resolvable anymore. One of us and Mr. Kang De will definitely have to die before the other can be completely at ease. We can’t die on this deserted island. All of this is for Goethe.”

“But your sacrifice is really too great.”

Tears rolled down the knight’s face, “Moreover, it’s meaningless… Language communication is only the most insignificant benefit of the Knighting Ceremony. After awakening his primordial spirit, he has to head to a hero altar within a month and accept the inheritance of an ancient being. Otherwise, the ritual will be wasted…”

He looked around and said bleakly, “How can there be a hero altar on this forbidden island sealed by the gods? Even if the Penguin is immediately repaired, it’s too late for us to return to Goethe by boat…”

At this point, Knight Cleveland recalled the process of fighting Kang De and was even sadder.

“His physical strength is very strong. Although he doesn’t seem to have undergone professional combat training, his combat talent and ability to adapt to the situation are things I’ve never seen before…”

He said in pain, “If he can obtain the war inheritance of the previous king, Ruiz, or War Saint Thorne as soon as possible, it’s not an extravagant hope for him to transcend the mortal realm in five years. It’s enough to become a sword to protect Goethe… However…”

The princess stopped.

She looked at the knight and slowly said, “Please don’t be sad anymore, knight. What happened has already happened. We can only look forward. We can’t just see what we lost. We have to see what we lost.”

“I saved everyone’s lives and resolved the conflict with Mr. Kang De. We even have the chance to reach a cooperative relationship with him. With his help, we might be able to set off for the Empire faster. With the current situation, the sooner we reach the capital, the fewer sacrifices Goethe will have…”

Although her eyes were red, she still smiled.

“From the looks of it, I’ve profited greatly. Compared to Goethe, my matters are nothing…”

Hearing her say this, the knight blamed himself even more.

The fate of the world was like this. How could a mere knight like him be able to do anything?

“Eh?”

The princess suddenly called out softly.

Cleveland immediately said warily, “Your Highness, what’s the matter?”

“This road… is not back to his house…”

Tina whispered, “Where are they going?”

The animals moved forward silently.

Along the way, many eyes looked at this team.

Or rather, they looked at Kang De, who was being held by the gorilla.

The princess and the knight were filled with doubts, but they could only continue to follow. This was indeed another path. Everyone walked on the desolate island, and it became more and more remote. They walked for a long time and stopped at a col.

This place was filled with weeds and vines, but birds and beasts were nonexistent.

The animals went forward and scratched with their claws. They tore apart the thick vines and revealed a hole.

The gorilla carried Kang De in.

The knight hesitated and said, “Your Highness, something is wrong here. You should…”

Tina said firmly, “I’ve already done that kind of thing. How can I stop here?”

Cleveland sighed.

He wanted to follow the princess forward, but he was stopped by the kangaroo. It flashed its extremely developed biceps, then pointed at the princess, nodded, pointed at the knight, and shook its head.

In other words, the princess could enter, but the knights could not.

Tina hesitated for a moment before saying, “I understand, Commander. Please wait here.”

It was a good thing to be recognized by this group of mysterious animals.

Knight Cleveland originally did not agree, but he still helplessly compromised under the other party’s gaze.

In the past, he would have insisted.

However, now… the princess was no longer a girl.

He helplessly and worriedly watched the princess slowly walk into the dark hole.

The parrot stopped at the side and flapped its wings as it cried, “Cuckold! Cuckold!”

—What is this d*mned parrot saying?

The cave was dark.

The princess widened her eyes and barely distinguished everything in front of her as she carefully walked forward.

Suddenly, a strong light lit up.

The gorilla threw the steel rod to the side. With one hand holding Kang De, it took out a flashlight from his body with the other and lit it. The bright pillar of light illuminated the interior space and looked back at the princess.

Tina hurriedly followed.

There was silence, except for the heavy breathing of the animals. The scene was terrifying. Tina’s heart was pounding, and she barely suppressed her fear.

She was actually a very bold girl, but no matter how brave she was, there was a limit.

She continued to move forward and passed through a natural passageway.

Up until the ground.

Until she reached a huge… underground space.

When the animals stepped in, light bloomed.

The darkness was dispelled and the light was everywhere. For a moment, Tina’s breath paused.

This was… an altar.

The light did not come from flames, and there were no glowing devices or creatures here. All the light came from lines. Yes, lines, words formed by lines, drawngs formed by lines. They were dense and carved all over the walls, the dome, the earth, and the altar.

These engravings, these words, and the murals were all shining.

It emitted light on its own.

It was as if the information they carried was enough to emit a light that would not be extinguished for 100 million years. That represented supreme honor and glory that would forever be engraved in this world.

This was an altar.

There was no shocking sculpture, no priceless treasure, no guardian, no worshiper, nothing… but it stood above all the hero altars in the world.

Princess Tina looked at all this in shock.

As the Princess of Goethe, she had once visited the world-renowned hero altars in the land of Goethe that had countless glorious glories.

However, at this moment, she felt that those altars were actually so small compared to this altar.

There was only one question in her mind.

Which ancient hero’s inheritance and mark was left behind by this hero altar?

The gorilla silently placed Kang De on the high platform of the altar.

Then, it retreated step by step.

The other animals stared at this altar in silence.

They were like statues.

There was no light, no strange sounds, and no phenomenon.

However, Tina knew that the hero commemorated by this altar, the light and mark he had left, was silently resonating with the active primordial spirit in Kang De’s body, guiding the path forward for future generations.

Suddenly, someone pulled the corner of her shirt and turned around. The gorilla gestured for her to leave.

So… who was the hero commemorated by this altar?

She tried to look at the words around her, and with a glance, she felt a headache. They were all ancient words that she could not easily interpret with her knowledge. She was pulled back by the impatient gorilla. As she moved, Tina looked around, trying to find the ancient words she knew.

In the end, the princess appeared at the entrance in a daze.

The loyal knight hurriedly went forward and saw Her Highness’ state. “What’s wrong?”

Tina whispered, “There’s… a hero’s altar down there.”

The knight was first shocked, then happy.

He asked, “It’s better than nothing… Who is it?”

The princess shook her head silently.

Before she left, she finally saw a few symbols she recognized in the middle of the altar.

Perhaps it was the title of that hero.

If she was not wrong, the meaning of those symbols was…

She repeated this name in her mind.

“Fire Thief…”

…