Chapter 462 - 330: Runes and Keys

"Tell me, where is the Demon King? Otherwise, I won’t be able to resist using this blade to pierce your body."

After forcibly pulling back the phantom existence, Wang Zhifan pointed the incredibly powerful Time Blade at the bewildered phantom, threatening it to divulge the needed information.

"Human, I’m surprised you can hold me, but my principles won’t change—I only make fair trades... "

Perhaps shocked by Wang Zhifan’s displayed tactics, the creature seemed less enraged than before, yet it still exhibited a facade of extreme guile, attempting to negotiate with Wang Zhifan.

"Oh, go to hell!"

Wang Zhifan had no patience to continue dealing with its nonsense, stabbing the phantom figure with his blade before it could finish speaking, causing the projection-like entity to twist its face and utter a cry of pain.

This showcased the strength of the Time Blade—it possesses damage that cannot be immunized against, not merely breaking defenses but also overturning conventional rules to cause harm. That’s why Wang Zhifan used it to attack this existence, which was obviously not the original body, to inflict as much pain as possible. Judging by the effect, it seemed to have some success.

"Are you going to talk or not? If not, I’ll let you enjoy more of this!"

Controlling the intensity of the Time Blade, Wang Zhifan didn’t shatter the phantom with a single slice, instead inflicting pain on it once more and threatening further.

"Ah! How can you hurt me? Who are you?"

The phantom existence displayed a horrified expression, unable to comprehend how this human could hurt its original body through a projection, even though the amount of damage wasn’t particularly high, the situation was indeed bizarre.

"Seems you haven’t suffered enough!"

Seeing this, Wang Zhifan naturally didn’t answer it, using the Time Blade to strike the phantom several more times, causing it to wail continuously until it finally divulged some information.

"The Demon King is in a seal! To find it, you must collect runes to locate the position of the seal!"

"Where are the runes?"

Wang Zhifan took the opportunity to pursue the question, unsure if this creature was telling the truth, but knowing more is always good.

"I don’t know..."

"Forgot the pain again, huh? Let me jog your memory!"

"Ah! I’ll tell you... no one knows it all... but there’s one in this tower..."

As Wang Zhifan continued to press, the phantom’s endurance finally reached its limit. Even though Wang Zhifan purposely controlled it, he couldn’t prevent it from breaking apart due to the terrifying power of the Time Blade, completely dissolving into nothingness.

"Sometimes having a weapon that’s too powerful isn’t always a good thing... if only I could interrogate more, I might have obtained more information."

The target had already vanished without a trace, so Wang Zhifan had to conclude the interrogation. This was because the Time Blade he held could rewind the target to a past position but couldn’t reverse time on the target’s body to restore its state for multiple rounds of torture.

"Runes... seal... who knows if the information it provided is real, but it sounds somewhat plausible..."

He pondered over the latest intelligence gathered through much effort, feeling a bit of progress—it at least offered a possible direction for action.

"The avatar there also made a discovery; perhaps I should go check it out."

Then he shifted his attention to the avatar placed at the dark stairway entrance earlier; during the confrontation with the phantom, he hadn’t controlled the avatar, but now, upon freeing up some time, he noticed there was also progress over there.

With a shift in view, he connected to the avatar’s vision, discovering a spacious plaza. In the plaza’s center stood an inconspicuous statue, surrounded by a fierce group battle.

Combatants were the twenty-odd mercenaries he’d seen outside the tower and a swarm of giant bat monsters.

The monsters were ferocious, continuously flying in from various directions to attack the mercenary group. The group’s response seemed a bit chaotic; several members lay in pools of blood, yet some members showed impressive skill, teaming up to kill several monsters, pulling the scale of victory back bit by bit.

Wang Zhifan’s avatar remained hidden in the shadows, most of the time even delving underground, ensuring that neither battling party noticed its presence. It didn’t intend to get involved in this conflict but instead quietly edged toward the plaza’s central statue, aiming to discern any unusual marks on it.

"This statue hides mysterious power—a rather formidable mysterious power... quite intriguing."

Relying on the avatar’s close-up reconnaissance for a few seconds, Wang Zhifan verified this and then meticulously observed the statue.

Its size wasn’t considerable, only as tall as an average adult, making it seem inconspicuous. The statue’s figure appeared to be a woman of uncertain age, her hands posed as if holding up a flower, with a slightly peculiar posture.

"What does this gesture signify?"

Wang Zhifan, remotely controlling, couldn’t fathom it. He knew the statue wasn’t a common stone decoration but couldn’t grasp its specific purpose, due to a lack of written explanatory information, which was an added difficulty in this scenario.

"Protect the archers!"

"Watch your backs! These creatures love ambushing from behind!"

"Hold your ground! Victory is within our reach!"

...

The battle in the plaza continued, and most surviving mercenaries fought the bat creatures while rallying themselves. Having paid some price, they gradually secured victory, their faces filled with unwavering determination and their eyes reflecting a glimmer of hope.