At All Costs

Outside the God-Descended City, on the same secluded rocky beach, the prince of the Volcano Kingdom knelt before a Ruhe beast, as if waiting for someone's arrival.

He gripped the great poet's final chapter tightly, his heart heavy with despair.

He would have given anything to possess that last page.

Without this final page, all his efforts had been in vain. Worse, he had essentially done all the work for someone else's benefit.

He harbored a deep hatred for the person who had betrayed him, wishing he had returned to the Volcano Kingdom with glory and everything, instead of risking staying here.

After a long wait, the burrowing worm-like Ruhe beast suddenly writhed violently. Its flesh split open, squeezing out eye after eye. The eyeballs rolled chaotically before focusing on the prince. Surprisingly, the usually mindless Ruhe beast spoke.

"Divine Technique!"

"Consciousness Projection!"

The voice, initially guttural and strange, transformed into the hoarse tones of a middle-aged Trilobite Man.

It was the King of the Volcano Kingdom contacting the prince in this way, projecting his will from the capital thousands of miles away.

The prince knelt on the ground, relaying everything that had happened on his mission to his father.

The Volcano King's voice revealed neither joy nor anger, only authority and command.

"Obtain it at all costs," the King commanded.

"If necessary, I will dispatch the kingdom's other Ruhe beast to assist you. All our people in the God-Descended City will be under your command."

"Weishi, you know how important this is to us, to the Trilobite Men, and to Yinsai."

"You must obtain the last bone tablet. Do you understand?" The King's voice was unyielding.

The Volcano King's tone was extremely stern, even harsh.

Weishi meant "history," a name so grand that usually only royalty and high nobility dared to use it.

Prince Weishi was clearly accustomed to his father's harshness and severity, and he demanded the same of himself.

"My King!" Prince Weishi declared, "I shall return victorious."

"Only the victors deserve to have everything, to enjoy the cheers and bask in glory."

The Volcano King said with satisfaction, "I await your triumphant return in the capital."

After finishing the conversation with his father, Prince Weishi immediately entered the God-Descended City to arrange the next steps of his plan.

Inside the God-Descended City, in a civilian house near the canal dug by Yesael years ago, the Volcano Kingdom prince gathered the kingdom's forces and sleeper agents in the city. Among them were several merchants, bureaucrats, nobles, and a mid-level military officer responsible for the city's security.

"Keep an eye on the governor of the God-Descended City, and monitor any movement in the city."

"At the same time, inside and outside the city, use every means to find one thing."

The group whispered among themselves: "Your Highness!"

"What exactly are we looking for?"

The Volcano Kingdom prince didn't specify, only taking out one of the bone tablets from "Tito's Travelogue" and saying to them,

"Find an ancient bone tablet identical to this one."

"In short, check every ancient inscribed bone tablet that has appeared in and around the God-Descended City recently."

In Tito Town, a young craftsman named Stan arrived at the town's outskirts carrying a heavy basket filled with stone and bone tablets inscribed with text.

He found the entire town sealed off, with soldiers surrounding Tito Town, allowing no one to enter.

Stan's name, meaning "stone tablet," revealed his heritage. His father had been a craftsman who carved inscriptions on stone tablets, a trade Stan had inherited.

Stan's full name should have been Stan Tito, as he was also a descendant of the Tito family.

However, common Trilobite Men had no surnames; only true nobles could possess a family name.

Over hundreds of years, only a few in the Tito family inherited titles, while others gradually became commoners, no longer nobles, making a living as craftsmen relying on the Tito family.

"What happened?"

The young craftsman was clearly unaware of the tragedy that had occurred in Tito Town. He would come every month to deliver his carved works.

He was stunned to hear an old man outside the town say, "They're... they're all dead?"

"So now there's no one to receive the goods?"

The old man nodded, "They're all gone. There's no one in charge now. You don't need to deliver anything here anymore."

"Take your goods to the market in the God-Descended City to sell. You can get a good price there, much better than bringing them here."

For the sake of his livelihood, the young craftsman had no choice but to carry his basket towards the God-Descended City.

On the way, he first saw a dried-up piece of rope.

As he walked further, he stumbled and fell into the sand, but in doing so, he stepped on and uncovered a bone tablet.

"What's this?"

He realized it must be an old bone tablet, and being a tablet carver himself, he immediately became interested and picked it up.

The craftsman brought the bone tablet to the market in the God-Descended City. He laid out his own carved "Yinsai Epic" and "Hymn of the King of Wisdom" on the ground for sale, while he examined the bone tablet he had found.

Holding it up to the sun, he carefully studied the text, reading each word deliberately.

Unlike those with wisdom power who could scan and memorize instantly, he had to read it slowly.

The text on the bone tablet had become somewhat blurred over the years, but it was still barely legible.

"Messenger of God? What's this?"

"Is this some made-up myth?"

"What's this character?"

The young craftsman, being from the Tito family, was literate, but he didn't recognize this character.

It was strange, feeling like a word with its pronunciation engraved alongside it.

The moment he saw it, the craftsman felt a voice resonate directly in his consciousness.

"Hope?"

"Hian?"

"Hila?"

No matter how he read it, it felt wrong. "None of these are right, it should be pronounced like..."

As he was about to pronounce the strange syllable, he felt the sound catch in his throat, unable to be uttered.

It was as if this name was not meant to be spoken by mortals; it belonged to a realm beyond them.

Only those with wisdom power could use the resonance of their mythical bloodline to call out this name.

Stan immediately sensed something was amiss.

This feeling made him realize that what he held in his hands was extraordinary, and he became even more eager to decipher the text.

A group of people wandered through the market, specifically stopping at stalls selling bone items, as if searching for something.

One of them stopped in front of craftsman Stan, just as the young craftsman was reading the text in the sunlight.

"Where... where did you get this?"

Before Stan could answer, the person immediately asked, "How much?"

The young craftsman quickly put the bone tablet back into his basket. "This is not for sale!"

The person signaled with his eyes, and the others around him immediately closed in.

But Stan noticed this too, and immediately abandoned his goods and ran.

"Don't run!"

"Catch him, he's a thief!"

"Get him!"

Amidst the chase and struggle, Stan escaped to the edge of the market.

On the other side, Prince Weishi of the Volcano Kingdom, who had received the news, was rapidly approaching. To save time, he even used his spiritual power to leap and bound between buildings, almost flying across half of the God-Descended City.

He no longer cared if he was noticed.

"Give it to me!"

He used his divine technique to control several stones, hurling them at Stan. The immense force of even one hit could kill Stan.

But at that moment, a wave of spiritual power pushed back from the opposite direction, shielding Stan.

Those stones were repelled by this force.

Another Trilobite Man appeared on the wall, also a high-level priest.

The commotion had also caught the attention of the High Priest of the Yinsai Temple in the God-Descended City.

Ever since the sky had reflected the realm of God, everyone in the God-Descended City had been on edge, alarmed by any disturbance.

"So it's Prince Weishi Hosen of the Volcano Kingdom. I didn't expect to see you in the God-Descended City."

"I met Your Highness when the Sky Temple priests visited the Volcano Kingdom."

Weishi Hosen wasn't surprised that the other recognized him. Anyone who could become the High Priest of the Yinsai Temple in the God-Descended City must be an important figure in the royal family. There weren't many illustrious royal families in the four kingdoms, and it would be strange if they didn't know each other.

But he showed no courtesy, immediately unleashing his divine technique to strike a deadly blow at the other.

A series of bone spears flew towards the other as he waved his hand.

"Kill!"

The High Priest of the Yinsai Temple didn't back down either. He jumped down from the high ground to protect Stan, actively engaging Prince Weishi in battle.

For the sake of a single bone tablet, two high-level priests were locked in fierce combat.

And more people were rushing towards the scene.