Chapter 121: Wherever Thor was, that would be the battlefield
With Apollo's warning, Mike couldn't continue exploring the Tower of Truth for now. So, he decided to review his experiences on the tenth floor.
With limited information at hand, he planned to ask others for insights.
"Stone, what was your rating when you conquered the tenth floor?"
"SS-grade!"
Maxen Stoneheart said confidently, but then he remembered he was talking to someone who had achieved an SSSSS rating, and suddenly felt deflated.
"Did you encounter the White Wolf King?"
"You mean that monster deep in the dungeon? Why would I mess with him?"
"What about Vladimir?"
"Never heard of him. Is he even a real person?"
Maxen Stoneheart briefly recounted his experience on the tenth floor, "I refused the Count's embrace, got thrown into the dungeon, fought with the werewolves, and earned their recognition. Then, at the masquerade ball, we teamed up to kill the weakened Marquis and escaped the castle through a secret passage with the remaining werewolves."
Mike immediately realized something was off!
With the hints from the Eye of Truth, he had pieced together clues left by previous Supreme Beings to achieve a perfect conquer.
Compared to Maxen Stoneheart, Mike's experience seemed to delve into a deeper storyline.
The story of Mistveil Castle had both a surface and a hidden plot.
The surface plot involved the masquerade ball and the grudges between the Marquis and the lower-tier werewolves.
The hidden plot involved Vladimir and the White Wolf King.
Vladimir III built Mistveil Castle to imprison the White Wolf King.
For the human faction's 100% Exploration Rate, Mike had to kill Vladimir and destroy Mistveil Castle.
Before Thor, Ares had achieved an SSS-grade conquer, destroying the castle and killing Vladimir...
A light bulb went off in Mike's head, and he immediately realized the issue! "The hidden plot has a secret condition: rescuing the White Wolf King!"
This made everything make sense.
"Ares achieved an SSS-grade conquer for the human faction. According to the Tower of Truth's rules, the Mistveil Castle instance should reset, just like when I was on the third floor."
Mike clenched his right fist and struck his left palm, feeling excited.
"The problem was, Ares didn't hold back and killed the White Wolf King too! So, even though Ares achieved an SSS-grade conquer, the White Wolf King wasn't rescued, and the instance couldn't reset!"
"White Wolf King... White Wolf King...."
Mike muttered the name, excited by his discovery.
But what was so special about the White Wolf King?
From the known information, the White Wolf King was very powerful and seemed to know the legendary Hades.
Mike felt like he had only fragmented clues, unable to piece together the full truth.
It was like walking halfway across a bridge only to find it suddenly broken.
"There must be some detail I'm missing..."
Seeing Mike deep in thought about the tenth-floor plot, Maxen Stoneheart also tried to help, saying whatever came to mind,
"I remember something. My godfather and the others speculated that all the Tower of Truth's levels ending in 0 might have interconnected plots."
Mike was shocked, "What?!"
Levels 10, 20... all levels ending in 0 had interconnected plots?!
If that were the case, the White Wolf King might be related to the 20th floor....
Mike's first thought was the 100th floor!
Based on current information, all Supreme Beings were stuck on the 99th floor. If all the plots were interconnected, the 100th floor would be part of it too!
Then Mike thought of something else.
Something only he knew!
The 0th floor.
In the hidden level of the novice instance, he had seen a bronze door, with a terrifying presence sealed beneath it...
From another perspective, 0 was also a multiple of 10.
This information might be more valuable than Mike initially thought.
Mike maintained a calm expression and asked, "Stone, can you contact your godfather?"
"I can reach both of them. Why, do you have a message for me to deliver?"
Maxen Stoneheart became interested, "Delivering a message costs 100,000 gold coins per word."
"Heh, why don't you just rob me?"
"I am robbing you!"
Mike didn't respond.
When it came to the 0th floor, Shadow Nine was the more suitable person to relay a message.
Mike tentatively asked, "Can I meet Morpheus?"
Morpheus, the Supreme Being guarding Earth, should be the easiest to meet.
Given Mike's contributions to humanity, meeting a Supreme Being shouldn't be difficult.
Maxen Stoneheart shook his head, "No."
"My First Godfather... had a confrontation with the Supreme Demon God. Since then, his condition hasn't been good. After my Second Godfather rose to prominence, my First Godfather never took action again, and his whereabouts became elusive. The best I can do is relay a message, but I can't pinpoint his exact location."
Such information about the state of a Supreme Being was classified, and even a nine-tier Battle Lord didn't have the clearance to know.
Maxen Stoneheart's special status allowed him to know more than others.
Mike wasn't giving up, "What about your Second Godfather, Ares?"
"My Second Godfather is always on the front lines of the Abyssal Plane. To reach him directly via teleportation, you'd need at least Battle Lord-level strength. If not, traveling by conventional means would take at least a week."
Maxen Stoneheart shrugged, indicating he was powerless.
Mike rubbed his temples, frustrated,
"So, if I want to meet a Supreme Being, my only option is Apollo?"
"No, you can't meet any of them."
Maxen Stoneheart's expression was peculiar, "Apollo specifically told me he wouldn't see you until after the battle in two days."
Mike frowned, catching the underlying meaning,
"So, Supreme Being Apollo wants to see me after the battle?"
"You could interpret it that way."
Mike pulled another beer from his bag, downed it in one go, and sighed, "One mystery after another. Let's talk about something I can understand."
Whether it was the tenth floor, the 0th floor, or Supreme Being Apollo, the mysteries were too complex. Thinking too much would only lead to mental exhaustion. It was better to focus on more practical matters.
"What do you know about the upcoming battle?"
The battle in two days was inevitable. Mike needed more information to survive!
"The demon gods are well-prepared. After fighting for so many years, everyone knows each other's strength and won't take risks lightly. From what I know, at least two demon gods will participate in this battle!"
Maxen Stoneheart counted on his fingers,
"The Fourth Demon God and the Sixth Demon God."
At this point, Maxen Stoneheart slapped his forehead,
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. The First, Third, Fourth, and Sixth demon cults have been completely eradicated. I worked with Shadow Nine on that."
Hearing this latest news, Mike took a deep breath. This battle was no ordinary skirmish; it was likely more than just two demon gods participating.
In this battle, Mike's most important task was to survive.
Clearly, Maxen Stoneheart knew this too.
After a period of silence and buildup, both sides were now at the point of no return.
Once the battle began, all of humanity's existing forces would be fully mobilized, with no room for retreat.
"Thor, this is no joke. When the battle starts, the Forest of Truth will become the front line again! In fact, the demon race had been amassing power to invade Earth."
Maxen Stoneheart said solemnly,
"We will keep all enemies above Battle Lord level out of Earth. As for those below Battle Lord level... in the worst-case scenario, you might have to rely on yourself."
No one knew Thor's true identity on Earth.
The enemy didn't know, and neither did their own people, including Maxen Stoneheart.
There was one thing Maxen Stoneheart didn't say, and both sides tacitly avoided discussing it.
The reason the situation had escalated to this point, with a battle imminent, was ultimately because of one person's emergence—the potential Supreme Being, Thor!
This battle was both humanity's protection for Thor and the enemy's sole target.
Wherever Thor was, that would be the battlefield!
Escape was not an option.
"Enemies at the Battle Chief level, huh..."
Mike murmured, "If I can kill a demon race Battle Chief at level 60, would that make me seem too strong?"
Ares first revealed his power to the world when he was at level 200 by killing a demon race Battle Chief.
60-level [Thor] = 200-level [Ares]
[Thor] ≈ 3 [Ares]
[Ares] = Supreme Being
[Thor] = 3 Supreme Beings = Morpheus + Ares + Apollo
"Is there a problem with this equivalence? Absolutely not!"