As she spoke, her eyes reddened and she started to cry, tears falling heavily from her face.

"It's all my fault for not thinking it through. By the time I got back there, I found out Hudi wasn't there," Hes said sorrowfully, "I thought he hadn't arrived yet, but when I saw signs of a struggle in the house, I realized he had already been there."

"But signs of a struggle don't necessarily mean it was Dragon's Golden Eyes' incarnation," Fang Hong shook his head, not particularly adept at comforting others, he spoke bluntly, "Frankly, I think that with Nicopolis's power, he wouldn't need to leave any signs of fight."

Hes could only shake her head anxiously and said, "But I clearly sensed the presence of Dragon's Golden Eyes nearby."

"You could sense the presence of Dragon's Golden Eyes?" Fang Hong asked, taken aback.

With her face turning pale, Hes bowed her head and remained silent.

Fang Hong looked at her and suddenly remembered something, asking, "Did you manage to get that photo frame?"

Hes nodded her head sadly.

"That..." Fang Hong asked somewhat guiltily, "Did you notice anything missing?"

However, the girl shook her head, looking confused, indicating that nothing was missing.

That response stunned Fang Hong for a moment, and he fell into thought.

After that, Hes remained very downcast, and Fang Hong didn't know how to ask her for more details. Fortunately, she took the initiative to bring him to this place, sparing them any awkwardness between them.

Only now, seeing her much more composed, did he dare to ask the question he had been wanting to ask all along.

In the dark, Hes thought for a while before responding, "I think Hudi had barely arrived at the place when Dragon's Golden Eyes found him. In fact, I've always known... she's been trying to get close to him..."

"When was this?"

"It must have been shortly after we separated, Mr. Ade."

In his heart, Fang Hong felt a hint of confusion, but he clearly remembered at that time, the Shadow of Nicopolis, which was Dragon's Golden Eyes' incarnation, had been above the City Hall area, battering the Barrier.

Could this thing possibly split into multiple entities?

"But why didn't you tell him?" Fang Hong asked further.

Looking tense, Hes gripped her apron, unsure of how to respond.

Fang Hong could roughly guess her thoughts. Perhaps the girl wanted to maintain the status quo and was wishfully hoping that things were not as bad as she imagined. She kept reassuring and deceiving herself, all just to preserve this tiny hope.

He became somewhat curious about the story between Hudi and this girl, and what changes had occurred in this Phantom Realm before his arrival.

After a while, in the darkness came his next question:

"Hes, did Dragon's Golden Eyes take Hudi for the Blade of Victory? But why bring Hudi here, what's the connection with this place?"

This was precisely what puzzled Fang Hong.

He had thought that, according to the plan of the Dragon Worship Sect believers, they were supposed to carry the Blade of Victory to the City Hall and trigger the next step in the process there.

He had assumed that the believers of the Dragon Worship Sect and members of the Dragonfire Guild had temporarily not found Hudi and thus didn't have the Blade of Victory he possessed. But listening to Hes's description, since Dragon's Golden Eyes had already found Hudi...

Then why come to this place?

Could it be that he had been wrong all along?

If that were the case, he needed to inform the others quickly to prevent any mistakes in their upcoming actions.

But after a moment of silence, Hes replied, "That's because she wanted to seduce Hudi into destroying the Blade of Victory in the Underground Sanctuary. I know it's been her desire all along, but she couldn't do it herself and had to manipulate someone else."

Fang Hong was astonished at her words.

"What did you say? Dragon's Golden Eyes wants to destroy the Blade of Victory? But how could that be possible!?"

The Blade of Victory was supposed to have been created by Dragon's Golden Eyes to warp the Phantom Realm, continually weakening the Sealing strength.

But why would it want to destroy this sword? And according to Hes's statement, it seemed unable to approach the sword itself and had to use Hudi's hand to destroy it.

Moreover, it seemed that only in the Underground Altar could the Weapon truly be destroyed.

Fang Hong didn't understand the connection, but he could guess that the so-called Underground Altar must be the place Tianlan saw in his dreams.

But none of this made sense—

Could it really be that he had been mistaken all along?

Yet, a voice inside Fang Hong told him he hadn't misunderstood anything, his reasoning was logical, and true history couldn't be so topsy-turvy.

So where was the problem exactly?

"Hes," Fang Hong snapped back to reality, asking urgently, "Why does Dragon's Golden Eyes want to destroy the Blade of Victory?"

Hes looked at him strangely.

"Because that sword is its nemesis, Mr. Ade."

Fang Hong's mouth fell open, thinking to himself that her reasoning was so sound he couldn't refute it. It seemed indeed that simple—within the scenario at Grey Oak Square, the Blade of Victory was the sword used to kill Nicopolis.

But as Miss Hilveld had said, a false victory is, after all, a false victory.

"If that's the case, what danger is Hudi in?" Fang Hong couldn't help but ask reflexively.

Hes closed her mouth.

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