Aleph patted Ivar on the back, who glanced at him in dissatisfaction.
"Has Prince Aziz's team arrived?" Aleph looked around the huge field in front of him. "Why can't I see him?"
The base of the Tower of Babel was surrounded by a huge magma lake. The hot magma was constantly boiling, supplied by the heat source generated by the energy generated when the Tower of Babel was charged. In the center of the magma lake, the gate of the Tower of Babel was silently open.
"Maybe the guy died in the forest, killed by other teams."
Aleph muttered, stabbed the double-headed gun in his hand into the ground, and crossed his arms across his chest.
"The Wilkins were never warriors...a bunch of pussies..."
"Hey, don't let your guard down," Ivar glanced at Aleph who had thrown his weapon aside, and he raised his sniper rifle and loaded it.
"What do you care about me?" Aleph muttered nonchalantly.
"Alas...stubborn old thing..." Ivar sighed, and then he turned to Edward who had been silent. "Edward? What are you going to do now?"
The two turned their attention to Edward, only to find that Edward was still writing in the diary in his hand.
"Hey, could you please not keep this diary wherever you go..." Aleph complained.
"Wait a minute," Edward muttered softly, writing quickly in his diary, "One minute..."
"This guy has been avoiding other teams all the way, and he didn't take the initiative to look for the prince's team. I don't know what he is thinking..." Aleph looked at Edward who was concentrating on his work and kept complaining, "I am almost bored to death..."
"You'll have plenty of fights soon," Edward answered absently. "Just be patient."
Soon, Edward finished the work at hand. He closed the diary and looked at the two people:
"Check your dog tags. Have they turned red?"
After hearing this, Aleph and Ivar pulled out their dog tags from their collars. Sure enough, the tags with their names engraved on them had turned blood red.
"This thing has quite a lot of tricks. Those old guys in the Academy really have too much free time." Ivar complained as he looked at the blood-red dog tag in his hand.
"To get to the Tower of Babel, you need to sacrifice two red dog tags in the lava lake, one for you and one for someone else."
Edward said as he pulled up his dog tag, the metal object with Edward von Valantia engraved on it had turned red.
"After the sacrifice, a road will rise from the magma. The victor will have the final battle on the top of the tower. The winner will join the [Blade of Babel]."
The magma was surging and sparks were flying. In this hellish Shura field, Aleph finally realized:
"Oh!! No wonder you didn't take the initiative to look for that damn warrior!" Aleph knocked his head and said loudly, "If his goal is to climb the Tower of Babel, then naturally..."
"Naturally he will come looking for us, there is no need for us to look for them." Ivar finished what Aleph said.
"Hey... brat, can you please stop interrupting me all the time!" Aleph complained angrily.
Ivar ignored Aleph and turned to Edward:
"So what now? Stand here and wait for them?"
"No, don't wait for them."
Edward said coldly, took out a butterfly knife from his waist, swung it twice, unfolded the blade that was flashing red, and then pointed the blade forward.
"They're already here."
Aleph and Ivar stopped arguing and looked in the direction where Edward's blade was pointing: two figures in exotic armor were standing next to the lava lake where Edward was pointing, quietly waiting for them.
"The sniper is hiding, but he doesn't seem to be planning to attack yet." Ivar muttered and pointed the sniper rifle upwards.
"The Wilkins like to talk a lot of nonsense before a fight," Edward said helplessly. "I don't know if it's their custom or what."
"Okay, I'll go find a sniper spot too. Good luck to you guys."
After saying that, Ivar left without stopping to look for a sniper position.
Edward and Aleph looked at each other and said:
"For the last time?"
"For the last time, put an end to your career as a federal lackey."
Aleph suddenly became serious, which made Edward laugh.
"Okay, you idiot. Little White Flower is still waiting for me at home. Just finish the work."
Edward patted Aleph on the shoulder, and the latter smiled back at him.
"Come on, let's give our Wilkin friend a shout."
Ali shouted, pulled out his double-headed gun from the ground, turned it around twice skillfully, and the two of them walked towards Aziz's warriors.
......
One day before the Tower of Babel competition
Wilkin
"Little White Flower, is it the same as usual?"
At the door of the mansion, Edward was squatting, slowly stroking the top of Pearls' head with one hand, and handing the silver butterfly knife to Pearls with the other hand.
"You have to come to me every time, Edward is so weird..."
Pearlis took the butterfly knife from Edward's hand, stared at the silver blade engraved with patterns, and then began to use it skillfully.
As the butterfly knife kept spinning at Perlis' fingertips, red factors emerged from the air and gathered on the blade. Perlis played with the butterfly knife in her hand with ease, and the blade was like a dancing butterfly, gracefully and lightly flying freely in the red light spots, as if this silver creation was made for her.
After doing all this, Pearlis threw the butterfly knife into the air, caught it easily, merged it, and returned it to Edward.
"Why do you always ask me to perform? Can't Edward play by himself?"
"It's better to play without the little white flower, hahahaha..."
Edward smiled and put the butterfly knife back into his waist, then hugged Pearlis in his arms and stroked her head.
"After we come back this time, Dad will never leave again. I will take Little White Flower to the flower fields to see the flowers every day, so that you don't always like to bring flowers home."
"Umm...really?"
Pearlis whispered in Edward's arms, with a hint of disbelief in her delicate voice.
"After coming back this time, Edward won't have to deal with the weird beard grandpa anymore?"
"Well, no need. You don't have to deal with the weird bearded grandfather anymore. I promise." Edward let go of Pearlis and put his hands on her small shoulders. "After this time, Dad will never leave again."
"But you...were always late before..."
Pearlis looked at Edward, a trace of worry showing on her young face.
"You can't be late this time, okay?"
Edward stared at Pearlis, his silver-white eyes meeting his blood-red eyes. For some reason, a tear suddenly flowed from the silver-white eyes.
Tears? Why...
Edward was a little dazed as he felt the drops of water flowing down the corners of his eyes. When was the last time he shed tears?
"Eh? Edward...why are you crying?" Pearlis tilted her head and asked in confusion.
"Hahaha...it's okay." Edward wiped away his tears and forced a smile. "I won't be late this time, baby. I definitely won't be late this time."
When Perlis heard what Edward said, she suddenly raised her hands on her hips in anger:
"Humph! I don't believe it. Edward must be crying because he knows he's lying to me, so he feels guilty!"
"Hahaha... No... Little White Flower, believe me..."
"I don't believe it! You lie to me every time. You are a liar! I don't believe what liars say!"
"Pfft...if that happens, Dad will be really sad and cry~"
Edward acted as if he was very aggrieved and pretended to wipe away his tears.
"Humph! Cry! You liar deserves to cry until you die!"
Perlis turned her face away, puffing her cheeks and not looking at Edward. But within a few seconds, she turned her head, jumped into Edward's arms, and hugged him tightly.
"Don't lie to me this time!!"
In Edward's arms, Pearlis raised her head with tears in the corners of her eyes.
"what..."
Looking at Perlis in his arms, Edward felt mixed emotions. He was afraid to leave this home, afraid that he would never see his daughter again after going to the Tower of Babel competition. But in front of him was everything he had fought for, how could he back down at this time?
Didn't he want to stay here and protect his daughter from the storms of the world?
In silence, Edward hugged Perlis tightly, kissed her forehead, and said gently:
"Well, I won't be late this time."
......
Lord of Ashes (Interlude)
Babel Tower Competition - Tower Base
"How are you, [Red Ghost]?"
Beside the hot lava river, Edward and Aleph faced off against Prince Aziz's warriors, and the three of them confronted each other.
"Any last words, kid?"
Edward said coldly, the strong factor energy was attached to the butterfly knife in his hand.
The warrior standing in the middle made a "tsk tsk" sound and took two steps forward. The golden armor on his body reflected the light of the lava lake.
"We haven't even introduced our names yet, are you in such a hurry to start fighting?"
"If you have any last words, say them now, don't waste time"
Edward's voice was filled with impatience, which seemed to irritate the attendants beside the warrior.
"Have some respect, this is..."
Before the attendant could finish his words, the warrior in golden armor reached out and interrupted him. An elegant smile appeared on his handsome face, and a proud golden light was contained in his red-gold eyes:
"I am the [Red Gold Dragon] Akkaya Aziz, the eldest son of Avada Aziz, the first heir to the Golden Throne, the chief warrior of the Wilkin Guard, and a believer of the Lord of Embers..."
"Is this your last words? How rude," Edward replied impatiently, pointing the butterfly knife in his hand at Prince Akkaya, "Are you ready?"
"It seems that the legendary [Red Ghost] is not easy to get along with..."
Prince Akkaya stretched out his hand, and the servant threw him a gold-rimmed energy spear. He turned it skillfully in his hand and then pointed the tip of the spear at Edward.
"Tell me, what did Laplace pay for his loyal dog to do his job this time?"
"It's none of your business." Edward took a stance, his eyes focused on the tip of Prince Akkaya's gun.
"It's just a polite greeting. I already knew it..."
Prince Akkaya smiled and said calmly:
"In order to prevent that Haf'ergaard from being sacrificed, right?"
Before Prince Akkaya finished speaking, Edward swung a knife in the air, but not towards Prince Akkaya, but towards his side:
"clang--"
A bullet flying in the air was hit by Edward's extremely fast knife and bounced on the ground, splashing a cloud of gravel and dust.
"I know the sniper's location. Give me five minutes, Aleph, hold him back." Edward still stared coldly at Prince Akkaya, his silver-white eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Oh? You don't need me to go? I thought you wanted to deal with this Prince Jin yourself." Aleph teased.
"Don't be silly, you're not fast enough."
"Okay, okay, don't worry, this little sissy is mine..."
Aleph rotated the double-headed gun in his hand, and the tip of the gun made a "buzzing" sound in the air.
"Well, my Lord, are you ready for your pretty face to have a nice bath in the lava river?"
"Go find their sniper, quick!"
Prince Akkaya ordered his attendants in a stern voice, his voice no longer calm. He did not look at Aleph, but stared at Edward. Akkaya did not expect that the sniper he thought he had set up was actually sensed in advance by Edward, and he was very exaggerated to deflect it with the knife in his hand.
Of course he could have dodged it, deflected it with his knife probably just to humiliate himself.
In order to demonstrate the overwhelming power of [Red Shadow].
"See you at the top of the tower, [Red Shadow]." Prince Akkaya gave an evil smile, and his previous elegant look was gone.
