Genius Noble With System
Chapter 267: Towards Emberheart City

Chapter 267: Towards Emberheart City

"Okay, then tell me more about the power distribution. Is there any gathering place or cities, and who are the strongest there, and what is their strength?" After calming down a bit, he asked more about the Black Flame Sovereign realm.

The fanatic, still visibly shaken from his earlier encounter with Apollo, hesitated for a moment before answering. His expression remained a mix of defiance and fear.

"The Black Flame Sovereign Realm is vast, spanning countless regions. Most of them are inhospitable to anyone not good with fire laws, but there are strongholds, gathering places where those who revere the Sovereign gather."

Apollo crossed his arms, his piercing gaze fixed on the fanatic. "Start talking specifics. I need names, locations, and power levels. No vague nonsense."

The fanatic reluctantly nodded. "The primary gathering place is the City of Emberheart, located at the heart of this realm. It’s a massive, thriving city built around the Eternal Flame Pillar, said to be a fragment of the Sovereign’s power. All major factions converge there. It is the safest place for anyone seeking refuge, as the Sovereign’s aura protects it."

His eyes narrowed. "And the strongest individuals there? Their strengths?"

The fanatic grimaced. "In Emberheart, power is divided among the three great Flame Lords, each ruling a sector of the city. Together, they maintain order and defend the city from external threats."

"As for strength, I didn’t know, and we have a different power system from you humans. It depends on the number of flames."

"Everybody here is born with a natal flame, and its quality represents the potential and number of flames they can merge and have in their entire lives."

"The three great Flame Lords are ancient beings and are said to be the first children of the Black Flame Sovereign; their strength isn’t something I can know."

He stopped as he saw Apollo processing his words, and then after a second, he asked, "What is your strength? How many flames have you mastered or merged?"

"Ah, I was born with a high-grade natal flame and can have nine flames in a lifetime. But currently, I have only mastered seven flames. If I have mastered two more flames, how else can I lose to you, puny human?

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the information. "Seven flames, huh?"

He gave the fanatic a pointed look, smirking. "Every loser has some sort of excuse for their loss; isn’t the truth that you just suck?"

"No, maybe it should be the opposite; you just haven’t sucked enough of your sovereign’s d*ck. But then again, he is a natural flame, so did he even have a d*ck?"

The fanatic’s face turned red with a mix of rage and embarrassment. His flames flared uncontrollably around him, flickering wildly like a storm barely contained. "You dare to insult the Great Black Flame Sovereign with such blasphemy?! Human, I’ll burn you until not even your ashes remain!"

Apollo chuckled darkly, his smirk widening. "Oh, I dare, alright. Your precious Sovereign hasn’t exactly been doing a stellar job if his so-called devotee children are getting their asses handed to a ’puny human,’ has he?"

The fanatic roared in fury, summoning all his remaining strength to ignite a blazing inferno around him. "Enough! I’ll show you the might of my Flames! I’ll burn you to a crisp for your fucking insolence!"

Apollo’s grin faded, replaced by an icy, calculating gaze. "Go ahead and try. But let me warn you, I’m not in the mood for mercy this time."

Before the fanatic could charge, Apollo’s aura surged, a chilling mix of killing aura and frost crackling in the air. The lunar ice age effect expanded further, turning the fiery pit into a frozen wasteland. Apollo raised his hand, a swirl of elemental energy gathering in his palm.

"You’ve already lost, and deep down, you know it. Keep fighting, and I’ll make you so fucked up that you will beg me to kill you. Tell me more about you. Where are you from? Otherwise, I have no reason to leave you alive."

As he said, the chill of lunar law covered the fanatic and even started to freeze him cold. Flames within him started to quiver, and he felt the danger of death that he didn’t feel before.

The fanatic’s body trembled as the icy grip of Apollo’s Lunar Law seeped deeper into his being. The fierce burning flames within him flickered erratically, their brilliance dimmed under the oppressive chill.

"I-I’ll talk! Stop this damn frost!" He stammered, his voice cracking under the weight of his fear. The once-proud arrogance was now replaced with panic.

"Good," Apollo said, his voice a chilling whisper that cut through the tension like a blade. "Start talking, and you might walk away from this with your flames still intact."

The fanatic gulped, his pride shattered under the weight of Apollo’s overwhelming power. "I... I am from the Molten Dunes Clan, one of the loyal tribes sworn to protect the Black Flame Sovereign’s realm."

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "Molten Dunes Clan? What’s your role in this grand hierarchy?"

The fanatic hesitated, and a flicker of frost crept closer to his core, prompting him to speak faster. "We... we are one of the border tribes! Our duty is to monitor the fringes of the realm, to guard against intruders from Abyss."

His gaze sharpened at the mention of the Abyss. "Intruders from the Abyss?" His voice echoed with curiosity and suspicion. From what he remembers and hears from Serena, the Abyss is indeed dangerous, but it didn’t form after ancient battles. And why he never heard Abyss launch a war against worlds before.

Didn’t the creature for abyss rarely go out, which is why they were extremely rare? If they had attacked worlds in large numbers, he should have heard before.

The fanatic continued even though Apollo seemed lost in thoughts, "The Abyss... it’s not like any ordinary threat. Those who come from there are monsters, creatures of chaos and destruction. They have no regard for life, and no purpose other than to consume and corrupt. Our clans exist to ensure they never breach the inner section of the realm."

"Okay, stop a second; let me think of something." He let the fanatic stop for a moment and started to think, seeming to understand what the system meant by being annihilated from space-time.

"I should be in a different timeline; maybe it is the Infernal Destruction realm before it transforms into the forbidden realm." As he remembered Black Lotus flames, fragments seem to have created Infernal Lords in the Infernal realm of the abyss, which many have met before to leave the information to the outside world.

Perhaps he had been transported back to a time when the Black Flame Sovereign was still alive and well—when this place had not yet been destroyed, swallowed by the abyss, or transformed into the forbidden realm he now knew.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt this should be the truth. He before might have felt it was too much of a coincidence, but it was clear he was standing in the same dimension before the system transported him here; it just the time had changed, and who knows how many eons of the past he is in.

But he also knew this meant he was cooked. He had no idea what thing from the Abyss or what group from the Abyss would destroy this place, but it was certainly beyond anything a half-god like him could handle. Even if he found himself on the battlefield of such a clash, he would likely die as nothing more than collateral damage. And how, then, could he possibly help the Black Lotus Flame?

Apollo felt his future was too dark and sighed and then looked back at the fanatic.

"How far is Emberheart City from here, and how do I reach it?" He asked.

"Emberheart lies at the centre of the world, far from here, and the only way to reach it is through a Transfer Portal," he answered quickly. But in his mind, he laughed. ’You humans, always rushing toward your own deaths. As if a puny creature like you could set foot in any city without being killed.’

"You seem to be having some dangerous thoughts." Apollo smiled evilly and took out a mysterious rune. He activated it, and instantly it seemed to turn into light and entered the fanatic’s mind.

It roared in pain as he felt his soul torn into millions of shreds. He wailed and rolled on the ground with pain; it was unbearable. He felt dying was a better option at the moment.

"No, stop it. Stop this pain ..."

"Remember, from now on you are going to follow my every command. Don’t think of running away or having other thoughts; otherwise, this will be your end."

After that, he finally deactivated the rune, and the pain it felt stopped, but his eyes showed despair and fear because of the indescribable pain he felt just now.

"Come on, now lead the way to the nearest city where I can find a Transfer Portal to Emberheart City," he commanded in a cold, calm voice.