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Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The apocalyptic toxins saturating Zald's body were completely eradicated. Not only had his health fully recovered, but the miraculous power of the Spring of Life had also washed away decades of hidden combat trauma, violently supercharging his base vitality. The Zeus and Hera Familias were fully ard and assembled. The grand expedition was ready to begin.
Lucian arrived at the Zeus Familia staging ground and seamlessly integrated himself directly into the heavily guarded center of the massive formation.
"Do your best, Mr. Lucian!" teria cheered enthusiastically, waving vigorously from the frontlines and imdiately drawing a significant amount of attention.
"I will," Lucian smiled softly, offering a polite nod.
"Tch," Alfia clicked her tongue, her expression darkening with obvious displeasure at her sister's blatant favoritism.
Over the past three days, Lucian had communicated extensively with the Captains of the Zeus and Hera Familias, alongside their core executives. He had thoroughly demonstrated his spatial inventory, instantaneous teleportation, and the tactical superiority of sharing his omniscient mini-map via the [Party Function]. However, to prevent a worst-case scenario where Lucian was sohow incapacitated and the entire army starved to death, the Familias didn't entrust the entirety of their logistics to Lucian.
But when it ca to monster drops, the strategy had completely evolved. They no longer had to agonize over which high-value materials to abandon due to weight limits. Every single Magic Stone and rare drop could be salvaged and hoarded. And if they sohow ran out of space, Lucian could simply teleport back to the surface, dump the cargo, and return in an instant. Ard with this unprecedented logistical freedom, the confidence radiating from the Zeus and Hera Familias was absolute.
The joint deploynt of the two strongest factions in the world naturally commanded the attention of the entire globe. The atmosphere in Orario was absolutely electric, resembling a massive, city-wide festival. Even though the public didn't fully grasp why the Familias were launching a deep-dive expedition when they were supposedly preparing to subjugate the Leviathan, the masses roared with fervent expectation anyway.
This was the undisputed era of Zeus and Hera. With a thousand years of accumulated glory, they were universally revered as the ultimate Saviors of the World.
"Move out!" Empress roared from atop an elevated platform, concluding her fierce, blood-pumping rally speech. "My children, may your martial fortunes be prosperous!!"
"""YEAH!!!""" The combined forces of the two massive Familias erupted into a deafening, sky-shaking roar.
Marching in perfect unison, the massive army paraded down the main thoroughfare, quickly arriving at the towering gates of Babel. The central plaza was gargantuan, capable of comfortably holding tens of thousands of adventurers. This specific expeditionary force consisted of nearly three hundred elites, seamlessly integrating frontline vanguards, high-tier supporters, dedicated healers, and a devastating Mage Squad.
Alfia served as the supre commander of the Mage Squad, responsible for unleashing apocalyptic artillery bombardnts whenever the vanguard encountered overwhelming swarms. To even qualify as a supporter for an expedition breaching the Deep Levels, an adventurer had to be an absolute minimum of Level 4.
In the original lore, Zald famously mocked Bell's father for following Zeus to peep on the Hera Familia baths, and for being a coward who abandoned his allies and ran away during combat. While 'abandoning allies' sounded like a disgusting betrayal, context mattered. Bell's father was a supporter. When a massive monster requiring a Level 7 Vanguard to kill suddenly broke through the lines, what exactly was a Level 4 supporter supposed to do? Stand there and get violently squashed? Running away was literally the only logical survival tactic.
As a side note, at the start of the canon Danmachi tiline, the Loki and Freya Familias were strictly considered the strongest in Orario. The Zeus and Hera Familias, at their peak, were unconditionally recognized as the strongest in the world.
"What an incredible spectacle," Riveria Ljos Alf murmured softly, her eyes sweeping over the awe-inspiring formation from the edge of the plaza.
Despite the plaza's massive capacity, it was currently packed shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of screaming spectators, leaving only a narrow, heavily guarded corridor for the expeditionary force to enter the Dungeon.
"That is exactly what we are aiming for," Finn Deimne, the golden-haired Pallum, stated firmly, his eyes burning with quiet ambition. "We have a very long way to go, but I firmly believe that one day, we will stand on that exact sa stage."
"Gahahaha! That's the spirit, lad! Aim for the absolute top!" Gareth Landrock bood with a hearty, earth-shaking laugh.
"Ah, to be young and full of fire," an older, battle-scarred adventurer nearby chuckled wistfully.
Eight and a half years from now, the catastrophic tragedy known as the Seven Days of Darkness would effectively wipe out the vast majority of Orario's veteran adventurers—most of whom willingly marched to their deaths to protect the city. But right now, Orario still boasted a massive population of hardened, elderly veterans.
For high-tier adventurers, aging worked differently. A First-Tier adventurer in their forties or fifties was still in their absolute physical pri. The higher the Level, the stronger the life force, drastically slowing the aging process. Many of these 'elderly' veterans were pushing sixty but looked like they were barely in their mid-thirties.
"Here they co," a ripple of excitent surged through the crowd as the vanguard of the joint army finally stepped into the plaza.
They marched with an overwhelming, suffocating aura of supremacy, the absolute pinnacle of human strength on full display. Leading the charge was the Empress, an Amazon and the singular Level 9 adventurer in existence. Marching at her side was the Champion, an unstoppable Level 8 juggernaut. Directly behind them, the formation flawlessly split into two columns—one male, one female—comprised entirely of elite executives.
Zald and Alfia walked together in this vanguard tier. Holding identical ranks within their respective Familias, the Vanguard and the Artillery Mage possessed a heavily refined, unspoken combat synergy born from years of fighting side-by-side. This parade formation was rely a ceremonial display. Once they crossed the threshold into the Dungeon, they would instantly shatter into specialized, highly fluid tactical squads.
But what completely shattered the crowd's expectations was the solitary figure walking perfectly protected in the absolute dead center of the legendary executives.
It was Lucian.
While he possessed an ethereal, striking elegance, anyone with even an ounce of combat experience could instantly sense his glaring lack of physical strength.
"Wait... is that him?" Riveria gasped, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief.
"An acquaintance of yours?" Finn asked, imdiately locking onto the anomaly. His sharp tactical mind went into overdrive.
What kind of godly forging talent could possibly be so vital that the two strongest Familias in the world would drag him into the abyss? For a glaringly obvious Level 1 to be granted the safest, most fiercely protected position amidst a sea of Level 7 executives during a world-class expedition... it ant that despite his overwhelming physical weakness, the boy possessed a strategic value that eclipsed even the vanguards.
"We only t briefly," Riveria explained, her brow furrowing. "That boy belongs to the Hephaestus Familia. I saw him a few days ago at the Witch's House. At the ti, he was on a date with Goddess Hephaestus."
"A blacksmith..." Finn muttered, his mind rapidly cycling through terrifying possibilities.
But without concrete intelligence, speculating was a waste of ti. The Loki Familia had spent a considerable amount of ti adventuring outside Orario's walls. While they hadn't entirely missed their optimal growth window, they were still only Level 4s—respectable, but entirely insignificant in the current era of gods. However, beneath the surface, every single one of them possessed the Vessel of a Hero. They were raw diamonds, the undeniable successors waiting in the wings to inherit the next era.
"Riveria," Lucian spotted the High Elf in the crowd and offered a polite, shallow nod.
Caught slightly off guard, Riveria quickly mirrored the gesture. Scanning the sea of faces, Lucian also spotted Shakti and little Adi, offering them a warm wave. He had to admit, standing at the absolute center of the world's attention was an incredibly intoxicating feeling.
Even though he was technically borrowing the legendary prestige of Zeus and Hera, he knew that once he finally matured into his own unfathomable power, he wouldn't need to borrow anything from anyone. When that day ca, his mindset would be absolute, and thousands of screaming fans wouldn't cause a single ripple in his heart.
Right now, he was simply enjoying a fleeting preview of the summit. This was the one and only ti he would get to experience it from the perspective of an underdog. In that subtle psychological aspect, Lucian's mindset was fundantally alien compared to the native inhabitants of the Danmachi world. To him, the dizzying allure of worldly glory, legendary fa, and absolute power... unless he actively chose to reach out and grasp them, they all felt like distant illusions, as untouchable as a flower in the mirror or the moon's reflection in the water.
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