Chapter 1413: Chapter 1248: Egg Mountain and Footprints
After starting to doubt Crow’s motives, Leon’s brows furrowed more and more tightly, and he immediately recalled those True Gods who came to offer their heads, and Fredrica who had not yet made an appearance.
He had always been cautious before, fearing that those True Gods ambushing him were just a ruse, and that Fredrica might suddenly appear to launch a sneak attack when he let down his guard. But since Leo had almost captured all those True Gods and she still hadn’t shown up, she was likely truly not at Ring Time Mountain.
So if she’s not at Ring Time Mountain and can’t personally oversee this ambush, then this ambush is certainly doomed to fail. Why would she still allocate so much of her resources to the gods for a guaranteed failure?
Excluding the possibility that she was giving him a favor, the scattered roots she "delivered" were mostly to constrain him, making it difficult for him to mobilize a large amount of resources to suppress the gods, and subsequently unable to quickly capture Crow, getting dragged down by Crow and [Disaster Avoidance].
And since she’s paid such a heavy price, tossing out a considerable quantity of resources and sacrificing so many True Gods as bait to hold him up, she must be after something more...
Not good! Reality!
Suddenly realizing Fredrica’s true intention, Leon’s expression tightened, and he hastily called out to Old Yellow Ox:
"Wait!"
"Moo?"
"Don’t chase after it for now, try and see if you can still leave Ring Time Mountain normally!"
Can one leave normally?
The request left Old Yellow Ox a bit bewildered, but he still followed the instructions and stopped, tentatively moving outward from Ring Time Mountain.
"Moo moo moo! (Something’s wrong! The time on Ring Time Mountain is off! Every time we climb higher, the time discrepancy grows.)"
Indeed, Crow’s task was to lead him up the mountain...
After briefly closing his eyes, Leon decisively asked:
"What’s the time discrepancy? If we leave right now, how much will it differ from normal time?"
"Moo... Moo? (Possibly... three months?)"
Three months... that wouldn’t be enough time for anything!
Despite all the precautions, he was still calculated against. Leon took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and then turned his gaze to Old Yellow Ox:
"I remember time on Ring Time Mountain has both fast and slow zones? If we find an area where time is still in the ’past,’ would leaving from there still be timely?"
"Moo... (It is possible...)
Old Yellow Ox hesitated for a moment, then seemed to understand something, speaking somewhat reluctantly:
"I just realized why your son insisted you bring me."
"Hmm?"
"Although different areas on Ring Time Mountain have different times, to leave the mountain’s zone, one must ’restore’ time first. Only escapees like me are exempt from this ’restoration,’ allowing you to return in time."
"Escapees?"
"Those who flee through different times... I’m actually not a cow from your world."
Under Leon’s surprised gaze, Old Yellow Ox spoke with a sigh:
"I was raised by Fu from another timeline. Events there were quite similar to here; the Hope lineage still hid in Old Soil’s depths, eventually found by the Four Pillar Gods, forcing Fu to gather the essence of roots... Ah! Ultimately, all were wiped out."
With a sigh, Old Yellow Ox added:
"The only difference between that side and this one is that after Fu was forced to gather the essence of roots, she seemed to foresee something and gave me a little bit of it before pushing me down Ring Time Mountain to escape.
Later, relying on that bit of essence, I climbed up from under Ring Time Mountain into your world, found the Hope lineage evading the Four Pillar Gods’ pursuit, and became the so-called Holy Bull of Hope. Initially, I hoped to help her somehow, to change the fate of your Hope people, but eventually..."
In the end, everyone still reached the original outcome, just that the ordinary Old Yellow Ox turned into the Holy Bull nailed in the mountainside of Ring Time Mountain? No wonder you seem to know something about everything, yet not too much of anything...
"Anyway, let’s continue upward."
Descending through the brass cloud layers, landing on the black mountain trail, Old Yellow Ox pawed at the mirror-like smooth black stones, then urged:
"The time anomaly zones we’re seeking are generally near the mountain top’s lighthouse, and I can’t continue carrying you, you’ll have to walk from here on... Hey, where are your eyes?"
"What?"
"Eyes, like these eyes!"
Shocked at Leonard’s lack of understanding, Old Yellow Ox’s stomach slowly expanded twice, then regurgitated a True God, mashed into a chick, and as the chick landed, the distant mountain top shrouded in numerous brass clouds instantly scanned with a thin and narrow "light."
Amidst the chick’s frantic cries, the light from the mountain top lighthouse faded into a glance-like invisible presence, and on the black mountain path under the chick’s feet, pitch-black eyes opened one by one, staring unwaveringly at it.
"?!!!"
"Once someone touches Ring Time Mountain, they are instantly spotted by the mountaintop lighthouse, found and continuously watched by the [Gaze], providing a mark for Fu, who is responsible for guarding Ring Time Mountain... just like that. "
Pointing his forehoof at the opportunist Crow in the distance, Old Yellow Ox examined Leon from head to toe, incredulously commenting:
"The [Gaze] from the lighthouse pierces through past and future, absolutely unavoidable unless you’re a transcendental individual or an escapee like me... could it be that you’re also not a native of this world? You’re an escapee who climbed up following me?"
"..."
Though I’m not that kind of escapee, strictly speaking, I might not be considered a person of this world either...
"Let’s go up."
Unsure how to explain his situation, Leon glanced at the Crow already vanished on the mountain path and spoke somewhat ambiguously:
"Not much difference, but the specific explanation is complicated... by the way, what is that over there?"
"Ah! That’s my egg!"
"?!!"
Glancing at the mountain body deep within the brass clouds, seeing two huge round mountains standing side by side, Old Yellow Ox couldn’t help but rejoice, eagerly dashed into the brass cloud, and bumped straight into it.
"You go up first, I’ll get my body back and join you!"
Alright...
Watching the egg mountains shrink rapidly as Old Yellow Ox rammed into them, enveloped by brass clouds, Leon’s mouth twitched slightly before quickly ascending the black mountain path.
However, strangely, the Crow responsible for "luring" him had left no trace since it vanished in the brass clouds, and Leon didn’t see it again when he reached the open mountaintop of Ring Time Mountain.
Did it flee?
With a brief furrow of his brows, Leon, who had no time to care about the Crow, was preparing to locate the time anomaly zone, waiting for Old Yellow Ox to catch up with his body, when he unexpectedly discovered a series of bizarre footsteps.
Those intermittent footsteps seemed to be carved like with knives and axes into the mountaintop, deeply etched into the incomparably solid black stones, extending toward Ring Time Mountain’s "crater."
Could Crow have jumped down instead of fleeing? Hold on! Amendo and Aries Director are down there too!
Recalling the former two trapped in the crater, Leon quickly turned, following the footprints toward the central crater, cautiously sticking his head out to check the situation below, but felt a slight warmth on his back, hearing a chilling laugh behind him.
"Go down!"
