In such an extreme environment, it didn't take long for Aiden's shield points to drop by over a million—equivalent to 100 million marks. He kept moving forward, and the shield points continued to bleed away. … After roughly ten minutes, having paid an enormous price of three million shield points, Aiden finally spotted it amid the sea of crimson—a beast egg radiating a golden halo. "Found it!" Aiden surged forward. Ahead lay an altar suspended above the magma. Its entire surface was pitch-black, covered in dense lines of white script. At that moment, the script glimmered faintly, while several golden threads extended from the egg, streams of light flowing steadily into the altar. The altar seemed to be siphoning life force from the Undying Phoenix's egg. But Aiden had neither the time nor the interest to investigate further. He reached out and scooped the egg straight into his hands.The white script on the altar instantly dimmed. "Who is it?!" Almost simultaneously, Hephaestus' furious roar thundered through the cavern. Compared to before, the old divine was now far closer to the Temple of Hephaestus, and the oppressive bellow was even louder. '-200,000' '-200,000' In an instant, another four million shield points vanished. "That old b*stard—don't let me catch you later," Aiden muttered, a cold glint flashing through his eyes as he firmly etched Hephaestus into memory. It's not even your egg—why are you losing your mind over it? The kid's mom is right outside and hasn't said a word about it. Cursing aside, Aiden didn't slow down in the slightest as he made his retreat. … Another three minutes passed.Splash! Aiden smoothly found the edge of the lava and burst out of it in one clean motion. He checked his shield points. Over seven million were gone, along with 700 million marks. Yet as he looked at the gleaming golden beast egg resting quietly in his inventory, he didn't feel the slightest bit of regret. Seven hundred million for a divine beast egg—if word of that deal ever got out, countless nobles and elites would be trampling over each other to get in line. Forget about 700 million—there would be powerful factions willing to scrape together seven billion, 70 billion even. But anyone who sold an egg of this level would have to be an idiot. Aiden was certainly not that brain-dead. Besides, whether others could even make use of it was another question entirely. A divine class wasn't something everyone possessed. "I found it." Aiden quickly returned to the Undying Phoenix and took out the golden egg. Since it was its mother, the least he could do was let the two meet."You actually did it?" The Undying Phoenix's pupils shone not only with maternal warmth but also with deep astonishment, seeing its offspring before it. To be honest, although it had given him the information, it had held no real hope. How could a mere level-40 human possibly traverse that terrifying sea of magma, let alone venture deep into it? Yet this human had done exactly that. … "Thank you." At that moment, even the proud Undying Phoenix set aside its arrogance and offered Aiden a sincere thanks. It meant that its child would no longer be sacrificed by those revolting pseudogods. Aiden grinned. "Don't mention—" Before he could finish, Hephaestus' furious roar rang out once more. "You will die, human! I don't know how you did it, but you didn't just destroy the statue—you reached for the egg too! You have committed an unforgivable sin! You have no idea what you're doing—you are hastening the world's destruction! You are a criminal! A criminal! I will personally tear you apart! You wretched human, prepare to face the wrath of a god!" '-500,000' That single roar stripped away another 500 thousand shield points. The Undying Phoenix let out a sigh. "Human, leave now. Hephaestus is almost here. Once he arrives, you won't be able to escape. Take my child and go as far as you can. When he grows strong enough, have him tear those sc*m apart. It's just a pity that I won't be able to witness that day." "I understand." Aiden drew a deep breath. He knew full well that a roar delivered from who knew how far away could already inflict such terrifying damage. Once Hephaestus truly descended, the destruction would be on an entirely different level—far beyond anything an ordinary divine NPC could compare to. At that moment, Aiden was actually grateful that he had come alone. If Merrick had followed him, he would have been dead for sure. NPCs weren't like players—they didn't get second chances. Aiden could simply deactivate Rich Man's Defense and die to return. Merrick couldn't. If he died, that was it. "Still… is there really no way I can help you?" Aiden asked one last time before deactivating his shield points.