Chapter 17 Mavuika, You're Fired
On the first day that Rios became a god, Mavuika had major objections to the policies he issued.
However, in the battle against Rios, she lost miserably, without even a shred of strength left to resist.
In such a situation, if she wanted to make Rios change his mind through force,
She could only use words to communicate with Rios, understand the other party's thoughts, and then seize upon exploitable points to persuade him.
Fortunately, Mavuika was the type who was eloquent. Even after losing the battle against Rios, she frequently went to the Sacred Flame Colosseum, wanting to communicate with Rios.
Unfortunately, Rios rarely gave Mavuika opportunities to communicate.
Whenever Mavuika saw Rios, she would be assigned by him to places where Abyssal monsters appeared, to battle the Abyssal monsters, resulting in Mavuika having no time to exchange ideas with Rios.
Now that the two of them happened to both have time, Mavuika could finally have a friendly communication with Rios.
"I don't want to answer any more questions regarding the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame."
"But as for your plan, I can say a few words about it."
Rios crossed his arms, slightly raising his head, his gaze directed toward the red-haired woman in front of him.
His age was about the same as Mualani's, and his height was similar too, so when facing the adult female form of Mavuika, he could only reach up to her chest level and had to lift his eyes to see hers.
"From your tone, it seems like you're not too satisfied with my plan?" Mavuika placed one hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow.
"There is no such thing as a flawless plan in the world, and your plan is no exception, Pyro Archon from five hundred years ago."
Rios said: "Selecting inheritors of the ancient names through the Wayob, then waiting for these inheritors to gain recognition, thereby awakening the power of the Shade of death to combat the Abyss—
As for you yourself, you traveled from five hundred years in the past to the present, joining the people of now to protect Natlan together, and finally sacrificing your own life because of using the power of the Shade of death."
"To be honest, when I learned of this plan, I was indeed quite surprised."
"When you play chess, do you think dozens of steps ahead of others?"
Rios joked at the end.
"..."
Mavuika said nothing, waiting for the young man's follow-up.
"Your determination is moving, but the risks in your plan are simply too great."
"As the Pyro Archon, I cannot place my hopes on those six inheritors of the ancient names being able to awaken before the Abyss launches a major invasion."
It wasn't that Rios wanted to argue for the sake of it.
In the original story, Natlan only awakened all its heroes right up to the very last moment.
And the last hero to awaken was Chasca.
She completed her awakening upon seeing her sister Chuychu die in battle against Abyssal monsters.
That awakening was far too contingent.
If Chuychu hadn't died, or if Chuychu died but Chasca wasn't nearby, or if Chasca died before Chuychu...
Any number of possibilities could lead to Chasca's awakening failing.
"I can understand your concerns." Mavuika said, "But this is already the best method I could think of."
"After gathering the six heroes, we can use the power of the Shade of death, at which point all the people of Natlan can utilize the power of the Ode of Resurrection to revive—
Even if the Abyss launches a large-scale invasion, we can still preserve most of our people."
Placing hope in the six heroes awakening in time was certainly risky, but the power of the Shade of death was indeed far too reliable.
After using the power of the Shade of death, the people of Natlan would essentially be able to revive infinitely, fighting all the way until the Abyss's invasion ended.
This was also why the successive Pyro Archons all supported Mavuika's approach.
"Rios, I know you're protecting Natlan in your own way."
"Giving Visions of God to ordinary people, and requesting Xilonen to forge new-style weapons—these are all proof of your protection of Natlan."
"But I still hope, or rather, I earnestly request, that you continue to hold the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame and the Night Warden Wars."
Mavuika's expression was solemn: "Although I don't know what method you're using to maintain the Sacred Flame's burning, it should require expending a massive amount of energy."
"If that's the case, why not hold the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame, letting the people of Natlan produce Flames of Contention through struggle, so that the Sacred Flame can continue to burn?"
"This way, you can also save that portion of energy."
Hearing Mavuika's words, Rios smiled helplessly in his heart.
His emotion values were all spent, so what was the point in saying these things?
Seeing that Rios remained unmoved, Mavuika continued: "The Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame and the Night Warden Wars have been passed down in Natlan for a long time, becoming a pillar for the people of Natlan, bearing history and memory."
"If they are terminated just like this without any explanation, I fear the people of Natlan will suffer a heavy blow, and when facing the Abyss, they might not even be able to perform at their normal level."
Mavuika placed great importance on memory and inheritance. Even knowing that Rios could maintain the Sacred Flame in his own way, she still hoped that Natlan's traditions would not be broken.
"Mavuika, I've said it already: I don't want to discuss the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame anymore."
Rios's attitude was firm: "You've been the one talking earlier; now it's my turn to speak."
Being rebuffed with such a forceful attitude by the other party, Mavuika fell silent for a moment, but still said: "Please go ahead."
"From today onward, you no longer need to battle Abyssal monsters."
"What?"
Mavuika's eyes widened.
[Emotion value from Mavuika +100]
"Not only you, but the other people of Natlan don't need to battle Abyssal monsters either." Rios continued.
"Rios, what do you mean by this?" Mavuika furrowed her brows. "If we don't fight the Abyssal monsters invading Natlan, then who will protect this land?"
"Me."
Rios said: "I will personally take action to eliminate these monsters from the Abyss."
"No!"
Mavuika responded almost instantly: "The Pyro Archon must remain at all times in a place where they can contact the people of Natlan."
"If you leave the Sacred Flame Colosseum to subjugate Abyssal monsters, the Abyss might take advantage of the Pyro Archon's absence to launch a large-scale invasion of Natlan."
"Rios, you've participated in several Night Warden Wars, so you should know that the Abyss is not foolish; on the contrary, it will use all sorts of tactics."
"If you leave our sight, Abyssal monsters could exploit the weakness."
Mavuika said.
"Who told you that I have to go in front of the Abyssal monsters to eliminate them?"
Rios spread his hands, and a bow and arrow composed of blazing fire appeared in his grasp.
"As long as Abyssal monsters appear in Natlan, my arrows will pierce their bodies!"
Hearing this, Mavuika was momentarily stunned, her pupils contracting slightly.
She could sense the absolute confidence in the young man's words.
There was no doubt that Rios truly believed he could accomplish this.
"Mavuika, I'm just informing you—you can protest as much as you want, but it won't make a difference."
After speaking, Rios prepared to leave.
But before leaving, he remembered something else and paused in his steps.
"One more thing." Rios turned his head toward the red-haired woman and said, "From now on, you should address me as Pyro Archon, my lord."