How Was It Discovered

"Is Master really going to sneak into the royal city? That's a nest of skin-wearing monsters, you know." When Ye Chuan returned to Galen, Elara also learned about this matter.

Although she was confident in Ye Chuan's strength, she couldn't help but feel a little worried after learning that he was going to infiltrate the enemy's lair in the royal city.

"What's the big deal?" Ye Chuan said casually.

"When I come back this time, I'll help you get into the Imperial Academy. Consider it my final gift to you as your teacher."

"Then, it's a promise. Master, you can't go back on your word. You will definitely come back safely, right?"

"Relax, would I lie to you?" Ye Chuan smiled and rubbed Elara's head.

"Lord Xi Xi!" Hearing the voice, Ye Chuan turned his head and saw Princess Irena standing not far away. The moonlight was beautiful tonight, and the silver specks of light falling on Irena made it look as if she were draped in a silver veil.

"What's wrong?"

"You, you... I heard from Lord Kaiaolen about your plan to infiltrate the royal city. Please, you must be careful." Irena clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest.

"Okay."

"Once we take back the royal city, you'll become a good empress, right?" Ye Chuan suddenly said with a smile.

"Empress..." Irena didn't actually care much for power, but after reading the expectation in Ye Chuan's eyes, her tone suddenly became serious.

"Yes! I, I will do my best."

"That's good." Ye Chuan didn't say much else.

...

The night was as dark as ink. The royal city of the Hill Empire stood in the darkness like a dormant giant beast.

Ye Chuan stood at the top of the dense forest on the outskirts of the royal city. His gaze pierced through the night and landed on the faint blue shield enveloping the entire city—

That was the Shield of Hill city defense magic array.

The light shield glowed with a warm yet dense magical luster. Fine golden magic circuits flowed across its surface, intertwining like a spider's web. Every circuit flashed slowly, emitting a terrifying energy fluctuation. Even the air seemed slightly stagnant under the pressure of this magic.

Is this the magic array that even super magic cannons can't penetrate?

"But to protect the citizens of the royal city, direct bombardment isn't an option anyway," Ye Chuan pondered.

He raised his hand and lightly touched the void. A subtle resistance came from his fingertips; the energy field of the magic array was clearly palpable.

"It's more solid than I expected," Ye Chuan muttered to himself. He had only heard rough descriptions of the magic array's defense, but he hadn't expected to feel its sheer density just from its aura.

Since he didn't know the location of the core, forcing his way in would only alert the enemy. Teleportation was undoubtedly the safest choice.

Ye Chuan summoned his Chaos Avatar, directly returning to his old tricks.

A black shadow merged into Ye Chuan's body. At this moment, Ye Chuan was pitch-black, with only his snow-white teeth visible.

"Yo."

In the next second, Ye Chuan's figure instantly blended into the night.

He easily passed through the light shield of the magic array. The magic circuits briefly lit up on his body before quickly dimming—with his power of Chaos, he could bypass the magic array's early warning mechanism at the exact moment of teleportation.

It was as if he were entering an uninhabited land.

The moment he landed, Ye Chuan felt the eerie atmosphere within the royal city.

Unlike the silence of the Black Rock Territory, the quiet here carried a bone-piercing chill.

The doors and windows of the houses on both sides of the street were tightly shut, boarded up securely. Not a single trace of light seeped out. Only the suppressed sound of breathing occasionally coming from the cracks in the doors proved that terrified civilians were hiding inside.

Thud, thud, thud... Heavy footsteps echoed in the empty street as several guards wearing tattered royal armor slowly walked by.

Their skin showed an abnormal cyan-purple color. The skin was cracked in many places, revealing writhing dark purple tentacles underneath. Their eyes were cloudy and glowing with red light. They had clearly been eroded by parasites long ago, reduced to mindless monsters.

These parasitic guards held bloodstained spears in their hands. When passing by the houses, they would slap the doors with their rough palms, making dull thudding sounds. Every sound made the breathing inside the houses even more suppressed.

Ye Chuan hid in the shadows at the corner of the street, a thoughtful look on his face.

He could clearly feel the fear of the civilians inside the houses. Naturally, he wouldn't easily expose his presence, let alone harm the innocent.

"Since I can't wander around, I'll just go straight for the core."

Ye Chuan closed his eyes. His divine sense spread out instantly like an invisible net toward all parts of the royal city.

His divine sense deliberately avoided the residential areas, only sweeping over the streets, castles, military camps, and other places, brushing past the chaotic auras of countless parasites.

Finally, beneath the imperial palace at the very heart of the royal city, he captured an unusually dense and stable magic fluctuation—

That seemed to be the energy source of the magic array.

"If the magic array relies on the magic power of a mineral vein, it makes sense for the core to be underground."

The moment his divine sense locked onto the location, Ye Chuan teleported again.

With a flash of light and shadow before his eyes, he found himself outside a secret chamber beneath the imperial palace.

This was not a dark and damp dungeon, but a spacious magic chamber. Countless glowing magic crystals were embedded in the walls, illuminating the entire space.

In the center of the magic chamber was the core hub of the magic array.

The core was a giant dark purple magic crystal several meters in diameter. Its surface was wrapped in densely packed golden magic runes. Streams of dark golden magic power flowed between the runes, which was the pure magic extracted from the underground mineral vein.

Below the crystal was a massive circular array disk engraved with complex magic circuits. They echoed the runes on the crystal from afar, forming a complete energy circulation system.

And the experts guarding the core were far more numerous than Ye Chuan had anticipated.

Standing at the entrance of the secret chamber were two royal guard captains wearing black heavy armor. Their strength had reached the seventh tier, and they had not been parasitized. Their auras were steady, and their eyes were as sharp as eagles.

They held heavy swords infused with magical power in their hands, and their armor was engraved with defensive magic runes. They were clearly the elite of the elites.

Around the core, there were dozens of grand magi wearing mage robes. They formed a circle, their hands forming seals, and their mouths muttering incantations. They constantly maintained the stability of the core's energy while staying alert to any movements around them.

In addition, the walls of the secret chamber were covered in magic traps. Countless runes were hidden between the bricks and stones. Once triggered, they would instantly shoot out magic arrows, release confinement magic, or even trigger magical explosions.

"It seems this is indeed the magic core. Even though it's hidden deep underground, they've prepared quite a few troops."

Seeing two seventh-tier experts guarding the magic array here, Ye Chuan knew he hadn't found the wrong place.

"Who's there?!" Suddenly, a harsh shout made Ye Chuan freeze for a moment.

He looked outward and found that all the guards were looking in his direction.

Huh?

How was he discovered?

Ye Chuan simply walked out. "Interesting. You guys actually managed to spot me?"

Who would have thought that the moment Ye Chuan appeared, the two royal guard captains and the magi would be the ones taken aback.

"This... I was just bluffing casually, but someone actually sneaked in?"

Ye Chuan: "?"

The others: "?"

"Playing me? Then you can all die right here." Ye Chuan grinned.