Chapter 76 Infiltrating the Palace: Who Has the Eternal Codex?
Meredith stood at the entrance to Skark's cave and called out Skark's name.
It's strange, why would his mother come looking for him on her own initiative?
Skalk came out, puzzled. "Mother, is something the matter?"
Meredith: "A sentry reports that the Griffin Guard is rapidly breaking camp and appears to be making an emergency evacuation."
Skalk breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought we'd have to fight to drive them away. It's good that they've voluntarily withdrawn."
Ancia frowned upon hearing the news. "Something's not right. Verion only agreed to station a garrison for investigation yesterday, just to buy time. He wouldn't withdraw so suddenly. There's only one person in the entire empire who can influence his decisions: Lionheart made Verion go back. But didn't he want the orcish relic? Why did he suddenly change his plans?"
Skalk realized, "Could it be that they're trying to lower our guard first, then take the opportunity to attack the snow mountain?"
Ancia made a quick decision: "You all stay on the snow mountain and be on guard. I'm going back to the Eternal City. There we have more intelligence to analyze Lionheart's intentions. If his target is still the orcs, I will send you a message."
She calmly made the arrangements. Skalk looked at Ancia's composed face, his tail swishing rapidly behind him, and his tone became ethereal as he sweetly said, "Okay, whatever you say."
Ancia raised her hand, but before she could even stand on tiptoe, Skark lowered his head, making it easy for her to touch his head. She ruffled his short, deep red hair and gently scratched his fluffy wolf ears, which twitched like butterfly wings in her palm.
Skalk: "Itchy."
Ancia laughed, pinched his chin, and kissed his cheek. "Is it itchy now?"
Skalk stared at her intently with his amber eyes, not even daring to blink. "I'm itching to get closer to you now."
Ancia pressed her hand against his heart, feeling the rapid heartbeat beneath her ear, and said, "I'm leaving."
The teleportation crystal activated, and the next second, Ancia disappeared from Skalk's embrace, leaving Skalk's once full arms suddenly empty.
He stared blankly at the ground, his ears and tail drooping listlessly. Even after only a second apart, he began to miss Ancia.
*
Inside the mage tower, as soon as Ancia appeared, Abby flew up from the shelf.
Abby: "Little master, welcome home. The master is not in the mage tower."
Ancia: "Okay, thank you, Abby."
Cheryl isn't in the Mage Tower; she should be in Gracia. Ancia hasn't been to Gracia for several weeks. She only has two courses left: In-Depth Magic Theory and Practical Training. The final grade for In-Depth Magic Theory is based solely on class star rating, while the grade for Practical Training is linked to combat performance. Neither course has attendance requirements, giving her more time to handle story quests.
As Ancia left the mage tower, the white doves of the Holy See took flight and disappeared into the horizon from the top of the tower. She ignored them and headed to the Dark Night Guild's business outpost.
The nameless tavern has reopened. The bartender was wiping glasses behind the bar when he saw Ancia push open the door and enter. He lowered his head slightly, then silently put down the rag and went into the wine cellar.
Ancia followed her in, and the curtain was drawn, shutting out the noise from the tavern.
The bartender operated the mechanism, opening a secret passage. "Boss, we've opened a tunnel connecting the new base to the old hall. Franka has stored all the data in the basement of the new base. The original hall is still used to receive clients. You can meet Franka by following the original route to the hall."
Ancia nodded and entered the repaired secret passage. The oil lamps on the wall burned steadily, stretching her shadow long and short.
There were more people in the reception hall than usual. As soon as Ancia entered, she saw Franka at the front desk talking to a familiar figure from behind. The noblewoman was dressed as inconspicuously as possible, but Ancia recognized her at a glance—it was Eve.
Ancia raised an eyebrow slightly. What is Eve doing at the Dark Night Guild?
Franka stood up and bowed respectfully, "President."
Eve turned around in confusion, and after seeing who Franka was bowing to, she stared in shock, her elegant demeanor completely gone. "You...you? How did you become the guild master of the Dark Night Guild?"
Ancia deliberately mimicked her tone, "I...I? I only recently took over the guild. But what are you doing at the base today? Is there something the royal family can't do and you need the Dark Night Guild to step in?"
Eve clenched her hands, which were folded in front of her, and panic appeared in her gray eyes. Her lips moved, but she said nothing.
Ancia sighed. "Franka, arrange a reception room for us. It's not convenient to talk here."
Franka: "Yes, President, please follow me."
There were several secluded rooms on the side of the reception hall. Franka opened the door, but was stopped by Ancia as she was leaving.
Ancia: "You stay too, and record Eve's request. Eve, can you speak now?"
In the confined space, Ancia's presence seemed to give her courage. Eve gritted her teeth and said, "I want to make another request. Please ask your guild members to rescue my brother from the palace."
Ancia frowned imperceptibly. "Putting aside the fact that the palace is heavily guarded, what danger could Verion, as the crown prince, possibly face inside the palace?"
Eve's face grew paler. "Today is my birthday. According to his usual routine, no matter how busy he is, even if he's not in the Eternal City, he'll always use telepathy to chat with me for a few minutes and ask what my wishes are. This is one of the few times we communicate throughout the year, and he's never broken his promise. But I've waited all day, and he hasn't shown up. I have a bad feeling..."
In this world, magicians have a keen intuition about their immediate family members. If an immediate family member is in danger, bloodline magic will issue a warning. Eve's worries are not unfounded.
Ancia looked up at Franka, who immediately replied, "His Highness the Crown Prince entered the detached palace this morning and has not yet come out."
Eve: "Brother is in the separate palace? Isn't that where Grandfather lives?"
Lionheart King… Ancia’s heart sank. She could use the teleportation crystal to return to the mage tower, so the royal family’s magical artifacts would only be more abundant. It was also reasonable for Verion to be teleported directly back to the Eternal City from the North. But why did Lionheart King suddenly recall Verion? The orcs’ sacred artifacts hadn’t even been obtained yet, and the Griffin Guard was withdrawing from the snow mountain just like that. It was also very unusual.
Wait... a sacred relic! There's another sacred relic within the Eternal City!
Ancia looked at Eve, "Who has the Eternal Codex?"
Eve was startled by her reaction, “...in grandfather’s hands.”
Ancia suddenly stood up. "Your brother is indeed in danger. If I'm not mistaken, your grandfather is plotting to transfer his soul to his body. Franka, I need to infiltrate the villa now and make preparations."
Eve's teacup fell to the ground and shattered. Her face darkened, and she almost cried out, "What soul transfer? Grandfather and brother?"
Ancia's sharp gaze pierced through her illusions. "King Lionheart made a deal with the demons in exchange for a ritual that could transfer souls. I'll only ask you one question: Is King Lionheart about to die?"
Eve's lips trembled as she nodded slightly. She knew that her grandfather's health had been poor since last year.
Ancia turned away from Eve, who was deeply distressed, and asked Franka, "How is the defense at the other palace?"
Franka: "It's also very secure, but we have an old secret passage that leads from the old sewers in the west of the city to a dry well in the western garden of the detached palace. The entrance is hidden and has not been used for many years, so the internal condition is currently unknown."
“I know the patrol shift change times…” a trembling voice rang out. Eve’s head was lowered, and her expression was not visible. Only her soft and confused words could be heard, “and the unorthodox passwords.”
She slowly raised her head, accepting the reality amidst the pain of fratricide, and resolutely said, "I'll draw the patrol route for you, please... bring my brother back."
Franka placed the map of the detached palace on the table. Eve's hand, which was holding the pen, was trembling. She gripped her right hand tightly with her other hand, forcing herself to calm down, and began to draw on the map.
Ancia took the map, her finger pressing on the watermark in the corner. "This is enough. I'll set off now. Eve, I'll bring Verion back."
She hadn't even started working on Verion's happy ending yet; he couldn't die in the other palace! Who knew if Verion would still be considered Verion if the Lionheart successfully transferred his soul?
Ancia quietly arrived at the west side of the city, and after Franka gestured that no one was around, she decisively slipped inside.
The old sewers were abandoned, damp and filthy, with shallow puddles of sewage appearing underfoot from time to time. Ancia walked slowly, a faint light emanating from her fingertips. The pipes were covered in cobwebs, and in some places they were so narrow that she could only pass sideways. Before she had even gone halfway, her priest's robes were already filthy, and her face had several streaks of dust that she didn't know where she had gotten them from.
As she approached the detached palace, Ancia's faint magical light dissipated. She cautiously raised her staff, relying solely on the glowing light from the gem within it. She opened the system map, where the area around the detached palace was shrouded in mist. Fortunately, she could still see the yellow dots representing patrol teams. Several patrol teams were crossing over each other, covering almost the entire garden, leaving only short gaps for her to move around.
Using her grappling hook, Ancia laboriously climbed out of the dry well. There was no one else in the garden. She glanced at the map of the detached palace and cautiously headed towards the garden exit.
The garden was too big. The system map was always on. She had just dodged one group of guards when another string of yellow dots appeared on the path ahead.
Ancia held her breath, hid behind the flower bushes, and pressed her body low to the ground. She took out the Shadow Embrace, and the dagger swallowed the surrounding light. The patrolling guards walked over and subconsciously ignored the flower bushes. After checking that nothing was wrong, they returned to their patrol route.
After they left, Ancia was covered in a cold sweat. She stood up quietly and continued walking outside.
The path outside the garden leads directly to the palace complex, where the patrols are even more dense. The system map is never turned off. Ancia uses the shadows of the pillars and empty rooms to avoid the patrolling guards. In the middle of the night, she finally approaches the center of the palace complex.
Where is Vilien?
Ancia searched everywhere, almost fully exploring the entire palace map, but still couldn't find Verion. Her heart sank deeper and deeper. Only a small, remote palace remained shrouded in mist on the map, which was her last hope.
As the last patch of fog dissipated, a faint green dot appeared on the system map, shrouded in a scarlet shadow and flickering weakly.
A kind old man's voice came from behind the palace gates, sounding eerily out of place in the darkness: "Oh? A young guest has arrived..."
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