Chapter 882: Final Push
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
With a way to get inside, the situation became clearer. Now, Hyde and Noraba were in a much better state of mind, but they were still extremely worried about their comrades. As they were experts of the Tyrants themselves and possibly because the Octopus people wanted to keep them alive longer to make examples out of them, the trauma on their Soul Seas wasn’t that serious. As for other aspects, they were now much better after being treated by Mu Zi and Napier. While Hyde and Noraba rested and recuperated from their injuries, w.a.n.g Zhong and Mu Zi went to explore the way in. Although they already had an idea, it had to be verified. Without them entering the fortress, it would be difficult for the Octopus people to spot them. Clearly, the Octopus people were now on high alert, and w.a.n.g Zhong could hear the faint screams of humans.
It seemed that they couldn’t delay the rescue operation any longer. Even if the base wanted to rescue them, they would probably be all dead by then.
Fortunately, the situation was similar to what w.a.n.g Zhong thought. After wearing the clown mask, w.a.n.g Zhong found the entrance to the sewer. This kind of infrastructure was very similar to that of a certain period in the old era of humans. The Octopus people were clearly good in water and could definitely enter the fortress through the sewers. Luckily, there were no strange monsters in the moat. They probably didn’t think that humans would find this place so soon.
Another three days pa.s.sed, and the four of them waited patiently till nightfall. It seemed like G.o.d was on their side as there wasn’t much moonlight on the day of their rescue operation. There were huge, dark clouds covering the skies, and it seemed that there would be a heavy rain. With that, Hyde and Noraba also felt a little more confident.
They left Napier to guard the cave and instructed him to retreat and report back at the base if they didn’t return to the cave within three days. Although Napier protested for a little while, he eventually had no choice but to accept this task of doing nothing. He only hoped that the four of them wouldn’t try to be hero fodder. If there were really powerful people inside, they should run immediately. Although rescuing the others was important, they had to think of the big picture.
Just as the four of them set off for the fortress, it began drizzling. The flying Griffins responsible for patrolling around the fortress went to take shelter from the rain. Obviously, even well-trained flying creatures didn’t like flying on rainy nights. With no patrol in the air, an extremely dark sky, and the heavy rain, they didn’t even need Mu Zi’s Life and Death aura to cover them. For the first location w.a.n.g Zhong had pointed out to them, the four of them quickly approached that part of the moat. They reached the middle area of the moat outside the south gate, and quietly dived into the water.
Originally, they thought that they would need quite some time to find it, but instead, the moment they went into the water, a large water channel came into view. It opened in the direction of the castle, and there was a huge, artificially drilled water hole. It seemed that they truly found the right place, and everyone was absolutely thrilled. Holding their breath, they entered the water hole. After swimming for about 20-30 meters from the entrance, they could feel that the terrain of the water cave gradually increased. Finally, when they emerged from the water, it seemed that they were in an underground cave.
This cave was like a big bucket which was five to six meters deep. The cave walls had seven or eight circular water channels, and there were sewage and various debris flowing down continuously from those water channels. There were also ladders on the left and right sides of the cave, which should be for those who were in charge of cleaning up the garbage. However, it seemed that this place had not been cleaned for quite some time, and there was a terrible stench permeating the area. There were all kinds of garbage piled into mountains around them, and they could see some dirty beasts with serrated teeth rus.h.i.+ng in and out of the rubbish heaps. This kind of scavenger was similar to the rats back on Earth. They were not aggressive and appeared to be extremely timid, so they were definitely not a danger to them. When they noticed these large ‘humans’ suddenly emerging from the water pool, they were all startled. They made a rattling sound and began panicking. After which, they dove into the rubbish heaps and disappeared.
Just as expected, the condition of sewers would be similar regardless of race or species. As long as a civilization needed to eat and drink, sewers were indispensable.
The ladders on both sides of the cave wall were connected with two mini platforms, which were closed off by a huge round iron door. That was the normal entrance and exit. Obviously, they couldn’t go there. w.a.n.g Zhong picked a round water channel facing the north and led everyone into it.
Due to the Octopus people’s slightly larger frame and height, the waterway was built to be relatively wide for them to enter to clean. Other than the foul odor, it was not difficult to walk through it. It was just that it was extremely long. After walking for dozens of meters, they could still see bifurcated forks, and sometimes, they could see things like holes or manhole covers above their head. Along the way, w.a.n.g Zhong had been calculating the distance they traveled, including the distance they swam from the moat, and the distance they walked in the water channel. As such, he could roughly tell where they were. It was estimated that he had reached the prison Hyde mentioned, and the four of them stopped. w.a.n.g Zhong and Mu Zi used their divine senses to explore the manhole cover above their heads and could feel that there were some Octopus people walking back and forth. w.a.n.g Zhong shook his head and proceeded to check out the other nearby exits. Finally, he found a loosely guarded one.
Hua hua hua…
The manhole cover on the ground was slightly lifted, and a small bald head peeked out. After that, he gestured an ‘OK’ sign downward.
Mu Zi opened the manhole cover completely, and the four of them jumped out together under the cover of Mu Zi’s Life and Death Aura. Close to their predictions, they had ended up in a secluded alley. Across the low walls of the house, they could see the fortress wall, which was about seven to eight hundred meters east from everyone, and there was a round tower on the side. It stood out among the low houses surrounding it. That was the prison tower which was still fresh in Hyde’s memory, and it was only about a kilometer away from their current position.
Both Hyde and Noraba were unable to suppress their excitement after the successful infiltration, and it could be seen on their faces. Although they had yet to fully recover from their physical injuries, they felt as though they had boundless energy. The rain got heavier and heavier, reducing their chances of getting discovered by the horned hounds. Now that they were in, everything would get easier. They put back the manhole cover in its original place and made a note of this location. With Mu Zi maintaining his Life and Death aura as a cover, they slowly advanced towards the prison.
The Mizobudapi did not seem to like nightlife very much. Most of the houses were already dark, and the people had obviously fallen asleep. Occasionally, some guards could be seen patrolling the streets, but they were not Octopus people. They had the bodies of humans, but they were bigger and taller. Their heads looked a little like the heads of angry bulls, and they had huge horns. On the base, they were called ‘taurens’.
The Mizobudapi World was not only made up of the Octopus people. They had a large variety of intelligent races. Their history was actually similar to that of human beings. Various races fought for hegemony within the entire world, and eventually, the Octopus people were victorious and gained leaders.h.i.+p over the others. The taurens were just one of the races. The Holy City Army had already seen them on the day of the landing battle. The Mizobudapi army was a coalition consisting of at least a dozen intelligent races.
Now that they were inside the fortress, it felt completely different from the outside, and they could clearly see a large number of guards stationed on the fortress walls. They also could see some peculiar weapons, with muzzles, which were probably similar to human runic cannons, but their strange shapes were not limited to the form of guns and cannons. Although they did not know the specific power and range of the weapons, it was no wonder that the other party had nothing to fear of humans. However, they probably didn’t expect humans to sneak in through the sewers.
w.a.n.g Zhong and the others didn’t have any more time to waste as rescuing everyone was the top priority. Some of the soldiers here appeared rather powerful, and there were a lot of them. Of course, the thing they feared the most was the Warlock Saint. They could only hope that the Warlock Saint was getting on in years and needed to sleep.
The heavy rain rendered the horned hounds’ noses useless. With Mu Zi’s Life and Death aura covering them and them staying on high alert, constantly observing their surroundings, they didn’t meet any danger along the way. The location of the prison was a little far, and they had to circle around several blocks. Before they could arrive at the prison, they saw something that made everyone dumbfounded.
It was an official notice pasted on the street wall, with a huge bunch of Mizobudapi text. Although everyone couldn’t understand the text, the painting below the text was recognizable. It was w.a.n.g Zhong!
The four of them, including w.a.n.g Zhong himself, couldn’t help but be stunned when they saw this painting. The painting was extremely vivid, and they could even see that slight arrogance w.a.n.g Zhong had. They didn’t need to understand the text. Obviously, it was not for them to sing praises of him. Based on w.a.n.g Zhong’s previous experience of killing a Sword Saint, it was very likely a wanted poster. Now that they were in a war, deaths and losses were a common sight. Why would they specially put up a wanted poster of w.a.n.g Zhong? Did they have that much hatred for him? Was it just because he killed that Sword Saint?
But actually, it didn’t make sense. w.a.n.g Zhong felt that this was beyond comprehension. Even if the Octopus people knew that the Sword Saint, Heinrich, was killed, how did they know that it was w.a.n.g Zhong who did it? Previously in the Black Boulder Energy Mine, none of the Octopus People managed to escape. Besides, even if the Octopus people knew that the culprit was w.a.n.g Zhong, where would they have gotten his portrait? Although the painter might be an expert, only one who knew w.a.n.g Zhong rather well would be able to draw such a vivid painting of him. However, except for the already dead Heinrich, no Mizobudapi had ever seen w.a.n.g Zhong before. This was truly…
This was really f*cking weird. Although w.a.n.g Zhong was not afraid of being famous, it was not a good thing to be so well-known among the enemies. However, this was obviously not the time to be thinking about this. Now, the circular tower had appeared in front of everyone. That was the entrance to the dungeon.
There were four tauren guards in the tower gate, but they were all yawning listlessly. One was even hugging his spear and drooling on it. He appeared to be fully immersing himself in a sweet dream…
It seemed that the tight defense on the outside made these internal-defense guards lower their guard and grow slack. They had to act fast. Mu Zi’s aura-concealing effect was very useful, and the taurens were easily deceived. Although their combat power was strong, their observational skills were very weak. They were also quite lazy and belonged to the ruled cla.s.s. The four of them approached slowly. As they went closer and closer to the gate, their hearts began to beat faster and faster. Their operation had gone too smoothly. Although there was no abnormality, the smoother their operation was, the more they worried about sudden changes.
COMMENT
A terrifying death aura began to quietly approach the four taurens. Mu Zi estimated their strength and was planning to kill them all at once. However, before he could do so, a sharp and shrill voice could be heard from beside him.
Screech!!
This sound was extremely ear-piercing, and its decibel was definitely louder than an alarm on Earth. The tranquility of the Shadow Moon Fortress seemed to have been broken in an instant, and the four taurens woke up immediately. At the same time, a dark claw could be seen trying to grab Mu Zi’s arm, and a pair of blood-red eyes could be seen staring at them.
The thing had red eyes, a shadow-like body, and could see through Mu Zi’s invisibility. A shadow ghost!
This was not the kind of ghost that humans always talked about. It was also an intelligent race in the Mizobudapi World. As a half-energy body, it could not only become invisible; it could also see through all invisibility effects or illusions of the same level. It was considered a minority race in the Mizobudapi World. Due to their special abilities, their entire race depended on the Octopus people for survival.
From the database back at the camp, they knew there was something called a ‘shadow ghost’ in the Mizobudapi World, but there weren’t any specific details or data about them. Obviously, this thing was rather rare in this world. It was just their luck to have met one.
This shadow ghost’s movements were extremely fast. Additionally, Mu Zi was caught off guard as he was preparing to kill the four tauren guards in one shot. As such, the shadow ghost actually managed to grab his wrist.
The red eyes on the shadow ghost’s face instantly became redder, as though it was excited. It fed on souls and energy and came from the world of darkness and death. It would never allow its target to escape; it had to suck this human baldy dry!
However, in the next second, the excitement in the shadow ghost’s eyes turned into fear. Not to mention absorbing the energy and soul of the other party, the moment its hand touched the other party’s wrist, it felt a chill down its spine, and it actually s.h.i.+vered. It was as though it had touched a tiger’s b.u.t.t, and it pulled back its hand in fear.
“Run!” The contact between the ghost and Mu Zi was only a second or two, but w.a.n.g Zhong had already made a prompt decision to fall back. Noraba and Hyde were obviously reluctant. They were already near the cell, and there were countless brothers waiting for them to rescue them, yet they were going to leave?
It was that split second of hesitation that gave the four tauren guards, who were awakened by the shock, a chance to strike. They appeared to be enraged and were shouting loudly. How could they not notice these stupid and weak humans, especially when they were so near themselves? This was definitely a disgrace for the great taurens!
Bull Demon Charge! They roared with their heads lowered, horns forward, and charged forward. Each step from their feet caused the ground to vibrate slightly. Their speed was incredibly fast as they were h.e.l.l-bent on killing these four weak intruders.
w.a.n.g Zhong and Mu Zi only had to dodge slightly, while Noraba and Hyde seemed to find it rather difficult to dodge. These taurens were too strong and too fast, especially when they were fueled by anger.
Rumble! Bang bang!
The four charging figures lost their targets, and they ended up charging into the walls of the residential house in front of them; half of the wall collapsed instantly. When they turned back, their enemies had long disappeared without a trace.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
A sharp alarm sounded within the fortress, and a large number of Griffin legions roared as they soared through the air. The streets were soon filled with all kinds of footsteps, and there were tauren guards lined up in formation.