Yukinari returned very late. He looked very excited. This was presumably because Koichi, who had suppressed him for many years, had finally fallen from power. One of the biggest worries in his heart had disappeared. He could even personally make a show of his strength by having people investigate Koichi’s residence. His many years of frustration had been vented off. He was so proud of himself that even Rody and the other two could not see the former Yukinari in this man.
Rody did not let on that he was injured. However, Nedis was unhappy at Yukinari feeling proud. She could not help but sneer, "Young master, do you think you can feel proud now? Did you think you have already obtained your succession rights? Do you think you are a Shogun now?"
Yukinari was stunned and replied, "Even if I am not right now, I am already almost one. Right?" He moved his eyes and said, "You all said that my brother is colluding with the people from the Roland Continent but now my brother has fallen from power. Wouldn’t the people from the Roland Continent retreat?"
Nedis coldly said, "What are you getting excited for? Do you think you can sleep without worry now?"
She saw that Yukinari was at a loss and sighed. "Have you not thought about why your brother did such a stupid thing today?"
"…" Yukinari finally calmed down and thought about it. He then asked, "Isn’t it for the right of succession?" He then shook his head. "That can’t be right. If it was for that, he would just need to wait for a few years. In his eyes, I am not something to worry about."
Nedis snorted at him and coldly said, "There is more. Have you not understood after you saw what happened earlier? Do you think your brother would dare to do this on his own? Besides that, why did the Shogun give you the responsibility of investigating this instead of n.o.bunaga?"
"Are you saying that the Thousand Rider General…" Yukinari’s expression changed as he exclaimed.
Nedis saw his expression change and patted Yukinari’s shoulder. She warmly said, "Well, you just need to obediently listen to me. I promise that you will become Shogun!"
After sending off the fidgety Yukinari, Nedis also told him not to reveal his suspicion to n.o.bunaga.
Rody, who had a gloomy expression, said, "You still want to help this person gain his position?"
Nedis shrugged and gave a cunning smile, "Of course! He promised to give me the managerial authority for ironwood! If he doesn’t become Shogun, who am I going to ask for payment?"
Rody sighed and ignored Nedis’ nonsense. He closed his eyes and carefully checked his body.
The attack used by that guy from the Temple had a strange energy. Rody could feel the strange energy in his body. Besides that, this energy seemed to be incompatible with his own. It was fine if Rody just lay down. However, if he tried to use his fighting energy, he could feel the strange energy stirring together like boiling water. It felt like a violent energy was going to burst out of his body.
"Strange." Rody sighed. However, he was pressed for time. Rody then said, "Get ready. Tonight, we will go and look at the forbidden area of the palace."
"What? We are going now?" Nedis disapproved as she looked at Rody with doubt. She frowned and said, "But right now, you…"
"Hmph. I won’t die!" Rody proudly replied. His face then showed a frustrated expression as he said, "That guy from the Temple is also looking for that thing. We have to act early if we do not want to return empty-handed."
Nedis suddenly laughed. "You are exaggerating again. I am not going to follow you. Obediently stay here for the night. When you recover tomorrow, you can go wherever you want."
Rody replied with a wry smile. "It is your choice if you do not want to go. However, I will go." He got off the couch and stretched his body. He then walked in large strides to depart.
Nedis stopped him by leaning in front of the door and softly said, "Stop!"
She lifted her head and looked at Rody with concern. She gritted her teeth and said, "You are really a crazy person. You got yourself seriously injured today. If it was anyone else, they would save their strength and find their opponent’s weakness. They would then go and find a way to take revenge. However, you keep hurrying onward. Are you trying to court death?"
Rody pushed her away and lightly said, "It is not necessarily courting death. There may not be anybody in this world who can kill me."
As Rody walked out, Nedis bitterly stomped her feet and followed.
Rody then went to Sith who was lying down. Although he did not like to be used by Sith to obtain that thing, his strength was compromised. On the other hand, his opponent was a person with strong domain powers. Having a Master following him would be more rea.s.suring.
Sith heard about going into the forbidden area of the Royal Palace and obviously did not decline. He had already prepared a lot of things for this. He took out two blue gems like a magic trick and gave it to Rody and Nedis. He then whispered, "Take this. During a crucial moment, you can hide yourselves using this."
Nedis looked at the sorcerer with disdain. Without a word, she returned the gem to Sith and walked towards the mountain.
Although the three of them had never been to the palace, it was easy to find the palace in the Hakone Kingdom. They simply needed to go towards the mountain.
The three of them were very skilled. Although Nedis was the weakest, she had the vampire’s Blood Escape and was the most skilled in hiding. They easily sneaked into the palace. The palace was not too big. Perhaps this was because the Hakone Kingdom’s Royal Family did not have too much power and influence. It was just a small building with a simple yet elegant feeling. Around it was pavilion-like structures that Rody had never seen or heard of before.
There were a few attendants carrying silk lanterns. They were all solemn and dressed in black clothing. They walked cautiously as if they were afraid of trampling over ants.
Rody held the old sorcerer’s stealth gem in his hand and they progressed until they arrived at the lake of the palace.
Looking up at the snow on the mountain they could feel the cold in their faces despite standing at the foot of the mountain.
"The cave Yukinari spoke of should be right ahead. We just need to cross this lake…"
Nedis sighed as she looked at the lake that was a dozen meters in radius. She could not help but laugh bitterly and say, "This Yukinari is really a strange person. I listened about his rendezvous with the princess and thought that the forbidden area was in their palace’s backyard. I did not expect it to be so far away."
There were a few boats on the lake that were small and exquisite. The ends of the boats curved up like a crescent moon on the surface of the water.
Rody pointed to the boats and whispered, "Looks like we can only row ourselves across."
Nedis raised her eyebrow and said, "Why do you need a boat? Can’t you…"
Rody stared at Nedis, stopping her from speaking and lightly said, "Look around carefully. We may have the stealth spell. However, when people see an empty boat moving at night, they would be frightened to death."
Nedis obediently untied the ropes to a boat with Rody. The three of them then jumped onto a boat and left the sh.o.r.e. However, the clever woman had different thoughts
"Looks like he does not want others to know he could walk underwater. This is something I can exploit. Since I know this secret, he must give me something for keeping it secret."
It was late at night when an empty boat could be seen on the lake. The sky had no moon that night and only had dim stars. The cold wind from the distant mountain made Nedis s.h.i.+ver.
The quiet surroundings made people uneasy. It was reasonable to say that small creatures would come out at that location during that time. However, when Nedis listened carefully, she could not hear any movement. Even the cries of the birds at night were missing. They could only hear the sound of rowing.
Rody also felt that something was not right but at the same time, he felt that it was alright.
Suddenly, he remembered that the lake at the Tulip Family’s hunting grounds and the lake monster there. At that time, there was also n.o.body there besides Darke, Diane, and himself.
The atmosphere here was similar to that day.
Rody became vigilant as he remembered that night.
When the boat reached the middle, they heard a splas.h.i.+ng sound. A few black figures appeared from the water on both sides of the boat. The figures came out without warning. Their bodies flew about four meters into the sky and they waved their arms. Rody heard the whistling sound of the wind and responded quickly. He raised the oar in his hand and waved it around like a whirlwind. There were many clas.h.i.+ng sounds as countless metal objects struck the oar.
The figures retreated after their attacks failed.
Before the three of them could speak, they heard an ear-piercing sound. Nedis exclaimed and jumped up as she hugged Rody’s neck. A sharp blade emerged from the bottom of the boat. The blade was fiercely thrust through the bottom of the boat. After that, several more blades struck as well.
Rody grunted and loudly shouted, "Continue with the plan. Do not stop!" He then gently bent his body over and lightly touched the surface of the water. He lightly said, "Break!"
Large waves appeared at the water and the people in the water were revealed.
Rody used his domain powers to control the water and made it fluctuate rapidly. Although the water looked calm on the surface, he had created several whirlpools underneath. The attackers hidden in the water were immediately sucked in.
By the time Rody’s boat had moved some distance, several still figures could be seen floating on the water. They had all died.
Rody’s expression remained unchanged. He was aware that with his power, the formation of such a whirlpool would create a strong pressure that could even deform steel. It was not something a mortal body could endure.
There were another two splashes as two more figures jumped out of the water. However, these guys were different from the black figures earlier. These two wore white clothing. They somersaulted and landed firmly on the boat.
Rody looked at the appearance of the attackers.
The attackers wore white clothes that looked similar to a warrior’s clothes. However, they wrapped the clothes around their body without exposing any skin. They even wore leather gloves. They wrapped a white scarf tightly around their head to cover their face. Only their eyes were exposed.
Both of them took out their long and thin katanas at the same time. Without making a single sound, both of them attacked Rody at the same time.
What made Rody surprised was that these two were extremely quick. Their movements seemed inhuman and quick like cats.
At that moment, Rody’s chest was still boiling and he did not dare to use fighting energy. Instead, he skillfully caught his opponent’s sword. His movements were faster than his opponents.
Like lightning, he seized one of their swords and twisted to take the sword. Taking advantage of that moment, he kicked behind him without even looking.
The person attacking from behind could not dodge and was kicked in the chest. There was a cracking sound, signifying that the attacker’s bones were broken. The attacker"s body flew away and into the water.
Rody did not let go of the blade he caught. He held the bladed end of the katana and then hit the head of the other attacker.
The attackers had never seen a person fight like that before. They cried out in alarm and retreated. After that, they disappeared into a ma.s.s of white smoke.
Rody could not help but comment, "Strange warriors!"
Nedis gritted her teeth and said, "These people are ninjas! They are a group of mysterious soldiers that protect the Royal Family."
Sith was sweating. Sorcerers were not known for their physical strength. Sith had been rowing the boat for a while and was now already tired. He then said, "Alright, come and row the boat. I will deal with them!"
Rody and Nedis took the oars in their hands. He then saw the sorcerer raising up his hands and chanting silently.
The moment Sith chanted the first part of the spell, Rody gave a surprised cry. Evidently, Rody could understand what kind of spell Sith was about to use.
"Do you know what he is doing?" Nedis asked.
"Yes," Rody replied. "It is a summoning spell."
Sith condensed two black b.a.l.l.s into his hands. The two black b.a.l.l.s squirmed in his hands. It suddenly transformed into a black liquid and flowed into the lake on both sides of the boat.
The waves started to surge. There were two sharp roars as two large pythons appeared.
The large bodies of the pythons on both sides of the lake caused the waves to surge back and forth. Many hidden ninjas surfaced and swam away. A few unlucky ones were bitten and swung a few times before flung away.
The two pythons were like pathbreakers. One stayed at the right and one stayed at the left of the boat, escorting it.
Sith stood at the bow of the boat with his hands raised as he mumbled something to control the pythons.
Suddenly, the python on the left violently tossed about. Its large action caused a huge wave that almost overturned Rody’s boat. After that, a rainbow-like blade flashed. There was a slash and a dark burst of blood splashed out. The python’s head was cut off. The rest of its body weakly twisted a bit and finally sank to the bottom of the lake.
A dazzling ninja in golden skintight clothes sprang out from the water. He slowly floated down like a feather and pointed his katana at Rody. "Stop immediately!"
Rody coldly grunted and swung the oar. The oar struck the man but Rody felt as though he did not hit anything.
It is just an image! Rody immediately thought to himself.
Sure enough, Rody immediately felt a cold chill as his clothes were cut.
The Hakone Kingdom’s ninjas were strange. They were not powerful but they were very skillful at sneak attacks. Rody was also unable to see through his earlier deception. Of course, Rody was also preserving his strength and did not expand his domain.
Rody felt strange but the golden ninja felt even more strange.
The ninja had slashed his opponent but the blade only cut the clothes. It could not cut the person at all.
"Is that person’s body invulnerable?"
The golden ninja was already a master ninja. However, he had never met an opponent whose body could directly endure his attack.
Rody recovered and grabbed the ninja’s neck as he coldly said, "You want to kill me? Then I will kill you!"
Pressing hard with his hands, he stopped the ninja"s breathing.
Rody looked into the man’s eyes but he did not see a single trace of fear. The person’s eyes looked dead and gloomy.
"Let me ask you. Is the forbidden area in front?"
The golden ninja remained silent. He did not even look at Rody. His hands continued to struggle. Rody loosened his grip and then asked again.
The ninja suddenly bit down hard. He then tilted his head and stopped breathing.
Rody froze for a moment as he saw blood flowed out from the mouth and ears of the ninja. He frowned and then threw the ninja"s body into the lake.
The journey after that became quiet. n.o.body jumped out of the lake to attack anymore. Sith also retrieved and put away his python. He then slowly sat down to meditate and restore his magic power.
When the boat docked, Rody pulled Nedis and jumped off. Sith then took out a boundary talisman into his hand and said, "There is something strange here. Do not stray too far from me."
"What?" Rody and Nedis asked.
Sith gave an extremely solemn expression and said, "I know I cannot be compared to you in strength. However, I am definitely more sensitive to sorcery to you."
Sith took out a chain and tied it around his neck. There was a small silver cross under it and in the middle of the cross was a strange gem. The gem was very strange. Its light kept fluctuating, emitting a colorful l.u.s.ter.
"This is my Sorcery Appraisal gem," Sith said. "This is something I have carefully made. It is able to detect the fluctuation of magic." He then spoke slowly and said, "If it is bluish, it would mean the fluctuation of magic is weak. If it is yellow, the fluctuation is slightly stronger. If it is red, the fluctuation is strong…"
Rody looked at the gem in Sith’s hands. It glowed in a variety of colors. Rody then asked, "That…It has become like that. What does it mean?"
Sith showed an uneasy expression but smiled, "I don’t know. This is the first time I have seen this strange reaction."