Vol 3. Chapter 41: Secretly Causing Trouble
The sudden appearance of the spirit beast left every Royal Knight utterly dumbfounded. For a moment, none of them could understand why such a tiny, seemingly harmless little creature had managed to pass through the outer barrier and reach the armory.
And besides...
Why was there a snow wolf inside the royal palace?
Was it someone's contracted beast?
That was the conclusion everyone instinctively reached.
Even the squad captain, Helluo, couldn't help glancing back at his subordinates before asking curiously,
"Does this little fellow belong to any of you?"
After all, it wasn't unusual for a contracted beast to come looking for its master.
However, every Royal Knight shook their head.
"No."
That only left Helluo even more confused.
Even so, none of them immediately attacked the little white wolf or even showed much hostility toward her.
She simply looked far too adorable.
Too fluffy.
Too innocent.
Her aura wasn't powerful in the slightest, and with her tongue hanging out, she looked completely harmless.
So...
What now?
Should they chase her away?
But...
Wouldn't that be a little cruel?
Maybe they should feed her something first?
Looking at the adorably clumsy little white wolf, Helluo's thoughts raced.
Normally, as the guardian of the armory, he would immediately arrest or drive away any unregistered intruder.
Unfortunately...
He had an incurable weakness for fluffy creatures.
Faced with this soft, furry little wolf, he simply couldn't bring himself to attack.
'What should I do...'
Just as Helluo was completely focused on the snow wolf—
"Chirp~"
A bird's cry suddenly rang beside his ear.
?!
"W-What?!"
Helluo's pupils shrank.
He instantly spun around, powerful battle aura exploding around the sword in his hand.
But the moment he saw the source of the sound...
He froze again.
"A... Hui Spirit Bird?"
Perched on his left shoulder was a tiny gray-white bird.
Its emerald-green eyes blinked innocently as it stared back at him.
His mind filled entirely with question marks.
'Another spirit beast?'
Unfortunately...
He wasn't given time to think.
The next instant—
Under Helluo's shocked, horrified gaze, the little gray bird suddenly leaped into the air.
With a cry uncannily resembling Bruce Lee's trademark shout...
It swung its tiny wings—
And smacked Helluo directly across the head.
Crack~
With a crisp sound, the battle aura surrounding Helluo instantly collapsed.
After wobbling unsteadily for a brief moment...
His eyes rolled back.
Foam spilled from his mouth.
And the Royal Knight collapsed unconscious on the spot.
...
A few dozen seconds later—
After the strongest member, Captain Helluo, had been inexplicably knocked out, the remaining Royal Knights all received the little gray bird's "loving care" one after another.
Soon every last one of them was sprawled unconscious across the floor.
For the moment...
The armory had lost all of its protectors.
Looking at the glittering golden knights lying all over the ground...
The little gray bird happily chirped.
"Chirp chirp~"
Then—
As emerald-green Shadow of Silence Power gently rippled outward...
The little bird transformed into an exquisitely adorable gray-haired little girl.
After tearing the cloak off one of the Royal Knights, little Liyu hurriedly wrapped herself in it.
'Emmm... I really need Xiao to make me a set of memory-fiber clothes like Mother's...'
Every time she transformed back into human form, ending up completely naked felt incredibly awkward...
Forget it.
Business first.
Thinking that, Liyu slowly turned around and called,
"Big Sister, let's go. You... you... what are you doing now...?"
However—
The moment she turned around, the smile on her face immediately vanished.
Black lines practically appeared around her.
She looked completely speechless.
As expected...
Limo had relapsed into one of her old habits.
The little wolf had instinctively wandered over beside Helluo and opened her adorable...
...enormous bloodstained maw.
As Limo's younger sister, Liyu didn't even need to think.
Her sister was hungry again.
'Sigh...'
Letting out a helpless sigh, Liyu instantly transformed into a streak of emerald light and appeared beside Helluo.
Without another word, she grabbed the little wolf by the tail, pulled her away, and scooped her into her arms.
"Big Sister, you can't eat him."
"Meowu! Meowu!!"
As the delicious food grew farther and farther away from her mouth, Limo protested loudly in her own language.
Her crimson eyes were filled with grievances directed at her younger sister.
Seeing that resentful expression, Liyu could only sigh again.
"Honestly, Big Sister. If these knights die, their Soul Orbs will shatter, and everyone will immediately notice something happened here. Then how are we supposed to sneak in? When it comes to infiltration, we can't copy Nightingale and the others, barging in and brute-forcing everything."
"Meowu..."
Hearing her sister's explanation and feeling Liyu continuously stroking her fur...
Limo's ears drooped.
She still looked rather unhappy.
But at least she stopped insisting on eating anyone.
Seeing her usually troublesome sister being so obedient for once, Liyu smiled sweetly and rubbed her chin against the little white wolf's head.
"Hehe, Big Sister is such a good girl~"
"Meowu~"
"Alright, alright. Time to get to work."
After finally calming down her silly older sister, Liyu walked to the massive doors of the armory and pushed them open.
The doors were ten meters wide and ten meters tall, forged entirely from heavy iron.
Opening something like that should have been nearly impossible.
Yet with nothing more than a casual push...
The tiny girl effortlessly swung them open.
Her small arms concealed terrifying strength.
As the doors opened—
An overwhelming collection of weapons and countless pieces of equipment immediately came into view.
Liyu raised an eyebrow slightly.
'Looks like the Child of Destiny really has gathered quite a collection.'
Well...
None of that's my target anyway.
If I remember correctly...
Xue Tianao's weapon should be stored in Warehouse B3.
Recalling the documents she had previously seen in Fengling's possession, Liyu hugged the goofy little white wolf and leisurely walked deeper inside.
As she strolled forward, she thoughtfully glanced back over her shoulder.
Emmm...
If I remember correctly, they check in every fifteen minutes.
If no report comes in after fifteen minutes, the alarm automatically goes off.
So...
I've got fifteen minutes.
Better hurry.
Thinking that...
Liyu hugged the little silly wolf and scampered barefoot deeper into the armory.
Half an hour later—
Beneath the rear section of the royal palace, deep underground, where the imperial prison was located...
One of Xue Tianao's trusted confidants, Gafei, leaned wearily against his chair after completing yet another series of experiments.
Ever since receiving His Majesty Xue Tianao's orders, he had devoted himself entirely to repeated research, desperately searching for a way to kill Flame Prison.
Unfortunately...
Flame Prison's body seemed to be composed entirely of living fire.
It was fundamentally different from any form of life they understood.
Even after completing his forty-ninth experiment...
He had learned absolutely nothing.
The lack of progress left Gafei increasingly frustrated and anxious.
To repay Xue Tianao for recognizing his talent, he had to produce achievements worthy of his lord's approval.
More importantly...
If he couldn't uncover Flame Prison's secret soon...
He would disappoint Xue Tianao.
'I cannot disappoint His Majesty!'
Gafei repeated to himself.
'Looks like it's time for another experiment. This time I'll try combining elemental magic and see whether that produces any effect.'
Staring at the enormous blazing fireball inside the prison cell, Gafei took a deep breath and steeled himself once again.
Then—
The fireball suddenly expanded.
?!
'Hm?'
Under the watchful eyes of the palace guards and Royal Knights...
Crimson flames violently erupted from inside the fireball.
A roaring inferno instantly engulfed the entire prison cell before crashing violently against the barrier surrounding it.
"Heh. Still refusing to give up?"
Watching Flame Prison once again attempt to destroy the barrier and escape, Gafei sneered dismissively.
He wasn't worried in the slightest.
After all...
This wasn't the first escape attempt.
Flame Prison had tried countless times over the past several days.
Every attempt had failed.
Although they couldn't kill her...
With her power sealed...
She couldn't break through the barrier they had constructed either.
Besides...
From a certain perspective, letting Flame Prison exhaust herself wasn't such a bad thing.
Once she'd burned through enough of her excess strength...
The following experiments would become much safer.
By then...
She'd barely have enough strength left to attack the researchers.
Thinking that, Gafei calmly picked up a cup of tea and took a slow sip.
I'll just wait.
Once she's finished making a scene...
We'll continue the experiments.
Thus, under the indifferent gazes of Gafei and the others...
The crimson flames continued to expand.
The entire space inside the barrier was swallowed by an endless sea of scarlet fire.
Meanwhile—
Inside the crimson inferno—
A red-haired woman, dressed in nothing more than a thin, tattered, ragged garment that barely covered her graceful figure and alluring face, quietly watched Gafei and the others through the flames.
Seeing that none of them had grown suspicious...
The corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
Looks like...
Pretending to struggle all this time really did pay off.
Then—
She slowly turned toward a nearby ventilation shaft.
A sweet smile, completely unlike her usual icy expression, blossomed across her face.
"Limo, Liyu, it's been so long~ Come here, hurry. Let your big sister give you a hug!"