Draken City — Palace Complex
After just three days away, the palace defenses had already surpassed Ivy Shen’s wildest imagination. If you counted the palace as having ten circles, the first two outermost rings were manned by the most expendable servants—basically cannon fodder. With each inner ring, the number of guards increased by another ten percent.
By the time they were just one circle away from pipeline Empress Cao Wan’er and Song Zhijue’s residence, the number of guards there was like a swarm of ants—easily more than five hundred thousand. It’s honestly hard to say if Cao Wan’er is just paranoid about dying, or if this palace is just absurdly gigantic!
Otherwise, how could there possibly be this many people crammed into just one ring?!
“So many guards.” High up in and among the dense branches, Xiska Mon frowned slightly.
He’d thought the palace would be less impressive than Flame Valley, but after this investigation, it was way bigger than he expected. Just the number of guards alone was more than the population of his entire kingdom.
“Cao Wan’er’s defenses have already exceeded anything I imagined.” Ivy Shen’s brow was furrowed just as tightly. Three days away, and Cao Wan’er had conjured up this many guards? Looks like the Silver Consort incident really put her on alert.
“So, are we going to teach that old tiger a lesson?” Xiska Mon turned his head to look at Ivy Shen. His golden eyes were already half-hidden under his hat, but even with his special wide-brimmed hat, Ivy could still feel his icy gaze.
“No way!” Ivy Shen took a deep breath and answered decisively.
“Why not? This trip isn’t just to rescue your sister, I also want to—”
“You have to know, I hate her even more than you do. But look at this situation—do you really think the two of us can take on millions of palace guards?” Ivy Shen knew that if anything happened, every single guard would charge their way. No matter how superpowered they were, sheer numbers alone could crush them to death.
“But we finally—”
“There’ll be plenty of chances. Looks like this battle is unavoidable.” With so many guards, there was no way to get anywhere near Cao Wan’er and Song Zhijue’s palace. Since that’s the case, the war had to start.
Hearing this, Xiska Mon immediately understood. “You mean using Chu Kingdom?”
“Unless you’ve got a better idea?” Ivy raised a brow at him.
“Agreed!” Seeing that insane headcount, Xiska Mon knew now wasn’t the time to get reckless. The only thing they needed to do was rescue her sister—then, when it came time to storm the palace, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything holding her back. Still, if this place had so many people, then that place must be...
Xiska Mon’s guess was spot on. When Ivy Shen led him toward the Demon-Sealing Cell, that place was packed too—layer after layer of guards. Maybe not as over-the-top as the palace, but easily a hundred people, and every single one looked like a martial arts master.
Sure, for Ivy Shen, a hundred people would be as easy to squash as ants. But this wasn’t just any place—if there was even the slightest disturbance, the butterfly effect would spread like wildfire. They’d be surrounded before they even got inside.
Plus, during her investigation, she’d noticed the most critical detail: every five minutes, a patrol came by. So even if she silently knocked out all hundred guards, the next patrol would definitely spot something weird.
So, what kind of plan would actually work here?!
“What should we do? We can’t just sit here and wait. Why not just kill them all?” Xiska Mon whispered. A hundred people was nothing to him, either.
“Half a cup of tea’s time isn’t enough!” Ivy Shen frowned. If she was right, the setup inside had already changed. Last time it took her over an hour, and now the defenses were probably even tighter—she’d need even more time!
“Ivy!”
“Here’s the plan.” Ivy Shen suddenly turned to Xiska Mon. “I’ll knock them all out, then go in myself. You wait outside—if any patrol comes by, just take them out.”
“No way. You’re pregnant—I’m not letting you go in alone. Besides, if I kill the patrol, what happens when someone notices they didn’t come back? Wouldn’t that be even more suspicious?” Xiska Mon frowned. “Are you seriously trying to race against the clock?”
“There’s no other way.” Ivy Shen glanced around. Even if there was only a ten percent chance, she wouldn’t give up.
“No. I refuse.” After thinking it through, he realized this move was way too risky. He’d promised them he’d keep everyone safe.
“I don’t have any other choice.” Ivy Shen’s face looked grim. She knew this plan was insanely dangerous—there was almost no chance of figuring out all the traps in such a short time. If her timing was even a little off, the consequences would be unthinkable. But she really couldn’t wait any longer. After their last separation, she had no idea what her sister was going through.
So much pain, so much suffering—she didn’t want her sister to wait even one more minute. She had to rescue her!
“Ivy Shen, you can’t take that risk!” Xiska Mon was getting anxious. “If you’re going, then I’m going with you!”
“Don’t make a sound.” Suddenly, Ivy Shen heard footsteps and quickly signaled Xiska Mon to be quiet. The next second, a familiar figure appeared—still carrying a food box. Ivy instantly grinned. Gavin Wang, oh Gavin Wang, you really do have perfect timing!
In that moment, Ivy Shen suddenly felt that Gavin Wang truly lived up to his name—he really was her lucky charm!
Without missing a beat, Ivy Shen quickly pulled out a human-skin mask. She’d originally planned to use her old identity to pit Song Zhijue and Cao Wan’er against each other if things went smoothly, but now that she couldn’t even get close, she’d thought the mask was useless. Turns out, it was about to save her butt!
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Please click next page to keep reading!)
So Ivy Shen had Xiska Mon fall back, then lightly tossed a pebble at Gavin Wang. Wrapped around the stone was a scented cloth. Gavin, suddenly hit by something, was about to get mad—until he spotted the thing at his feet. He bent down, picked it up, and sniffed. Instantly, his pupils dilated. That scent—only she had that scent!
Ivy Shen sneered. Gavin Wang really did remember her special fragrance!
“What’s wrong, Guard Wang?” The guards at the Demon-Sealing Cell saw Gavin Wang heading off to the side and couldn’t help asking.
“Need any help, Guard Wang?” another guard asked quickly. Everyone knew Gavin Wang was the Crown Prince’s top favorite and a future general—once the Crown Prince became emperor. Of course they had to treat him with extra care!
“Oh, no need. Just gotta take a leak. You guys keep your eyes open,” Gavin Wang set down his food box and called out to everyone.
“Yes, sir!” A hundred voices answered in unison, the sound booming and powerful. Just from that, you could tell these guys were no joke—ordinary people don’t shout with that much energy.
Carefully, Gavin Wang walked forward. After two or three hundred meters, he reached a small lake to the left of the Demon-Sealing Cell. The lake was tiny and secluded—nobody ever came here. But for some reason, he just felt like something was here, so he pushed through the bushes, then suddenly gasped.
“You—”
“Shh.” Ivy Shen quickly pressed a finger to her lips, signaling him to stay quiet.
That’s when Gavin Wang noticed—half her body was submerged in the water, her hair a mess, her whole body shivering.
“Miss Sheng’er, what are you doing here?” He wasn’t sure why she wanted him to whisper, but he did anyway. He quickly crouched down and grabbed her hand to help her ashore.
But the moment he touched her hand, his heart started pounding—like it was about to jump out of his chest.
“So cold...” Ivy Shen deliberately put on a pitiful look, shivering. Seeing her like that made Gavin Wang’s heart tremble too, so he hurriedly took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“Guard Wang, is everything alright over there? Need any help?” The head guard called out, worried by the silence. Their vigilance only made Ivy Shen feel things were getting more complicated.
“Scram, I’m using the bathroom!” Gavin Wang snapped, annoyed. The guards instantly shut up—turns out, he wasn’t in danger, just taking a dump!
“Miss Sheng’er, how did you end up here? But I’m glad you’re back—the Crown Prince’s been missing you like crazy. He’s attacked several small kingdoms just for you! I’ll take you to see him right now. He’ll be over the moon.” Gavin Wang said eagerly.
“And what about you?” Suddenly, Ivy Shen looked up at Gavin Wang, her eyes burning. She’d always known he liked her, but because of Song Zhijue, he’d buried those feelings deep.
“Uh...” Gavin Wang’s heart started pounding again. What did she mean by that? What did she mean?
“I’ll be honest with you. Noble Lady Lana didn’t take me away—this was all my plan. I’ve been hiding out in the Cold Palace the whole time.”
“Why?” Gavin Wang was baffled. Why go to all that trouble?
“Because, because...” She lifted her head, gazed at him, and pretended to be serious and heartfelt. “The person I like... is you!”