Chapter 414: Twin Shift

Chapter 414: Twin Shift

At the command center on the second floor of the Astral Mage Platform, a bustling scene unfolded as everyone was on high alert due to the recent surge of powerful energy.

"Marshal, should we send Viscount Huntington there immediately?" General Augustus asked with a grave expression.

Marshal Alfred stared at the projection of Imperial City Tamriel on the wall, where a deep red dot on the shores of Falling Star Lake was emitting concentric circles of red energy waves.

Orange dots, representing the presence of legendary-tier energy waves, were lighting up one by one around the city, extending over a hundred li into the suburbs. There were three dots to the west and only one to the north.

This projection was made possible by a large-scale monitoring wizard array covering both the city and its suburbs, which could detect energy surges and display them in real-time, differentiating them by color based on their intensity.

Of course, legendary-tier powerhouses who had registered their unique auras were not included in the monitoring scope, which only tracked unknown auras or combat energy surges.

The orange color indicated that the energy surges had reached the peak of the legendary tier.

Red represented energy surges at the epic level, and deep red signified the upper echelon of epic power!

After a moment's thought, Marshal Alfred shook his head in response to General Augustus's suggestion.

"No, let's wait a bit. Viscount Huntington's responsibility is to safeguard the Astral Mage Platform."

"Augustus, contact the Imperial Guard and have them handle the situation. Also, report this to the Royal Family immediately."

Marshal Alfred calmly issued a series of commands.

The initial chaos in the room gradually subsided as his orders were carried out efficiently.

Marshal Alfred was well aware of his duty—to command the operation within the Forbidden Realm, not to ensure the city's safety. The safety of the Imperial City was the responsibility of his colleagues.

Viscount Huntington, the only epic-level powerhouse under his command that he could mobilize, would only be called upon in emergencies.

At that moment, an aged voice echoed at the entrance of the command center: "Marshal Alfred, General Augustus, I sense the presence of a divine avatar. The enemy has forcefully opened the teleportation channel we just established to the Dragon Valley Sanctuary."

The speaker was none other than High Priestess Dalia.

"What?!" Marshal Alfred, rarely showing surprise, quickly stood up.

While an attack on the Imperial City would be concerning, High Priestess Dalia's words genuinely shocked him.

The defense of the Imperial City was the responsibility of his colleagues, but he was in command of the battle within the Forbidden Realm.

"High Priestess Dalia, do you mean that a divine avatar has directly entered the Dragon Valley Sanctuary?" General Augustus asked anxiously.

High Priestess Dalia shook her head. "No, not even a deity can defy the laws of the universe."

"I suspect that the enemy has used the teleportation channel to send their legendary-tier cultists into the sanctuary to wreak havoc."

Marshal Alfred composed himself, nodding in agreement. "High Priestess Dalia, I believe you are correct. The enemy's target is likely the adolescent dragon in the sanctuary, aiming to create a power vacuum!"

The Dragon Empire, founded on the strength of dragons, would be severely weakened if the dragons were to disappear.

"High Priestess Dalia, can you use your divination skills to check the situation in the sanctuary?" General Augustus asked, slightly bowing.

"The teleportation channel has been opened, and the sanctuary is experiencing energy disturbances. I cannot see anything until the disturbances subside," High Priestess Dalia replied, shaking her head.

"This..."

"High Priestess, do we have any information on the recent activities of legendary-tier powerhouses within the cult?" Dalia asked.

"Yes, High Priestess Dalia, the Viper Sect's 'Twin Snakes,' Aida and Alida, have been active. If they have entered the sanctuary, that would make eight of them, and there might be others we don't know about," General Augustus said, looking at the projection on the wall.

"I suggest we notify the personnel within the sanctuary immediately and warn them to be cautious," Marshal Alfred said gravely.

"Also, we must block this teleportation channel as soon as possible."

"General Augustus, please send a message to everyone in the sanctuary, alerting them to be careful," Marshal Alfred ordered.

"Keep trying to contact the captains of the three squads, and inform me as soon as you have any news."

Although the personnel dispatched were among the best legendary-tier powerhouses in the empire, the cult had come well-prepared, so they would not be easy to deal with.

Additionally, Marshal Alfred's greatest concern was the three 'Rift Closers,' which would be a significant problem if they fell into the cult's hands.

"Yes, sir!" General Augustus saluted and quickly turned to leave.

Several minutes earlier, in a manor in the town of Tavlin, located in the suburbs of Imperial City Tamriel.

The second floor of the manor suddenly emitted a powerful energy surge, seemingly trying to conceal it, but the intensity was beyond what a typical wizard array could hide.

Furthermore, the owner of the manor did not seem concerned about hiding it.

In the basement, a group of black-robed individuals surrounded two gray-robed figures, conducting a mysterious ritual.

On the basement floor, a complex wizard array glowed with green light.

The array grew brighter, seemingly operating at full capacity.

Above the array, a fist-sized crystal of dark green floated, its energy concentration visible to the naked eye.

Suddenly, the crystal exploded, and a three to four-meter-high watery mirror appeared above the array.

Through the mirror, one could vaguely see the other side—a brilliant starry sky, dense forests, and various small creatures.

At that moment, two graceful gray-robed figures, standing at the front of the black-robed group, exchanged glances and then stepped into the mirror.

The two were none other than Aida and Alida, the 'Twin Snakes' of the Viper Sect.

Aida paused before entering and turned to address the group. "Viscount Aurelian, we leave this task to you."

"Rest assured, ladies, we will fight until our last breath!" The elder named Aurelian replied respectfully.

Hearing Aurelian's assurance, Aida nodded in satisfaction and stepped into the mirror, followed by Alida.

As the two disappeared into the mirror, the energy in the array seemed to wane, and the room gradually calmed down.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!" Elder Aurelian commanded solemnly.

The recent teleportation surge would undoubtedly prompt a swift response from the empire, and they might not be able to resist, but death was just a return to the divine realm, and that was not something to fear.

Additionally, this is a necessary step in the plan.

"Yes, sir." The group of black-robed figures around him nodded in agreement and swiftly sprang into action.

Similar scenes unfolded simultaneously in multiple locations on the outskirts of the Imperial City.

In fact, if one were to compare these locations with the real-time surveillance map of the Astral Mage Platform's command center, it would be easy to notice that these locations corresponded precisely with the orange light dots appearing one after another on the map.

Inside the Dragon Valley Sanctuary.

Rayn felt a dizzying sensation of spinning and weightlessness, and the next moment, he found himself abruptly appearing above a dense forest. His body began to plummet rapidly.

"Levitation!"

As Rayn cast the levitation spell, he descended gently like a feather from the sky, taking the opportunity to survey his surroundings.

Although it was night in the sanctuary, the dazzling starlight and numerous bioluminescent creatures allowed Rayn to clearly observe his surroundings.

The first thing that caught his gaze was the primeval forest below, reminiscent of the Jurassic era, while the sky was filled with various giant and primitive birds, pterosaurs, and countless enormous insects.

At the same time, the sounds of insects, birds, and beasts filled the air without pause.

"No wonder the dragons here grow at a rate several times faster than those in the outside world; the 'Blood Feast' in this place is incredibly abundant, ensuring they never go hungry."

"Hmm? What's that?" Rayn narrowed his eyes, noticing some strange phenomena in the sky.

In the night sky, among the countless stars, there were numerous cyclone-like anomalies of various sizes, constantly changing colors. The distant mountain ranges seemed to have an even greater number of them.

"Could these be the Void Rifts?"

Rayn scanned his surroundings, and under the starlight, he noticed that in the far distance, there was a circular mountain range. On his right side, there was a Flame Mountain, billowing thick smoke.

"Primeval Forest, Flame Mountain."

Rayn thought for a moment, recalling the information he had previously read about the Dragon Valley Sanctuary, and immediately deduced that he was likely in the western part of the basin.

"This feeling..."

As he gently landed, Rayn keenly sensed that the sanctuary seemed to radiate a peculiar energy everywhere.

Before his crystallization, he might have struggled to perceive this energy, but now, Rayn could clearly feel that the forest was filled with a strange radiation. Moreover, this radiation seemed to have a positive effect on his body, as if his cells were becoming more active.

Just a moment ago, he had thought that the rapid growth of the adolescent dragons in the sanctuary was due to the abundance of 'Blood Feast.'

But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.

The primary reason was likely this peculiar radiant energy.

The effect of this energy was similar to the enhanced photosynthesis in vegetables using special light radiation in his past life's laboratory, accelerating their growth.

"Buzz!"

Suddenly, Rayn felt a vibration coming from his chest, and the sound grew louder as it approached.

"Swoosh!"

Rayn's hardened mithril instantly transformed into a longsword, and with a flash of silver arc, he effortlessly cleaved the creature that had just ambushed him in half.

"Clatter!"

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed!

It was a dragonfly over a meter long, now split in half, its nervous system still functioning instinctively, with its limbs and wings twitching on the ground.

"Impressive strength, not a ferocious breed, but with a speed and power akin to a formal knight, indeed extraordinary."

"This must be the result of the radiation's mutagenic effect," Rayn mused.

At that moment, Rayn suddenly remembered something. He took out the thin communication device that the female captain Tatia had given him from his pocket.

On the thin device, three small glowing circles were slowly moving, forming an equilateral triangle with three small triangles, and a small square.

Rayn understood that the three small glowing circles were the three 'Rift Closers' that Tatia had mentioned.

Currently, the task force members should be carrying the three 'Rift Closers' and heading towards the predetermined targets—the three small triangles.

Normally, the completion of the task would be indicated by the three small glowing circles entering the triangular virtual frames and activating the Rift Closers, causing the circles and triangles to disappear simultaneously.

Rayn observed for a while and found that the three small glowing circles were indeed heading towards different triangular virtual frames, which made him nod slightly.

"Everything seems to be going smoothly, and there haven't been any new orders from the command center."

"In that case, I can go and retrieve the automaton first, then proceed with the secondary task—to obtain as many Draconic Marks as possible."

The small square displayed on the thin device was the two Hellfire Improved Automatons that Tatia had arranged to be teleported simultaneously for Rayn.

Rayn checked the location, which was not far from him, just a short distance away.

Moreover, it was in the same direction as his destination—the Flame Mountain region in the center of the Dragon Valley.

"Perfect, it's on the way."

Before coming here, Rayn had already considered his plan.

He intended to prioritize obtaining the Draconic Marks of the red dragon's offspring.

Therefore, he naturally had to go to the environment that the red dragon's offspring preferred, and the volcanic region with its high temperatures and scorching heat was their favorite habitat.

The reason for this was twofold.

Firstly, red dragons excelled in fire sorcery, and Rayn's initial studies were also in fire sorcery, second only to his expertise in metal sorcery in terms of elemental affinity and familiarity.

Secondly, the red dragon's breath had the highest temperature among the five-colored dragons, making it suitable for his subsequent metal smelting and alloy creation.

Even with Rayn's proficiency in metal sorcery, he couldn't entirely replace the essential step of smelting metal ores.

As Rayn headed towards the central Flame Mountain region of the Dragon Valley, he felt the communication device on his chest vibrate.

Rayn took out the device and was immediately surprised by the message displayed.

The device showed two lines of text:

"All personnel, be on high alert! Multiple cults, including the Sea God Sect, Black Flame Cult, Viper Sect, and Reattachment Cult, have interfered with the teleportation channel and sent several legendary-tier combatants into the sanctuary."

"An additional task has been added: Eliminate the cultists and protect the immature dragons in the sanctuary."

"The cults have also entered the sanctuary?"

"How did they get in?"

However, Rayn quickly shook his head, no longer pondering this question.

He wasn't an expert in teleportation array knowledge, and this wasn't the time to consider such matters.

Additionally, he immediately recalled the previous intelligence.

At that time, the Swordmaster Headquarters had also reminded him that the legendary powerhouses of the Viper Sect and the Black Flame Cult seemed to be heading towards the outskirts of the Imperial City of Tamriel, and he was likely their target.

But now it seems, the other party's grand actions were aimed at the Dragon Valley Sanctuary, not him.

After some thought, Rain decided to test the signal of the communication device.

As he infused a strand of mental energy, Rain spoke softly, "Command Center, this is Rain. Please respond if received."

After a few seconds, he tried again, "Command Center, this is Rain. Please respond if received."

"Sizzle!"

A burst of static came through, seemingly a response from the Command Center, but it was heavily distorted, making it completely unintelligible.

This caused Rain's brows to furrow slightly.

Suddenly, he felt a violent surge of energy in the air, about a hundred meters ahead of him.

Rain immediately looked up and saw a rift opening in the sky in front of him, as if a painting of the starry sky had been torn apart, and then quickly healed.

Two graceful figures in gray robes, holding hands, appeared about twenty to thirty meters in the air.

"Huh? What's this..."

"Interesting."

Rain observed the female figure and the hand-holding gesture, raising an eyebrow, and then he seemed to realize something.

"Speak of the devil, and the devil appears!" Rain thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Aida and Alena, now standing in the air, looked around with bright eyes.

"Sister, is this the Dragon Valley Sanctuary? The most important sanctuary of the Draconian Empire, according to the legends. Just thinking about killing those juvenile dragons makes me so excited!" The younger sister, Alena, said excitedly.

"Sister, don't be too careless. Even juvenile dragons have formidable combat strength," the older sister, Aida, cautioned with a slight smile.

"Yes, yes, we have you, sister!" Alena said, holding Aida's hand.

"Sister, where do you think we should start?"

"How about the red dragons? There should be quite a few red dragon offspring on that Flame Mountain over there, and it's close by." Aida spotted the nearby Flame Mountain and suggested.

"Great! I'm up for it!"

"Huh, sister, look, why are there two automatons over there?" At this moment, Alena, who was slowly descending to the ground, pointed at a nearby impact crater in surprise.

In the crater, there were two six to seven-meter-tall automatons with short, thick gun barrels on their shoulders.

Currently, the two automatons were standing back-to-back in the pit, with hinges binding them together.

This peculiar sight immediately caught the attention of the older sister, Aida.

"From the surface wizardry and metal luster, they don't seem to be ancient automatons. Instead, they appear to be newly made," Aida observed with a hint of confusion.

"Huh, sister, do you mean they were brought by the people who came before us?"

"Very likely."

At this moment, the younger sister, Alena, also became interested and moved forward to inspect them.

"Sister, do you think we can control these automatons?"

"Look, there are two of us, and two automatons. Perfect!"

"As a lady, it's not polite to just move things around."

"Who?!"

The two women's expressions turned solemn, and they immediately looked towards the dense forest on one side.

The older sister, Aida, instantly fired a shadow arrow towards the forest.

"Boom!"

An explosion sounded, but amidst the smoke and dust, a figure could still be seen slowly approaching.

The person who arrived was Rain.

His body was surrounded by a kite-shaped shield composed of four demonized seraphim, and he approached with a smile.

"Huh, it's you?"

When Rain's youthful face came into view, both women's expressions changed. Aida's pretty face turned serious, while the younger sister, Alena, showed curiosity. However, they both carefully examined Rain.

After all, when Rain approached just now, neither of them noticed, indicating that his strength was not to be underestimated.

Furthermore, it was Rain who had taken the initiative to appear, which meant he was confident in his abilities.

At the very least, he was someone who was willing to show himself, a person who believed they could take on both women.

"Huh, it's you? You should know we've been looking for you, and you took the initiative to come here. Interesting," the younger sister, Alena, said with a gleam in her eye.

"Sister, let me test this Rain's strength first."

"Be careful!"

Before Aida could finish her sentence, Alena's figure flashed, and the next second, her agile form appeared in the air in front of Rain.

Suddenly, a battle blade appeared in Alena's hand, and she swiftly attacked Rain.

Rain's expression remained unchanged, and he instantly transformed a knight sword in his hand, blocking Alena's attack.

"Clang!!!"

Sparks flew, and the piercing sound of metal clashing echoed through the air.

Alena's heart trembled, feeling an immense force coming from the point of impact. However, her reaction was swift, and she quickly retreated, using the force to her advantage.

But Rain's strength was too great, causing her to be knocked back into the air.

Through the brief clash, Rain realized that Alena's speed was exceptional, but her strength was slightly lacking.

Currently, with Alena in the air and unable to find a foothold, Rain decided to inflict a serious injury.

Just as he was about to pursue, suddenly, over a dozen shadow arrows fired from the side, aimed at his location, which was Aida's attack.

Rain raised his hand and cast a second-level defensive wizardry, 'Iron Armor', on himself, and his figure quickly dodged Aida's shadow arrow storm.

At this moment, neither party launched another attack.

The brief clash made both parties aware that the other was not an easy opponent.

Rain now also knew who the two women were. The one who had just engaged in close combat was the younger sister, Alena, and the one who had attacked with shadow arrows from a distance was the older sister, Aida.

According to the Swordmaster's intelligence, the younger sister, Alena, was skilled in close-range attacks and had exceptional speed. The older sister, Aida, was proficient in shadow sorcery and possessed formidable power.

Logically, if their abilities were only as described, they shouldn't be too difficult to deal with.

However, the intelligence also mentioned that the two sisters had a peculiar ability called 'Twin Shift', which allowed them to switch positions in a very short time.

This was a unique ability that outsiders called the 'Twin Shift'.

This was a unique ability that outsiders called the 'Twin Shift'.

This was a unique ability that outsiders called the 'Twin Shift'.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end