Chapter 414: Twin Teleportation

Chapter 414: Twin Teleportation

At this moment, the command center on the second floor of the Astrologist's Platform was bustling with activity.

The powerful energy pulse that had just occurred naturally alarmed everyone present.

"Marshal, should we send Lord Huntington right away?" General Augustus asked with a grave expression.

Alfred stared at the projection of the Capital Tamriel on the wall, where a deep red dot was glowing near Falling Star Lake, emitting circle after circle of red energy pulses.

One by one, orange dots lit up around the capital, each representing a different location in the suburbs.

These orange dots were scattered irregularly in the suburbs, more than a hundred li from the capital, with three dots to the west and only one to the north.

The projection was made possible by a large-scale Detection Witch Array covering the capital and its suburbs, which displayed energy pulses in real-time and differentiated them by color based on their intensity.

Of course, legendary powerhouses who had registered and left their unique auras were not included in the monitoring range; only unknown auras or combat energy pulses were tracked.

Orange indicated that the enemy's energy pulses had reached the legendary pinnacle.

Red represented energy pulses at the epic tier!

And deep red, naturally, signified the greater epic tier!

Upon hearing Augustus's suggestion, Alfred paused for a moment and shook his head, "No, let's wait. Lord Huntington's duty is to guard the Astrologist's Platform."

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

Alfred issued orders calmly and efficiently.

The initial chaos in the command center gradually subsided.

Alfred was well aware of his responsibilities—to command the operations within the Mystic Realm, not to oversee the capital's defense, which was already in capable hands.

Lord Huntington, the only legendary powerhouse under his command who could be mobilized at any time, would only be deployed in emergencies.

At that moment, an aged voice echoed through the command center, "Alfred, Augustus, I sense the presence of a divine avatar. The enemy has forcefully opened a teleportation channel to the Dragon Valley Mystic Realm."

The speaker was none other than the Grand Astrologist, Dalien.

"What?!" Alfred, rarely showing surprise, rose from his seat.

While an attack on the capital would be concerning, Dalien's words truly shocked him.

The defense of the capital was under the responsibility of his colleagues, but the command of the battle within the Mystic Realm fell on his shoulders.

"Lord Dalien, does this mean a divine avatar has directly entered the Dragon Valley Mystic Realm?" Augustus asked anxiously.

Grand Astrologist Dalien shook his head, "Not even the divine can defy the laws of the realm."

"I suspect they've used the teleportation channel to send in their legendary-tier cultists to wreak havoc within the Mystic Realm."

Alfred composed himself and, after a moment's thought, nodded in agreement, "I share the same conclusion with Lord Dalien. The enemy's target is likely the adolescent dragons within the Mystic Realm. They aim to create a gap in the dragon population!"

The Dragon Empire's foundation relied on its dragons; a gap in their numbers would be catastrophic.

"Lord Dalien, can you use astrology to check the situation in the Mystic Realm?" Augustus asked, bowing slightly.

"The teleportation channel has caused energy disturbances in the Mystic Realm. I cannot view the situation until the disturbances subside," Grand Astrologist Dalien explained, shaking his head.

"Well..."

"Do we have any recent intelligence on the movements of legendary-tier cultists from the Swordsmen System?" Dalien inquired.

"Yes, Lord Dalien. The Twin Serpent Cult's 'Twin Snakes' and the Black Flame Cult..." Captain Tatiya promptly reported.

Dalien glanced at the projection map on the wall, "If all the individuals we mentioned have entered the Mystic Realm, that's eight of them, and there might be more we don't know about."

"I suggest we immediately notify everyone inside the Mystic Realm to be cautious of the cultists' presence."

"Additionally, we should prioritize sealing the teleportation channel."

"Tatiya, send a message to all personnel within the Mystic Realm, warning them to be vigilant." Alfred commanded in a low voice.

"Keep in touch with the three squad leaders, and inform me of any updates immediately."

Although the dispatched personnel were among the top legendary powerhouses in the empire, the cultists had clearly come prepared, and they wouldn't be easy to deal with.

Moreover, Alfred's biggest concern was the three Rift Closers; if they fell into the cultists' hands, the situation would become dire.

"Yes, sir!" Tatiya saluted and swiftly turned to leave.

Several minutes earlier.

In a manor within the suburbs of Capital Tamriel, in the town of Tavlin.

A powerful energy pulse suddenly emanated from the second floor of the manor, as if trying to conceal it, but the intensity of the pulse was too strong to go unnoticed.

In the basement of the main building, a group of people in black robes surrounded two figures in gray, performing some sort of magical ritual.

On the basement floor, a complex magic array glowed with green light, its intricate lines pulsating with energy.

The array grew brighter by the moment, seemingly operating at full capacity.

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

Suddenly, the crystal shattered, and a three to four-meter-high rippling mirror abruptly appeared above the array.

Through the mirror, one could vaguely see a brilliant starry sky, dense forests, and various small black dots of flying creatures on the other side.

At that moment, two slender figures in gray robes, standing at the forefront of the black-robed group, glanced at each other, smiled slightly, and holding hands, stepped into the mirror.

They were the Twin Serpents of the Twin Serpent Cult, the sisters Ailia and Aida.

"Lord Aurelian, we leave this place in your capable hands," Ailia said, pausing briefly before entering the mirror.

"Rest assured, my lords, we will fight to the very end!" an elder named Aurelian replied respectfully.

Hearing the elder's assurance, Ailia nodded in satisfaction, holding her sister Aida's hand as they both stepped into the mirror.

As the sisters disappeared into the mirror, the array's energy seemed to deplete instantly, dimming in an instant.

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

The teleportation disturbance would undoubtedly prompt a swift response from the Empire, and they might not be able to withstand it, but death meant returning to the divine realm, and that was not to be feared.

Besides, this was an essential part of the plan.

"Yes, my lord," the surrounding black-robed figures responded in unison, quickly springing into action.

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

In fact, if one were to compare these locations with the real-time surveillance map of the Astrologist's Platform Command Center, it would be easy to identify them as the orange lights that appeared one after another on the map.

Within the Dragon Valley Secret Realm.

Ren felt a dizzying sensation, and the next moment, he found himself abruptly appearing in mid-air, his body plummeting downward.

"Levitation," he muttered.

As Ren slowly descended like a feather, he took the opportunity to survey his surroundings.

Despite the nighttime setting, the brilliant starlight and bioluminescent creatures allowed him to clearly observe his environment.

The first thing that caught his eye was the primeval forest below, reminiscent of the Jurassic era, with enormous ancient birds, pterosaurs, and countless giant insects filling the sky.

The sounds of insects, birds, and beasts echoed all around.

"No wonder the dragons here grow at a rate several times faster than those outside; the abundance of 'blood food' in this place is incredible, ensuring they never go hungry," Ren thought to himself.

"Hmm? What's this?" Ren narrowed his eyes, noticing strange phenomena in the night sky.

Among the stars, numerous cyclone-like objects of various sizes and colors constantly changed, with even greater concentration over the distant mountains.

"Could these be the void rifts?" he wondered.

Scanning his surroundings, Ren noticed that beyond the starry sky, a ring of towering mountains encircled the area, and to his right, a fiery mountain spewed thick smoke.

"The primeval forest and the fiery mountain," Ren mused, quickly recalling the information he had read about the Dragon Valley. He deduced that he was likely in the western part of the basin.

"This feeling..."

As Ren gently touched down, he keenly sensed a pervasive radiation within the secret realm, an energy that seemed to have a positive effect on his body, as if his cells were becoming more active.

Before his crystallization, he might have struggled to perceive this energy.

But now, he could clearly feel the strange radiation permeating the forest, and it seemed to be having a beneficial impact on his body.

Just moments ago, he had assumed that the rapid growth of the adolescent dragons was due to the abundance of 'blood food'.

But now, it appeared there was more to it.

The likely cause was this unique radiant energy.

Its effect was reminiscent of his past life's laboratory experiments, where special radiation enhanced the photosynthesis of vegetables, accelerating their growth.

"Buzz!"

Suddenly, a vibration emanated from Ren's side, growing louder as it approached.

"Swoosh!"

Ren's hardened fine gold instantly transformed into a longsword, and with a flash of silver arc, he effortlessly sliced in half the creature that had attempted to ambush him.

"Clatter!"

A heavy object hit the ground!

It was a dragonfly, over a meter long, now split in two, its nervous system still functioning instinctively, causing its limbs and wings to twitch uncontrollably on the ground.

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

"This must be the effect of radiation mutation, right?" Ren thought to himself.

At that moment, Ren suddenly remembered something and took out the thin tablet-like communication device that the female Major Tatiya had given him from his pocket.

On the tablet, three small round dots were clearly displayed, slowly moving, forming an equilateral triangle with three small triangles, and a small square.

Ren knew that the three small round dots were the three 'Rift Closers' that Tatiya had mentioned.

Currently, the task execution personnel should be heading towards the predetermined targets—the directions of the three small triangular frames, each carrying a 'Rift Closer'.

Under normal circumstances, the sign of task completion would be when the three small round dots enter a triangular virtual frame, and after activating the Rift Closer, the small round dots and the triangular virtual frames would disappear simultaneously.

Obviously, when the three small round dots and the three triangular virtual frames disappear, the task is considered successfully completed.

Ren observed for a while and found that the three small round dots were indeed moving non-stop towards different triangular virtual frames, which made him nod slightly.

"It seems everything is going smoothly, and there are no additional instructions from the command center either."

"In that case, I can go and retrieve the Golem first and then proceed with the second trial task—to obtain as many Dragon Speech Marks as possible."

The square displayed on the tablet was the two Hellfire Enhanced Golems that Tatiya had arranged to be teleported in sync.

Ren checked the location and found that it was only a few kilometers away from him.

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

"Good, it's on the way."

Before coming, Ren had already considered this.

He planned to prioritize obtaining the Dragon Speech Marks from the Red Dragon's offspring.

Therefore, he naturally had to go to the living environment preferred by the Red Dragon's offspring, which was the high-temperature and scorching hot volcanic zone.

There were two reasons for this.

First, the Red Dragon was adept at fire-based magic, and Ren had initially learned fire-based magic, making him highly familiar with it, second only to metal-based magic.

Second, the Red Dragon's breath was the hottest among the five-colored dragons, which would be suitable for his subsequent metal ore smelting and alloy crafting.

Even with Ren's expertise in metal-based magic, he couldn't completely replace the fundamental ore smelting steps.

Just as Ren was rapidly heading towards the central Flame Mountain area of Dragon Valley Secret Realm, he suddenly felt the communication tablet on his chest vibrate.

Ren took out the tablet and was surprised by what he saw.

Two lines of text appeared on the tablet:

"All personnel on high alert! Multiple cults, including the Sea God Cult, Black Flame Cult, Twin Serpent Cult, and Limb Cult, have interfered with the teleportation channel and sent several legendary powers into the secret realm."

"An additional task has been added: Eliminate the cultists and protect the juvenile dragons in the secret realm as much as possible."

"How did the cults get in?"

But soon, Ren shook his head and stopped pondering this question.

He wasn't well-versed in the knowledge of teleportation channels, and this wasn't the right time to dwell on it.

Additionally, he immediately recalled the previous information.

Previously, the Sword Saint had mentioned that the Twin Serpent Cult and the Black Flame Cult's legendary powers seemed to be heading towards the vicinity of the capital, Tamriel, and he might be their target.

However, it now appeared that the cults' grand actions were aimed at the Dragon Valley Secret Realm and not him.

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

As he infused a thread of mana, Ren whispered, "Command Center, this is Ren. Acknowledge receipt."

After a few seconds, there was no response.

Ren tried again, "Command Center, this is Ren. Acknowledge receipt."

"Sizzle!"

A burst of static came through, presumably a response from the command center, but it was so heavily distorted that it was unintelligible.

This caused Ren's eyebrows to furrow.

Suddenly, he felt a violent energy fluctuation in the air about a hundred meters ahead.

Ren looked up and saw a rift abruptly opening in the sky in front of him, as if a starry night painting had been torn, only to quickly close again.

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

"Huh? What's this?"

"Interesting."

Ren's eyebrows rose as he noticed the female figure and their hand-holding gesture, and he immediately understood.

"Speak of the devil, and he appears!" Ren thought.

Meanwhile, Aida and Ailia stood in the air, looking around, their eyes shining.

"Big Sister, is this the secret realm of Dragon Valley? The most important secret realm of the Dragon Empire, according to legend. Just thinking about killing those juvenile dragons gets me so excited!" Sister Ailia exclaimed with a hint of excitement.

"Little Sister, don't underestimate them. Even juvenile dragons possess formidable combat prowess." Big Sister Aida, slightly more composed, smiled gently and reminded her.

"Mhm, but we have you, Big Sister!" Ailia tugged at Aida's hand, pouting playfully.

"Big Sister, which one should we take on first?"

"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's gaze immediately fell upon the nearby Flame Mountain.

"Great! I'm up for it!"

"Huh? Big Sister, look over there. Why are there two golems?" At this moment, Ailia, who had slowly descended to the ground, pointed at a nearby impact crater in surprise.

Within the crater, there stood two metal golems, each around six to seven meters tall, with short and thick cannon barrels protruding from their shoulders.

The two golems stood back-to-back in the pit, connected by hinges between them.

This peculiar sight immediately caught Big Sister Aida's attention.

"From the surface runes and metal luster, they don't seem to be ancient golems. Instead, they appear to be newly crafted golems, not long out of production," Big Sister Aida remarked with a hint of confusion after a quick glance.

"Huh? Big Sister, do you mean those were brought by the people who came before us?"

"It's highly possible."

At this moment, Little Sister Ailia also became interested and stepped forward to inspect the golems.

"Big Sister, do you think we can control these two golems?"

"Look, there are two of us, one for each!"

"As a lady, it's impolite to casually touch other people's belongings."

"Who?!"

Both women's expressions turned solemn, and they immediately looked towards the dense forest beside them.

Big Sister Aida swiftly fired a shadow arrow shot out from Big Sister Aida, rapidly striking towards the forest.

"Boom!"

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

The person who arrived was none other than Ren.

His body was surrounded by a kite-shaped shield composed of four-sided enchanted serenium, and with a smile on his face, he strolled over nonchalantly.

"Huh? It's actually you?"

When Ren's youthful face came into view, both women were taken aback.

Big Sister Aida's pretty face turned serious, while Little Sister Ailia showed curiosity, but both of them carefully scrutinized Ren.

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

Moreover, the fact that he had taken the initiative to appear carried a deeper meaning.

Who would take the initiative to show themselves? At the very least, someone who believed they had the strength to face both of them.

"So, you're Ren? You should know we've been looking for you, and you're taking the initiative to come to us. How interesting." Little Sister Ailia's eyes lit up as she spoke.

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

"Be careful!"

Before Aida could finish her sentence, Ailia's figure flickered, and in the next second, her agile form appeared in mid-air in front of Ren.

Suddenly, Ailia's hand seemed to have an extra battle blade, and she executed an incredibly swift jumping slash towards Ren!

Huh? A battle blade?

Such incredible speed!

However, Ren's expression remained unchanged. In an instant, a knight's longsword materialized in his hand, blocking the jumping slash from Ailia's battle blade!

"Clang!!!"

Sparks flew, and the piercing sound of metal clashing reverberated through the surroundings!

Ailia's heart trembled as she felt an immense force transmitted from the point of impact. However, her reaction was swift, and she quickly retreated by leveraging the force.

But Ren's strength was overwhelming, causing her to be knocked back into the air instead of retreating on the ground.

Through their brief clash, Ren realized that Ailia's speed was extraordinary, but her strength was slightly lacking.

With Ailia now in mid-air and unable to find a foothold, Ren narrowed his eyes, intending to inflict severe injuries before pursuing further.

Just as he bent his knees to launch a pursuit, suddenly, over a dozen shadow arrows rapidly assaulted his position, fired by Big Sister Aida from the side.

Ren raised his hand and cast a Tier 2 defensive spell, 'Iron Armor Spell,' on himself, and his figure quickly shifted, dodging the barrage of shadow arrows!

At this moment, neither side initiated another attack.

The brief exchange had made it clear to both parties that they were not pushovers.

Ren now also knew who the two women were. The one who had engaged in close combat was Little Sister Ailia, while the one launching shadow arrow attacks from a distance was Big Sister Aida.

According to the intelligence from the sword-wielding individual, Little Sister Ailia excelled in close-range attacks and possessed incredible speed, while Big Sister Aida specialized in shadow magic, known for its formidable power.

Logically, if their abilities were limited to these, they should not have been difficult to handle.

However, the intelligence also indicated that the two women had a peculiar ability.

An ability known to outsiders as 'Twin Teleport,' which seemed to allow them to swap positions within an extremely short period.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end