My Apocalypse Territory-Chapter 600 - 528: Infiltrating the Marquis Mansion

According to the Great Sage, those ancient nobles who had inherited for countless years possessed numerous branches of the World Tree.

Some were completely left idle in their treasuries.

If they could offer high-value bait and have the power as a guarantee, there was a chance to trade with these ancient nobles and acquire branches of the World Tree.

The Great Sage believed that Tang Yu and a few others, who had encountered countless opportunities and had established the Green Shadow Entertainment City, surely had some good items on hand.

Although he owned nothing of substantial value himself, the knowledge in his mind still held great worth and could be used to trade with the ancient nobles.

As for the royal family and the Great Sage’s position’s code that forbade sharing some core knowledge with outsiders, the Great Sage couldn’t care less.

The world was on the brink of destruction; even if the ancestors had spirits, they likely wouldn’t blame him.

However,

Tang Yu resolutely rejected the Great Sage’s proposal.

It wasn’t about being stingy,

Given the character of those nobles, even if the Great Sage’s proposal was feasible, how many branches of the World Tree could they obtain solely through trade?

And how much time would it require?

This wasn’t online shopping with just a click to confirm.

At minimum, it would involve both parties cautiously probing each other and bargaining with items of significant value, not ruling out the possibility of betrayal— for the great nobles, the rule of non-violence in the royal capital was as good as nonexistent.

To put it simply in Tang Yu’s words, it was troublesome.

"Just act brashly and it’s done, why devise a complicated plan┓( ´∀` )┏."

...

Impulsive as it may be, but Tang Yu did not underestimate those ancient nobles.

The arrays centered around the branches of the World Tree, which could significantly enhance one’s strength, he had already witnessed in Gel City.

Unlike Gel City, which had only gathered ’Human Qi’ for two to three hundred years.

The ancient nobles of the royal capital owned more extensive territories and had accumulated centuries, even millennia of heritage, their arrays were also more advanced. Apart from ’Human Qi’ enhancing arrays, he believed there were various other arrays capable of restricting enemies—the technology tree in Aino Continent was almost entirely focused on arrays.

For safety, he visited Frost White Count’s Mansion again, asking the Count to activate the array and compare the enhancement ’Human Qi’ provided to a Senior Transcendent.

He gradually gained confidence.

"There are still some things I need to prepare."

He figured,

Unless one could utterly overpower, the fluctuations of a battle between Transcendents would be easily detected.

The royal secret was already known, but at this stage, it was still necessary to avoid alerting the hidden mastermind, which was also the reason the Great Sage suggested a lateral approach.

Tang Yu, viewing the seemingly harmless old Great Sage, did not trust him unconditionally.

He found an excuse for the Great Sage to take a tour around Green Shadow Entertainment City.

Taking advantage of the Territory’s ability to recognize friend from foe, he quickly noticed a particularly bright green glow above the Great Sage’s head... that put his mind at ease.

...

Two days later,

On the surface, the royal capital was calm, but beneath it, undercurrents surged.

In less than ten days, the sacrificial ceremony would take place, and both the residents of the Inner and Outer City Districts were becoming busy.

"Thanks to the generosity of the noble Lord."

"It would be good to have more ceremonial occasions like this."

"Yes, as long as one participates in the ceremony, everyone can get quite a bit of food, making life much easier."

On the streets, the commonfolk hurried along.

Even the mercenaries, clad in leather and lock armors, were busy with the grand ceremony—the Mercenary Union had tasks with rewards provided by the affluent Royal Family.

Tang Yu, wearing a black cloak, strolled along the street.

Opening his personal domain slightly and squinting, he vaguely saw an invisible force emerging from the people passing on the street, slowly drifting towards the sky.

This wasn’t a true force, yet it could serve as nourishment for the World Tree.

The royal-led sacrificial ceremony, instead of extorting money from the civilians, distributed food, making many impoverished citizens grateful.

What was originally soil nourishing the World Tree had also been used to encroach upon it.

After a few glances, Tang Yu continued walking forward.

This was the Inner City; after turning a few streets, he could see from afar the densely situated buildings, grand courtyards, and the majestic gates.

It was a Marquis Mansion.

Spanning at least ten thousand square meters.

From a glance, one couldn’t see its end.

"Marquis Borden’s Mansion, strength in the lower-middle among the marquises of the royal capital."

Tang Yu, holding intelligence on the mansion, scanned line by line, "The mansion has five named Transcendents, with Marquis Borden just recently stepping into Senior Transcendent, his power roughly the same as Frost White Count, but it is said there’s also a Senior Transcendent who has lived for seven or eight hundred years, with considerable strength.

Most of the time, these five Transcendents are secluded in the mansion for cultivation, meaning, once you alarm the people of Marquis Mansion, you would likely face these five Transcendents, buffed and all."

He looked toward two figures also in black cloaks standing beside him.

One had a skull mask on his face, and the other wore large sunglasses and had a cigarette in his mouth, puffing smoke.

These two were Grey Blade and Shay.

As a Lord, Tang Yu had no intention of getting personally involved, and being his first robbery, he was not very skilled at it; thus, he came to the vicinity of Marquis Mansion to scout things out cautiously.

After giving instructions, Grey Blade and Shay pulled their hoods tight, and with a flash, they disappeared.

...

Inside Marquis Borden’s Mansion.

There were quite a few guards, dressed in exquisite rune armor and wielding long swords and small round shields, patrolling back and forth within the mansion.

Five men formed a small team, and fifty a medium team.

Typically, a medium team was responsible for patrolling a specific area, and the team leader had at least the strength of a High Tier Awakener.

Such was the foundation of the great nobles.

At the residences of the small nobles, free mercenaries often sneaked in. However, for great nobles like Marquis Borden, mere free mercenaries simply lacked the ability to infiltrate. As soon as they stepped into the mansion, they would be discovered by patrolling guards and eliminated immediately, which was considered lenient.

Yet today,

Two figures strolled boldly, a team of guards walked right past them without the slightest notice.

"This ’Shadow Stealth’ of yours isn’t bad at all. To create your own shadows for stealth even under sunlight."

Shay remarked, looking down at their feet where a mass of darkness not only completely hid their figures and presence but even muffled their voices.

It truly was a Divine Stealth Skill.

Shay wasn’t envious; he only revered the art of explosions.

"We should be approaching Marquis Borden’s treasury by now, I wonder if there are any World Tree branches inside."

"Let’s find out," Grey Blade said indifferently.

As they neared the treasury, there were more patrolling guards, almost every three steps one post and every five steps one sentry. Unlike the guards outside who chatted and laughed, those around the treasury were stern-faced, each emanating an aura at least at the Ninth Layer Peak.

But it was of no use.

Even those at the Awakening Tier Perfection couldn’t detect Grey Blade and Shay passing right by them.

The two arrived near the treasury.

There was a door made of transcendent metal, tightly closed.

Faint rune lights flickered.

Grey Blade looked up, "This could be tricky. Although I possess some skills to phase through walls, they can’t penetrate this door or the surrounding walls lined with runes of not low level."

"Then..." Shay thought for half a second, "let’s just break through. It doesn’t matter if we’re exposed; you weren’t planning on completing the mission through stealth alone, right?"

Grey Blade nodded slightly and immediately canceled the Shadow Stealth covering them.

Feeling the presence of strangers,

A nearby guard sharply turned his head, his mouth opening as if to shout.

Suddenly,

The shadow behind the guard, as if coming to life, stretched out swiftly like a black snake wrapping around the guard’s neck, giving it a twist.

Crack,

Crack,

Whether near or far, all two hundred elite Awakeners guarding the treasury froze in place and the next moment fell to the ground in the same manner.

Grey Blade shrugged, "Who said infiltrating means we can’t forcibly break through."

He took out an anti-alarm device developed by Green Shadow and placed it on the four corners of the treasury’s metal door. The device started operating, emitting a faint light that formed a rectangle. Inside the rectangle, even if the door was damaged, the internal alarm would not be triggered.

Then,

Grey Blade pulled out a dagger, a faint glow of Source Power dispersed, and with a wave of his hand.

Silently, the high-level metal alloy door cracked open a huge gap, enough for two people to enter through.

Ten minutes later,

The treasury was completely looted, items that couldn’t fit in the Space Ring were sent back to a secret base in the suburbs of the Royal Capital directly through a Return City Scroll by Grey Blade and Shay.

"Too bad there are no World Tree branches. Let’s hurry to the next treasury."

Marquis Mansion was vast, and the treasures accumulated over countless years were immeasurable.

There were far more than one treasury within the mansion.

Based on intelligence they had investigated earlier and information gained through infiltrating the mansion, Grey Blade and Shay learned the locations of some treasuries.

The second,

The third,

Even though they still couldn’t find any World Tree branches, they still gained substantial rewards. Not counting equipment, just various precious minerals and medicinal materials alone were worth over ten million Source Crystals. Most of them were not found on Earth!

Tang Yu was so astounded that he didn’t stay outside Marquis Mansion any longer; he directly returned to the base to tally their gains.

At this moment,

Grey Blade and Shay came to the front of the fourth treasury in Marquis Mansion.

This treasury was located deep underground, more heavily guarded than the rest.

As the two approached, runes suddenly lit up around the corridor and even before Grey Blade had canceled the "Shadow Stealth," the runes forced them out.

Outside, noise also erupted.

The bodies of the guards previously incapacitated by Grey Blade’s unparalleled stealth had finally been discovered, alarming the entire Marquis Mansion.

Alarm bells blared loudly.

From afar, one, two, three...Transcendent auras surged and closed in fast.

The two were now entirely exposed.

Having always advocated for stealth, Grey Blade touched his nose and looked at Shay, "You win. It seems we can only rely on brute force now."

Shay ignored the guards guarding the underground treasury, too lazy to bother with them, and transformed his firearms into a hand cannon, blasting a large hole directly.

The two soared into the air.

Several Transcendents flew in from afar, their auras locking onto them.

Shay took a puff of his cigarette, "If only we’d done this earlier, it’s perfect for testing out my latest explosive art."

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