Rising god-Chapter 124: Infiltrate

After crossing the Solaris border, not before paying a huge amount as border fees, the group faced the Lunar Dominion’s far stricter scrutiny. As a realm steeped in magic, its security was formidable, several times surpassing that of the Solaris.

Five mana wave scans probed for hidden signatures, questions that dug deeper for the reason for their visit, and mana trackers that continuously hummed with relentless precision. They narrowly escaped being assigned a "guard" to shadow their stay, but only by paying an exorbitant fee, several times Solaris’s price, without a hint of protest.

Finally cleared, they stumbled into the nearest forest, collapsing among gnarled trees under the Dominion’s pale, rune-lit sky. ’Who knew just sneaking past two borders could be this grueling?’ Mirta thought, her muscles aching. However, one final hurdle loomed. Though it wouldn’t be as strict as what they just went through, they had to move correctly.

It was the main entrance to the Flameheart Kingdom.

Joining a throng of travelers, they summoned a carriage, and the ten Mistars executives climbed inside, while the Second Executive took the reins. The Mistars had already consumed three-quarters of their recovery potions to sustain their invisibility mist, and they’d need to maintain it through this last checkpoint.

Hours dragged as they waited in line, the carriage creaking under the weight of five hundred hidden souls.

When their turn came, a voice rang out. "Donto!" The man’s voice was one of surprise as he saw the second executive.

"Tim, is that you?" Donto leaped down, embracing his old friend with a hearty laugh.

They bantered, their voices echoing over the bustling border. Unnoticed, Donto slipped Tim a heavy pouch of coins, the exchange masked by their reunion’s warmth.

The group watched, stunned. Donto had warned them of the Flameheart royal family’s vast numbers—tens of thousands strong, but to find Tim, an ordinary security chief, among them? His eyes didn’t match the rumored royal mark—one blue, one red—but his red and black eyes felt too close for coincidence.

After greeting themselves, Donto got back on the carriage, and,

"Allow!" Tim shouted, waving them through without a glance inside the carriage. Without searching or even so much as peeping, his long friend brought a large platoon of five hundred into his home.

The group exhaled, tension easing as the carriage rolled into the Flameheart Kingdom.

Flags bearing a burning heart fluttered along the walls, their crimson glow stark against the stone. The kingdom’s vibrancy was immediate, streets alive with vendors, mages weaving spells, and the faint hum of mana in the air.

Yet the royal family’s presence was uncanny. One would expect the occurrence of a person like Tim to be rare; however, it seemed they hadn’t seen enough.

In the first village they arrived at, the leader of the group of delinquents they paid a toll fee to enter had a red and blue eye. Even though someone like him would have no inheritance, he flaunted his position with pride and confidence.

Without much of a choice, Donto had to pay for their safe passage.

They reached the village at dusk, the sky a deep indigo. From the cramped carriage, five hundred emerged, cloaked in shadow, and followed Donto to a hidden mansion nestled in an abandoned forest. Its spires loomed, overgrown with vines that pulsed faintly with mana, as if the forest itself guarded it.

"How’d you get a place like this?" Ralph asked, his voice laced with awe.

Donto grinned and whistled strangely. "Haha, I said I ran some business here once in a while, this was my base." He whistled strangely.

The mansion’s doors creaked open, revealing two nervous men. They froze at the sight of five hundred intruders, but relaxed when they saw Donto. "Boss!" they greeted, bowing.

"Haa, how’ve you been?" Donto tossed them a pouch, their faces lighting up. "Kept the place clean?"

"Spotless, boss," they replied, grinning.

"Good." Donto gestured for the group to enter. As subordinates scoured the mansion, checking for traps and setting up wards, the leaders gathered in a dimly lit hall, its walls lined with faded tapestries.

"What’s going on here?" Ralph asked the two they met in the mansion. He was talking of all the numerous people with the mark of the royal lineage.

The men exchanged uneasy glances. "We don’t know what they’re after," one said, "but for years, the royal family’s been... spreading their lineage. Duchies, marquises, even baronies, they’ve mingled with everyone, commoners included."

’Hmm, is it possible they wish to hold claim to the whole kingdom, or are they trying to create an army of royal soldiers?’ Mirta thought as she listened. This place smelled fishy.

’And they still wouldn’t tell us why we are here.’ Mirta thought as she gazed at Ralph. As easy-going as Ralph seemed, it was difficult to draw out information from him.

Even after all their planning, they hadn’t gone into the Dawnless headquarters even once.

"Alright, Mistars, thank you for your hard work," Ralph said, his tone warm but firm. "When we return, we’ll pay double." He was telling them that they could enjoy the kingdom while they focused on their reason for being here.

"Don’t you think we deserve to know?" Mirta pressed, stepping forward.

"What?" Ralph’s brow arched.

"Your purpose here. You dragged us here without explaining why." Her voice was sharp, frustration spilling over.

The First Executive cut in. "Mirta, that wasn’t our deal."

"I’m asking him," she snapped, locking eyes with Ralph. frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

He met her gaze, unflinching. "Hey, calm down. It’s not serious, but we prefer to keep it private."

"But we risked ourselves."

"Look, Mirta, I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s none of your business. We paid you, told you what we needed, and now we’ve achieved it, we even promised to give you more." His eyes flashed coldly for a moment before continuing, "Because the moment you know... you’re no longer free."

The words cut like a blade, raw and emotionless. The Dawnless executives exchanged glances; his words reminded them of Baines’ ruthlessness.

Though, smiles were always on his face, deep inside, he was a ruthless assassin first.

"Or," he added, his smile returning, "we’ll ask him when he returns."

Mirta, confused but cowed, nodded and led her team away. The Mistars retreated, leaving the Dawnless to their true meeting.

"Wick, what do you have?" Ralph asked, his tone all business.

Wick materialized a circular plate, its surface pulsing with draconic mana. "A tracker, made with your blood, Sir Ralph. It glows stronger near your kin." He explained its function. This was among the experiments it was performing when Baines had given it the dragon’s heart.

At that point, he only thought Wick was better suited to use it.

"Before we search," Ralph said, "we need answers. Let’s hit the information agencies to uncover what’s happening here."

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