^Hmmm.^
^Boss Kidanna? What’s wrong?^
^Something about this area doesn’t feel right...^ the Aether King leader of the Golden Gorilla Union answered while scratching her chin. ^But I can’t seem to pinpoint what.^
Kidanna’s original plan when it came to her expedition to the [City of Mirrors], was to take a large group of her best warriors and escort her little sister and her friends around the area. That way, she could keep a close eye on them and show off a little.
However, once she had gotten her hands on a map of this place, met up with Lythero and his less attractive friends and learn that one of those friends was related to the increasingly infamous Zhen Clan, she decided that the best approach was to divide and conquer.
Especially when they had a means of communicating with each other via a real time channel. Granted, it was dependent on the writing speed of the aether puppet.
^By the way, what’s the status on the other groups?,^ Kidanna asked her subordinates as they awaited for the puppet to finish writing.
^Well...it appears the Rainbow Phoenix Academy group has stumbled upon a treasure chest that seems blatantly trapped, the Zhen Clan warriors has entered into a gallery filled with cloth covered mirrors, while the group being led by Lythero have just encountered a hall full of glass warriors. They’re winning, by the way.^
^Good to hear. Wait, are they warriors covered in equipment made of glass or are they warriors made of glass?^
^Yes to both. They’re fighting warriors made of glass wielding glass equipment.^
^Ah.^
Hearing that none of the groups had faced anything that wasn’t already expected put the Union leader at ease. At the same time though, she still couldn’t shake off this feeling that something additional was going to happen.
’Bah! Screw it! If something or someone wants to attack me, then so be it! I’ll crush them like any other opponent,’Kidanna eventually concluded while staring up at the entrance to the [Nest of Glass Beasts].
^Let’s get moving!^
^Aye!^
This name was actually a mild misnomer, as it wasn’t a literal nest.
Rather, it appeared to be a statue garden filled with what the Golden Gorilla Union warriors could make out to be glass statues of various types of animals and aether beasts from all over the world.
There were even, ironically, statues of Glass Beasts, which were a type of aether beast known for the reflective scale-like armor and the ability to reflect most projectile-based aether arts.
Regardless, once Kidanna made the decision to move forward, she and her accompanying warriors entered into the "nest", determined to claim whatever treasures could be found here.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Little did she know though, Kidanna and her companions had unknowingly made themselves rather vulnerable. Because, as the old saying goes, the second mouse gets the cheese.
...Meanwhile...
^On the one hand, I find waiting like this to be mildly cowardly.^
^On the other, Duke Diamoro?^ Alfonzo asked.
^On the other, It is a more effective means of securing profit by stealing the hard work of others. I like it.^
^Good to hear.^
A little after the Golden Gorilla Union and their allies entered the [City of Mirrors], the Silver Jungle Dragon Shipping Company and their allies followed suit, with the same no map no less. Although, they didn’t discover that latter bit of information until after they had entered the wandering ruins, found that their rivals were following a similar path and confirmed after several of their scouts started trailing after them.
The initial reaction to the fact that their map wasn’t actually a singular copy but was actually a duplicate was less than pleasant.
^Those cheating scouts!^
^How dare they?!^
^Let’s kill these brats now before they have a chance to even claim a single copper piece worth of treasure!^
^Wait, you cantankerous fools!^ Alfonzo scolded his rambunctious allies, ^don’t you see there’s an opportunity here?^
^An opportunity?^
That was, until Alfonzo pointed out a very real advantage.
^They don’t know we’re here, but we know they’re here,^ Alfonzo began to explain, ^we don’t have to go through the trouble of dealing with all the traps and protections that normally protect treasures in a place like this, we can just wait for them to do it for us. And then, we can simply reap the rewards.^
^Oh. Oh...^
Since a majority of the Silver Jungle Dragons’ allies were those used to working and living in the seedier parts of society, they knew immediately that Alfonzo’s suggestion had a lot of merit to it.
^Now that you understand, gather around so I can direct you all on where to go.^
Alfonzo, by comparison to the other warriors present, was rather weak.
In terms of raw aether power, he was below average amongst Aether Kings.
However, he made up for this deficiency by having a tactical mind and being able to know exactly what others wanted, so that he could use those desires to his advantage.
In other words, he was the perfect businessman and strategist all wrapped up in one diabolically scaly package.
It only took Alfonzo a few minutes to determine the most strategically effective use of his present warriors, taking into accounts their particular strengths and weaknesses for every location.
^Alright, you have your orders. Now go!^
^Yes sir!^
Once they were given their plans, the warriors disbanded and went to their assigned locations.
Some planned to wait until right after their targets acquired the treasures, while others planned to wait until they had exited their location altogether.
Either way, the only ones who hadn’t made a move quite yet were Alfonzo himself and Duke Diamoro.
Instead, the duo found themselves standing before an unremarkable fountain that was barely featured on the map Alfonzo had purchased earlier that day.
^Your instincts when it comes to business and battle are part of the reason why I decided to invest in your little shopping company,^ Duke Diamoro commented aloud as he stared at this fountain that Alfonzo insisted was important. ^But I hope you understand that I am not someone who enjoys being played for a fool.^
^I assure you, my liege, I have no plans of playing you to be the fool,^ Alfonzo assured his superior. ^You just said my instincts for this kind of thing tended to be good. So just trust me, my liege.^
^Mmm.^
Allowing Alfonzo to do his thing, Duke Diamoro silently watched as the silver scaled lizard Bloodliner proceeded to walk the perimeter of the fountain in a sweeping manner.
Every step Alfonzo took was accompanied by a sweep of his tail, as he was using it to check for disturbances in the stone.
Evidently, this turned out to be a smart move, as Alfonzo managed to identify a raised stone in the fountain’s groundwork that was unusually springy after sweeping his tail a mere three times.
^Found it!^
^Oh?^
With a light tap of his tail, Alfonzo pushed down against the stone and activated a hidden mechanism that caused the fountain to suddenly stop spouting water and then sink into the ground.
Shortly after, a descending case of stairs revealed itself to the duke and his subordinate.
^Huh. Well I’ll be damned.^
^As I said, my liege, there must’ve been a reason for that fountain to have been included in such a subtle manner,^ Alfonzo observed. ^And as you can see, the proof is present.^
^Indeed...^
A miniscule part of Duke Diamoro had made the assumption that someone else may have acquired whatever treasures were squirreled away in this hidden fountain. After all, someone else had a copy of their map and it wouldn’t be a massive leap in logic to assume that more than two parties had access to it.
But, as the duke stood at the entrance to the descending stairs, he could sense a rich, pleasant aether coming out of it.
While he couldn’t make out any clear attributes associated with it, he could feel that whatever released such a potent aether was going to be beneficial to his growth as a warrior regardless.
Perhaps it would even be able to help him break his limits and help him reach the Overlord and Saint tiers of cultivation.
Either way, he had the distinct feeling that it was in his best interest to go down there and lay claim to whatever treasures was locked away down there.
Which is why he couldn’t help but be a little suspicious.
^Alfonzo.^
^Yes, my liege?^
^What are the chances those rivals of yours will be able to find this place?^
^It should be rather miniscule,^ Alfonzo assured him. ^Unless, of course, you don’t want that to be the case.^
^As you said, there’s an opportunity to had in having others do the heavy lifting.^
^And all we need to do is reap the rewards.^
^Exactly.^
... Meanwhile, in a place that was dark and cold...
^And now all the pieces are in their place...I wonder who’s going to come out on top?^