Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Infiltrating the Rear Palace
"Hmm."
Wen Shu steadied herself and looked through the gap in the curtain at the resplendent Royal Palace under the setting sun.
In front of the tall palace gate, the elegantly dressed nobility were gradually passing the guard checks, heading towards the banquet venue.
"Wu Xuan," after carefully observing, Wen Shu pointed to the tree at the back lawn of the Royal Palace, which had a shallow mark carved on it, "wait for us there, transform into your beast form, and be ready to leave at any moment."
As night fell, Wen Shu and Nan entered the lively garden, and the conspicuous black dress drew the nobles’ attention, with several trying to engage them in conversation.
Nan dispelled the crowd one by one, protecting Wen Shu as they took a seat by the white porcelain table in the corner.
Sweeping her gaze across the surroundings, Queen Niss had yet to arrive, but Wen Shu already saw Bai Qiao near the main seat, conversing with her several Beast Husbands.
Noticing someone looking at her, Bai Qiao turned around, saw Wen Shu sitting in the corner, bit her lip, and pretended not to see, shifting her gaze away.
Just from the exchange of glances, Wen Shu’s heart was stirred, sensing that Bai Qiao meant to help her.
Sure enough, when everyone arrived, Queen Niss glanced at Wen Shu several times, but Bai Qiao always found an excuse to intervene.
After dealing with Bai Qiao, Queen Niss was about to speak again but was interrupted by Yining, who had just arrived, "Your Majesty, Bai Qiao and I, as females, have very important matters to discuss with you privately."
They hadn’t spoken much before Queen Niss’s face turned dark.
From too far away, Wen Shu couldn’t hear clearly, but by reading their lips, she discerned they were discussing borrowing the Divine Tree Leaves.
Seeing the Queen occupied, Wen Shu pressed Nan’s hand, "Let’s leave quickly."
The pair quietly left the garden, heading toward the rear hall; the path was deserted until patrols increased near the Queen’s bedchamber.
Wen Shu touched Nan’s arm, but Nan’s eyes lit up, and those towering beastmen didn’t move an inch!
Did they have magnets on them?
Things were becoming complicated; Wen Shu furrowed her brow and tapped the air with her fingers, signaling Nan to distract the patrol.
Then, following Mious’s marks, she hurried toward the Holy Temple at the back of the Royal Palace.
Oddly enough, Queen Niss seemed to have anticipated this and dispatched dense troops, encircling the Holy Temple like a fortress.
This was too many people!
Wen Shu surveyed the entire Holy Temple but found not the slightest flaw.
She pressed her lips tightly, clutching a poisoned needle in her palm, picked up a stone, and flicked it at the nearby tree trunk—sending the guards into immediate alert, with a small team dispatched to investigate.
As they drew closer, Wen Shu tightened her grip on the poisoned needle...
A moment later, a team of beastmen returned to the patrol, their expressions dazed.
The Guards’ Captain, with a deep voice, asked, "What happened over there?"
"It was the wind."
The Captain waved them off, gesturing for them to continue their patrol.
The team of beastmen swaggered toward the back of the Holy Temple—a lean figure suddenly detached from the group, fleetingly disappearing as a phantom into the temple.
Meanwhile, Bai Qiao was still earnestly persuading Queen Niss.
"Your Majesty, before I came here, I checked the city gates; it won’t be long before heavy snow spreads to the Royal City!"
Her eyes anxiously reddened, a feeble character broken by the courage evoked by goodwill.
"We have a way to save the continent; now all we lack is this cherished Divine Tree Leaf of yours!"
Her words were stirring, yet Queen Niss remained unmoved, her expression indifferent.
"Is it salvation or a new calamity?"
Queen Niss sat straight at the main seat, her soft, curved brows gaining sharpness, "Remember the Yisha Priest who was slaughtered?"
Her voice was icy, and the Empire’s nobles eavesdropping nearby all showed expressions of grief.
"She was the founding Queen of the Yisha Empire, and the finest Priest across the continent—yet you branded her a heretic!"
Queen Niss looked toward the sky, where dark clouds gathered, hinting at more snow, yet her demeanor remained serene and steadfast.
"Have any of her prophecies failed? Even your plea for the Divine Tree Leaf was subtly suggested within the prophecy book..."
Yining squinted slightly; he indeed understood what Queen Niss was implying.
After the Beast World Continent lost the Beast God’s protection, several times they opened pathways to parallel dimensions for self-rescue.
Yisha arrived after Ye Lin’s failure, trapped with the Divine Tree at the Earth’s core—she was the one who crossed over then.
Arrogant by nature, she exploited her understanding of the continent’s fate to secure her reputation through prophecies and established the Yisha Empire.
Ignoring the dire consequences of her prophecies, she even ruled tyrannically, practiced racial discrimination, and enshrouded the continent in turmoil.
Unexpectedly, she left behind a prophecy book?
Seeing no sign of concession from Queen Niss, Bai Qiao’s voice heightened in urgency, "Your Majesty, you cannot singularly impact the continent’s fate based on one prophecy!"
Her tone heavy, Queen Niss glanced blandly at her.
"Such insolence! I know you’re eager to save people and won’t blame you this time. As for the rest..."
She sipped wine juice, "The prophecy mentions the continent will undergo rebirth when situations reach extremity."
Bai Qiao’s eyes widened, but before she could question, Queen Niss pursed her lips and stated, "It’s rather you all—obtaining the Divine Tree Leaf would bring new threats to the continent."
New threats?
Yining lowered his eyes in contemplation for a few seconds, his heart suddenly racing.
Impossible, could the Pseudo-god still be alive?
——
Kasadi Sea Area.
Heavy snow had fallen for a day and night, showing no signs of stopping, instead pooling into fist-sized snowballs cascading down from thick clouds.
The sea surface surged with a thick layer of ice; Sea Clan Beastmen, wrapped in heavy plush-lined robes, struggled to advance on the glacier.
Leaving their homeland weighed heavily on their hearts, the long migrant journey devoid of any conversation.
At the front of the procession, a tall male remained composed, advancing calmly toward the Yisha Empire.
Unlike the other beastmen, his body wasn’t bedraggled with snow.
The snowflakes around him floated in the air under the influence of superpower.
His curly silver hair flowed behind him, dark purple eyes flashing a dangerous red light, appearing confident and calm.
An old beastman with burn scars all over his cheeks cautiously followed him, "Chief Sai Yin, where are we headed now?"
Sai Yin stopped in place, gazing afar.
The snowstorm veiled his sight, obscuring the path ahead.
Yet, he stared intently southwest, the dull red light deep in his eyes suddenly flaring, his whole aura sinisterly flickering.
"Bain City." His lips curved slightly, his deep and melodious voice layered with a husky mist, distorting his original tone.
Watching his unfamiliar profile, old beastman Jin Yu held his breath, silently retreating half a step, recalling Sai Yin’s anxious and worried demeanor when he summoned him to the palace.
Merely touching the high platform with fingertips, he changed completely!
His eyes filled with red mist, disregarding consequences, sacrificed all the involved Sea Clan Beastmen, even nearly killing him!
Only then did Jin Yu understand the late king’s dying instructions.
But it was all too late...
