Chapter 128: Silver Star Duke

"Ms. Viola?"

Roger's face showed a hint of ambiguity as he asked, "She's the lover you've recently taken up?"

"Ahem…" Lei En nodded openly in acknowledgment, then said seriously, "She's not just a lover; she's my girlfriend."

Roger nodded in understanding, putting away his teasing smile. Zoltan, who had just finished writing the Book of Hatred, scratched his head upon hearing their conversation and said, "Viola? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere."

Before Lei En could explain, the dwarf slapped his thigh in surprise, "Lei En, she can't be the Half‑elf boss from the Violet House, can she?"

"Yes, you know Viola?" Lei En sounded a bit puzzled.

Zoltan has run an inn in the Lien District for years; the Lien District is a slum, practically a different world from the Silver Star District, far apart, so there should be little overlap.

"I've never seen her, but I've heard of her. Extraordinary people often mention this Half‑elf in the inn, claiming she's the most beautiful woman they've ever seen; the entire Empire can't find many women who compare to her."

Zoltan swayed his head as he spoke, "These extraordinary folks gamble and brag all day, can argue over trivial matters for hours, even fight, but when Viola is mentioned, everyone who's seen her agrees she's a rare, stunning beauty—something they rarely concur on, so I remember it clearly."

Roger listened with curiosity; he'd been in Longshande only a short time and hadn't heard of Viola's name.

He then asked Lei En, "Is your girlfriend really that beautiful?"

Lei En felt a bit proud yet wary, giving Roger a cautious glance, needing to guard against this seasoned lover, and modestly said, "She's decent; Viola is indeed quite good‑looking."

"You kid…"

Roger chuckled and shook his head, not pressing further, and asked, "Can she get in touch with the Silver Star Duke?"

"Viola is the Silver Star Duke's great‑granddaughter; she can see the Duke at any time."

Lei En brandished the voice transmitter in his hand, worrying, "But I suspect the Demon Extermination Squad's voice transmitter has been secretly tapped."

The voice transmitter works much like an intercom; each Demon Extermination Squad has its own independent voice channel, so when one member speaks, the others can hear.

If someone covertly meddles and adds an extra voice transmitter, the entire Demon Extermination Squad would have no secrets.

Lei En's last report suspected that the Security Bureau not only had a mole, but the voice transmitter wasn't secure either.

Otherwise the Loxian cultists wouldn't have reacted so swiftly; they withdrew calmly, were prepared, leaving the Demon Extermination Squad unable to find any clues.

Even using Viola to reach the Silver Star Duke could still leak information, which Shadow Blade might detect in advance.

Roger took the voice transmitter, examined it several times but found nothing suspicious.

He shook his head, "The situation is urgent; whether or not we can contact the Silver Star Duke, Shadow Blade could blow up the fortress and the passage at any moment."

"Yes, so even a leak can't be dealt with."

Lei En didn't hesitate, "At least we must prevent Shadow Blade from fully preparing; if the Silver Star Duke moves quickly, there might still be time."

"It would be best if the Silver Star Duke could kill them all," Zoltan said bitterly.

Lei En nodded and fell silent.

If the Silver Star Duke also fails to stop Shadow Blade and the passage collapses, they'll be trapped in the Ironwhisk Fortress and will need to find another way out.

His conversation with Polok didn't reveal much useful information.

But at this moment, given Viola's sensitive status, if the voice transmitter truly is tapped, Shadow Blade could still infer useful information.

Half an hour later, the voice transmitter vibrated again; Lei En pressed receive, and Polok's voice came through, "I've arrived." Then Viola's voice asked, "Lei En, what's so urgent?"

She knew Lei En was in the underground fortress, so she didn't ask where he was.

Lei En had already chosen his words and said rapidly, "Viola, go see the Silver Star Duke immediately. Shadow Blade has dug a tunnel from the Oath Sword on Brent Street to the Wu Shi Ta, targeting the Iola Core. Leading the effort are Halken and Tinos; they're also preparing to blow up the passage to cause disaster. The voice transmitter may be tapped, so you must move quickly."

A few seconds after the message was sent, the voice transmitter vibrated again.

"I'm heading to Wu Shi Ta now," the usually composed and elegant Viola said, her voice a bit frantic.

Immediately, the voice transmitter fell silent and never responded again.

Lei En let out a long breath.

From this moment on, things could erupt at any time.

All three realized this, yet could only wait in the darkness.

Vega Manor is very close to Wu Shi Ta, less than two hundred meters in a straight line, practically at the foot of the tower; Viola can reach the tower via a detour through the Silver Star Academy in under three minutes.

The problem is that meeting the Silver Star Duke isn't that easy; even Viola must go through a report, which costs time.

The worst case is the Silver Star Duke isn't inside the tower; if they can't find him quickly, it's all over.

It's a race against time: between the Silver Star Duke and Shadow Blade, whoever reacts faster and strikes first will win.

Lei En and the others remained silent, tense, awaiting the outcome.

Time ticked by; the upper levels of the fortress remained still, and the voice transmitter gave no reply.

Zoltan clenched his fists, pacing the stone house restlessly. Just as he was about to ask, the voice transmitter's button lit up.

Viola's voice rang out, "The Duke already knows; I'm gathering the Secret Fire Guard. The Duke himself has already arrived at Brent Street."

"Great!" Zoltan shouted.

Lei En and Roger both exhaled simultaneously; clearly, Shadow Blade's reaction was a step slower this time.

But before they could rejoice, a rumbling roar came from overhead.

The entire Ironwhisk Fortress quivered slightly, dust drifting down, and many already fragile structures in the cavern collapsed in the shaking, as if an earthquake had struck.

The three hurried out of the collapsed stone house and stood in an open area.

The tremor lasted less than ten seconds, ending quickly without causing a larger collapse.

But Lei En's mood inevitably sank.

This is on the fourth level, far from the fortress's first level, yet the vibration traveled, indicating how powerful the explosion was.

The Ironwhisk Fortress's interior is vast and complex; Shadow Blade can't destroy the entire fortress, only the passage, the first level, and some sections—enough to trigger a chain reaction.

Even without the Iola Core, they could still deal a heavy blow to Longshande, perhaps even toppling Wu Shi Ta.

"We can't get out," Zoltan said anxiously.

Lei En calmed himself and spoke into the voice transmitter, "Viola, what's the situation outside? Did Wu Shi Ta collapse?"

Half a minute later, Viola replied, "Wu Shi Ta didn't collapse, but the Silver Star District experienced an earthquake; many places sank. The Duke is fighting the enemy, and I and the Secret Fire Guard are going to pursue them. Lei En, are you okay inside the fortress?"

"I'm safe; you take care of yourself," Lei En replied.

"It seems the situation hasn't reached the worst point yet," Roger shook his head and said, "The Silver Star Duke has acted; those followers of Loki should have no escape, so we needn't worry about them. What we must consider now is how to get out of the fortress."

Zoltan said gloomily, "The passage on the first level is definitely blocked."

"The way up is impassable, so we'll go down," Lei En had already considered, "There's an underground dark river beneath the tenth level; when we passed earlier, I heard a sound."

He explained, "The first-level passage was carved by Shadow Blade. Before that, how did Emperor Alpha and Warden get out? So there must be another way out."

"Right," Zoltan's spirit jolted.

However, he hesitated, "Taking the underground dark river, but I haven't prepared any underwater breathing potion." Roger suddenly fished out several vials from his waist pouch and smiled, "I've prepared them."

Lei En's eyes lit up; the demon hunter truly is a medicine jar, always the best prepared when it comes to potions.

The three of them sprang into action immediately.

Because they knew the route, it took less than an hour to go from the fourth level down to the eighth level.

When they passed the night goblin battlefield, they found the battle had already ceased, bodies littered the ground, and only a few hundred surviving night goblins remained, perhaps two or three thousand in total.

Lei En felt a private regret; after this mutual slaughter, the night goblins would need many years to repopulate in large numbers.

From the eighth level down, they soon reached the tenth level, the deepest part of the fortress.

This level was small in area, filled with primitive limestone caves, inhabited by some strange small creatures; the environment was damp and the terrain complex.

Following the sound of water, Lei En quickly found an underground dark river.

The river was only a few meters wide, situated within a narrow cave, its flow slow and steady, moving into the dark underground space, its destination unknown.

With the aid of Truth Willpower, Lei En saw through the darkness.

The water was relatively clear, with many fish swimming; he immediately spotted several man‑made marks, a few thumb‑thick steel nails deeply driven into the riverbed's rock.

Only a small tip of each nail protruded, spaced every three to four meters, leading downstream.

These must be trail markers left by those before.

Lei En shared his discovery with the two, and they without hesitation drank the underwater breathing potion and leapt into the river.

The water was icy; an ordinary person might collapse in minutes, but for the three it was bearable. The potion allowed breathing underwater, causing only slight stuffiness, never the feeling of drowning.

One vial of underwater breathing potion lasted a little over an hour.

Lei En swam at the front; at each river fork, a steel nail immediately indicated the direction.

After an unknown distance, about half an hour later, a bright light appeared ahead, and Lei En also heard a roaring current; he hurriedly sped forward, passed through a hidden stone crevice, and found himself in deep water, the light shining from above.

He swam upward ten‑plus meters, finally breaking the surface and breathing fresh air.

"Huh..."

The sound of water persisted in his ears; looking up, he saw a pool beneath a waterfall, surrounded by desolate silence, with no signs of life for hundreds of meters, only sprawling weeds and forest.

It was night, a bright moon hung in the sky, casting a faint silver light.

At that moment, Roger and Zoltan also poked their heads out of the water.

"Morradin above, we finally made it out!" Zoltan shouted joyfully, and Roger smiled.

The three climbed to the water's edge and completely relaxed.

Lei En rose and gazed into the distance, quickly recognizing the location as outside the northern city of Longshande, i. e., downstream of the Fereigun River; the terrain was lower, the pool sat on a small tributary, and the water would flow a few hundred meters further to join the Fereigun River.

He silently memorized the pool's position; if he ever wanted the Thunder God's Hammer, he would return here later.

The three did not linger, dabbed off some water, and followed the tributary downstream.

Lei En found a small path; after a short walk, he arrived at a wasteland from which the distant horizon showed Longshande.

Under the night sky, Longshande was strikingly bright, with lights flashing intermittently.

Using his Soul Eye to gauge distance, Lei En calculated that Longshande lay over seven thousand meters away; even at that range he faintly heard explosions and many people's cries from the city, as if the whole metropolis were in chaos.

The three exchanged glances and hurried faster toward the city.

Yet halfway there, a sudden violent roar erupted, flames shooting skyward as if a massive explosion had occurred.

From afar, Lei En still sensed a huge magical surge, and shortly after, the city's turmoil gradually subsided and finally quieted.

Roger slowed his pace and laughed, "The Silver Star Duke must have dealt with the enemy."

Lei En nodded, "Shadow Blade can employ unsavory tactics in secret, but once exposed, facing a Holy Soul Wizard, they cannot escape death."

"Since that's the case, we'll take it slow," Zoltan panted, carrying a large metal box as he swam far, and halfway his stamina was nearly exhausted.

At that moment, the communicator in his chest vibrated.

Lei En took it out to answer; it was Viola's query, "Lei En, where are you?"

"We've already emerged, outside the northern suburbs of the city."

Just as Lei En finished transmitting, a streak of light shot from the direction of Longshande, moving at extreme speed, like a massive Silver Fire, its tail stretching several meters, resembling a comet.

Within the flame, a vague human silhouette.

Lei En's eyelids twitched wildly; the Silver Fire contained an extremely terrifying aura, oddly familiar, reminding him of the statue of the God of Magic in front of the Silver Star Grand Library.

"Holy Soul Wizard!" Lei En quickly shut his Soul Eye to avoid seeing things he shouldn't.

"The Silver Star Duke is coming..." Zoltan shouted in surprise.

Roger, however, stared at the silhouette in the sky, his expression puzzled. The Silver Fire circled once in the air, then with a booming crash descended, the flames fading to reveal the true form of the Holy Soul Wizard.

When the three saw the newcomer's appearance, they were all stunned.

"Delraza..."

(End of chapter)