Tower of Heaven

The Phoenix Palace was almost entirely empty. There were still a few phoenixes and some servants remaining, but even they were moving around busily.

Atlas’ presence was not hard to recognize. He was the only man on the premises, so he stood out quite a bit.

He was able to maintain secrecy only because the Immortals who usually lived in the palace were now concentrated in specific locations as they coordinated and led the charge against their current enemies.

"Do we know who the enemy is?"

"Not yet. I heard that they’re trying to save people instead of fighting. We’ll only know who we’re fighting once they’re encountered."

"But the Elders know that this is the work of enemies, right? How?"

"How am I supposed to know? Since when did we know how to question the Elders?"

The conversation took place amidst the sound of large bangs coming from outside the palace. With the passing of minutes, the frequency of impacts slowly increased.

Atlas listened to both sounds as he moved down the halls. He didn’t know exactly what his goal was, but he was moving as if he was looking for something off.

’Last time, it wasn’t a targeted attack. The Blood Moon Phenomenon was carried out only to prove a point. I get the feeling that this is different.’

Under the assumption that there was an enemy, Atlas thought of the many different reasons they could have for creating disasters in the Neutral Zone.

If their goal wasn’t just destruction…

’...then the meteor shower is a distraction.’

[Intrinsic Foresight]

His eyes opened wide as he scanned the Phoenix Palace. His eyes analyzed the materials in the walls, allowing him to see through small portions and perceive the world beyond.

Many of the resources used in its construction were of the Immortal Grade, so he could not understand them. Luckily, the amount he could see through was more than enough.

Because, within one of those tiny gaps, he saw the movement of a figure he did not recognize.

It was a figure with a cloak covering their entire body in shadow. They moved secretly and silently, avoiding all perception and perceptive abilities.

’Now, how are you able to do that?’

Atlas knew that he certainly couldn’t do such a thing in the Phoenix Palace.

’Is it some sort of mirage ability?’

When he saw that person’s silhouette through the wall, he could clearly make out their relative height and body shape. He circled out of the palace and to the courtyard area where that person had been, but by that time, they no longer existed. ṛÀΝỒＢËS̩

The Eyes of One were unable to recognize that form anymore. It was as if Atlas had completely lost his target in a matter of seconds.

Until a glint caught his eye, hidden in some nearby brush.

He approached it and moved the grass, revealing a small metal handle embedded in the ground.

’This is…some sort of secret path?’

With his hand placed on the grass around the handle, he sent his spiritual sense into the ground to reveal a large open space below.

Without a doubt, that person had to have gone down this hatch. Otherwise, he didn’t believe he could have lost them so easily.

It opened relatively easily. A patch of grass smoothly separated from the rest, and after Atlas dropped down, it fell back and blended into the environment like it was nothing special at all.

Atlas fell for only a few seconds before landing without a sound. He didn’t question where he was and walked down the dirt tunnel where he landed until it opened into some sort of room.

’I was indeed expecting something like this.’

A set of ornate double doors in an otherwise nondescript location. It was a telltale sign of an ancient vault that was being used to store treasures from long ago.

’But, it’s a little too easy to access, isn’t it?’

Or perhaps he was just riding on the coattails of the person he was following. Perhaps all of the security measures had been rendered useless by them.

Thinking such things, Atlas entered the vault doors that were already cracked open. He found himself in a room made of gold and filled with shelves of treasure. He didn’t look at them, instead immediately finding a position to hide his figure from view.

His senses spread once more, carefully in order to not alert any potential enemies.

He moved forward silently until he’d left the entrance room and entered a much larger area. There, he finally saw the target he had been chasing.

They had undone their concealment, which was a shame since Atlas wanted to see it again. They had their entire attention concentrated on the object in front of them, so they didn’t even notice his presence.

It was a single golden arrow that shined with a beautiful splendor. It was already in their hands, but it seemed they had taken a moment to appreciate its form before leaving.

’Well, stealing is stealing.’

If he acted here, would the phoenixes be forced to reward him with a treasure like one of these?

He, for one, wanted to find out.

His body shot out at a fast speed, but his chain sickles were even faster.

In a single moment, the silence in the vault was shattered. The cloaked figure turned around in a hurry and barely managed to raise a blade in time.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out. The figure’s hood flew back, but even underneath they were wearing a mask that hid their face.

She was undoubtedly a woman. She had long black hair that jumped into the air as the hood flew off, but that did not distract Atlas. While she was busy blocking his blade, he pushed his foot forward and slammed it into her chest.

She was pushed into the ground while the arrow in her hand went flying. Atlas swiftly snatched it out of the air before landing next to her and extending his qi to trap her.

"That was eas–" Explore more adventures at empire

Bang!

His words couldn’t even land before she broke out of his webbing. Her blade came at his neck so fast that her arm turned into a blur, but he avoided it by only tilting his body back slightly.

He stumbled back like he had lost his balance, but his every movement allowed him to narrowly dodge the woman’s continuous attacks.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

She was relentless. She didn’t stop attacking even though she knew she couldn’t hit him. Since he was only dodging and blocking, Atlas soon found himself pushed against a corner of the vault.

"Was this intentional?"

His words were answered by nothing more than an explosive force that wrapped around him. His vision was covered by flames, and by the time he extinguished them, the woman was already gone.

’So you were trying to escape.’

It made much more sense for a bandit to attempt escape rather than fighting to the death.

’But, it isn’t that easy.’

He had a hunch that the bandit in question would lead him to the more interesting things happening in Alfros.

Regardless of whether she’d concealed herself or not, Atlas would ensure that their chase did not end here.

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