Shaqila poked her head out from behind the black boulder and watched the direction of Nathatone. Her expression grew worse by the second. After a moment, she pulled her head back. "There's an unexpected problem... I'm afraid getting inside won't be easy."
Hao Ren's eye twitched. "What happened?"
"See that pale blue barrier outside the city walls?" Shaqila pointed at Nathatone's shield with the tip of her tail. "That's the city's Water Dome. The Tarani crystals on the walls are glowing, which means the Water Dome has been infused with energy. Under these circumstances, the barrier is mentally linked to Her Majesty the Queen. Anything passing through the Water Dome will be sensed by the Queen. She'll realize that you aren't Sirens, then use the water membrane to cut the intruders into pieces."
Lily opened and closed her mouth. "...What kind of principle does that work on?"
"Water is formless. It can become a person, or it can become a city. The Tarani crystals can amplify the Queen's mental power, turning the Water Dome into an extension of her body. That's the key to her control over the entire city." Soma sighed. "This was originally supposed to be the Queen's last resort for protecting the city when it encountered danger. Who would have thought it would now be used to imprison her own people?"
Izax stroked his chin. "Something like this must consume a tremendous amount of energy. Could that Queen really keep her mind linked to the Water Dome forever? She has to rest sometime."
Shaqila shook her head. "The Water Core bears most of the mana consumption. As long as the Queen stands above the Water Core, her mana and stamina are inexhaustible. Oh, the Water Core is the city's energy core. It's inside the palace."
Hao Ren