Unimpeded

Belobog Upper District.

Guard Restricted Zone.

This place is a lethal barrier, the most intense front line against the Fragmentum invasion in Belobog.

Only by crossing this area can one reach the front lines or the regions on the edge of the Fragmentum.

Faced with Serval's request to lead the way, Jing Yan and his group neither refused nor agreed, simply saying, "Unnecessary."

Yet, they did not stop her from following along.

Soon after, they arrived at the entrance to the restricted zone.

The guards, just like the Silvermane Guards encountered previously, moved completely to both sides, showing no intention of blocking their path.

Jing Yan's group passed through immediately, while Serval glanced at the Silvermane Guard sentries behind them, a look of astonishment appearing on her face.

"It's... that easy?"

Serval seemed unable to process what had just happened.

"Can they not see us?" Serval asked Jing Yan curiously.

"That is not the case; it is simply that in their eyes, we are one of their own."

Jing Yan said this and offered no further explanation.

At this moment, his mastery over the [Illusion Domain] had become so refined that he could influence the senses of those he wished to trap in an illusion without any overt actions.

The others could pass by without even noticing anything amiss.

Conversely, when he had saved Seele from the Fragmentum creatures—the Stagnant Shadows—in the Great Mine of the Underworld, he had expanded the [Illusion Domain] to envelop the entire Stagnant Shadow, using it to amplify his [Verbal Domination] ability. In that sense, it was a different application.

After all, illusions have a much greater influence on mechanical constructs and humans than they do on Fragmentum creatures.

The reason is that Fragmentum creatures originate from a dimension distinct from reality. The entities that appear within the Fragmentum possess a perception of that special realm that humans lack, so the illusions Jing Yan created had little inherent effect on them. However, by adding the power of the Aeon of Eros, he could twist and manipulate them.

This is another characteristic of the Fragmentum: despite emitting radiation harmful to real-world humans, it is also very easy for it to "imprint" existences from reality.

Or rather, real-world objects easily influence it, causing it to act like a mirror, reflecting "Fragmentum creatures" that correspond to items existing in reality.

This is the origin of the two types of Fragmentum creatures in people's eyes.

One type is formed when the Fragmentum erodes humans in reality, twisting them into monsters.

The other type arises because the Fragmentum is a special dimension independent of the physical world, making it easily influenced by reality, thereby "imprinting" the shadows of existences or objects that exist in the real world.

Because they are essentially shadows—like dolls made of clay modeled after an original carrier—they are more easily permeated and swayed by divine power, and even capable of having their forms altered once more.

This is why Jing Yan is so invested in the Fragmentum.

From it, he can not only integrate a portion of his power with the Fragmentum but also gain insight into the power of "Destruction" that exists within.

After all, the Fragmentum is ultimately brought about by the existence of a "Stellaron," or rather, by the influence and destruction of dimensions that lead to the Fragmentum's appearance.

Jing Yan is now confident that he can use his divine power to contain the power of "Destruction."

It is much like wrapping a dumpling.

Of course, once he arrives on the Xianzhou "Luofu" in the future, he might learn skills like "alchemy," which could be even more helpful for him to digest the Stellaron.

In any case, at this moment, the Silvermane Guards ahead, having seen Jing Yan's illusion on their retinas, all stepped aside.

This included an officer equipped in ornate, high-quality gear.

This person's attire was vastly different from the other Silvermane Guards. Unlike the thin, sea-blue leather armor, felt hats, and forehead-protecting metal plates of the others, this man was encased in bright, silver-plated metal armor covering his chest, shoulders, and knees, topped with a towering, barrel-shaped helmet.

Furthermore, he held a crystal long spear in his hand, colored like a pale blue blueberry milk.

At the junction of the spearhead and the shaft was a three-dimensional, snowflake-like ice crystal, featuring shorter, sharp barbs.

The shield in his other hand looked like a door panel, or perhaps a coffin lid, embedded with glowing blue, ice-like spikes.

He looked both heroic and formidable.

"That..."

As Serval followed Jing Yan's group past him, she couldn't help but tilt her head to look at the officer, turning to say to Jing Yan, "Hey, I know this guy. Should we..."

Jing Yan smiled upon hearing this.

The next second, he withdrew the illusion's influence over the officer.

The officer immediately noticed the anomaly here.

He suddenly became alert, turning his head to perform a defensive, probing attack toward the area where his peripheral vision had sensed something amiss.

As he turned, he swung his shield in a sweeping motion, only to find he had struck empty air.

There seemed to be nothing behind him.

He was stunned.

He couldn't tell if he had just misjudged the situation or what had happened.

Serval, who was currently running forward in the group alongside Jing Yan, turned pale and stuck out her tongue.

"Wow, did he almost discover us just now?"

Serval clutched her chest and asked.

"I was just wondering if Dunn would discover us, but Jing Yan, your ability is so powerful that it's as if we're invisible?!"

"Or is it that they can only not see us, but can still hear the noises we make?"

Serval asked, puzzled.

Beside her, March 7th heard this and revealed an awkward smile. After glancing at Jing Yan and realizing he wasn't angry, she let out a sigh of relief and continued, "You, oh you, now is really not the time to be thinking about greeting friends."

"Serval, that officer who just walked by, could he be your boyfriend? The armor is nice, but I don't know about the man himself." March 7th teased.

She winked as she spoke.

Hearing this, Serval scratched her head in embarrassment.

"A boyfriend? You're overthinking it."

"He's not a boyfriend. It's just that before I was expelled from the Architects, he used to be quite attentive to me and liked listening to me play the guitar. He's an honest guy, but... he has body odor, and his looks aren't really my type, so..."

Serval didn't continue.

Jing Yan smiled faintly at her words.

"You're quite interesting."

"Right."

Serval shifted her gaze from March 7th to look at Jing Yan.

"Will he hear our movements and come chasing after us from behind?" Serval asked next.

"He won't."

Jing Yan smiled and said.

"My Path power isn't as simple as just blinding people's eyes. If I wish, even sounds are something they cannot hear."

Jing Yan's words were no empty boast.