Stormveil Castle

"Well, that's really pitiful."

After listening to Aide Jia's account, You Fei didn't know what to say, so she offered a formulaic word of comfort.

Human emotions are not shared.

It was clearly a very unlucky thing for Aide Jia, but after hearing it, she just wanted to laugh.

No, you can't laugh, You Fei. If you laugh, some of my wonderful qualities might be lost forever.

Finally, You Fei abruptly turned her back to Aide Jia, her shoulders twitching a few times. When she turned back, she had regained her composure and asked:

"So, has your research made any progress? If there has been any progress, it means that all the hard work hasn't been in vain."

These words were once used by Jia Paer to encourage her, but now they seem very didactic and could easily provoke a rebellious mentality among young people today.

However, when those words were uttered, Aide Jia's expression darkened further, and he uttered each word slowly and deliberately.

"Absolutely no results."

That's right, absolutely nothing!

He didn't even know whether to call what he had just experienced "research" or "torture." All he brought back was the crystal cluster in his waist bag that he had prepared to send to his teacher!

Incidentally, the body he's currently using was created using magical artifacts; his true form is currently idling at the Sellia Crystal Tunnel Blessing Point.

Seeing this, people stopped asking him about the details of his adventures in the Sorcerous Town of Sellia, fearing that asking would only make him more upset, and that it was better to avoid seeing it and worrying about it.

"Then, let's go to Stormveil Castle," Yi Sha boldly broke the awkward silence.

"Hmm." Aide Jia nodded heavily and silently followed at the back of the group, seemingly quite shaken.

The incident he caused did not dampen people's interest in entering Stormveil Castle. The closer they got to this rather large city, the stronger the sense of impending doom became, and the more they looked forward to the adventures and, of course, the rewards they would gain.

"The door is closed. Is there any way to open it?"

The main gate of Stormveil Castle, which connects to the bridge, was closed by a heavy iron gate, making it impossible to pass through, but the side gate was still open.

"Ah, the classic case of keeping the main door closed while opening the side door." As the only person present with extensive experience in adventuring in the Zane Dungeon, You Fei laughed as soon as she saw the arrangement.

The main entrance is a door that will never be opened!

She immediately realized that the small door was the right way; perhaps if she wandered around Stormveil Castle for a while, she would find the mechanism to open the big iron gate.

What was this design called in the guides written by adventurers? I think it was called "Opening a Shortcut".

Moreover, even if the large iron gate could be opened, she wouldn't go in. As for the reason?

Even standing here, she could see with her naked eye through the many gaps in the iron gate that there were five crossbows, each larger than a bed, aimed at this side, and the Exiled Soldiers draped in red cloth were constantly fiddling with these things.

Once adventurers dare to step into the area of the main gate, they will be met with the relentless fire of several ballistae. An ordinary person would probably die on the spot if hit by a single shot.

"Hey, this way, please come this way."

Just as people were about to leave, an old and somewhat lewd voice came from the small door next to them. The voice alone was enough to naturally make people feel a little disgusted, which was quite amazing.

The adventurers exchanged glances and went through the side door. There stood a thin, bony man with something like a shackle around his neck, wearing a fawning and lewd smile.

"You are the Tarnished, right? I am the Gatekeeper here. You can call me Gostoc," the Gatekeeper said, rubbing his hands together. "You want to enter the city, right? Then I advise you not to go in through the main gate. There is a group of highly skilled soldiers blocking the way there."

He pointed to the wall opposite the side door, where there was a large hole, vaguely revealing the outline of a path.

"Let's go in through this path. The soldiers don't know about this path. We should be able to infiltrate the city undetected."

It was truly unexpected that someone claiming to be Gatekeeper would come to their aid.

However, upon closer examination, what the other party said seemed to be of little use, since the hole was right there, and they would definitely leave once they saw it.

Aide Jia observed the afterimage before him. He now harbored a natural hostility towards everything about Sain, so he asked suspiciously, "Why are you being so kind? What are you up to?"

Seeing this, the Gatekeeper waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I just have a good impression of people like you Tarnished. I hope you can successfully do what you want to do."

Nobody would believe that. His explanation only made people feel more uneasy.

Seeing that people's suspicions about him were growing, the Gatekeeper had no choice but to say frankly:

"Because that city lord Godrick, insulted me, oppressed me, and forced me to participate in that disgusting limb-splitting procedure, I hope someone can stand up for me and seek justice!"

He spoke with righteous indignation.

Although I still have some doubts, what heinous things could a mere afterimage do?

Fan En, still not entirely at ease, asked a few more questions about the path leading through the hole, and through his persistent questioning, he even managed to find out what he needed to be careful about.

Looking at it this way, everyone seems to understand why there's a Gatekeeper in the Zane Dungeon. It's probably there to give everyone a heads-up, and that the heads-up might even make it a little easier, just like the Luo Jieer summoning charm in front of the Ominous Demon Gate.

Oh dear, thinking about it this way, I suddenly feel that the Zane Dungeon has become so considerate and adorable.

Just as people were satisfied and preparing to leave, Aide Jia suddenly stopped, turned back to the Gatekeeper, and said:

"Wait, are you the Gatekeeper?"

"W-what's wrong?"

"Can you open the gate? I need to use the gate."

Upon hearing this, not only was the Gatekeeper Gostoc shocked, but even You Fei and the others stared at him wide-eyed.

"Are you serious? Putting aside whether this thing can even be opened, aren't there a bunch of ballistae bigger than beds guarding the main gate?" You Fei said, then suddenly realized, "Do you want to sneak past them?"

Aide Jia nodded emphatically.

"I want to reclaim the dignity of my invisibility magic."

If his invisibility magic failed in the Sellia's Magic Array because the mages there were all proficient in invisibility and could see through it, then there is no clear indication of any magic master in Stormveil Castle who can see through invisibility.

If his invisibility magic still can't work here, then he might as well give up being a magician and just die!

"Of course I can call for the gate to be opened for you, but are you really sure?" The Gatekeeper looked at him as if he were looking at a guy who was courting death.

Aide Jia nodded without question.

"Alright, then I'll open the gate for you," the Gatekeeper said, shaking his head and spreading his hands. "If someone is determined to die, there's really nothing you can do to stop them. Hey, open the gate!"

"Boom!"

As he shouted, the massive iron gate that had been blocking the adventurers actually opened automatically, like a giant beast slowly opening its gaping maw.

A howling, chilling wind emanated from the passageway, making one feel cold all over just by getting close.

"Be careful," You Fei reminded him, out of humanitarian concern.

"I know what I'm doing."

Aide Jia looked at the scene after the large iron gate opened, his eyes flashing. Before him was a wide tunnel leading to the inner city. Torches were neatly arranged on the walls of the tunnel, but even though the light of the torches illuminated the place, it could not dispel the cold atmosphere.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the colors of the torches seem a little different, with the torches at the back being noticeably more vibrant.

Several crossbows were lined up at the end of the tunnel, their arrows gleaming coldly and aimed at this spot. Every inch of the tunnel was littered with corpses riddled with arrows. This arrangement was probably the soldiers' way of showing off their victory.

These corpses even had shimmering lights on them, using those lights to lure people there—how despicable!

Aide Jia remained calm and methodically cast various invisibility spells on himself. Finally, after donning his most treasured invisibility cloak, he took a deep breath, and with confidence in his magic and pride in being a wizard, resolutely rushed into the tunnel.

Stepping over the corpses and past the spots of light, he pressed on relentlessly toward the end of the tunnel!

People were holding their breath for him. If he could just rush over there, it would save everyone a lot of time!

In the blink of an eye, Aide Jia had already rushed halfway, while the Exiled Soldiers still did not react at all!

Everyone looked on with anticipation.

Could it be that...?

"Snap—"

The voice of God of Death rang out.

The crossbow bolts burst forth in an instant, and at that very moment Aide Jia was right in their faces.

Therefore, he consumed all the damage like a glutton.

"Ah!"

He screamed in agony as his body was sent flying backward by the immense impact. The entire tunnel was riddled with arrows, and even some of the torches on the walls fell down as a result.

"How... how is this possible?"

Aide Jia's eyes were bloodshot. Why had his proud invisibility magic suffered so many setbacks in one day? Why could mere soldiers see through him?

He's not satisfied! And what's the underlying principle behind this?

"Snap—"

Seeing that the soldiers had repositioned the second crossbow bolt, Aide Jia still couldn't understand why.

Just then, the Ghrū that had been shot down from the wall rolled to his side, and the instant he touched it, he was surprised to see the introduction.

[Sentry Torch]

The torches bestowed upon the guardians of the Erdtree have been blessed with flames that have performed a special prayer, allowing them to see the hidden figures of assassins.

The Erdtree and the Blessed King are on guard—to prevent a repeat of the Night of the Black Knives.

It's a torch that can break invisibility magic!?

Aide Jia was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of blood. What angered him was not only the Sentry Torch.

This is especially true because this thing was only placed in the latter half of the tunnel!

The first half was just ordinary torches, no wonder the soldiers didn't react at first.

This is luring in a magician who can turn invisible and then killing him!

"Bang bang bang—"

The sound of crossbow bolts rang out again, and Aide Jia's consciousness was completely severed in his rage.

Soon after, he vaguely regained consciousness and heard Yi Sha's voice in his ears.

"Are you alright? Let's take the back road."

His forehead suddenly bulged with veins, and he stood up, leaning on his magic wand.

"No."

He stared intently at the city gate, the gems embedded in his magic wand gleaming with a dangerous light.

"I'm going to blow this place up to the ground today!"