In the pitch-black, boundless, mysterious, and abyssal waters.
Sun Fei closed his eyes and focused all his Spiritual Power on exploring in all directions, like silent tentacles extending in all directions, but unfortunately he still found nothing.
Calculating the time, Sun Fei knew he could only hold on for less than twenty minutes.
"I have to leave."
Even if one's strength has reached the peak of Star-Rank Warrior, going without enough oxygen for more than an hour can lead to serious trouble and could even be life-threatening. His Majesty the King doesn't want to risk his life. While curiosity is important, one must remember the adage, "Curiosity killed the cat."
With a sigh, Sun Fei began to manipulate the glass shield, slowly raising it upwards along the water flow.
Just then, a new change occurred. The waters, which had been churning and raging like a raging storm, suddenly calmed down, and the invisible force that had been manipulating the water seemed to vanish in an instant.
This strange change startled Sun Fei, and he subconsciously activated his Spiritual Power once again to 'look' downwards.
Sun Fei's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
He suddenly discovered that, about 1,500 meters below his feet, countless living, mermaid-like creatures were swimming swiftly to and fro. Their movements were rapid and unpredictable, tracing fleeting arcs in the water. Below these shadowy figures, Sun Fei saw a series of undulating terrains, remarkably regular, and, to His Majesty the King, it resembled... a palace complex situated underwater!?
"Holy crap, what's that?"
Sun Fei was utterly shocked and habitually swore.
He immediately changed his mind, slowly descending, trying to 'see' more clearly.
However, the range of his Spiritual Power had already reached its limit, and after using Spiritual Power for such a long time, the consumption was already very serious. King Majesty the King felt that the range he could scan was gradually shrinking, and with the increasing pressure around him, the glass shield was like glass about to shatter, making soft cracking sounds. It was on the verge of collapse, and the black shadows that were nimbly moving back and forth, as well as the layers of buildings that resembled a palace complex, were soon no longer perceptible.
After a moment's thought, Sun Fei abandoned his plan to investigate further.
He quickly ascended and returned along the same route.
With his current strength, he simply cannot dive any deeper than 1,500 meters; he would be crushed into a pulp by the immense and terrifying water pressure.
To understand everything that exists below, we must continue to improve our eyesight.
It is likely that only after reaching the Moon Class powerhouse can one truly grasp the secrets of this mysterious, dark, and deep water.
Ajax Barracks.
Prince Fairenton and a group of important generals in the army were anxiously waiting around a deep well with an opening of about three meters.
Twenty minutes ago, the burly man Inler, with a rope tied around his waist, jumped into the deep well, wanting to find out what was happening underwater. Was it some kind of trick by the Zenit people, or some strange change in the underground river connected to the well, or some terrifying monster in the water?
Twenty minutes passed, and the gushing of well water gradually slowed down.
However, the strong man Inler, did not return, nor did he swing the cable to notify the people on the ground to pull him up as previously agreed. Everything was quiet, which was a little scary. The only thing that reassured the people on the ground was that there was no blood in the well water.
The most anxious person in the crowd was Prince Fairenton.
This burly man, Inler, was one of his personal guards. An orphan, he had been by his side since childhood. Even when Fairenton was sent to the Great Snow Mountain to learn martial arts, Inler stayed by the side to serve the prince. Although their relationship was that of ruler and subject, it was more like that of brothers.
Inler was born dull-witted and lacked talent. Despite having trained for over ten years in the sacred martial arts Great Snow Mountain, he only reached the peak of the Three-Star Class and could hardly make any further progress. However, he was born with excellent swimming skills and immense strength. He had always been loyal to Fairenton, so His Highness the Prince had always kept him by his side.
"No need to wait any longer, pull up the cable immediately and bring Inler up right away." Anxious and unable to remain calm, Fairenton ordered his men to pull up the cable.
"Oh no, look! The cable looks like it's snapped..." someone exclaimed.
Sure enough, when the soldiers pulled the cable up, people discovered that one end of the cable had been cut off at some point, and the cut was perfectly smooth, indicating that it had been severed by a sharp object such as a knife.
"Damn it!" The group's expressions changed drastically.
"Thump!"
The next instant, a soft sound was heard, and water splashed up.
Before anyone could react, Fairenton jumped into the deep well without saying a word.
"Your Highness..."
Your Highness!
"Grown ups!!"
The surrounding generals all paled. His Highness the Prince was actually risking his life for a mere personal guard? Who knew what monsters lurked beneath that well? If something happened to His Highness the Prince, and Emperor Chivu were to unleash his fury, none of them would survive.
Some impatient generals were already preparing to jump after them.
"Wait a minute." The strange middle-aged man in Zenit noble attire, who had previously strongly advocated sending someone down to observe the situation, stopped the others from moving and shouted, "His Highness the Prince is powerful and will surely return. Going down will only make things worse and become a burden. Do you want to kill His Fairenton?"
The excited generals looked at each other and gradually calmed down.
"Bah! Damn Zenit, I don't know what tricks you used to gain the prince's trust, but if he doesn't return in thirty minutes, I'll cut off your filthy head and use it to serve as a Earth Tiger!" Sim de Jong, the deputy commander of the Ajax army, grabbed the middle-aged man's robe collar viciously, threatened him a few words, and shoved him aside.
The middle-aged man staggered back a few steps, almost falling on his backside.
However, there was no anger on his face.
He merely flicked the crumpled collar, a faint smile remaining on his face throughout, completely unconcerned about the Bloody threat.
Just then--
boom!
With a loud bang, a jet of water, accompanied by fiery red flames, shot up into the deep well.
"Someone, summon the army's best physician and the accompanying healing mage immediately."
The person who rushed out was none other than Prince Fairenton. His body was flashing with crimson flames, which drove away all the water vapor. However, due to the excessive consumption of his Dou Qi, his face was slightly pale. He landed on the ground and immediately shouted orders. In his hand, he was carrying the strong man Inler, who had just gone down into the deep well, but had already fainted and died.
Soon, the army's best physicians and accompanying mages arrived and began the examination.
"Your Highness, please rest assured. Inler simply couldn't find an exit after the cable was cut by the rocks, which led to him suffocating and losing consciousness. Although he suffered some minor injuries from being jolted by the water and hitting the Rock, it's not a serious problem. He's in good health and will fully recover in a day or two with some rest!" The gray-haired old doctor examined him carefully, his face relieved, and quickly came to a conclusion.
Meanwhile, another mage dressed in a pure white magic robe chanted a spell, raised his hand, and infused a wisp of warm, blue light into the burly man's body. Visibly Inler's pale complexion began to improve and become rosy. He coughed and spat out a few mouthfuls of cold water.
"Fortunately, Your Highness found him in time, otherwise there would have been real danger." After doing all this, the mage's weathered and wrinkled face showed admiration, and he sighed, "Your Highness, as a prince of the empire, is of such noble status, yet you were willing to venture into danger for a mere personal guard. Alahan truly admires you greatly. Please accept my praise, Your Highness."
This mage was an elderly man with white hair, a healing mage who had served in the army for many years. Although he never participated in battles and was only a low-level Two-Star Class mage, he was quite famous in the army because he had spent almost his entire life in the Barracks and had healed many wounded soldiers over the years. When he said this, he was sincere and open-minded, without any pretense, which immediately won the hearts of many people.
The Ajax Empire was a slave-owning state with a very strict hierarchical order. As a prince of the empire, Fairenton of extremely high status, yet he was willing to risk his life for a mere personal guard. In the eyes of many low-ranking soldiers, this was a rare kindness and compassion that only true royalty possessed, which greatly moved them.
"I was just... doing what a commander, a general, and a friend should do."
Fairenton frowned slightly, not expecting the old magician to say such a thing, but his tone remained cold and arrogant, without any pretense, showing his disdain for using such methods to gain prestige.
"Your Highness is merciful! Long live Your Highness! We are willing to fight to the death for the Glory of the Palace of Fairenton!" The surrounding soldiers knelt down in unison.
"Your Highness is unparalleled in benevolence. We are willing to follow you to the death, to fight to the death for His Jifu Kifu and Your Highness, to conquer Twin Flag City for Your Highness, to reclaim the imperial banner lost for twenty-six years from the city walls, and to let Your Highness's name resound throughout every oasis and every riverbank of the Ajax Empire!"
The generals also knelt down to show their loyalty.
Under the bright, dark moon in the sky, the crimson cloak behind Fairenton cast a long shadow on the ground, projected onto the beach. Surrounded by thousands, he seemed to be standing on a road leading to royalty.
First update.
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