novellk Chapter 1567 Shadow Rift
Chapter 1567 Shadow Rift
"Is this the capital of the dark half-elves? It is quite a spectacular sight."
Lei Xiao stood on the platform at the entrance of the dim passage and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
As far as the eye can see, there is a city built in a huge underground crack.
Dense stalactites hang from the towering dome and spread all over the city, like a huge waterfall surrounding the city, completely solidified in the darkness.
The entire city is not a whole, but is made up of a number of giant platforms, which are connected by bridges emitting faint blue fluorescence, and a faint mist rises around them.
The streets in the city are well-organized and the light is quite dim. There are dark buildings with sharp roofs everywhere, like wizards wearing wizard hats. They are so densely packed that you can't see the end at a glance.
The dim light in the city and the stalactite waterfalls outside the city complement each other, making the entire city look like it is standing in the shadows. It is mysterious and wonderful.
“No wonder it’s called Shadow Rift Abyss. It really is like a city built in the abyss.”
Lei Xiao's gaze moved and fell on the nearest fluorescent giant bridge leading to the city. He saw magic towers and buildings standing around the giant bridge. Teams of light-footed black soldiers appeared and disappeared in the shadows, and the defense was extremely tight.
Although this strange city was not protected by walls, it was filled with dark magical lights that emitted a majestic aura. It was obviously covered with various defensive and even offensive magic barriers.
In addition to the unique terrain, it would be more difficult to attack here than in an ordinary city.
Around Lei Xiao, except for Therese who had lived here for a period of time, the other strong men who accompanied us all had looks of surprise on their faces.
Even in the vast world of Outland, the capital of the dark half-elves is an extremely mysterious existence and is rarely shown to visitors.
Ordinary visitors cannot even pass through the Glimmering Canyon, let alone pass through the long underground passage that is like a maze to get here.
If it weren't for this dark half-elf general leading the way, I'm afraid it would have been difficult for our group to pass through the underground passage full of forks in the road for a while.
Among the surprised crowd, in addition to the strong men under Lei Xiao and the Lila sisters, there were three burly figures that were extremely conspicuous.
The leader was a strong young man with a square face and sword-like eyebrows. The other two were an old magician with a ruddy face and a strong middle-aged man with a rough face and determination. They were Hollis, Bruce and Lux in human form.
The three of them were somewhat uncoordinated in their movements and seemed a little sluggish, obviously not yet fully accustomed to this posture.
"The security here is obviously much stricter than before."
After observing for a while, Theresa asked the dark half-elf general who was leading the way with a puzzled look on her face: "General, what happened here?"
Hearing the voice, Lei Xiao and the others also cast questioning glances over.
Could it be that the other party temporarily strengthened their guard because of the arrival of their group? This is reasonable, but if not, the situation will undoubtedly be more complicated.
"Don't worry, this is not a defensive measure against you. Otherwise, you would never notice anything. Besides, the dark half-elves have no reason to be hostile to you."
The dark half-elf general who led the way spoke bluntly without any fluctuation in his voice.
After that, his eyes fell on Theresa again, and he said without any context, "I didn't expect that after decades, Her Excellency the Saint of Moon Palace still remembers this city."
"General, do you know me?"
Hearing that the other party had directly exposed her identity, Theresa couldn't help but show a look of surprise on her face.
You know, before leaving Ice Stone City, she had already used the disguise of the Holy Maiden of Moon Palace, and looked no different from an ordinary human.
This is the top camouflage secret method of the Dark Elf Kingdom. Even a half-step seventh-level strongman and an ordinary detection array could not detect any clues. Unexpectedly, the other party could easily see through his identity.
The most crucial thing is that she came here as a dark elf apprentice priest. There were several other apprentice priests traveling with her. Those she had communicated with were all dark half-elves. She had never come into contact with dark half-elf soldiers, so they should not have recognized her.
"Your Excellency the Saint is a pure-blooded dark elf. We, the dark half-elves, also have the blood of dark elves flowing in our veins. It is not difficult to do this."
The dark half-elf general shrugged and responded calmly, "Before this, we have indeed never met each other directly, but as far as I know, the only dark elves who can travel side by side with His Majesty are the Saint and her sister. And since Her Majesty can dress up, the result is obvious."
Hearing what the other party said, Lei Xiao narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.
It seems that the other party knows her very well. Theresa's sister is naturally Erza.
If you think about it carefully, it is common knowledge that the Dark Elves' spies are spread all over the place and their intelligence network is extremely complete. And since the Dark Half-Elves have a close relationship with the former, it is reasonable for them to know this.
"But this still doesn't answer Theresa's question just now, which is why the dark half-elves suddenly became so alert. If it's not aimed at us, then what is the reason?"
Lei Xiao's brain was working rapidly, but his expression did not show any fluctuations.
But what the other party said is not wrong. They really have no reason to be our enemy.
Furthermore, behind him were seven other strong men who were half-step to the seventh rank, including Jasmine, Fei'er, Hollis, and the Lila sisters, not to mention Xuan Ji and himself. Plus, he had a series of trump cards in his possession, so even if there were any accidents, they would be enough to deal with them.
"Your Majesty, can we continue to move forward?"
The dark half-elf general who led the way looked at Lei Xiao again and asked, "If His Majesty the Human has any doubts, you can leave now."
"General, you are joking. Please continue to lead the way."
Lei Xiao smiled faintly and nodded at the other party.
"Your Majesty, please come this way."
The dark half-elf general still maintained a certain respect and took his own steps again.
Under the guidance of the other party, our group quickly crossed the huge bridge emitting faint blue fluorescence and officially entered the capital of the dark half-elves.
During this process, Lei Xiao further noticed.
The fluorescence on these giant suspension bridges comes from a magic crystal embedded in various locations on the bridges. Theresa whispered that this magic crystal called Blue Phantom Stone has a considerable bonus to shadow spells and can enhance the soldiers' combat capabilities to a considerable extent.
After all, the areas in which dark half-elves and dark elves excel are exactly the same, and they possess many powerful people with shadow attributes.
After entering the city, Lei Xiao walked on the wide and slightly dim streets, looking around.
Perhaps because the city is located underground, even though it is late at night, the streets are still crowded with people, and it looks quite prosperous. There are even many busy snack stalls lined up on the roadside.
The appearance of our group immediately became the focus of the whole audience.
Many young dark half-elves were holding skewers and drinks, looking over curiously, without any of the tension that they had just seen outside the city.
For a moment, the bustling crowd, illuminated by the dim magic neon lights, cast all kinds of silhouettes on the ground, making people feel dazzled.
After passing through the bustling streets, the group crossed one suspension bridge after another and soon arrived at another heavily guarded area.
There are many magic towers here, and there are even fortresses and walls. In the center stands a pitch-black castle. There are endless patrolling soldiers. Judging from their aura, they are all above level five.
"Your Majesty, this is the royal city of the dark half-elves."
Theresa leaned close to Lei Xiao's ear and introduced: "The whereabouts of the dark half-elf royal family members are extremely secretive, especially their queen. Even I have never seen her."
After Theresa finished speaking, Lila, Hollis and others all nodded. Just as they had said before, they had never seen the Dark Half-Elf Queen at the meeting in the Throne Corridor. The latter had never attended at all, including when the Broken Winged King had not yet become unscrupulous.
Therefore, many second-rate forces believe that the dark half-elves do not have a queen at all, and the one who holds supreme power is only the dark half-elf prince.
After passing through towering magic towers and courtyards, the group soon arrived at the main entrance of the dark castle.
At the main entrance, we saw Lei Xiao and his group. A team of guards spread out to both sides and then opened the heavy door of the castle.
"Let me continue."
The dark elf general who was leading the way nodded slightly and walked ahead on his own.
Seeing this, Lila, Hollis and others all frowned and obviously slowed down their pace.
You know, His Majesty has already approved the meeting arrangements sent by the administrator to the dark half-elves, which is already a standard diplomatic occasion.
But even when we arrived at the other side's royal castle, no one from the other side came to greet us. Isn't this too much of a disrespect for us? It's simply rude!
Noticing the strangeness of Lila and others, even Therese's fair face showed a hint of embarrassment.
As a dark elf, she was also an ally of the dark half-elves. Seeing the latter being so negligent, she felt uneasy.
After all, whether it is the dark elves or the dark half-elves, although they are not good at interacting with outsiders, they have inherited the consistent traditions and rigor of the elves in terms of etiquette, and are by no means inferior to other forces.
"what happened?"
The dark elf general who was leading the way was aware of the strangeness of the crowd, so he turned around and looked over again.
Then, he obviously noticed something, and immediately took off the leather mask on his face and said, "If I have been negligent, I hope you will forgive me."
The man had gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and his face revealed a sense of rigor and steadiness. Judging from his graceful and elegant temperament, he was definitely not an ordinary dark half-elf general.
"Are you Prince Chasing Shadow?"
After seeing each other's faces clearly, Lila and Hollis opened their eyes wide and blurted out.
The two who had both participated in the Throne Corridor meeting recognized at a glance that the leading general in front of them was the dark half-elf Prince Shadow Chaser who had always represented the supreme authority of the dark half-elves to attend the meeting.
It’s just that the other party has almost never spoken in meetings, so the other party’s voice is extremely unfamiliar, and that’s why he didn’t recognize his identity.
Hearing this, even Theresa was stunned. Even she had only heard of the name of Prince Zhuiying.
It is said that he is the Protector of the Dark Half-Elves and the most powerful dark half-elf noble besides the dark half-elf queen.
Therefore, Prince Zhuiying personally greeted His Majesty at the gate. It seemed that the other party not only did not neglect us, but instead took us seriously.
"Is this the Prince Chasing Shadow that the Administrator and Lila and the others are talking about?"
Lei Xiao nodded slightly, and then he said politely: "So it's your Highness the Prince, I have heard of your great name for a long time."
"Your Majesty is too polite. I am sorry for being so rude. Please forgive me."
Prince Zhuiying nodded to Lei Xiao and made a "please" gesture.
Under the guidance of the other party, the group walked through the castle corridors filled with interweaving light and shadows and assassin murals, and finally stopped in a quaint large reception room.
"Please wait a moment, the meeting will officially begin in a moment."
After arranging Lei Xiao and others to sit down, Prince Zhuiying wanted to leave the hall, apparently some preparations had not been completed yet.
"Your Highness, His Majesty the Human race just has some matters to discuss with the dark half-elf. Your Highness does not need to make any other preparations."
Lila, knowing that time was running out for us, called out to the other party, nodded slightly and said, "Your Highness, please listen to the words of the human king."
After Lila finished speaking, Hollis and the others all nodded.
According to their speculation, perhaps Prince Shadowchaser is the real leader of the dark half-elves, and the so-called dark half-elf queen may just be a mysterious symbol that does not actually exist.
"You are joking, Mr. Stone Giant Chief. The protagonist of this meeting is not me, but Her Majesty the Queen of the Dark Half-Elves."
Prince Zhuiying waved his hand and said something shocking.
"Oh? It was the dark half-elf queen who met in person?"
Hearing this, Lila, Hollis and the others couldn't help but be surprised and look incredulous.
You know, even they have never seen the mysterious queen in person. To be more precise, this mysterious queen has never appeared in a formal occasion!
"Don't be surprised, please wait a moment."
Prince Zhuiying nodded slightly and immediately closed the door of the hall.
It didn't take long. Just as Lei Xiao was enjoying the refreshments that the dark half-elf maids had just respectfully served him, the entire hall suddenly began to tremble. (End of this chapter)