Chapter 168: The Twelve Zodiac Palaces

“Speaking of which, Soden, as the City Lord of Free Port, has been holed up in the City Lord’s Residence for decades without showing his face. Even if it’s because he has the bloodline of the God of Slumber and likes to sleep, his personality is probably very strange…”

Entering the inner city of the City Lord’s Residence, Karl slowed his pace:

“My flying bird puppet lost its connection here. There should be a legendary creature with great speed hidden nearby.”

“Hmm…”

“Strange!”

“The architectural style of the inner city of the City Lord’s Residence is completely different from the outside, and the roads are too complicated, aren’t they?”

He muttered softly, shaking his head and putting away the map in his hand.

Whether it was Mellen’s investigation or his own exploration, they only had the terrain of the outer city of the City Lord’s Residence.

The inner city,

only explored the outer areas.

However, based on the existing building layout, the real treasures should all be in the core area of the inner city.

“Splatter…”

The sticky liquid on the ground made Karl shake his head lightly, and then his body slowly left the ground and floated forward.

Thunder Wings!

Thunder Wings is an evolved version of the Flight Technique.

This means that mastering Thunder Wings naturally means mastering the ordinary Flight Technique.

Not far ahead, several corpses appeared on the ground, some human, some legendary creatures.

Mostly human corpses.

The items on the corpses had long been looted clean.

Hmm?

Karl’s eyes flickered.

“This is the benefit of being late. The dangers have all been smoothed out by others in advance, and there are fewer troubles on the road.”

As his thoughts turned, his speed increased, like lightning flashing, flying swiftly forward along the passage.

The roads in the inner city were winding, but no matter which road he chose, they all led to the same square.

“How lively?”

Looking at the crowd packed in the square, Karl couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow:

“Why are they all crowded here?”

Seeing him come in, whispers immediately arose from the crowd.

“Karl!”

“That mysterious alchemist from Rapid Flow City?”

“It’s him!”

“It’s Uncle Karl.” Matthew, hiding in a corner, also saw Karl, his eyes brightening:

“He’s here too.”

“You have to be careful.” The seashell at his waist gently shook, a subtle voice entering his eardrums:

“This person is very powerful.”

“I know.” Matthew nodded:

“He’s a Legendary Knight.”

The seashell was speechless.

There were quite a few Legendary Knights here, but there were no more than five people who it truly evaluated as ‘powerful’.

But it didn’t say much.

There were too many people here, and it was difficult to ensure that no one would notice its existence. It couldn’t leave Matthew yet.

“Mr. Karl.”

Oriana from Death City bowed remotely:

“We meet again.”

“Miss Anna.” Karl nodded:

“Hello, what’s the situation now?”

Although they were all here for the things in the City Lord’s Residence, before finding anything, they still needed to maintain basic politeness.

“You can see it too.”

Oriana pointed with her hand:

“The road we came from has disappeared, and there are only these twelve pillars and twelve large doors that we don’t know where they lead to.”

“Someone chose one of the doors and went in, but never came back.”

Karl turned his head to look.

Indeed!

The passage they came from had disappeared at some point, and the area around the square was a void.

Startled, he hurriedly sensed the Divine Domain Fragment, and only after discovering that he could leave at any time did he breathe a sigh of relief.

“Miss Anna.”

At this time, an elderly man with a short and stout figure, wiping the sweat from his forehead, walked over. Compared to the others, the old man had a more scholarly air about him.

Coming closer, he spoke softly:

“I’ve investigated it, it should be the Twelve Zodiac Palaces!”

“The Twelve Zodiac Palaces?”

Oriana’s expression darkened.

…………

Below the twelve giant pillars, Oriana from Death City fumbled around for a long time, finally sighing helplessly.

“Marvel ━ The Twelve Zodiac Palaces!”

She murmured, her eyes complex:

“No wonder the City Lord’s Residence has been besieged by evil gods for so many years, and City Lord Soden still had a chance to survive. It turns out he had this item protecting him.”

“Miss Anna.” A knight wearing a blood-red cloak lowered his head and asked in a muffled voice:

“Can we go in?”

The others didn’t speak, all perking up their ears to listen to their conversation.

After all, so far, only the people from Death City had some understanding of the strange situation in the arena.

“Yes.” Oriana nodded:

“The Twelve Zodiac Palaces are a marvel that has been passed down from the Divine Domain. It is said that it can trap deities, but what’s here is definitely not that legendary artifact, it should just be a replica.”

“Unlike the complete version, the twelve doors in front of us, six of them lead to hell, and the other six lead to the Divine Domain. Hell represents death, and the Divine Domain represents life.”

“That is to say…”

“It’s possible to go in, but there is a fifty-fifty chance of survival.”

The expressions of everyone changed drastically, looking at each other.

“A fifty-fifty chance?”

The Blood Knight frowned:

“Before going in, can’t we distinguish which doors are dead ends and which are paths to life?”

“Yuni.” Oriana waved her hand:

“You answer.”

“Yes.”

The short, stout old man with a scholarly air responded, stepping forward and saying:

“Theoretically, it can be done, but in practice, it can’t.”

“Not to mention that we don’t understand the knowledge needed to decipher the Twelve Zodiac Palaces. According to our deductions, even if we knew the method, only someone with the strength of the City Lord could do it, so… we can only rely on luck.”

“Rely on luck?” The Blood Knight’s expression was gloomy:

“A fifty-fifty chance of survival?”

“Ahem!” The short, stout old man coughed lightly, and then spoke softly:

“We can have people scout the way.”

“The Twelve Zodiac Palaces here are just a replica, and cannot completely isolate our senses. With your methods, you should have a way to sense whether the people who go in are dead or not.”

“Oh!”

The Blood Knight raised an eyebrow, his gaze quickly sweeping across the crowd, and the gloomy expression on his face relaxed.

“Then let them go in first.”

“Why should we?” A person in the crowd roared:

“I don’t want to go in at all, I just want to go back…”

“Pfft!”

Before he could finish his sentence, his two eyes suddenly exploded, two streams of blood shooting out from his eye sockets.

The corpse swayed, then fell headfirst to the ground.

“Swish!”

The people closer to the Blood Knight retreated one after another, looking at the corpse on the ground with terrified expressions.

Controlling blood!

This was the special ability of the number one legendary knight of Death City.

But to have a Grand Knight lose control of the blood in his body and die on the spot from such a distance was indeed too terrifying.

“Go back?” The Blood Knight’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp and cold, with a domineering intimidation:

“Do you think you have a choice?”

The faces of the others turned pale, some looking at the Blood Knight, whose blood-red eyes were sweeping across the entire arena, with trepidation.

They were all silent as cicadas in winter.

“Don’t be afraid.”

A sinister voice rang out from the crowd:

“So what if they’re from Death City, the Blood Knight? There are only a few of them, and there are so many of us. If we attack together, we can still deal with them!”

“That’s right!”

Someone chimed in:

“If they don’t die, even if we enter the core area of the inner city, we won’t get any benefits.”

The two voices echoed in the arena, sometimes from the east, sometimes from the west, making it difficult to pinpoint their specific locations.

“Who?” The Blood Knight narrowed his eyes, scanning the entire arena:

“Who said that?”

“If you have the guts, then stand out!”

No one spoke, but a few people’s eyes flickered slightly, but they quickly suppressed the impulse in their hearts.

If they attacked together, they naturally wouldn’t be afraid of the people from Death City, but who could trust anyone else present?

It was impossible to form a united force!

The person who spoke was trying to stir up the others’ thoughts, but it was simply not going to work.

***

“Hmph!”

The Blood Knight snorted coldly, reaching out a hand, and the corpse on the ground immediately shot out streams of blood that landed in front of him.

The streams of blood gathered into a blood ball, which then exploded with a bang.

Countless drops of blood fell from the sky, avoiding a few figures, and landing on the heads of the others in the arena.

The figures that were avoided were all Legendary Knights, without exception.

“Swish!”

“Swish, swish!”

Figures flashed in the arena, quickly dodging. Although they didn’t know what the Blood Knight was going to do, no one wanted to be stained by the blood.

However, the space in the arena was limited. No matter how they dodged, they were inevitably going to have some blood land on them.

After the blood landed, everyone stopped and glared angrily at the Blood Knight.

“Those with three bloodstains or more go in first, those with three bloodstains follow, and so on. The fewer bloodstains on your body, the later you go.”

The Blood Knight’s voice was cold as he pointed at the crowd:

“You! You, and you few…”

“Choose a door and go in!”

The more bloodstains on their bodies, the weaker their strength, and thus they became the first group to scout the way.

“…”

Those who were pointed at had terrified expressions, while the others scattered, making way for them.

It was always good to have someone scout the way.

As for resisting…

These people were the weakest, not even Grand Knights, and they simply couldn’t muster the will to resist.

Choosing a door to enter still gave them a fifty-fifty chance of survival, but choosing to resist would be a dead end.

“Damn it!”

One person’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly roared:

“I’ll risk it!”

He stomped his foot and charged toward a large door. The moment his body touched the door, a white light flashed and he disappeared.

Hmm?

A teleportation gate?

Karl’s eyes flickered slightly.

The white light didn’t block his vision, so he saw it clearly.

When that person touched the door, the door suddenly turned into a white mist, and then the person disappeared into the mist.

With someone taking the lead, the others entered the doors in order, with some hesitation and uncertainty.

The Blood Knight’s eyes were closed, and from beginning to end he didn’t say a word, as if he was silently sensing something.

“Those with three bloodstains, choose a door and go in!”

Matthew looked at the bloodstains on his body, a wry smile on his face, and stepped forward under everyone’s gaze.

He had exactly three bloodstains on his body.

What to do?

Let’s try!

Gritting his teeth, a thought flashed in his mind, and three golden venomous snakes slowly crawled out from his sleeves.

The snakes flicked their tongues, hissing.

Urged by Matthew, the three venomous snakes each chose a large door to crawl towards, disappearing one after another.

Three venomous snakes, three doors, a fifty-fifty chance, one of them would be the right one.

If they were all dead ends,

then his luck would be terrible.

The others who had three bloodstains saw his actions and stopped, looking at him with hopeful expressions.

If someone could find a safe path, then they wouldn’t have to rely on a fifty-fifty chance.

The next moment.

Matthew’s face turned deathly pale.

They were gone!

The aura that he had clearly sensed had completely disappeared after the three venomous snakes entered the doors.

“Tch!”

One person’s face showed disdain:

“What a waste of time!”

Those who also had three bloodstains were waiting for Matthew to choose the correct door, and now they were undoubtedly disappointed.

Matthew opened his mouth, his face bitter.

“Hmph!”

One person stepped past him and chose a door to enter. The others followed suit, each choosing a door.

Urged by the others, Matthew approached tremblingly, the seashell hanging at his waist suddenly vibrating.

‘Choose the door on the left!’

Matthew’s body stiffened, a hint of ecstasy flashing in his eyes, which he quickly suppressed, and he moved step by step towards the door on the left.

Just like the others, he struggled for a long time before choosing a path he thought was ‘safe’.

Hmm…

Karl, standing at the back, looked puzzled, his gaze pausing slightly on Matthew’s waist, lost in thought.

‘How did this kid get here too?’

‘The special bloodline in his body has actually been activated. His strength has increased so quickly in less than a year?’

‘That seashell…’

‘There’s something strange about it!’

As his thoughts turned, he didn’t think much about it. Everyone had their own secrets, and so did he.

However, a familiar aura in the arena attracted Karl’s attention.

Yana!

The Desecrated Knight who had been by his side for so long had also appeared here today. He wondered what she was here for.

I wonder if Black Sword Milia is here?

The people from Death City spoke again: “Those with two bloodstains, go in!”

“Hmph!”

Someone snorted coldly and stepped out.

This time, without anyone urging them, those with one bloodstain or no bloodstains also entered the doors in order.

Karl touched his chin and walked towards the door that Matthew had entered earlier.

“Whoosh…”

His vision blurred, and in front of him was a void, with six long stone steps each extending to a light gate.

“A marvel involving space!”

Karl’s eyes lit up:

“It seems that the most precious thing in the City Lord’s Residence is this Twelve Zodiac Palaces. I wonder if I can get my hands on it?”

The six stone steps were covered in bloodstains, probably left by the Merfolk who had broken in.

Karl randomly chose one of the stone steps and walked on it, his figure gradually disappearing into the light gate.

*

*

*

“Second Elder.”

The Ghost-Faced Knight watched Karl walk into a stone door and asked softly:

“Should we follow him?”

“No need.” The white-robed elder from the Holy Sanctuary shook his head lightly:

“It’s not convenient to make a move inside the Twelve Zodiac Palaces. We’ll talk after we get out. Let’s take the second door on the right.”

“…Are you sure it’s okay?” The Ghost-Faced Knight hesitated:

“If we choose wrong, we’ll die.”

“You can wait.” The white-robed elder smiled faintly:

“The people from Death City won’t choose the wrong path.”

The Ghost-Faced Knight shrugged.

The people from Death City would definitely go last. Even if he was confident, he wouldn’t dare to provoke the Blood Knight.

…………

“My god…”

Matthew’s figure appeared in front of a huge palace, which was piled with all kinds of gold, silver, and jade artifacts.

Of course,

there were also all kinds of corpses!

“Kid, don’t get distracted, they’re all useless mundane things, but there’s a fire-breathing lizard hidden here. Don’t get entangled, just run past it quickly later.” The seashell vibrated:

“The Twelve Zodiac Palaces, a very ingenious magical creation, can actually connect different spaces together…”

“Pass through the palace to the next scene, find a bloodline that suits you as soon as possible, and then leave quickly.”

“It’s too dangerous for you here!”

“Dangerous?” Matthew smiled bitterly:

“You’re only realizing that now?”

“Roar!”

Before he could finish speaking, the ground in front of him, piled with gold and silver treasures, suddenly shook and bulged up, and a huge dragon head appeared before his eyes.

The seashell shouted:

“Run!”

“I know!” Matthew roared:

“I’m running! Didn’t you say that the bone club in my hand would make legendary creatures afraid to attack me?”

“There are always exceptions.” The seashell said urgently:

“Stop talking nonsense, run quickly!”