Chapter 578 - 574 – THE GRANDEUR OF THE UPPER DISTRICT AND THE WATCHERS IN THE SHADOWS

After finishing the last drops of her soy milk at the fifth-floor balcony table, Sylvia shifted her gaze away from the bright panoramic view of the capital. The gentle breeze that had been caressing her face reminded her of one thing: the elegant black gown currently wrapping her body did look utterly captivating and radiated the aura of a mysterious goddess, yet this attire was clearly unsuitable for a casual stroll through the crowded city streets.

The gown drew far too much attention, and its trailing hems would prove troublesome if she wanted to move freely from one snack stall to another. Therefore, Sylvia decided to return to her room first. She rose from her chair, followed by Sol and Noir who nimbly leaped down from theirs, then walked back along the corridor toward the magical crystal elevator.

Upon arriving at the Penthouse Suite located on the top floor of the Grand Elysium Hotel, Sylvia went straight to the dressing room. She removed her black gown, allowing her perfectly curved body with porcelain-white skin to be briefly exposed to the warm air of the room. This beautiful body, which she now regarded purely as a shell and an impregnable evolutionary weapon, had endured numerous bloody battles since the day she rose as a zombie at the apocalypse.

Using her mind, Sylvia accessed her innate System Storage. This virtual spatial storage space had unlimited capacity and an absolute time-stasis effect, which she usually employed to store the carcasses of giant monsters so they would not rot. However, in another corner of her storage dimension, she also kept various kinds of clothing that she had collected or that had been specially made by the finest tailors in Nocture.

She took out a far more practical casual outfit: a pair of black cargo pants made of light, flexible monster-fiber fabric, paired with a clean white undershirt and a short dark maroon leather jacket. Calf-high laced leather boots completed her appearance. The clothes did not hide her extremely slender waist or her long legs, yet at least they gave the impression of an elite adventurer or a tough independent combat mage, rather than a noblewoman heading to a ball.

"Much better," Sylvia muttered while tying part of her long hair back so it would not cover her face, leaving a few strands of bangs framing her beautiful features. "Come on, Sol, Noir. Time for us to explore this place."

Sol, the pure Golden Dragon disguised as a sleek, glowing golden-furred cat, meowed enthusiastically. Beside him, Noir whose true form was a genuine Black Dragon flicked his jet-black cat tail impatiently. The three of them left the room and, not long after, stepped out of the main lobby of the Grand Elysium Hotel.

The moment she left the hotel’s protective area, Sylvia was immediately greeted by the true bustle of the Holy Capital Tianhua. The scenery here was truly extraordinary, completely different from peripheral regions such as Black Lotus City, where inequality left refugees living in squalid shacks under the shadow of the outer walls. Right now she was in the Upper District, a gigantic floating landmass suspended in the air and held by enormous magical chains connected to earth pillars below.

The streets here were paved with nature stone reinforced by magic, wide and extremely clean. On both the right and left sides, majestic buildings stood proudly. Sylvia could see marble castles, hanging gardens filled with exotic mutated flora, high-level magic academy buildings with stunning architecture, and crystal skyscraper towers that glowed because they were powered directly by large-scale Magic Cores. In the sky above her head, floating trains glided smoothly along transparent light rails, creating the vista of a futuristic metropolis blended with ancient magic.

Yet what most captured Sylvia’s attention was not the architecture, but the quality of the individuals passing around her. The overall power scale in the Kingdom of Tianhua was generally quite weak; the peak of human strength on this continent was only Rank 9, capable of leveling a mere hill. However, in the Upper District of the Holy Capital, the density of magical energy and the quality of the residents’ mana far exceeded the average.

As Sylvia strolled casually with her hands in her jacket pockets, she could sense the mana fluctuations from the people around her. Most of them possessed fairly strong auras, averaging Rank 6 to Rank 7 mages. By local human military standards, a Rank 6 or Peak Rank 7 mutated monster was already considered a city-scale natural disaster. This proved that the Holy Capital truly monopolized the best talents and combat strength from every corner of its vast territory, which stretched more than 50,000 km from this border.

Besides combat mages in magical robes and heavily armored knights, Sylvia also saw several people who practiced as Beast Tamers. This was the same profession she had faked while in Black Lotus City in order to obtain the Unlimited Black-Gold VIP Access Card from the Hunter Association. The Tamers in the capital walked with full pride, openly displaying their mutated pets.

Sylvia crossed paths with a muscular man leading a three-eyed Fire Wolf the size of a pony, and a female mage who had a Wind Eagle with sharp crystal feathers perched on her shoulder. Compared to those fierce and intimidating mutant monsters, Sol and Noir’s appearance disguised merely as small golden- and black-furred house cats looked extremely inconspicuous. Some Tamers even cast contemptuous glances at Sol and Noir, assuming Sylvia was merely keeping low-level mutant cats as ornaments.

Of course, those arrogant Tamers had no idea that if Sol and Noir returned to their true forms as a pure Golden Dragon of sacred power and a Black Dragon remnant of Rank 7 zombie evolution, the pressure of their auras alone would be enough to crush that Fire Wolf and Wind Eagle into blood mist within seconds.

"Just ignore them. Don’t make a scene," Sylvia whispered to Noir when she noticed the black cat’s tail beginning to tense, ready to release dragon pressure to teach a lesson to a mutant dog that was growling at them. Noir snorted softly, as if clicking his tongue, then resumed walking with an adorable haughty gait, rubbing his head against Sylvia’s leg.

They continued along the pedestrian area filled with all sorts of shops and stalls. Sylvia’s eyes lit up when she entered a section that appeared dedicated to high-class street food. Because Sylvia was truly obsessed with giant monster meat cuisine and spicy broth dishes, this place felt like a little paradise to her.

She stepped up to a stall grilling meat skewers the size of an adult’s arm. The sharp aroma of spices and the fat dripping onto the magical embers made her stomach react again, even though she had just finished breakfast.

"Uncle, give me ten skewers of this Fire Rhinoceros monster meat, make them with the spiciest seasoning you have," Sylvia ordered with a faint smile.

She took out her Unlimited Black-Gold VIP Access Card to make the payment, deducting several hundred "Credits" the universal currency here with ease. While eating the spicy, hot meat skewers, she continued strolling and enjoying the city’s bustle. From time to time she tore off small pieces of meat and tossed them into the air, where they were instantly snatched with precision by the small mouths of Sol and Noir as they leaped about in delight.

Amid the relaxed atmosphere and the clamor of vendors and floating trains, Sylvia quietly realized something she had already suspected from the beginning: she was being watched.

With her status as a Rank 7 Demigod and absolute ruler who possessed Absolute Death Authority, her perception senses transcended the concepts of physical space and time. Without needing to turn her head or emit any obvious magical detection, Sylvia had already locked onto the positions of those watchers. She allowed a small portion of her True Sight to remain active, and through those true eyes she could see the lifespan and fate lines of targets appearing as thin, dull black threads connected to the people around her.

Among the hundreds of fate threads of the passers-by, there were four special threads that continuously moved while maintaining a constant distance from her. Two people were hiding in the market crowd, disguised as traveling merchants, while the other two used high-level shadow-manipulation magic, leaping from one building rooftop to another to keep monitoring Sylvia’s movements.

Sylvia put the last piece of spicy meat skewer into her mouth, chewing slowly while analyzing the situation in her mind. They’re clearly watching me, she thought calmly.

She was not the least bit surprised. After all, the false identity she was currently using was that of a Rank 7 mage and Tamer. In this capital, although the average elite stood at Rank 6 or 7, someone who had reached Rank 7 at a young age (judging by her physical appearance of a girl in her twenties) and possessed an Unlimited Black-Gold VIP Access Card was an anomaly. Moreover, she had arrived using the VIP Magical Private Jet facility of the Hunter Association. Her journey from a peripheral region such as Black Lotus City to the Holy Capital must have triggered alarms in the intelligence networks of the noble factions and capital guilds.

She was a newcomer, a Rank 7 mage who had not yet made a big name, was unaffiliated with any noble family, and possessed fantastic wealth from previously selling hundreds of tons of monster meat. It was only natural that the ruling factions would send their spies; whether to recruit her as one of their pieces, or to assess whether she was a threat that needed to be eliminated.

How amusing, Sylvia thought with a mocking tone. She could easily pluck or sever the thin, dull black threads of those four stalkers through her Death Authority, which would instantly detach their souls and make them die standing without a single detectable magic spell.

Yet Sylvia paid no attention to the surveillance. Killing them now would only create a disturbance and attract more annoying flies. Besides, today she was taking a mental break from her responsibility of leading the Nocture fleet and tens of millions of skeleton and zombie troops at her main base. She did not want to ruin her currently good mood with blood and the petty political affairs of local humans.

Her goal for the day was only one: to leisurely enjoy a stroll, try various street foods of the capital, and indulge her palate.

"You may watch as much as you like," Sylvia murmured almost inaudibly, a thin mysterious smile curving her lips. "But if you dare disturb my meal... I will make sure you wish you could die twice."

Sylvia cleaned her hands with a tissue, then stepped toward a magical beverage stall across the street that served iced drinks made from monster dew crystals. Sol and Noir meowed happily, leaping after their mistress’s steps.