Chapter 88 -88-Arrival at Night City!

Chapter 88: Chapter88-Arrival at Night City!

[Thousand Faces Disguise!]

Her body rapidly shrank.

Her white hair disappeared.

Her skin turned dark green.

Her nose protruded forward.

Her ears became long and pointed.

The black hunting outfit on her body also transformed into a set of worn leather armor.

A few seconds later.

A small goblin only about 1.3 meters tall stood in front of John.

It even deliberately bared its teeth.

Revealing a mouthful of yellowish little fangs.

"How do I look?"

Even her voice had changed into the hoarse voice of a young boy.

John activated [Hunter’s Eye] and took a look.

There wasn’t a single flaw on the surface.

If it weren’t for the SS-rank [Hunter’s Eye] being able to forcibly read her true information.

Judging by appearance alone.

Even he would have found it difficult to connect this goblin with the white-haired girl from moments ago.

"Not bad."

As expected of a disguise with a 100% success rate.

John was just about to set off.

He took two steps.

Then stopped again.

Something still felt...

Missing.

His gaze fell on the obviously shabby leather armor covering Aya’s chest.

And he quickly realized what it was.

Identity.

An appearance could fool people.

But they knew absolutely nothing about the internal systems of the Dark Realm.

If they actually ran into guards conducting an inspection.

A convincing face alone might not be enough.

"Wait."

John opened the Void Arsenal.

After searching for a moment.

He took out a dark metal badge.

It was one of the pieces of loot left behind by a Dark Realm BOSS he had killed earlier.

Complex Dark Realm patterns were engraved across its surface.

At a glance, it clearly wasn’t something from the Human Realm.

"Put this on."

He casually tossed it over.

Aya caught it.

And pinned it to her chest.

She looked down at it twice.

"What is this?"

"A Dark Realm identity badge. I don’t know exactly what identity it represents, but it’s genuine."

Aya: "..."

What do you mean you don’t know what identity it represents?

And you’re still letting me wear it?!

But she quickly thought it through.

Something real was still better than something fake.

She adjusted her clothes.

Then suddenly thought of something.

"Boss, don’t you need one yourself?"

John shook his head.

"No."

There was indeed something more suitable for him inside his Void Arsenal.

[Thorn Witch Badge].

It carried the aura of Thorn Witch Rosaline and could allow its holder to enter certain areas controlled by the Dark Realm.

If he really encountered a situation where he needed to prove his identity.

Taking that out would clearly be far more useful than an ordinary badge.

There was simply no need to expose it ahead of time.

Seeing how calm John was.

Aya didn’t ask any more questions.

After everything that had happened along the way.

She had more or less figured out her boss’s way of doing things.

The more ridiculous something looked.

The more thoroughly he had usually prepared for it.

At the very least...

He probably wouldn’t screw over his own people.

Probably.

"Let’s go."

The two confirmed their direction.

And quickly headed toward Night City.

...

Meanwhile.

Night City.

Deep underground.

Inside a massive cavern.

Hundreds of black stone pillars supported the ceiling.

There were no torches illuminating the stone walls.

Only dark red magical patterns slowly flowed across the rock.

At the deepest part of the cavern.

Stood a stone statue more than twenty meters tall.

A crown rested upon its head.

Its face was completely shrouded in shadow.

Six arms spread out from behind its body.

Each hand held a different weapon.

A saber.

A sword.

A spear.

A scepter.

A massive bow.

And a cracked black sphere.

At the foot of the statue.

Grey knelt on one knee.

He was still clad in that savage-looking heavy armor.

Two broad-bladed cleavers nearly three meters long were crossed across his back.

His crimson hair hung down.

His enormous body knelt on the ground.

Yet he made not the slightest sound.

Suddenly.

A dark red light lit up in the statue’s chest.

A deep voice echoed directly through the cavern.

"Grey, why did you mobilize the elite troops without authorization?"

Grey lowered his head.

"Lord Night King, a human genius has appeared in Dawnstar City. His growth speed and combat ability far exceed our expectations."

"I judged that if we continued to leave him alone, he would become a future threat to the Dark Realm. So I mobilized an elite legion to eliminate him in advance."

The statue fell silent for a moment.

"And yet, you failed."

Grey offered no explanation.

"Yes."

"Failure must be punished."

"Yes."

Grey reached behind himself with his right hand.

Clang!

A massive broad-bladed cleaver was drawn.

The next second.

A flash of steel!

Slash!

His entire left hand was severed cleanly at the wrist.

Thud!

The severed hand fell to the ground.

Blood instantly sprayed out.

Grey’s body didn’t even sway.

From beginning to end.

He never made a sound.

The red light in the statue’s chest flickered faintly.

As though it were quite satisfied.

"Good. Remember the price of failure."

"For the next three days, no large-scale attacks are to be launched against the Human Realm. All legions are to cease unauthorized operations and assemble in Night City and the surrounding regions while awaiting my orders."

Grey lowered his head.

"As you command, Lord Night King."

The red light gradually faded.

The cavern fell silent once again.

Only then did Grey stand.

He glanced at his still-bleeding left arm.

Then opened his right hand.

Boom!

Flames suddenly erupted.

And he pressed them directly against the wound!

Sizzle—

The smell of scorched flesh rapidly spread through the air.

The wound was forcibly cauterized shut.

Yet Grey didn’t even furrow his brow.

He put away the massive cleaver.

Then turned and walked out.

He had only just left the cavern.

When a figure rapidly landed in front of him.

And dropped to one knee.

"Lord Grey!"

"Speak."

"There’s been a problem with the northern temporary teleportation array. We’ve lost contact with Baal."

Grey stopped walking.

"When?"

"An hour ago."

The scout lowered his voice.

"According to protocol, we establish magical communication with the northern garrison once every hour. Our routine contact attempt just now received no response. We then tried three more times in succession, and all three failed."

Grey fell silent.

Baal.

A Lv40 Ten-Thousand-Player Tier Destruction Mage.

Although his ability to command troops in direct battle wasn’t particularly outstanding.

Thanks to his exceptional casting range.

He had killed quite a few low-ranking commanders on the Human Realm front lines.

More importantly.

He had an entire ten-thousand-man legion with him.

And yet now, not even a request for reinforcements had come through.

There was basically only one possibility.

He was dead.

And he had died quickly.

Grey’s voice turned cold.

"Notify Night City and every surrounding town. Effective immediately, they are all under lockdown."

"Every creature entering the cities, regardless of identity, is to undergo the highest-level inspection."

The scout raised his head.

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

Grey continued.

"Also, send an investigation team to the Northern Plains and locate Baal’s garrison. If you discover any traces of humans, do not engage without authorization. Report to me immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

The scout quickly disappeared.

Grey stood at the cavern entrance.

His gaze turned northward.

To enter the Dark Realm without making a sound.

And then cause Baal and an entire ten-thousand-man legion to lose contact within such a short period of time.

If there were many intruders.

It meant the Human Realm might already have mastered a stable method of invading the Dark Realm.

If there weren’t many...

Then it meant every single person who had entered.

Was extremely dangerous.

However.

There had always been an unspoken rule between the two realms.

Powerhouses above the Citybreaker Tier.

Were not to casually cross between realms and intervene in frontline warfare.

Otherwise, once the powerful figures on both sides entered the battlefield.

The war would immediately spiral out of control.

A dim yellow light flickered faintly in Grey’s eyes.

"I hope... you haven’t crossed the line."

...