Chapter 547 - 545: Where Do Cultists Not Dig Tunnels?

In such a large outpost, Hilia wasn’t planning to walk in openly like she did at the previous smaller outpost.

Although her confidence soared after beating Suna, she still didn’t dare to be too confident, facing the onslaught of five mages of the same tier.

Moreover, they were only the mages monitoring the outpost.

Rose hadn’t marked the high-tier mages within the outpost.

Hilia believed there must be a Tier Five Mage stationed here.

Who knows, there might even be a Tier Six Mage...

Since encountering so many Tier Six Mages on Dragon Island in the Blue Dragon Empire, Hilia assumed the worst when facing large cult outposts.

It’s possible that there really is a Tier Six Mage stationed here?

Rose said irritably, "Where would a Tier Six Mage be stationed? You forget, the entire Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association has only one Tier Six Mage, and the rest survive relying on the unique characteristics of the Golden Apple Stone Forest."

Hilia muttered softly, "Doesn’t the Dusk Sect also rely on the Twilight Tomb to survive?"

Rose nodded, "Of course, but unlike the Golden Apple Stone Forest, this might be a special environment they created, or at least maintained with effort."

Under Rose’s spiritual detection, this outpost is the center of the surging dead energy.

Although he couldn’t specifically scan what was causing the surge, he had a hypothesis.

Rose marked a general area for Hilia and said, "Your task is to go to the marked point and see if there’s anything special around."

"Alright."

Hilia nodded, took a deep breath, maxed out her disguise skill, turned into a shadow under the gray mist, and quietly infiltrated the outpost during the Tier Four Mage’s lapse.

The infiltration went smoothly without incident, and Hilia entered the outpost, feeling a bit relieved.

But she quickly tensed up again.

Because the situation hadn’t improved just because she’d breached the defenses.

On the contrary, entering the enemy’s lair meant being cautious everywhere.

"This outpost’s style is completely different from the previous one, it’s like they’ve consulted elves, letting the buildings blend with nature, at a glance you’d think they were trees."

This outpost had no walls, just array triggers, which were considered the outpost’s boundary.

Inside the outpost, the Dusk Sect hadn’t felled the forest, merging their buildings with the large trees, forming wooden houses built into the trees, further cloaked by entwining vines.

Between the houses, cultists trampled the weeds, forming paths only within the outpost.

The entire outpost seemed complex and well-hidden, a perfect setting for Hilia.

With her disguise skill, she turned into a forest shadow, evading waves of investigation, gradually moving deeper in.

Occasionally, Hilia paused, using the Mage’s Hand to sense the outpost’s array situation.

The magic array’s level was high, its warnings on full alert, posing a challenge for her.

"It’s like they’ve specifically modified the arrays everywhere to prevent intrusion because of my previous invasion attempts outside?"

Hilia scratched her head.

Indeed, that’s highly possible.

Rose chuckled, "It must be, so..."

The next second, Hilia felt she had gained control over the array.

Feeling it out, she opened her eyes, excited.

"Besides self-destruct, all other functions are retained, including various offensive measures inside and out."

A bold idea flashed through Hilia’s mind.

But she quickly cast it aside.

She had a more important task at hand.

Following Rose’s directions, heading toward the target location to find the culprit disturbing the dead energy.

Soon, Hilia arrived near the marked point.

This wasn’t the outpost’s center, but off to the side, housing a large wooden building.

The building was nestled among three large trees, concealed by their canopy.

Approaching the building, Hilia suddenly saw someone at the doorway, sensing a strong magic power fluctuation from within.

She quickly hid using her disguise skill, observing quietly.

Two people were at the doorway, seemingly bidding farewell, their voices faintly reaching Hilia’s ears.

"With our current progress, we’ll soon stabilize the divine power here, no need to worry so much."

"There’s no need to worry, since Dawn City’s message, the Holy Court has dispatched support, mobilizing troops moving swiftly this way."

"Ha, took them so long to consider investigating, let them investigate all they want, they won’t find anything anyway."

"I mean, don’t leave now, wait here for their arrival, and observe their reconnaissance situation. If they happen to find this place, we’d be prepared."

"Afraid?"

"After all, it’s three Tier Five Mages leading them, just to be safe."

"Ha, this place is so hidden, how could they possibly find it? Even if they do... don’t you have dealings with Dawn City? Can’t you have them overlook this place?"

"Business is business, having them overlook this place would directly imply it’s our outpost. Knowing our location, those business counterparts would likely not cooperate."

"That’s true, relax, they won’t find this place. But since you asked, I’d be gracious enough to stay."

"..."

As they spoke, they returned inside the building.

Hilia vaguely heard something, though not clearly, so Rose shared the details with her, letting her hear their conversation completely.

Initially just speculating on their actions, upon hearing ’dealings’ with Dawn City, Hilia’s expression changed.

"These bastards, we eliminated one last time, but why are there still transactions with cultists?"

She clenched her fist but soon loosened it.

"Never mind, now’s not the time to dwell on this."

Looking at Rose, she asked, "Master Rose, how should we proceed?"

Among those two, Hilia sensed a high-tier pressure, indicating they were at least Tier Five Mages.

One seemed to be leaving initially, presenting Hilia with an initial opportunity.

But she dismissed the thought now.

With these two Tier Five Mages present, Hilia’s progress was obstructed.

So she turned to Rose, anticipating his guidance.

Coming here was entirely due to divine guidance, without much preparation, thus seeking divine directions was perfectly reasonable!

Hilia reasoned with herself.

Rose looked at her amused, saying, "The object isn’t within that building. Or rather, it’s not on the surface, but underground."

Hilia displayed an ’I knew it’ expression.

Ha, I just knew it.

Since when do cults not dig tunnels?

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