Volume 4: Super-Tier Awakening & The Ancient Capital Calamity
Chapter 333
Emergency Alert for the Ancient Capital Command: The Deep-Covered Mole
The biting cold wind howled through the fissures of the detention dungeon, carrying with it a damp, moldy stench intertwined with the thick, coppery smell of magic torture. The flickering magical candle cast long, distorted shadows across the wet stone walls, resembling countless demons baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.
The bizarre utterance from the Blue-Class Deacon landed like a basin of freezing ice water, splashing straight into the hearts of Lin Feng and Tang Yue. The air within the confinement cell instantly thickened, turning so heavy it felt tangible enough to grasp.
Leaning his back against the freezing stone wall, the Blue-Class Deacon had fresh blood oozing from the corner of his lips, yet a bizarre, provocative, and triumphant grin plastered his face. He knew he had reached a dead end, with no hope of survival under the hands of the two formidable mages of the Ancient Capital. However, life and death seemed no longer to hold any paramount importance for him. What truly satisfied him was the sheer terror and shock that had just surfaced in the depths of his enemies’ eyes.
“You... what did you just say? Repeat it!” Tang Yue stepped forward, her phoenix eyes widening as an icy killing intent radiated from her body, instantly frosting the magical flame on the wall into a thin layer of white rime. Her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword, her knuckles turning bone-white. If not for the absolute necessity of extracting further information, a single sword strike moments ago would have already claimed the villain’s second life.
Lin Feng raised a hand to hold Tang Yue back. His expression remained as calm and tranquil as an autumn lake, but deep within, a violent storm was churning. He took a deep breath, his voice steady yet chillingly cold:
“Don’t get agitated, Tang Yue. He is intentionally trying to rattle our minds with this bombshell, or at the very least, drag down an entire city to be buried with him before he dies. But a Blue-Class Deacon of the Black Vatican would never betray his warped creed unless... an internal power struggle has erupted within their organization, or this intelligence is the ultimate weapon they intend to use to self-destruct the Ancient Capital from within.”
The Blue-Class Deacon let out a low cough, fresh blood spilling more profusely from the corner of his mouth as he sneered:
“Cough... cough... Lin Feng, you really are smarter than people give you credit for. Our organization worships destruction, but to obliterate a mega-city like the Ancient Capital—a city of a hundred million souls with a history spanning thousands of years—relying merely on a horde of undead or a few commander-tier beasts from the outside would take eternity to succeed. The greatest strength of the Black Vatican has never resided in the shadows; it lies right under the blinding light of day... it resides in those who sit in the highest positions, holding the power of life and death over all of you!”
Under the pressure of the terrifying mental coercion and the subtle mind-probing runes Lin Feng had quietly deployed, the deacon began to spill details uncontrollably. The bone-deep agony tearing through his soul stripped away any ability to keep secrets.
“The connection... the Light Rock barrier didn’t just randomly develop fatal weak points at the southern and northwestern corners. There is no way we could have infiltrated deep into the array system so effortlessly without the complicity of someone holding absolute authority. He is one of the core commissioners of the Ancient Capital’s City Council... an old geezer whom anyone would look upon and assume to be a righteous, upright official dedicated to the country and the people!”
Hearing this, Tang Yue’s complexion turned ashen. The Ancient Capital’s City Council! That was the supreme governing body responsible for coordinating all strategic resources, magic crystals, treasury funds, and defensive manpower across the entire metropolis. If the traitor truly occupied such a position, then every defensive plan and every military deployment order was nothing more than an open book laid bare before the Black Vatican!
“Who is he? What is his name? What is his specific post?” Lin Feng asked in a deep voice, the mental pressure bearing down on the deacon’s brain causing him to shiver like a leaf in a gale.
“I... I don’t know his real name within the organization; I only know the high-ranking zealots call him the ‘Executioner of Discipline.’ He holds direct voting power over the distribution of high-grade magic crystals used to maintain the Light Rock barrier. With his own hands, he secretly approved batches of counterfeit magic crystals infused with dark impurities, perfectly disguised, to replace the critical nodes of the barrier. At the same time, he is the one who continuously delayed repair reports, using budget wastage as an excuse to deny funding for reinforcing the southern city wall... the very place where the undead of the previous dynasty gather in the greatest numbers!”
Every word the deacon spat out landed like a heavy sledgehammer striking the two listeners. If what he uttered was the truth, then the current plight of the Ancient Capital was not merely facing an external siege by the undead armies; it was suffering a fatal internal malignancy. It was akin to cancer metastasizing straight into the spinal marrow—no matter how many layers of sturdy armor one wore on the outside, the body would inevitably collapse from within.
“If we don’t root out this poisonous thorn immediately, no matter how valiantly the frontline troops fight, the city wall will be shattered from behind!” Tang Yue ground her teeth fiercely, killing intent surging.
Lin Feng withdrew his gaze, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the stone table. He understood the profound gravity of the situation. Once this information leaked carelessly, the traitor might be tipped off, or worse, twist the narrative to frame them and instigate an internal political riot right on the eve of war. By then, the Ancient Capital would disintegrate on its own before the undead even touched the base of the wall.
“We cannot report this through standard channels. The City Council is undoubtedly contaminated; we have no way of knowing who is his accomplice or who is shielding him. Any document or report submitted upward through administrative protocol could fall into the mole’s hands before ever reaching someone with the authority to act.”
“Then what should we do? Are we just supposed to sit back and wait for doom?” Tang Yue asked, a rare trace of anxiety flashing in her eyes.
“No. We need someone with the highest military authority, with absolute steadfast principles, completely untangled from the political interest groups within the City Council, and above all... someone capable of mobilizing iron-fisted forces to sweep away this spy nest in the blink of an eye without getting bogged down by tedious bureaucratic procedures.”
Lin Feng’s lips curled upward, a name instantly surfacing in his mind: Major General Lu Chen!
Midnight at the central military headquarters of the Ancient Capital; the lights blazed as bright as day. Heavy iron-armored patrol squads moved back and forth with hurried footsteps, the atmosphere choked with the suffocating tension of impending war.
Inside Major General Lu Chen’s office, a strategic map of the entire city was unfurled across a large oak table. Lu Chen stood leaning over it, studying the placement of every magic artillery piece along the city wall. His resolute face bore deep wrinkles of fatigue, yet his eyes burned as bright as torches.
Tap, tap, tap.
A sharp, concise triple knock sounded at the door.
“Come in!” Lu Chen didn’t raise his head, his deep, resonant voice echoing through the room.
The door pushed open, and Lin Feng and Tang Yue stepped inside. Seeing the two of them arrive at this hour with expressions of grave solemnity, Lu Chen immediately dropped the pen in his hand, narrowing his eyes as he sensed something ominous.
“Little Friend Lin, Deacon Tang? Returning from the secret dungeon so late, and carrying such murderous expressions... it seems the Blue-Class Deacon has coughed up something rather unpleasant?”
Lin Feng didn’t beat around the bush. With a wave of his hand, he deployed a high-level magic sound-isolation barrier, completely severing the room from the outside world. He walked straight up to Lu Chen and said in a low voice:
“Major General, we are facing a catastrophe far greater than you can possibly imagine. The Ancient Capital is not merely besieged by millions of undead outside; right inside the supreme leadership apparatus of the city... a high-ranking spy of the Black Vatican has surfaced.”
Hearing the phrase “high-ranking spy,” Lu Chen suffered a violent shock, his bushy brows knitting into a sharp line. He slammed his palm down onto the thick oak desk, causing it to vibrate fiercely and the maps atop it to flutter into the air.
“Damn it!” Lu Chen let out a muffled roar from deep within his throat, his eyes blazing with fury. “The military and the people are spilling blood every single second on the frontline, tens of thousands of soldiers are using their flesh and blood to stem the tide of undead, yet there are traitors selling out their country for glory right within the core leadership ranks of the Ancient Capital?! Do you know what you are saying, Lin Feng? You understand the weight of these words better than anyone!”
“Major General, if we didn’t have solid proof and concrete grounds, I wouldn’t have barged in here in the middle of the night to disturb you,” Tang Yue stepped forward, her voice icy yet unyielding. “The deacon has confessed that the vulnerabilities in the Light Rock barrier did not appear by chance. The mole is a commissioner with direct voting power in the City Council, the one holding jurisdiction over the distribution of high-grade magic crystals and the management of defense funds. He secretly swapped genuine magic crystals with dark-infused ones while intentionally delaying every reinforcement plan for the city wall.”
Lu Chen heaved heavily, his chest rising and falling in violent surges. The veteran general who had weathered a hundred battles and faced life and death without batting an eye suddenly felt as though his chest was being crushed by an overwhelming wave of hatred. To betray one’s compatriots, to betray the city at a moment when life and death hung by a thread—such a sin was unforgivable for all eternity!
“Who is he? Tell me his name right now! I’ll dispatch an iron-fisted squad to arrest him tonight and execute him before the entire army!” Lu Chen ground his teeth, churning killing intent radiating outward.
“Major General, please calm down.” Lin Feng raised a hand to check him, a sharp glint flashing across his eyes. “If you march out to arrest someone in the middle of the night like this—firstly, we lack direct physical evidence to display to the public aside from the testimony of a Black Vatican member (which is easily dismissed or recanted if he uses his political influence to twist the narrative). Secondly, it will alert the enemy. The traitor within the City Council undoubtedly has extensive cliques; the moment he catches wind of this, he will have time to purge all classified documents, or worse... trigger a self-destruct mechanism or cut off the barrier’s energy source before we can react.”
Lu Chen furrowed his brows deeply, his anger gradually reined in by the rationality of a seasoned commander. He looked at Lin Feng with a gaze mixed with deep appreciation and wariness:
“You speak correctly. Those who climb to such positions are deeply entrenched, cunning foxes. Without ironclad proof and a flawless trap, we will merely startle the snake in the grass. In your opinion, what should we do?”
A faint yet confident smile crept onto Lin Feng’s lips. He stepped closer to the strategic map, his finger lightly tapping a central sector of the Ancient Capital:
“We will use the strategy of ‘Luring the Tiger Out of the Mountain’ combined with an unprecedented Chaos magic trap.”
The following morning, the hazy, chilly sunlight of the ancient capital pierced through the thick fog, illuminating the ancient architecture steeped in the imprints of time.
Inside the grand conference hall of the Ancient Capital’s City Council, delegates, high-ranking officials, and council commissioners filed in with solemn expressions. Today was an emergency expanded operational meeting to discuss supplementary distribution plans for magic crystals to the sections of the city wall under the heaviest pressure.
At the corner of the long table, a middle-aged man dressed in an expensive suit with neatly combed hair sat with a composed, benevolent expression, though a chilling coldness was deeply hidden within his narrow, elongated eyes. This was Councilman Zhuo Kai—one of the most influential figures regarding the management of the city’s strategic resources.
Zhuo Kai sat straight, lifting a cup of hot tea to take a sip, his demeanor as leisurely and untroubled as if the wartime crisis outside had nothing to do with him. He mused inwardly: ’Today, I just need to push through the decision to delay the shipment of the next batch of magic crystals to the southern corner under the pretext of unsafe transport routes. By tomorrow night, the barrier there will be completely drained of energy. When the undead army floods in then, the Lord’s great enterprise will be fulfilled, and I shall receive an immeasurable reward from the organization...’
At this thought, the corners of Zhuo Kai’s mouth twitched into an imperceptible, satisfied smirk.
Right at that moment, the grand doors of the conference hall were abruptly and violently shoved open.
Lin Feng strode in first, followed by Tang Yue and Major General Lu Chen, whose face carried an iceberg-like chill. Behind them trailed a line of iron-clad guards equipped with cutting-edge magical gear, completely sealing off all exits.
The atmosphere in the conference hall plummeted instantly. Several council members raised their heads, showing annoyance at this sudden disruption. An elderly high-ranking official slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily:
“Lu Chen! What do you think you’re doing? This is the supreme conference hall of the Ancient Capital’s City Council, not your military barracks! You think you can just barge in whenever you please? And who are these two youngsters, why are they allowed into this classified venue?”
Lu Chen didn’t even spare the old official a single glance. The general’s blade-like gaze swept across the room, finally locking directly onto Councilman Zhuo Kai—who showed a slight ripple of agitation but managed to maintain an outward facade of calm.
“Everyone, apologies for interrupting your important meeting,” Lu Chen’s deep, resonant voice echoed throughout the chamber. “But today, we are forced to address a matter far more vital than the distribution of magic crystals... the purging of a vermin who is directly selling out the lives of millions of citizens in the Ancient Capital!”
As soon as those words dropped, the conference hall erupted in shock. Several council members changed color, shouting in protest. Zhuo Kai remained seated, but the hand holding his teacup froze for a fraction of a second, a flash of extreme panic darting through his eyes—though it could not escape Lin Feng’s piercing observation.
That night, deep inside one of the most luxurious and isolated villas in the central district of the Ancient Capital, darkness enveloped the lavish yet chillingly silent space.
Inside a heavily fortified underground study, the sole illumination emanated from the surface of an ancient magic mirror bordered with dark gold. The mirror’s surface rippled like an autumn pond, reflecting a hazy, distorted image of a figure in blue robes half-concealed within gloomy mist somewhere far outside the city.
Before the mirror, a figure stood bowing respectfully. In the flickering magical light, the face clearly belonged to Councilman Zhuo Kai—the very man who had maintained an upright demeanor before his peers during the day.
He whispered through the dark magical communication mirror, his tone carrying excitement mixed with reverence:
“My Lord... everything has been properly arranged. The military’s plans have been largely neutralized thanks to the cover provided by my actions today...”
The figure in the mirror emitted a hoarse, cold laugh resembling the whistling of underworld winds:
“Very good... Zhuo Kai, you’ve done well. Once you complete this final step, the reward awaiting you will exceed all imagination...”
Zhuo Kai nodded repeatedly, greed blazing in her eyes:
“Rest assured, My Lord! Tomorrow morning... right during the next critical decision-making session, I will officially cut off the final energy supply to the southern barrier sector! At that time, this thousand-year-old city wall will wide open its gates to welcome your grand army inside!”
He sneered coldly, completely unaware that right in the dark corner behind the thick velvet curtains of the underground chamber, an invisible spatial rune was flickering with a deep purple radiance, recording every single word and every wretched expression on his face down to the smallest detail...