'Zuri hopped off the formation platform and moved towards a nearby tunnel, beckoning him to follow. They eventually came to the end of the tunnel and found a wall, which parted away as expected.
The two left and the wall reformed behind them, masking the existence of the tunnel and chamber. A breathtaking scene came into view, nearly stopping John in his tracks. It was still nighttime, but the silver moon above bathed the landscape before him in its silvery glow.
The tunnel they had left was at the top of a mountain, which overlooked a sprawling landscape before them. The landscape was lined with thousands of other mountain ranges, appearing like massive waves of earth in the dim light. Thousands of rivers meandered through the valleys between the mountains, valleys which were filled with lush and vibrant forests. More waterfalls than could be counted crashed down to the valleys below, bathing the valley floors in a perpetual mist which glowed ethereally in the silver moonlight.
It was as beautiful a landscape as he had ever seen. In the distance beyond several mountain ranges, John spotted glowing lights shimmering in the mist, stretching for a dozen miles or more up and down the valley the lights were in. Buildings as tall as the surrounding mountains jutted out of the light mist, rising high into the night sky.
A large city lined one of the valley rivers, shining brightly with a vibrant pallet of colors. It seemed to be an even grander city than Greatcrest City.
"That is Clearmist City," Zuri said, pointing to the distant lights. "And is where our mission will take us."
"Our target is Galvsten, the de-facto leader of Clearmist City," Zuri said, giving John some background on the mission. "He rose to power about a decade ago, after somehow obtaining great wealth and buying his way into power. He's ruled over the city ever since, and has been praised as a selfless leader, elevating the lives of his citizens through charitable donations and other means. As far as anyone is concerned, he's the perfect example of what a leader should be."
"But…" John said.
"But that's the image he wants people to believe," Zuri said, her eyes narrowing. "He's used his wealth to buy a mask of virtue for himself, but underneath that mask is a vile, detestable man."
Zuri turned her gaze from the city and towards John, face filled with disgust.
"We were given the mission from headquarters about three months ago to investigate a series of disappearances within Clearmist City and the surrounding areas. Many have gone missing, including several prominent figures and young geniuses, which has concerned the primary powers in the region. Shadow Four was in charge of investigating the disappearances, and has been sending us messages every night regarding what she has found. According to her messages, the source of the disappearances is most likely related to Galveston. Shadow Four has sent messages containing her best guesses of what Galveston is doing, but has not been able to gather any hard evidence yet. She sent word that she was going to try to get something concrete, but has not sent word since. It's highly likely that she had been captured, or…"
Zuri breathed out deeply, clearly concerned for the fate of Shadow Four. She composed herself quickly as she had done with the message of her fathers and sibling's deaths.
"Our mission tonight is to find Shadow Four," Zuri said. "And the most likely location for that is within Galvsten's estate. We will sneak in, find Shadow Four, and bring her out. That is our primary mission for tonight."
John nodded his head.
"Good," Zuri nodded. "Let's not waste any more time then. Follow me."
Zuri sped down the mountainside, towards the direction of the distant city. John followed closely behind as the two sped through forests, rivers, and over several mountains before they arrived at the outskirts of Clearmist City.
They stood atop a mountain bordering the city, their vantage point overlooking the city. Up close it was easy to tell that this city was definitely better off than Greatcrest City. The buildings were more luxurious, the location less dangerous.
The city stretched up and down a riverbank, the lights from the city illuminating the river with a bright multi-colored glow. Ships sailed to and from the city docks, while flying ships flew in and out of the city's flying ship port, setting off into the night sky. The city streets bustled with activity despite the late hour, as if the city never knew rest.
A small wall encircled the city's borders, not for defense, but for funneling travelers in and out of the main gates as a way to monitor those who entered the city. An invisible formation barrier shrouded the city above the walls, making flying over the walls impossible without alerting the city guards.
At the very top of the city, built almost at the top of the central mountain lining the city was a massive walled estate. The estate had more mansions than could be counted, and was more luxurious than anything nearby.
"That's Galvsten's estate," Zuri said, pointing to that luxurious estate. "Follow me."
Zuri moved down the mountainside, her figure becoming a mass of indiscernible shadows. John followed suit and shrouded himself in his spatial cocoon, his figure vanishing from sight, an almost imperceptible shimmer of space replacing his body.
The two arrived at the base of the city walls, at which point Zuri turned to the right, moving upwards away from the river. She stopped several hundred yards later, and pressed her hand against a singular brick on the wall.
A secret entrance opened up in the wall, leading into the city. John raised an eyebrow, impressed at how many secret entrances and tunnels the Shadow of Death Guild had made.
"How many secret entrances has the Guild made?" John asked with a soft whisper.
"More than can be counted," Zuri whispered back as she slipped into the tunnel. "The Guild has existed for hundreds of years, and has had a lot of time to make its preparations everywhere it operates."
John nodded his head and followed closely behind, soon arriving on a dark and abandoned street at the city wall. Zuri hastily sped up the street towards Galvsten's estate, the two slipping past guards and city goers occasionally.
They arrived at the estate a while later, another wall blocking their way forward.
"Is there another secret tunnel?" John whispered.
"Unfortunately not," Zuri replied. "We will have to sneak our way into the estate, and when needed, take care of any guards. Follow me, and do your best to not be detected."
John nodded his head again and followed closely behind, moving towards the estate's main entrance. The estate was guarded by a formation, one that would detect any movement not through the main gates. As such, they were required to enter through the main entrance, which they arrived at a short while later.
"Tch," a soft click of the tongue escaped Zuri's mouth as she stared at the guards posted at the front gate.
"Problem?" John asked softly.
"Yes," Zuri nodded, looking at the guards, one in the Early World Expansion realm and one in the Half-Step World Expansion Realm, posted out front. "It seems Galvsten has increased his security considerably recently. I can take out one of the guards before they notice me, but not both of them at once. We'll have to retreat and think of another way in."
"Are you concerned about the lives of the guards?" John asked, wondering if Zuri was hesitant to kill innocent. guards.
"No," Zuri said softly. "The intel we have says all the guards are aware of what is happening within the compound, and so they are complicit with what's going on. Their deaths would be a good thing, but we cannot stealthily kill both of them before they alert the others."
Zuri started to slip back into the shadows, but John stopped her.
"You handle the one guard, I'll handle the other," he said softly.
"What? Are you crazy?" Zuri whispered back. "Look, you may have strong instincts, and have incredible combat prowess, but that guard is almost an entire major realm above you. We cannot afford to fail and alert the other guards, so its best we think of another plan-"
Her voice cut off as she noticed John moving towards the guards in the distance, his whispers trailing behind.
"You take the left guard, and I'll take the right one," he whispered, giving Zuri no chance to stop him or respond. The guard on the right was the one with the Half-Step World Expansion Realm.
"Idiot," Zuri grumbled, speeding forward to catch up. It was too late to stop John, and any attempt to do so would alert the guards.
Shrouded in his spatial cocoon, John snuck up towards the guard, who was standing outside the main gate, spear in hand, eyes scanning the road leading up to the estate. The guard was a middle aged man, who appeared to be lazily going about his guard duty. He didn't even have his divine sense expanded outwards, as if the guard thought no one would be stupid enough to infiltrate the estate. If either of the guards' divine senses had been extended, it would have been a much more difficult task to sneak up on them.
'Good,' John thought, a smile appearing on his face as he neared the man. 'His guard being down will make this all the easier,' John thought as he appeared next to the guard, hand with extended fingers piercing towards the guard's neck from behind.
