The Dawn of the New World

"They came with the palace."

"Mhm," Hao Xuan nodded expressionlessly, keeping his surprise and shock to himself.

After that section came three others. One of them was a stable with a 10 meter wide locked stone door. 89 said that all the various beasts and creatures that had been captured on the planet were behind it.

They were being trained for the war effort and would be sent to the battlefield if there was a need for them. Although there were many barriers around the doors that stopped most of the noise from coming through, Hao Xuan could still hear loud growls followed by the sound of whips.

The third door was guarded by four fully armored individuals that were standing right in front of it blocking even the view.

This was apparently the armory where all the weapons and armors were kept that had been created by the golems.

The fourth section was blocked by a slim white door. 89 didn't say anything about it. Either even he didn't know or wasn't willing to part with that information. Hao Xuan didn't bother asking either and continued past it without giving it another look but inwardly he was more than a little envious of Dai Zhi now.

This place was a war camp, a fortress in its own right that was not only able to house and train thousands of soldiers but also produce enough armaments to arm them from head to toe.

Hao Xuan had seen one of the teleportation arrays on top of the tower but he suspected there were a lot more of them hidden somewhere else that could send this entire army to anyplace in a matter of minutes.

And this was just a simple 'gift' from the Church. Dai Zhi didn't have to do anything to get it other than say yes to an already lucrative offer. How could Hao Xuan contend with something like that when he was struggling to arm a mere 200 Orcs?

*Sigh*

Hao Xuan let out a deep sigh before throwing these distracting thoughts to the back of his mind. He was quite literally in the enemy's camp now and needed to keep his guard up.

After passing through a handful of narrow hallways they came to a stop in front of an ordinary-looking door.

89 turned towards Hao Xuan and flashing a smile.

"Please rest inside. I will inform Lord Dai Zhi of your arrival and come get you in a moment. He is currently in the main hall with the Lord Inquisitor and some of the other members."

"Mhm, that's fine."

Hao Xuan walked through the door and entered without any hesitation.

89 then turned towards Princess Ceni, "Princess, if you please follow me I will show you to your quarters. Lord Dai Zhi has set aside the second-best room in the entire palace for yo-"

But before he could even finish the sentence Ceni walked past him and entered the same room as Hao Xuan, closing the door firmly behind her.

Micha reached out to grab her but was too slow and was left standing there gritting his teeth in silence.

89 and 86 exchanged knowing glances before quickly walking off with wide strides.

Micha continued standing in front of the door in silence, hatefully glaring at it. Finally, he muttered "Vermin," under his breath and walked off in another direction.

***

Inside the scarcely decorated room, Hao Xuan was sitting on a chair on the left while Ceni sat on the bed to the right opposite to him. There was no other piece of furniture in here other than them.

It would be a lie if Hao Xuan said he wasn't a little apprehensive and more than a little nervous. Dai Zhi and his cronies were one thing but it was the 'Abyss Walker' that kept him on the edge of his seat.

He already knew what the Abyss Walker looked like so he wouldn't be able to hide from him in plain sight anymore.

But even if it was highly unlikely Hao Xuan would be able to escape in one piece, he had still mapped out the route they had taken to get here.

Time slowly ticked by. There were two people in the room but it was deathly silent, perhaps even more so if it was actually empty.

Hao Xuan was lost in his own thoughts not even paying any attention to Ceni while all her worries were centered around him. She wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to speak up.

Eventually, the sound of footsteps came from behind the door before it was slowly opened to reveal half a dozen fully armed female guards.

Hao Xuan stood up, raising an inquisitive eyebrow towards 89.

89 stood to the side, "Lord Dai Zhi will see you know."

As he said that, the female guards also stepped aside making way for Micha to walk forward, "Princess, please come with me."