Chapter 115: The Palace That Swallows Level Thirty

“What kind of treasure is the Dragon-Horse Lyre, and how did it end up lost together with the Dragon’s Crest?”

Marcus had already finished asking his own questions. Now he listened closely, his attention fully on the explanation of the Dragon’s Crest quest, hoping to catch even the smallest detail that might help him complete it.

“The Dragon-Horse Lyre is a divine instrument,” Pegasus Knight Mare said slowly, his voice carrying a hint of reverence. “It was forged by the Goddess of Dreams herself, using the bones of a Divine Beast, the Twin-Winged Gold Horse King, the silk of a Fire Dragon Silkworm from Cloud Mist Mountain, and the sinew of a giant Dragon. When played, its music can command all horses.”

She paused briefly, then continued.

“During the Great War a thousand years ago, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna wielded the Dragon-Horse Lyre on the battlefield. Her music made our warhorses fearless and swift, while the enemy’s mounts lost their balance, panicked, and collapsed into chaos. The demon cavalry was rendered completely useless. Because of this, the human Knight legions were able to achieve victory after victory.”

’Holy cow, something that powerful?’

Marcus could not help reacting internally. In any large-scale battle, cavalry was everything, speed, momentum, and crushing force combined. Without horses, infantry stood little chance against a full charge. The Dragon-Horse Lyre did not just boost allies, it erased the enemy’s greatest advantage.

If any guild managed to obtain this lyre, they could cripple an opposing guild’s cavalry in an instant. In a player guild war, that alone would be enough to guarantee victory.

“Once the Demon Lord realized how decisive the Dragon-Horse Lyre was in Lyanna’s hands,” Mare continued, “he understood that humanity could not be defeated while she lived. So he sent one of his Eight Guardians, the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent, to assassinate her.”

His tone grew heavier.

“Lyanna was caught off guard. She was gravely wounded and pushed to the brink of death. Facing one of the Eight Guardians alone, she had no choice but to retreat into the nearby Mist Veil Palace. Using the Boundary Stone Needle, a Red Artifact, she sealed the palace completely. From that moment on, only a warrior who is exactly Level 30 and carries a Boundary Stone can enter.”

At this point, Pegasus Knight Mare let out a quiet sigh, the kind that came only before the telling of a major turning point.

“After Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna entered the Mist Veil Palace, the Dragon’s Crest and the Dragon-Horse Lyre were sealed inside with her. The Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent arrived too late. Seeing both Lyanna and the two treasures disappear, it chose to guard the palace entrance instead. It sent its agents across the land to search for the Boundary Stone, and dispatched Level 30 experts to enter the palace, intending to hunt Lyanna down and seize both the Dragon’s Crest and the Dragon-Horse Lyre.”

Marcus leaned forward slightly. “What happened?”

He desperately hoped the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent had failed.

He had already experienced the power of one of the Eight Guardians, the Dark Arch-Sorcerer, the Double-Headed Raven King. That encounter had left a deep impression on him. Being asked to retrieve the Dragon’s Crest and the Dragon-Horse Lyre from another Guardian was not just unrealistic, it was outright impossible, not now, and probably not even when he reached Level 50.

“The monsters inside the Mist Veil Palace,” Mare replied, “are no weaker than Level 30, with an average level closer to 40. The Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent sent nearly two hundred Level 30 experts in four separate waves to search for Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna.”

He paused, letting the weight of her next words sink in.

“None of them returned. Every single expert who entered the Mist Veil Palace vanished completely. There were no survivors, no reports, not even fragments of information.”

’That terrifying?’

Marcus felt a chill creep up his spine. He could not help comparing himself to those Level 30 experts. They had entered in groups, coordinated and prepared, their combined strength far greater than his alone. And yet, they had all disappeared without a trace.

A knot of unease formed in his chest. He realized he had severely underestimated the difficulty of this quest. Whatever lurked inside the Mist Veil Palace was far beyond ordinary monsters, and certainly not something to be taken lightly.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked quietly, “What about Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna? Did she never come out?”

“No,” Pegasus Knight Mare said quietly. “By the time the Dragon Dynasty received the news, Lyanna had already been inside the Mist Veil Palace for ten days. The Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent had stationed itself at the entrance, cutting off any possibility of her escape.”

He continued without pause.

“After the Dragon Dynasty forced the Serpent’s forces to retreat, they immediately dispatched their own Level 30 experts to search for Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna. But the outcome was no different. There was no news of her, and every Level 30 expert who entered the palace vanished just like the ones before.”

Mare frowned slightly, as if even now he could not make sense of it.

“Although the average monster level inside the Mist Veil Palace is around 40, those Level 30 experts were not ordinary individuals. Each of them was considered outstanding, even among elites. For all of them to disappear without a trace was beyond reason. And since the palace only allows entry at Level 30, no stronger force can investigate. The mystery remains unresolved. As for Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna, the prevailing belief is that her injuries were too severe, and that she likely encountered a high-level monster inside the palace and perished.”

“…”

Marcus did not speak for a long moment.

’The monsters in the Mist Veil Palace are that strong. I really can’t afford to be careless.’

He exhaled slowly and asked, “What happened after that?”

“The Dragon’s Crest and the Dragon-Horse Lyre are still sealed within the Mist Veil Palace,” Mare replied. “Both the demons and the Dragon Dynasty have continued searching for suitable Level 30 experts to retrieve them. But so far, no one who has entered has ever returned alive. Once someone steps inside, all contact with the outside world is completely severed. No messages, no signals, nothing. We do not even know what truly happens within.”

Marcus frowned. “If that’s the case, why not just leave the Dragon’s Crest and the Dragon-Horse Lyre where they are? As long as the demons don’t get them, isn’t that enough?”

The Mist Veil Palace sounded like a bottomless grave.

From what Mare had said, countless Level 30 experts had already been sent inside, future pillars and heroes of the Dragon Dynasty, only to be swallowed whole. Talents that should have shaped the future were disappearing one after another, like flowers cut down before they could bloom.

Marcus felt a quiet sense of anger.

What mattered most to any faction was talent. Talent was everything. Sacrificing so many promising individuals for the sake of two treasures felt unbearably short-sighted. To Marcus, the Dragon Dynasty’s actions bordered on recklessness.

Mare’s expression darkened.

“We have no choice,” he said. “Watching so many outstanding prodigies disappear pains us deeply. But the demons understand the value of the Dragon-Horse Lyre all too well. They have never abandoned their pursuit of it. No matter the cost, they continue sending people into the Mist Veil Palace.”

His voice grew heavier.

“The Dragon Dynasty cannot allow the demons to obtain the Dragon-Horse Lyre. If they do, our cavalry will be crippled. And our cavalry makes up nearly one-third of our total military strength. If the demons invade again under those conditions, humanity will be pushed to the brink.”

At this point, Pegasus Knight Mare looked directly at Marcus. His gaze carried something rare, a mix of urgency and quiet pleading.

“Stonehaven, I will be honest with you. Our spies have confirmed that the demons are preparing to send one of their true geniuses into the Mist Veil Palace. This individual obtained a Demonic Artifact before even reaching Level 30. They are determined to succeed this time.”

He took a breath.

“That is why we were forced to seek your help. We hope you can retrieve the Dragon’s Crest and the Dragon-Horse Lyre before this demonic genius does. And there is more. When Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna entered the palace, her Divine weapon, the Wyvern Flame Spear, and her bonded mount, the Divine Beast Glacier Ice Dragon, were sealed inside with her. We absolutely cannot allow the demons to obtain any of them.”

’Holy cow, that’s outright bait.’

A Divine Artifact. A Divine Beast.

It was not persuasion anymore, it was temptation pushed to its absolute limit.

’I’m dizzy. Completely dizzy.’

There were no maps, no records, no surviving accounts. No reliable information at all. It was a venture into a place where even elites vanished without a sound. For someone who loved adventure, it was the ultimate challenge. For someone who valued their life, it was insanity.

Marcus clenched his fingers slightly.

’Should I accept this quest and step into the mysterious Mist Veil Palace?’

The question echoed in his mind, heavy and unavoidable.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep