Chapter 207: The Opening of the Mist Veil Palace

The Three-Eyed Serpent and that fox were coming for him.

Marcus was certain of it. It was not the Double-Headed Raven King, who had followed him as he had initially feared, yet the presence of the serpent immediately brought the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent to mind. The connection was too precise to be coincidence, too deliberate to ignore.

The idea that enemies could track someone across spatial rifts was unsettling. It was an ability that bordered on the absurd, yet Dominion was filled with monsters that wielded powers far beyond conventional understanding. Marcus could not help but wonder what would have happened if he had been even a second slower. Would the serpent have intercepted him mid-teleport and dragged him back through the rift by force?

The thought sent a chill crawling up his spine. Survival, this time, had come down to sheer timing. It became painfully clear that combining Run for Your Life with Wanderlust was not an infallible escape strategy. He would need to treat every retreat as a gamble rather than a certainty. The world of Dominion was vast, alien, and packed with countless entities that defied expectation. One careless mistake was all it took to lose everything he had built.

Then there was the Black Raven Cloak.

That artifact alone had nearly killed him. It had disabled his Town Portal Scroll without warning, cutting off his most reliable escape route and forcing him into a desperate gamble. Marcus made a mental note to treat artifacts tied to high-ranking monsters with extreme caution from now on. Items like that were never as simple as they appeared.

By the time he fully relaxed, the fireworks in the sky had long since faded, with no more explosions, or flashes of annihilating light. The players gathered below seemed disappointed, though their chatter buzzed with excitement. Many of them had clearly hoped for another wave of monsters, or even a full-scale assault, something grand enough to turn the heavens into a blazing spectacle.

With his pursuers reduced to little more than scattered light by Dragon’s Peak Citadel’s Crystal Cannons, Marcus was officially out of combat status with both the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent and the Raven King according to the system’s rules. They no longer had any means of tracking his location, and even if they somehow discovered it, he doubted they would dare provoke trouble within Dragon’s Peak Citadel itself.

The realization was deeply satisfying.

Two boss-level monsters, beings that terrorized entire regions, had been rendered utterly helpless against him. Somewhere out there, they were undoubtedly seething with rage and humiliation. Marcus allowed himself a smug grin before returning to his mansion, eager to sort through the spoils he had claimed from the Mist Veil Palace.

—

Back in the Mist Veil Palace, the Double-Headed Raven King let out a piercing screech as he watched Sienna vanish using Wind Evasion. His Mythic Artifact, the Black Raven Cloak, was gone, stolen in the blink of an eye. The palace hall stretched before him in empty silence, with no trace of her presence remaining. The shock struck him so deeply that he nearly collapsed.

Losing the Black Raven Cloak felt like having his own feathers torn from his body. It was more than an artifact; it was a symbol of his authority and pride. How could he possibly face anyone now? The devastation left him hollow, his grief so overwhelming that if not for the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent shielding him, he would already have been cleaved apart by the Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight.

The serpent itself was hardly faring better. The knight who had stolen the Divine Artifact, the Dragon-Horse Lyre, had vanished without a trace right before its eyes. Yet there was no time to wallow in loss. The Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight standing before them was not an enemy that showed mercy to the defeated.

Dodging another crushing strike by a narrow margin, the serpent seized the stunned Raven King and spread its emerald wings wide. It fled from the knight’s relentless assault, racing toward the edge of the palace grounds. Its only hope was to escape the Mist Veil Palace and use the Three-Eyed Shadow Serpent to track down the thief who had taken the lyre.

The Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight urged its dragon forward, massive dark wings slicing through the air in pursuit. Yet duty bound it to the palace. Just as it was about to overtake them, the fleeing pair crossed the boundary of the palace grounds. With a growl of frustration, the knight was forced to turn back.

Standing at the entrance of the Mist Veil Palace, the Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight surveyed the devastated outer court with visible displeasure. It released a thunderous roar, dark light surging from its body. In an instant, countless new monsters spawned throughout the outer palace. Existing creatures were strengthened, their levels raised by ten, while entirely new species emerged, transforming the area into a far more lethal gauntlet.

Satisfied, the knight turned its attention to the heavily wounded Cloud-Tusk Lion nearby. Casting a death-aspected restoration spell, it watched as the lion’s vitality slowly returned. Afterward, cloaked in demonic energy, the knight vanished once more into the depths of the Mist Veil Palace.

—

Moments later, while Marcus was busy organizing his loot back in his mansion, a system notification chimed.

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven! You have broken the seal on the Mist Veil Palace. The system will now announce its opening to the public. Do you wish to display your name and share this glory with all players?”

“Do not display,” Marcus replied without hesitation.

For large guilds and fame-hungry players, this kind of recognition was priceless, worth more than any material reward. Marcus had no interest in such attention. The system complied immediately, broadcasting the announcement across the server.

Ding!

“Player XXX has successfully broken the seal on the Mist Veil Palace. The Mist Veil Palace is now open to all players. We hope you will take the opportunity to explore its depths and seek out the treasures left behind by the Water Moon Cult a thousand years ago.”

“Treasures of the Water Moon Cult…” Marcus muttered to himself. “Anyone under level fifty who goes in there is just begging to die.”

Much like Black Rock Spire, the Mist Veil Palace was now a publicly accessible territory following its unsealing. Marcus found himself far more drawn to places like Star Lake, where entry was determined entirely by chance and skill rather than brute force. That kind of challenge felt more honest.

Another notification followed.

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven, for unsealing the Mist Veil Palace. You have been awarded 500 Reputation and 10,000 gold coins.”

The unexpected reward lifted his spirits. Free gains always did. Content, Marcus returned to sorting through his accumulated loot.

—

Within the Mist Veil Palace, the recovering Cloud-Tusk Lion made its way toward the Spring of Purity in the inner court.

What it found there was ruin.

The lingering flames of the Wyvern Flame Spear were gone. The noble aura of Lyanna had vanished. Even the overwhelming presence of the Divine Beast, the Glacier Ice Dragon, had disappeared without a trace. The lion released a mournful cry before fleeing the palace, clouds forming beneath its paws as it leapt into the sky and vanished into the distance.

—

Far from the Mist Veil Palace, the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent and the Double-Headed Raven King, finally slowed when they were certain they were no longer being pursued. Hovering in the air, the serpent began tracking its Grade Eight pet, the Three-Eyed Shadow Serpent.

A low hiss escaped its throats, then everything snapped.

The serpent erupted into a frenzy. Its six heads shrieked as it unleashed a storm of devastating attacks upon a nearby barren mountain, tearing it apart in a violent outburst of rage. The life signature of the Three-Eyed Shadow Serpent was gone. Completely extinguished. There was no longer any way to track the knight.

The Raven King, by contrast, remained eerily calm. This outcome had already been anticipated. He would never underestimate that low-level knight again. The truth was obvious. The knight had returned to Dragon’s Peak Citadel, but there was nothing they could do about it. Both of them had already witnessed the terrifying power of the city’s ultimate guardian, the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon.

For now, all they could do was swallow their defeat and retreat into the shadows, nursing their bitterness and waiting for another chance.

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