"Star Platinum!"

Whispering a spell in a mysterious language, a sturdy shadow with purplish-blue skin appeared behind JoJo, boosting not only his senses but also granting him the ability to share his Stand's vision. Juggling two viewpoints at once did put a strain on the user's mind, but JoJo was lucky that he didn't care much about other things except being serious in training his mystical abilities, making it manageable.

Guided by JoJo, the Stand leaped and vaulted onto the nearby rooftop, as the imperial city had limited tall buildings aside from the three main halls and the Star Attraction Tower, allowing the vision to effortlessly cover half the city.

"Hmm... It seems like everyone has hidden away. Have the guards all gone to the Wuding Gate?" JoJo muttered under his breath against a wall, contemplating an escape route. With the rebel forces attacking the Wuding Gate, fleeing in that direction was out of the question. The other palace gates were likely sealed off, making a normal exit impossible. However, with the Stand, he could easily be lifted and vaulted over the walls.

JoJo glanced up at his Stand positioned above.

—As long as we don't run into any formidable opponents.

Recalling the fight with the old wolf, JoJo felt a bit apprehensive. If it weren't for Aya, things could have ended badly for him. Facing someone with lesser strength had already led to such a result; it was indeed necessary to be cautious.

Splash!

Suddenly, a sound of water came from the side.

JoJo was hiding in a small corner between the kitchen and the courtyard wall, surrounded by three walls, while the sound emanated from a gap facing a water well. It was just an ordinary well, with a stone well curb around it, lacking even a railing, with a wooden pulley on top and two buckets casually placed nearby... Although it was inside the palace, if this well were moved to any street corner market, it wouldn't feel out of place.

Well, after all, it was a place where ordinary palace servants lived, that's just how it was.

But the noise just now seemed unfinished. After the first "splash," there were gurgling sounds, growing louder, the echoes bouncing off the well walls, resonating distinctly in the empty courtyard.

From afar, cries of battle resounded, while the courtyard echoed with sounds resembling water being poured. The atmosphere was indeed a bit tense.

JoJo hesitated for a moment but eventually could not suppress his curiosity and leaned in closer. If this were a horror movie, a clown's face might suddenly appear from the well or a grotesque monster might jump out. But realistically, how could such a thing happen...

But...maybe...

"0x0?!"

JoJo's eyes glazed over for a moment, as if frozen in place, stupidly staring at the dark well where a hand suddenly reached out and gripped the edge.

Just as JoJo considered whether to instantly call back his Stand to punch or whether to turn and run, a figure had already leaped out of the well, grabbing the edge of the well to propel herself out, then kicking the pulley's support deeply buried underground due to the impact of being hit by water.

Luckily, it wasn't a monster that jumped out. The silver-haired girl with a ponytail scanned her surroundings and, after a brief stop at JoJo, shouted down to the well, "No issues up here, come on up."

"Huh, which genius dug this secret passage? I've put on some weight lately and almost got stuck inside..."

At the other end of the well, one by one, people climbed out, all dressed in rags, carrying nothing except their clothes—considering their bulky frames, most of them would struggle to fit through the narrow well opening.

At first, Jojo was a bit puzzled about who these people were, but seeing them orderly and swiftly climbing out and lining up neatly on the open ground, as well as their disciplined and well-trained demeanor, she could roughly guess their identity.

"Hey hey? Are you staring in disbelief, kid?"

The silver-haired girl who was first lifted out of the well, after observing the military personnel emerging one after another from the secret passage in the well, walked up to Jojo and waved her hand in front of her.

"... Who are you calling a kid!"

After a moment of confusion, Jojo reacted and retorted a little annoyed, noting that the silver-haired girl did not seem much older than herself.

"No, is calling me 'kid' really what's important right now...?" The silver-haired girl sighed disappointingly, covering her face, though admittedly looking a bit strained being called that given her physical age.

"Well, actually, I'm more concerned about this."

Jojo pointed to the well opening and asked eagerly, "Does this place connect to the outside?"

"Well... are you planning to leave? I suggest you not, Missy just arrived from outside, and the city is becoming quite chaotic. It's safer for you to stay in the palace. As for the rebels, we... ah, anyway, our leader is confident in handling them."

The girl patted Jojo on the shoulder, speaking with authority and seriousness.

"What is the city of Gotham?"

"Cough, don't worry about those details... Why do you always focus on these trivial points! Anyway, it's chaotic outside, and you're safer in the palace. As for the rebels, we... ah, well, their leader is confident in dealing with them."

The silver-haired girl waved her hand as if passing the buck, addressing the group of soldiers who had finished forming up.

"Prince Tiran, please watch your words. General Xiang has entrusted us to your command, you're in charge."

Among the imposing and determined figures of tall men, a lone female figure, looking somewhat conspicuous, reminded him helplessly.

"Hey, Ling, you guys are the professionals, do you really think I, a half-hearted person, can lead in battle?" Tiran rolled his eyes irresponsibly, spreading his hands.

"Regardless of whether you have the ability to lead, General Xiang's orders are clear. We will follow them, so you don't have to worry that we would look down on you."

"... Well, I appreciate that." Tiran tasted the irony, staring, "Basically, you're saying 'I don't trust you but I have to follow orders,' right?"

The princess glared fiercely at the group of soldiers, who all instinctively avoided her gaze.

"See! Feeling guilty now?! You guys clearly don't trust me! Ugh, I told her I can't deal with this... Huh?"

Feeling overwhelmed by the dumped task, Tiran was muttering to herself when suddenly she felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Are you... soldiers of the Jiangdong Army? Under Prince Xiang's command?"

"Uh, well—they are, not me!"

For some reason, Tiran subconsciously tried to distance herself.

"And you are...?"

Jojo asked with some confusion. She knew Prince Xiang, her idol, and although she might not be familiar with his elite troops, the Jiangdong Army's data information disclosed to the public was etched into her memory. How could such a top-notch army allow an unknown girl to command them so casually?

"Just a passing card!"

Tiran pulled out a knight's iron mask from her pocket, covering her face in a mysterious manner and loudly declared.

"Oh, so cool!" Jojo's eyes lit up, finding that the princess's edgy aesthetics coincidentally matched her own.

"Your Highness Tiran... Could you tone it down a bit? The other three routes are ready, let's hurry and arm ourselves." The female soldier known as "Sister Ling" just couldn't stand it anymore.

"Huh? Tiran? Tiran Elysian?" Jojo paused for a moment upon hearing this name.

"Am I that famous?" Tiran pointed at himself in disbelief upon Jojo mentioning his name.

"Not exactly, but you are about to marry General Ling, so those who have heard about it in Luojing are quite surprised," “Hey, has this matter already been spread? I haven't agreed to it yet!" Tiran looked shocked at Sister Ling.

"Please give the order," Sister Ling couldn't be bothered to comment anymore.

"Well, how about this, I entrust you with full authority to lead on my behalf, leave the command of the battle to you professionals, of course, if there are any tough guys to handle, I'll take care of them."

Tiran walked briskly to Sister Ling and patted her on the shoulder, then gave her a thumbs up, "Go! Best of luck in battle!"

"What? Hold on a second!"

"No holding on! An order is an order! Gogogo! Arm up and overthrow the reactionaries, brothers!"

Tiran pushed Sister Ling and they ran out of the courtyard's gate together, then waved to the lined-up soldiers.

Although absurd, at least with an order and a commissioned command, with the military training of the Jiangdong Army, even without commanders, they could still display strong combat power. With time constraints, they had no choice but to follow Sister Ling, who was pushed out, and rushed to the location in the palace where weapons were hidden.

"Phew, sorted."

Tiran clenched his fist and watched as the Jiangdong soldiers, who were transforming from a formation into two rows, left through the main gate. It was a bit unfair to them, but there was no choice. Since the Chancellor had said that Aya had gone to see Xingjian in the palace, prioritizing finding Aya was definitely higher than fighting with the rebel army.

Furthermore, Xiang Ling never expected to command anything from the beginning, and what mattered more was her own strength; the main objective was to deal with any potential strong opponents among the enemy. Originally, this should have been done together with Zhi Lan, Mimi, Mo Yi, and others, but with the sudden turn of events, they were still on the way, so she had to handle it alone.

Considering that the Holy Rank on the opposite side was engaged in a fight, Xiang Ling followed them. There shouldn't be any strong opponents left, right? So, it shouldn't be a problem for her to go find Aya first.

"Oh, right, even though I advised you not to go out, if you're determined, I can show you the way. There's a hatch beneath this well. Go inside and if you encounter a fork, turn right, and at the end, you'll reach the underground waterway in the upper city area. Above is the residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs; he's quite nice. If you tell him I sent you this way, he should let you hide in there. There's a squad of Jiangdong soldiers guarding the residence, so it should be relatively safe."

"Dad?" Jojo's eyes widened.

"No, even though this lady protagonist exudes an aura of dominance, if you call me dad the moment you show up, I can't help but feel embarrassed..."