As night fell, after Leon had figured out the route of the imperial patrol team, he seized the opportunity and led Muen to explore under the high wall on one side of the Imperial City.
This spot was harder to detect and only had patrols passing by every ten minutes.
The father and daughter crouched by the wall, studying how they could infiltrate the city.
Getting into the Imperial City—which lay at the heart of it all—is not as simple as sneaking into the Empire during the day.
Those who lived here were all royal nobles of the Empire. Even the lowest-ranking ones have at least four or five guards accompanying them when they go out.
As for those in higher positions, there is no need to say more.
Leon raised his hand and gently pressed it against the outer wall of the Imperial City.
Cold and rough, the surface seemed to be surging a flow of magical energy within.
“Sure enough, there’s a barrier here,” Leon remarked.
The perception barriers were arranged above the imperial city wall, so the imperial city must be no exception.
Moreover, the strength and functionality of the barriers around the Imperial City would undoubtedly far surpass those on the outer walls.
“If we climb over the wall, we’ll definitely trigger the barrier,”
Leon said, "I'll see if I can break a hole in this barrier. Muen, keep watch for me and alert me immediately if anything happens."
“Yes, Dad.”
Muen immediately stood up and warily looked around. Leon then set about attempting to break the barrier.
When he was at the Dragon Slayer Academy, his instructors taught him some basic principles and methods for disabling barriers. After all, during military marches and battles, it wasn’t uncommon to encounter barriers of various functionalities set up by the enemy.
No matter their function, barriers at their essence were still a type of magical formation.
As long as you could identify the pattern of their operations, there is a chance to crack them.
But Leon’s attempts kept ending in failure.
He didn’t dare to use brute force to breach the barrier, as that would undoubtedly alert the Royal Sorcerers' Corps.
The barriers on the outer walls, the Imperial City, and the Empire’s key buildings were all engineered by the Royal Sorcerers' Corps.
In addition to these duties, the Royal Sorcerers' Corps was also responsible for teaching magic to members of the royal family and their descendants.
Leon had never been fond of those people back when he was leading armies in battle.
Every last one of them in the Sorcerers' Corps was eccentric—the kind of lunatics with no moral or ethical boundaries.
Before the Silver Dragon War, Leon had heard rumors that they were conducting magical experiments involving the “Domestication of Dangerous Beasts.” Judging from the Dangerous Beasts Leon had encountered when he returned to the Empire last time, it seemed the lunatics’ experiments had been successful.
Who knew what even more outrageous things they’d come up with after twenty years?
“It’s no use. The composition of the barrier is too complex, far more complex than it was twenty years ago.”
Moreover, breaking through barriers is not Leon's forte.
He could easily use a single *Chidori* to blast through the wall, but that would completely expose their location.
The reason they’d risked sneaking into the Empire this time was to retrieve the *Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale*—not to cause trouble.
Muen also took it over and gave it a try, only to find that it didn't work either.
The cowlick on her head drooped as she pouted dejectedly. “Why’s it gotta be like this…”
Leon raised a hand and patted her head, comforting her. “After all, this is a barrier protecting the Imperial City, designed by a whole team of professionals. If the two of us could solve it easily, then that group of people could be laid off honorably.”
“So, Dad, what do we do now?”
“Hm… Since sneaking in quietly won't do, let’s see if we can do what we did during the day—find a cover and slip in amidst the chaos.”
“Got it.”
The success rate of this plan wasn’t actually high.
But it was better than doing nothing. They had to at least give it a shot.
Leon led Muen as they avoided the patrols and circled around to the rooftop of a guest lodge near the Imperial City’s main gate.
From here, they had a clear view of the gate’s situation.
There weren’t many carriages coming and going, but judging from the extravagant designs of those that did, it was clear the passengers were all unquestionably wealthy.
The carriages were so posh they might as well have encrusted diamonds on the horses' hooves.
“Unlike the city gates, the guards at the Imperial City carefully inspect every entry and exit. Hiding beneath a carriage would definitely get us caught,” Leon said in a low voice.
"Dad, didn't you often come to the imperial city when you were in the empire?"Muen asked.
Leon thought for a moment before shaking his head. “At first, I came often, but I stopped after a while.”
“Why’s that?” Muen was curious.
“For soldiers like me who fought on the frontlines, entering the Imperial City wasn’t something we could just do freely—unless it was for receiving a merit or an award for outstanding service.”
Muen blinked in thought. “Then why did you say you came here often in the beginning?”
“Because your dad had a lot of military achievements.”
Leon recalled briefly. “Back then… it was about one Dragon King per month. So I had to come to the Imperial City every month to let that damned Emperor give me honors. A normal person only does it once a year.”
“After a while, they got tired of awarding honors and so did I, so we came to an agreement to do it every six months.”
Muen’s eyes widened slightly, with her face full of admiration for her father.
“Wow~ You are amazing, Dad.”
Leon cleared his throat twice lightly, resisting the urge to bask in his daughter’s praise and continue boasting.
Why?
Back then, in General Leon’s eyes, her mother had also been a top-level achievement…
Ah, old stories—it was all old stories.
Besides, he’d ended up marrying that “top-level achievement,” so there was no point bragging about past glories.
Muen asked again, “Did you get any rewards when you received your awards?”
Leon nodded. “Of course. Money, food, clothes—various things. My squad members used to joke that every time I returned from the Imperial City, it was like I’d been here on a shopping spree.”
Muen covered her mouth and chuckled softly. “Dad, you must’ve been so charismatic when you were young.”
“What do you mean ‘young’? Don’t you think your dad’s still young now?”
“Dad, you’re already a 23-year-old uncle~”
Leon pinched his daughter's cheeks. "I'm a middle-aged man at 23. So what are you at 22?" Huh?
“I’m the man’s daughter.”
As the father and daughter bantered, new movement began at the Imperial City gate.
They stopped joking around and turned their eyes downward.
It was a relatively modest carriage, coming to a halt as three individuals disembarked.
Leon scanned their attire and posture, noting their gait and stance. He guessed that these three should be soldiers who had just retired from the front line of the war.
As to whether they belonged to the Dragon Slayer Army, he couldn’t tell.
But Muen instantly recognized the trio.
“It’s the ‘Tri-Core Special Taskforce,’”
Muen said in a serious tone, giving voice to a name that wasn’t all too serious.
Leon was momentarily confused. “A... chicken? What chicken? Sweetheart, are you starving and seeing chickens now?”
“No, not ‘chicken.’ It’s ‘Tri-Core.’”
Muen explained earnestly, “After your disappearance five years ago, the Empire gradually gained the upper hand in the war against the dragons—thanks to these three.”
Leon raised an eyebrow. “Are they… that strong?”
“Well, according to the survivors of those defeated tribes, these three guys are terrifyingly powerful, giving a feeling of being back in the ‘Era of the Black Armor.’”
Ah~
Dad missed the Era of the Black Armor too.
Leon let out a private sigh of nostalgia before asking, “Do we have any specific information on them?”
“Mhm… All I know are their names.”
Muen thought for a moment before saying,
“Kenni, Kittai, and Kimé.”
“... Those names sound quite familiar. They reminds me of an old acquaintance. ”
Karsmod, bring your second daughter to court.
