Odd Containment Specialist.

Chapter 854 Approaching
The sudden anomaly continued, the fluctuations of the cursed power like the rising tide, wave after wave, gradually engulfing everyone from their ankles to their knees, and then submerging them all. Even the local residents with poor perception stopped what they were doing and looked in the same direction with confusion.

Immediately afterwards, groups of people came out of the palace, driving carriages and shouting as they drove away the residents in the middle of the street, kicking up dust as they sped off. Several people also flew out of the sky, like a flock of birds flying out of the city.

Extraordinary individuals continued to emerge from the palace. Those who couldn't fly ran or rode in carriages, while those who could fly carried large groups of people. After a while, a huge platform resembling a small altar floated over everyone's heads, like a massive dark cloud.

Immediately afterwards, ordinary guards came out, running through the street and shouting, "Evacuate! Everyone evacuate! Head east! The demonic tide is coming!"

The people shouted and dropped what they were doing, and began to flee for their lives. In an instant, there was not a single person left at the tea stall, and Xia Shou and his men all realized that now was the best time for them to sneak into the palace.

The cloaked man, who never spoke, snapped his fingers, and everyone changed into the uniforms of the royal guards.

The man with the mustache exclaimed in surprise, "This is our disguise?"

The cloaked man nodded.

“Isn’t this a bit too simple? It seems easy to be found out,” Hippolyta said. “Besides, I’m a woman, and I don’t think there are any women among these guards.”

The cloaked man shook his head and remained silent.

"He's probably mute. There must be a reason why the first mate insisted on putting him in the infiltration team. Never mind, let's just go for it," Hu Ling said, waving her hand.

Xia Shou followed the others directly into the palace. When they encountered the guards running out of the palace, Xia Shou was worried that they would be recognized immediately. Just as Hippolyta said, although they had the other party's armor and uniforms, this superficial disguise was still too rudimentary.

But as they passed by the other guards, not a single one cast a suspicious glance at them, or even gave them a second look. It was unclear whether this was because the chaos caused by the first mate was too great for them to pay attention to other matters, or whether the cloaked man's supernatural ability actually had special effects beyond his outward disguise.

They entered the palace and climbed the cracked stone steps. The palace walls were also covered in cracks. Even though they were already familiar with the customs and traditions of the Three Scars Kingdom, there were still far more cracks in the palace than in the common people, making it seem as if the palace might collapse at any moment.

Pass through two enormous doors and carefully proceed along the cracks in the surrounding buildings.

Xia Shou and his companions had no idea about the layout of the palace, but they managed to find the most important part of it. Ignaz told them a lot about the Kingdom of Three Scars on the ship, with the most information about the palace.

In the royal palace, the more important the place, the more exaggerated the cracks. So by following the shape of the cracks, you will eventually find the most important place, just like following the protruding roots on the ground to find the trunk. Follow the ends of the branches to find the increasingly thick roots, and you will eventually find the trunk itself.

So although they didn't know the way, they weren't exactly headless flies. However, a fork in the road soon appeared before them, with cracks splitting into two sides. It was difficult to tell from the shape of the cracks which road would lead to the more important royal palace area.

The group of people stopped in their tracks.

The cloaked man gestured for them to split up.

"If we split up, your abilities will still be effective even if we're on separate missions?"

The cloaked man nodded.

The man with the mustache thought for a few seconds and immediately frowned: "Wouldn't it be too dangerous to split up? Besides, the key to stealing the stones is Hu Ling and Hippolyta. Even if one team finds the storeroom where the stones are hidden after we split up, we still can't steal them if Hu Ling and the others aren't there." Xia Shou said: "There are definitely risks, but they won't be too dangerous. The strong ones have definitely been lured out. Our disguises are also good, so we should be fine moving around."

It's precisely because things proceed slowly that problems arise. If they don't find the stone in the end, there might not be a second chance. They can't possibly create another disturbance like this outside!

“That’s right. Also, the success rate of this plan should be quite high. If Hippolyta and I are really the key to stealing the stone, Sparrow and the others won’t risk our lives. This infiltration shouldn’t be too dangerous,” Hu Ling said.

Xia Shou immediately continued, "Splitting the road is definitely necessary, and there will definitely be more than just this one fork in the road. Splitting the road now is more like exploring a map. We don't necessarily have to find the warehouse, but we need to eliminate the wrong paths and then rejoin each other. The second time we search will be much faster."

“Just like ants navigating a maze, splitting up is the fastest way to get through. Besides, what is your special ability? Since you chose to infiltrate the royal palace, your special ability should be suitable for this kind of operation, right?” Xia Shou looked at the man with the mustache.

"I'm better at fighting, so it's better for me to stick with Hu Ling and the others so I can protect them," the man with the mustache said.

“We don’t need protection,” Hu Ling said coldly.

"Let's split up then. I'll go this way with the mute, and you go that way with Hu Ling and the others." After saying that, Xia Shou glanced at the cloaked man. "I don't know your name, is it alright to call you that for now?"

The cloaked man nodded, indicating that he didn't mind.

Hu Ling glanced at Xia Shou with displeasure, and before Xia Shou could finish speaking, she rushed towards the path that Xia Shou and the cloaked man were about to take. Hippolyta followed without hesitation, and as she brushed past Xia Shou, she coldly said, "It's none of your business to arrange things for us!"

The man with the mustache glanced at Xia Shou and immediately caught up with Hu Ling and Hippolyta, who had already run far away.

"These two brats are really annoying," Su Weiyu said, frowning.

"Let them be. Weiyu, you go with them. If there are any forks in the road later, take the one that is different from theirs."

"Received!" Su Weiyu followed.

“Let’s take the other route,” Xia Shou said to the cloaked man.

Xia Shou continued forward along the cracks that spread across the ground, walls, and domes of buildings. He encountered many guards along the way, but none of them recognized him, even though they were heading in completely different directions—one outward, the other inward.

"Your ability can accomplish this disguise, and it can even work from a distance, so why did you come in with us? Wouldn't it have been better to just use your ability on us from the outside?" Xia Shou asked curiously.

The cloaked man didn't speak, but simply shook his head, leaving it unclear what he meant.

In the vast palace corridor, only the sounds of them and other guards running could be heard. In this safe silence, the two continued to move forward, while the cracks in the paving stones beneath their feet grew larger and denser. Xia Shou could feel that he was approaching the most important place in the palace.

(End of this chapter)