Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

It has been three days since Cohen infiltrated Shanghai under a false identity.

At this moment, he was standing at the entrance of a desolate valley, with a huge, deep mine pit in front of him.

A chilly wind howled from the depths of the mine, carrying a pungent smell mixed with musty odors and the corrosive scent of metal.

His gaze swept across the desolate area, and a doubt arose in his heart: Could this be the place?
Based on the intelligence provided by Jennings and his own analysis, Cohen had previously identified more than a dozen locations that might be hiding the Demon Lord's secrets.

For three days, he wandered around Shanghai like a ghost, eliminating half of the suspects but failing to find any valuable clues.

The mine pit in front of us, which has been abandoned for many years, is the target of today's investigation.

This mine has a very long history; its excavation can be traced back to the Arcane Empire, which predates the formation of the Lost Lands.

Over the long years, it has produced countless rare magical ores and witnessed the blood and tears of countless miners.

After the fall of the Arcane Empire, and with the depletion of its mines, it was gradually abandoned and eventually evolved into a chaotic underground black market.

Thieves, bandits, fugitives, and members of all sorts of shady gangs have conducted illegal transactions here, dealing in everything from forbidden magical items to wanted slaves.

However, about three months ago, this once bustling black market suddenly closed down without any warning.

All the vendors vanished overnight, leaving only this empty mine ruin.

The sudden closure of a black market that had been operating for many years, especially at a sensitive time when the Demon Lord was summoning ninth-tier powerhouses, made Cohen a prime suspect.

Cohen was wearing a black magic assistant priest's robe embroidered with dark purple runes, and a soul stone emblem representing a mid-level class hung at his waist.

This outfit would be enough to get him the treatment he deserves in most areas of Shanghai.

As he approached the entrance to the mine, he keenly sensed several powerful yet restrained auras emanating from the deep darkness.

Sure enough, before he could move forward, several guards clad in dark armor emerged quickly from the shadows inside the mine and blocked his way.

The head of the guards' sharp gaze swept over Cohen's attire, and the tense lines on his face relaxed slightly.

He raised his hand in a gesture of stopping him and said in a deep voice:

"Master, please show your identification."

As he spoke, the captain took out a metal token with strange patterns engraved on it from his pocket and showed it to Cohen.

Cohen's gaze instantly locked onto a unique seal outlined in dark red magical ink below the token, which was the personal seal of the Demon Lord Sal Ignarion.

The Demon Lord's personal guards!

Why would they appear on the outskirts of such an abandoned mine? Could this place really have been requisitioned by the Demon Lord as some kind of secret base?
Suppressing the surging suspicion in his heart, Cohen took out the identity document that Jennings had carefully prepared for him from his sleeve, which was so realistic that it could be mistaken for a fake, and handed it over calmly.

The captain of the guard took the document and carefully examined the magical branding and markings on it, then looked up and compared it to Cohen's face.

A moment later he handed the document back, his tone noticeably more polite than before:
"So it was the priestess of the Black Magic Touch."

However, his arm remained firmly in front of him:
"Master, I'm sorry."

This area has been designated a top-level military restricted zone. No one is permitted to enter without a warrant personally signed by His Majesty the Demon Lord. Please stop here.

Military restricted area?

Cohen's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. The fact that an abandoned mine black market was listed as a military restricted area meant that there was indeed a huge secret hidden inside!
Cohen's face immediately showed just the right amount of surprise, and he raised his voice slightly, pointing in the direction of the mine:
"Military restricted area?"
"How could that be? Last time I was here, this was a market!"

The guard's expression remained serious, but he explained patiently:

"What you're describing is from the past. Starting this month, this mine has been officially taken over by the Demon Lord's Palace and designated as a restricted area."

Cohen immediately adopted a resentful expression, his voice tinged with anger:
"Those merchants who used to live there... Last time, I was swindled out of a lot of money by a dishonest businessman here, so I came here specifically to settle accounts with him!"

The guard shook his head and replied in a flat tone:

"I don't know how the people inside have settled me, Master. Please leave this place as soon as possible."

Cohen narrowed his eyes, gave a cold snort, and said no more.

He turned around and strode away along the way he came, seemingly unwilling to give up.

The two guards watched Cohen's retreating figure until he completely disappeared around the corner at the edge of the mine.

They exchanged a glance, then turned and disappeared back into the shadows of the mine entrance.

However, they did not notice that the instant Cohen's figure disappeared from their sight, an extremely faint shadow silently merged into the darkness of the adjacent rock wall like flowing water.

Cohen had already vanished into the Shadow Dimension, like an invisible ghost clinging to the edge of the real world. He followed the two returning guards at a distance, stealthily making his way deeper into the mine.

……

Upon entering the mine, an indescribable sense of spatial dislocation immediately overwhelmed me.

From the outside, this mine, though enormous, still has its limits.

But once inside, you'll find that the actual interior space is far larger than what you can see from the outside.

The crisscrossing mine tunnels spread endlessly into the depths of the earth like a spider web, and some of the main caves are so wide that several giant dragons can spread their wings and fly at the same time.

Not to mention hiding an army here, it would be more than enough to conceal tens of thousands of troops along with their supplies, without being detected by the outside world.

What alarmed Cohen even more was that the black market shops and simple shacks that should have been scattered throughout the mine had all vanished without a trace.

All that remains are rock platforms that have been cleared so thoroughly that they appear almost excessively empty, with no trace of ever having been inhabited or operated on the ground.

Cohen thought to himself that even if this wasn't the place where Mavis ultimately disappeared, it definitely held a huge secret.

Such a large space, and such a thorough clearing, is very likely a crucial base or fortification secretly prepared by the Demon Lord Thrall for his grand "nation-building" project.

The two guards he was following did not venture deep into the mine; they walked less than a hundred meters along a main mine road before turning into a huge mine cart.

The interior of the mining truck has been completely altered beyond recognition.

Besides the two guards from before, there are three or four other guards dressed similarly here.

Directly in front of them stood a massive magical crystal, about the height of a person. The crystal's surface clearly projected the real-time view of the mine entrance and the surrounding area spanning several kilometers.

This is clearly a well-equipped forward surveillance post, specifically designed to monitor any uninvited guests attempting to approach the mine.

Inside the mine cart, the returning guard casually leaned his weapon against the wall and waved it off nonchalantly at his comrade's question:
"It's nothing, just someone who's here to cause trouble for the black market."

It seems like I got ripped off here before.

"I've checked his identity; he's a priestly assistant at the Dark Magic Touch. No problem."

The other guard nodded in agreement.

"That's fine."

He gazed into the dark tunnel deep within the mine, his voice tinged with weariness and impatience:
"How long are we supposed to stay in this godforsaken place?"

When will that whole mess finally be resolved?

The returning guard shrugged, looking helpless.
"Who knows? We still haven't managed to win over so many important people. Let's hope we can succeed this time."

After listening to the conversation for a while and not hearing any more valuable information, Cohen quietly left the minecart and continued deeper into the mine.

The deeper you go, the dimmer the surrounding light becomes, until it is finally swallowed up by a thick, viscous darkness.

Not long after, Cohen suddenly sensed an extremely strong and stable energy fluctuation, the source of which was in a huge cave not far ahead.

The characteristics of this energy closely matched those of the legendary large-scale shielding array used to isolate internal and external communication. Cohen was overjoyed and unconsciously sped up, rushing towards the direction from which the energy was coming from.

……

Cohen sped through the deep mine tunnels, and soon a huge light curtain emitting a faint blue glow appeared in front of him.

The light curtain, like a flowing wall of water, completely sealed off the entire mine tunnel. Complex and incomprehensible magical runes flowed across it, emitting a chilling energy fluctuation.

Cohen stopped in front of the light screen, his gaze quickly sweeping over the runes, and he instantly made a judgment.

This is an extremely sophisticated composite shielding array that not only isolates the transmission of energy and information from the inside and outside, but also has powerful defensive and early warning functions.

After a moment's thought, Cohen took out the "Heart of Dawn" given to him by the Goddess of Light, Aetheril. This pendant contained a trace of pure light source power, which was very effective in breaking through barriers of various dark and chaotic attributes.

Wearing the "Heart of Dawn" on his chest, a faint milky-white halo completely enveloped Cohen's body.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the dark blue light curtain.

The moment they passed through the magic circle, a deafening roar mixed with a scorching heat wave suddenly rushed towards them.

It was as if they had stepped from a desolate tomb into a boiling battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Cohen looked closely and saw a large, well-trained army standing before him! (End of Chapter)