Dark Magus Returns - Chapter 1693: Inside Nobel Land

Chapter 1693: Inside Nobel Land

Raze knew for a fact that the item he had taken from the organization Alter would be extremely effective in this situation. It was a masterpiece of deception; in fact, no one would be able to tell any difference at all between the disguise and the real person, apart from one’s specific actions. He had seen the proof of its power before. It was how Henio had managed to follow through with the ultimate deception, fooling everyone into believing he was the Emperor himself.

Even when Henio had started to act differently or out of character, he was in such a high position at that time that no one felt they could question him anyway. That was the beauty of a perfect disguise combined with authority. Besides that history, it was solid proof that the mask could perfectly copy another individual down to the smallest pore and vocal inflection.

The real issue Raze faced was everything else. He had no idea what the current internal culture of the Noble Guild was like. He was walking into a complete unknown, and as he stepped inside the gates for the first time, he was finally starting to get an idea of the scale of Idore’s ambition.

He walked through the tunnel and emerged onto the other side, and he could see right away that things had drastically changed from the city he once knew. Part of Central City had always been built on top of the history it possessed. In a normal city, one couldn’t just break down ancient buildings and start something completely new without years of labor. But in this case, under Idore’s magical influence, that was exactly what had happened.

Because of this total reconstruction, it meant that things were incredibly different. The entire place was now laid out in a rigid, grid-like structure. The chaotic, winding alleys of the old city were gone. Instead, the roads had been set up in straight lines and were incredibly clean, paved in a smooth, professional way that looked more like a blueprint than a living town.

As he moved deeper, he could see a few people moving on the roads. They weren’t walking like commoners; they were primarily using magic to propel themselves. He also noticed quite a few magical vehicles that were currently in the air, humming with energy as they moved between the structures. There were fairly large building structures as well, rising up like monoliths to serve as places for the guild members to live in.

Then, in the distance, Raze could see a number of different buildings that served more specialized purposes. Some looked like heavy factories or massive storage centers, while others looked like a number of different things he couldn’t quite identify from a distance. Rather than a city that felt alive with the bustle of citizens and trade, it certainly felt more like a giant, structured military base. It was a place designed for efficiency, war, and control.

Raze then looked up at the two guards who were standing up on the wall behind him. They were watching him, but they didn’t move to intercept.

’I guess they’re not going to interrogate me or ask where I’m meant to be going,’ Raze mumbled to himself. ’So they’re just going to let me do what I want? They’ve seen me enter, and they’ve accepted my face. This might be easier than I thought.’

There were a lot of buildings in this first sector that Raze wanted to check out before moving inward. He could see the next large wall up ahead, which looked to be situated around five kilometers further in. Beyond that wall, he could see the defensive towers as well. There were four of them visible from his current angle, each placed around a kilometer apart from one another. He imagined the pattern wrapped around the entire Noble land, meaning there would be many more towers providing a 360-degree field of fire.

In the buildings that stood out to him, Raze wanted to find out if there was anything of immediate concern to his group. Who knew? Maybe he would find a factory of sorts that was currently creating important artifacts or enchanted gear for their team to use. If he could sabotage their supply chain or steal their resources before the main fight began, it would change everything.

Lastly, before he could focus on trying to make or find a secret route that the others could use to infiltrate, he wanted to pinpoint the key people in this area. He needed to know which individuals would bring him the most trouble when the real attack started.

“There has to be a type of barracks or a guild house placed in between each part of the walls,” Raze whispered, his eyes scanning the horizon. “Idore will have been prepared for an attack, whether it’s the Dark Magus or someone else coming for him. So he will have stationed quite a few strong ones out and about in these intermediate zones to act as a buffer.”

Because the other mages in the city were openly using magic to get around, it allowed Raze for easy travel. He didn’t have to hide his capabilities; he just used his wind magic to glide along the surface, following the smooth paths. He was quite surprised by how organized things were. They already had signs posted at every intersection that would lead a person to particular locations, like the research labs or the living quarters.

He guessed the signs were there to allow even the newer mages and members themselves to go where they needed to go without getting lost in the massive grid. The good thing about his current situation was that, with Raze using Natty’s disguise, he could see that almost everyone noticed her. She clearly had some status here.

The other mages he passed stood up straight and tightened their posture the moment he walked into particular areas. Some of them even nodded respectfully, and a few even asked how she was doing, though Raze kept his answers short and dismissive to match her attitude. For now, Raze was only exploring the less dangerous areas, the peripheral zones where the workers and lower-level mages gathered.

From what he could find in one of the larger buildings he scouted, a complex set-up had been made that was using most of Gizin’s old equipment. It was a laboratory setting where enhancing substances and potions were being created in bulk. From the look of the researchers there, they were likely members or part of Gizin’s team in the past, now pressed into service for the Noble Guild.

He also found a place that was creating enchantments as well. He watched through a window for a few moments, but he realized they weren’t at the level he was interested in. They were mass-producing basic gear, nothing that would challenge him directly. Those were the only buildings worthwhile looking at in this current section of the wall.

So, with the preliminary scouting done, Raze decided it was time for him to try and head to some of the actual guild houses or the main barracks. This was where the real power was concentrated. Here, Raze believed things would finally get risky. In those buildings, there would be those with even higher standing than Natty, or at least those who were on the same level but held different roles. These were the people who might actually know Natty well enough to notice a slip-up.

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