Global Beast Mastery: Only I Can See the Hints - Chapter 688 688: Preventing the Enemy's Secret Actions in Advance
The crown prince of the Stellar Empire calmly gazed at the map in his hands, unexpectedly not showing any signs of anger.
He had always disliked Harbor’s arrogance and the air of mystery he constantly put on. But this map in his hands was too important, and it kept him calm.
After a moment, the crown prince lifted his head and fixed Harbor with a deep gaze.
“What are your thoughts?”
“I believe you could use this map to weaken the Serpent Empire’s strength before the final battle arrives,” Harbor replied, a suggestion that didn’t surprise the crown prince.
The prince smiled.
“Because of the truce agreement between you and Charles, you want me and my men to take risks, right?”
He had seen through Harbor’s true intentions. If he followed Harbor’s advice and sent his men on a covert mission beneath the Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, the risk would fall solely on the Stellar Empire.
Harbor and the Ancient Academy would bear none of it.
Due to the truce between Harbor and Charles, neither side could engage in direct combat before the final battle.
In fact, the crown prince had not fully said what he was thinking. To him, Harbor’s suggestion was clearly a trap.
Harbor’s goal was to have him and his men help the Ancient Academy, potentially walking straight into a dangerous situation.
Harbor seemed to have already anticipated the crown prince’s response.
His expression remained unchanged as he spoke softly.
“I don’t deny that this mission might be a little risky for you. But isn’t the annexation of the Serpent Empire something you and the Stellar Empire have always desired? Taking on some risk for that goal should be expected, right?”
While Harbor’s reasoning made sense, the crown prince found the expression on his face unbearable.
Although furious, the crown prince did not lash out. He put away the map and then turned his attention to the window, lost in thought.
He was weighing whether this risky operation was worth it.
Unseen by the crown prince, Charles was already in the shadows, moving quickly towards the spire where both the crown prince and Harbor were.
A few minutes later, he arrived at the base of the spire.
Looking up, Charles immediately spotted numerous guards and traps hidden in the shadows.
“It seems there’s no way to climb up directly—the hidden guards and mechanisms are just too many. Maybe I could enter the spire and then use the shadows inside to sneak through?”
He hesitated slightly, considering his options.
Climbing up the spire’s walls from the outside was clearly not a viable option.
But even entering the spire and attempting to sneak through its shadows carried significant risks.
After a moment’s hesitation, Charles made up his mind.
“Since I’m already here, I have to see this plan through to the end. The position I’m in is already dangerous enough. If I’ve chosen to take the risk, I have to take it all the way.”
Charles decided to enter the spire.
Using the cover of shadows, he successfully infiltrated the spire.
In the lower levels, he encountered no obstacles, and no one noticed his presence.
But Charles didn’t let his guard down.
He knew that the spire, being the residence of the crown prince of the Stellar Empire, would be heavily guarded.
So far, he hadn’t been discovered, but that was likely only because he was still in the lower levels. These areas were intended for regular knights and soldiers.
The people stationed here were not particularly strong, and the area was cluttered with various objects.
That was why Charles had been able to remain hidden in the shadows.
After several minutes, Charles finally emerged into an open area.
At the far end of the area stood a massive Bronze Division door.
The door was tightly shut, and no soldiers were guarding it.
“It seems like this is the door between the lower and middle levels,” Charles quickly deduced.
Although his deduction was correct, there was no way for him to get through the door.
While in stealth, he couldn’t just force open the Bronze Division door.
If he tried, it would surely trigger an alarm.
So, he would have to wait for someone else to open the door, and then slip through while their attention was elsewhere, making his way into the middle levels of the spire.
But by now, it was late, and it seemed that the ordinary soldiers in the lower levels would not be going up to the middle or upper levels.
No one from the middle or upper levels seemed to be coming down either.
Charles sighed, muttering to himself in a tone of regret, “Looks like this adventure ends here. I’ve gathered some intelligence, but it’s not that important.”
His mood was indeed a bit down.
He had initially thought this risky venture would yield critical intelligence.
But in the end, he only gathered a few pieces of information that weren’t of much significance.
Among the intel, the only noteworthy piece was the fact that the Stellar Empire had sent five battalions to escort five powerful weapons—an important tidbit, but not enough to justify the risk he had taken.
After observing for a moment, Charles decided to leave using the shadows.
Since there was no way to move forward and gather more important intel, staying here no longer made sense.
The longer he stayed inside the spire, the greater the risk he faced.
He turned and melted into the shadows, quietly making his way back down to the lower levels.
Just then, the Bronze Division door suddenly swung open.
Harbor and his group emerged from within.
Charles quickly changed his mind.
He held his breath, suppressed his presence, and concealed himself entirely in the shadows, watching as Harbor and his men passed by.
Harbor, walking at the front, was still speaking, though the distance was too great for Charles to hear clearly.
But with the help of Mousie, he was able to catch part of Harbor’s conversation.
“You should still try to convince the crown prince, Your Highness. Acting tomorrow carries significant risks. While there’s a good chance we could catch the Serpent Empire off guard, Your Highness’ safety should come first.”
“I will do so, but once Your Highness has made a decision, he won’t easily change his mind. Besides, Your Highness isn’t one to shy away from risk,” the Stellar Empire general behind Harbor said with a serious expression.
Harbor nodded, saying no more.
The two groups parted ways at the Bronze Division door.
The general and his soldiers returned into the spire, while Harbor continued on alone.
As Harbor reached the edge of the open area, he turned and scanned the space.
At that moment, he felt something odd.
It seemed as though, besides him, there was someone else present in the vast open area.
Charles, of course, saw Harbor’s movements.
He was now tense.
Although the truce agreement between him and Harbor hadn’t expired, meaning Harbor wouldn’t engage with him, Charles was deep within the heart of the Gold Fortress, in the core spire.
There were plenty of Stellar Empire generals and soldiers around him.
These people could attack Charles.
Though their strength wasn’t on par with his or Harbor’s, they had a clear numerical advantage.
Charles could easily be severely injured by their attacks.
Even if he managed to escape, he wouldn’t be in his best condition before the final battle.
Harbor quietly surveyed the entire open area for a full fifteen minutes.
Only when another group of soldiers arrived did Harbor choose to leave.
At that point, Charles finally exhaled, relieved.
“That was too close! I shouldn’t be taking such risks next time!”
Once he calmed down, Charles began to reflect on the conversation between Harbor and the Stellar Empire general.
Clearly, there was one crucial piece of information in their exchange—tomorrow, the crown prince of the Stellar Empire was going to take a risky action.
Though they didn’t specify what the action would be, it was clearly related to Charles and the Serpent Empire.
Charles didn’t think the crown prince would be able to find him.
If the crown prince had located him, he would have already taken action.
After a moment of thinking, Charles figured the crown prince was most likely planning to launch a surprise attack on the Serpent Empire.
And the only significant region the Serpent Empire still controlled was the Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.
The answer was clear now.
“The Stellar Empire crown prince is going to launch a surprise attack on Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis! But why is he doing this? If he really wanted to, he could’ve attacked earlier. The reason he didn’t was because he wasn’t familiar with Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.”
Suddenly, Charles had a realization.
“Someone must have given the crown prince detailed intel or even a map of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis! No! It might have been handed to Harbor first, and then Harbor passed it on to the crown prince! Damn it! There’s even a traitor in Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis!”
He was shocked.
After all the crises they’d been through, he had assumed that everyone staying in Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis was a loyal subject of the Serpent Empire. He never imagined there would be a traitor within their ranks.
“I have to find the traitor as soon as possible! But before that, the most important thing is to stop the enemy’s plot!”
Although he was furious, he was still able to prioritize what needed to be done.
So, Charles decided to leave Gold Fortress and return to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis as quickly as possible. He needed to make preparations before the crown prince’s move, but he didn’t let his guard down. He knew Harbor might be watching everything from the shadows.
He had to be extra careful.
