Although Luo’er, who cared deeply for her, suggested replacing the shackles with a collar, considering the urgency of the mission, Baiyue declined his kind offer. Though the shackles were uncomfortable around her neck, it was bearable as long as she was careful not to chafe her skin.
Before they left, Luo’er came over to them and repeatedly told them, "Listen, your mission is to infiltrate and scout the city, not to wage a battle. Should a threat arise, withdraw immediately. If you can’t get out through the city gates, hide in the commerce building. If all else fails, swim if you have to. Understood?"
"Yes!" The two looked at each other, then nodded in agreement.
"Go, and be careful!" Luo’er let out a sigh, waving goodbye as he watched the two depart from the inn.
Cheng Ziang headed for the city gates of Saint Bawa, Baiyue trailing close behind him with small, quick steps. All the way, she kept her head lowered, daring not to look around. A few times, she nearly collided with Cheng Ziang, earning a harsh scolding from him.
They were naturally rehearsing their various identities before entering the city. After confirming that both of them were in character, Cheng Ziang led her directly to the city gate.
The city gate was wide open at that moment, with a few guards stationed here to intercept incoming people. Due to the proclamation of martial law, there were few people entering the city. As Cheng Ziang approached in a dignified manner, the guards felt an unexplained surge of pressure.
Wearing a detailed cloak, Cheng Ziang carried his cherished long knife at his waist. His Aud bloodline was apparent through his hair and facial features, indicating clearly to the guards that he was a nobleman from Odelanqi.
"Sir, could you consent to a search?" The Bobulu guard at the forefront stepped forward to stop Cheng Ziang.
Although they were generally irritated by the audacity of Aud people, it wasn’t the time to vent their frustration. They couldn’t guarantee if the person they were interacting with now was from the Heresy Tribunal Army. If they offended such people and disrupted Saint Basaya’s plan, even ten heads wouldn’t be enough to atone for it.
"Search away!" Cheng Ziang spread out his hands, speaking dismissively.
"Um, sir, what is your name?" Facing Cheng Ziang’s indifference, the guard didn’t dare to physically search him, resorting to asking awkward, routine questions instead.
"Leon Borexia!" Cheng Ziang blurted out a fake name.
"Borexia?" The guard hesitated, as this family name didn’t ring a bell from his knowledge of Odelanqi families.
"What, you haven’t heard of the Borexia family?" Cheng Ziang coked his head, looking at him with a hostile gaze as he asked.
"No, no, I have heard of it!" Confronted with his question, the guard grew a bit nervous and hastened to answer.
"Hehe!" Cheng Ziang scoffed. The Borexia family was entirely fabricated by him, and surprisingly, it seemed to have fooled these guards.
"Your weapon... could we inspect it?" The guard, looking at Cheng Ziang’s long knife hesitantly, asked.
"Be careful," Cheng Ziang didn’t hesitate to unbuckle the sword from his belt and hand it over to the guard, while warning, "I spent a fortune on this knife from an Otherworld’s merchant. You won’t be able to afford it if it gets damaged."
Cheng Ziang wasn’t lying. His blade was made by a domestic swordsmith commissioned by the Otherworld Weapons Research Center, using the most advanced blacksmithing technology available. Accompanied by its sharp rune, the blade was so sharp that saying it could cut through steel like butter was no exaggeration.
The guard, shakingly, took the knife and unsheathed it. As he drew the blade, the longsword emitted a powerful resonance. Seeing the intricate runes engraved on the blade, the guard knew Cheng Ziang wasn’t bluffing.
"Here’s your knife." The guard didn’t dare to inspect further; after taking one look at the unsheathed sword, he returned it to its sheath and carefully handed it back to Cheng Ziang.
Cheng Ziang took back his long blade, then impatiently asked, "What’s going on here? Why are there checks everywhere?"
"Well, we apologize for the inconvenience, we have a VIP visiting." The guard didn’t dare to tell him the truth even though he knew it.
"How obnoxious. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come here!" Cheng Ziang could not hide his annoyance.
"May I know the purpose of your visit, Mr. Leon?" The guard asked humbly, as this was one of their standard procedures.
"I’m obviously here for an adventure. What else could I do? I heard the wood elves in the South are beautiful and mysterious. I’ve wanted to check it out for a while." Cheng Ziang said.
"I see. You may proceed, um, who is this?" The guard noticed Baiyue standing behind Cheng Ziang and asked.
"This is my slave, what about it?" Cheng Ziang asked.
"May I inspect her?" The guard asked hesitantly.
"Better not, she’s very shy and might bite you," Cheng Ziang said with a cold laugh.
"But, she’s our..." The soldier reached out to touch Baiyue, but was abruptly held back by Cheng Ziang.
He grabbed the soldier’s hand and said loudly, "I warned you, why did you still want to try?"
The soldier felt a heavy stack of coins in his palm from Cheng Ziang’s grip. He paused and looked at Cheng Ziang, who was winking at him incessantly.
"Since it’s your slave, go ahead then!" The soldier withdrew his hand, clenched his fist, and said nervously.
"Much appreciated!" Cheng Ziang slapped him on the shoulder warmly, then sneered. He called out to Baiyue and they entered the city.
He wasn’t worried that the soldier would take advantage of Baiyue, for his earlier words were said not to the soldier, but to Baiyue, signaling her to fight back when threatened.
As they entered the city, Cheng Ziang noticed that all the gate guards were equipped with swords and spears, in preparation for the visit of the Heresy Tribunal Army.
Saint Basaya was an important node in the north-south trade, with their tax revenue being considerable. Despite the Earth’s weapon sales restriction order on the Bobulu people, they found that money can indeed speak. For Saint Basaya, possessing Earth weapons was a non-issue with its abundant funds.
Inside the city, likely due to the imminent arrival of the Heresy Tribunal Army, there were not many people about. Apparently, the higher-ups of Saint Basaya took this contact with the Heresy Tribunal Army very seriously and genuinely wished to negotiate with the Church with Arya’s Blade.
Honestly, if they were to snatch Arya’s Blade before the Heresy Tribunal Army arrived according to HQ’s plan, Saint Basaya would lose its bargaining chip with the Church. The Heresy Tribunal Army might launch an attack to annihilate the southern heretics.
If it got to that point, Saint Basaya would be doomed. If they resisted the Heresy Tribunal Army, it would be taken as defiance against the Church. This could provoke other nations under the Church of Light to attack Saint Basaya, portending impending disaster.
In contrast, if they did not counteract, allowing the annihilation of the southerners, the North-South trade would be discontinued. Saint Basaya’s major tax revenues were dependent on these imports and exports, and a cessation of trade would deal a huge blow to the nation.
Thinking carefully, Luo’er’s plan seemed more humane. Acting only after Arya’s Blade had been transported out of Saint Bawa, the disappearance of the sword wouldn’t be blamed on Saint Basaya.
However, Luo’er’s initial intent was not for Saint Basaya’s sake, but for the Advance Team’s. He feared that if they caused a ruckus in the city, the Saint Basaya troops might act out of desperation and join forces with the Heresy Tribunal Army to encircle them. This would pose a great risk to the entire Advance Team.
Regardless, snatching Arya’s Blade from the city clearly seemed foolish. Firstly, they had no idea where it was located. As mentioned earlier, there was no hierarchy between the upper and lower city districts of Saint Bawa. Both districts had palaces, and it would take them half a day to understand the situations in both palaces.
The duo walked on somewhat desolate streets, with soldiers passing by them now and then. All of these soldiers were carrying cold weapons without exception.
"The Heresy Tribunal Army sure isn’t easy to deal with," Cheng Ziang commented, unable to resist the urge.
Baiyue remained silent, her head lowered, continuously scanning the surroundings without missing any trace.
Suddenly, she "tripped" and bumped into Cheng Ziang, pressing him against a nearby wall.
"You foolish girl, are you asking for trouble?" Cheng Ziang made a fuss in the middle of the street as any noble would.
Baiyue said nothing but bowed repeatedly to him. However, as she straightened up, her gaze darted to one side, signaling him to be cautious.
Cheng Ziang paused and followed her line of sight, spotting two burly men in cloaks and hoods passing by them. They were oblivious to all that had happened.
He found their walking posture and behavior familiar and looked at Baiyue questioningly; she nodded in affirmation.
"Seems like the CIA’s agents have penetrated in as well." Cheng Ziang murmured to himself.
Then, he shouted at Baiyue, "How do you walk? Are you blind? If you dare to bump into me again, I’ll gouge your eyes out!"
Baiyue remained silent, repeatedly bowing in apology. Cheng Ziang seized the opportunity to glance at the two burly men. They appeared indifferent and didn’t turn back, seeming accustomed to such happenings.
"Yue’er, no need to apologize. Let’s tail them and see where they’re headed," Cheng Ziang whispered to Baiyue, watching the two men who were about to disappear.
In the race for Arya’s Blade, these CIA agents were also competitors and enemies. So even if they succeeded, they had to take into account the actions of these people, to avoid falling into a trap. That would be quite an embarrassment.