Everyone Is A Lord: My Talent Is A Little Too Strong Chapter 2744: 1506: Surging Undercurrents (Part 2)

After his words ended, a hint of lingering dread crossed Broy’s determined features. Fortunately, the Lord had acted with lightning speed and thwarted the enemy’s scheme; if not, he could very well be lying dead at this moment.

“The reason behind their actions is straightforward: to scatter our troops. And they’ve pulled it off successfully. Creating those fake identities couldn’t have been done hastily, so it was surely a key element in their scheme.”

Leo Ray drew in a slow, deep breath, his face growing more grave by the second.

I had believed that General Curry turning into a Parasite with the Divine Stone was a dire turn of events, yet it turned out this was merely the surface of the foes’ grand plot.

“From the start, I guessed the enemies aimed to divide our forces, but never did I expect that the city guard troops, or even the ‘Corrosion’ assault on the Fortress, were all cunning deceptions crafted by them.”

As Leo Ray pondered deeply, teams of ruthless city guard warriors combing the region emerged close to the Warehouse in the dimensional rift, guided by the very fakes themselves, solidifying the team’s doubts even more.

“Human youth, we can set aside for the moment how those fakes mimicked Crisis and the rest so flawlessly, but there’s a massive puzzle that remains unsolved right here.”

Moli clearly spotted the activity beyond as well and lowered her tone on reflex: “Namely, for them to pull off all this, they’d need total dominance over the whole Underground Fortress already, but how? When did the foes sneak in and seize control without a sound?”

At Moli’s remark, the gathered powerhouses knit their brows too, their faces etched with confusion and bewilderment.

From days spent interacting with the former City Lord and various city guard leaders, the group had learned the Underground Fortress boasted defenses far tighter than Observation City’s.

Beyond multiple Tier 4 Legions of Dwarf Elves and additional Tier 3 Legions, Human Clan troops kept up endless patrols via the Teleportation Array from Observation City, while no fewer than two Divine Stone-wielding generals maintained constant vigilance inside. Plus, countless Alchemy Puppets stood resistant to ‘Corrosion’.

In such a setup, no matter how potent ‘Corrosion’ proved, infiltrating and claiming the Fortress undetected, swapping out every soldier in silence, would border on the impossible.

“This is indeed a baffling riddle.”

Leo Ray cut through the group’s musings and stated, “Yet we can’t linger on it now; our urgent task is to link up with the genuine Crisis and the team.”

Through the subordinates panel, Leo Ray confirmed Crisis, Fanny, Hanel Tree, and Bruno—his most recent recruits—remained alive, though disruptions still blocked Mind Talk contact.

Thus, rendezvousing with these allies turned into the utmost necessity.

And the vital detail here is that with the Fortress already fallen to the enemy, their sights must now lock on Observation City.

To put it another way, Observation City hangs in grave danger. Should it crumble too, my mission would end in utter failure.

Even if I somehow survived the ordeal, that guiding voice surely wouldn’t whisk me back to my home world, and the outcome would be all too clear.

Leo Ray’s statement roused the powerhouses, who nodded with firm resolve.

“Sheila, boost Elusa to full power; we’ll deploy Illusion Technique to locate Crisis and the others, all while scouting the area more thoroughly.”

Leo Ray gave a nod to the towering, seasoned Stone Spirit as he directed.

“Understood, my Lord.”

Sheila and Elusa both snapped salutes, and Little Illusion, sidelined lately without a chance to shine, buzzed with anticipation to join in.

Following repeated surges of energy, Little Illusion and the fellow Tier 5 Stone Spirits had seen their might climb higher, not quite reaching Tier 6 yet, but leagues ahead of their starting point.

Once all setups were ready, as the warped space steadied back to calm, Leo Ray and his companions vanished from sight.

Shrouded by the disguise’s deceptive veil, Leo Ray’s party crept forward through the Fortress. After careful watching, the group spotted more signs.

The site was fully under the adversaries’ grip. Armed city guard forces and the impostors roamed freely, joined by swarms of crystalline Parasites strutting about in open searches, showing they’d dropped all pretense.

On top of that, a fresh worry creased everyone’s foreheads: the whole Fortress lay encased in an Absolute Imprisonment Barrier, rendering a stealthy escape from the city next to impossible.

Soon enough, as they neared the Fortress City Wall zone where Crisis, Fanny, and the rest had aimed, Leo Ray’s team found no sign of them.

“Human youth, might they have been captured by those Parasites?”

Moli eyed a squad of aggressive Tier 6 Parasites moving off into the distance and whispered the question to Leo Ray.

Moli’s suggestion brought concern to the others’ expressions.

“Doubtful. The foes wouldn’t spare any lives, so Crisis and company must have sensed the trap and gone into hiding somewhere.”

Leo Ray gave a small nod, gesturing for Moli and the powerhouses to press on with the hunt.

With that, the group pushed doubts aside and kept probing for hints, staying ever alert.

As the team scoured cautiously, Leo Ray stepped to the side, his brow creasing faintly.

Earlier, crossing the Drill Field’s Teleportation Array zone, something profoundly odd had caught his eye.

All the arrays there stayed active and operational, watched over by no less than two half-step Tier 7 powerhouses.

This raised a strange contradiction.

Recall that prior to our arrival via the Teleportation Array, numerous elite Human Clan warriors had bolstered this outpost, but no battle scars or fights showed anywhere.

Did Observation City’s reinforcements turn into Parasites too? That seems absurd.

Once we got here, our attention fixed on battling the fake ‘Corrosion’ horde, so the arrays didn’t get much focus. Still, we saw fresh Human Clan arrivals streaming in, so where did they vanish to within the Fortress?

Besides, the old Book ought to have detected irregularities in the Fortress by now and dispatched waves of aid. At minimum, the arrays would shut down to block infiltrations from within. So why do they run smoothly still? Why no moves from Observation City? Has something sinister unfolded there too?

“Has the old City Lord fallen to parasitism as well?”

Leo Ray’s forehead wrinkled deeper, his thoughts churning in chaos.

Should things be this dire, it spells the bleakest outcome, leaving no clear path to turn the tide.

“Regardless, with the Teleportation Arrays working, we’ll first track down Crisis and the team, then seek a way to punch through the guards using an array and head back to Observation City,” Leo Ray resolved inwardly, clutching Rolanddel tight, fresh sweat beading on his brow.

No denying it, the predicament now twists with layers of mystery and peril.

These Parasites, the ‘Corrosion’ forces, and the shadowy ‘Ruins Returner’ orchestrating from afar had spun a hidden web of lethal peril, turning every move into a tightrope over an endless chasm where one slip meant doom.

While Leo Ray sank into heavy reflection, abrupt clashes of combat rang out from afar.

“My Lord, it’s Crisis and the others! They’re hanging in there!”

Little Jing’s gaze lit up ahead as she informed Leo Ray.

“Then let’s move— we’ll rush to aid them!”

As Moli geared up to dash ahead with zeal, Leo Ray lifted a hand to hold her back.