"The Mage controls that Elven Princess, yes, only a Mage can deal with a Mage, no, you can too…" The orc was so terrified he was babbling incoherently.

Zheng Zha frowned. Having seen the Eragon movie, he naturally knew that the so-called Mage was the chief subordinate of King Galbatorix, a sorcerer capable of summoning creatures from the demonic realm. In the original film, this Mage was a powerful spellcaster, even stronger than the Elven Princess Arya, who also used magic. In the final stages of the movie, he nearly killed the protagonist, Eragon, making him one of the few truly capable individuals among the Dragon Riders.

"Fine, I can just take him out directly…" Zheng Zha murmured softly. He then addressed the orc, "Take me to the Mage's quarters. Don't try any tricks. The noise just now must have alerted countless guards. It would be easy for me to ditch you and find someone else to lead the way."

The orc nodded frantically in terror. He managed to push himself up from the ground, his entire body trembling, yet he somehow summoned the strength to shuffle forward along the passage. Along the way, they indeed encountered many approaching orc guards. Of course, their arrival only resulted in more corpses littering the ground. At this moment, Zheng Zha was exactly as Xuan had once described: overwhelming power could utterly disregard the concepts of "momentum" or "strategy."

While this royal city appeared magnificent from the outside, built into the side of a mountain, its overall size wasn't immense, certainly not comparable to the vast cities of ancient China. However, once Zheng Zha entered, he realized their initial assessment was entirely wrong. This castle was far vaster than they had imagined because it extended deep underground, feeling entirely like an underground complex. The part visible from the exterior represented less than a tenth of its total area.

"Oh? Are you all just the outer perimeter guards? What kind of creatures are deeper inside? And where is your King Galbatorix?" Zheng Zha inquired as they walked.

The orc leading the way was still the first one he had captured. Following the slaughter along the route.

This orc had long since abandoned any thought of escape. After all, he had personally witnessed Zheng Zha slay over a hundred orcs with his bare hands.

Such power was simply not something a human should possess. Therefore, this human before him had already been classified by the orc as a demon.

"Inside are the demonic creatures summoned by the Mage or His Majesty the King. The furthest we ever reached was the second sub-level, guarded by Black Knights. We know nothing beyond that. The Mage resides on the third sub-level, and the King seems to live at the very bottom of the castle…" the orc replied cautiously.

(Indeed… there is power here in this royal city that surpasses the Dragon Rider plotline. But why does it sound so familiar? Dragon Rider, Dungeon, Mage, Dragon, Black Knight… isn't this purely Dungeons & Dragons? All those infinite rules, gods everywhere, Liches walking around, talk of planes, talk of the demonic realm… Planes? Right! Planes!) Zheng Zha's heart suddenly stirred.

He recalled the concept of Planes in Dungeons & Dragons lore: every plane has its own laws, its own spatial extent and size, and the universe is filled with infinite planes… Wasn't this similar to the Reincarnation Worlds? Each world was different—some dominated by legendary magic, others by technology, and countless worlds filled with monsters and other beings. Wasn't this exactly what the Reincarnation Worlds displayed? (Could the true meaning of this Dragon Rider world actually lie at the very bottom of this royal fortress?)

As Zheng Zha walked and pondered, gradually, after he and the orc descended another flight of stairs, he felt a sudden chill run through him. For some unknown reason, the moment he stepped onto this floor, the internal energy (Neili) and the energy from his vampire lineage surged within his body. His Neili, especially, began to circulate naturally, as if he were practicing his cultivation.

The orc also began to tremble, though it seemed less like fear and more like a natural reaction of his body. This floor was distinctly cooler than the one above—no, more accurately, it was suffused with a chilling miasma that made one feel cold to the bone.

"From here on, we were not permitted to descend. Only occasionally, when the Mage needed heavy items moved, were we allowed to carry things down to the third floor…" the orc mumbled, still shivering.

(He doesn't know the way further down. I should capture a Black Knight then. I wonder what kind of creature that is. It would also be a good chance to estimate the combat strength of these beings…) Zheng Zha frowned, looking at the dismembered orc before him. The orc seemed to sense something and looked at Zheng Zha with abject terror. After a long moment, Zheng Zha sighed, "Go. Run as far as you can. I won't recognize you anyway, and if I see you again, I’ll strike you down instantly. Understand? Good luck."

With that, Zheng Zha ignored the orc and walked directly deeper into the passageway. The deeper they went into the castle, the larger the floors became, forming an inverted funnel-shaped underground city. Coupled with the ancient stone floors and the eerie corridors, this dungeon truly possessed the strange atmosphere of Dungeons & Dragons. But Zheng Zha wasn't in the mood to sightsee or observe. He wandered aimlessly, following his instincts. After a short while, he began to piece together the terrain.

"Chu, this is the negative second floor. I'm heading further down. Zhao Yingkong, you continue exploring the upper levels and see if there's anything strange. Imhotep, did you get any useful information from those market merchants?" After searching for a moment, Zheng Zha finally located a staircase leading down. He stood at the steps and once again activated the silver metallic shard to inquire about the situation of the others before beginning to fulfill his role as captain.

"No crucial information, but they seem very afraid to discuss the Elven Princess Arya… Oh, and there is one interesting piece of information. I overheard them talking about the mythology of this world. Apparently, long ago, humans and dragons did not fight together, nor were there Dragon Riders. This continued until demons invaded this world. The separate dragon race and the separate human race could not withstand the demons alone, so they joined forces, forming combat units like the Dragon Riders. After prolonged fighting, they drove the demons back to Hell, and the place sealing the entrance to Hell… lies beneath this royal capital. What do you think of that information?" Imhotep replied.

"The entrance to Hell? That is very important information. I am currently at the entrance to this underground city. I don't know what lies below. For safety's sake, I should go check it out first. That's settled. Everyone stick to their assigned tasks. Chu Xuan, keep an eye on what Zero Point and the others are doing, and notify me immediately if anything happens, understood?" Zheng Zha said seriously to Chu Xuan, which naturally resulted in silence. That scoundrel Chu Xuan had once again immersed himself in his cultivation techniques.

"Forget that idiot. Let's just complete our tasks individually."

Zheng Zha closed the silver metallic shard as he spoke, then rubbed his head and headed towards the negative third floor.

The environmental layout of the third sub-level was not much different from the second, except the intense, chilling aura was even stronger. Zheng Zha, confident in his superior skill, feared neither traps nor other creatures, walking boldly down the corridor. Only a minute or two into his walk, the sound of clashing armor drifted from not far away. As Zheng Zha rounded a corner, he indeed saw a group of guards clad in black plate armor ahead.

These black-armored soldiers were completely encased, and their armor continuously emitted a grayish-black aura. Their appearance was somewhat similar to the Nine Ringwraiths from The Lord of the Rings, though they lacked the Ringwraiths' imposing presence or their luxurious armor.

"Black Knights? They look quite imposing."

Zheng Zha observed the group of Black Knights about twenty meters away. There were about twenty of them, moving forward in a neat formation. Upon spotting Zheng Zha, they drew the greatswords at their waists with nearly synchronized speed and posture. If not for their positional arrangement, they would have looked like mirror images.

The corridor width was about three meters. Swinging their two-handed greatswords, only two Black Knights could engage him simultaneously, but that was sufficient. These Black Knights were immensely strong. The foremost Black Knight swung its greatsword from several meters away, actually generating a wind blade that shot toward him. Although the power wasn't extreme, it would surely have drawn blood from an ordinary person.

Zheng Zha frowned. He stomped his foot and charged toward the Black Knight. Before its greatsword could be retracted, he drove a straight punch into its chest. A sound of clashing metal erupted, but surprisingly, the Black Knight's chest only caved in from the blow, pushing the several knights behind it back a few meters. Then, it surprisingly advanced again as if unharmed.

Leaping to