The mountain is said to be receiving people! Trusting people! Matter. In order to let as few people as possible know about the existence of that nexus, Yang Ying took the initiative to take on the task of rescuing the King and Queen. Since he had already boasted, he naturally had to fulfill his promise and bring the two Majesties back intact. Otherwise, failing to deliver on his word would be too shameful, letting down both the royal family members who trusted him and Siniddi, who vouched for him.

Therefore, Yang Ying approached this rescue mission with utmost seriousness, unwilling to allow even a single hair on the heads of the two Majesties to be harmed in his presence.

Although these armored vehicles were massive and their firepower formidable, in Yang Ying's eyes, they were no more than statues. He moved like a wisp of air, easily passing through the armored vehicle perimeter to reach the foot of the towering palace walls. With a slight push off the ground, he leaped inside.

The palace was, as expected, heavily guarded. Sentries stood every three steps, posts every five, and patrols of guards ceaselessly roved the grounds.

These guards wore light full-body armor and tactical helmets shaped like an enlarged egg—rounded in front and tapered at the back—with a horizontal slit for the visor. Yang Ying recalled the intelligence provided by the young spy earlier: these helmets were equipped with life detectors capable of capturing any living entity within sight, acting as a form of invisibility countermeasure.

However, in Yang Ying's view, such equipment was trivial. Even if the devices could pierce invisibility, what use were they if the guards' own line of sight could not catch him? With the mastery of Shufeng, did he really need to deliberately cloak himself to avoid the notice of these ordinary men?

As if transforming himself into a gentle breeze, Yang Ying strolled past the guards, completely unnoticed. In a few swift movements, he arrived before the central castle.

Yang Ying focused his spiritual energy onto his eyes and looked up at the soaring spire. He saw that the spire was enveloped in a shell of kaleidoscopic light. Judging by the intensity of the glow, an immensely powerful energy was clearly concentrated within that protective barrier.

At the same moment, a sudden thought struck Yang Ying, causing him to pause. The gate of the castle before him swung wide open. A young, elegantly dressed Flin emerged from the doorway. "Welcome, welcome. I sensed a visitor arriving from the disturbances in the spiritual world—and one of rare mastery at that. I came specifically to pay my respects. Might I ask who you are? With such profound spiritual strength, why hide your face? Come out and show us your true form."

Yang Ying found the man strikingly familiar. It was the Secretary of State of the Flin Republic who had once hired Tarlin to assassinate Princess Hafin and her entourage. He was also a Rank Three Horizontal Peak master; his name, Vati, was listed in the intelligence provided by the Royal Family.

"The tower is sealed by the protective shield; the castle gate is the only passage in and out. I have been waiting here since the day before yesterday, waiting a long time, but the meager number of prey that arrived has exceeded my expectations. What a loss, such a waste."

As Vati opened the castle gates, dozens of figures instantly ascended from outside the palace grounds, flashing like lightning toward the castle. In less time than it takes to draw a breath, they materialized beneath the castle, surrounding Yang Ying entirely.

Yang Ying looked around. Roughly half of this newly arrived ambush force appeared to be Flin, while the other half exhibited distinct appearances and attire: some possessed three eyes and six ears, others were massive and heavily muscled, some were covered entirely in wild, fierce fur, and still others lacked human form entirely, possessing multiple limbs like wild beasts.

But they all shared one characteristic: they were all masters. Not a single one among the sixty or seventy present ranked below Rank Three, and the ten figures in the innermost circle, including Vati, were all masters of the Rank Three Vertical Peak!

Clearly, half of this group were masters from the Flin Republic, and the other half consisted of mercenaries, assassins, and bounty hunters.

Seeing that Yang Ying still refused to reveal himself, a cold smile touched Vati’s lips. Confident in his array of experts facing a single opponent, he felt no worry about things going awry. The opponent was merely a Rank Three Apex, while they boasted ten Rank Three Apex experts, supplemented by so many other Rank Three operatives. By any measure, defeat seemed impossible.

However, in his estimation, this trap should have lured in more enemies—at least five or six more Rank Three Apex masters—to deliver a crushing blow to the Kingdom’s army. Finding only Yang Ying arriving made him feel as if he were using a cannon to swat a mosquito; the display felt disproportionate to the target.

"Vati, we have scanned the surroundings. There is indeed only one person here, but we cannot rule out the possibility of reinforcements," stated a Flin master at the Rank Three Apex level.

"Hmph, they only sent one Rank Three Apex into the palace operation; how strong could the reinforcements possibly be? Pay them no mind! Those brats in the Flin Royal Family actually managed to hold out this long; I underestimated them, and overestimated the influence the King and Queen hold over them. Heh heh, they only sent you alone to die. Did you perhaps offend them somewhere?"

Vati spoke with composure, like a proud falcon addressing its prey, looking down upon Yang Ying. "I consider myself a man of peace, and I have no inherent reason to kill you. Why don't you join us? Come seek revenge on that hypocritical royal family who still sent you here knowing there was a trap. If you agree, I will spare your life."

At this time, Yang Ying remained invisible. Only the ten Rank Three Horizontal Peak masters in the inner circle could perceive his presence in the spiritual world. The Rank Three experts slightly further out felt his presence vaguely, bordering on nonexistent, but they kept quiet about it.

"Vati, what's the point of talking to this skulking figure?" growled a mercenary master in the inner circle, whose body was covered in shaggy fur, resembling a savage. "We brought so many of us out to greet you, and you still refuse to show yourself? That’s utterly disrespectful! Do we look like we came out in broad daylight just to sunbathe with you? We need to teach him a lesson!"

"Yes! That's right! Teach him a lesson!" many others chimed in.

On a small hill far from the palace, Yang Ying's clone, carrying the young spy, reached the hilltop just in time to witness a swarm of figures rushing into the palace.

"They actually set up an ambush with so many masters," the girl whispered, her face turning ashen. She seemed utterly drained of strength, her legs collapsing beneath her as she knelt on the grass in profound despair. "So many Rank Threes, even Apex levels—how could Vati possibly gather them all at once? He’s too cunning. How many people will have to die to save Their Majesties? Must we just watch them executed by the rebels?"

She sobbed twice, then looked up at Yang Ying's clone. "Your companion, although he is Rank Three Apex, is entering the palace alone. No matter how strong he is, he cannot escape. You are also Rank Three Horizontal Peak, but going would only add to the casualties. You should flee quickly."

The clone suddenly burst out laughing: "Hahahaha!"

"What are you laughing at? You can still laugh at a time like this?" The girl's eyes were red with anger. The enemy was overwhelmingly prepared, their defenses impenetrable, and the safety of the two Majesties was in doubt. Yet, the very person who was supposed to rescue them was laughing. This filled her with rage.

The clone replied, "You despair so easily. Don't you have any faith in us?"

"Faith? What do you mean?" The despairing girl seemed to see a final straw, a flicker of hope returning to her eyes, praying that the clone would utter some miracle.

"Look," the clone said, gesturing behind her. Instantly, the main soul entered, and an invisible golden light flashed.

The girl turned back again, and her eyes froze solid. Behind her, there was not one cloaked figure, but a full eleven cloaked figures! She swore they had not been there a moment before!

Dazed in gaze, expression, and movement, the girl seemed to turn to stone, her mind echoing only: Are they all Rank Three Apex?

"We're going. You stay here and be careful," the clone said. The twelve cloaked figures flashed and shot toward the palace like arrows.

The girl shook her head violently, almost dizzy, before snapping back to reality and realizing this was no dream. Hope reignited in her heart.

At the castle gate, the rebel masters simultaneously sensed the approach of twelve powerful spiritual forces.

"You!" Vati felt utterly duped, his shame turning to explosive rage. A wave of oppressive aura burst from him as he roared, "You were just bait! Bait to spring the trap and draw us all out!"

"Think what you like." Yang Ying shifted his footing, flashing toward the castle gate behind Vati while simultaneously drawing two invisible light swords. He swung the left sword toward Vati’s neck.

Like a stone dropped into a vast lake, the battle instantly erupted. Vati hissed, activating his light sword and blocking Yang Ying’s strike purely on instinct. But Yang Ying’s right hand immediately followed up with another thrust, aimed directly at Vati’s flank—a trajectory wickedly difficult to defend given Vati's current stance.

Vati roared and twisted his upper and lower body violently, executing a movement that defied human anatomy, folding his waist to evade the thrust. Simultaneously, he spun his light sword halfway around and counter-stabbed at Yang Ying.

Meanwhile, the other nine Rank Three Apex masters had engaged. Light swords, energy skills, and even projectile weapons rained down on Yang Ying. Yang Ying spun his dual light swords into a shimmering barrier. The zizizi sound was like a cascade of rain drumming on banana leaves, deflecting every incoming attack.

Just as the rebel masters prepared to press their assault to break Yang Ying's defense, the twelve clones descended from the sky, joining the fray. Their opening move was a potent psychic storm—flashing lightning, electric snakes, and sparks—carrying an infinite destructive momentum that transformed the entire square before the castle gate into a realm of thunder!