Chapter 37: Hiding

"But if it's really like she says, this System seems able to do anything. Why did Reider just ask it to find us instead of killing or capturing the intruders right away?" Adrian still had many questions. But he seemed much calmer, seriously analyzing the strange parts.

"Who knows? Maybe he just couldn't afford the points?" I rolled my eyes, only able to guess. Thinking back carefully, the prices the System gave seemed quite high. I vaguely remembered it cost 3000 points to defend against my mind invasion, but 35000 points to locate us - over 10 times more! So you can imagine directly killing or capturing enemies would cost even more! Maybe Reider was just trying to save points. Plus, we still haven't been caught yet, so he might have even saved those 35000 points...

Anyway, no matter how powerful this System really is, we're not dumb enough to go test it ourselves. Even if we didn't achieve any of our goals on this sneaking mission, as long as we can keep our lives, we're not losing out!

"Urgent order: Cancel the plan to attack the Republic! The underground tunnel to the Republic is now off-limits to everyone. All troops outside must return immediately. The main task now is to follow His Majesty's order and search with all our strength for enemy spies who have infiltrated the base, until the alarm is lifted!"

But when we got back to the warehouse door we came in through, we found it completely sealed off. The door was tightly shut, only allowing people out, not in. The soldiers guarding the door were tirelessly telling other soldiers who wanted to enter about Reider's new orders.

"Over there! I sense the intruders' aura!" Suddenly a shout came from behind us. While we were focused on the warehouse door, a patrol team had quietly come nearby. The mage in their group was pointing at our position and yelling loudly.

His shout immediately got the attention of the soldiers around the warehouse entrance. Everyone's eyes suddenly turned towards us.

"The enemy must be using invisibility magic. Quick, seal off this area! Don't let anyone escape!"

Of course, they couldn't see us with their eyes right now. But that didn't stop some experienced veterans from quickly figuring out what to do.

"Alamak, we've been found!" Cyra got anxious as she watched these well-trained men spread out, preparing to attack us from all directions. She pulled at me urgently and asked, "What should we do?"

"Run, of course!" I looked around. Though there were many enemies, it would still take some time for them to form a tight circle around us. So I quietly gathered some magic, threw it out, and whispered:

"Listen to my signal. Close your eyes right away. Remember to open them again after one second. Then get ready to break through with all your strength!"

This wasn't actually any special skill - it was just a flare! Those light mages used it in front of us earlier when we first entered the base from the tunnel. You could say it's the most basic light magic. I didn't even need to spread my wings to use it. But the little magic power in my body could only manage one or two times in a short period.

"Aiya, my eyes!" 

"Darn it..."

Luckily, the enemy's attention was all on our position. They didn't expect an extremely bright flash to suddenly appear out of nowhere. All the soldiers' eyes were caught off guard and totally blinded! They couldn't see anything for a while, and their circle hadn't closed yet, leaving plenty of space to escape. The three of us broke out of the encirclement easily.

"This way isn't safe anymore. Let's find another way..." 

We only caught our breath after running far away. Adrian sighed, saying we couldn't stay here long and had to go somewhere else.

"If only we could contact Galadra somehow, we could just teleport out. That would be so convenient!" 

But Cyra's wishful thinking was impossible. If Galadra really knew what was happening inside the base, we wouldn't have needed to sneak in with so much effort.

But where else could we go? The news that enemy spies using invisibility magic had infiltrated must have spread through the whole base by now. Teams led by light mages were searching everywhere!

Though the enemy knew they couldn't see us, they had ways to deal with it! Besides basic tricks like spreading ash or splashing water, after clearing each area, the imperial army would isolate the safe zones with tracking magic.

Tracking magic is a hunting spell under the earth element. In the area affected by this magic, any moving living thing that enters will be marked with a magic imprint. The caster can know the spatial position of the imprint at any time. It's very powerful and convenient. Of course, it has drawbacks too. The biggest problem is that there can't be too many marked targets, or the caster might break down from the mental pressure of all the spatial imprints.

So the method the imperial army is using now, though slow, is quite effective. The training ground may be big, but it's still limited. The space we can move in is getting smaller and smaller. We'll be found eventually, it's just a matter of time.

As for the "flash bomb" escape strategy from earlier, we can only use it once or twice. After being tricked, the imperial soldiers will definitely find ways to counter it. If we're discovered again, I really can't think of any other way besides fighting hard.

"Let's go inside the buildings!"

We couldn't get into the warehouse, but there were many other rooms we could enter nearby. Seeing the base's alert level rising step by step, with more and more patrol teams, I felt we had almost nowhere to hide. This was our only choice left.

"But there's even less space to move in here. There's nowhere to hide!" Cyra worried as she looked at the narrow corridors inside the building. In open areas, we could dodge in other directions when enemies got close. But once inside, it would be hard to escape if we met again.

"What other choice do we have? You want to go back outside?" I reminded her impatiently. If we had any other option, who would come to a place like this?

"The layout here is completely different from the warehouse earlier. There are many small rooms, and the rooms have beds and daily necessities... This must be where the imperial soldiers normally live. Maybe it connects to other areas inside."

Adrian was quite familiar with these military camp arrangements. He was a bit more optimistic than us. He thought that since the emperor was here without the local Sebastian family knowing, it must be a secret visit. If Reider used the main entrance, it would be impossible to keep secret.

And logically, such an important base can't have just one exit. Though it's designed to look hidden from the outside for secrecy, that also means if other exits really exist, they probably won't be as heavily guarded as the front.

Of course, our most urgent problem now isn't how to find this exit, but how to survive the enemy's search.

But after leaving the area near the entrance that seemed to be soldier barracks, the path ahead felt more and more deserted. Fewer and fewer rooms were occupied. Many were completely empty. Soon even the magic lamps lighting the corridors were gone. We came to a very dark and desolate group of empty rooms. All the rooms here were the same size and layout, neatly arranged on both sides of the corridor. Obviously they hadn't been used yet.

"So strange, there's an uninhabited area like this in an imperial military base?"

Since we were deep inside the base without any windows, of course we couldn't see anything. After walking for a while, Cyra finally couldn't stand it and lit a magic light ball. Suddenly the whole corridor was brightly lit.

"Well... don't forget this base was only built a few days ago. It's so big, but there aren't many people. Of course only the central part is used regularly, it's very limited!"

At first I wanted to stop her, but then I thought this place probably doesn't get many visitors anyway. And it was really hard to move in such darkness, so I allowed it.

"Why don't we rest for a bit?"

None of us knew what was waiting ahead, but Adrian also thought pursuers probably wouldn't come here for now. So he suggested we stop to discuss our strategy.

"So I think we might as well just use brute force to break through the outer wall and escape!"

We found an empty room and sat down, dropping our invisibility. Thinking carefully, we'd been walking for about 15-20 minutes to get here. We might already be at the edge of the base. My opinion was that since we'd already been discovered, we should just leave quickly.

"But the building materials here seem unusual. The outer walls made by those mechanical bugs - it's hard to say if we can break through quickly. If we can't escape in time and attract enemies inside, that would be losing more than we gain."

Adrian shook his head when he heard this. He walked up to a wall and pinched it with his fingers. The surface coating quickly crumbled, revealing a strange wall body with a metallic sheen inside.