# Chapter 2: Trembling
In the royal capital's outer district, an ancient and prosperous city stood. It was noon, the sunlight harsh and scorching, with pedestrians bustling along the streets.
A young girl with golden hair tied back, wearing an apprentice mage robe, was running quickly down the street. The square stone-paved road was very flat; even though it had rained the night before, the stones showed no signs of being upturned. The closer something is to daily life, the more it reflects a nation's strength—the Duoyin Empire was clearly in a period of prosperity.
Mage Apprentice Peipeni braved the blazing sun, crossed through an alley, and finally arrived at the predetermined location.
Stopping, Peipeni had already forgotten the ladylike posture her etiquette teacher often mentioned. She supported herself with her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Sweat plastered her hair to her face. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode, and when she inhaled deeply, there was even a faint sweetness in her throat.
"Peipeni, you are one-third of a quarter-hour late. You have made everyone wait one-third of a quarter-hour, wasting one-third of a quarter-hour of everyone's lives."
An old man with white hair and beard, wearing a white court mage robe, spoke. His expression was stern, his attire immaculate—this was a rigid and strict old court mage.
"Sorry, my servant forgot—"
"Excuses."
"I am late. I deserve to die. I should be thrown into the endless inferno."
Mage Apprentice Peipeni's face was so red it was spreading to her neck. If it were only her mentor present, it might have been bearable, but there were five other mage apprentices around. Being scolded in such a setting made her wish she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Stop with the nonsense. All of you, follow me. Once we enter the library, you only have a quarter-hour, so put aside your little schemes. Later, when we pass the Ring-Sealing Tree, you may observe it from a distance. That is the strongest sealing technique, a miracle of magic."
After the old court mage finished speaking, the six mage apprentices present all showed joy on their faces. They had only heard of the Ring-Sealing Tree; even though that giant tree was very tall, it was usually invisible, even when standing atop buildings, due to technique barriers.
The group of seven moved quickly, following a forest path until they soon reached the western side of the library. The old court mage at the front stopped, gazing at the distant giant tree.
The trunk of this giant tree was several meters thick, its canopy leaves a lush green. In the middle section of the trunk, there were numerous silver patterns, each as wide as a palm, overlapping with one another.
Eight guards in full armor stood upright beneath the tree. Further out, over a hundred soldiers were stationed, with even more hidden sentinels scattered around the perimeter.
Moreover, this area within a five-kilometer radius was a restricted zone. If not for the old court mage's extensive connections, he would have no right to enter here.
Even having entered, they could only observe the 'Ring-Sealing Tree' from several hundred meters away. Approaching within 500 meters meant instant death, even for high-ranking officials of the empire.
"Mentor, there's a strange smell."
Mage Apprentice Peipeni wrinkled her nose. A foul stench mixed with sweat was stimulating her sense of smell.
"Strange smell?"
The old court mage sniffed but detected nothing. Yet he frowned. Over a decade ago, he had been on the battlefield.
"What kind of strange smell?"
Hearing the old court mage's inquiry, Peipeni couldn't help but feel nervous inside. She sniffed again and nearly vomited.
"There's a rotting smell, very faint, but very pungent..."
"Like the smell of rotten fruit? And a faint sweat smell?"
"Yes, yes, that's it. Mentor, did you smell it too..."
Before Peipeni could finish, a surge of force came from beside her, and the pressure of a technique enveloped her.
"Guards! Grey Orc infiltration!!"
The old court mage abandoned all decorum, bellowing at the top of his lungs. This immediately alerted the soldiers near the Ring-Sealing Tree.
"Heh~"
One of the mage apprentices beside the old court mage grinned. He raised his hand, and his index finger suddenly split open. A gray-white finger with sharp claws burst through, destroying the original human finger.
This mage apprentice was a Grey Orc in disguise. He thrust both hands into his own chest and pulled outward with force.
With a splattering sound, blood and organs flew everywhere. Spatial fluctuations appeared, and gray arms reached out one after another. In an instant, over a hundred Grey Orcs materialized.
'War Might: Rotation.'
A soldier captain holding a long spear, wearing scale armor, had somehow appeared at the center of the Grey Orcs.
The captain's lance spun, creating a massive vortex that shredded all the Grey Orcs sucked into it.
This captain, retired from the battlefield, had no flashy techniques. All his spear skills were meant to kill enemies—how to kill as many enemies as possible in the shortest time was his only concern.
Blood and broken limbs fell. The captain stood on the blood-soaked ground, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, sensing every movement.
Drip, drip~
It sounded like liquid falling. Hearing this, the captain opened his mouth wide while sweeping his spear horizontally.
"Ah!!"
A sharp female shriek spread, turning into layers of sound waves radiating outward. A demoness hidden in the air revealed herself. Looking at her body above the waist, she was a beauty. As for below the waist... better not to look.
The captain was experienced. Many of his comrades had had their eardrums shattered by demoness shrieks on the battlefield. But by opening the mouth, reducing the vibration frequency of the eardrums, deafness could be avoided.
With a whoosh, a spear light flashed, and the demoness floating in midair was cut in two.
The old court mage in the distance also had his mouth open. As for the few mage apprentices behind him, aside from Peipeni and two young men, the others had all fallen, dead with blood flowing from seven orifices. The old court mage couldn't protect everyone.
The captain tapped the ground with his lance, shaking the blood off the spear tip. He was somewhat used to this by now.
The captain just turned his head to look at the Ring-Sealing Tree when the scene before him made his cheek twitch. All the soldiers froze in place. A formidable figure had arrived.
An extremely beautiful demoness faded into the air. Before disappearing, she glanced at the Ring-Sealing Tree. Whether this attempt would succeed depended on Ze Wu, an Ancient Tree Clan member.
Crack, crack, crack~
Dull-colored branches twisted together, eventually forming a giant wooden hand that slapped onto the trunk of the Ring-Sealing Tree, beginning to erode it.
Bang!
A heavy hammer swung past. One guard had recovered, only affected for 0.2 seconds.
"Again? They come over a dozen times every month. Don't these Grey Orcs get tired of it?"
The soldier holding the heavy hammer quickly approached the Ring-Sealing Tree. Seeing only a slight damage on the trunk, he breathed a sigh of relief. Such damage would be self-repaired by the Ring-Sealing Tree within seconds.
"Jia Ba, it's your turn to clean up the bodies."
"I know. You all continue to stand guard. What are those big shots in the royal capital thinking, still allowing outsiders here?"
Soldier Captain Jia Ba glanced at the old court mage. The old court mage coughed lightly, somewhat embarrassed. Coming here, he had selfish motives—he wanted to see how the techniques on the Ring-Sealing Tree operated. But this time, he had landed himself in big trouble.
"My apologies for the trouble."
The old court mage looked at the several corpses behind him, his head spinning. These were all children of nobles.
"Someone will come to interrogate you later. But most Grey Orcs fall from above. Even if you hadn't come, they would have found other ways. So don't worry too much."
Soldier Captain Jia Ba smiled. This was about social connections—building goodwill with this old court mage might prove useful in the future. If the other party was suspicious, a spy sent by the Chaos Legion, he could also try to extract information. Either way, he had nothing to lose.
Boom!
A loud crash rang out. Soldier Captain Jia Ba immediately turned his gaze toward the Ring-Sealing Tree. The slight damage on the tree had bulged outward into a large protrusion, as if something had struck it from inside.
Boom!!
The ground shook. Dust on the surrounding ground was kicked up at least half a meter high.
Looking at the Ring-Sealing Tree, Soldier Captain Jia Ba's pupils contracted to their limit. His hand holding the lance trembled.
Boom!!!
Like an earthquake, the front of the Ring-Sealing Tree's trunk shattered. Fragments flew in all directions. One piece flew past Apprentice Mage Peipeni's cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood on her fair skin. She had been frozen since earlier, forgetting to flee.
Blood mist erupted from the breach in the Ring-Sealing Tree. In an instant, the entire tree was covered in cracks.
"Hoo~"
A breath of air came from the hole in the Ring-Sealing Tree. White vapor rose. The inside of the Ring-Sealing Tree was pitch black. A pair of eyes glowing with red light were especially conspicuous in the darkness.