CHAPTER 345: CHAPTER 218: INFILTRATION, FORK IN THE CORRIDOR, BATTLE FOR THE SCEPTER

The Legendary Whale is now approaching Bergen harbor, and its mouth will open in ten minutes.

At this moment, Li Qingping used a common-level card, the "Cognitive Barrier" to cover the Floating Castle where they were located.

Unless the cognitive barrier is broken, it is impossible to observe the inside of the castle from the outside; one would only see emptiness.

Yaguba suddenly recalled that the whale’s gatekeeper had also used this Anecdote Fragment before—as soon as the whale landed, the gatekeeper would use the cognitive barrier to obscure the surroundings, preventing the outside world from discovering the existence of the Legendary Whale.

Thus, when the "Cognitive Barrier" enveloped the Floating Castle where they were, from the outside it seemed as if a massive structure had suddenly disappeared from the sky above the Box Garden.

Undoubtedly, such an abrupt and conspicuous move would naturally attract the attention of the Empress and others.

"We must act immediately, we don’t have much time left."

While speaking, Li Qingping held the Anecdote Atlas that was floating in the air and took out two common-level cards from it, named "Mimic Puppet" and "Divine Concealment Umbrella."

As he pinched the "Mimic Puppet," a white light pattern flashed by, and two twisted, gray-white puppets appeared in the bedroom, wobbling like roly-polies.

The two puppets raised their empty eyes and looked at Cezar and Li Qingping separately, as if they were memorizing their appearances.

Immediately, the bodies of the mimic puppets began to change.

They each copied the looks of Cezar and Li Qingping, including skin tone, organs, hair volume, physique, and even their clothing.

The puppets now looked exactly like them; it was impossible to tell who was real.

Yaguba stared at the two puppets, thinking that he was familiar with this; wasn’t it just a weaker version of the Restraint Incarnation?

After adjusting the mimic puppets, Li Qingping turned to look at Cezar.

Cezar understood his intention, so he summoned the Anecdote Atlas and held the "Christmas Sled" in his hand.

Then he took a deep breath and repeated the plan:

"Next, I’ll release the sled, carrying the mimic puppets that look like us to the Whale’s Mouth to confuse the Royal Court team, while we will use the ’Divine Concealment Umbrella’ to go to Father King’s bedroom and attempt to seize the White King’s Staff, right?"

"That’s right," Li Qingping said calmly.

"You take the staff, and Shark will take care of capturing the Empress," Yaguba said.

"Okay."

Cezar nodded.

The next moment, he crushed the generational-level Anecdote "Christmas Sled" in his hand. A sudden gust of wind and snow poured into the bedroom, an orange light pattern flashed in mid-air, and an enduring cry echoed through the Floating Castle.

Soon after, two reindeer descended from the sky, pulling a crimson sled as they sped forth!

Li Qingping turned his head and ordered the two mimic puppets to sit on the sled, whereupon the reindeer broke through the wind and snow, carrying the two puppets toward the blood-red horizon.

"I hope this blinding technique works to some extent," Yaguba said, "As long as the sled and dummies can draw the Royal Court team members away, the Imperial Palace will be as if unguarded for us."

"My Christmas Sled can take the dummies to the Whale’s Mouth," Cezar said.

"Let’s go; our actions need to be swift, otherwise we’ll be discovered soon."

With those words, Li Qingping crushed the "Divine Concealment Umbrella," and a kaleidoscope-like magnificent umbrella appeared in his hand.

Yaguba manipulated the dark water flow, emerging from the opening of the Crystal Ball, his body sharply expanding, instantly stretching to a two-meter form, transforming into a deep blue giant shark.

Li Qingping and Cezar stood on the back of the dark blue shark, opened the umbrella, and their forms were immediately enveloped by an invisible barrier, disappearing into the air as if concealed by divine force.

Wrapped entirely in dark water flow, Yaguba slowly flew outside the castle, gliding under the calm sky, crossing one grand Floating Castle after another.

The unsuspecting nobility believed this to be an unremarkable morning and thus sat on elder chairs, sipping morning tea while gazing at the seascape and occasionally looking down at the commoners working on the land, their faces relaxed and content.

Soon enough, Yaguba saw the brilliantly lit Imperial Palace, this huge palace standing at the pinnacle of the entire Box Garden World on a Floating Island, as conspicuous as the World Tree mentioned in Norse mythology.

"Hold on," Yaguba said low, controlling the dark water flow to lift his body, slicing through the air to rise rapidly to the top of the palace.

After observing for a moment, he found a tricky angle and plunged through a corridor window.

Li Qingping and Cezar huddled closely on the shark’s back, preventing themselves from getting stuck outside.

Yaguba quickly shrank at this moment, turning into a palm-sized Nobel Shark, landing on Li Qingping’s shoulder.

Raising his retracted beast eyes, the sight revealed an excessively long corridor, with a red carpet on the floor, and portraits hung on the walls every few meters, depicting the faces of past royal family members.

Li Qingping, holding the "Divine Concealment Umbrella," walked forward with Cezar beneath the umbrella, blending seamlessly with the air, moving stealthily through the brightly lit palace. The entire corridor was silent, with lifelike paintings on the walls.

The eyes in the frames stared at the two and a shark in the dead silence, making their hair stand on end; ordinarily passing through here, they had never found the paintings so eerie.

As they passed by the Anecdote Vault, Li Qingping, holding the umbrella, turned his head toward the guard at the vault entrance. At this moment, the vault’s bronze door was wide open, with a row of magnificently robed Anecdote Envoys walking out, their white robes engraved with the "Royal Court Army" emblem—the tigers guarding the White King’s Staff.

Li Qingping frowned, turning to look at the small shark on his shoulder, silently mouthing, "They even dispatched the Royal Court Army; it seems they are determined to capture us."

"Who are they, and why are they stealing Sharky’s fragment? What are their intentions?" Yaguba glared angrily at the soldiers, writing with dark water streams.

"Are you still planning to eat?" Li Qingping said, "In this situation, we definitely can’t get into the warehouse."

"How are we going to eat like this? Fighting them will surely cause a commotion." Cezar was stunned, silently reminding, "Isn’t our primary target the White King’s Staff?"

"These people are really something, stealing Sharky’s fragment right under its nose so brazenly, is there no justice or law?"

The little shark glared, eyes wide, at the army emerging from the warehouse, gritting its teeth in anger, "Fine, Sharky will let these fragment thieves go for now, and teach them a lesson later!"

After speaking, it couldn’t help but slap Li Qingping with its fin: "Giddy up!"

Li Qingping remained silent.

Seeing Li Qingping unmoving, the little shark slapped him again with its fin: "Giddy up!"

Li Qingping’s eyelids twitched, suppressing the urge to throw the shark off his shoulder, as he held up the umbrella and silently walked forward.

They remained silent, their footsteps muted to the extreme, passing by attendants, servants, and soldiers within the Imperial Palace, moving along the corridor.

Soon, they reached a fork in the path, with the King’s sleeping quarters on the left and the Empress’s courtyard on the right.

Undoubtedly, these two places in their sights were their destinations.

The two humans concentrated and held their breath, silently communicating, while Yaguba on Li Qingping’s shoulder suddenly manipulated the dark water flow, forming lively words in the air:

"Split into two groups, Sharky will try to capture the Empress, while you two go find the White King’s Staff."

"The best outcome is finding the White King’s Staff, the next best is me capturing the Empress, trying to threaten the Royal Court Team... No matter what, as long as we meet one condition, we’ll have a chance to escape."

Seeing the words formed by the water flow in the air, Li Qingping and Cezar nodded silently.

Yaguba’s allocation made sense.

The Eternal Abyss Shark clan had thick skin and flesh, with a body length exceeding a hundred meters right there.

If their whereabouts were exposed and they failed to capture the Empress, Yaguba could still hold the Royal Court Team at bay for a long time, until Cezar, who had acquired the White King’s Staff, arrived.

By that time, having lost the power of the Anecdote, the Royal Court Team would become a group of muggles. Even if their physical strength matched Li Qingping’s, without the Fragment’s support, they couldn’t resist the now-giant Yaguba.

Li Qingping and Cezar, on the other hand, lacked Yaguba’s margin for error, making them the obvious choice for stealing the White King’s Staff.

Not to mention Cezar had the King’s Blessing about him; maybe he could easily pass through barriers, approach the King, and take the Staff from the sickbed.

Yaguba jumped off Li Qingping’s shoulder, controlling the dark water flow ahead, floating lightly in the air like a surfing board, even more agile than a bird.

It waved its fin, as if beckoning the two, then cautiously drifted towards the rear pavilion.

Yaguba perked up its ears, alert to sounds from all directions, cautiously drifting down the palace corridor, soon hiding behind a massive stone pillar.

Looking through the clustered flowers, it saw the Empress "Carolina" in the pavilion, along with the First Prince "Lorenzo" and Second Prince "Cosimo."

"The Royal Court Team isn’t nearby..." Yaguba thought, "Trap or not, I must make a big commotion to stall for Cezar and Li Qingping, minimizing interference in their quest for the White King’s Staff."

With this in mind, the black tide beneath Yaguba surged.

It rode the wind and waves, shooting forward from behind the pillar, like a black arrow unleashed, transforming into a black cannonball as it approached the pavilion. With a rush, the shark’s body suddenly expanded several times, growing over three meters.

At that moment, a lazy voice emanated from within the pavilion:

"Bermuda Triangle."

Following the voice, Yaguba momentarily turned and saw a girl holding a Divine Concealment Umbrella, her hair in two buns, looking lazy and elegant.

It was Koajenna of the Royal Court Team, holding the generational-grade Fragment "Bermuda Triangle" Envoy of Anecdote.

A huge triangular pattern formed in the air, expanding, with a spatial rift inside. Yaguba couldn’t stop its forward momentum. The shark’s head dove into the rift, which closed right afterward.

It vanished.

The pavilion fell into dead silence. After a moment, First Prince Lorenzo slowly broke the silence.

"See, Cezar could only come up with something like this."

He said as he lifted his head, looking at the bun-haired girl in the pavilion: "Thanks to Koajenna."

Koajenna yawned and said softly, "I’ve already transferred the Third Prince and Li Qingping to the Whale’s Mouth area, and as for this Eternal Abyss Shark, I’ve trapped it within the Bermuda Triangle’s world... It won’t be able to escape anytime soon."

"That’s enough." Lorenzo smiled, "This shark is hard to deal with; we don’t need to confront it directly, just eliminate Cezar and Li Qingping first."

Carolina sighed, "This is my son... compared to that urchin, you are the one who should become the King."

Cosimo was silent for a while, then looked up at Lorenzo and then turned to Carolina: "Brother, Mother, what about the White King’s Staff?"

"Rest assured..." Lorenzo shrugged, "Once Father passes away, the barrier protecting him will naturally open, and at that time, we can seize the White King’s Staff."