We didn't see anyone on the platform. It was empty! But there was a small door at the back leading to another room. Through the window, we could see a very big round table inside.
This place was clearly for meetings. Besides the door to the outside platform, there was another door going to other parts of the building.
"We've been running around but haven't found any useful info!" I said, sitting down on a chair at the round table, feeling a bit discouraged.
We'd walked almost 2 kilometers since leaving the warehouse, but we hadn't found even a tiny bit of info about Reed or the angels! Everyone in this base was busy with the surprise attack on the Republic. I couldn't think where else to look for.
"This means they probably don't have any problems!" Adrian's voice came from the chair next to me, which suddenly moved on its own. He was quietly comforting me. "If they were really caught, someone would be talking about it!"
He had a point. If they were killed, it would cause a big fuss. People in the base would be discussing it. But now it's like nothing ever happened. Plus, I didn't think that was likely anyway.
If I wasn't worried about causing too much trouble in the base, I'd almost want to grab an imperial soldier and ask what's going on! Of course, we might end up doing that. We can't go back empty-handed, right?
"Looks like someone's coming this way," Cyra suddenly warned, looking at the door to the inside. I was surprised - I hadn't heard any footsteps.
But soon I understood why. In the hallway leading to the building's interior, about 50 meters away, there was a fairly strong aura of light element energy slowly coming towards us. Based on experience, this was probably a human mage. But because his level was much higher than normal magicians, we could sense him from quite far away. With our wings hidden, Cyra and I probably only seemed like level 2 or 3 magicians at most, so we had many advantages in hiding.
"Hide on the outside platform!" Adrian said, pulling me along. We quickly went back out the way we came in.
Luckily, the windows between the platform and meeting room were see-through. We could watch everything happening inside, but they couldn't see us!
"Oh, there's three of them!"
When they got close to the door, we realized it wasn't just one person coming!
Besides the magician we sensed earlier, there was another light magician with him! But this magician's level was much lower - we could barely sense him even when he was very close. As for the last one, I couldn't sense any aura from him at all. He was probably just a normal human.
"You wait outside first. I have important things to discuss with our ally's envoy," a man's voice ordered. The weaker magician stayed outside the meeting room door, which then closed. A young man dressed very casually and someone wearing a white cloak entered the room.
"Haha, I didn't expect the Empire to be even more reliable than the rumors say! So, now that you've seen my sincerity, will you consider agreeing to my request?" the person in the white cloak laughed as soon as they entered, eager to make his request. But I felt something strange about the voice, like something wasn't quite right.
"That voice was changed by magic. That person probably wants to hide their identity," Adrian whispered in my ear, answering my question.
Just as he said, this mysterious person in white didn't plan to show their true face from the start. Not only were he covered in a cloak, but also wore a mask. Now even the voice was fake. Probably no one could recognize who he was.
"Not bad, better than I expected!" the young man in casual clothes replied. He was clearly a leader or high-ranking person in this base. "You not only provided the mechanical bugs we needed to build the base as promised, but also gave us extra equipment and technology to deal with the Republic. But that alone doesn't seem to be enough..."
He didn't immediately agree to the other person's request. Instead, he hinted at wanting more.
"You know, we just found a secret passage to Republic territory a few days ago. But now it feels very difficult to guard the exit on that side. So... do you have anything else surprising to give me? I know you must be hiding lots of good stuff. It would be best if you could help me take over Duera while you're at it!"
"I can't give you anything more! How can you be like this? You don't keep your word! The great Emperor Reider of the Ilandra Dominion Empire, breaking promises! Aren't you afraid other countries on the continent will laugh at you?"
For the mysterious person in white, this was asking for way too much. They got angry and loudly scolded the other person, pointing at him and almost cursing.
I never thought this mysterious person would be the one who provided those mechanical bugs. I always thought it might be related to Michelle! But so far, I haven't found any connection between them. More surprising than their argument was hearing the word "Emperor"!
Could this guy in front of him, who looked way too young - only about 20 years old - and had no aura at all, really be the Empire's new emperor? The one who led a coup and overthrew the previous tyrant a few years ago?
I really doubted my ears. This was too ridiculous!
It's possible the Empire's emperor might come here at this time, but in my mind Emperor Reider always looked fierce, middle-aged, and arrogant. I didn't expect reality to match my imagination completely, but this was way too different. He's almost my age! Who would have guessed if no one pointed it out?
But just then, Reider suddenly glanced towards our window with a half-smile. This look scared me so much I started sweating!
No way, did he discover us? How is that possible?
If it was Michelle, I'd run away without hesitation. But I wasn't ready to be scared of an Empire emperor and a high-level light magician!
Even though I couldn't sense anything from Reider, I didn't think he was an awakened battle qi fighter. There were no rumors about it!
Even if he really was a hidden strong fighter, his strength probably wouldn't be much higher than Adrian's. After all, Reider's background and history were quite public. If he lived too long, someone would know and let it slip! If the three of us attacked together, we might have a chance! In fact, if we could catch him now, we might solve a lot of future problems!
But just as I was about to reveal myself and attack, Adrian suddenly held my hand and quietly said:
"Don't get excited. He probably just looked this way by accident. He didn't really discover us!"
Cyra behind us was already ready to run away! But after Adrian said this, we noticed Reider had already looked away. He turned back to the mysterious person in white and replied with a carefree attitude:
"I don't care about that! My reputation on the continent is already very bad. You think I don't know that myself? So in the end, exchanging benefits is more reliable. After all, your request this time is for me to help monsters ambush the projection of Cycle of Rebirth. This might lead to a fight with the angel clan! Isn't it a big loss for the Empire to make another powerful enemy? I don't think asking for more payment is too much."
"But I already promised, the monster clan will deal with the angel clan! And this time the Fire Goddess will come in person. Your Empire just needs to use the troops in this base to help solve other problems that might appear nearby. It's all in your own territory anyway. Basically, you're just helping out, not directly involved. Why are you asking for so much?"
The mysterious person in white argued back, but their words didn't seem to move Reider.
"Hehe, promises... You still say these things now like they're reliable? Who knows what will happen after I help you?" the Emperor said carelessly, picking his ear and flicking something away.
"You... fine!"
Seeing the negotiation finally break down, the mysterious person in white angrily turned and opened the door. They paused and said:
"Since you won't keep your word, I'll take back the mechanical bug workers I gave you before, and stop all ongoing construction projects!"
"Go ahead! But the design plans for the Midas experimental machine you gave me - we built that ourselves without using any parts you provided. You can't take that away too, can you?"
Reider waved his hand, not caring at all. He seemed to have expected this reaction and wasn't bothered. At the end, he didn't forget to remind the other person of this point.