Chapter 107: Moving forward

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Moving forward

Princess Lyra stepped slowly toward the trapped cultists, her golden imperial aura surging until it pressed against their chests like solid granite. The lead assassin thrashed against Rowan’s hardened mud, but under the crushing weight of royal pressure, his fanatical defiance shattered.

"Speak," Lyra demanded, her voice echoing with absolute authority. "Give up your cell’s hideout, or I will let my squad test their newest combat abilities on you right here."

Breaking under the suffocating aura and absolute physical lockdown, the lead assassin choked out the location. "The... the abandoned storage vault under the eastern quartz monolith... sub-level two..."

"Sensational," Lyra said coldly, stepping back as Seraphina quickly logged the precise coordinates on her slate.

Rather than executing the zealots on the spot, Squad 07 bound the assassins in high-tier mana-suppression cuffs. Dragging the immobilized captives back through the anti-monster barrier, Lyra immediately summoned the Adventurer-in-Charge of Glowstone Refuge—a veteran Guild Captain named Marcus.

"Your outpost’s perimeter has been compromised," Lyra stated calmly, presenting her imperial crest. Captain Marcus paled, bowing instantly at the sight of the royal seal. "I am placing these three Order of Humanity assassins into your temporary custody. You will send an emergency spatial dispatch to the Imperial Guards immediately."

Lyra laid out her commands with ruthless efficiency: the Guild Captain was tasked with locking down the outpost, sealing the cultists’ secret sub-level hideout before any remaining operatives could destroy evidence, and facilitating an immediate high-security extraction by Imperial Enforcers. The assassins were to be transported directly back to the Imperial Capital under heavy guard to undergo deep soul-interrogation, mapping out the cult’s broader network operating across the lower Tower floors.

Captain Marcus didn’t hesitate. "It will be done at once, Your Highness. My elite guild guards will secure the sub-level hideout within ten minutes, and the Imperial transport signal is already being transmitted."

With the cult threat completely handed over to the authorities and their rear secured, Rowan tipped the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, resting his trusty hoe over his shoulder.

"Efficient work, Princess," Rowan said smoothly, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Now that the trash has been collected, let’s get back to exploring The Luminescent Grotto."

***

Within an hour of Captain Marcus sending the spatial distress signal, a brilliant rift ruptured in the courtyard of Glowstone Refuge. A heavy battalion of Imperial Guards, clad in gleaming silver-and-gold runic plate armor, poured out with military precision.

The elite force swept through the fourth floor with absolute accuracy and speed. Moving like a disciplined hurricane, they breached the abandoned storage vault beneath the eastern quartz monolith, instantly suppressing remaining Order of Humanity cell members before any records could be incinerated. Every cult operative across the entire floor was apprehended, bound in anti-mana chains, and prepared for immediate spatial transport back to the Imperial Capital.

With the threat neutralized, the Commander of the Imperial Guard detachment approached Princess Lyra, dropping to one knee upon the damp stone. ℴℴ𝘮

"Your Highness, the cult cell on Floor 4 has been entirely dismantled," the Commander reported, his voice crisp and resonant. "However, given the lingering threat of the Order of Humanity, I must strongly advise attaching a vanguard security detail of ten high-tier Imperial Enforcers to escort you through your remaining exploration."

Princess Lyra held up a slender hand, her voice calm yet unyielding. "Your concern is appreciated, Commander, but I am declining the security detail."

The Guard Commander blinked, clearly taken aback. "Your Highness, the Emperor’s mandate—"

"The Emperor entrusted me to climb the Tower alongside capable allies," Lyra interrupted smoothly, glancing back toward Rowan and the rest of the team. "A large royal vanguard will only attract unnecessary attention, slow our movement through tight subterranean terrain, and disrupt our tactical synergy. Squad 07 is more than capable of acting as both my protection detail and my adventuring squad. They neutralized the boss of Floor 3 without taking a single major hit and laid the trap that captured these assassins. I am in the safest hands possible."

Recognizing the absolute authority in her silver eyes, the Commander bowed deeply, capitulating without further argument. "As you command, Your Highness. May the Light guide your path."

As the Imperial Guards departed back through the spatial portal with their captured cultists, Rowan tipped the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, a quiet, amused smirk touching his lips.

"High praise, Princess," Rowan said smoothly, resting his trusty tool over his shoulder. "Though keeping our royal partner safe is just part of our daily routine."

With their rear completely secured and the cult cell eradicated, Squad 07 turned away from the outpost gates, stepping confidently back into the glowing, spore-draped wilderness of The Luminescent Grotto.

Deep within the bioluminescent corridors of The Luminescent Grotto, Squad 07 moved with lethal efficiency, turning the subterranean wonderland into their personal hunting ground. Over three intense hours of continuous advancement, they encountered the native apex predators of Floor 4, carving through every threat that dared step into their path.

A pack of Burrowing Shadow-Crawlers—colossal, multi-legged arachnids with razor-sharp obsidian carapaces—erupted from the crystal-lined cavern walls. Silently dropping from the shadowy ceilings, six crawlers lunged for the squad’s flank. Barney reacted instantly, slamming his heavy vanguard shield into the earth with a booming shockwave that locked down their aggressive movement. Capitalizing on the frontline block, Caelen unleashed his newly learned technique: [Molten Rupture]. Driving his greatsword into the damp stone, localized pillars of surging magma blasted through the ground, incinerating three crawlers mid-air. High on a quartz ledge, Mirei notched three frost-infused arrows simultaneously, letting them fly with pinpoint precision to freeze and shatter the remaining beasts.

Deeper in the fungal forest, a massive Spore-Crowned Behemoth—a hulking, ambulatory creature woven from compressed fungal matter and toxic hyphae—rumbled out of a dense miasma bank. The monster roared, unleashing a wave of pressurized, hallucinogenic spores. Rowan stepped forward, tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat. Infusing his Gardener of Eden vitality into the surrounding atmosphere, he purified the airborne toxins instantly, turning the cloud harmless while guiding petrified Ironwood Vines up from the soil to lock the giant’s legs in place. Seizing the opening, Princess Lyra glided across the battlefield like a streak of pure starlight. Her runic sword flared with blinding golden mana as she executed a devastating skyward slash, cleanly bisecting the behemoth’s spongy core.

Near the threshold of the lower grotto levels, a pair of Quartz Void Serpents slithered down from the glowing fungal canopy, using mirror-like crystal scales to bend light and camouflage their strike vectors. Seraphina pinpointed their mana signatures on her mapping slate, tossing a flare elixir to reveal their outlines. Mirei immediately grounded the first serpent with an armor-piercing arrow through its skull. Caelen and Lyra moved in a synchronized dual assault, their weapons weaving a storm of aura and golden radiant light that completely pulverized the second beast.

As the final serpent collapsed into glittering dust, three massive columns of blinding golden light erupted around Princess Lyra, Caelen, and Mirei. The radiant pillars cascaded over their armors as the system validated their breakthrough to Level 10—reaching the absolute pinnacle of Tier 1 combat power.