"Immediately. Right now. This instant!"
"Conduct a carpet search of every military restricted zone in the capital!"
"Everyone, put down whatever youâre doing and find the intruder at once!"
As the administrator issued the fastest possible arrangements, he also reported the current situation to his superior.
According to his calculations, this incident was extremely serious. It had to be resolved as quickly as possible.
Only after the order was given did the two soldiers guarding the entrance finally react, belatedly realizing what had happened.
"Whatâs going on? Administrator, did we discover an intruder here?"
"That shouldnât be possible. Havenât we been guarding this place the whole time? Apart from Grand Duke Rosewood, no one else came in!"
The other soldier calmly glanced at his companion beside him.
"Brother, calm down. Think about it carefully. Since theyâre an intruder, they must have intruded first, right?"
"Since we didnât notice anything, that means they must have entered from somewhere else!"
Hearing this, the first soldier immediately let out a sigh of relief.
However, just as they were wondering whether they should wait for further orders, a fully armed army of awakeners suddenly surrounded the two of them.
"The administrator suspects you of colluding with the intruder. Put down your weapons immediately! I repeat..."
...
The entrance to the [Zephyr Knights] was located somewhere inside the military restricted zone, still some distance away from the outer entrance.
The alarm blaring all around made a faint trace of worry rise in Alyssaâs heart.
"Lord Caelan, it seems weâve already been discovered!"
"Why donât we... retreat first, then think of another way to enter the Instance?"
Alyssa could not figure out how these Highland Tauren soldiers had discovered them.
Caelan, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm. He even had time to take out a bottle of soda from his storage space and take a leisurely sip.
"Donât panic. Donât rush. I donât think theyâve really found us. Itâs more likely theyâve only realized that an intruder exists."
Caelanâs reasoning was simple.
Since they had already come this far, wouldnât it be a huge loss to leave without grabbing something?
Besides, the soldiers here all seemed to be gathering toward the plaza, which meant they had not discovered his and Alyssaâs presence.
So, for the rest of the journey, Caelan continued to rely on [Infinite Simulation], using Simulated Cells to conceal both himself and Alyssa.
Before long, they finally arrived at the entrance to the [Zephyr Knights].
The entrance to the [Zephyr Knights] Instance did not have many restrictions.
Perhaps because it was surrounded by countless layers of security on the outside, the entrance itself looked extremely simple. It was nothing more than a teleportation gate.
Without the slightest hesitation, Caelan took Alyssaâs hand and stepped into the portal.
The next moment, the scene before their eyes changed completely.
When Caelan and Alyssa finally saw their surroundings clearly, they were shocked to discover that they were standing inside a military camp!
If they were not mistaken, this seemed to be the encampment where the [Zephyr Knights] had once been stationed.
But...
Why was the Instance located here?
And how exactly were they supposed to clear this Instance?
Just as Caelan and Alyssa fell into thought, a rough laugh suddenly sounded from behind them.
"Haha! You two little fellows must be the newcomers, right?"
"We made quite a haul this time. Donât just stand there. Hurry over and help!"
Alyssa and Caelan exchanged a glance, then turned around at the same time.
They saw a tall knight looking at them with a broad smile.
The knight wore a set of complex and heavy armor. On his chest was engraved the unique emblem of the [Zephyr Knights]. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be something like a squad captain.
"Sorry, weâre coming right away!"
Caelan immediately responded, then pulled Alyssa with him toward the small plaza not far away.
But when they reached the plaza, the scene before them left both of them stunned.
The small plaza inside the military camp was densely packed with a massive pile of precious materials.
Clearly, these were spoils of war obtained after hunting monsters.
Caelan had never expected the quality of these spoils to be so astonishingly high!
Any random item taken from the pile could probably sell for tens of thousands of gold coins.
But one must not forgetâ
Right now, these spoils of war were piled up in front of them like a small mountain!
At that moment, Alyssaâs voice suddenly sounded beside Caelanâs ear. She tugged at his sleeve, her expression carrying a trace of seriousness.
"Lord Caelan, have you noticed? Donât these spoils look familiar?"
Hearing Alyssaâs reminder, Caelan also revealed a thoughtful expression.
A moment later, he seemed to realize something, and his eyes instantly widened.
"These damned Highland Tauren... they completely took the spoils of the [Zephyr Knights] for themselves!"
"What a bunch of bastards..."
That was right.
Both Caelan and Alyssa had recognized the mountain-like pile of spoils in the plaza. Among them were many extremely precious and famous items.
Even now, many of them were still being kept inside the Highland Tauren Empireâs museum.
"I knew those Highland Tauren scumbags wouldnât build some imperial museum for no reason. So everything inside was stolen from the [Zephyr Knights]!"
"I just wonder what would happen if we took away the spoils inside this Instance."
Faced with Alyssaâs question, Caelan thought for a moment before slowly speaking.
"If my guess is correct, what weâre seeing now are only projections of those spoils. The truly valuable items have already been placed inside the imperial museum."
"But... since these are the spoils of us humans, wouldnât it be perfectly normal for us to take them back?"
This time, Alyssa rarely expressed agreement. However, she still spoke with some worry in her heart.
"Normal is normal, but the problem is... this is still Highland Tauren territory. Iâm worried..."
Caelan patted Alyssa on the shoulder and said in a frivolous tone,
"Theyâre just Highland Tauren. No need to worry. These days, they canât even compare to the Ivorykin. Whatâs there to be afraid of?"
"Alright, thatâs for later. For now, letâs explore the Instance first!"
And so, following the captainâs orders, Caelan and Alyssa moved a large number of spoils into the warehouse.
After entering the warehouse, Caelan was once again shocked by the collection of the [Zephyr Knights].
Good heavens.
Back then, the [Zephyr Knights] had been filthy rich!
And from what he could tell, their strength had not been weak either.
So how exactly had they been wiped out for no clear reason?