1473: Graveyard Silence

Graveyard Silence

Date- 13 April 23211

Time- 09:42

Location- Southern Region, Southern Capital, Southern Royal Palace, Secret Passage, Golden Gate

"Ann, don't you think this is a bit much?" I asked Ann, looking at 250 domineering 120-meter-high turrets standing tall in the city grounds. 

"You think I am taking your security detail a step too far? As much as I would like to say that you are worth the trouble, this is not enough. In case you have forgotten, let me remind you we are facing two of the top forces of the world, the Central government and Morningstar University at the same time. 

Those two forces do not mix well together but once they come together there is bound to be an explosion. In case you didn't get it, that explosion is you and the Southern royal family will be the collateral damage. Wyatt, leave the security detail to me, you do not know what Morningstar University and the Central Government are capable of," the Southern Royal family has gone head-to-head against both Morningstar University and the Central Government on multiple occasions and they knew better than to underestimate either of them. Therefore Ann asked the boy to let her do what she did best. 

Listening to Ann, the keeper of the Golden Gate, team one and Jill nodded. They no longer thought Ann was going overboard, instead, they too agreed with Ann feeling that she was correct. 75 demigods and 250 turrets were not enough assurance against the combined forces of Morningstar University and the Central Government. Therefore, they would not be lax and be on high alert. 

"Fine, just get me to the interview on time," I decided to trust Ann as my plan was independent of the performance of the Southern Royal family. 

Considering the Heatsend Royal family's failure to protect me on multiple occasions I did not bother to depend on them this time around. So what Ann did, didn't affect my plans that much. Unless the conspirators were scared off seeing 250 turrets. Which was a very unlikely scenario. 

"Sure, give me a second," Ann asked.

"Team 2, 3, & 4 is the perimeter secure?" Ann asked the demigod teams, and then she ordered them to search and eliminate all the hostiles. 

"Team-2, reporting, perimeter secured."

"Team-3, reporting, perimeter secured."

"Team-4, reporting, perimeter secured."

"Report back to your designated post and all teams stay on alert, we are moving out," Saying that Ann picked up the grimoire from the Golden Gate, which opened revealing the straight path connecting Royal palace grounds to the Prestige Four Seasons.

Looking at both the golden doors of the Golden Gate open, I saw the space bend to connect the room with the exit of the royal palace ground. This prompted me to wonder why the Golden Gate did not directly fold the space between the Royal Palace grounds' exit and the Prestige Four Seasons' entrance, to connect them both. Or better yet why did it not teleport us directly to Prestige Four Seasons? 

As if she could read my mind Ann explained, "Golden Gate can only fold the space within the Royal palace rounds. So it can only take us till the exit of the royal palace grounds." 

"Then what about teleportation? Can we use the Golden Gate to teleport anywhere in the city or just the royal palace grounds?" I asked Ann curiously believing that since the entire land of the southern capital was a part of the Golden Gate and it could fold space, then it could also teleport a person anywhere in the city. 

"One can teleport anywhere within the palace grounds using the Golden Gate but not in the southern capital. This is not because Golden Gate is not capable of folding space or teleporting anyone anywhere within the Southern Capital, it is capable of doing both but there's a strong protection array formation placed on the royal palace grounds which as a side effect limits the space capabilities of the Golden Gate," Ann explained that Golden Gate was capable of teleporting or folding space within the area of the Southern capital however because of another array formation covering the Royal palace ground the space capabilities of Golden Gate which was placed within the Royal palace grounds is being limited. 

For the Southern Royal family to make use of an array formation to protect the royal palace grounds despite it limiting the space capability of the Golden Gate could only mean that the array in question must be very capable for the Heatsend Royal family to make such a compromise. 

Maybe it was this array formation that made the Southern Royal family confident that as long as I was within the palace grounds nobody could harm me. I guess the Royal family could only feel safe in their home knowing that such a strong array was protecting them and their family

"Okay, let's go," I did not bother to ask Ann about the array formation protecting the royal palace grounds not because I wasn't curious about it but mostly because I had little time at hand. 

Deciding to leave the question about the array formation covering the royal palace ground for another day, I and Jill followed Ann into the Golden Gate's folded space to exit out of the Royal palace grounds. Team one followed closely with me by standing in a formation around me. With me in the middle five of them could react to attacks from any direction. 

This type of security detail was not new to me. I have experienced this back on Earth. Except for the fact that my bodyguards on Earth were not demigods but mere mortals. 

Ann summoned a chariot, getting on it I saw the demigods stand in formation around the chariot and fly along with it as we traveled the straight path connecting the Royal palace ground with the Prestige four seasons.

The whole city was enveloped in graveyard-like silence. The silence had a very eerie feeling to it. It took me a while to put my finger on it but I finally realized what was so creepy about this silence. There wasn't a single bird flying or insect crawling around in the city. I guess Ann had them forcefully evacuated or killed. 

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