With the Chocobo galloping swiftly, it only took a few minutes to approach the vicinity of the Straight Leaf Forest to the north of the city.
By now, the magnificent, lofty Arcane Tower was clearly visible. Five glowing orbs on the pinnacle twinkled intermittently, rotating tirelessly around without any sign of fatigue. The tower’s body was engraved with densely packed, mystical runes. An invisible illumination of arcane magic emanated from the top of the tower, traversing the crowd, piercing through the city, extending towards the unseen far-off distance. It seemed as if it’s safeguarding the entire empire.
Beneath the Arcane Tower in the army camp, two entire legion of guardian knights were stationed. In addition, a considerable number of sentinels patrolled continuously, preventing any approach from hostile forces.
Of course, Mu You didn’t dare to recklessly approach the camp. Instead, he directed the Chocobo to turn towards the nearby woods. He headed towards the mountain top where he found a vantage point with an expansive view, and released his Battle Eagle to patrol in the sky.
He then opened his backpack, let Lin Xue and Vivian out, and carried the ice coffin that housed the bodies of Vivian and Grandma Lin Xue.
In the upcoming battle, these two didn’t need to take part. All they had to do was find a safe place and channel magic power to the resurrected bodies through the Grim Reaper’s Contract Array.
Upon appearing, both Lin Xue and Vivian automatically cast their eyes towards the distant Arcane Tower.
Lin Xue had no particular reaction, just like Mu You, they simply marvelled at the unique shape of the Arcane Tower.
However, upon seeing the tall tower from afar, Vivian suddenly furrowed her brows and said, "This tower... something’s not right!"
Surprised, Mu You hurriedly turned to Vivian, "What’s not right?"
"It’s too far away, I can’t see clearly. But the energy of this tower is making me feel uncomfortable. A real Arcane Tower... shouldn’t be ..." Vivian spoke, uncertainty rare in her tone.
"Could it be that this is not the Arcane Tower?"
Startled, Mu You quickly commanded the Battle Eagle to inch closer and inspected it through the Omniscient Crystal.
However, the feedback confirmed that it was indeed the ’Arcane Tower’.
"It is indeed the Arcane Tower," Mu You affirmed.
Vivian shook her head and said after some thought: "Just because it’s called the Arcane Tower doesn’t necessarily mean it is the core of the Arcane Tower. It might be a defective product or a substitute. In short, the aura of this tower feels off. Whether it truly is, can only be confirmed if we get closer."
Upon hearing this, Mu You felt a sense of trepidation.
If this wasn’t the Arcane Tower, then this entire set-up might be a sham deployed by the Wizard Association to lure players into an attack, wasting precious offensive manpower on this decoy, thereby ensuring the safety of the actual Arcane Tower. This conclusion made logical sense.
The question is: this alleged Arcane Tower was meticulously constructed from nothing to something under the watchful eye of the alien residents of this city. If this isn’t the Arcane Tower, where exactly is the real one?
Such a massive structure could not possibly be constructed stealthily nor perpetually remain invisible, right?
"In fact, there is a place where a tower can exist without needing to be invisible or drawing any attention..." At that moment, Lin Xue adjusted her glasses and pointed in a particular direction.
Following the direction of her gaze, Mu You saw a towering structure in the distance and immediately understood.
Yes, the only way to completely turn a tower invisible is to wrap it in an even larger tower.
And in this city, the only place that could achieve this was the other of the Twin Towers- the Mage Tower, one of the symbols of the Witches’ City!
Mu You took a deep breath.
The Wizard Association really played their cards well. They’d actually built the real Arcane Tower inside the Mage Tower!
This was a huge gamble. This move had not only deceived the Fool, but also tricked all the inhabitants of the Star Spirit World - and potentially even the majority of the inside men of the Wizard Association. Only a handful of them would have been aware of this operation, providing the perfect cover-up.