Chapter 125: A Stunning Display of Power

At this moment, a series of urgent knocks sounded at the door.

Kokolalu was hiding in the backyard of this residence. To avoid being disturbed by the owner, she had given him strict instructions: knock once if he needed to enter, knock rapidly if it was an emergency, and knock three times for a routine report.

"Come in," Kokolalu said.

The Xixia noble stepped in quickly. As he looked up and saw Sun Meng standing beside Kokolalu, he was about to speak, only to find himself unable to utter a single word. This was one of the effects of the curse Kokolalu had placed upon him; if she did not want him to do something, a single thought from her could freeze his actions entirely.

"Mistress, those fellows are planning to strike tonight. They have already seized control of all the surrounding Imperial Guards. Furthermore, they have prepared a powerful mechanical puppet that they claim possesses the strength of a half-step third-tier combatant."

"They couldn't wait even that long? Then we shouldn't sit idle either!" Sun Meng said, turning to Kokolalu. "Take me to see the person in charge of the Vulture Palace here."

It was not that Sun Meng could not find them on his own, but Kokolalu had previously established contact with the Vulture Palace. Having her as a guarantor would save a lot of trouble. He did not want to clash with the Vulture Palace members before dealing with the other contestants; it was not out of fear, but simply to avoid disrupting his original plan.

The two quickly flew from another direction toward the Imperial Gardens. Several second-tier mid-stage contestants guarding the perimeter were unable to detect any trace of them in Sun Meng's presence.

Arriving before the entrance to the secret realm within the garden, Kokolalu produced a jade thumb ring—one of the tokens she had obtained previously. The ring emitted a faint glow, causing the wall in front of them to ripple like the surface of water. The two stepped through, and the wall returned to normal.

Inside, a dozen women rose to their feet, eyeing Sun Meng and Kokolalu with vigilance.

"Miss Koko, why have you returned?" Two men, having recognized Kokolalu, quickly approached them.

Both were dressed in white. The first man wore robes embroidered with star patterns, while the other had gold-threaded trim. The former possessed a flippant demeanor, while the latter appeared composed. Both radiated the aura of second-tier peak-stage strength.

"Gentlemen, this is the expert I mentioned who can help us reverse our current situation—Brother Sun Meng," Kokolalu introduced him.

"Miss Koko, you have seen the strength of those people yourself. Even if you brought in someone with strength equal to your own, I fear it would be difficult to turn the tide in this situation," the other man remarked.

"Have you managed to capture their likenesses?" Sun Meng asked.

"Naturally. They have caused quite a stir since entering the capital. We have been monitoring them, though we never expected them to possess such ambition and power," the first man replied. "By the way, allow me to introduce myself; I am Murong Shi, and this is Brother Duan."

"I am Duan Nianyu," the other man said, bowing. Having witnessed Kokolalu's extraordinary abilities, and unable to gauge the depth of Sun Meng's power, they were more than willing to trust her judgment.

"Since you have them, give them to me. When they attack tonight, you just need to hold your ground!" Sun Meng said. Even with his strength, it would be impossible to completely suppress over a dozen second-tier late-stage contestants who were prepared to fight to the death. His goal was deterrence—to make them lose their reckless confidence and become hesitant.

"I have a few here," Kokolalu said, producing a memory crystal. It contained fragments of the footage from when she was being hunted by that group.

"I will sketch out their appearances," Duan Nianyu said. He had seen Kokolalu’s miraculous methods before and assumed Sun Meng was using some form of curse. He had also seen the images in the memory crystal, which were perfect likenesses of the individuals. Although their memories were sharper than those of ordinary people, they were not cameras, so the task fell to Duan Nianyu, who had the best drawing skills and had learned some techniques from Kokolalu.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, the streets of the Xixia capital were devoid of ordinary people; every door and window was tightly shuttered, everyone fearing they might invite disaster upon themselves.

The enemy army entered the imperial palace, quickly occupying the various halls and leaving only the Imperial Gardens untouched. They knew that this was the most important location; if they could not capture it to achieve final victory, all their previous efforts would be in vain.

A five-meter-tall mechanical puppet appeared at the gate. A contestant leaped into the cockpit and began to assault the protective formation of the Imperial Gardens. With just a single strike, the barrier—which they had only been able to make ripple with their combined efforts—was shattered!

This result surprised them, but the presence of the mecha gave them immense confidence, and they charged directly into the Imperial Gardens.

A sudden volley of hidden weapons formed a sky-covering net, descending upon the contestants. However, such attacks were far too weak for them; a web of lightning intercepted the projectiles, instantly reducing them to ash. With the mecha paving the way, the others followed closely behind, neutralizing all remaining traps with ease.

Everything had gone too smoothly. It was not that none of the contestants suspected a trap, but based on the intelligence they possessed, even if the entire Vulture Palace in its prime were defending this place, they would not be able to stop them.

Inside the secret realm of the Imperial Gardens, Kokolalu and the Vulture Palace members waited for Sun Meng to act. Watching their defensive lines collapse one by one, it was impossible for them not to feel disheartened. Especially upon seeing the massive mecha, even Murong Shi and Duan Nianyu felt they had no way to deal with such a behemoth; this was an enemy beyond the scope of any martial arts they understood.

"Miss Koko, is Senior Sun not ready to act yet?" Duan Nianyu asked, looking at Kokolalu. Given the enemy's speed, he did not believe the remaining defenses could hold for even half a joss stick's time (fifteen minutes).

Kokolalu did not know whether she should tell them that Sun Meng had already left the secret realm and was outside.

Outside, as yet another defense line was breached, even the most cautious contestant felt that there was no way they could fail now. Even if the third-tier woman they had encountered earlier appeared, they would be able to drive her back!

"More arrows? They've run out of tricks!" a mocking voice came from the mecha.

As one arrow reached its apex, it transformed into a rain of projectiles.

"Energy arrows? Is it magic, or has another contestant intervened?" The pilot frowned, activating the mecha's shields and preparing to tank the attack. Seeing the mecha's action, the other contestants huddled behind it, confident that they had nothing to worry about.

However, when the first arrow pierced the shield and exploded beside them, they realized what a grave mistake they had made.

The contestant in the mecha stared at the pockmarked, cratered surface of his machine, filled with disbelief. Even if the materials hadn't reached the half-step third-tier level, they were at the peak of the second tier—how could they be destroyed by the explosion of these ordinary arrows?

Alarms blared. The man quickly hit a button and was ejected from the cockpit. His armor suit shifted, transforming into a personal mecha. But the next moment, the system detected several energy arrows homing in on him.

"Are these arrows or missiles? How can they have automatic tracking!" The contestant hurriedly fired off several small missiles—weapons he had specifically developed to counter energy and internal-qi attacks. They were designed not just to disperse attacks, but to neutralize them.

Yet, when the arrows curved around his missiles and struck him, he began to fundamentally doubt his understanding of the world.

Listening to the explosions outside, Kokolalu smiled. "It's done! Let's go out!"