Chapter 406: Chapter 284: Each with Their Own Agenda, A Newborn Calf Fears No Tiger (Part 1)

However, these two auras were also affected, becoming blurry and indistinct. Their senses indicated they were in the city ahead, but their specific locations couldn’t be pinpointed. Only by further closing the distance could a clearer position be determined.

However, upon entering the city to close the distance, one would be affected by the setup deployed by the Eye of the Sun and the Illuminati. The twenty-four Spiritual Talisman auras would obscure one’s senses, making it impossible to discern the true direction and extremely easy to walk into a trap.

「Meanwhile, on the other side of Constantinople.」

The Ancient Ones of the Abyss Court had also withdrawn beyond the city’s borders.

"So this is the Illuminati’s countermeasure. The Eye of the Sun is using a Divine Power to affect perception, creating twenty-four auras throughout the city so we can’t tell the real from the fake. This is their way of dispersing the attacks they would have faced."

The Abyss Court’s Mother of Eternity said faintly.

Everyone else also saw through the Illuminati’s plan.

Originally, the auras erupting from the two Spiritual Talismans were impossible to hide. Furthermore, the news that Secret Technique Heaven and the Abyss Court were about to join forces against the Illuminati had been deliberately leaked. This made Constantinople the focal point for the first round of conflict, and numerous factions converged on the city, amassing an astonishing number of powerful experts.

Under these circumstances, if all these experts attacked the location of the two Spiritual Talismans simultaneously, even with the Illuminati’s resources, they would be unable to hold. Their defenses would likely be crushed in an instant.

Even if they did manage to defend, they would undoubtedly suffer tremendous losses.

Therefore, the Eye of the Sun spared no expense, immediately unleashing his Immortal Soul to manifest the Eye of Omniscience in the sky, extending its influence over the entire city. Since the Spiritual Talisman auras couldn’t be hidden after erupting, he would simply create twenty-four of them. Then, using the Eye of the Sun’s power, he would confound the senses of any expert who entered the city, making it impossible for them to tell which was real.

This way, the various factions couldn’t find the true location of the Spiritual Talismans, preventing them from focusing their attacks on a single point from the outset. This bought the Illuminati time to react.

Within the city, the Eye of the Sun could use the Divine Eye in the sky to see everything, leaving invaders with nowhere to hide. Conversely, the Illuminati’s own forces could use this to conceal themselves and launch surprise attacks against any target in Constantinople.

Initially, with the two Spiritual Talismans erupting and the Abyss Court and Secret Technique Heaven forming an alliance, the Illuminati had become a public enemy. Their foes were in the shadows while they were exposed in the light.

But now the tables have turned. Everyone knows the two Spiritual Talismans are in the city and in the Illuminati’s possession, yet it is now they who are exposed while the Illuminati lurks in the shadows.

To find the Spiritual Talismans, they would have to enter the city and investigate each aura one by one, all while being on constant alert for the Illuminati’s covert assaults.

"Hmph. So things weren’t going to be that simple. But the solution is actually quite easy: we just surround the city without attacking. The drain on an Immortal Soul is unimaginably vast, especially when maintaining a powerful Immortal Forbidden Technique that covers an entire city. Even if the Eye of the Sun was fully prepared, he can’t last long as long as he hasn’t reached the level of the Sleepers or truly activated his ’Earth Immortal State’."

"After a while, we won’t even need to attack. He’ll exhaust himself."

Someone said with a sneer.

An Immortal Soul is formed from the condensation of Earth Immortal Cells, and fully activating its power requires an immense price. Even if the Eye of the Sun was thoroughly prepared, he would likely struggle to maintain this state for even a single day.

All they had to do was wait.

"If we can think of that, you can be sure the Illuminati can as well. It’s not that simple."

"When our factions entered the city earlier, we exposed our positions."

The one leading the Abyss Court was a figure in a brown cloak, their form completely concealed in shadow.

Just as they spoke, a sudden change occurred, just as predicted.

HUMMMMM!!

The Eye of Omniscience in the sky suddenly began to vibrate. Its pupil locked onto a specific direction, and then it actually started moving rapidly toward its point of focus.

As the massive Celestial Eye moved, the area covered by its Divine Power rapidly shifted to that region as well.

"Here it comes. Just as I thought. This is the Illuminati’s true goal. They’re not the type to just sit back and wait to die."

The mysterious cloaked figure from the Abyss Court said with a laugh.

The others immediately understood.

The Illuminati never intended to defend against their enemies this way. Their objective had always been singular.

To divide their enemies.

If their enemies entered the city, they would be drawn away and scattered by the twenty-four deceptively realistic auras, splitting up the forces of each faction and reducing the overall threat.

And if their enemies surrounded the city without attacking, the Illuminati would take the initiative. They would move the area covered by the Celestial Eye to envelop one of the factions, forcibly dragging them onto the battlefield.

The Illuminati’s experts would surely pour out in full force, striving to eliminate this faction as quickly as possible. And because of the twenty-four auras within the city, it would be extremely difficult for other rival factions to take advantage of the situation. Trying to rush into the city and snatch the Spiritual Talismans would be no easy task.

This would allow the Illuminati to significantly reduce the forces protecting the actual Spiritual Talismans, concentrating more combat power on repelling the enemy on a single front.

It might look like the Illuminati was being besieged by multiple factions, but in reality, they only needed to deal with one at a time.

Moreover, by entering the city earlier, they had already revealed their positions to the Illuminati. In effect, the choice of who to engage was still in the Illuminati’s hands.

"In this struggle, our two factions, the Abyss Court and Secret Technique Heaven, have amassed the greatest combat strength. If the Illuminati isn’t targeting us first, then they must be going after Secret Technique Heaven."

The mysterious cloaked figure looked in the direction the massive Celestial Eye’s mirage was moving.

"Aren’t they worried we’ll intervene?"

Mother of Eternity asked.

"Heh heh. In the end, our cooperation with Secret Technique Heaven is just a temporary alliance of convenience. The Illuminati knows this perfectly well. Do you all *really* want to lend them a hand?"

The mysterious cloaked figure said with a chuckle.

The others fell silent.

’Intervene?’

’The Illuminati isn’t targeting us, so why should we help Secret Technique Heaven? The outcome we want most is for both sides to suffer heavy losses. That’s the only way the Abyss Court will have the best chance of seizing the Spiritual Talismans.’

’What we should do now is hurry to the battlefield, watch from a distance, and let the two tigers fight it out. Then we can look for the right opportunity to strike.’

’The other factions are probably thinking the same thing.’

"Let’s go. For the Illuminati to use this method, it must be an all-out assault. They’ve surely prepared various measures to slow us down. If we’re late, the battle might already be over, and we’ll miss our best chance."

The mysterious cloaked figure said. With a flash, his form vanished as he rushed toward the location of the Secret Technique Heaven members.

The experts from the Saint Realm in the other factions reacted similarly. The location of the Secret Technique Heaven members instantly became the center of everyone’s attention.

The members of Secret Technique Heaven, for their part, immediately realized what was happening, and their expressions shifted slightly.

"Forward! Into the city! If the Illuminati wants a fight, then we’ll be happy to oblige. They’ve revealed themselves, which saves us the trouble of finding them. We just can’t let any scavengers reap the rewards."

Destruction Heaven said, a slight smile touching his lips.

’They’ve already locked onto our position. It’s too late to retreat now without paying a heavy price. In that case, we might as well press the attack.’

’Their main force has come to us, which saves us the trouble of searching for them in the city. As long as we can beat them back, we’re bound to get clues about the Spiritual Talismans from them, putting us one step ahead of everyone else.’

’By entering the city now, we can even use the Illuminati’s own setup to delay the other vultures circling around.’

’As they say, fortune favors the bold.’

’Since our opponent has taken the offensive, we won’t be cowards and shy away from a fight.’

’If we win this battle, we’ll seize the upper hand. We might even be able to claim both Spiritual Talismans for ourselves.’

"Then let’s have another go at the Illuminati. It’s the perfect time to settle the score for that arrow at the Antarctic Ruins."

The other members of Secret Technique Heaven exchanged glances and didn’t object.

Risk and reward went hand in hand. While they cherished their lives, they were not the type to shrink from a fight. When it was time to strike, they would strike.