"We have infiltrated the King's Hall and found the King's party! They are surrounded tightly by Mastanians. However, they are still within the protective shield, though their mental state doesn't look too good. So, we must launch the rescue operation as soon as possible. Otherwise, things might take a turn for the worse!" Dao Lao remarked while observing the Mastanians continuously attacking the shield with blow arrows.

At the same time, Haoyun also realized that although they had successfully navigated through the Eternal Star Palace without encountering any enemies, they had reached the trapped King of Erle and his entourage. But now, if they wanted to rescue them, they would have to face these Mastanians head-on. Therefore, with an inevitable battle looming, they needed to meticulously plan their rescue operation to ensure everything went smoothly.

On the other side, Dream Jia and her team, who had successfully infiltrated the palace through another passage, also provided feedback to Haoyun and Dao Lao. According to Dream Jia, their infiltration went smoothly as well, but unfortunately, they couldn't directly enter the King's palace but only managed to reach a small garden within the palace. Fortunately, from the water outlet of a small fountain where Dream Jia lurked, they could see the platform in the King's palace, which had a teleportation portal.

However, the platform was now completely covered with layers of dry and sharp weeds. This indicated that although the Mastanians seemed to have few guards in the King's palace, anyone daring to use this teleportation portal would immediately face an attack from these venomous plants. Dream Jia was certain that these thorns would not only pierce but also inject the poisonous essence of the Mastanians into the intruder's body, transforming them into their host.

"It's strange. Why are the guards in the palace all Eternal Star people?" After briefly reporting her own situation, Dream Jia asked in puzzlement.

"Eternal Star people? Aren't they all hosts to the Mastanians, just like the Eternal Star people on our side?" Haoyun replied.

"How is that possible? The entire Eternal Star Palace, even the entire Eternal Star, has been occupied by the Mastanians! According to the Mastanians' behavior, how could they let normal Eternal Star people survive? Not to mention letting normal Eternal Star people guard the King's palace for them!" Iron Column Captain questioned incredulously from his position guarding the Fountain of Surprise.

"No. What I mean is, the guards in the palace seem to be completely normal Eternal Star warriors. They are not wearing heavy armor, so we can all see their appearance clearly," Dream Jia explained, with Old Jones and others beside her echoing in agreement.

"Do you think it's possible that these guards' bodies have already been taken over by the Mastanians, but the Mastanians haven't transformed their bodies into the form of weeds yet? Just like the Black Gate back then?" Dream Jia speculated.

"That... that shouldn't be possible, right?" Iron Column Captain answered uncertainly.

Then, Iron Column Captain further explained, "According to the information we have, the reason why the Black Gate did not immediately transform into weed puppets after being attacked by the initial seeds was because it was the first attempt by the initial seeds to transform into a puppet, and it was also limited by its own strength. After the Mastanians continued to evolve and grow, they could achieve instant transformation of the target. Moreover, the Mastanians' venom, once injected into the body, would automatically expand rapidly with the blood and quickly occupy the body, transforming it into the form of a weed puppet. So now, there should be no Eternal Star people who have survived without being injected with the Mastanians' poison and can continue to survive in the form of normal people."

After finishing, Iron Column Captain gasped and said, "However, who knows what happened after the Great Explosion. After being heavily contaminated by the powerful negative energy of the Mold Spirit, the Mastanians, who are already in the influence of chaotic energy from the black hole, may have mastered this ability. Hoo! If that's the case, it's really terrifying!"

"Relax, Iron Column. After the Eternal Star has been occupied by the Mastanians, you have completely cut off contact with the Eternal Star. You don't know what happened between the Eternal Star and these Mastanians. So in this case, we really can't rule out any unexpected situations. We are just speculating now. Just as Dream Jia said, there must be something unusual about the Eternal Star guards in the palace. Anyway, we should be extra cautious!" Dao Lao continued.

"Understood!" Iron Column Captain agreed very much with this point.

As Haoyun was ultimately just a pink intern, so he, who had seen very little, was full of curiosity about the Eternal Star Palace, which had a completely different civilization. Therefore, while discussing the matter of these guards who looked normal but were strange, Haoyun took the opportunity to carefully observe the palace in front of him, which looked like it came from a mythological novel.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that this King's Hall had clearly experienced several fierce battles, the interior of the hall had been destroyed beyond recognition, making it difficult to discern its original magnificent appearance. Only the towering arched dome seemed to still proclaim this as the symbol of royal authority and dignity.

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Considering the dilapidation and desolation of the entire King's Hall, there was really not much to admire. Haoyun then cast his gaze across the several tall arched doors outside the central crowd of the hall, trying to get a glimpse of the scenes within the halls connected to the King's Hall as much as possible. It was at this moment that Haoyun clearly caught sight of two guards passing by a high arched door.

"Huh? The skin of those two guards is actually light brown?" Haoyun muttered to himself, frowning slightly after seeing the two Eternal Star guards who were not wearing heavy armor to protect their teeth. And Haoyun's expression was so puzzled because the skin color of those two guards was the color that normal Eternal Star people should have.

"We've infiltrated the King's Hall and located King Er and his entourage! They're surrounded tightly by Mastanians. However, they're still within the protective shield, though their mental state doesn't look good. So, we must initiate the rescue operation as soon as possible. Otherwise, things could turn for the worse!" Dao Lao said, observing the Mastanians relentlessly attacking the shield with blow arrows.

Meanwhile, Haoyun also realized that while they managed to sneak into the Eternal Star Palace without encountering any enemies, they had successfully located King Er and his trapped group. Yet, to rescue them, they would inevitably face off against these Mastanians head-on. Therefore, amidst an unavoidable major battle, their rescue plan needed to be meticulous to ensure nothing went wrong during their subsequent actions.

On the other side, Dream Jia and her team, who had smoothly infiltrated through the secret passage into the palace, also provided feedback to Haoyun and the others. According to Dream Jia, while their infiltration had been successful, they were unfortunate not to directly enter the King's harem from this secret path. Instead, they only reached a small garden within the King's harem, just where a small fountain's outlet allowed them a view of the platform inside the harem with the teleportation gate.

However, now that platform was completely covered with layers of dry, sharp weeds. This indicated that while the Mastanians appeared to have minimal guards stationed within the King's harem, anyone daring to use that teleportation array would immediately face an attack from these venomous thorny plants. Dream Jia was certain that these thorns didn't just injure intruders but injected Mastanian toxins into their bodies, transforming them into hosts for themselves.

"Strange, why are the guards in the harem all Eternal Star natives?" Dream Jia asked in puzzlement after briefly reporting their situation.

"Eternal Star natives? Aren't they all supposed to be like the Eternal Star natives who have already become Mastanian hosts? Just like the Eternal Star natives on our side?" Haoyun replied.

"How is that possible? The Eternal Star Palace, even the entire Eternal Star, has already been occupied by the Mastanians! With the way the Mastanians operate, how could they allow normal Eternal Star natives to continue existing? Let alone letting normal Eternal Star natives guard the King's harem for them!" Captain Tie Zhu, who was on guard at the surprise fountain, questioned.

"No. What I mean is, the guards in the harem seem to be very normal Eternal Star warriors. They're not wearing heavy armor, so all of us can see their faces clearly," Dream Jia continued, with Old Jones and others beside her nodding in agreement.

"Do you think these guards' bodies have already been taken over by the Mastanians, but the Mastanians haven't yet transformed their bodies into thorny plant forms, just like the situation with the Black Gate back then?" Dream Jia speculated.

"This... should not be possible?" Captain Tie Zhu also replied uncertainly.

Then Captain Tie Zhu explained further, "According to the information we have, the reason the Black Gate did not immediately transform into thorny plant forms after being attacked by the First Seed was because it was the First Seed's first attempt to transform a puppet, and it was limited by its own strength at the time. As the Mastanians continued to evolve and grow, they could instantly transform their targets. Moreover, the Mastanian venom, once infused into a creature's body, rapidly expands with the blood and quickly takes over its body, transforming it into a thorny plant form. So now, there should be no Eternal Star natives living in normal human form without being injected with Mastanian toxins."

After Captain Tie Zhu finished speaking, he took a deep breath and said, "But, who knows, after the Great Explosion, the Mastanians, who were already contaminated by powerful negative energy like mold energy, might have gained this ability under the influence of chaotic energy from the black hole. Huh! If that's the case, it's really terrifying!"

"Tie Zhu, relax. After the Eternal Star body was occupied by the Mastanians, you completely cut off the connection with the Eternal Star body. You don't know what happened between the Eternal Star body and these Mastanians. So in this case, we really can't rule out any unexpected things. We are just speculating now. Just according to Dream Jia's words, there must be something weird about the Eternal Star guards in the harem. Anyway, we'd better be more careful!" Dao Lao continued.

"Understood!" Tie Zhu agreed very much with this point.

Since Haoyun was just an inexperienced intern in the final analysis, he was full of curiosity about the Eternal Star Palace problems with completely different civilizations. Therefore, while everyone was discussing the strange guards, Haoyun took the opportunity to carefully examine the royal palace in front of him, which seemed to come out of a mythological novel.

Unfortunately, because the royal palace had obviously experienced several fierce battles, the interior of the palace had been destroyed and was difficult to recognize its original magnificent appearance. Only the towering arched dome seemed to still speak of this place as a symbol of royal power and dignity.

Considering that the entire royal palace was so dilapidated and there was not much to appreciate, Haoyun cast his gaze across the central crowd standing in the palace and looked beyond several tall arched doors, wanting to check the scenes in several halls connected to the royal palace as much as possible. At this moment, Haoyun clearly captured the skin color of two guards passing outside a door.

"Huh? The skin color of those two guards is actually light brown?" Haoyun murmured to himself after seeing the two Eternal Star guards who were not wearing heavy armor to protect their teeth. And the reason why Haoyun's expression was so puzzled was that the skin color of the two guards was the skin color that normal Eternal Star people should have.