About half an hour later, the jagged summit finally came into view.
The frantic pace had finally taken its toll. Yue, an absolute master at optimizing and conserving internal energy, had almost entirely drained her aura reserves just to keep up with the boy’s erratic leaps.
Solomon’s hidden stamina tax had also caught up to him. His muscles screamed in protest, and his chest heaved, but his Indefatigable passive ability allowed him to push through the agony.
Solomon vaulted over the final ledge and collapsed onto the flat stone of the peak, successfully beating the timer by mere seconds.
[System: GoonLord has fulfilled their challenge! Gifted 3 Diamond Crowns (15,000 Points) & 1 Merchant Discount Voucher!]
Message: "YOU ACTUALLY DID IT! By the way, I run a weapons shop over in the Zera Realm. If you ever visit that dimension, stop by my store. That voucher gives you half off anything in the shop! ALSO, IF YOU BRING PRINCESS LUNE WITH YOU YOU GET 90% DISCOUNT!"
"Thank you, GoonLord," Solomon gasped, lying flat on his back. "I will definitely check it out if I ever get there."
A few minutes later, Yue gracefully flipped over the edge and landed on her boots. While Solomon lay panting and gasping for air on the dirt, the pavilion master appeared completely fine, not even breaking a sweat despite her depleted aura reserves.
She stared down at the exhausted teenager. She was no longer just surprised, but rather she was utterly bewildered and profoundly impressed. He had matched the climbing speed of a pavilion master relying entirely on brute force and a raw, unrefined aura output.
"I need to have a very secret, private conversation with you once we get back to the Azure Dragon Sect," Yue stated, giving him a long, seductive look.
Solomon simply raised a trembling hand and offered a weak thumbs-up in return.
Yue snapped her jade fan open and glanced around the summit. In the distance, illuminated by the moonlight, the crumbling spires and shattered battlements of the Ruined Azure Kingdom stood silently against the night sky.
She also noticed several abandoned observation posts and rotting wooden barricades dotting the path leading toward the ruins.
Solomon finally caught his breath and pushed himself up from the dirt. He dusted off his uniform and adjusted the heavy strap of Eden’s Penance across his chest, preparing to leave the summit.
"Where do you think you are going?" Yue asked, lowering her fan.
"I am heading straight to the palace," Solomon responded, pointing toward the distant ruins.
Yue looked down the dark, treacherous cliff face they had just scaled, and then back at the silver-haired boy. "Should we not wait right here for Sir Gideon to arrive? He is still climbing."
"You can wait for him here," Solomon nodded, perfectly content with the arrangement. "Meanwhile, I will slowly walk my way toward the ruins and check up on things ahead of time."
Yue did not argue. She simply nodded and found a clean rock to sit on, waiting patiently for the paladin.
Solomon turned his back on the summit and walked alone down the desolate path toward the Ruined Azure Kingdom, entirely unaware of exactly what was waiting for him ahead.
Solomon reached the top of the outer ridge and scrambled up the crumbling stone wall of the palace borders. He peeked over the jagged edge and looked down at the sprawling valley on the opposite side of the ruins.
He could clearly see a massive, organized military encampment. Dozens of white tents and fortified base-like structures dotted the landscape. Armored figures moved efficiently between the campfires.
He couldn’t make out their exact faces from this distance, but the pristine white and gold armor confirmed their identity.
They were the Holy Knights of the Holy Empire.
’I honestly expected them to be looting and camping directly inside the ruined palace,’ Solomon thought to himself, studying the layout. ’But they are stationed outside the outer walls. That is actually perfect. I can explore the palace ruins alone without worrying about running into their patrols.’
He turned his attention back to the floating bronze owl.
"Since Pavilion Master Yue and Sir Gideon are still waiting at the summit to catch their breath, and the Holy Knights are currently camping outside the city walls because that is technically the main entrance, I have some free time," Solomon told his audience. "Reaching their camp will take the others a while. So, in the meantime, I am going to explore the ruined palace."
The translucent blue interface immediately filled with excited messages.
[GoonLord: LOOT STREAM LETS GOOO!]
[1Fizzy: we are finally back to dungeon crawling!]
[James_hayes: OG Solo Man content is back!]
[M00N: I missed the solo adventures so much.]
[Mezz_3863: time to secure the bag.]
Solomon offered a bright grin. "It has been ages since I got to be alone with the chat. We can finally go back to the OG stream energy. No politics, no royals, no instructors. Just me, a giant sword, and a ruined kingdom."
He vaulted over the crumbling stone wall and dropped down into the overgrown palace courtyards.
As he navigated the shattered archways and collapsed marble pillars, Solomon realized something incredibly helpful.
"This ruined palace is an exact structural copy of the Azure Moon Kingdom," Solomon told the chat, inspecting a familiar colonnade. "Wait, I should correct that. The Azure Moon Kingdom was built as an exact replica of this ancient palace. That means navigating these ruins is going to be incredibly easy."
He recalled the extensive, detailed tour Lune had given him the night before the royal sermon. She had shown him every single entrance, exit, hidden servant passage, and security blind spot.
"Because Lune literally showed me every single corner of her palace, I already have this entire map memorized," Solomon smirked. "It is almost like I am just walking through my own house right now."
[Kaolafiedgamer: bro used the date as a scouting mission AHAHAHA!]
1
[Tyler_Klare: Solo Man always thinking ten steps ahead.]
[Nick: bro really said ’thanks for the map’.]
[Brerell: Lune would be so mad if she heard that.]
1
[Foodball: you are terrible lol.]
However, because the kingdom had been in ruins for over four hundred years, several primary hallways and staircases had naturally collapsed into piles of rubble, forcing him to take slight detours through the overgrown gardens.
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