Chapter 832 "The Mysterious Visitor from the Capital"

After several hours of rushing, the tall city wall of the capital finally appeared in the distance. Zhang Meng was immediately excited when he saw the city wall, "Finally, we're here! I'm almost exhausted."

"You still have the energy to complain." Li Xiao said coldly. It was obvious that he had always been skeptical about Zhang Meng's physical strength.

"Of course, I'm just releasing stress." Zhang Meng laughed, "Besides, I'm not really tired yet! I'm an adventurer with amazing endurance!"

"Just blow it." Ye Li shook her head gently with a helpless smile on her face.

As they approached the city gate, they immediately noticed that the once bustling city gate was unusually deserted. In the past, there were only a few guards patrolling silently at the city gate, and there were almost no pedestrians on the street.

"Something's wrong." Chu Tian said vigilantly, "The capital is usually bustling, why is it so quiet?"

"Maybe we came at the right time." Qin Feng whispered, looking around calmly, "This shows that the royal family's concerns are well-founded. The dark forces have begun to affect the capital."

"I always feel like there's a sense of oppression in the air." Ye Li frowned, "The energy fluctuations here are very similar to what we encountered in the forest."

"It seems that we are not on the wrong path." Qin Feng said in a deep voice, "Let's go in and find out the situation first. There may be big trouble next."

When the guard saw them coming, he immediately stepped forward, his eyes showing a hint of nervousness and vigilance. "Who are you? What is your purpose in coming to the capital?"

Qin Feng handed over the royal letter and said calmly: "We are here on the king's orders and have an important mission to report to the king."

The guard took the letter and checked it carefully. When he saw the royal seal, his face suddenly became serious. He immediately nodded to the guard next to him, and then said to Qin Feng and others: "I'm sorry for the offense. Please follow me into the city. The king is waiting for you."

"It seems that things are more complicated than we thought." Zhang Meng said in a low voice as he followed the guard inside.

"I'm afraid things are more complicated than this." Li Xiao said, his eyes still grim.

They followed the guards through the deserted streets toward the palace. Most of the houses on both sides of the street had their doors and windows tightly closed, and occasionally a few pedestrians could be seen hurrying by, their faces filled with worry and anxiety.

"It seems that the people of the royal capital have also felt the threat of the dark forces." Ye Li said softly, her eyes full of worry.

"The capital should have been the safest place." Chu Tian sighed, "But now it has become like this, it's really sad."

Soon, they arrived at the gate of the magnificent palace. The guards led them into the palace, and the king was waiting for them at the end of the palace hall. The king looked a little tired, with a frown on his face, and it was obvious that the situation these days made him very anxious.

"You are finally here." The king showed a look of relief when he saw them. "The situation is more serious than we expected. I need your help."

"Your Majesty, we will do our best." Qin Feng replied respectfully, "Please tell us what happened."

The king nodded heavily, and then he spoke: "In the past few weeks, there have been disappearances in the villages near the capital, followed by the disappearance of nobles and officials in the capital. All clues point to some mysterious dark force, but we can't find the source. The most disturbing thing is that a strange fog is spreading in the city. Once people come into contact with this fog, they will fall into a deep sleep and cannot wake up."

"Strange fog?" Zhang Meng's eyes lit up. "It sounds like some kind of magic."

"I also think it is some kind of ancient magic." The king nodded. "Our wizards have tried to crack it, but have no clue. Those who have come into contact with the mist are still unconscious."

"This power is likely related to the dark energy we encountered in the forest before." Qin Feng pondered, "It seems that this power is slowly expanding and has even eroded into the interior of the royal capital."

"Your Majesty, where did this fog start from?" Li Xiao asked. It was obvious that he had a full premonition of the seriousness of the matter.

"It was first discovered in an old warehouse in the east of the city," the king replied. "That warehouse has been abandoned for many years, and no one knows why the fog appeared there. We sent people to investigate, but no one came back."

"The warehouse in the east of the city..." Qin Feng repeated in a low voice, his eyes becoming more profound, "We must go and see it in person."

"I agree." Ye Li nodded, "We have to figure out the nature of this power as soon as possible, otherwise it will continue to spread."

"Go to the warehouse? Well, it seems that I will face something weird again." Zhang Meng sighed, but then cheered up, "But I won't back down!"

"You are never afraid of these things." Chu Tian said with a smile.

"Of course I'm not afraid." Zhang Meng smiled proudly, "I am the fearless Zhang Meng!"

The king nodded and waved to them. "Go ahead. I believe you are our last hope. I hope you can find a solution as soon as possible."

The few of them quickly said goodbye to the king and headed towards the east of the city. As they got closer and closer to the mysterious warehouse, a light gray mist gradually filled the air, and a disturbing atmosphere was faintly revealed in the mist.

"Is this the strange mist?" Zhang Meng wrinkled his nose. "It smells like rot."

"It's more complicated than the ordinary smell of decay." Qin Feng said, carefully sensing the energy fluctuations in the mist, "This mist is not only a material phenomenon, it also contains a certain spiritual power that can directly affect people's consciousness."

"This sounds worse than we thought." Ye Li clenched her bow, obviously ready for trouble.

They arrived at the door of the warehouse, which was half open. It was pitch black inside, as if it was hiding endless darkness and secrets. Mist continued to overflow from the crack in the door, like invisible tentacles.

"Well, it looks like we're going to go deeper into danger again." Zhang Meng smiled and waved the weapon in his hand, "I'll go first?"

"Let's go in together." Qin Feng said, "Don't act rashly, there may be more dangers in there that we don't know about."

Several people carefully pushed open the door of the warehouse and slowly walked in. The warehouse was silent, with only thick fog lingering around them. There were several unconscious guards on the ground, their expressions were distorted, and it was obvious that they had experienced great fear before they fell into a coma.

"These people..." Ye Li squatted down and checked the pulse of one of the guards. "They are still alive, but their consciousness is completely blocked."

"We have to find the source and solve the mystery of this power." Qin Feng said, looking around the warehouse, trying to find any clues.

"There's movement over there!" Zhang Meng suddenly pointed to the depths of the warehouse, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Several people immediately walked in the direction Zhang Meng pointed. The closer they got, the thicker the fog became, as if it was protecting some unspeakable secret. Finally, they saw an ancient stone tablet in the deepest part of the warehouse. The stone tablet was engraved with strange runes, and fog was constantly pouring out of those runes.

"That's it." Qin Feng whispered, "This is the source of the fog."

"Then what should we do?" Zhang Meng asked, "Smash it?"

"Don't act rashly." Qin Feng shook his head, "This rune may be a seal. Destroying it rashly may cause a greater disaster."

"Then what should we do?" Chu Tian asked.

"Let me try to crack the rune." Qin Feng said, and then began to guide the power of the Soul Fountain, trying to unlock the rune on the stone tablet.