Suspended City.
In the spacious blocks, beautiful women dressed to the nines could be seen everywhere, as well as countless portly merchants, talking and laughing with beast-eared girls slung over their shoulders.
This was like a place of extravagance and indulgence.
Everyone's desires were openly displayed here.
"Suspended City is truly breathtaking."
Chen Yu couldn't help but shake his head as he observed the scene, finding it laughable. The royal city of the Tatum Kingdom, the capital, felt devoid of any sign of flourishing development.
It was no wonder the Tatum Kingdom was heading for decline under the rule of such a royal city.
"Suspended City is just like this," Liya also nodded with a slight smile. "If you dislike the atmosphere here, my lord, we can directly use the spatial jump teleportation point to head to my residence."
"Oh?"
A hint of surprise flickered in Chen Yu's eyes.
"You can jump within Suspended City?"
"Naturally," Liya replied with a noncommittal smile. "Suspended City is vast. Without spatial jump points, relying on walking or magic-powered mounts, it might take a whole day to traverse even a tenth of Suspended City."
"Interesting."
This was somewhat akin to the stations outside the Grotto-heavens, except the spatial jumps here were much more convenient than those outside.
As time passed, Chen Yu's understanding of the Grotto-heavens deepened.
He had to admit,
The development of the Grotto-heavens was not as backward as Chen Yu had initially imagined.
Perhaps it was only because his initial contacts were with the outer city-states of the Grotto-heavens, which were generally more backward, that Chen Yu had developed an unwarranted impression of the Grotto-heavens.
"Where is the royal family of the Tatum Kingdom located?"
Chen Yu suddenly changed the subject, looking intently at Liya as he said in a low voice.
"You just executed the main official appointed by the King. Won't the royal family cause trouble for you?"
"Cause trouble for me?" Liya immediately grinned, a look of disdain on his face. "It would be more accurate to say I haven't caused trouble for them. What right do they have to cause trouble for me? Killing a main official is nothing; at most, they'll find someone else to fill the position. Rest assured, my lord, this isn't the first time I've done something like this."
Then, Liya raised his hand and pointed into the distance.
Through the haze, Chen Yu seemed to glimpse a towering, majestic wall, towards which Liya gestured with his chin.
"Within that wall is where the royal family resides, and it is also the safest place in all of Suspended City. The entire royal inner city is inscribed with countless magic formations. The only way to enter the inner city is through a single path, and one must be extremely cautious. With the slightest misstep, the formations within the royal city will be triggered."
"How powerful are the formations?" Chen Yu raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not entirely sure about that," Liya frowned. "Although I occasionally enter the inner city of the royal city, I've always been led by someone. I have heard, however, that among the formations in the inner city, there is a Hellfire Formation, and even experts in the Colorful Realm would find it difficult to contend with that hellfire."
Colorful Realm.
Chen Yu pursed his lips and slightly raised an eyebrow.
If that were the case, the depth of the Tatum Royal City's inner city was indeed not to be underestimated. Leaving a checkpoint from the city below to Suspended City, and another checkpoint in the inner city.
Conquering them would likely not be that simple.
During this time, Chen Yu also glanced at Nuo Yi. Since the Batu Federation was going to attack the Tatum Kingdom, this intelligence would undoubtedly be beneficial to the Batu Federation.
"The Tar who came looking for trouble just now lives inside that place."
Liya again gestured towards the towering wall in the distance. "If nothing unexpected happens, he's already gone to the Eldest Prince to lodge a complaint, tearfully speaking ill of me. Truly frightening."
"The Eldest Prince, is he difficult to deal with?"
"Certainly not as easy to manipulate as Tar," Liya shrugged. "The Eldest Prince is the offspring of the legitimate Queen. Although the Queen is no longer as favored by the King, he is still the legitimate heir. Even I cannot be as impolite to him as I was to Tar."
Chen Yu listened quietly to Liya's murmurs and said softly.
"It seems the internal situation of the royal family is quite complex."
"You've spoken the truth," Liya grinned. "There are many machinations within the Tatum Royal Family right now, and they have little energy to manage external affairs. However, it's possible that after Tar reports back, the Eldest Prince might come to stir up trouble. Never mind them, my lord, please."
At the same time, in the Royal City!
"Eldest Prince, Eldest Prince!!!"
Outside the luxurious palace, urgent cries echoed.
"What's all the commotion?" Inside the palace, a middle-aged man, seated at a desk with an ancient book in his hand, mumbled without looking up. Tar also hurried over with a flustered expression. "Eldest Prince, that Liya is simply too arrogant."
"Liya?"
The Eldest Prince raised an eyebrow and placed the book on the table.
"What happened?"
"Didn't I just go to the city below to check on that Chen Yu for you? I saw the person, but Liya was also by Chen Yu's side," Tar said with a grim expression. "He completely disregards our royal family. In front of me, he beheaded the main official appointed by our royal family and then directly drove me out. Everyone in this royal city knows that I follow you. Humiliating me like that is not showing you respect, is it?"
Unexpectedly, the Eldest Prince's eyes showed no anger at all, but rather a look of worry.
"Why did you provoke him?"
"You should also know that my mother is currently not favored by the King, and I only hold the title of Eldest Prince, but I no longer have the same deterrence as before."
"Now the Ninth Prince and the Third Prince are both eyeing us covetously."
"Provoking Liya at this time, aren't you just creating trouble for us?"
The Eldest Prince sighed with a frown.
The situation within the royal family was constantly changing. The King was bedridden, and various factions within the royal family began to stir. Due to his mother's current lack of favor, the Eldest Prince's position among his brothers was rather precarious. His intention in sending Tar to contact Chen Yu was not to directly confront Chen Yu, but rather to try and stabilize his position within the royal family through this avenue.
Who would have thought that Tar would mess things up so badly?
And even provoke Liya.
Tar should not be unaware of the high status of the Chief Financial Officer in the kingdom. At this point, does he still think of himself as a prince?
Even the Eldest Prince no longer relies on his status as a prince.
"Liya completely disregards the royal family and is even privately contacting the holder of the Tiger Tally. The Chief Financial Officer's clan is likely harboring malicious intent, and we can use this to our advantage..."
"Idiot!"
Before Tar could finish speaking, the Eldest Prince coldly interrupted him.
"You would say such a thing, you are truly beyond hope. What you need to do now is to hurry to Liya's residence and apologize to him, understand?"