My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 262: Heavy Is The Crown (4)

Lorget was chosen to head the infiltration force. By this point, nobody in the tribe batted an eye at his decision to continue to wear a dress. His wide-brimmed hat and frilly dress certainly made him stick out like a sore thumb among the others. However, with the battles the tribe had been through since they began to follow Kace, Lorget was provided with ample opportunities to display his worth. Nobody questioned Shadow's judgement in choosing him for the captain of this mission. 

The infiltration squad silently spread throughout the whole group. It would make it less obvious that some of them had gone missing if they were spread out compared to being gathered together. Shadow had warned them that they had to be as covert as possible and act like they always had eyes on them.

Lorget understood the severity of the mission. It was personally handed down from their Lord, which was an extremely rare event to happen. Usually, Shadow acted on his own authority to deal with these things so that he had information on hand to provide to Kace if he needed it. Considering Kace had recently just displayed how much he valued them all by providing them with new equipment, each squad member was eager to prove their worth. 

Lorget positioned himself toward the rear of the tribe to make sure that every member smoothly transitioned to the Shadow Realm without being obvious about it. One by one, he watched as they silently sunk into the ground. The goblins around them never even flinched, which was a good sign. Such a small motion could give away to an onlooker that something had happened. 

Lorget carefully paid attention to his squad. Once the final member completed the transition, he waited for two minutes before going through the process himself. Staggering their disappearances also helped to pull the wool over the eyes of anyone that might be spying on them. The Tu'Thrag had become masters of this art over time. If anyone underestimated their ability in this regard, it would prove to be fatal. As the heroes had found out just about every time, they had met with the tribe.

As Lorget felt the familiar sensation of being emerged in the murky waters of Shadow Realm, he considered how they should approach this. The squad gathered around him as they floated slightly above the courtyard of this realms version of the palace. 

Lorget breathed in deeply, allowing the murky waters to permeate his lungs. Despite growing up with the ability to enter this realm, it still felt strange to force his body to inhale the liquid. The Tu'Thrag members could breathe in this liquid as if it were air, even if their bodies tried to reject it. 

"Alright, Shara you take half of the squad and scout out the lower floors. You four, follow me." Lorget gave out his instructions as quickly as possibly. 

They headed towards the nearest wall as a whole unit. Lorget quickly identified a suitable place to squeeze through the shadows to infiltrate the palace's interior. His body distorted into a long, noodle-like shape as he squeezed through a crack in the sandstone. It was an uncomfortable sensation, and he would have preferred to avoid it if he could.

However, the palace doors were closed shut, and he failed to spot an open window anywhere. They did not have the time to properly analyse the structure due to their impromptu mission's severity. 'Shadow would have been better for this. He can pass freely through walls over here.' Lorget felt a surge of envy in his heart.

Shadow was more than one step ahead of the rest of the tribe. What he was capable of almost seemed like magic to them. He had once tried to instruct Lorget on performing some of his abilities, but he failed to grasp the techniques at that time. His understanding of the shadows was too shallow was what he had been told. 'Maybe I'll ask him to explain it to me again.'

Lorget carefully studied the room that he found himself in once his body returned to normal. It was a small room that featured a couple of wooden beds with soft-looking bedding. 'This is probably one of the servant's rooms.' He thought as he noted that each of the six beds had a small table and a single dresser beside them.

The door to the hallway outside lay ajar, prompting Lorget to swim over and have a look while he waited for the rest of his comrades to make their way through the crack. He studied the small ripples in the water that allowed him to glance at the state of the palace in the material world. 

There were no signs of anyone either in their current room, or the hallway. 'At least it looks like we won't have too much difficulty.' Since the palace's sandstone only gave off a soft glow, there were plenty of deep shadows that housed these ripples, allowing them to check on the material realm from relative safety. 

"We'll head out now. Be careful." Shara, the only female of their tribe chosen for this mission quietly, said as she led her group out of the door.

Lorget chose to wait in the room for a few minutes with his remaining four members. This was so that they could react if something unexpected happened as soon as they separated. When nothing seemed to go wrong, he looked in the opposite direction that Shara's group had taken. 'That should be where the main entrance is. Usually, there are stairways near such an important area.'

Lorget considered it for a few moments. The main hallway would be where they were most likely to encounter any defences. However, they did not have the time to search for a more unprotected path to the upper levels. With a sigh of resignation, Lorget finally gave the others the signal to fan out around the hallway. Choosing to take the risk with the main entry