Chapter 1 An Unusual Atmosphere

Four days after the Black Sword Knights departed, an unusual atmosphere began to spread through the town.

It seemed no one had issued an order to suppress information, or perhaps some were fueling the flames. In any case, rumors quickly spread from mouth to ear. The mayor's wife treated the news she heard as gossip at the ball, and the ball's maids told the cooks and servants the snippets they overheard. The cooks and servants then carried the news outside the mansion, eventually letting it spread throughout the streets and alleys.

Some things no one dared to discuss publicly, but that didn't prevent people from hinting and exchanging information in private. And when the rumors spread completely, everyone's daily life in town was inevitably affected.

Food prices rose, merchant caravans began to undergo more stringent inspections, and there were many people hurrying along the streets. The wealthy, usually preoccupied with gatherings, closed the doors of their mansions, and public, large-scale banquets turned into secret talks deep within their residences. Some also said that the town's only nobleman—also serving as mayor, Baron Will—had sent his butler, carrying letters, to the nearby airship mooring port under cover of night, but this news could not be confirmed.

Hao Ren and his group should have left this place two days ago, heading to the nearby large city of Greymountain City, but some rumors that the escorts heard made them delay their departure for two days, in order to observe the situation and prevent rushing headlong into danger.

In the inn where the merchant caravan was temporarily resting, a royal guard disguised as a caravan guard had just returned. Seeing the look of surprise and doubt in his eyes, Charlemagne knew that the man had obtained accurate and astonishing information.

"Confirmed the situation?" Charlemagne first let the guard drink some water to catch his breath, and then asked quickly, "Is it true?"

The guard subconsciously glanced around, confirming that in addition to the prince and princess, there were also the four "special allies," including Hao Ren—in fact, he didn't need to be so cautious, but the news was so shocking that he couldn't help but be so careful: "Yes, Your Highness, it has been confirmed. Princess Constance, the sole heir of the Draconic Empire, has launched a rebellion. The Broken Sword Knights defeated an entire army garrisoned near the imperial capital and, under the princess's orders, broke through to the north. They have now established a base in Frostwind City. The entire northern territory of the empire has declared its allegiance to Princess Constance, and sporadic battles have also broken out in the southern and western territories. Elusive Broken Sword Knights are attacking Black Sword Knight regiments everywhere. The most recent and largest battle occurred five days ago—the Broken Sword Knights and Black Sword Knights fought near the Kopolus River, and a village was destroyed in the war."

In the past four days, all sorts of unreliable rumors had been flying around, and far-fetched news filled taverns and markets. Even things like world-destroying ancient gods and doomsday prophecies had jumped out to make an appearance, but only these few pieces of information could be connected and explained—although it was equally unbelievable.

Charlemagne stood up suddenly and walked around the room, his brow furrowed. After walking around twice, he suddenly stopped and said in a low voice: "The situation is completely beyond expectations—we can't go to Greymountain City."

Noticing the questioning look on Hao Ren's face, Aivenna explained: "Greymountain City used to be Princess Constance's direct territory, and even the lord there was cultivated by Princess Constance herself. But now that the Broken Sword Knights have established a base in the northern territory, it belongs to the southern territory, which is loyal to Emperor Berentin... That city will soon become a vortex, and it is definitely not wise to jump in now."

Hao Ren nodded, indicating that he understood, and then tried to lighten the atmosphere: "At least there's some good news. Now we can be sure that the Black Sword Knights who ran into town a few days ago weren't after you..."

Charlemagne sighed: "Let's just take it as good news, but the situation has become even more chaotic. We didn't come here to watch the empire's internal strife."

"Still can't tell us the purpose of your secret mission?" Lily looked at the royal siblings with particular curiosity, her eyes almost shining. "Look at how chaotic the situation has become. Being frank might help us think of a solution!"

This time, Aivenna did not immediately refuse: "...When the time is right, we will tell you honestly, but to be honest, it's really not the time yet."

Hao Ren casually stuffed Lily a small snack: "Alright, if they don't want to say, let's not keep asking. Anyway, it doesn't have much to do with our mission."

If a husky's curiosity is not satisfied for a long time, she will quickly switch from lazy to house-demolishing mode, but usually a snack can completely appease her—until she remembers the matter next time.

"In any case, we must plan our next trip," Vivian said at this time. "This country is in the midst of civil strife, and in fact, nowhere is safe. We must continue on our way. We can't go to Greymountain City. Do you have any other destinations?"

Charlemagne had obviously thought about this question before, and without much hesitation, he said a place name: "Greenway further north. From there, we can take a detour through the Black Pine Forest, avoiding the conflict between the Broken Sword Knights and the imperial legions along the way. However, the Black Pine Forest has certain dangers, I don't know..."

"Not a problem for us," Hao Ren waved his hand. "You just need to plan the route, you don't have to worry about combat power."

Lily immediately bumped her fist and showed a fierce expression, indicating that she was super strong.

Charlemagne looked at Lily a little blankly, and finally decided to believe in the confidence of these people: after all, they were elite personnel performing a mission from that mysterious "World Tree Shrine," so their individual strength should be guaranteed, right?

Are these people really elite personnel...

Since they still needed to arrange the itinerary and summon their subordinates, Charlemagne and Aivenna quickly left the room. After there were no outsiders in the room, Hao Ren put away the smile on his face: "This matter... is a bit sudden."

Vivian glanced at him: "You think there's something fishy?"

"There's definitely something fishy. According to Charlemagne and Aivenna, Princess Constance has been a steadfast protector of this empire for more than two hundred years. She is deeply trusted by her adoptive father, and her loyalty to that Dragon Soul Emperor can even be said to be unparalleled. She has been in charge of the Broken Sword Knights for two hundred years and has had countless opportunities to raise the banner of rebellion, but she has never shown any signs of doing so. As a result—she suddenly rebelled? She rebelled without any foreshadowing?"

"And the entire northern territory immediately declared its allegiance," Vivian shrugged. "Saying that this wasn't planned in advance is a load of bull."

"Anyway, we don't understand the details of this world. Whether it's the situation of that princess or the situation of the entire Draconic Empire, we heard it all from Charlemagne and Aivenna, and the Charlemagne siblings themselves are not from the empire, so the information isn't accurate," Lily waved her hand. After eating the snack, she was temporarily in a state of online intelligence and joined the discussion. "Actually, the rebellion of Princess Constance itself is not important. The key is that there seems to be a big battle about to happen here... Landlord, can we intervene?"

The husky's instinct to join in the fun was stirring, and even though a war was about to break out here, Lily felt her paws itching.

This state will probably continue until a super-strong enemy pops out: she will definitely be the first to chicken out at that time...

Hao Ren couldn't think as simply as the husky girl. He knew that as long as his drone legion entered the field, it could immediately suppress all armed conflicts on this planet, but this couldn't be used as a preliminary idea at all: "This belongs to internal strife within the civilization, and it is far from intensifying to the point of endangering the survival of the civilization, so the inspector has no right to interfere with the war itself."

Lily puffed out her cheeks: "Then we just watch all the way?"

"I just said that we can't directly interfere with the course of the war as inspectors," Hao Ren glanced at the girl. "But there's no problem with intervening in local battles in a personal capacity. Not to mention anything else, we still have to operate on this planet, so it's always okay to slap a fireball in the face of a local native and then slap it back."

At the same moment, in Greymountain City.

Earl Nehemiah was wearing his favorite gold and red robe, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the distant clouds and mist rise. The expression on the old earl's face gradually relaxed.

Greymountain isn't a mountain, but a unique cloud and mist landscape formed by the local environment. The clouds and mist rising from geothermal heat gather high in the sky, layering upon layering to form cloud masses that resemble mountains. For half of the year, they float over the plains and linger for a long time, hence the name Greymountain.

Ever since he inherited his father's title and became the lord of this city when he was young, Nehemiah has liked to stand in front of this floor-to-ceiling window, watching the clouds and mist outside the sky through the clear crystal glass. Those shapeless but long-lasting clouds and mist couldn't help but remind him of himself—once a playboy, wantonly flaunting himself, but eventually still unable to escape this land. Looking back when he woke up from his dream, all the wanton flaunting was just ups and downs in the limited framework of life.

Just like those clouds and mist, ever-changing, but still Greymountain.

The cold gaze of that princess seemed to pierce through from behind the clouds and mist, making Nehemiah narrow his eyes.

Although the framework of life is limited, dancing freely in this limited framework is probably the pleasure of mortals.

Footsteps came from behind.

The old earl turned around, his increasingly bloated body and wrinkled face due to age made him look particularly weak and powerless. This powerless appearance probably amplified the contempt in the hearts of the people who entered the room.

There were only five people standing in front of Nehemiah, but just five were enough to make most people in this country feel frightened. They wore black full-body armor, and black steel helmets and masks made to resemble dragon heads completely covered their faces. Black mechanical swords were slung at their waists, and the magical mechanisms exposed between the blades and hilts faintly flickered with fire. On the blades, three gold stars were conspicuously inlaid there—Black Sword Knights, and high-ranking knights.

"Earl Nehemiah, it seems you are ready to state your position," a Black Sword Knight said, the suppressed and low voice coming from under the mask. "We are pleased to see that you still maintain your consistent wisdom. This rebellion is destined to be short-lived. It's not too late for you to state your position now."

Although the knight spoke with all the necessary honorifics, there was no trace of respect in his tone.

Nehemiah's already old and bloated body seemed to hunch over even more, and his head drooped slightly: "Yes, I have some words I want to tell the loyal guardians of His Majesty the Emperor."

A red light flashed in the eye sockets of the Black Sword Knight's mask.

Nehemiah's figure disappeared from their eyes in that instant.

"Buzz—"

The magic devices of five black mechanical swords buzzed almost simultaneously, and the powerful magic power instantly heated the blades to thousands of degrees and began to vibrate violently. A Black Sword Knight placed his hand on the hilt, but before he could draw his sword, his head had slowly slid off his shoulders.

The second and third knights successfully drew their swords, but the arms that drew the swords flew far into the corner, and then their bodies also fell heavily to the ground after spraying out a large amount of black and red blood.

"Bold!" the fourth knight roared, and complex gold and red patterns appeared on his black armor. The power of the Dragon Seal made him feel as if the surrounding time had slowed down, and he finally caught the figure of the "old earl."

He saw a slender young man wearing Nehemiah's gold and red cloak, walking like a dance between the splashing blood in the room, and a thin sword condensed with magic was drawing across the air in the man's hand, stabbing towards his eyebrows.

In the gradually tilting vision, this Black Sword Knight saw his last companion being beheaded by that magic thin sword, without any resistance.

Nehemiah's figure reappeared in the room, his body quickly returned to that bloated and clumsy appearance, wrinkles reappeared on his face, and the clothes automatically adjusted their size as his figure changed. He looked down at the corpses lying on the ground and bowed slightly:

"I'm done."

The door of the room was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in the likeness of a butler walked into the room: "Master."

"Take these monsters away and burn them, throw their swords into the furnace," Nehemiah nodded slightly. "They didn't send a signal, we still have some time."