Nar was fifteen this year, and he would turn sixteen after the new year.
He was young, but that did not mean he was naive.
He simply preferred to be meticulous in everything he did.
He looked at his cousin, Angus Alvin, standing before him.
Then he looked at the hundred or so knights behind him.
Without a doubt, these knights were all children of noble families closely tied to the Alvin family.
They often socialized together and would occasionally frequent places of ill repute.
In short, there were social circles even within the knight regiments.
And this group was clearly one of those circles.
Normally, whatever this group did together had nothing to do with Nar.
But the fact that Angus had suddenly appeared to deliver a command from Nar's father was very strange.
Logically, such messages should be delivered by family retainers.
Those retainers, while not necessarily knights or nobles, belonged to families that had served the Alvin family for generations.
Among them were many powerful individuals.
According to protocol, knights did not have to follow family orders; therefore, a knight would not act as a messenger for such matters.
Only a retainer could do that.
Yet today, everything felt eerie to Nar.
Because the one delivering these words was his own cousin.
Most suspiciously of all, Angus Alvin and the knights behind him were fully armed and armored!
One had to understand that as the nation's primary strategic weapon, even a group of fifty knights moving together during peacetime required official documentation, a direct order from a superior, or a command token.
Angus Alvin did not hold a rank high enough to lead such a group.
Thinking of this, a faint smile suddenly appeared on Nar's face as he looked up at his cousin.
"Cousin, where are you going? Are you executing an order?"
As he spoke, although he maintained a smile, Nar's eyes were locked onto Angus's.
"Yes, yes... I am on a mission."
The answer sounded somewhat guilty, and as Angus replied, his eyes involuntarily darted to the side.
He was lying.
Nar understood instantly.
The smile on Nar's face gradually vanished. Angus seemed to sense the shift in the atmosphere, and his original expression crumbled, his face growing stiff.
A cold sweat broke out on his forehead despite himself.
Nar stared directly at Angus.
"Angus, where is your deployment order?"
"..."
That single question left Angus frozen in place.
A deployment order? Where would he get one of those?
He was following the family head's orders to go to the Temple and eliminate that woman, Lola, as well as that man, Augus.
Where was he supposed to find a deployment order?
"This... Nar, you should return to the family estate first."
As long as Nar returned to the estate, he wouldn't be able to escape, no matter what.
The family was not without level 50 powerhouses. How could a great family that had occupied the Kingdom of the Moon for a thousand years not have a few trump cards?
While they had no level 60 experts or titled individuals, they had at least four level 50 powerhouses.
That alone was enough to restrain Nar!
As long as he returned to the family estate, whether he was willing or not, he would be out of the way for the night!
Nar calmly glanced at Angus, then looked at the hundred-plus knights behind him.
These knights had already raised their weapons.
A knight's lance was over three meters long; they were usually holstered to the side of the horse and not held for long periods.
After all, such heavy weapons were exhausting to carry.
Considering Angus's shifty eyes and his desperate attempts to persuade Nar to return to the estate, Nar wondered what was really happening.
Could it be...
"Knights, take up your lances!!"
Nar barked the command.
The three hundred elite knights behind him roared in unison!
"Ha!"
Clang!
The sound of armor boomed as the three hundred knights simultaneously raised their lances.
Nar Alvin.
He was powerful, gifted, kind, and meticulous.
He always led from the front and held great prestige within the knight regiments.
Many truly respected him.
No one looked down on him for his age, and no one envied him for his talent.
He was the son of the Alvin family head, a top-tier noble, and a Guardian Knight of the Kingdom of the Moon.
Almost all nobles received an elite education from childhood, the kind of education that allowed a family to endure for a millennium.
Those arrogant, hysterical nobles were usually weeded out during their upbringing.
No family was willing to choose a fool as their head.
Such people didn't even have the right to lead a branch family; at most, they would be sent to manage a small business.
This was especially true for a family with a thousand-year heritage.
The family did not support useless people.
However, those who were arrogant but talented could still rise through the ranks.
Angus was exactly that kind of person.
A Brave Knight in his fifties was considered a rare talent.
This naturally led to an inflated ego.
Similarly, he was deeply jealous of Nar.
How could anyone not be jealous of someone who gained the title of Guardian Knight at such a young age?
No amount of good upbringing could completely suppress such feelings.
Consequently, he watched Nar closely and knew perfectly well that Nar's loyalty to the Temple far exceeded his loyalty to the family.
This gave him a twisted sense of anticipation.
He wondered how much Nar would suffer once he returned and was forced to face his father and family as they were about to rebel.
The thought gave Angus a surge of vindictive pleasure.
But he never expected that before he could see Nar's suffering, he would be cornered by a single question.
"Na—Nar, what are you doing? I am your cousin!"
Nearly all of the three hundred knights before him were Brave Knights, Nar's direct subordinates and a major force within the knight regiments.
And who were the men behind Angus?
A group of noble youths who spent their days eating, drinking, and playing. How many strong individuals could there be among them?
If the two groups charged each other, his side would likely collapse in a single encounter.
Nar's gaze was cold as he looked at Angus.
"In the name of Guardian Knight Nar Alvin, I command you to produce your deployment order. This is a warning and a notice. Otherwise... I will execute you on the spot as rebels!!"
By now, Nar had finally pieced it together.
Tonight, every street was on high alert, and the army had already begun patrolling.
Most of the knight regiments had assignments.
Yet Angus, who lacked the rank to lead troops, was on the streets with over a hundred fully armed knights. This was absolutely not normal!
"Prepare! For! Battle!"
Nar's slightly youthful voice echoed through the street.
Boom!
Behind him, the three hundred knights leveled their lances at chest height, facing Angus.
"Final notice, Knight Angus. I command you as a Guardian Knight to show your deployment order, or... dismount and surrender!"
Angus was completely stunned. He hadn't expected his younger cousin to be so ruthless, immediately entering a combat-ready state.
"Nar!! Have you lost your mind? I am your cousin, and your uncles are behind me! Are you going to start a family bloodbath!?"
Seeing that Angus refused to answer him directly, Nar's heart sank.
Vaguely, his young mind began to understand the truth.
He raised his lance and pointed it at Angus.
"War Skill — Intimidation!"
"Ha!"
The three hundred knights roared in unison, causing the eaves of the houses on both sides of the street to tremble.
Dust fell to the ground.
Boom!
A powerful aura surged from the formation. Angus and the hundred knights behind him couldn't help but tremble, their faces filling with terror!
"You're crazy! You've really lost it! We are family!!"
Angus gritted his teeth, glaring at Nar with wide eyes.
However, the youth's face remained exceptionally calm—even cold.
The boy raised his conical lance and aimed it at Angus.
"In the name of the Temple knights, I shall bring down the hammer of divine punishment upon the rebels. War Skill — Char..."
"Wait! I surrender! I surrender..."
Seeing that Nar was truly prepared to launch a war skill without mercy, Angus's heart turned cold.
He had no choice.
Facing him was a genius Guardian Knight, a level 58 powerhouse at the age of fifteen, holding the title of Guardian Knight and leading three hundred elite knights.
Once he began his charge, there would be no survivors in his path.
Nar coldly scanned the hundred or so panicked knights.
"Aijel, tie them up and confiscate all their weapons!"
"Yes! Men, tie them up!"
Aijel was also a noble, but he didn't care about family politics.
He immediately ordered his men to rush forward. In short order, they disarmed the hundred men, tied them in rows, and set guards over them.
Then he turned and returned to Nar's side.
"Lord Nar, tonight's events are very suspicious."
A look of confusion appeared on Aijel's face as he glanced at the bound knights.
Their weapons had been seized, and their armor lay discarded on the ground.
"Yes."
Nar nodded and pulled out his deployment order again, scrutinizing it from top to bottom.
The seal on it was printed, not stamped.
Either the Saintess was not in Brilliant City right now, or... the person who used this seal had no holy energy and had to use this method to avoid detection.
Normally, when the Saintess used her seal, it would automatically absorb a portion of holy energy and transfer it to the paper.
Therefore, any deployment order issued directly by Her Highness would have traces of holy energy in the seal.
Because the ink was made from special materials, the holy energy would endure for a century without dissipating.
But the seal on this order was a printed replica; it contained no holy energy at all.
Thus, even if someone without holy energy used the seal, it would be impossible to tell from a copy whether the Saintess had personally stamped it.
The handwriting belonged to Minister Augus of the Cabinet.
Had Minister Augus defected?
He couldn't rule out the possibility, but would Minister Augus contact Nar's family?
Nar looked down at the restrained Angus and rode his horse forward.
"Angus, do you have nothing to say about leading troops without authorization? You know that this crime can be considered rebellion."
Angus, who had been hanging his head, looked up with a mocking smile.
"Heh! Nar, you will regret this!"
Nar's eyes widened as he stared at Angus's face.
"You're not even defending yourself, which means... you really are rebelling?"
He gasped, remembering Angus's earlier attempt to send him back to the family estate.
How could his father be involved in something like this?
Did his father... rebel?
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"
Nar leaped off his horse, rushed forward, and grabbed Angus by the shoulders, roaring, "You're lying to me!! You're lying, aren't you? My father would never rebel! The family would never revolt! Speak! Speak!!"
Angus looked up at the snarling youth and smiled.
"Hehe... since you've already guessed it, what else is there for me to say?"
Clang.
The boy's armor clattered as he stumbled back, only to be steadied by Aijel.
"Father... really rebelled?"
The boy murmured to himself, as if asking no one in particular.
But no one could give him an answer.
At that moment, whether it was the hundred bound men or the three hundred behind the youth, everyone watched him in silence.
After a moment of thought, a trace of ruthlessness gradually appeared on the boy's face.
"Aijel, leave fifty men to guard them. The rest of you, follow me to the Temple!"
"But Lord, our orders were to guard the New City!"
Guard?
How could that be!
If his father was truly involved in this, then the order wasn't to guard anything.
It was a diversion!!
Minister Augus must have been afraid that Nar would join the family's rebellion and had ordered him out of Brilliant City!
Lady Lina, the red flame great dragon, and a thousand knights had been sent away.
Her Highness had flown south, and Lady Momoka had likely gone with her.
Though he didn't know what was happening in the south, at this moment, the only ones left in Brilliant City to manage things were three Guardian Knights, Lola, and Augus.
Someone had to be stationed at the outer city. If he was also sent away, wouldn't that leave only one Guardian Knight at the Temple?
Nar didn't know why his father had joined this plot.
But he knew the family's strength all too well.
With four level 50 powerhouses from the family inside Brilliant City, even Guardian Knight Cain would struggle to cope.
Furthermore, when the knights Kevin and Yuna left, they had taken ten thousand knights with them.
Now, only about two thousand knights remained in Brilliant City.
If even half of those knights were involved in the rebellion, the Temple would be impossible to defend!
He couldn't waste any more time. No matter what, he couldn't let Bishop Lola and Minister Augus come to harm!
They were the Saintess's closest aides!
As for his father...
If it truly came to that, at worst, I will simply use my own life to save my father.
"Everyone, mount up! Follow me!!"
Nar broke away from Aijel, leaped onto his horse, turned it around, and raced toward the Temple.
Over two hundred knights followed close behind him.
Rate on N.U.
