Emperor Alecton knew that Duke Callum was a Dark Mage, but he was also sure that if Saint Knight fought with the Duke, the Saint Knight wasn't going to lose! If anything, both of them were more or less equal in terms of strength. Then how? How could he die? Who killed him? Was there an even more powerful person backing Gabriel?
The Royal Knights that were keeping their Swords aimed at Gabriel felt their hands tremble at the gruesome sight. The Saint Knight was the strongest warrior in the Empire. They were sure if they had all fought with the Saint Knight together, they would've instantly!
"Saint Knight!" The Eldest Prince who had been smug all this time was horrified. Today, he expected to watch Gabriel's death and not the death of their strongest warrior!
Both the Princesses were scared. Their faces were already pale, especially Prince Azia. She had just met the Saint Knight last night when he had a conflict with Gabriel and now he was dead?
'D-did he kill him? Then his strength...?' Her legs froze in place in fear. She couldn't even move, let alone say anything!
On the other hand, Princess Shia felt a dread in her heart. She knew Gabriel was dangerous! She knew that they should've let him go! That's why she was trying to tell her father. However, even she didn't know that this guy was so strong! He could kill the Saint Knight? She finally understood why Duke Callum was so respectful to Gabriel.
"Duke Callum, you dare to betray our Empire and kill the Saint Knight?!" The Emperor roared. He refused to believe that Gabriel could do it! As for having a stronger force behind him... There were only a few forces that were strong enough to kill their Saint Knight, and they were the Churches of Elements!
He didn't believe that Gabriel could've gotten the help of Churches that didn't interfere in the matters of Empires! Moreover, Callum was a Dark Mage! How could any Church stand on the same side as him! No matter how hard, he wanted to believe that it was Callum who managed to kill the Saint Knight!
"He must've used a sneak attack! That bastard, using such vile methods to kill the Saint Knight!"
"You evil demon! Killing the guardian of our Empire after all this Empire gave you? How dare you?" Even the Nobles believed that it was done by Callum, but they didn't know about his identity as a mage. They could only think that he used some sneak attack to kill the Saint Knight!
"Sneak Attack..." The Royal Knights frowned. Unlike the Nobles, they were trained warriors. They were more perceptive as well.
From the wound on the Saint Knight's body, and the trajectory, it was clear to them that the attack came from the front! Moreover, an attack of this strength that came from the front couldn't have been a sneak attack!
"I didn't kill him, so it's better if you stop looking at him. I don't even have the fraction of the strength of the person who killed him," Callum smirked. "This time, you don't know just where you all truly stage. You've all been standing at the edge of the cliff of despair all this time and you didn't even realise it."
"W-what are you trying to say? You didn't kill him? Then who? Who could have that much strength?!" Emperor Alecton thundered.
"Me," A calm and serene voice came from the distance, making everyone look in the direction of Gabriel.
A Sword appeared in the hands of Gabriel out of thin air which was none other than the Sword of Ulien that was called the Holy Sword in Arecia.
Gabriel only briefly glanced at the Royal Knights who had their weapons aimed at him. As soon as the Royal Knights watched him look in their direction, they could feel a chill run down their spine. It was as if all their strength and their secrets were worthless before the man that stood in front of them!
As Royal Knights, they had trained their hearts so it could stay firm even in the most dangerous of situations, but at this moment, their heart was filled with dread and fear. It was as if their bodies were frozen in places.
"What are you all looking at? Kill him!" The Nobles moved back, feeling really scared. They also instructed the Royal Knights to kill Gabriel. Today when they arrived here, they didn't even bring most of their forces because they didn't expect a situation like this. They only brought their core guards.
Despite each person only bringing a few guards, there were a total of over fifty Royal Knights! They were sure that it was enough to kill Gabriel!
"Royal Knights!" Gabriel firmly spoke. "I'm the descendant of the Saint King. You're all a citizen of our Empire. I would give you one more chance... Leave the treacherous path of evil that these people made you walk! Come into the light and follow me! Even you all saw how the trial today was a sham! Do you really think people like they couldn't kill the Arecia Clan simply for their greed?!"
"I'll count to three! If you don't drop your weapons, I'll forget that you're my citizens and I'll start killing! I hope you won't force my hands!"
Gabriel could kill everyone here if he wanted, but he didn't want to. He wanted to save the Royal Knights since they could only be a part of his army once he took over the Empire! He needed strong Warriors to maintain the peace in the Empire.
The only problem was that he wasn't sure if his words were actually going to work. Still, he began the count.
"One!"
Gabriel started the count.
The Nobles kept telling the Royal Knights to not listen to him.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you all useless trash? The Empire did so much for you! Your salaries came from us! And you're not even protecting us today? Kill that bastard! Do your duty!" Some Nobles even cursed at the Royal Knights who hadn't moved an inch.
The Royal Knights didn't listen though. They just glanced at each other. In their heart, they didn't want to fight Gabriel if possible. Moreover, they had already seen how unjust these Nobles were! This meeting was truly a sham.
...
"Two!"
...
"Th-"
Before Gabriel could finish the count, all the Royal Knights dropped their Swords and went down on one knee.
"We want to walk the righteous path with the descendant of Saint King!" They all said in unison. "Please accept our gratitude for waking us up before we could truly lose our path!"
Finally, even the Emperor's face went pale.
