Chapter Twenty-Eight: Breakthrough

Just as Emperor Maurice was lost in his feverish dreams, a disheveled attendant burst into the VIP chamber, stumbling in his haste.

“Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! A formidable warrior, suspected to be a Paladin Commander of the Church of Light, has led nearly a hundred assassins into the palace. They are slaughtering people everywhere. The Imperial Guards are barely holding them off. Please, Your Majesty, you must leave at once!”

The words struck Emperor Maurice like a bolt of lightning on a clear day, shattering his pleasant illusions.

Enraged, Maurice seized the attendant by the shoulders. “I have five thousand Imperial Guards stationed in the palace. How could fewer than a hundred intruders possibly break through? It's impossible!”

Trembling under the emperor’s fury, the attendant stammered, “The Church of Light bribed an officer among the Imperial Guards. He falsely claimed to have your orders and gathered the majority of the guards, saying there was an emergency and you needed protection. But then…” The attendant paused, perhaps deliberately, as if fearing that Maurice’s wrath might see him silenced permanently.

Regaining his composure, Maurice released the attendant and restored the poise of a sovereign, as though the frenzied madman from moments ago had never existed.

“Speak! What happened next?” Maurice demanded, his gaze piercing.

“The assassins lay in ambush nearby. When the guards had assembled, the Paladin Commander led the charge. The sudden assault, bolstered by battle aura, shattered the guards’ lines. The Church’s assassins cut into the ranks, and… and then the guards broke and fled…” The attendant recounted the collapse of the Imperial Guards in a trembling voice, sneaking a glance at the silent emperor and praying fervently not to become the scapegoat for this disaster. He was only a messenger, after all.

Maurice, now calm, seemed to have no intention of punishing the attendant. When he finished listening, the emperor gave a cold laugh. “Impressive, Holy Order of Knights. To think a traitor could infiltrate my Imperial Guards… It seems my empire is far less secure than it appears.” As he spoke, Maurice’s chilling gaze swept over the surrounding soldiers. Each elite guard felt suffocated under the emperor’s oppressive presence, yet they, loyal to the core, showed little fear. Instead, they silently cursed the turncoat officer who had betrayed them.

Perhaps having vented his anger, or perhaps realizing that his greatest reliance now was the guards at his side, Maurice withdrew his gaze and listened intently to his subordinates’ reports, giving orders with measured clarity.

The wisdom of a true ruler was plainly on display. With each command, Maurice swiftly mustered more than a thousand Imperial Guards. Throughout the palace, aside from where the emperor himself was gathered, virtually everywhere else was left utterly defenseless.

“Lord Sun Li, I must trouble you to take action. Rest assured, once this crisis has passed, I will reward you handsomely. You shall have the deepest friendship of the Maurice Empire. Any force that opposes you shall be considered an enemy of the empire!” With his orders given, Maurice began to court the high-ranking bodyguard who had been all but forgotten at the outset, making promises without so much as a blink.

“Rest easy, Your Majesty. As the Duchess Victoria must have told you, my purpose here is to ensure your safety. I will see you come to no harm,” Sun Li replied with a smile.

At first, Maurice had been wary of Sun Li. Even with Victoria’s information confirmed, who could say whether that cunning woman wasn’t plotting to rid herself of both rivals at once? Thus, Maurice had kept a close eye on Sun Li, refusing even to arm him. Sun Li had attended the banquet unarmed, surrounded by over a hundred guards, and thus had not dared to make any rash moves.

Yet now, it seemed the Church of Light had accomplished its task with brutal efficiency, shattering the palace’s defenses in a surprise attack. Sun Li, once an unpredictable element, now had to be trusted and armed. The Paladin Commander was nearly upon them; this was no time to suspect Sun Li. Without his protection, Maurice had little confidence he could survive until the Imperial Legions returned to the palace.

The sounds of battle were drawing ever closer. In the emptied palace, the VIP chamber, guarded by nearly a thousand soldiers, had become a beacon for the Church’s assassins. While their initial ambush had caught the Imperial Guards off guard, in the ensuing brutal resistance, the assassins suffered heavy losses. Fewer than twenty remained to follow the Paladin Commander to the VIP hall.

Led by their commander, these remaining assassins charged the lines of the Imperial Guard. The guards’ musketeers fired a volley at the advancing Paladin Commander. Yet aside from this battle-aura-shielded monster, none of the assassins dared to attack the formation head-on. Only after the Paladin Commander broke through the ranks, disrupting the firing line, did the other assassins follow.

In the ensuing melee, the Imperial Guards showed no fear. Drawing their swords, they hurled themselves at the assassins, determined to block any who would threaten their emperor, even at the cost of their lives. Though they knew they were no match for such foes, these warriors, fanatically loyal to Maurice, did not hesitate to sacrifice themselves.

On one side, expert killers ready to die; on the other, a mass of zealots brainwashed by Maurice’s rhetoric. In the narrow corridors and gardens, the two sides engaged in a savage and bloody struggle.

The Guards’ selfless resistance was not in vain. All the assassins, save the monstrous Paladin Commander, were dragged down by this desperate, suicidal defense. As for the Commander, many Imperial Guards tried to halt him, but none could match his strength. Each wave fell before him, only to be replaced by another, in an endless cycle.

If it were merely a matter of piling up bodies, the Commander might eventually collapse after slaughtering hundreds, especially after the earlier fighting. But he was no fool; he would not simply stand there waiting to be overwhelmed. Relying on his formidable power, he pressed forward, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake, finally reaching the threshold of the VIP chamber.

The corridor behind him was carpeted with mangled bodies and severed limbs, yet nothing could impede his progress.

With a mighty kick, the Paladin Commander burst through the final door. At last, he beheld his ultimate target: Emperor Maurice, his face frozen in shock.

There was only one thought in the emperor’s mind: Damn it, aren’t you tired from killing so many people?