Chapter 14: The Major Confrontation Mission
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The administrative palace of the Sun King was extravagantly luxurious. This enormous structure, comparable to the Palace of Versailles, stood southeast of the royal capital and enclosed vast stretches of grassland.
Security checks were required before entering the palace, but to Mo Xuanyu’s surprise, when the soldiers approached his carriage, they merely saluted.
“Mr. Mora, His Majesty has granted you permission to forgo the inspection. He has also specifically instructed that you go to his study first upon arriving at the palace.”
“Thank you.”
Though puzzled, Mo Xuanyu nodded.
The soldier stepped aside, allowing Mo Xuanyu and Mo Xiao to enter the palace without hindrance. Guided by a maid, they soon arrived at the palace hall.
All along the way, Mo Xuanyu had been considering how to deal with the old fox known as the Sun King, and how he might win his trust.
They reached the study. The maid knocked softly, and a deep voice came from within.
“Come in.”
The maid pushed open the door. Bathed in moonlight and lamplight, Mo Xuanyu saw clearly the tyrant who had ruled the Kingdom of Nora for nearly half a century.
A tall man stood by the window, gazing thoughtfully at the distant city districts. Only after hearing the door open did he slowly turn toward Mo Xuanyu.
As a Transcendent, the Sun King’s true age had already surpassed sixty.
Yet under the influence of transcendent particles, he appeared to be only in his thirties. With golden hair, blue eyes, and handsome, imposing features, he resembled a prime-aged lion.
“Don’t just stand there. Come in and sit.”
As he spoke, the Sun King returned to his desk and sat down.
His gaze held an air of pride and confidence, as though everything in the world lay within his grasp.
“Wolf, stay outside.”
Mo Xuanyu gave Mo Xiao the quiet instruction, then entered the study and closed the door behind him.
“Good evening, Your Majesty.”
Mo Xuanyu removed the officer’s cap from his head and bowed.
Now that he was closer, the Sun King nodded with evident satisfaction and said with a faint smile, “That uniform suits you very well. Elegant and noble.”
When Mora had first been persuaded to surrender, the Sun King had promised him limitless power and status.
He was not a stingy ruler. So long as Mo Xuanyu was willing to follow him, he was prepared to grant him whatever he desired.
Mo Xuanyu sat in the chair opposite the Sun King. Rather than immediately discussing other matters, the Sun King pointed to the chessboard before them.
“Do you know how to play?”
Mo Xuanyu glanced at it. It appeared to be chess.
“Only a little.”
He shook his head, pretending ignorance.
The Sun King did not give up. Instead, he arranged the pieces himself and began explaining the rules.
“It’s fine. We can talk while we play. It’s only for amusement.”
Once the pieces had been set, they began their first game.
As the seconds ticked by, Mo Xuanyu was still thinking about how he would carry out the assassination mission when he suddenly furrowed his brows.
He stared at the board.
How had he gained the advantage?
Mo Xuanyu really had been playing casually, but to the Sun King, the match was filled with surprises and unexpected turns.
At first, he assumed that he had simply been careless. Yet as time passed, he realized that Mo Xuanyu was certainly not as inexperienced as he claimed.
Many of his moves were things the Sun King had never seen before, moves of which he had never even heard.
With the rules unchanged, the people of Mo Xuanyu’s world had long since turned chess into a battle of calculations against computers. Mo Xuanyu himself had consistently ranked among the top five human players for years.
To a native of this world like the Sun King, Mo Xuanyu’s skill amounted to a crushing advantage from an entirely higher dimension.
Perhaps I should hold back a little, Mo Xuanyu thought.
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The Sun King, however, saw through Mo Xuanyu’s deliberate restraint. Mo Xuanyu had practically fed him the victory.
The king’s dignity prevented him from accepting charity, so he voluntarily chose a draw and said helplessly, “I underestimated you, Mora.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Mo Xuanyu blinked lightly and looked toward the Sun King.
“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we discuss the real matter now?”
“That would be best.”
The Sun King rested one hand against his forehead while lightly tapping the armrest with the other.
“At tonight’s banquet, I shall appoint you as…”
He fell silent for a moment, then raised his eyes and fixed them intently on Mo Xuanyu.
“How would you feel about becoming the commander of the Sun Knights in the royal capital?”
Mo Xuanyu paused, thinking he must have misheard.
Within the royal capital, the highest military position was commander of the Imperial Guard. Directly beneath it stood the command of the Sun Knights. The Sun King’s generosity exceeded Mo Xuanyu’s expectations.
“The previous commander died in battle. I believe you would be an excellent candidate. The responsibility is considerable. Will you accept it?”
The Sun King’s tone was exceptionally serious. If Mo Xuanyu had replied that he did not dare accept, the king would have been deeply disappointed.
Without the courage and determination to charge forward fearlessly, one could never become truly powerful.
The Sun King would rather have capable subordinates with rebellious hearts than a group of useless fools.
That had always been his way. Even if he knew that a general he had promoted harbored ambitions and would one day raise an army in rebellion against him, he would feel no fear. Instead, he would be excited.
It was an arrogance that ran deep into his bones and soul.
Mo Xuanyu hesitated for only an instant before smiling at the Sun King.
“I will not disappoint you.”
He had seen the pride buried within the Sun King’s very nature. Very well—he would give the man what he wanted.
For the Sun King, false humility and obsequious flattery were useless. He liked the strong, and he especially enjoyed the sense of conquest that came from keeping the strong firmly under his control.
“Hahahaha!”
The Sun King rose with a satisfied laugh.
“Good! Very good!”
“Come. Let us go to the hall. I want to announce this good news to everyone.”
Outside the study, Mo Xiao finally watched his teacher emerge unharmed, and the stone weighing on his heart slowly sank.
“Conceal yourself and act according to the situation.”
As Mo Xuanyu passed him on the way to the hall, he issued the instruction in a low voice.
Mo Xiao nodded and accepted the order.
In the administrative hall, the music gradually fell silent as the Sun King arrived. Countless gazes gathered upon him for a moment before falling, almost unanimously, upon Mo Xuanyu.
There was no helping it. Mo Xuanyu’s appearance was unparalleled in the world, while the pure-white military uniform accentuated his refined, noble, and cool demeanor. Almost no one could fail to remember him.
Fortunately, he had long been accustomed to grand occasions. He showed no sign of panic, remaining as calm as ever.
“Who is that? He can actually walk beside the king!”
“I think I’ve seen him before. He was the mid-ranking knight who escorted Prince Eric back to the royal capital—the one from the Seventh Principal City.”
“He’s really a knight? Such a young and beautiful mid-ranking knight?”
The politicians and nobles whispered among themselves. The darkest gaze in the room came from Eric, standing in a corner.
Seeing the Sun King’s high spirits, Eric thought irritably, So that’s why Mora rejected my invitation. The Sun King must have promised him even greater benefits.
He raised his wine and drained it in one gulp, then glared viciously at Mo Xuanyu.
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If I became king, would he stand so obediently at my side as well?
In certain respects, Eric resembled the Sun King—particularly in his intense desire for control.
Soon, the Sun King publicly announced Mo Xuanyu’s promotion and increased remuneration. Before the throne, he personally bestowed a decoration upon Mo Xuanyu, fastening a knight’s medal of honor to his chest.
Carmen, commander of the Imperial Guard, was the first to applaud. In the words of the politicians, he was loyal to the point of foolishness and cared nothing for power or influence.
Thus, he felt no jealousy toward Mo Xuanyu’s promotion. Instead, he was delighted that a powerful new figure had joined the Sun King’s ranks.
When the Sun King was young, he had been nothing more than an illegitimate son. Yet at the age of twenty, he killed all his rivals and ascended the throne.
During the early years of his reign, countless powerful figures served beneath him. The nation prospered economically and became the strongest country on the entire continent, possessing the richest lands and the finest ports.
From the western edge of the continent to the eastern shore, everyone knew the Sun King’s name. His armies were unstoppable and undefeated, and the nations of the continent bowed before him.
But as time passed, the Awakening Movement spread throughout the countries of the continent. The absolute power of countless monarchs was overthrown, ushering in an age of constitutional monarchy and republican government. Even the Kingdom of Nora could not escape its influence.
The powerful figures beneath him gradually betrayed him as well, forming a resistance army and attempting to force the Sun King to sign a constitutional treaty.
The treaty would preserve his position as king while transferring political and military authority to the people and establishing a people’s assembly. The king would exist merely as a figurehead.
But what sort of man was the Sun King? Naturally, he would never agree to a treaty that weakened his authority, nor would he tolerate the existence of a parliament.
Thus began the war between the kingdom and the resistance army. The conflict lasted a full ten years, and its flames spread across every inch of the Kingdom of Nora.
With other nations bleeding themselves dry to provide aid, the resistance army was always able to rise again.
At present, the Kingdom of Nora was the only nation on the entire continent still centered around a monarch. The Sun King was also the sole king who simultaneously held both governing authority and command of the military.
He was fighting more than the resistance army. He was fighting the entire continent and the entire age—struggling against the tide of history.
He firmly believed that a people’s assembly was nothing but a joke, that the authority of the monarchy could not be questioned, and that only under his rule could the kingdom prosper.
Thus, during the latter part of his reign, he acquired the title of tyrant.
Many opposed the Sun King’s monarchical rule, but just as many supported him.
This was rooted in his unique charisma: he did not employ those he distrusted, and once he employed someone, he trusted them completely.
Mo Xuanyu was a perfect example. Even though he had once been an assassin opposed to the Sun King’s rule, the king could still entrust him with command of the knights without the slightest hesitation.
He gave his subordinates complete trust, and in return, subordinates such as Carmen offered him complete loyalty.
Eric set down his empty glass and gazed at the pure-white figure receiving his decoration before the throne. Then he slowly stepped backward and merged into the shadows.
Several subordinates he had arranged in advance began to move.
Hidden arrows waited, ready to be loosed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The palace lights were shattered by arrows in an instant. Before the politicians could recover, Eric’s subordinates had already launched their assault, attacking and assassinating the guards around them.
The entire scene descended into chaos.
“Assassins!”
Carmen, commander of the Imperial Guard, reacted with astonishing speed. He immediately ordered the guards stationed inside the palace to counterattack, stabilizing the situation within a short time.
By then, Eric had already vanished. Yet from his place upon the throne, the Sun King knew without needing to guess who was responsible.
Seated high above them all, he looked toward Mo Xuanyu and said, “I believe I am very fortunate to witness you take action personally today.”
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