Chapter 17: Gaining Power and the Main Quest

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“Lord Mora, all the rebels have been suppressed.”
The deputy commander of the Royal Capital’s Solar Knights, mounted on his warhorse, rode over the corpses scattered across the street and approached Mo Xuanyu.
He dismounted with a fluid motion, his armor gleaming a deep metallic black. Towering nearly two meters tall, he was imposing and formidable, his voice resonant and low.
“Hm… What’s your name?” Mo Xuanyu sheathed his sword and looked up slightly to ask.
“Reporting to Lord Mora, my name is Fars.” Fars was a very traditional knight and a fervent supporter of the Sun King.
He admired strength and upheld central royal authority, so he harbored a certain disdain for Mo Xuanyu, an officer parachuted in from outside.
Moreover, the previous commander of the Royal Capital’s Knight Order had died alongside one of the master assassins from the Twilight Assassins.
Thus, upon learning of Mo Xuanyu’s former identity as an assassin, Fars instinctively felt some aversion toward him.
Upon their first meeting, Fars’s impression of Mo Xuanyu was that he was handsome, perhaps politically gifted, with decent combat ability, and capable of winning the Sun King’s favor, which explained his transfer to the Knight Order.
Of course, despite his aversion, Fars did not show it outwardly.
As mentioned, he was a traditional and exemplary knight, raised with noble chivalric education from childhood.
In the presence of a superior, one must show respect and never display the slightest disrespect, even if harboring dissatisfaction—this was part of the knightly code.
Mo Xuanyu, naturally sensitive to others’ emotions, sensed Fars’s resistance.
He was somewhat surprised that Fars could still show him such respect.
“What about the rebel leaders? Have they been found?” Mo Xuanyu asked next.
Mo Xiao handed him a handkerchief, which Mo Xuanyu used to wipe the blood from his fingertip as he listened to Fars’s report.
“All three rebel commanders committed suicide by shooting themselves after the army’s defeat.”
Fars’s answer was as expected; Mo Xuanyu had asked more out of formality.
Everyone knew that the true mastermind behind the mutiny was Prince Eric, but no one dared say so before the Sun King’s official declaration.
After all, this involved royal authority and the major noble families—a highly sensitive matter.
“Very well. Handle the rebel prisoners according to protocol. I’ll report to the Sun King at the palace. You will take charge of the subsequent cleanup.”
Mo Xuanyu gave the order, which surprised Fars slightly—post-battle cleanup was a lucrative task.
It entailed confiscating rebel assets, issuing compensation for fallen soldiers, and other financially rewarding duties.
Normally, even the suppression funds allocated by the treasury had to pass through the commander’s hands before reaching them.
Yet Mo Xuanyu seemed indifferent to such money, which improved Fars’s impression of him somewhat.
Fars couldn’t quite understand Mo Xuanyu’s thinking—money held little meaning to him in this world, and he preferred not to waste time managing trivial affairs, so leaving it to Fars was ideal.
Mo Xuanyu and Mo Xiao returned to the palace and entered the study to meet the Sun King, with Mo Xiao standing guard outside as usual.
“You did well, Mora,” the Sun King praised repeatedly once Mo Xuanyu arrived.
Mo Xuanyu felt no stirrings within; these were merely empty words.
“The Solar Knights are yours from now on. Do not disappoint me.”
This was the moment Mo Xuanyu had awaited—the commander position was now firmly his.
“Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty.” He lifted his head slightly, offering a perfectly measured smile.
The Sun King patted Mo Xuanyu’s shoulder and reached out to wipe a trace of blood from his chin.
Then he asked with sudden curiosity,

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“By the way, Mora, has anyone ever told you that you’re truly suited for killing?”
The absurd question puzzled Mo Xuanyu; he shook his head.
“No, no one has.”
The Sun King smiled and shook his head. “Is that so? Then surely someone has thought so in private—like your former mentor, Peter Manchester.”
Mo Xuanyu frowned in confusion. “What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
The Sun King shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just marveling at that fellow’s good eye.”
“All right, you’ve worked hard today. Rest well and make sure to keep the knights in line.”
“Dismissed.” Mo Xuanyu bowed slightly and turned to leave the study.
Outside, Mo Xiao was polishing a hidden dagger and followed Mo Xuanyu as he stepped out.
Passing a glass window, Mo Xuanyu suddenly stopped and glanced at his reflection.
Only then did he notice his ears and the corners of his eyes were tinged with a faint blush.
It seemed to have been caused by the excitement of battle, lingering unnoticed until now.
Such subtle signs usually go unnoticed by most, but once noticed, they etch deeply into memory, impossible to ignore.
Mo Xuanyu truly enjoyed combat; he liked the feeling of blood rushing, as if every cell trembled and cried out.
Of course, he was not a bloodthirsty person; he simply savored the thrill of battle. Slaughtering the weak bored him immensely.
“Is something wrong, Master?” Mo Xiao looked at the glass curiously, unaware of his teacher’s thoughts.
“Nothing. It’s just fortunate you were there today; otherwise, I might not have stood a chance against those supernaturals.”
Mo Xuanyu shook his head gently and led Mo Xiao downstairs.
“If it were one-on-one, Master, I’m sure you’d win,” Mo Xiao said with admiration. He despised the one who had ganged up on their teacher.
Mo Xuanyu said nothing. He could sense that in that brief fight, the Fog Scythe had not used full strength.
It could be said that the opponent had miscalculated; the Fog Scythe believed that seventy percent of his power would suffice to deal with Mo Xuanyu.
Unexpectedly, Mo Xuanyu’s rich experience prolonged the battle until the cavalry arrived.
At that point, using full power was pointless, and with the mage held hostage by Mo Xiao, the Fog Scythe chose to retreat.
Mo Xuanyu had a premonition that a true deadly conflict between them was inevitable in the near future—not just skirmishes like before.
Solar Knights’ Camp.
Upon taking command, Mo Xuanyu’s first task was to review the current personnel of the Solar Knights.
The Royal Capital’s Solar Knights numbered about 500, all supernaturals with physical abilities far surpassing ordinary men, even superior to the royal guards.
If these 500 supernaturals were deployed to the battlefield, equipped with warhorses and armor, their cavalry charge could crush an army of a hundred thousand!
Such a formidable force was entrusted to him by the Sun King.
Mo Xuanyu closed his eyes, fingertips tapping lightly on the table. He needed to reassess the Sun King’s strength.
That old fox surely held even stronger trump cards.
Coo!
A black pigeon suddenly flew to his window. Mo Xuanyu opened it and took a secret letter tied to the bird’s leg.
The letter was from the blacksmith Cain, who had uncovered a mole within the Freedom Commune.

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The mole was named Toronto, one of the earliest founders of the commune.
But this fellow had long since secretly defected to the Sun King. No one knew what promises the Sun King had made to him to cause Toronto to repeatedly betray secrets.
Currently, Toronto was fleeing from the Ninth Main City with classified documents secretly written by Mentor Peter, heading toward the Royal Capital.
Cain commented that perhaps Mentor Peter had long suspected a mole inside the commune, so he embedded clues in the documents—casting a long line to catch a big fish.
Toronto’s escape from the Ninth Main City counted on trading the crucial secret that Mo Xuanyu was a spy for the Sun King’s trust and protection.
The failure of the palace mutiny had shaken many people’s thoughts.
The Twilight Assassins were nearly wiped out; the commune’s elite forces were reduced to some suddenly appearing “outsiders,” whose leader, the Fog Scythe, had been forced to retreat in disgrace.
Rumors circulated that the Sun King had found a way to break the supernatural limit.
The so-called supernatural limit, in sacred geometry, refers to the world’s constraints.
In a first-tier world, no matter how talented natives were, apart from charisma and luck, their attributes could not surpass 20 points—the world’s limit.
It had been mentioned that the Nora Kingdom’s world was among the pinnacle of first-tier worlds, just one step from the second tier.
But that step was like a chasm, not easily crossed.
Mo Xuanyu considered these rumors unreliable.
Yet there is a saying: if in the first act a gun appears, it must be fired by the third.
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
If the Sun King truly had a chance to surpass the 20-point attribute limit, Mo Xuanyu had to prepare in advance and grow stronger.
Of course, it would be better if he could be stopped from breaking through.
Returning to the matter at hand, Mo Xuanyu learned Toronto’s escape route from Cain’s letter and planned to personally deal with him.
This matter required utmost secrecy; any leak would arouse the Sun King’s suspicion.
Therefore, Mo Xuanyu summoned Mo Xiao to guard his office door, creating the illusion that he never left.
If both disappeared together, even a fool would sense trouble.
Mo Xiao was worried and anxiously asked, “Don’t you want me to come with you, Master?”
Concern filled his face, reminding Mo Xuanyu of his own Alaskan dog.
Mo Xuanyu patted his shoulder reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I’ll return unharmed. But before that, I need you to perform flawlessly.”
“I understand.” Mo Xiao finally agreed to his teacher’s command.
Mo Xuanyu left the camp silently; fortunately, this world had no surveillance.

Current Main Quest:
First Stage: Trust
Difficulty: A
Mission Guidance: By any means necessary, reach the capital of the Nora Kingdom and, before the Sun King discovers your spy identity, gain their trust, eliminate the traitor, and infiltrate the kingdom’s core of power.