"Shut the hell up!"

The prince coldly scolded in irritation, his brows furrowing.

How dare his sister, who had never gotten any attention, mock him? Who was backing this?

Father? No, he wouldn't get his hands dirty!

That left only...

The second prince noticed the prince's pissed-off glare and his mouth twitched.

"Dear brother, you're reading me wrong again."

Don't pin everything that happens on me, damn you, Noo!

At the same time, he was curious about the changes in his sister.

What exactly had given this worthless princess, who only had street cred among the common people, the balls to face off with Noo?

The old king had zero interest in watching the showdown between the three royal siblings. He was beat—for some reason, he felt particularly wiped out today.

Maybe it was old age—his time had finally come. The old king felt his thinking getting more and more sluggish...

...

The drama beneath the viewing platform was unknown to both fighters on the arena.

Wahoden, kneeling on one knee, ignored his numb arms and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth before getting back up.

His heart no longer held the relaxed confidence from the beginning—now it was heavy as lead.

No one knew better than him just how terrifying that strike had been.

If he hadn't deliberately trained body-hardening secret techniques, an ordinary Grand Swordmaster would probably already be down for the count.

"Sir, please allow this old man to eat my previous arrogant words."

The tables had turned. With just one strike, Grand Swordmaster Wahoden realized that the knight before him wasn't the pushover he'd imagined, but rather an extremely terrifying powerhouse.

He corrected his stance, took a deep breath, crossed his hands, and with a crack, the broad-handled greatsword actually split in two, becoming two thin-bladed greatswords.

"Ha!"

Grand Swordmaster Wahoden roared furiously. Violent blue fighting spirit surged, instantly transforming into a sharp sword light as he charged forward.

Ginya watched Wahoden's movements with indifferent eyes, a trace of disappointment flashing through them.

That's it?

It casually swung its lance.

Clang! The wind died and clouds scattered. Wahoden felt a force way stronger than before slam into him.

Then came several crisp cracking sounds as the two thin-bladed greatswords couldn't take this tremendous force and shattered!

His chest caved in, and Wahoden went flying again—this time even farther, sailing off the arena and crashing hard into a distant wall, creating a huge crater. Whether he was alive or dead was anybody's guess!

"Holy shit!"

From the viewing stands came a chorus of sharp gasps.

This was Wahoden! The Grand Swordmaster famous throughout the Dotruu Kingdom, and he'd gotten his ass handed to him like this.

The finals were over!

Ginya flashed and appeared at the prize platform in front of the arena, where all the championship rewards were piled up.

Then, ignoring everyone around, it opened several boxes containing glittering ancient gold coins. Picking up one coin, the strange patterns on it were crystal clear.

The patterns on each coin were identical—shaped like a city wall, which on closer inspection was made up of small shield patterns.

After checking, these were definitely Ersbah ancient gold coins!

"Master's mission is finally done!"

Ginya was in a great mood. With a wave of its hand, it stored all the rewards in its storage ring. With the mission wrapped up, it could finally get back to its master's side!

Just then, angry shouts erupted from the royal viewing platform.

"Assassin!!!"

"The king's been stabbed!!!"

Ginya looked over to see the aged old king clutching his chest, collapsed in a pool of blood.

A dark spear was stuck in his chest, its nasty aura nearly making you want to puke.

The culprit was clearly an ordinary guard. Having successfully taken out the king, the assassin disguised as a guard retreated rapidly through the shadows beneath his feet—heading toward the noble platform!

"Get him!!!"

Seeing the king drop, the nobles erupted in roars of anger and cries of terror.

The king had been stabbed! The assassin was coming their way!

Many panicked and bailed from the platform, definitely adding to the chaos and creating perfect conditions for the assassin's escape.

But this didn't mean the assassin could get away clean. Amid the chaos, quite a few bigshot nobles confident in their strength boldly drew their greatswords and surrounded the attacker.

"Damn assassin!"

With an angry roar and an amazing burst of power, a brilliant sword light gleaming with cold radiance swept forward, sending chills down everyone's spine!

The assassin couldn't react in time and only managed to adjust his position, losing an arm but saving his life.

"It's the King's Right Hand! Sword Saint Levi!"

The panicked nobles felt way better as they looked toward the rapidly approaching figure.

With a serious expression and pale beard nearly reaching the ground, violent fighting spirit surged around him as he locked onto the assassin.

Sword Saint Levi—the kingdom's second strongest warrior. After the king's decline due to age, he was widely considered the kingdom's number one powerhouse.

In the chaotic palace, only Ginya observed calmly. It noticed that the assassin's severed arm wound didn't bleed a single drop, and even weirder, the severed arm that fell to the ground turned into a pool of black water and quickly disappeared.

'This power feels somehow familiar...'

Ginya quickly recalled that the aura the assassin displayed was basically identical to the two Shadow Servants its master had captured at the centaur settlement.

Shadow Hall!

Thinking of its master's attitude toward Shadow Hall, Ginya immediately felt the need to hit up its master for instructions...

....

"Who the hell are you?"

Sword Saint Levi's voice was packed with killing intent. With another sword strike, he severed the assassin's legs, cutting off any chance of escape.

But from beginning to end, the assassin showed zero trace of fear. His eyes were hollow and a creepy smile appeared on his face:

"Where shadows dwell, light retreats!"

"Shadow Hall!!!"

Those around who heard this declaration cried out in shock.

Such obvious shadow power, an assassin like a puppet with no sense of pain, plus this declaration—their first thought was definitely the creepy Shadow Hall.

"Good, good, good! A rat hiding in the shadows dares to assassinate the king!"

Sword Saint Levi laughed in extreme anger. Shadow Hall, having pulled such evil crap, not only didn't hide the mastermind's identity but laid everything bare—clearly they didn't give a damn about the Dotruu Kingdom.

Before Sword Saint Levi could continue his interrogation, the assassin suddenly lost all signs of life. In the next second, the corpse melted like a pool of black water, strange shadow aura gathering as psionic energy surged around them.

This bizarre change set off every alarm bell in Sword Saint Levi's head.

"Get back!"

With an explosive shout, everyone retreated, watching the strange black water warily.

Standing on the prize platform, Ginya sensed two powerful auras within that were spreading and about to burst forth!

'Shadow Hall powerhouses?'

The black water spread like wildfire. Within moments it covered half the square. Dense shadow energy blocked out the sky, shadows surging like a tide, gradually forming a dark portal...