Inside the palace, a large reception was waiting in the throne room for the arrival of Rikard Plangent. Inside the throne room was Duke Mihalh, prince Markus with August by his side as usual, and many other nobles of the capital and from other parts of the kingdom.

The prince had heard that Rikard had been summoned, but he didn't expect the knights of the black sun would be called also. Mihalh on the other hand looked happy.

Rikard entered the room and commanded a strong aura around him. He was considered maybe the strongest divine person in the kingdom. His stern expressionless face made it hard for other people to approach him.

"My king," said Rikard and bent the knee in front of the king.

"Please rise, my good friend," said the king happily.

Rikard Plangent rose up.

"I have summoned you here since I have uncovered a large discovery thanks to the great and wise nobles of the country. Apparently, there is a strong faction in the kingdom that is working towards the destruction of our government," the king explained.

All the nobility gasped. The prince was not worried. Many times had there been a case of some rebellious actions against the government. It had happened before. Most likely it was some union of peasants who refused to work for their noble and some noble was making a big case out of it to get the government to handle it for them.

"Duke Mihalh was the one who brought me this information. I will let you explain the details," the king said and gave the duke the floor.

The prince was surprised to see it was the duke who was called to explain.

"Thank you, my king. I was surprised to find about this myself. This is a problem that has its nest in the capital corrupting the common people with blatant lies. This rebellious faction, no, more like a terrorist group. They call themselves the black rat gang," Mihalh revealed to all the nobles in the courtroom.

The prince was shocked. He was quenching his teeth. August was also worried. They were worried they would be outed by the Duke.

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"Duke Mihalh. Is a mere gang really such a problem? There have always been gangs in the capital and even if this gang is a large one it still is just a street gang," asked one noble in the crowd.

"That would be the case usually, but this gang is different. They have strong people leading it. People with divine powers," Mihalh added.

Everyone started to whisper. Never had a person with divine power been rebelling since rarely peasants had divine power.

"They are led by a foul leader. His name is Rufus. He has others with divine powers who work for him. Also, he leads tens of gang members in the city. Maybe even hundreds. This is a real threat to us, and we must act now. That is why the knights of the black sun are here. They are here to stamp out this threat once and for all," Mihalh continued.

"Thank you duke Mihalh. Rikard Plangent. Wipe these rats out from the city," The king ordered.

The prince was thinking of a way to warn Rufus and the others to flee the city. He knew they would be no match for the knights of the black sun and Rikard Plangent. The knights of the black sun once took on an invading army from the nation of Sparv alone with only a hundred knights facing off an army of three thousand. A mere gang would stand no chance against them.

"Yes, my king. When would you want to get this done?" Rikard Plangent asked.

"Hmm yes. Duke Mihalh. When should they start?" the king asked from Duke Mihalh.

"Right now," said duke Mihalh with a smile.

As soon as the meeting was over prince Markus was about to rush out of the throne room but was stopped.

"Ah, prince. May I have a word with you?" Duke Mihalh asked from the prince.

"I am sorry my good duke, but I have an early appointment with my tutor. I must be going. I am already late," the prince said and smiled.

"You realize you can not warn your friends on time."

The prince stopped walking.

"The knights are already getting briefed. They will soon start mobilizing and start hunting down every member of the black rat gang. The streets will turn into a battle zone, no more like a massacre. Those gangsters won't stand a chance to the elite knights of the kingdom. It would look bad if the prince was running aimlessly amid such carnage," the duke explained without letting any other person in the room hear them.

August came in between the duke and prince as a way to protect the prince.

"You don't have to worry. I will not out you. Even if I could it wouldn't help. You are the first prince. The heir to this kingdom. I am just saying for a person such as yourself you must have already realized. You have no way to salvage this situation. You have lost," the duke said to the prince.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I must get to my tutor. He must be very mad by now," the prince said with a smile and walked away.

The duke was left standing with also a smile. Carnage on the streets was just about to begin.