The special delegation returned to the Golden Kingdom after the failure of the negotiations with the Kingdom of Winds.

Now, Garok and the delegation had reached the borders of the Golden Kingdom, but Commander Orus told them he would return after finishing something.

"Orus, you're not planning to do anything crazy, are you?"

"No, don’t worry. I’ve come up with a good idea that will help us. You’ll understand when the time comes. I’ll return after I finish it. For now, deliver the report."

"Alright, understood," Garok replied.

Garok arrived at the main palace, where some advisors and knights—Iliana, Kai, and Seraphina—were present. There, he delivered the report and explained everything that had happened in detail so it could be passed to the king, who was absent due to his busy schedule.

Seraphina spoke: "So, war is confirmed now. We need to finish the Knights' Tournament as soon as possible and prepare the winning knight."

Iliana replied: "That's true, but there’s something I noticed. The remaining two challengers are at a very similar level. I can confirm that both of them are already at the level of Golden Knights."

Seraphina responded: "So, what are you implying?" Iliana answered: "I mean, we’re at war now, and we’re in the process of choosing a strong individual to strengthen our forces. So why not choose both?"

Seraphina replied: "I agree with you, but the laws prevent us from doing that. The number of Golden Knights has been fixed at six knights since ancient times."

Garok spoke: "True, but can’t we give the second-place finisher an honorary title or a position as an esteemed knight or something like that?"

Seraphina answered: "Yes, I think that might work."

Iliana spoke: "Good. I’ll go now to prepare for the final match. I think you should watch it."

"Alright, I’ll pass by during the match after I finish some work on the weapons."

Then Iliana and Seraphina left. As Garok was about to leave, Kai stopped him. "Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh, it’s you, Kai. You haven’t spoken today at all, I didn’t even notice you were here."

"I want to ask you something."

"Okay, go ahead."

"The person you spoke to, the current commander of the Kingdom of Winds, from what you told us, it's clear that he’s not acting alone but was sent by someone or a group."

"Yes, I’ve considered that possibility too."

"Then it’s clear that we need to investigate this matter."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll take a small team and go on a reconnaissance mission."

"Why don’t we all go on the search operation?"

"No, that would draw attention in case there are any watchers. We don’t know what kind of entity we’re dealing with, so keep it a secret and cover it up if necessary."

Stolen novel; please report.

"Alright, understood." "By the way, where has Orus gone?"

"I don’t know, he didn’t tell me."

"Then I guess he might have thought the same thing. Listen, Garok, if I’m delayed in the search mission, take over the task of investigating the history of the winning knight. I don’t want them to contact me for that and find me missing."

"That’s fine, it’s a formal task anyway."

"Alright, I’m counting on you." Then Kai left and exited the palace.

Meanwhile, Knight V was preparing for his final fight. He was sitting, thinking about something, and looking at his weapon.

"My brother, I will find him, and he will pay the price. That psychopath will pay the price for everyone he has hurt, and I will protect the weak from people like him. Butcher Morgan, I’ll find you, no matter what world you’re in, no matter what town you’re in. One day, I will rip your guts out and make you taste the same pain you caused them. I promise you."

Kai prepared his horse and a group of knights, and they set off outside the walls of the Golden Kingdom toward a small village famous for its trade caravans, the same village where Knight V and Michael clashed for the first time.

As for Orus, he was heading to a place called the Desert Market, located in the desert area outside the borders of the Golden Kingdom. It wasn’t too far, but it was a market set up like tents and carpets after midnight, famous for gathering illegal and unlicensed trades. It was also a place where secret information was exchanged between gangs, bought, or traded. It might seem strange how such a place exists near a group of large kingdoms without their criminals being caught, but that's because, first, it’s outside the kingdoms’ boundaries, meaning they have no authority over it. Secondly, they indirectly benefit from parallel financial exchanges. Moreover, it's possible to buy information that cannot be obtained through official channels or exchange goods between two kingdoms without disclosing it or making it an official transaction. It’s a market that benefits all parties. It seems that Orus was investigating something there to uncover the truth about Shane and what exactly was going on.

The night before the final match, at 2:30 AM, A group of knight guards heard a scream coming from a nearby tavern near one of their watch areas. "Sir, did you hear that scream?"

"Don’t worry about it, they’re just a group of useless drunks."

Then, louder sounds of breaking and screaming followed, and the guards realized something was wrong. Two guards approached, opened the door, and aimed their weapons.

"What’s happening here?"

People, who seemed to have lost their minds, were covered in a strange aura, and their eye sockets were oozing blood. They attacked the guards as if they were wild animals. The guards began firing, but it wasn’t enough. They had taken down many of them, but the injured guards also turned into those creatures.

"Send a distress call, we need Golden Knights’ support immediately."

The message reached the palace, where Iliana was in her room working on the final speech for tomorrow’s tournament and also doing final preparations and instructions, when she heard a loud knock on the door. She opened the door quickly to find one of the assistants.

"I apologize, my lady, there's an emergency. There are monsters attacking the night guard squad in Wing 3. They’re asking for help urgently."

"Okay, I’ll be there immediately."

A few minutes later, Iliana and Seraphina arrived.

"Seraphina, just monitor the situation and try to discover the problem. I’ll take care of the attack."

"Alright."

Iliana quickly dashed forward, drew her sword, and unleashed a fiery aura around her as she attacked the savage soldiers. Indeed, she cut down many of them with little effort, leaving the guards in awe of her strength, especially since she was called "The Fire Queen" in the kingdom. This is the difference between an average-level knight and a Golden Knight.

After a short while, they heard an explosion from the tavern wall. A huge monster appeared with the same aura, a terrifying jaw, and massive claws. The monster attacked directly, but Iliana blocked it with a fiery shield. Then, she launched an attack with fiery crystal stones that fell on the monsters and killed them. Iliana returned her sword to its sheath, but the monster awoke and surprised her with a sudden attack. But Seraphina noticed it and cut off its arm with a cutting water magic attack.

"Isn’t this thing dead?" Iliana wondered, then exploded its head, confirming its death.

" what happened here?" Iliana asked.

Seraphina replied, "All the soldiers who attacked us had scratches or bite marks on them. It’s magical infection or some kind of curse that started from that monster."

"But how did it enter the kingdom?"

"I’ll take the monster’s body to the lab. Maybe we’ll get some clues or answers there." Seraphina replied,

"Things are happening, the situation in the kingdom isn’t good."

Then Iliana ordered the captain of the guard: "From today, triple the number of patrols and focus on searching for monsters or individuals in similar conditions to what we found today."

"Understood, my lady, we’ll carry that out."