Two Weeks Earlier

The village of Gunta was no more. Once a thriving settlement, it now lay in ruins. The charred remains of monstrous creatures littered the ground, their twisted forms a testament to the ferocity of the attack. The villagers, who had once called this place home, were now nothing more than lifeless bodies, piled together in a macabre heap.

Even the corpses of the rescue team were here, all dead, their wounds seemingly inflicted just a couple of hours ago.

A scout, horrified by the sight, quickly moved to follow the trail of battle. The path led him into the dense forest, where the signs of conflict were still fresh. Broken branches, scorched earth, and the occasional splash of blood marked the way. The scout's heart pounded as he pressed on.

He came across a broken carriage, its wooden frame splintered and a giant boulder crushing it. Nearby lay the mutilated corpse of one of the kingdom's informants. The scout recognized him instantly.

"I can't believe even old Gin is dead," he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief and sorrow. "Just what the hell happened here?"

The scout knelt beside Gin's body, noting the deep gashes and burn marks that marred his flesh.

"Sir Sage," he called.

The sage, a tall figure draped in a cloak that seemed to blend with the shadows, stepped forward. Bending over, he picked something from the corpse-a name tag.

"Let's go," the sage said, his voice firm.

The forest was eerily quiet, with only the soft rustle of leaves underfoot breaking the silence. The scout moved cautiously through the underbrush, his trained eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of disturbance. Suddenly, he halted and raised his hand in a silent signal.

"Sir Sage, there are marks of fighting here," he reported, his voice low but urgent.

The sage's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene before him. The forest floor was littered with the bodies of Empire knights and members of the Guardian Organization. The battle had been fierce, and it was clear that some time had already passed since the clash; the blood staining the ground had begun to dry.

He moved among the fallen, noting the wounds inflicted by both magic and steel. His practiced gaze took in the details-burn marks from spells, deep gashes from swords. Each detail told a story of the violent encounter that had transpired. As he examined the scene, something caught his attention: a faint trail of dark mana lingering in the air. He followed the trace, his senses keen and alert.

At the source of the mana, he found a gruesome sight. The body of Rod Thorden, the second son of the Thorden family, lay crumpled on the ground. An arrow had pierced his skull, and his arms had been severed. The robes he wore, the distinctive garb of the Guardian Organization, were soaked in blood. The sage shook his head in disappointment.

"Rod Thorden," he muttered, recognizing the young man.

Suddenly, a shout broke the silence. "Sir!! Knight Evan is still breathing! His heartbeat is slowly fading!" one of the scouts called out.

The sage hurried to the scout's side, where Knight Evan lay sprawled on the ground. His breath was shallow and labored, a sword protruding from his abdomen. His armor was shattered, and his skin had turned an alarming shade of pale from blood loss. Poison darts were embedded around his neck, their lethal toxins taking their toll.

The sage knelt beside Evan and placed his palm on the knight's chest. A soft green glow emanated from his hand as he began to channel healing magic. "Pull the sword out," he instructed one of the scouts.

The scout nodded and, with a firm grip on the sword's hilt, pulled it free in a swift motion. The sage's healing magic intensified, knitting together torn flesh and purging the poison from Evan's body. The knight's breathing steadied, though he remained unconscious.

"It might take a while for him to wake up," the sage said, his voice tinged with relief. "Take him to the rear with care. I have seen enough-we are returning now."

The group made their way back to Qweldom Kingdom. They took Evan to the Healers' Tower, where skilled medics would look after him.

The sage then proceeded to the royal palace to report to the king. The palace gates loomed ahead, guarded by vigilant soldiers. He produced a badge, a token of his close association with the king. The guards stepped aside but not without ensuring the badge's authenticity through a quick verification by a royal mage.

"You may now enter."

Once inside, the sage walked through the grand halls and into the throne room. He knelt before the king, Dantz Greystone, the 19th ruler of Qweldom. The king's presence was commanding, his gaze steady as he listened to the sage's report.

"Your Majesty," the sage began, "I bring grave news from the village of Gunta. The monster invasion wiped out the village; not a single survivor was spared. Then our knights were killed. It seems the Guardian Organization is responsible for the massacre; not even Sir Gin survived." He handed over a name tag and a red robe, collected as evidence.

King Dantz Greystone's expression darkened. "I see."

After a moment, he stood up. "Clain!" he called.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Clain quickly hurried to the king's side. "What is it, my king?" he asked, kneeling before him.

"The Guardian Organization is acting up again. Raise the security of the palace," the king said, his voice resolute. "Our kingdom's strength must not be challenged without consequence."

"Prepare for war. And Sage, is there anything more?"

The sage nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said while tapping on his wrist repeatedly, as if conveying a code.

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The king nodded. "Clain, do everything I just said. And Sage, follow me."

Inside the opulent chambers of the king's office, an air of tension and anticipation hung heavily. With a simple snap of the sage's finger, a soundproof spell was cast instantly.

"The dead body of the Thorden family's second son was found in the forest of Gunta Village. He was wearing the Guardian's robe. I suspect the rest of the family, so I'm asking Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation without alarming them or any Guardian member hiding in the kingdom."

The king nodded, absorbing the gravity of the news. "I already have someone tailing the Thorden family and two others. Your findings are helpful. Additionally, a scout discovered a suspicious entrance in the Glow Leaf Forest. They suspect it could be one of the Guardians' hidden bases or a dungeon. The entrance seemed to be covered with illusion magic according to their report." He pointed at a map, indicating the location. "I need your help to investigate this. This is not a request but a command. You can't refuse." He handed the map to the sage. "If possible, infiltrate their place and gather information about other bases."

The sage sighed deeply, grabbing the map and placing it in his bag.

"Additionally, our magic detectors picked up something strange last night near the Gunta Forest. A large quantity of magic surged to a frightening level. Experts suspect it could be a dragon going through an awakening or evolution. However, there has never been a sighting of any draconic creature in that area. Add that to your list and work yourself to death. That's it for now."

After bidding farewell to the king, the sage made his way back to the 8 Great Mystic Towers, a journey marked by the silent contemplation of his heavy responsibilities. As he entered the grand halls of the towers, he was greeted warmly by many, mostly eager magic students who looked up to him.

Upon reaching his private quarters, the sage chanted "Open." In response, a section of the floor magically collapsed in a precise pattern, revealing a hidden armory. Various pieces of armor and numerous wands floated around, each item shimmering with enchantments.

He selected a large, intricately carved wand and a set of light armor that closely resembled that of a knight's. The armor was crafted from rare materials, offering both protection and flexibility. The sage carefully donned the armor, feeling its magic-infused resilience. He then prepared a bag of various pills, each designed to aid him in different aspects of his mission, from healing to enhancing his magical abilities.

Before leaving, he scribbled a quick note that read, "Will be back soon," and placed it on his desk where it would be easily seen.

Embarking towards the hidden base in the Glow Leaf Forest, the sage moved with a determined purpose. Halfway there, he cast a powerful disguise spell, altering his appearance and concealing his true identity. He put the robe over his armor, ensuring that he blended seamlessly into his surroundings.

For 13 days, he disguised himself as one of them, blending seamlessly into the expendable group. Entering and infiltrating their ranks was surprisingly easy. The elitist nobles didn't care about the lowest group, using them for both experiments and dangerous tasks. As long as they were useful, they were accepted.

Most of the expendables were the illegitimate offspring of nobles. It didn't matter what name you used to get in; as long as you weren't a pureblood, you were treated as trash. Among the expendables, including himself, were at least 51 illegitimate blood nobles.

These illegitimate nobles shared the same goals as the pureblood elitists. They believed that by eradicating the inferior bloodlines, they would be freed from the ties that connected them to commoners. It was a foolish and twisted rationale, preferring to have a million soldiers after them rather than live a good life by doing good deeds and not following the elitists' cruel footsteps.

During his infiltration, the sage gathered valuable intelligence on the other bases, meticulously noting their locations. In almost two weeks, he had identified eight bases. Each day, he carefully collected information, trying to pinpoint where the others were, all while maintaining his cover among the expendables. The knowledge he amassed would be crucial in the effort to dismantle the hidden base of the Guardians.

While meticulously drawing maps and tracing the positions of the hidden bases scattered around the country, the sage overheard some members discussing a sinister plan. They spoke of an impending sacrifice of a young girl with the rare ability to control mana in the air.

As he went about his odd tasks inside the base, his gaze kept drifting towards one of the forbidden doors. Though he could easily enter all the rooms in this base, doing so would raise alarms. Expendables and low ranks were restricted to certain areas, and the important doors were sealed with high-tier magic. The smallest disruption would definitely set off an alarm, a risk he couldn't afford.

Standing by the walls of the room, he thought of a way to get in. "I could break the walls," he mused, but even that came with its risks. Channeling mana into his eyes, he saw trails of mana intricately woven around the rooms that low ranks were barred from entering.

It seemed the organization had learned from past raids. Previously, one could check every room by breaking through the walls and using a bit of illusion magic. But now, the barriers were more sophisticated, the mana trails indicating a complex network of magical alarms ready to alert at the slightest breach.

He knew he had to find a more subtle approach. Breaking the walls might disrupt the mana enough to trigger the alarms. His mind raced as he considered his options. He needed to get in without being detected, gather the critical information.

It would be useful if he could see through walls, but such magic, unfortunately, did not exist—at least not yet. He found it peculiar that their recruiting system hadn't improved at all. Perhaps their pride was at work.

The rooms were also soundproofed with magic, making it impossible to hear through the walls. Whoever set these enchantments was clearly a master, as the mana signatures seemed to belong to the same person. The smallest disruption would give away any infiltration attempt.

A few hours later, an important figure entered the base, wearing a mask without holes. This figure descended into the deep dungeon, an area he hadn't been able to explore yet. Not even half an hour later, the figure emerged and headed to another restricted area.

He couldn't help but wonder what was going on. "What are they up to now?" he muttered. Standing idle attracted suspicious looks, so he moved on to avoid blowing his cover.

As he did so, an unexpected figure appeared—a girl with icy-colored hair, a gorgeous young beauty well-known in the capital. He couldn't believe his eyes. "Were all those just a facade?"

His gaze attracted the girl's attention. She approached him with a smile, a total opposite to her public persona. This smile was filled with disgust, and she looked at him sharply with disdain.

"Keep your filthy eyes away!" she screamed, then hastily wrapped him in cold, thorny ice vines.

"Wa-wait! Forgive me, Master Fryne," he quickly said, putting his acting skills to use, his face changing to one of despair.

Fryne found this amusing and decided to release him. "That's right, kneel and fear me, you filthy blood."

He did as she commanded, acting like a scared dog. Suddenly, a strong surge of mana erupted somewhere. All the mana strings supporting the magic systems around the restricted rooms were disrupted, their connections going awry. He quickly turned toward the direction of the surge.

What was that?

The quantity of mana was incredible, comparable to the awakening of a teenage dragon. Even Fryne was shocked, looking in the same direction.

"What did they bring into this place?" she said, slightly shaking.

Taking this chance, he broke free from Fryne's icy restraints and quickly disappeared from sight. The alarm was already set off, but when he reached the center, the place was a mess. Dead Guardian members lay everywhere, the scene a wreckage of slashed, mangled, or gnawed corpses.

This could be one of the experiments gone berserk, but it was strange. How had he missed such a huge commotion? The disturbance was too significant to have escaped his detection.

With urgency, he tore off his robe and used magic to dig through the dungeon walls, arriving directly at the place. There, he saw a little girl coated with pure mana, almost like she was on fire, standing on an altar, scared, with the masked man beside her. Corpses and shattered frozen meat of the berserked experiment littered the area.

"What a pain..." he sighed, preparing himself for the battle ahead.