Viktor appeared amidst the astonishment of everyone, his deep red coat adding an extra layer of danger to his presence.
"Your Majesty, Viktor Kravina has arrived," the eunuch reminded Emperor Aubrey Sol.
The surrounding mages exchanged glances, asking each other:
"Viktor Kravina? The head of the Kravina family?"
"Wasn't Viktor supposed to have died inside the volcano while trying to trigger an eruption?"
"He's not dead, but actually came back?"
Suddenly, one mage spoke up, addressing Viktor directly:
"Viktor! You criminal! How dare you come to the palace to see His Majesty!"
Hearing this, Viktor replied coldly, "Criminal? What crime have I committed?"
He turned his gaze towards the source of the voice.
His cold eyes pierced into the mage's heart like an ice spear, making him feel as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.
However, soon after, a surge of burning hatred spread throughout his body.
As if transported there, the next second, he found himself at the bottom of Mount Vesuvius.
The intense heat made him start to gasp for air...
Was that magic?
How could someone cultivate such a terrifying sense of magical pressure!
Suddenly, Viktor withdrew his gaze and turned back to the king.
"Ha! Huff..." The mage clutched his neck, breathing heavily, desperately craving the mild air.
Revenge, that was Viktor's revenge!
His heart was in chaos, drenched in cold sweat.
Even so, he felt compelled to stand up and question Viktor here.
"You... you nearly caused a volcanic eruption, you criminal!"
"Even if you didn't die, you've committed the grave sin of fleeing from justice! How dare you return!"
"Heh." Viktor sneered contemptuously, not sparing him another glance.
"I came at the Emperor's summons, yet you repeatedly question why I dare to return?"
"Are you saying... you have more authority than His Majesty?"
The mage hurriedly shut his mouth. Some things required him to be the instigator, but this was not something he dared to respond to.
However, his purpose had been achieved.
Some things, others would say for him.
The other mages quickly picked up the thread, their words filled with hostility towards Viktor.
"Your Majesty, the head of the Kravina family is simply talking nonsense!"
"He doesn't mention his crimes at all, and even slanders us and Your Majesty!"
"We implore Your Majesty to pass judgment!"
Emperor Aubrey Sol waved his hand, and the surrounding eunuchs immediately called out.
"Silence!"
In the hall, everyone obediently closed their mouths.
But they still glared at Viktor with hatred in their eyes, wishing they could flay him alive and drink his blood.
There was no help for it; he was Viktor Kravina after all.
He was naturally the target of resentment.
The Second Prince, standing among the crowd, shook his head.
It was a pity that Viktor hadn't been driven into a corner.
But... he hadn't died in the volcano after all.
The Second Prince still remembered the descriptions from the many mages at that time.
An astonishing energy had burst from the volcano's mouth, instantly suppressing the trend of eruption.
If Viktor had truly been inside the volcano at that time, attempting to cause an eruption,
There was no possibility he could have survived under that energy.
"Tsk, what a pity."
The emperor extended his hand, beckoning to Viktor, and the eunuch beside him immediately called out in the great hall:
"Viktor Kravina! Step forward to hear your judgment!"
Viktor walked to the closest position to His Majesty, waiting to be questioned.
The emperor opened his eyes, staring at Viktor, and asked, "Did you trigger the eruption of Mount Vesuvius?"
Hearing this question, everyone present couldn't help but crane their necks, curious about how Victor would answer.
Or rather, what they hoped for more was — Viktor's sophistry.
Gwen was equally curious, but she hoped more that Viktor could tell the truth.
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The truth that this matter had nothing to do with him.
Gwen's position by the emperor's side was not merely as His Majesty's guard.
Her role was crucial; with her heart of justice, she could easily discern truth from lies.
So, when the emperor questioned Viktor, Gwen's gaze remained fixed on him.
Her heart of justice had already been activated.
"The volcano's anomaly was indeed caused by me."
"Hiss—"
Viktor admitted frankly.
Hearing this truth, everyone couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath. Gwen's heart also skipped a beat.
She couldn't believe this was true, but her heart of justice told her the reality.
"Viktor is not lying," Gwen spoke up, pronouncing judgment on Viktor's truthfulness.
This statement almost ignited the emotions of everyone present.
They were like volcanoes suddenly erupting from silence, pointing at Viktor and beginning to unleash a torrent of abuse:
"Bastard! Do you know what you've done!"
"You're the culprit who nearly killed everyone!"
"A volcanic eruption, a disaster of this magnitude, do you know how great your responsibility is!?"
In Gwen's heart, there was also an unbearable emotion.
Viktor had become the culprit who nearly caused a volcanic eruption, and she was the one who found it hardest to accept.
Gwen felt incredibly guilty.
If a natural disaster had occurred, she would have been the greatest sinner.
She hadn't refused to accompany Viktor, and in the end, it had nearly caused a catastrophe.
"But, the person who stopped the volcanic eruption was also me."
Suddenly, Gwen raised her head, a flash of obvious shock passing through her eyes.
"Viktor is not lying..."
Duke Levi, who had been kneeling expressionlessly on the ground, suddenly raised his head.
Just as Viktor had aroused everyone's anger, his next sentence suppressed everyone's mouths once again.
Accompanied by the judgment of Gwen's heart of justice, this sentence was like a thousand-year-old ice sealing off a volcano, plunging everyone present back into boundless silence.
All the mages present had clearly witnessed that scene.
At the moment when the volcano was about to erupt, that shocking white light had shot into the sky, mercilessly suppressing the volcano.
That was definitely not a power that humans could possess.
And now, Viktor actually said that he had stopped the volcanic eruption.
Even the volcano's mother wouldn't dare to think such a thing!
But, Gwen actually said that Viktor wasn't lying?
Aubrey looked at everyone's reactions, then turned back to Viktor and asked.
"Viktor, what was your reason for doing this?"
Viktor knew that if he lied, Gwen would detect it.
He didn't want to think too much, so he simply decided to tell the truth about the volcano.
Sincerity was the ultimate killer move.
"Your Majesty, beneath the volcano, a terrifying magical beast named 'Guledon' was sealed."
"If this magical beast isn't dealt with now, in a year and a half, it will break through the seal, causing the volcano to erupt completely."
"At that time, the scale of the natural disaster would be enough to swallow heaven and earth."
The emperor narrowed his eyes, staring at Viktor and asking:
"So, you dealt with that magical beast?"
Viktor placed his hand on his chest, bowing slightly.
"I was fortunate enough not to disappoint."
At this moment, even without Gwen standing up to confirm his truthfulness,
The mages all became anxious.
"Your Majesty! Don't believe Viktor's lies! This must be a fabrication to shirk responsibility!"
"Pure fabrication! How could there possibly be a magical beast under the volcano! Even if there were, how could such a powerful creature be dealt with by Viktor alone?"
"We all saw the magic at that time, that kind of magical energy is simply not something humans can possess!"
"At least not something a third-tier mage like Viktor could achieve!"
The surrounding mages once again aimed their spearheads at Viktor.
"In our opinion, Viktor is lying!"
Only a few third-tier mages remained silent, including Baron Beck.
He looked down at the few mages he was friendly with around him, and similarly, they were also looking at Beck at the same time.
They simultaneously recalled the mad old woman in Sanchel Town.
'The legend of the Volcano God... is true.'
The king turned his head to look at Gwen, and Gwen nodded, indicating that Viktor was not lying.
"Knight Commander Gwen, if I remember correctly, you have an engagement with Viktor, right?" the Second Prince said as he walked out from the crowd.
Gwen heard his question, paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Even when investigating the volcano, Miss Gwen requested Viktor as the accompanying mage."
"And Viktor disappeared for seven or eight days, do you really not know what he did?"
The Second Prince spoke with a smile on his face, but his words were clearly intended to strike at the heart.
At this, many mages reacted.
Gwen also didn't back down, staring firmly at the Second Prince, saying, "Your Highness, are you questioning me?"
Hearing this, the Second Prince smiled slightly and nodded, saying,
"Please understand, this is a reasonable doubt."
The emperor spoke up at this point, saying, "Gwen's heart of justice has never been wrong."
The Second Prince bowed to the emperor:
"Father, please allow me to speak frankly. The heart of justice can indeed discern truth from falsehood in others' words."
"But who can discern the truth and falsehood in Gwen's words?"
The other mages' eyes lit up when they heard this.
"That's right! Gwen is Viktor's fiancée!"
"We almost got deceived by this cunning couple!"
"The Second Prince makes sense, how can we discern the truth in Gwen's words?"
The mages were overjoyed, if it weren't for the Second Prince suddenly appearing to save the situation, they would have almost been outmaneuvered by Viktor and his wife against the odds.
Indeed, the Second Prince was brilliantly clever.
Gwen opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but faced with the questioning of the surrounding mages, she was so flustered that she couldn't say a word, and her eyes even reddened with anger.
As a knight, she could protect the country and fight enemies.
But when it came to verbal sparring, she could never match these eloquent mages in her lifetime.
"Then, Your Highness, are you questioning my abilities?"
At this moment, Viktor spoke up.
He didn't turn back to look at the Second Prince, and none of the mages behind him could see his expression at this time.
The Second Prince narrowed his eyes and smiled, with a composed demeanor.
"Lord Viktor, I think everyone present is aware of your talent."
"But for you to fabricate a so-called magical beast to hide your actions."
"Lord Viktor, you are but a third-tier mage after all."
"Isn't it a bit thoughtless to make such boasts?"
His words resonated deeply.
With so many third-tier mages present, no one would believe that Viktor alone had stopped the volcanic eruption.
They couldn't do it, so Viktor, also a third-tier mage, couldn't possibly do it either.
Because the pride of these mages wouldn't allow Viktor to be stronger than themselves who were at the same level.
So they wouldn't believe it.
But at this moment, Viktor, who had been standing still, suddenly disappeared.
Everyone widened their eyes, trying to find Viktor's whereabouts.
Instead, a ball of flame rose into the air.
"Where did Viktor go?"
In an instant, countless intricate magic arrays formed above the Second Prince's head, rotating ceaselessly.
There were so many that none of the mages present could clearly see a single pattern.
"What... What kind of formation is this?"
"The patterns are so chaotic... no! The patterns are too complex, it's impossible to comprehend!"
"What's going on here?"
All the mages present were shocked. They wanted to stop it, to see through it, but the temperature in the room suddenly rose sharply.
At this moment, they couldn't even calm down enough to release their magic power.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Quick... look! Is that, is that Viktor!?"
A mage pointed at the sky in terror.
They saw Viktor's figure bathed in flames, gradually forming a fiery magical image that touched the ceiling, burning like the sun, dazzlingly bright.
The intense heat caused the walls around the hall to start burning, and even the floor of the great hall began to crack due to the high temperature.
His eyes coldly stared at the Second Prince, the pressure from above making the Second Prince not dare to even breathe.
"You say my power is insufficient?"
Out of nowhere, a flame ignited on the Second Prince's clothes.
Smoke gradually rose, but under the intense heat, he couldn't even feel that he was burning in the flames.
Gwen stood in front of the king, using her enchanted armor to block the scorching light emitted by Viktor.
"Then let's let power speak for itself."
Hum — Hum — Hum —
Countless magic arrays rang out with complex sounds, drowning out the confused voices of everyone present, gradually merging.
Suddenly, a mage looked at the sky in terror and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"That is... fourth-tier magic!"