Armipotent

Tang Shaoyang was not surprised by the transformation. This was not the first time General Deon used the transformation in front of him. He just did not expect General Deon could finish the transformation in time despite his strike.

General Deon smiled wryly as their eyes met, "I thought you would leave if I didn't attack you back, but it seems you are determined to kill Prince Ophilio."

"I will appreciate it if you don't meddle, General Deon."

"Unfortunately, I can't allow that to happen," General Deon shook his head, "I am not just a General, but also Prince Ophilio's Guardian. If Prince Ophilio dies under my watch, my head will be gone too. However, we can settle this peacefully. I can promise you... No, I guarantee you that you will not be a criminal of the Galend Kingdom. At least, I have that much authority to ensure that."

"What do you mean by that, General Deon! Trying to assassinate the prince is a capital crime! Have you gone insane? Kill him right now!" Prince Ophilio snapped out of his fear after hearing the conversation. He could not believe General Deon tried to negotiate with the criminal after what happened.

"Unfortunately, I can't kill him. On top of that, I am not his target, but you. I have to fight while protecting you," General Deon's smile disappeared as he turned toward Prince Ophilio, "Also, can you tell me the advantage of fighting the person who has helped us a lot? What's the benefit of killing him? Not only do we have to sacrifice a lot of people to kill him, but there's no benefit aside from satisfying your silly pride."

"I command you to kill him, so you must kill him! You are just a servant to the royal family, don't ever try to talk back to me!" Prince Ophilio stood up as he furiously pointed his finger at General Deon, "Unless you have a death wish!"

General Deon let out a chuckle, "It seems you are not aware of the Guardian's authority, My Prince. Guardian's duty is not just to protect the princes and princesses from danger but also to prevent you from doing a stupid thing. Fighting Sir Tang Shaoyang is something stupid, borderline idiotic idea. Can't let that happen, especially if you are in the wrong in this case."

Tang Shaoyang listened to the conversation between the two and understood the general situation. General Deon was not just a commander but also a Guardian of the prince. It seems the Guardian has more authority than even a prince was not aware of. Of course, he did not believe what General Deon said. It might be a bluff to avoid the fight against him.

"Why should I believe you?" The fight gave him no benefit, but he did not want to back down after how the prince treated him. No benefit for him, but he was not going to leave people who mistreated him. That was one of many reasons he chased after power. He would not let others take control of him anymore.

"That's right; why should you believe me? I can't earn your trust despite being on your side for over two months, facing a life-and-death battle," General Deon smiled while nodding his head, "What about the oath? I will take an oath that everything I told you is true; if I lied, then I will die a horrible death?"

General Deon did not wait for Tang Shaoyang to respond as he made an oath by himself. His body glowed in white after finishing the oath, but again, Tang Shaoyang had no way to confirm if the oath was genuine or just a mere trick.

"As I said, why should I believe you? There's no such oath in my world," Tang Shaoyang shook his head. He was telling the truth as the only Priest who could hold an oath ceremony. He did not know that an individual oath existed, just like what General Deon said and did.

Tang Shaoyang took out a scroll from the inventory, the contract scroll. He always brought the scrolls wherever he went. There were fifty contract scrolls in his inventory, and he never forgot to stock them up each time he went for a long journey. The contract scroll was hand and easy to use. He just needed to look at the scroll and use his thoughts to write the contract. There was no need for ink and brush or even pen to write the content.

Zhang Mengyao, Li Shuang, Kang Xue, and the others taught him how to draft a contract. Tang Shaoyang also had made many, if not hundreds of, contracts. He finished drafting the contract in less than a minute, and he threw the contract to General Deon, "Sign the contract with your blood. That's one of many ways to gain my trust. If you sign it, then we can continue our talk, or we can continue our fight."

The content of the contract was quite simple, a testimony that General Deon had been telling the truth about everything. If he lied, then the contract would tell Tang Shaoyang. Contrary to the oath, the contract did not give a direct punishment for breaking the contract. So the contract was just an assurance for Tang Shaoyang to know if General Deon was lying or telling the truth.

"I have taken the oath. I don't mind signing the contract," General Deon sliced his thumb into the sword and placed his sliced thumb on the contract. The leather contract glowed in red for three seconds, and he tossed the contract back to Tang Shaoyang.

When the breach happened, the contract would turn deep red. The fact the contract remained the same was obvious that General Deon did not lie. If the fight could be avoided, then it was in the best interest of Tang Shaoyang. While it was hard to claim anything from the tenth floor because everything belonged either to the demon faction or the Galend Kingdom, he could still get something from the Galend Kingdom since they helped them to fight the demon faction. However, killing the prince would cut their relationship completely with the Galend Kingdom, so he tried to avoid that unless the prince was a complete asshole.

A Series of heavy footsteps sounded before Tang Shaoyang, and General Deon continued the conversation. The knights came with such a huge disturbance. Tang Shaoyang took a look behind him, where hundreds of knights lined up behind him, blocking all the escape. The Captain, who was obvious with the red cape on his back, stood in front of the knights as he assessed the situation.

The Captain thought it was the demon that set up the ambush, but he found no demon around. He spotted the terrified Prince Ophilio, who was fumed, his superior General Deon, and the vital figure who led them to win against the demon. He did not spot enemies, making him confused about what actually happened inside the building.

"Arrest the traitor! He's working with the demon and trying to assassinate me!" Sure enough, Prince Ophilio took the situation in his favor as he ordered the knights to fight Tang Shaoyang. Of course, he miscalculated something, something that never crossed his mind, which was that the knights did not listen to his order.

The knights fought alongside Tang Shaoyang, and even the Captain was saved by Tang Shaoyang during the battle against the demon. The knights were not stupid enough to listen to the order without thinking. However, the Knight Captain was put in a tough situation because of Prince Ophilio's order. If he did not listen to the prince's order, the kingdom would charge him as a traitor for not listening to the Royal Family's order.

At this moment, the Knight Captain witnessed something outrageous. General Deon walked next to Prince Ophilio and punched the prince in the gut. Prince Ophilio fell on his knees, clutching his stomach as he looked up at General Deon. He could not believe that General Deon would punch him. He started tearing up as his eyes and mouth went wide.

General Deon delivered a chop to the back of Prince Ophilio's head. The prince fell to the floor, losing consciousness. General Deon's action shocked all the knights, not expecting the general would hit the prince. The Knight Captain was alarmed, thinking about what Prince Ophilio had just said.

"Don't be alarmed, Knight Captain Denis. There's no demon or anything. It's just a misunderstanding between Prince Ophilio and Sir Tang Shaoyang," General Deon picked up the unconscious prince and threw the body toward the Knight Captain, "Get Prince Ophilio to the room. We will talk after I clear the misunderstanding with Sir Tang Shaoyang."