Legacy of the Dark Sage

Every knight looked at Kyran and then at Cyneah with a puzzled expression. They did not know who Cyneah was, but they recognized her robes and knew she was an Eidum. None of them recognized her as the Saint because she had a double pretending to be her when she was in public.

Actually, even in front of high-ranking people from other nations, Cyneah's double would be the one to appear. Apart from a few Eidums at the border and selected members of the fake Sovereign's faction, no one knew Cyneah was the Saint. These knights, who were all low-ranked, would never have had the opportunity to even meet her double in person.

When news of Akim and Kesiah's rebellion reached the knights, they heard a rumor that they were working with the Eidums. Initially, none of them believed it. However, Filren and his group, who were the first ones to engage Akim and Keziah's rebel group at the fort they occupied, confirmed that the Eidums were indeed among the rebel ranks. From this, the knights believed that the rebellion was not a simple one but likely a conquest.

If it were a simple rebellion, on the off chance that the rebels won, the result would be them overthrowing King Aran's authority and Akim or Kesiah assuming leadership. But if it was a conquest, then there was a possibility that the Armakea, under new leadership, would form an alliance or even merge with the Eidums. The knights leaned toward the former since they believed the Eidums would not want to merge with the Armakeans.

However, it appeared that their understanding of the overall situation had been superficial. Looking at Kyran, whom they believed to be an Imon-spawn, could he be the real master behind the rebellion? The way Filren addressed Kyran made them believe this. Apart from that, he seemed to be prominent in lost technology. Could he have used his knowledge of the lost technology to negotiate with Akim and Kesiah as well as the Eidums? And once the rebellion succeeded, did he plan to rule both Armakea and the Land of the Eidums?

If Kyran could read their minds, he would have been dumbfounded. While they were correct about him being the real master behind the rebellion, he had no plans of becoming a ruler. There were not even any plans to merge the two nations.

"'Most?'" Kyran repeated, inwardly confirming how many knights were there.

While more than half of those he imprisoned in the Void Domain were there, the quantity of those who stayed behind was a little worrying. If they stayed simply because they did not want to help, that was fine. But if they had any intentions of sabotaging their plans, Kyran's side would receive attacks from both ends. If that were the case, he would prefer not to receive any help at all.

Seemingly understanding what Kyran was pondering, Filren explained, "The others stayed behind to calm the civilians because the destruction of the castle caused a mass panic. The aftershock also destroyed quite a lot of establishments, and with the sudden disappearance of the Military District, we could only split up to deal with the unrest."

[All of them agreed to a truce, Master.]

Filren added telepathically. 

Hearing this, Kyran inwardly shook his head. He could guess why they willingly offered a truce.

It had something to do with Filren becoming his Sigil. To them, Filren was one of the most respected knights and the second most powerful aide to the King. It was impossible for him to betray the King, especially with the pact in place. Most probably, they presumed that Filren became an enemy against his will and Kyran was controlling him. Thus, when Kyran asked Filren to take the knights to safety, they believed it was the former controlling the latter.

While that was pretty much the truth, except there was no controlling involved, the knights felt that Kyran was not all bad. Moreover, he could have killed them earlier but did not. Meaning he was not entirely evil. Considering this, they offered a truce. However, Kyran believed that the truce was offered because only in this way could they move freely and look for an opportunity to attack.

In the end, the possibility of being betrayed was still there and Kyran would rather have them join the enemy ranks. Because at the end of the day, he would all turn them into his Sigils.

"Kyran..."

Cyneah's voice brought Kyran out of his reverie. He looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I still have enough magic energy, but... it may not be enough to support everyone... I've exhausted my potions and can only replenish my magic energy slowly..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at all the silhouettes behind them.

In her eyes, their lights were still full of life, meaning they were still in tip-top shape. She believed they would not need her support until the battle escalated. But because the odds were against them, no matter how powerful Kyran was, Cyneah believed it would only be a matter of time before they would need her. But given what little magic energy she had left and how much she could recover before they would need her, it would not be enough to support them in a prolonged battle.

Kyran paused for a moment and blinked after realizing what Cyneah was worried about. He then said with a very solemn expression, "I didn't take you with me to be our support."

It was Cyneah's turn to blink as she tilted her head slightly, "Then why...?"

"I almost lost you again, I don't want to take any more chances."

Cyneah flushed and opened her mouth to tell him this was not the time to say such things. Unfortunately, no words came out because she was too flustered to speak.

Kyran was quite amused at Cyneah's reaction. But he did not tease her because his preparations were almost complete, and he was ready to continue what he forcefully put on hold a while ago.

How and when did Kyran start his preparation? He had been preparing soon after dealing with Flos and Obstruction. As to what he prepared, it would be revealed soon enough.

Kyran looked at Filren and said, 'They may have agreed to a truce, but don't let your guard down.'

Filren gave Kyran a meaningful look.

[Don't worry. I am aware of their thoughts.]

Kyran gave a slight nod of acknowledgment before addressing the rest of the knights.

"If you want to help, I won't reject it. But before you jump in and do anything, observe the overall situation first. You'd be surprised at what you'll discover."

None of the knights said anything. They only looked at Kyran with straightforward eyes.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Kyran looked back to the lush forest below.

"How far are we in the city?" He asked Filren.

"Around two hundred meters."

Kyran frowned, "That's still pretty close."

"We are at the northern part of Armakea. The closest area to here is the castle, which is no more."

Kyran inwardly calculated their coordinates and distance and compared it to the Armakea map in his mind. Judging that it was indeed safe, he nodded and said, "Alright, let's start."

"Won't we be waiting for others?"

A knight behind Filren suddenly asked.

"We have everyone here," Kyran replied with a shrug.

Without waiting for the knight to ask another question, Kyran aimed a hand at the lush forest below while his eyes flashed silver.

Fooom!

As he did, a powerful pressure weighed down from above and instantly leveled the forest to the ground.

BOOOM!

A gust of wind rushed to their side as the impact of the pressure's leveling of the forest erupted. 

All knights, Filren included, gaped at the scene before them in shock. This was the first time they had seen someone level a whole forest using only his pressure.

Cyneah was also surprised. But her reaction was not as exaggerated as the others. At times, she would say Kyran could not shoulder everything alone, but that was only her saying those things because she was overly concerned about his well-being. However, if she would put aside her emotions, she knew he truly had the ability to do anything, even the impossible.

Soon after the whole forest was leveled, a massive purple disc appeared, followed by several human-sized dark purple spheres emerging from within.

Among these spheres, there was actually one that caught everyone's eye because its size was far too big.

Inside these spheres were all the automatons and knights that Kyran had captured and sent to a separate void because he had to prioritize the situation on Malek's side.

Looking at the spheres that appeared below, everyone noticed they were separated into groups somehow.

The massive sphere to their right was together with several other smaller spheres. Then, to their left, there was a congregation of these spheres that far outnumbered the ones with the massive sphere.

Lastly, there were about a hundred or so spheres that were near the edge of the cliff, quite close to where Kyran and them were.

Obviously, the group with the massive sphere were the ones in the underground section of the castle, while those with far too many spheres were those in the Military District.

As for the spheres near the edge of the cliff, they were Noir and the others, including Armak, Breira, and the automatons Kyran had converted.

Filren's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the direction of the massive sphere. He then asked, "Master, let me take care of Mo."

Kyran smiled slightly and said, "Go."

Without waiting for the spheres to release the people within, Filren had already gone to where he sensed Mo.