The King's Revenge (Part 1)

Philiers, the King's Bedchamber

"Click"

A silvery-white flash, accompanied by a deafening roar of thunder, burst into the palace, instantly illuminating the once pitch-black palace as if it were daytime. However, the light came and went quickly. Just as darkness was about to return to the palace, the person lying on the bed suddenly sprang up, shouting in alarm.

"Ah!"

Gasping for breath, and looking around at the familiar surroundings, Belmod finally realized that what she had just experienced was a dream. After calming down, Belmod wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, then turned and got out of bed to go to the tea table in her bedroom to pour herself some water. It was then that she noticed the strangeness in her bedroom.

After glancing around at the dark surroundings, Belmod turned her gaze to the balcony where the cold wind was blowing in, and then she called softly towards a corner of the balcony, "Is that you?"

After a while, a hoarse voice, whose direction was impossible to discern, echoed in the palace.

"I have come here abruptly and have disturbed Your Majesty. Please forgive me!"

"I promised you that you could come here to report to me at any time, so I won't be angry that you came here so abruptly and disturbed me! By the way, is there anything important that brings you here so late at night?"

"Your Majesty, a few days ago, No. 13 escaped from his hiding place and brought back some earth-shattering intelligence."

Seeing the shadowy figure suddenly stop speaking, Belmod said irritably, "When did you learn to keep people in suspense? Huh? Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and tell me, what information did No. 13 bring back!"

"According to No. 13, His Majesty's newly appointed Commander of the Western Border Army, General Oddek, is actually Prince Sordil of Fostadu in disguise!"

After the shadowy figure finished speaking, Belmod's water glass Crush. The next second, His Majesty the King shouted loudly towards the balcony, "What did you just say? Say it again!"

"The newly appointed Commander of the Western Border Army, General Oddek, is actually Prince Sordil of Fostadu in disguise!"

Although this was the second time she had heard the news, Belmod still refused to believe such a shocking tale, repeatedly muttering words like "impossible," "can't be," and "absolutely impossible." After a long while, Belmod looked towards the balcony and asked, "How did No. 13 find out about this?"

"A few days ago, Sordil returned to Fostadu to report the victory on the front lines. At the same time, he handed over a large batch of captured ingredients to Seraf Ornn, the current head of Fostadu, and ordered Seraf to cook the ingredients into a dish and hold a banquet to celebrate the victory against the Evil Dragon of the Western Continent. During the banquet, Seraf got drunk and blurted out this secret."

"So, this could be that Seraf was just talking nonsense while drunk, and it's not the truth?"

"Your Majesty, No. 13 would swear on his life that this news is absolutely true!"

"Swear on my life? Hmph! Do you know what price I'll pay if this news turns out to be false?"

"This..."

"Send No. 13 back to Fostadu immediately to confirm the authenticity of this news!"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this won't work! Because the day after No. 13 escaped, Seraf announced the news of No. 13's defection to the entire city of Fostadu and told everyone that if they saw No. 13, they should be killed without mercy."

Belmod slammed her fist on the coffee table in front of her and said angrily, "So, for the sake of such a piece of information, whether true or false, we needlessly destroyed one of our most useful pieces?"

"Your Majesty, I had already made this guess before I received the news, but I did not have any clear evidence at the time, so I did not report it to Your Majesty rashly."

"Oh? Why would you make that guess?"

"Your Majesty, the reason I have this suspicion is because many recent events are too abnormal! First, isn't the timing of our acquisition of the information that Oddek is a defector from Fostadu a bit too coincidental? Don't you think that this information was deliberately released so that you would appoint Oddek as the peace ambassador? Second, regarding the assassination attempt on Oddek during the peace negotiations, don't you think that assassination was hasty and contrived, as if it was deliberately arranged to prove to everyone that Oddek was a traitor to Fostadu? Also, half a month ago, when Sordil caused a ruckus in the Kingdom of Donagunov, he clearly had the opportunity to eliminate the traitor Oddek, but he allowed him to leave the Kingdom of Donagunov unharmed! Even more suspicious is that Oddek didn't encounter any assassination attempts on his way back to West City?"

"Finally, on the eve of the war with the Western Continent, Irene received a plea for help from King of Babaronza, but she did not send Belserion. Instead, she gave this important opportunity to investigate the true situation of the Western Continent to Sordil. Moreover, according to our informant in Dragunov, on the night Sordil caused a ruckus in the Kingdom of Donagunov, the sound of a man and a woman arguing could be heard in the palace. The man's voice was exactly the same as Oddek's voice, but no one else entered the palace that night except Sordil."

At this point, Belmod was beginning to believe that Oddek was indeed Sordil, but the racial differences between dragons and humans remained a deep-seated obstacle in his mind, preventing him from fully accepting the news. Just as Belmod was agonizing over this shocking revelation, he suddenly remembered something the other person had mentioned.

"Wait! You just said, on the eve of the war with the Western Continent? In other words, we're already at war with the dragons of the Western Continent?"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Half a month ago, the United Front Alliance led by the Kingdom of Donagunov launched a major battle against the dragons of the western Western Continent in western Ishgar. Currently, the two sides are still locked in fierce combat."

"What? Such a big thing happened and I didn't even know? What is the Prime Minister good for?"

"Your Majesty, this matter is not the Prime Minister's fault. It was the Queen who forbade the Prime Minister to tell you these things."

"So you're just going to stand by and do nothing?"

"Your Majesty, it's not that I didn't want to tell you these things, but I've simply been too busy lately."

"Can't get away? What does that mean?"

"Your Majesty may not know this, but two new intelligence factions have recently emerged in Philiers: one called the Silver Moon Society and the other called Drunken Sky Snow. These two factions have been targeting me recently, constantly sending people to disrupt my territory and even arranging for them to steal my intelligence personnel. I have been busy dealing with them, which is why it has taken so long for me to come and see Your Majesty."

"Oh? There's actually a force in Philiers that can rival you?"

"Your Majesty, to be honest, I suspect that these two intelligence agencies are Sordil's mobs in Philiers, with the aim of helping him gather intelligence about Philiers."

Belmod glanced at the balcony, then said coldly, "Although Sordil is my biggest trouble and fear right now, don't drag him into everything!"

"Your Majesty, even if I had the greatest courage in the world, I would not dare to deceive you! Every word I have said is true. If you do not believe me, I can provide corresponding evidence to prove my point of view."

"Alright, then tell me, how did these two forces become the intelligence agencies set up by Sordil?"

"First, both of these forces were founded on the same day, around the time that Oddek, also known as Sordil, arrived in Philiers. Second, both forces started in exactly the same way, annexing other small and medium-sized forces through their superior combat capabilities. Third, although these two forces are located in the south and north of the city respectively, their members are frequently seen in a slum in the west of the city. Most importantly, these two powerful forces have never, like other forces, ever had any disputes over territory or business!"

"Now that you mention it, these two forces do seem a bit unusual! Here's what we'll do: you secretly investigate them for me and see what's going on! If they're not Sordil's people, I'll help you bring them under your control. But if they are Sordil's subordinates, you must not act rashly, understand?"

"Understood!"

"Okay! Go down!"