Nostria City.
Augustus's bloodline was the undisputed master of this city, and this city was the center of the entire world. After the monarch unified the world, the city was filled with Lion Banners of every kind.
The most dazzling among them was, of course, the golden lion banner in the monarch's palace.
The Sun Sect's envoy, a delegation led by an Archbishop, came once again to the monarch's palace.
Wherever they passed, spears stood like a forest, and pairs of eyes scrutinized this delegation from the Sun Holy Mountain. So long as a single order came from within that palace, the whole of Monarch City would turn into a beast of slaughter and hack the Sun's faithful into scraps.
The Sun's robes passed through without incident. On the stone steps, Court Barons stood before the Archbishop one after another. The two sides faced off for a long while before a path was cleared.
Then came tall knights standing on either side of the palace, their gazes beneath their metal armor cold and grim.
Slowly, the heavy doors opened. Sunlight poured down, and the polished floor reflected the intricate patterns on the ceiling. The golden lion seemed lifelike in the reflected sunlight, and faint, indistinct roars came from every direction.
"Your Majesty, by the will of the Cardinal Pope, the Sun bestows upon you the Holy Water of life. It will bring you endless life."
The Archbishop held a water vessel in both hands. It was made of transparent gemstone, polished until it was crystal clear, and the liquid inside radiated a sacred glow. Dense vitality spread from the bottle, and even in the cracks of the floor beneath their feet, fresh green shoots began to grow.
Upon the monarch's throne, beneath an aged face, a pair of bright, piercing