You've Never Been Here Before, Have You?

As soon as Iver entered the Silver and Tin Palace, he could vaguely smell the scent of blood.

An aura of death and destruction permeated the once solemn and sacred silver palace. The walls of the building, which had been repeatedly reinforced by the Preservation Master, could not withstand the aftershocks of the knights' battle and were now dilapidated, filled with cracks and rubble.

It was as if this were not the royal palace of Avalon, but the ruins of a palace from the Old Dynasty that had been destroyed.

As Iver passed by the entrance to the Round Table Hall, he could vaguely glimpse that the Glass Staircase were still intact.

However, the Round Table Hall was empty. Not a single knight returned to sit at the Round Table.

Those knights who survived were either covered in blood or wounded.

The knights stood scattered in various corners of the Silver and Tin Palace. Different gazes were cast upon Iver from all directions.

Some expressed pity, some fear, some tension, some sarcasm, and some indifference.

Clearly, although they now share the same stance, their feelings and purposes are not the same.

Perhaps out of fear of Diomedes by Iver's side, not a single knight dared to approach Iver or speak to him.

Iver simply watched quietly—looking at them one by one.

Iver's gaze was like a terrifying catalyst.

Every knight who met his gaze changed color. Some glared at him angrily, some avoided his eyes, and some fled—no one could remain calm and composed after meeting Iver's gaze.

The silent standoff ended only when Minister Drost came forward.

"Bishop Moriarty."

Minister Drost, with his enormous belly that seemed to extend beyond his feet, greeted him with a beaming smile, "Oh, you've arrived..."

He patted his belly and looked around.

Before he could say anything, the knights dispersed. They left in haste, as if afraid of being noticed by Drost.

Iver smiled slightly, "Yes, I have come as promised."

Upon closer examination, that attitude... seemed more like disgust than fear.

It turns out that even these traitors who murdered their colleagues disliked Drost.

—That actually makes sense, Iver thought.

To reiterate, it's impossible for the Stibnite Person to bribe all the knights.

The reason they attacked Avalon was because the Stibium Kingdom was mired in an intractable economic crisis. Star Antimony must have used a combination of coaxing and deception to lure these knights to their side.

Most of them probably didn't even know that Queen Sophia was to be assassinated today. Or, to put it more boldly, probably none of them knew.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for everyone to appear so relaxed and happy in the CG.

Iver could tell at a glance that they were clearly in a state of great relief. If they had known that Minister Drost would poison the Queen at this banquet, some of them would undoubtedly have been extremely anxious.

Because such a dangerous plan could easily fail. And if it fails, they will all face the most tragic end.

Children raised on Path of Authority rarely possess the talent for the Path of Beauty or the Path of Adaptation. They simply don't have a strong talent for performing or lying.

From that CG, Iver had already vaguely sensed Queen Sophia's wariness of Minister Drost.

So from this perspective, they might have been brought by Drost to mislead Queen Sophia... because the people here were very relaxed and there were so many of them, the Queen believed that Drost wouldn't make a move.

To her surprise, Drost was determined to take action.

Iver had been handling political affairs for Isabel for two months, and with his social skills, he had already gotten to know all the knights in the Round Table Hall.

Among these traitors, a large number had close and trusting relationships with Queen Sophia. Some were even Round Table Knights from the Founding Family.

Unless they were all bribed by the Stibnite Person at a high price, their previously stable position would become unstable once the Stibnite Person invaded. Therefore, from a self-interest perspective, they had the least reason to rebel. Yet, they did choose to help Drost clean up his mess after his rebellion.

Therefore, there is only one answer.

There aren't that many real traitors.

Iver had a vague feeling about this when he was dismissing the ministers. Now, after watching the entire CG and comparing it with his real-life experience, Iver was truly certain.

That makes sense. These cowardly knights didn't even have the resolve to rebel against Iver. They simply didn't have the guts to rebel.

Their joy at the banquet stemmed from their belief that Avalon was negotiating peace and Marriage Alliance with Star Antimony. Instead of fighting the formidable enemy Star Antimony, they had unexpectedly gained a powerful ally... and that was what made them happy.

When Queen Sophia was poisoned and Drost unsurprisingly demanded the scene be sealed off, the knights knew there was no turning back; when the second "Princess Isabel" appeared in full view of everyone, and Drost showed her no hostility, the knights realized which side they should stand on.

The knights were initially drawn to Drost's side perhaps because they had taken money they shouldn't have or made mistakes they shouldn't have made. As a result, they unknowingly became the majority, and their actions began to be influenced by the group.

When they band together, their strength attracts new allies... like a snowball rolling downhill, constantly expanding the group but losing individual free will. In the end, they can't escape and can only join the others who have already taken action.

They didn't conspire to assassinate Queen Sophia; they were simply too clever and adept at reading the room. So much so that after Queen Sophia's death and Star Antimony's subtle control over the Avalon court, they all unanimously chose to pledge allegiance to Star Antimony and Minister Drost, who had close ties with the Stibnite Person.

This keen sense of smell and ability to change stances at any time are also characteristic capabilities of Path of Authority.

Every knight who survives now has the blood of his former comrades on his hands. They have become allies of the Kingslayer Drost traitors, with no turning back.

Even if they regret it now, they will still die. They will be easily eliminated by Drost and labeled as traitors.

It's better to just stick to this one path and go all the way.

When Iver scanned everyone beforehand, he was observing which of the surviving knights still felt shame, unease, and sorrow, and who had a clear aversion to Drost.

These people might still be of some use.

At least Iver can still give them one more chance.

—As for those knights who reacted indifferently and were friendly or even obsequious to Drost, Iver had already made a special note of them in his mind and made a separate list for them.

The Black List.

Of course, punishing them for something that hasn't happened yet is unfair and unethical. But launching an investigation directly into them is fine—just consider it a tip-off from an anonymous source.

Moreover, Iver was certain he could uncover something. After all, if they were able to be coerced by Drost, they must have left some traces behind.

... From this perspective, this Promotion Ritual is an extremely rare opportunity.

Only when the day of destruction arrives can we know who will remain absolutely loyal to Avalon to the death, who will value their own and their families' safety and happiness more than Avalon, who will hesitate and be swayed by villains but still have a conscience, who will betray their friends without mercy or shame, and who will be eager to rejoice when tragedy strikes.

—The human heart, which is difficult to test and can never be accurately measured in the real world, was laid bare before us in this ceremony.

Moreover, Iver didn't need to explain to Isabel where her information came from—because she had also witnessed it all and was definitely more furious than Iver.

Iver seemed to be deep in thought.

Is that why? So this Promotion Ritual was entirely overseen by the Lord of Scales and Feathers... This does indeed have the style of a "prophet" Path of Adaptation.

For Iver and Isabel, it was certainly a kind of "prophecy." They could both obtain important information from it.

For the "strangers," this is more of a prophecy—especially for the strangers.

In this timeline, what truly destroyed Avalon was the Armored Gargoyle he designed. Even without Armored Gargoyle army capable of breaking through the Griffin Legion, the Grand Guardian leading the Griffin Legion remained a formidable force.

When they attacked Star Antimony at will in the real world, Star Antimony was almost powerless to retaliate. Without the Armored Gargoyle, it would have been a matter of exchanging bases at best. It was precisely because this counterattack force from Avalon was perfectly intercepted that the final battle turned into a one-sided affair.

In the real world, Stranger probably won't have the chance to develop it. But now, he will see what "him from another world" has done from this virtual world.

If we consider it from this perspective...

So, could the Physician, cheese, Olive, grapes... be related to this? Iver couldn't help but think a few more things.

So far, every Promotion Ritual he has experienced seems to have been specially designed. Only this ceremony was entirely overseen by a single Pillar God... So, could the people chosen by the Lord of Scales and Feathers also have some kind of significance? After all, He is Pillar God Path of Adaptation, a thousand-faced beast wielding the power of foresight.

—If you can't figure it out, then just think of it as "there must be a deeper meaning to all of this"!

Even if you overthink it, it's still better than thinking it too little.

With this in mind, Iver became even more cautious.

He looked at Minister Drost and gave him a natural and friendly smile.

In this unpredictable ritual filled with riddles, intelligence, and hints, you remain as stupid as ever, and as infuriating as ever.

This stability can almost be considered the logical foundation.

That's really touching.

... Then I must make the most of Drost's "resurrection" this time and extract all the information I couldn't get from him in reality.

Iver thought to himself.

Minister Drost immediately understood Iver's look, raised his eyebrows in confusion, and paused silently for a moment.

As Fourth Level authority figure, Drost, while not as easily able to see through lies as some Fifth Level figures, could still perceive the true feelings of others.

This is also part of the "leadership techniques" of Path of Authority.

He could see into people's hearts, discern lies, and see through their subtext and intentions. Drost could easily see that there was no fear, anger, or unease in Iver's eyes as he looked at him.

On the contrary, it seemed friendly and... merciful? Minister of Trade Drost was somewhat puzzled.

If he hadn't actually intercepted the informant letter from Iver and, during the interrogation of Sherlock, subtly deduced that he had accomplices, he would have truly believed that he had arrested the wrong person Iver.

... Did he not understand why he had summoned him? Just as this thought crossed Drost's mind, Diomedes ' words completely misled him.

"Mr. Drost".

Diomedes bowed slightly and said in a cold and calm tone, "When I went to invite Mr. Iver, Professor Moriarty forcefully stopped me."

"—It was Mr. Iver who took the initiative to come out and say he wanted to see you."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Minister Drost became interested.

Although Diomedes addressed him distantly, and despite subtle differences in their stances on minor matters, Drost absolutely trusted the old butler who had cared for him since childhood.

Since Diomedes said so, it means that Iver came to us on his own after the kidnapping attempt failed.

That's really something new.

The mouse went to find the cat for food, right?

That's certainly something to listen to first, to see what Iver wants. At least his attitude is different from that of the Hermes boy.

Minister Drost patted his belly and let out a hearty laugh, "Alright, let's find a place to sit down and talk slowly."

"How about we go to the Queen's Palace? Bishop Moriarty, you probably haven't had a chance to come here before."

"Guess? "Iver thought to himself.