Inside a resplendent hall.
A group of lavishly dressed nobles had gathered there. At their head stood a middle-aged man of about thirty or forty, with the Brown Lion crest on his chest.
This was a noble family's crest, its design avoiding the symbols of the deities. Generally, only noble families that had once produced an epic-tier figure could wear such a crest. The middle-aged man before them was a member of the Lion Family, an ancient house that had ruled Tantras for over a hundred years. During Queen Isabella's reign, it had produced an epic-tier powerhouse known as the Golden Lion. The Lion Family had been founded then, but it had never produced another epic-tier figure since, only an occasional legendary professional or two.
The Lion Family had declined for a time, but its bloodline still offered certain advantages. Every few generations, a handful of geniuses would emerge.
And the current head of the family was a genius by any mortal's standards.
Knox Lion, the City Lord of Tantras, had entered the legendary domain at the age of thirty-five.
Although his strength had reached the legendary domain, making him a regional powerhouse among mortals, Knox's expression was now filled with hesitation and conflict.
Little remained of noble virtue.
This was a dark and ignorant age. Everything Soren had seen and experienced in Amber City also happened in Tantras, perhaps to an even greater degree. The Lion Family's glory had faded long ago. Though it had produced a legendary powerhouse in recent years, the Golden Lion's virtues had clearly not survived in his descendants. Knox was a noble lord of lawful evil alignment. His cruel rule had long exploited and oppressed the commoners of Tantras. He courted the Church of Torment and allowed it to grow merely to gain a