The Seven Commanders stepped out one after another and recounted their testimonies. Their experiences were more or less the same.

All of them detailed how, after the battle, they had noticed the ground trembling, the sudden appearance of the eclipse, the emergence of the tower, and the suffocating flood of demonic energy.

Their voices carried no falsities, no exaggeration, only cold, hard truth.

According to their words, the entire capital was swallowed inside a massive tower that speared towards the sky. They explained the appearance of the demonic monsters and demonified knights, the maze like floors that trapped them, each level a world in itself.

Their experiences detailed traps, ambushes, and anomalies right after entering the tower. It was so engrossing that all the people inside the hall forgot to even breathe.

Amidst all the chaos, when the situation was as dire as it could get, the young heroes rose. Squires, the future knights of the realm. They were young, inexperienced, and lacking. However, it was during such a time that they showed their unyielding resolve and carried entire squads through the crisis with their quick thinking and bravery.

If not for them, several commanders admitted, the disaster would have lasted far longer and far more would have perished within the labyrinth's depths.

By the time six of the commanders finished recounting their part of the event, fear had already rooted itself deeply in the hall. Ministers stared pale faced while nobles locked their brows, trying to act composed.

All of them finally understood how close to annihilation they all were, and none of them had an inkling, as they were all dreaming sweet dreams in their sleep.

That said, all of them had yet to understand the true gravity of the situation. As the last among the seven to give his testimony, Reinhardt stepped forward.

At that very instant, the temperature in the hall dropped. All the elders and nobles who had grievances with the knight previously now cowered in front of his presence, not daring to look at him straight.

The Magic Knight Entrance Exam, the Grand Aegis Shatter, which they carefully planned to drag and strip away the influence of the Divine Paladin, had backfired.

Not only did he beat all of the knight orders under them singlehandedly, but he also did it in front of all the citizens of the kingdom. What's more, his victory was so overwhelming that it left no doubt about his strength.

And then there was the subsequent battle of the Seven Commanders, which practically erased the valley and was starting to even affect the capital. Had they not been stopped, even the capital would have been destroyed.

The battle thoroughly solidified not only the powers of the Seven Great Commanders but also the Divine Paladin and why he deserved to be among these monsters. Compared to Reinhardt and the other six, their own knight orders were still like children.

In fact, there was not even any comparison. The crowd was thoroughly awed by the charisma of the Divine Paladin and knew how powerful he and the other six commanders were. No one doubted his strength after his period of slump anymore.

Even the Council was the same.

Reinhardt gazed at the assembly silently, noting those who were still leaking faint ill will towards him before beginning his explanation.

He began by recounting the Grand Aegis Shatter, how after the battle ended, he had been swallowed by a spatial distortion and tossed into the frozen world.

He spoke of how he had wandered the bleak landscape for what felt like decades, making himself vulnerable on purpose.

When asked why he did that, his response was, "To lure out the mastermind."

While the crowd was still reeling from his words, he continued his explanation. The awakening of the Abyssal Compass, the phenomenon that engulfed the capital, and then came the part that froze the blood of everyone listening.

Reinhardt described the involvement of a High Ranking Demon, one so cunning that it deeply integrated into human society while hiding in plain sight for years.

Before gasps of shock could echo, he followed it by Earl Malmond's betrayal, how the nobleman had been collaborating with the demon from the shadows, fuelling the scheme that nearly destroyed Solaris.

Some of the Council members who still faintly emitted ill will towards him tried to refute. But they were all silenced by the Queen.

Reinhardt told them about his experience, how he fought off an army of demonified knights, the High Ranking Demon, Earl Malmond, and their twisted machinations. He did not conceal any information and even revealed the involvement of a Heavenly King controlling the strings behind the scenes.

Of course, due to his divine oath and his own selfish reasons, he did not reveal anything about the Queen.

The atmosphere was already taut because of the new information that Reinhardt dumped on them. However, the moment he mentioned the Heavenly King, the rope which represented the composure of everyone present and which had been stretched taut, finally snapped.

The air stilled, the silence palpable. Everyone, aside from those in the know, all widened their eyes in surprise, their bodies trembling in fear.

The implication that a Heavenly King was involved weighed down on them like a mountain, suffocating their breath. The Twelve Heavenly Kings were not merely powerful demons; no, they were calamities incarnate. Beings whose names alone made kingdoms topple.

There were records about them in the ancient texts detailing the kind of disasters they brought. The blood chilling wars and the desperate measures and sacrifices humanity had to make just to fend them off.

If one of them was moving from the shadows…If one of them had chosen Solaris as the board of their game…

The sombre atmosphere grew heavier and thicker, until it felt like the very hall was struggling to breathe. The threat of a Heavenly King weighed heavily on everyone's mind.

It was then, several nobles, members of the Council who had been biting their tongues, could no longer take it. They erupted in a sharp accusatory tone as they pointed at the Divine Paladin.

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