Masked Knight

The next day, the King once again dispatched someone to invite Rody to the palace.

The carriage, escorted by the Royal Knights, journeyed directly to the Royal Palace. However, the carriage did not go straight to the audience hall like previously.

They changed into an even smaller carriage in the Royal Palace. The Royal Knight escorts did not follow them after that. Only two officers from the Royal Knights accompanied Rody. The humble carriage left, coming from the side door of the Palace, then journeyed to a higher ground at the back of the capital.

The capital of the Sauron Kingdom was oval-shaped. In the middle of the city was the Royal Palace. At the back of the Royal Palace was a high ground. In fact, it was a low hillslope.

For some reason, during the construction of the capital, the hillslope was already surrounded by the city walls. The woods behind the hillslope had naturally become the Royal Garden.

Changing carriages within the palace was probably to deceive the public. As the carriage Rody was riding in had entered the palace grandly, nobody would suspect that the dignified envoy of the Radiant Empire would leave from another side of the palace, unguarded, inside a humble carriage.

Not taking any guards with him was also the King’s intention. He was aware of Rody’s strength and being accompanied by guards was simply just for show!

The carriage that left the Royal Palace went towards the Royal Garden. The surrounding environment was similar to the hunting ground of the Tulip Family. There were fences around the Royal Garden and cavalries patrolling the garden to protect and to ensure the safety around it.

Rody questioned the two Royal Knight escorts but they refused to reply to him. They only said, "We are under orders from His Majesty to only escort you!"

When he gradually entered the garden, there was a small open space. In the middle of this space was a simple Imperial Residence. Four sentry posts protected the Imperial Residence in the middle. A pair of soldiers wearing the armor of the Royal Knights patrolled back and forth.

The carriage stopped there. Rody questioningly followed the two Royal Knights as they led him towards the Imperial Residence.

The Imperial Residence was not much of a palace. It would be better to classify it as a large house instead.

Although the occupied area was quite large, it only had three floors. It looked exquisite and elaborate unlike the other buildings of Sauron Kingdom that looked rugged and chunky.

However, when Rody entered the building, he discovered that the fixtures inside the building were like the standard style of Sauron Kingdom’s buildings: strong and robust!

It had metallic candlesticks, black ironwood furniture such as tables and chairs, dark-colored fireplace at the side, as well as the bright red carpet at his feet. All of them had a ‘strong and robust’ feeling.

Rody had already gone through three inspections before he entered the room.

The two escorting officers did not follow Rody in. The King was sitting alone in the room, on a chair, near the fireplace. His back was facing Rody.

"How is it? This place is not too bad, right? Earl Rody, how is this compared to your family’s garden?" The King’s voice came from behind the chair.

Rody laughed in his heart. ‘This King is still trying to find out my identity. Otherwise, why is he using the term "family’s garden"?’

Rody deliberately laughed. "Your Majesty, you are jesting. I am just an insignificant Earl. How could I have my own garden? However, the setup of this place is similar to the hunting ground at the Tulip Family’s fief."

The King stood up. It was then that Rody noticed that the King was not wearing the exquisite robe like the previous day. Instead, he was wearing a martial attire. A set of gold colored armor was covering his body while he had a bright red cloak worn on his back.

The King stood there playing with a small and exquisite dagger as he smiled at Rody.

"Earl Rody, do you know why I invited you here today?"

Rody shrugged his shoulder. "Your Majesty, do you want me to go hunting with you? However, this does not seem to be the right season for hunting."

The King laughed. However, Rody could not hear any pleasure in his laughter. On the contrary, the King seemed to use his laughter to cover up his nervousness.

"Earl Rody!" The King had a serious look. "I invite you here today to show you, the several hundred years old biggest secret of the Royal Family of the Sauron Kingdom. Are you interested?"

Rody instinctively frowned.

‘Secret? Hmph, what is this guy planning?’

There must be a reason if someone told another their own secret. Rody did not believe that the King would disclose a secret to him without a reason. Only God knows what the King wanted to obtain from Rody.

Rody narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Your Majesty, I hope you are not showing me something too shocking. I am not so brave."

The King softly replied, "Are you not courageous? Doesn't seem like it."

Rody leisurely smiled and said, "I am not afraid of anything. However, knowing someone’s secret will require me to keep that secret. I am afraid I may accidentally expose the secret. These kinds of things are too troublesome."

The King laughed again. He then walked to the front of the fireplace. He slotted the dagger into the mouth of a wild-beast relief on the wall, then twisted it.

A faint clunking sound came from behind the wall. Following a series of sounds, the wall above the fireplace began to move.

The whole wall slowly turned over revealing a pitch-dark space. Behind the dark channel was a spiral staircase that went all the way down.

Rody was surprised. "This is…"

The King laughed and said, "Earl Rody, this is the biggest secret of the Royal Family of the Sauron Kingdom that has lasted for centuries! You are the first outsider to learn of this secret!"

Rody took a deep breath and endured the curiosity in his heart. He calmly said, "Your Majesty, you suddenly brought me here and showed me such a scene. What is your intention…"

The King raised his hand and gently stroked the dagger in the mouth of the wild-beast relief. He did not answer Rody’s question. Instead, he suddenly asked, "Rody, do you know the history of the Royal Family of the Sauron Kingdom?"

Rody was startled and then replied, "Is Your Majesty testing me? You will be disappointed. After all, the two continents are far apart and both countries have little relationship with each other. I am not clear about the history of your distinguished country…I only know that amongst all the kingdoms on the Roland Continent, the Sauron Kingdom is the most powerful kingdom. Your kingdom owns half the land on the Roland Continent, has the most powerful army, and… "At this point, Rody deliberately looked at the King.

The King sighed and continued in Rody’s stead. "and... the Sauron Kingdom has also been the one who dares to secretly oppose the Temple, right?"

Rody did not speak but from the expression on his face, it was clear that he had tacitly agreed.

The King nodded his head and gently caressed the dagger as he said, "What you said is correct. Presently, the Sauron Kingdom can be said to be the only kingdom on the Roland Continent that has the ability to oppose the Temple. All this time, the Saints who were dispatched by the Temple to the Sauron Kingdom are not able to completely gain authority. The situation is completely different from the other kingdoms. In the other kingdoms, the authorities of the Saints are even higher than the Kings! It is only in the Sauron Kingdom that the highest authority remains with the Royal Family!"

At this juncture, the King seemed agitated. However, soon he was aware that his emotions were going out of control. He took a deep breath to maintain his calm and slowly said, "This is not only because the Royal Family of the Sauron Kingdom dares to oppose the Temple. More importantly, it is because the Royal Family of the Sauron Kingdom is qualified to oppose the Temple!"

"Oh?" Rody started to show some interest.

The King’s voice gradually subsided as his tone sounded as if he was speaking of a cherished memory. "In your opinion, the Radiant Empire is undoubtedly the world’s largest empire! You all possess an entire continent and the imperial authority is absolute! A powerful empire that can unyieldingly confront the challenge of any enemy! But do you know? The Radiant Empire is not the only big empire that has existed in this world. Once upon a time, there was an ancient empire in this world!

"According to the teachings of God, people originally came from the Roland Continent. The written record of the teachings of God started recounting from the time when there were many small kingdoms…Haha haha…That is just preposterous!" The King’s eyes were like lightning. There were anger and sorrow in his voice as he clenched his fist and softly said, "As early as several hundred years before the teachings of God, the Roland Continent was a complete country. It was a huge empire!"

"Oh?" Rody’s eyes lit up. This was something he had never heard of before.

Whether it was the Radiant Continent or the Roland Continent, their Church and their Temple were hostile to each other, but these religious bodies’‘history’ started at about the same era. Both their historical records also started during the 'dark ages', about a thousand years ago.

From the Temple's records, the Roland Continent originally consisted of several small kingdoms and tribes. Humans were not united, and they constantly fought each other. After fighting for a long time, the first Pontiff, Moses, was born. He led the humans through the Straits of Thunder and subjugated the Kara tribe at the Radiant Continent in the south. It was followed by the occupation of the Radiant Continent by the humans and the extinction of the Kara tribe. The teachings of God then split into two, the North and the South.

Numerous small kingdoms existed in the North and the South and continued to be in chaos.

It was thanks to the emergence of the Great Emperor, Abbas the Great, the invincible Duke of the Tulip Family and Dandong, the person good at creating miracles that the Radiant Empire united the southern continent and became a great empire. That was what Rody knew from history. The only huge empire that could possess the entire continent.

Could it be that the Radiant Empire was not the first empire in history?

The King gradually revealed a tragic smile. "The teachings of Gods are splendid! Splendid!" His tone sounded deep and forceful. "How much evil has been carried out in this world in the name of the ‘truth’?"

Rody was smart. He did not speak but quietly awaited. He knew that the King’s story was far from over.

The King’s cherishing gaze became more intense. "The ancient records have all been destroyed during the 'dark ages'! The teachings of Gods are just lies with a distorted history! It can actually deceive the entire world! Earl Rody, let me tell you! During the ancient times, there was a great empire that existed right under your feet! This Empire had tens of millions of hardworking subjects! It had an army with millions of soldiers! It even controlled the entire Roland Continent! All the races, whether it was human, the dragon tribe, the vampires, the legendary elves and the dwarves were all under the rule of that great empire! The name of that empire is called the Shaka Empire!"

"Shaka Empire?" Rody was truly astonished. It was an unfamiliar name but to be able to possess an entire continent, this name should not be unfamiliar.

"Yes!" The King gave a shallow smile. "Where you are standing on right now is once the capital of the Shaka Empire during the ancient times. Long before, a thousand years ago, this garden on this hillslope was the Imperial Palace of the Shaka Empire!"

Several thoughts flashed in Rody's mind. He could not help blurting out a question. "So, what has this got to do with the Royal Family of Sauron Kingdom…ah! I understand now!"

The King nodded and earnestly said, "The Royal Family of the Sauron Kingdom are the descendants of the Emperor of the ancient Shaka Empire!" He sighed. "Nobody knows this secret. Even the Temple believes that the Imperial Family of the Shaka Empire had long gone extinct! Hmph!"

The King looked up at Rody, then slowly said in a low voice, "Earl Rody, I have told you this secret today and have already regarded you as an ally whom I can trust! Therefore, shouldn’t you show a little sincerity? Or rather, there is no need for you to continue keeping your secret from me."

Rody was indifferent. He clearly understood that the King told him this big secret to win him over and gain his trust. The King wanted Rody to admit that he was the Duke of the Tulip Family in exchange.

The King noticed that Rody did not speak but he did not mind. He slowly said, "In the ancient language of the Roland Continent, ‘Sauron’ means revival! The mission of Royal Family of Sauron Kingdom is revival...Revive the great empire of our ancestors!"

The King's face was contorted in excitement. He seemed to unable to suppress the excitement in his heart. His hand also trembled, still holding the dagger.

"Duke of the Tulip Family!" The King slowly uttered as he glanced at Rody. Seeing that Rody did not object to the way he was addressed this time, he felt satisfied and continued, "Are you interested in heading down there with me to take a look at the greatest relics of the Imperial Family of the Shaka Empire? Look at the secrets left behind by the people of that era?"

After that, he faced the flight of steps behind the fireplace and slowly stretched out his hand to signal. He gently smiled and said, "Please."