Chapter 136: ie’s Ued Discovery

  Alex had no idea he had caught the attention of a knight ander. At this moment, the ba had officially begun, just as Alex had anticipated. Ohe event started, Cardinal Carl immediately took the stage and began delivering a speech. Predictably, it was filled with formalities: the Order of the Bastion faced immense danger, brave warriors risked their lives for the —oh no, for world pead their deeds would forever be remembered.

  “Now, let’s wele our first recipient of the ‘Inspiring Hero of the Year’ award…”

  The honorees were mostly figures statio the Bastion of Order, including two promi strongholds’ defenders and the reinforts who had arrived ter. Of course, Cardinal Carl didn’t fet to mention Grand Knight Stone. However, Carl merely glossed over Stone’s achievements, vaguely stating that he led a team to thwart the vile as of the Doomsday Cult, which sought to exploit the Bastion’s peril.

  Those who khe truth were well aware that the Doomsday Cult had been the main orchestrators of this chaos, with the monster lords merely ag as a diversion to split the Order’s forces. If not for this ploy, the Order would never have sent such a meager force to the Dark S. Naturally, such embarrassiails were left unsaid.

  Alex listened with growing boredom, furrowing his brow slightly.

  Although Carl spoke in an official tone, Alex, having attended tless meetings during his life, knew how to dis hidden meanings. What seemed like a throwaway remark could carry signifit implications to those in the know.

  For instance, Carl’s subtle phrasing pced more emphasis on the monster invasion while relegating the Doomsday Cult to the background. Yet for those familiar with the inner ws, this prioritization revealed the true culprits—the cult’s agents.

  What followed, however, was even more intriguing.

  By highlighting Stone’s leadership in the operation, Carl effectively ehat all credit went to him. Alex didn’t mind; he uood his strained retionship with the Padin Order wouldn’t ublic reition. Stone, with his seniority, reputation, and loyalty, was the safer choice for the spotlight.

  Yet Carl made ion of Fiona.

  Alex frowned. Fiona had pyed a pivotal role in the operation. Had it not been for her timely warning, these self-gratutory individuals would likely have been overrun by Hell’s legions. Carl’s omission struck Alex as suspicious.

  While Alex could uand being sidelined, given his tenuous ties to the Order, Fiona was an acolyte priestess—practically their own. Why exclude her from the narrative? Was she being hidden as some sort of secret on? Even anonymous heroes in fairy tales received public praise.

  Adding to Alex’s unease was Fiona’s absence from the ba. Could she, too, have fallen out of the Order’s favor?

  Shaking his head, Alex dismissed the notion. Fiona was devout, steadfast in her beliefs. She would never willingly turn against the Padin Order. Still, uo piece things together on his own, Alex resolved to ask Stone for answers.

  As Carl’s long-winded, generic speech came to an end, the ba began in ear. Noble dies immediately swarmed toward the “heroes” who had defehe Bastion of Order. Alex even spotted one young dy deep in versation with Knight , though he wondered whether the knight could bear the weight of his namesake.

  “Alex!”

  “Long time no see, Mentor. gratutions on receiving the Honorary Knight’s Medal.”

  Seeing Grand Knight Stone approach him with a cheerful expression, Alex smiled warmly and bowed respectfully.

  Alex held genuine respect for Stone. While their time together had been brief, Stone had treated Alex exceptionally well. The fact that Stone came to find Alex first, even after stepping off the stage, showed there were no lingering grievances over Alex’s choices.

  The Honorary Knight’s Medal awarded to Stone was sidered the highest honor below the rank of Knight ander. After all, the title of Knight ander required the strength of a legendary rank. Despite his tributions in the ret operation, Stone, being a grandmaster-level knight, couldn’t qualify for promotion to Knight ahe Honorary Knight’s Medal was an excellent reition of his efforts.

  “Ah, you’ve got some o even bring it up.”

  As soon as Alex mentio, Stone spped his shoulder in mock frustration.

  “That medal was inally meant for you. If you hadn’t caused that whole debacle with the cil of Cardinals…”

  Damn it, so those old foxes were pnning t me into their schemes all along.

  Hearing Stone’s words, Alex took a sharp breath. He had only retly bee a Grand Knight, and they were already preparing to award him the Padin Order’s highest honor? Those scheming cardinals were truly ruthless. Thankfully, Alex had sehe trap and avoided it. Otherwise, he might have been roped int himself to death for their cause.

  “Everyone has their own path to follow. Speaking of which, how are the others? I assume the Pegasus Knights were rewarded as well?”

  “Of course,” Stone replied. “The Padin Order always rewards tributions. Their efforts in holding off the demons summoned by the Doomsday Cult didn’t go unnoticed, though they paid a heavy price for it.”

  “And what about Fiona? Surely the cil of Cardinals rewarded her as well?”

  “Fiona?”

  Hearing the one blinked in fusion and turo Alex.

  “Who are you talking about…?”

  Before Stone could finish his question, Alex’s expression abruptly darkehe smile on his face vanished, repced by a chilling aura of pure killing i.

  “That bastard is looking for trouble,” Alex muttered coldly.

  In the blink of aone saw Alex disappear from sight, leaving only the faint ripple of his departure.

  What just happened?

  Stone froze for a moment, then his expression grew serious.

  Although his time with Alex had been brief, Stone uood him well enough to know that Alex wouldn’t unleash sutense killing i in publiless something serious had occurred.

  This was bad. Something had goerribly wrong.

  Moments earlier.

  Leaving the bustling hall behind, ie walked through the quieter corridors, her face tight with frustration and mencholy.

  As a member of the Bastion’s defense force, ie had also received reition from the Padin Order for her efforts. Normally, she would have been thrilled. But now, she couldn’t summon aement. Thoughts of her fallen rades at the Bastion weighed heavily on her heart.

  Unlike most, ie rivy to inside information thanks to her father’s high-ranking position. She khat the ferocity of the ret assault on the Bastion had been orchestrated by the cultists of the Doomsday Cult.

  Damn cultists!

  The thought made ie ch her fists as a certain face came to mind—a face that made her grit her teeth in anger. She was sure it was Alex. Somehow, he had evaded scrutiny and infiltrated the Padin Order’s ranks.

  It was no ce that the Doomsday Cult’s ritual in the Dark City began shortly after his arrival in the north. While the reports cimed he had disrupted the ritual, ie didn’t believe for a sed that a cultist could suddenly have a ge of heart. It had to be a ploy to lower the uard.

  And before that, Alex had vanished for over six months, with no one knowing his whereabouts. Though Stone and Malt vouched for his disappearance being due to a self-sacrificial leap into a spatial rift to defeat a Chaos Spawn, ie was skeptical.

  If only she could find proof. That lying bastard had been strutting around the Padin Order unchecked for too long.

  “La…”

  A melodie interrupted her thoughts. Looking up, ie realized she had wandered into the Padin arden. Following the source of the sound, she spotted a blue-haired, twin-tailed girl sittih an evergreen tree.

  The girl hummed a cheerful tune as she pyed with a small cat in her p.

  Isn’t she the one always hanging around Alex?

  ie stopped iracks, her gaze narrowing on the girl. She hadn’t paid much attention to her before, but the oversized colr around her neck was impossible to miss.

  Why is she hiding out here? Is she part of some plot Alex is hatg during this festival?

  Gripping the hilt of her sword, ie sidered her options. If she could get to this girl, perhaps she could find the evidence she o expose Alex as the cultist he was.

  The more ie thought about it, the more se made. Judging by her demeanor, the girl had likely been coerced int Alex. After all, what normal girl would willingly wear su enormous colr? Could the colr itself be hiding something sinister?

  Her eyes wide the possibility. Activating her sacred sight, ie’s gaze locked onto the girl.

  The moment, ie’s face went pale in shock.

  (End of Chapter)

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