The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1740: Suspicion of Treason (1)

Emperor Dominar, though reluctant, respected Kaine’s suspicion.

And to reflect that, he had given Kaine an identification seal that was only below the royal seal in status.

It was called the Judge Seal.

A very ancient artifact that has a seal so strong that not even Emperor Dominar could break it with his raw strength alone. It was used for a temporary privilege to those who have immense feats in battle, respected guests, or in special cases like this.

Only three Judge Seals exist, and two were being held by the two Dukes.

So naturally, with such an identification seal, Kaine’s investigation had gone smoothly.

Nobody gave him a hard time.

But that smooth streak was broken when he stepped to the lowest floor of the treasury.

Kaine stared at the two intricate spears pointing at his neck and then at the two royal knights.

”What are you doing...?” He asked coldly.

As the hidden War General—who only heeded the emperor’s command, only a few knew of his identity, and the royal knights knew since they were made aware of all forces under the empire. No doubt—these two royal knights recognize him.

But despite that, they still chose to point their weapons at him.

”This floor is off-limits, even for you, Lord Kaine.”

”Return to the upper floor, or we’ll be forced to resort to violence.”

Kaine didn’t answer.

He didn’t immediately react even though he wanted to do so.

Instead, his eyes glistened as he stared at the two royal knights, probing the faces behind their helmets.

’I recognized them,’ Kaine thought, recalling these two faces from the past. ’Since the two of them are both at Divine Spirit 1—there’s no mistaking them. Captains of the Royal Knights. Why are they doing this here?’

Kaine recognized them as the captains of the royal knights.

Considering their status, guarding the treasury should be way below their standing.

Normally, new royal knights would be stationed here, while the captains were tasked with managing.

’Hmm—the only few exceptions to this are when the royal family is worried that someone was going to try and steal something from the treasury or there was an issue of transporting artifacts,’ Kaine thought in silence, assessing the situation sharply. ’Since Her Majesty was planning to give the Phoenix Feather to that knight, this should be understandable. But their faces... I don’t trust them.’

”Lord Kaine, I’m going to ask you one more time,” A captain cocked his arms, ready to stab. ”Leave.”

”Who stationed the two of you here?”

”I ought to remind you that any matters involving the royal knights are classified.”

”Hmm, is that so?”

Kaine shrugged his shoulders.

Normally, he wouldn’t take any offense at this, but this time is going to be different.

Grab!

In an instant, Kaine grabbed both of the spears and held them tightly in his grasp.

Startled by his brazen move, the two captains poured life energy into their arms—and yanked hard with everything they had, but the moment their power surged, it collided with an equal force. Kaine gripped both spear shafts with an iron grip, his fingers locked so tightly around the spears that the captains could not pry their weapons free.

”Let me ask you—one more time,” Kaine stared at the royal knight on the left, then the one at the right. ”Who told you to stand guard here?”

Fully expecting them to deny further, Kaine prepared to push them harder.

But he stopped when the knights answered him without a fight.

”It was Empress Morgana,” One of them answered with a resigned tone. ”She told us to stand guard.”

”For what reason? What’s happening?”

”Her Majesty wanted to transport an item to a secure place, so we’re here to oversee the process and also stand watch in case of an attack. As you might know, normally, when an artifact was taken out, chaos ensued.”

”I see...”

Just as Kaine expected, the tight security was because of the scheduled transportation of an item.

Even without asking, the item should be the Phoenix Feather.

But in case it was something else, Kaine has to check.

”Let me verify the item,” Kaine said—as he let go of their spears and gestured for them to lead the way. He didn’t forget to take the Judge Seal when they were looking at him warily, ”I’m here on behalf of His Majesty. So, unless you want to answer to His Majesty himself, I suggest you lead the way.”

Both captains exchanged a look.

And eventually, the two nodded and turned around to lead the way.

Kaine looked at both of their backs from behind and followed them silently.

His eyes trailed down to his hands, and he found something surprising and worrying at the same time.

Both of his palms were slightly bruised from catching the spear earlier.

’I’m wounded...?’ Kaine’s brows knitted together as he stared at the small, but evident bruises on his palms. ’Had it been another person, tussling with Divine Spirits like them would be a foolish move. But for me...? This should be nothing, so how?’

Kaine clenched his fists and gazed ahead.

Even without this, he was also already suspicious of these two captains.

’Royal knights answered only to the royal family; they are separate from the military. And their leader... the High Argent Knight is not someone weak. Compared to me, he’s maybe only a tad bit weaker, so these two shouldn’t be buckling under my pressure that easily.’

No matter how overbearing he was, the royal knights wouldn’t surrender that easily.

Even a normal royal knight wouldn’t be intimidated that easily if they were under strict orders.

All because they knew if this matter reached the High Argent Knight, that Kaine was making trouble for them, he wouldn’t be able to shrug it off like it was nothing. Normal royal knights knew that, much less captains like these two.

For them to buckle that easily was a peculiar behavior in Kaine’s eyes.

’It’s like they were only acting to make the transportation a big deal, to make me believe that it was the only reason.’ Kaine looked around and then over his shoulder. ’I get it... They are diverting my attention from something else, something they don’t want me finding out.’

Something was odd about this place, and he’s going to find out about it.

”We’re here,”

Kaine pushed the massive gate open and was greeted by at least a dozen people who were working.

All of them were busy layering enchantments, anchoring formations, and setting every precaution they knew around the black chest at the room’s center. Most were Seekers, their robes flickering with faint sigils, and one even recognized Lord Kaine, offering him a respectful nod as he passed.

Nothing looked out of place.

Kaine went over to the black, fiery chest at the center where the main Seeker was inspecting.

”How are the preparations going?”

”Great, Lord Kaine. It would be delivered as scheduled.”

”May I take a look inside? I need to make sure.”

”Feel free to check inside. I haven’t activated the formations, so there’s no need to worry.”

Kaine nodded his head and opened the chest.

As soon as he did, sparks of flame burst forth from within, bathing the entire room in an orange glow.

It was being suppressed by the room, but the suppression wouldn’t last long.

Kaine leaned over and pried the chest open only enough to peer inside.

Resting on a fire-resistant velvet pillow was a single, divine blazing feather—it was the size of an arm, and its flames danced overbearingly in place. He sensed nothing wrong with it, so he immediately closed the chest again.

From the start, he wasn’t expecting that there was something wrong with the Phoenix Feather.

He knew that this was only a smokescreen; the real secret lay elsewhere.

”I’ll be leaving then,” Kaine said to the Seeker before he went out of the room again.

Behind, the captains closed the door for him.

”Are you finished with your inspection now, Lord Kaine?” the captain asked.

Since there was nothing out of the ordinary with the Phoenix Feather, there should be no need for further inspection.

But Kaine wasn’t done.

”Actually, I am here to conduct an investigation of the royal establishments, including the royal knights like both of you,” Kaine said with a calm, composed tone. He then turned around again and fixated on the two. ”Do you have somewhere private to talk?”

Reluctantly, the two captains brought Kaine to another room.

It was significantly smaller—an empty artifact storage.

”Shall I call the other royal knights guarding the treasury, too?”

”No, there was no need. Both of you here are more than enough.”

Kaine went and sat on the dais staircase, staring at the two who were motionless.

Both were wearing full helmets, but he could sense their nervousness.

”Do you know the tasks His Majesty gave to me whenever he summoned me?” He asked.

Hearing this, the captain on the left, the senior one, answered, ”Yes.”

”Please, tell me what you know about me.”

”I heard His Majesty only called you whenever he wanted the battle to be handled as soon as possible.”

”Precisely.”

Kaine leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs.

His fingers laced together as he held the two captains in a steady, unblinking stare.

All of his movements were very slow to the point of suffocating the captains in tension.

Part of it was trust,” Kaine said at last, explaining his condition. ”But the real reason he chose me is a lot simpler. Unlike the other generals, I wasn’t born into a gilded cradle. I crawled out of the filth in the deepest slums. I don’t carry their pride, their politics, or their prejudices.”

”Thus,” He tapped a finger beneath his eyes, ”these eyes are never biased to anyone, because I really understand the length someone was willing to go to survive. It would only take one moment for a good person to turn for the worse. And for that, I notice things others blind themselves to. I can see the light that the eyes emitted when that change happened.”

”And I use that to seek allies in enemy territory to kill the head.”

Hearing this, the two captains gulped harshly.

Kaine said that in a way that he seemed to be seeing that light in their eyes.

And that made their blood run cold.

After another long pause, Kaine’s expression eased as he posed a smile.

”In any case, I’ll be investigating this place for a bit longer,” Kaine said as he rose to his feet, his spine straightening—like a drawn blade. ”And once I uncover the proof my instincts are screaming about, be sure that I will find it, I’ll deliver the punishment it warrants.”

He paused, eyes narrowing on the two captains.

”Unless, of course, there’s something you’d like to tell me now... something that would make such an investigation unnecessary.” He added with a clear hint of what they needed to do. ”Assuming that is, if you two have something to say. If not, then forget about what I said.”

Kaine allowed them a moment to think.

Or at least, that was what the two captains thought his silence meant.

But it wasn’t that.

Slowly, the smile on Kaine’s face disappeared again, replaced by a cold and hard expression.

”You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?” He asked blatantly without any filter, with a gaze so intense that he didn’t even blink. ”Tell me what you’re hiding now, and I’ll oversee this mistake. If not, I will find the evidence and decapitate you two on the spot.”

”Whatever you’re thinking, it’s false.”

”Yes. We’re not hiding anything, and pressuring us further than this is nothing short of power abuse.”

”Hmm,” Kaine raised his hand, preparing to flick. ”In that case, look at my hand. If you have nothing to hide, look at my hand. If you don’t, I’ll bring you in for suspicion of treason.”

Unwillingly, the two captains turned to look at his raised hand.

Flick!