First Move, Checkmate: How Will You Respond?

Victor appeared amidst everyone’s astonishment, his deep red coat making him seem all the more dangerous.

“Your Majesty, Victor Clayvinna has arrived.”

The eunuch reminded Emperor Oberly beside him.

The mages around looked at each other in dismay, asking each other:

“Victor Clayvinna? The family head of the Clayvinna family?”

“Didn’t they say Victor wanted to trigger a volcanic eruption but ended up dying inside the volcano?”

“He didn’t die but came back instead?”

Suddenly, one mage called out to Victor:

“Victor! You criminal! How dare you still come to the imperial palace to see His Majesty!”

Hearing the man’s words, Victor’s tone turned cold.

“Crime? What crime did I commit?”

He glanced back at where the voice came from.

His ruthless gaze was like an ice spear, piercing deep into the mage’s heart, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Yet soon, a fiery indignation spread through his entire body.

As if he was there himself, in the next second, he fell to the bottom of Mount Vesuvius.

The intense heat actually made him start gasping for air…

Was that magic?

Someone was actually able to cultivate magic to such a terrifying level of oppression!

Suddenly, Victor withdrew his gaze and looked back at the king.

“Ha! Huff…”

The mage grabbed his neck and breathed deeply, desperately craving the mild air.

Revenge, that was Victor’s revenge!

His heart was in turmoil, drenched in cold sweat.

But even so, he had to stand up here and question Victor.

“You… you criminal who almost caused a volcanic eruption!”

“Even if you didn’t die, you committed the grave crime of evading guilt and fleeing!”

“How dare you come back!”

“Hmph.”

Victor sneered disdainfully, not even looking at him again.

“I came at the emperor’s command, yet you asked me over and over why I dared to come back?”

“Are you saying… you have more power than His Majesty?”

The mage quickly shut his mouth. He had to make an introduction, but he didn’t dare respond to this.

But his purpose was achieved.

Others would pick up where he left off.

The other mages soon took over, full of hostility towards Victor.

“Your Majesty, the Clayvinna family head is simply making trouble out of nothing!”

“He doesn’t mention his own crimes at all, and even slanders us and Your Majesty!”

“We beg Your Majesty to convict him!”

Emperor Oberly waved his hand, and the eunuchs around immediately shouted.

“Silence!”

Everyone in the hall obediently shut their mouths.

But they still stared at Victor with hatred, wishing they could skin him alive and drink his blood.

There was no other way, because he was Victor Clayvinna.

He provoked resentment to begin with.

In the crowd, the second prince shook his head.

It was a pity they didn’t force Victor into desperation.

But… he didn’t actually die in the volcano.

The second prince still remembered the descriptions among the many mages at the time.

Amazing energy burst out of the mouth of the volcano, instantly suppressing the eruption.

If Victor had really been inside the volcano then, trying to make it erupt.

Then under that energy, he would have had no chance of surviving.

“Tsk, what a pity.”

The emperor stretched out his hand and crooked a finger at Victor. The eunuchs beside him immediately shouted loudly in the hall:

“Victor Clayvinna! Come forward for interrogation!”

Victor walked to the closest position to His Majesty to await questioning.

The emperor stared at Victor and asked, “Did you trigger the eruption of Mount Vesuvius?”

Hearing this question, everyone present unconsciously craned their necks, curious what response Victor would give.

Or rather, they hoped more for Victor’s sophistry.

Gwen was also curious, and she hoped more that Victor would tell the truth.

To say the truth that this matter had nothing to do with him.

Gwen could stand by the emperor’s side, not just as His Majesty’s guard.

Her role was crucial – with her Righteous Heart, she could easily discern truth from lies.

So when the emperor asked Victor, Gwen’s gaze remained fixed on him the whole time.

The Righteous Heart had already been activated.

“The volcano’s abnormal activity was indeed caused by me.”

“Hiss—”

Victor frankly admitted it.

Hearing this truth, everyone couldn’t help but gasp. Gwen’s heart also thudded.

She couldn’t believe it was true, but the Righteous Heart told her honestly.

“Victor is not lying.”

Gwen spoke up and pronounced Victor’s truth or lies.

And her words nearly ignited the emotions of everyone present.

They erupted like volcanoes silently dormant, pointing at Victor and spewing vitriol:

“You bastard! Do you know what you’ve done?!”

“You murderer who nearly killed us all!”

“A natural disaster on the scale of a volcanic eruption, do you know how much responsibility you bear?!”

In Gwen’s heart, she also felt an unbearable emotion.

Victor becoming the culprit behind the volcanic eruption was the hardest thing for her to accept.

Gwen was filled with immense guilt.

If a natural disaster struck, she would be the greatest sinner.

She didn’t refuse Victor’s company on the trip, which ultimately nearly led to disaster.

“But I was also the one who stopped the volcanic eruption.”

Suddenly, Gwen raised her head, a distinct shock flashing through her eyes.

“Victor is not lying…”

Duke Riviere, who had been kneeling silently, suddenly raised his head.

When Victor ignited everyone’s anger, his next sentence shut everyone up again.

Along with Gwen’s Righteous Heart judgment, this sentence was like a thousand-year block of ice sealing the volcano, plunging everyone present back into boundless silence.

All the mages present clearly witnessed that scene.

At the moment the volcano was about to erupt, that amazing ray of light had shot into the sky, ruthlessly suppressing the volcano.

That was definitely not magic power a human could possess.

Yet now, Victor actually said he was the one who stopped the volcanic eruption.

Not even the volcano’s mother would dare think that!

But Gwen said Victor was not lying?

Emperor Oberly looked at everyone’s reactions, then looked back at Victor and asked,

“Victor, what was your reason for doing this?”

Victor knew if he lied, Gwen would see through it.

He didn’t overthink it and directly told the truth about the volcano.

Sincerity was the ultimate killer move.

“Your Majesty, sealed under the volcano is a terrifying magical beast, called Guldon.”

“If this magical beast is not dealt with now, in a year and a half, it will break its seal, causing the volcano to erupt completely.”

“By then, the scale of the natural disaster will be enough to swallow heaven and earth.”

The emperor narrowed his eyes, staring at Victor as he asked,

“So you dealt with that magical beast?”

Victor put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly.

“I was fortunate enough not to disgrace myself.”

At this moment, even without Gwen coming out to verify his authenticity.

The mages were also all anxious now.

“Your Majesty! Don’t believe Victor’s lies! This must be a fabricated tale to shirk responsibility!”

“Pure rumor! How could there possibly be a magical beast sealed under the volcano! Even if there were, how could such a powerful creature be something Victor could deal with alone?!”

“We all saw the magic back then. That level of magical energy simply isn’t something a human could possess!”

“At least not something a third-class mage like Victor could accomplish!”

The mages around turned their spears on Victor once more.

“In our view, Victor is lying!”

Only a few third-class mages didn’t speak, including Count Baker.

He lowered his head to look at the few friendly mages around him. Likewise, they were also looking at Baker.

They simultaneously recalled the deranged old woman back in Sanchel Town.

‘The volcano god legend…is real.’

The king turned and glanced at Gwen. Gwen nodded, indicating Victor was not lying.

“Sir Gwen, if I’m not mistaken, you and Victor are engaged, correct?”

The second prince spoke as he walked out from the crowd.

Hearing his question, Gwen was startled for a moment, then nodded.

“Even when you went to investigate the volcano, the mage you requested to accompany you was Victor.”

“Yet Victor disappeared for seven or eight days, and you really don’t know what he did?”

The second prince smiled, but his words were clearly meant to attack.

At this, not a few mages reacted.

Gwen also refused to show weakness, staring hard at the second prince and said, “Your Highness, are you questioning me?”

Hearing this, the second prince smiled slightly and nodded.

“Please understand, this is reasonable doubt.”

The emperor spoke up then, “Gwen’s Righteous Heart has never been wrong.”

The second prince bowed to the emperor, “Father, please allow me to speak frankly. The Righteous Heart can indeed discern truth from lies in others’ words.”

“But who can discern the truth in Gwen’s own words?”

Hearing this, the other mages’ eyes lit up at once.

“That’s right! Gwen is Victor’s fiancée!”

“We were almost fooled by this crafty couple!”

“What the second prince says makes sense. How do we discern the truth in Gwen’s words?”

The mages were extremely grateful. If not for the second prince’s timely rescue, they would have been completely overturned by Victor and his wife.

As expected, the second prince was extremely clever.

Gwen opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but faced with the barrage of doubts from the mages around her, she was so anxious she couldn’t get half a sentence out, her eyes even red with anger.

As a knight, she could defend her homeland and kill enemies on the battlefield.

But she could never match these glib mages in a contest of words her whole life.

“So, Your Highness, are you questioning my capabilities?”

At this time, Victor spoke up.

He didn’t turn back to look at the second prince. None of the mages behind could see his expression now.

The second prince narrowed his eyes and smiled, looking completely at ease.

“Sir Victor, I believe everyone present understands your talents.”

“But to conceal your actions, you insist on fabricating some so-called magical beast.”

“Sir Victor, you are merely a third-class mage after all.”

“Isn’t it somewhat foolish to boast like this?”

His words struck deep.

With so many third-class mages present, who would believe Victor alone stopped the volcanic eruption?

They couldn’t do it themselves, so a third-class mage like Victor couldn’t have either.

Because these arrogant mages wouldn’t allow Victor at the same level as them to be stronger.

So they wouldn’t believe it.

But just then, Victor, who was originally standing in place, suddenly vanished.

Everyone’s eyes bulged as they tried to find Victor’s whereabouts.

But in its place, a flame rose into the air.

“Where did Victor go?”

In an instant, countless exquisite magic circles generated over the second prince’s head, spinning endlessly.

There were so many even the mages present couldn’t make out a single pattern.

“What…is this spell formation?”

“How are the patterns so chaotic…No! The patterns are too complex to comprehend!”

“What exactly is going on?”

The mages present were all shocked. They wanted to stop it, to see through it, but the temperature in the hall suddenly rose sharply.

At this moment, they couldn’t even calm down enough to release magic power.

Suddenly, a voice cried out.

“Quick…look! Is that Victor?!”

A mage pointed at the sky in horror.

Victor’s figure was bathed in flames, his form gradually morphing into a fiery magical beast reaching the ceiling, burning like the sun, bright and dazzling.

The intense heat made the walls around the hall start burning, even causing the floor above the hall to crack from the high temperature.

His eyes coldly stared at the second prince, the overwhelming pressure from above actually made the second prince not even dare to breathe.

“You say I don’t have enough power?”

Out of nowhere, a flame ignited on the second prince’s clothes.

Smoke gradually rose, but under the immense heat, he couldn’t even feel himself burning in the flames.

Gwen shielded the king, using her enchanted armor to block the scorching rays Victor gave off.

“Then let’s settle this with power.”

Buzz— Buzz— Buzz—

Countless magic circles gave off a chaotic mix of sounds, drowning out everyone’s cries of confusion, gradually fusing together.

Some mage suddenly looked at the sky in horror, ripping his throat as he screamed:

“That’s…fourth-class magic!”