The hero's gender is yet to be determined after rebirth.

"Please forgive her, Mother. She was acting rashly without knowing the full story..." Kurala continued to explain.

The housekeeper hurriedly tried to help, but dared not utter a word.

Queen Percy grumbled, "Hmph! My arms are aching from being tied up like that!"

At that moment, she felt that she had been tied up without putting up any resistance, and that she would lose face in the future... But perhaps she could say that she deliberately did not resist?

But to put it more bluntly...

Kurala quickly increased the pressure to ease her mother's pain: "She's already been very gentle. I know she has not only a leather rope, but also a sinew rope..."

"Hmm? How do you know she has that kind of thing... You've gone that far?" The Queen looked at her daughter with a strange expression.

Kurara: "?"

A Buddha sees a Buddha, an emperor sees an emperor...

At that moment, a woman's loud shout came from outside the hall.

"Assassins! His Majesty the King is in danger!"

The sound was extremely loud, echoing throughout the entire palace in the already quiet midnight.

It was after Lorenwei cast a wind spell that she shouted from the top of the side hall.

The sound traveled far and wide, and was controlled by wind magic elements, echoing continuously in the air, making it difficult for listeners to discern its exact origin.

Then, Lorenwei used concealment magic to lower herself and carefully observe the guards' movements.

With the skills of a swordsman and extremely high control over magic, she is now considered a dual cultivator of both magic and monsters.

The guards of this era did not have very standardized job training. Upon hearing the alarm that there was an assassin, a large number of guards rushed to the palace where the king was.

From her vantage point, Lorenve could easily spot the king.

That place was not within the inner palace, but rather part of the outer palace. It looked like a large hall used for receiving guests.

Having figured things out, he prepared to slip down from the roof of the side hall.

At that moment, a female mage ascended into the air using a levitation spell. She was a peak-level Archmage, a high-ranking guardian of the royal palace.

"Divine Eagle Vision!" A vision-based reconnaissance system that consumes a large amount of magic power.

A blue robe covered her aged body, and the old woman's wary gaze swept across the entire palace.

If Lorenwei weren't in her Sword Saint form, she would have been immediately detected by her focused observation. Fortunately, the Sword Saint's level was too high, exceeding the detection range of a Magister's abilities.

Lorenwei descended from the side hall unharmed and began rapidly approaching the main hall where the king was located.

This is the Council Hall, where the King is receiving a secret guest.

"Who's making such a racket? Where's the assassin?" The king nodded to the confidant and said to his personal guard, "Go outside and ask what's going on. If there's nothing wrong, tell them to shut up!"

One of the four bodyguards acknowledged and opened the door to leave.

The male confidant the king was receiving was startled and shook his black robe.

"..." He felt a little worried: Without the protection of the Mist Guardian, could the Shadow Guardian's concealment technique have been discovered?

This is getting complicated. The negotiations between the two sides were already at a stalemate, with King Percy refusing to cooperate with the Black Robe.

This secret agent, acting as the black-robed messenger, knew before entering the palace that the Shadow Protector was somewhat eager to make a move. However, since his own status was a level below the Protector's, he couldn't directly order him not to act without permission, and could only try to persuade him with kind words.

Who would have thought that the other party was so skilled and daring, actually managing to sneak in?

"Assassins! All on alert!" The old archmage's shout suddenly rang out across the sky, her fingers rapidly forming spells as she sternly commanded, "Shadowwalker! Show yourself!"

A bolt of lightning shot into the sky and struck a large tree outside the council hall with a loud thud.

By a twist of fate, Lorenwei's shout caused the old archmage's Eagle Vision magic to discover the black-robed figure hiding there.

"Ah! You actually saw through my disguise!" The black-robed shadow protector quickly revealed his form under the attack of the lightning magic.

Wearing the same black robe, and still shimmering with the aftershocks of a lightning magic attack, with streaks of black smoke rising from the crackling electricity, he was not seriously injured, but some minor external wounds were unavoidable.

"You are the Shadow Protector in black robes! You have trespassed into the royal palace of the main city of my Grand Duchy of Posey, and even concealed your presence in the inner palace. Your crimes are unforgivable!" The old mage of the Grand Duchy of Posey descended slowly a dozen steps away from the Shadow Protector with a solemn expression, her murderous aura emanating from her.

The Shadow Guardian began setting up a defensive formation by constantly making magical hand gestures.

Exposing himself in the palace would be a sure way to defeat. He decided to flee immediately.

"Your Majesty! A hidden figure has been discovered in the outer palace! The guarding archmage has confirmed it to be the Shadow Protector in black robes!"

King Percy soon received a report from his personal guards that he had discovered the Shadow Protector, who was concealed in black robes, in the outer palace.

This Shadow Guardian's features were too obvious; he used Shadow Cloaking to conceal his presence. Moreover, the old woman, the palace mage of the Percy royal family, recognized him.

After all, those at the Archmage level and above are considered high-level experts, and the probability of them knowing each other is quite high. Before joining the Black Robes, the Shadow Guardian had already been hunted down by this old Archmage woman for her improper conduct.

King Percy's face darkened as he stared at the cleric with hostility: "I need an explanation from you black-robed figures!"

This secret guest was a messenger in black robes. Although he was not at the level of a protector, he was, after all, representing the organization to negotiate.

“Your Majesty, as the Black Robe’s envoy… I truly know nothing about this! I can assure you, this is definitely not an official action by the Black Robe!” The Secret Agent was sweating profusely with anxiety.

He was also furious.

Only three of the black-robed protectors have publicly appeared; the fourth, the strongest, has been absent for far too long. Furthermore, the cursed mage, Mist Protector, has recently lost contact, causing significant disruptions to many matters within the organization.

Today, I'm here on behalf of the organization to make initial contact with King Percy, something that's been done in secret. After all, the Black Robe has a terrible reputation, which is why I chose this time.

Fortunately, King Percy was kind enough to grant him a personal audience. Regardless of whether a preliminary agreement on cooperation could be reached, it was enough for him to return and report back.

"Our conversation ends here!" The king said unhappily, turning away with a flick of his sleeve.

Several bodyguards slowly escorted the king away.

Other guards escorted the black-robed messenger away.

The black-robed envoy's face, hidden beneath his cloak, was ashen. He understood the meaning behind those words: the negotiations between the black-robed envoy and the Grand Duchy of Percy had come to an end!

What's the point of discussing cooperation? Someone sneaked into the palace in the middle of the night without a sound?! And during negotiations?

From the perspective of the black-robed messenger, infiltrating the palace is no big deal; the problem is whether you have the ability to avoid being discovered!

As he was being escorted out of the council hall under almost constant surveillance, the black-robed envoy spotted the archmage and shadow guardian facing off in the distance.

That's right, it was his own shadow protector in black robes.

He was surrounded by hundreds of guards and several experts.

He wanted nothing more than to point at the Shadow Protector and yell at him: You deserve it! You deserve to die here! You've become so lax because of your abilities. You protectors will really think you're invincible if you don't suffer a great loss!

Just as I thought of this, a sharp white light flashed by like a bolt of lightning.

"Ah—" Shadow Protector screamed in agony as blood splattered from his right arm. A guard's sword had come flying through the air, severing most of his shoulder and arm.

The sword wasn't meant to kill him, but only to sever his right arm. Otherwise, if it were truly meant to kill him, he would have suffered far more than this wound while focused on confronting the archmage.

The sword energy was fierce, and the wound was not a sharp cut, but rather as if it had been torn apart by a ferocious beast, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

This ordinary guard's sword, stained with blood, was plunged into the ground like a divine weapon, with most of the blade disappearing into the bluestone, leaving only the hilt trembling on its own.

Chapter 174 A fleeting glance, a thousand turns of allure. Lorenwei is a femme fatale…

"The court mage is mighty!" a female voice shouted.

"Whoa—" The guards cheered in unison.

Everyone watched as the old female archmage, a guard of the royal palace, confronted a black-robed mage who appeared to have ill intentions.

Just as the two sides landed and prepared to fight, the black-robed mage who had been discovered was attacked on the right shoulder by a sharp blade.

As expected, the palace guard mages of our Grand Duchy of Posey are truly formidable! The guards were greatly encouraged.

"But, it wasn't me..." The old archmage was still an honest person. She muttered to herself, quickly looking around but not being able to detect any powerful aura. It was as if the flying blade had never happened.

Only the black-robed mage lying on the ground groaning in pain, and the blood and mangled limbs on the ground, showed the result of the sharp blade attack.

Many people realized that she wasn't the one who attacked, but they didn't take it seriously, almost all assuming it was the work of hidden guards in the palace. Even those who tried to trace the origin of that domineering sword strike couldn't detect any powerful aura.

Because Lorenvie's Sword Saint status has expired.

Just now, Lorenwei casually grabbed a guard's sword from a knight statue in the palace corridor. She had noticed that the old palace guard mage had unexpectedly discovered an intruder—a man in black robes!

"Shadow Protector? He's from the same family I killed before. You actually dared to infiltrate my wife's family home, you've got some nerve!" Just now, Lorenwei held her sword, watching the two confront each other. "Shadow Protector in black robes dares to sneak in here? What if you see my wife changing clothes? Wouldn't I be at a huge disadvantage then?"

Sensing that her Sword Saint form was about to expire, Lorenwei simply gathered her strength and hurled the sword from afar!

Almost everyone's attention was focused on the standoff between the black-robed mage and the old archmage, and they didn't notice Lorenvie's attack at all.

Even though the guards sensed a rapid whooshing sound behind them and turned around, Lorenve had already slipped away.

Lorenwei didn't actually intend to kill this Shadow Guardian; she was aiming for his right shoulder.

As a result, the Shadow Protector was focused on the standoff, and Lorenwei's flying sword attack was so fast and powerful that it caused his protective treasure to explode instantly!

Compared to the previously destroyed body of the cursed mage Mist Guardian, Shadow Guardian was a bit luckier. Lorenwei considered that the Grand Duchy of Posey was, after all, Kurara's maternal home. If she killed him here, the Grand Duchy might become irreconcilably opposed to the Black Robe, potentially causing trouble such as retaliation. Therefore, she only wounded him, not killed him.

Soon after midnight, the Sword Saint's ability would be usable again. Lorenwei felt that using the Sword Saint's ability now was worthwhile; scaring the noblewoman was a minor matter, but being able to injure the Shadow Protector in black robes was a huge win!

Satisfied, she left the standoff and headed to the council chamber where the king was.

At this moment, the Shadow Protector was severely injured and had no ability to resist. The guards swarmed forward and subdued him.

"Be careful of whether he has poison or defensive magic!" the old archmage reminded him, while remaining fully alert herself.

Who would even have the will to resist? It hurts so much! The Shadow Protector trembled all over, with powerful energy constantly pouring into his wounds.

He dared not resist! This sword strike was so powerful? He knew that even with his full defense, he would find it difficult to dodge; at best, he could only avoid vital organs. His opponent probably didn't intend to kill him, but if he injured someone else, they would likely show no mercy!

"The Grand Duchy of Posey is indeed a place of profound heritage, with such a powerful hidden expert in the palace!" The Shadow Protector gritted his teeth and said this to the old archmage as he was being escorted away.

He thought he had been injured by a master from the Grand Duchy of Percy.

"..." The old female mage did not refute, but silently added a few more restrictions to him to ensure everything was in order.

After dealing with this matter, the old archmage summoned several trusted mages and guards, instructing them to keep an eye out for any powerful individuals nearby.

Could he be a hidden master worshipped by His Majesty the King? The old woman had also wondered about this.

Regardless, their attempt to find the hidden master was doomed to failure.

Once Lorenwei returned to normal, even if someone tried to find her using their aura, they would find it difficult to match.

She had already taken out her maid's uniform from her ring and quickly changed. While rushing through several palaces, she had seen clothes drying in the sun and casually stuffed them into her spatial ring.