Inside the Boule Chamber of the guard, a few dozen officers filled the seats around the long tables, crowding the room, yet there was no sense of noise, and it was as silent as a pin dropping.

The person sitting in the seat of honor placed immense pressure on them. Although none present, save Dayne, had ever met Sol, his gleaming suit of dragon scale armor blinded them all. In the Golden Dragon Kingdom, only dragon knights who served as guardians of the nation’s borders had the honor of being gifted armor made from the scales of dragons—it was common knowledge.

Though no giant dragon appeared, Dayne’s respectful stance beside Sol was more than enough to indicate the man’s identity to those present.

The more they understood his status, the more frightened they became. These were high-ranking officers of the guard, and they all had their ears to the ground regarding news from the Imperial Capital. Fraudulent claims—that was a crime every single officer present had committed; Dayne just happened to have claimed a bit more than the rest.

Some tried to make eye contact with Dayne, casting meaningful glances his way, but Dayne stood behind Sol, head held high, the very image of a loyal hound.

“I’ll introduce myself briefly. My name is Sol, and I have been tasked with serving as the River Valley’s provisional consul, responsible for overseeing all matters related to supporting the northern lands.”

Though they had already surmised Sol’s identity, hearing him speak his name left them shocked. Sol held an incredibly high position indeed: the king’s uncle, captain of the dragon knights, commander of the Imperial Guard, suspected holder of the title of strongest warrior in the world, and pillar of the kingdom.

It was already absurd for someone to hold such titles, yet Sol had gained the trust of two kings, leaving them without even a hint of misgivings.

Any individual daring to sow discord between Sol and the king found themselves on the receiving end of the king’s wrath before word ever reached Sol’s ears.

To these men, Sol was a legendary figure, and it should have been an exciting thing to have a legend appear before them in person. However, given their guilty consciences, excitement was out of the question, and fear remained.

In reality, Sol didn’t care to bother with them. The leadership of the kingdom had been rotten for years, and the rot had seeped all the way down to the rank and file. Other than draw their salaries under D’Eyn’s command, there was little the common soldiers could do.

“I have a few announcements to make,” Sol declared.

“First, relieve D’Eyn of his position as commander of the guard and demote him to private soldier. I shall assume command of the guard myself.”

“Thank you, my lord,” D’Eyn said respectfully. He had long known what Sol’s decision would be; as long as he remained alive, he would have the chance to redeem himself. Thus, he naturally complied with the announcement.

“This…”

The officers at the bottom of the hierarchy, who had yet to fully grasp the situation, now reacted. Sol clearly already knew everything, and he had just announced D’Eyn’s punishment. Judging by D’Eyn’s demeanor, it seemed he had confessed his crimes in exchange for leniency.

“Silence!” Kutz shouted, silencing the murmurs from the crowd.

Sol continued his announcements, undeterred by the enormity of his orders’ impact on the soldiers present.

“Second Flag Group, Flag Captain Moss, falsified troop reports by 3,200 men. Evidence is incontrovertible. Demote the flag captain to private and hand him over to the military court for prosecution.

“Third Flag Group, Ninth Battalion Commander…”

“Second Flag Group, Kutz succeeds Moss as flag captain…”

The Boule Chamber erupted into a cacophony of voices.

“I protest!”

The Second Flag Group’s flag captain shouted from his seat, no longer able to maintain his silence.

Sol looked toward the source of the commotion and saw a tanned, built, middle-aged officer rise to his feet. Judging by appearance alone, the man seemed suited to the role of a fierce general, but unfortunately, he was a corrupt official, and the most egregious one at that.

“What do you mean by ‘I protest’? If you have any appeals to make, you may take them up with the military court. Guards, remove his armor and escort him away!”

At Sol’s command, two of his personal attendants emerged from behind him. Though Moss hadn’t brought a weapon, he was still a flag captain—his knight rank strength was legitimate—and he attempted to resist the two men restraining him.

But his struggles had no effect against the pair. The arms holding down his shoulders remained unmoved, and they dragged him away without difficulty.

Sol’s personal followers who had accompanied him to the River Valley were considered elites even in the Imperial Capital; at the very least, they were knight-ranked. Moreover, as members of Sol’s inner circle, their foundations and training in Qi drawing were superior to those of the knights of the River Valley.

Moss had no intention of fighting to the death, so it was unsurprising that he could not break free from their grip.

Nevertheless, as the pair escorted him out, Moss continued to cry out, “I refuse to accept this! This is unjust. All of you have benefited from the army’s farmlands, all of you have eaten without paying!”

With these words, the sympathy many had felt for him upon his arrest dissipated, leaving only resentment. It’s one thing to die, but trying to drag everyone else down with you is unforgivable.

“Ah.”

Sol let out a soft chuckle at the way Moss was trying to drag everyone else into the mud with him, but he made no further show of displeasure. The notion of fairness in this affair was absurd, given that Moss was attempting to implicate everyone in his crimes.

Sol knew that Moss spoke truth, but capturing and interrogating every individual implicated would be impossible if he wanted to maintain control of the guard within a reasonable timeframe.

Sol had no choice but to follow the instructions given by Dayne, which was to purge those who had the deepest connections with the nobles of the River Valley, or those who were planted there by the nobles.

This would serve as a warning to the rest, ensuring their obedience, and allow Sol to fill some of the vacant positions with his own trusted men, thereby gaining basic control of the guard in a short span of time.

With the biggest troublemaker, Mo Si, subdued, none of the remaining few who had been named chose to resist, and all were escorted away without incident. Those who remained seated on the benches were also silenced, and no one protested when Sol announced his reassignments.

After all, if even Dane, a former captain, was stripped of his rank and had to obediently assist in the disciplinary action, what could anyone else say?

“Effective immediately, the guard’s headquarters is sealed. No one is allowed to enter or exit without permission, and violators will be executed. Kutz will lead this effort, and Dane will assist. No one is allowed to leave without my express permission, not even a mosquito.”

“Yes sir!”

Though Dane had been demoted to a common soldier, so long as Sol needed him, he could never truly be expected to function as one. This was merely a means of disciplining him.

Inside Viscount Sadé’s mansion in Bolay City, the viscount asked his assistant, “How have preparations been proceeding these past few days?”

“I’ve already sent word to all the tenant farmers we’ve leased land from. No one will dare say anything out of line.”

“I didn’t ask if no one would say anything out of line!”

“O-of course. I guarantee no one will dare speak out of line.”

The Sadé family had occupied a significant portion of the military’s farmland, so naturally they feared an investigation from the Imperial Capital. The past few days, they had been frantically sealing off all exits and covering their tracks.

Generally, no one would dare lodge a complaint against the Sadé family. The newcomers from the Imperial Capital would leave sooner or later, but the Sadé family had been settled in Bolay for centuries. If their complaints failed to bring about swift justice, they would face the wrath of the Sadé family once the Imperial Capital’s envoys left.

While it was possible they could still live under such circumstances, no one wanted to take that risk, so the Sadé family’s attempts to seal everyone’s lips went off without a hitch.

“How is recruitment going?”

“We’ve filled most of the ranks, but we haven’t been able to contact Lord Dayne these past few days. He’s the only one left to take charge of them.”

“What is Dayne up to now? This is his responsibility, yet he’s left us to chase after him.”

Sol had secretly entered the city and arrived much earlier than anyone expected. At this time, aside from Dayne himself, all the nobles in Bolay were unaware of Sol’s presence, and Sol had no plans to reveal his whereabouts until he could take control of the garrison.

“We’ll have to send someone to remind him again tomorrow. If the guard isn’t fully assembled by the time the Imperial Capital arrives, it will be an embarrassment for everyone.”

“Yes, Viscount.”