In the capital town of Kingdom Dradel, a grandeur castle stood tall. Fourteen thick, square towers reaching for the sky were scattered in a seemingly random pattern, but were built for an ideal defense and were connected by high, narrow walls made of emerald green stone.

Grand windows were scattered generously around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with asymmetric crenelations for archers and artillery.

A great gate with giant metal doors, a drawbridge, and a moat guarded the only easy way across the river.

Well-kept gardens with fragrant flowers, gorgeous trees, and many bushes decorated the outside of the castle. This castle had clearly stood the test of time, the rocks of the walls were aged and vines and plants grew inside the cracks, but this castle would last for ages to come.

Currently, several carriages were going in and out of the castle and Peyton was in one of those carriages. The Guardian Guild had several headquarters sprinkled throughout the world and this castle was the headquarters of the Elon continent. This was where they dealt with everything related to the Elon continent.

Peyton remained silent throughout her journey from the Southern continent to her manor to the castle. The memories of Alpha's guardian abandoning her for Sabrina kept flashing across her mind. She could not stop it. Her blood was boiling in rage. Not in a million years did she think she would be betrayed by the guardian guild, especially by the Alpha guardian whom Peyton worshiped as a god.

To this moment she had a hard time believing she was saved by the Dark Lord. After seeing the images he showed her, she didn't think the guardians would have ever looked for her. Deep down she knew if it wasn't for the Dark Lord, she would still be getting tortured by the vampires.

Unlike what one would expect, no one stopped the carriages to search them. There were countless runes and arrays placed all around the castle that protected the castle from intruders and enemies. When a guardian was initiated into the guild, they would receive a mark. If anyone tried to enter the castle without bearing this mark, they would be immediately incapacitated and arrested by the elite soldiers patrolling the castle grounds.

Since Peyton had the mark, she entered the castle grounds without any hiccups. In addition, there was an array designed by a 6-star runemaster that suppressed all the guardians' cultivation levels to the Body Strengthening stage except for a selected few including Peyton.

However, at the moment, she felt her cultivation was being suppressed to

Body Strengthening stage

"Huh?" Peyton creased her brows. For a second she thought it was some kind of mistake but then, she remembered the words of the three-headed creatures she saw with the Dark Lord,

"The moment you return to your guild, they will treat you more like a traitor than a survivor"

The carriage gradually came to a halt. Peyton remained in the carriage for a few moments, trying to calm her mind. Then, she stepped out of the carriage onto the courtyard.

The courtyard was decorated with a large fountain in the center and neatly pruned gardens. The paved ground was clean and spotless without a speck of dust.

As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, the guardians relaxing in the courtyard turned their gazes at her. The smiles on their faces got replaced by a cold look.

Ignoring all their looks, Peyton made her way into the castle. A giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling lit the hall with its bright silver light. The marble ground and pure white walls gave the interior a majestic charm. At the moment, numerous guardians were going with their work, and several noticed Peyton. Just like those guardians outside, all of them had a cold look on their faces.

"Peyton!" From the crowd, Peyton heard someone calling her. She turned in the direction of the voice to see Xanali, her best friend running towards her.

"Peyton" Xanali pulled Peyton close, hugging her tight,

"Thank the gods you're alright" She squeezed Peyton, refusing to let her go.

"At least someone is glad to see me" Peyton expressed her thoughts,

Xanali finally released Peyton from the hug.

"Let's go to my quarters and talk"

"Your quarters?" Peyton frowned,

Before Xanali could answer Peyton, she asked another question,

"What happened to my quarters?"

Xanali avoided eye contact while wringing her hands,

"We'll talk about that, come on" Xanali grabbed Peyton by her hand before dragging her towards a polished door made of white wood. Peyton's quarters was just a couple of doors away from Xanali's. When she saw her quarters, the door had no nameplate as it used to have.

Xanali opened the door to reveal a spacious room with fancy sofas and tables. The floor was wood, not marble like outside. The walls were painted and decorated with a crimson red wallpaper border. The room was lit by the chandelier and the several orbs attached to the walls. The room was done in a floral theme in light muted colors and overall had an elegant look. Among the first things, Peyton noticed walking in was a portrait of a graceful red-haired woman sitting on a throne. She had a resemblance to Xanali which indicated to Peyton that she was Xanali's mother.

Xanali and Peyton sat on the cushioned sofa as Xanali began to brew them a cup of tea,

"I never lost faith in you Peyton. I knew you would return" Xanali said, giving the cup and saucer to Peyton,

"Where is Sabrina? Tiriana and the hunter guardians kept everything hush-hush. But I heard, you team disappeared from the safe horse without a trace"

Normally Peyton included Xanali in all of her teams but due to Xanali having to leave for Nagaland, she couldn't be a part of Operation Desert Eagle. But everyone including Tiriana and Tanulia thought Peyton recruited Sabrina. In truth, Xanali was the one who recommended Peyton take Sabrina in her stead.

"I saw the way everyone looked at me. What's happening here Xanali?"

Xanali sighed as she placed her hand atop Peyton's. She tried to console her by gently squeezing her hand,

"Those idiots are thinking you led Sabrina into a trap because"

"Because what?" Peyton furrowed her brows,

"Because the higher ups promoted Noah to captain instead of you"

Peyton clenched her. The anger within her exploded like a volcano. Her eyes turned red due to the veins popping out,

"They think I led my team into a trap and killed them because I didn't get a promotion," Peyton asked gritting her teeth,

"They are idiots, Peyton. Don't give a damn about what they think. They all like Noah and that's why they've been acting like this. When you tell the truth in the hearing, they will realize how wrong they are" Her words were supposed to calm Peyton down but instead, when Peyton heard her, her rage multiplied by several folds. Xanali noticed Peyton's hands trembling.

"Yeah everyone like Noah who spends most of his time doing god knows what but they don't give a shit about those who risk our lives for the guild and its principles"

Ching!

Peyton crushed the teacup before standing up,

"Even you asked me where is Sabrina, not what happened to you"

Peyton's voice stuttered. She didn't raise her voice even though she was raging in anger. To be honest, she couldn't raise her voice. The mix of emotions she was feeling right now suppressed her voice,

"Peyton it's-"

"Tell me Xanali, the Desert Eagle operation is supposed to be off the books. How did the rest of them know about it, how did they know who was in the team?"

Peyton's eyes welled up behind her glasses,

"The alpha guardianshe asked disclosed the operation and asked everyone to look for you"

Peyton let out a miserable smile as she shook her head,

"Not me Xanali, Sabrina. They asked the guardians to look for Sabrina"

Xanali couldn't rebuke because what Peyton said was the truth. The Alpha guardians specifically told them to search for Sabrina discreetly. As far as the Winston family was concerned, Sabrina was in seclusion at Holy Trident Academy. Since Noah left Elon searching for something, he had no idea about his sister's disappearance.

"Do you know what they did to me?"

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

Just as Peyton was about to reveal what happened to her in the southern continent, someone knocked on the door,

"Who is there?" asked Xanali,

"The hearing is going to begin soon"

Peyton didn't need any explanation. She knew the hearing was for her because she expected this to happen. The Dark Lord and the three-headed creature were right. Regardless of what she wanted to believe, everything they told her had been the truth.

She started to think the Dark Lord may have been right all along. If she was the Alpha guardian, she wouldn't have played favorites. Peyton would have sent teams to look for everyone. Moreover, she wouldn't have let the guardians brand a loyal guardian a traitor until she received all the facts.

"Peyton" Xanali stood up. As a best friend, she thought she knew what was going on in Peyton's mind. However, in truth, Xanali couldn't even grasp the amount of rage and sadness in Peyton's heart.

The feeling of realizing that the Dark Lord, who Peyton thought was the ultimate evil, was in right rather than the guild she believed in her whole life crushed her heart.

"Let's get this over with. Lead the way" When Xanali opened the door, they were welcomed by the silver armored soldiers. Each soldier was armored to the teeth. Despite the look, the armor was as light as a feather but strong enough to withstand an immense amount of attacks. These were the elites of the castle, the Soul Refining stage warriors.

"Miss Peyton, follow us"

The guardians were staring at them as the soldiers escorted Peyton to the upper floor through the stairs followed by Xanali. Peyton felt like a prisoner but uttered no word.

Eventually, Peyton reached a giant metal door. The soldiers pushed open the door to reveal a spacious empty hall where there was nothing but a table located on a stage elevated from the floor and several thrones behind this long oak table.

After she stepped into the hall, the soldiers closed the door behind her. She slowly made her way to the center of the hall. Soon, a man dressed in red robes appeared below the table,

"The hearing about the Desert Eagle operation will begin shortly"

As Peyton was waiting for the higher ups to appear, Michael was seeing everything through the Spyder he placed on Peyton. The old Spyder he made would have been destroyed by the arrays when Peyron entered the castle. Thanks to Elidyr, his new Spyders were undetectable. Although they had the main weakness, the Spyder on Peyton was enough for Michael to witness the trial which was about to make Guardians a deadly enemy.