Two days after Lux's battle against the Rat Monsters, a high-level meeting was held within the throneroom of the Vahan Empire.

"Your Majesty, the reports of our investigation have arrived," a high-ranking noble who bordered the Standeen Forest spoke up. "Two days ago, we noticed dense black smoke rising near the territories of Bradford and Aeston Towns. I Immediately sent my knightsalongside a Wyvern Rider to investigate the incident.

"According to the Wyvern Rider who was first to arrive at the scene, he found a long procession of refugees headed for Aeston Town. When he asked one of the townspeople what happened, he was informed that Stone Clawed Rats numbering in the thousands attacked Bradford Town.

"Now, as you may already know, these Monsters' strength is around the initial stages of Rank 2 Monsters. But according to the guards, as well as the Adventurers who escorted the townspeople, they were different from the usual Stone Clawed Rats. They were all in a berserk state, and their strength had reached the Initial Stages of Rank 4 Monsters."

Murmurs started to spread among the nobles that were present at the meeting, unable to believe what they had heard. Only major cities in the Empire could resist an invasion of thousands of Rank 4 Monsters, which explained why the people of Bradford Town chose to flee instead of staying to defend their hometown.

"According to the refugees and several eyewitnesses, the one who boldly tried to delay the pursuit of Monsters and stop them from reaching the townspeople was a red-headed Half-Elf," the high-ranking noble explained.

"However, when my Wyvern Knight asked the Adventurer's Guild Masters, Boris and Guthramwho were present at the scenewho the Half-Elf was, they said that they had no idea, and insisted that the red-headed teenager just happen to arrive at the scene, while being accompanied by a Boar and a swordsman of unknown origins."

The corner of Emperor Andreas' lips rose ever so slightly because, even if the two Guild Masters didn't say who the Half-Elf was, the shrewd Emperor already knew the identity of the Half-Elf in question.

"The townspeople of Bradford Town hailed the Half-Elf a hero, and I will not say that what he did wasn't heroic," the high-ranking noble stated. "However, we have every reason to believe that in order to stop the Monsters' advance, this Half-Elf razed the Standeen Forest to the ground, without care for its importance to the Empire."

"That's right!"

"What he did is a crime!"

"We lost countless resources because of him!"

"Execute him!"

"Your Majesty, please, give us justice!"

Several nobles, whose territories bordered the Standeen Forest and who used it to hunt monsters for sports and even going as far as making them their servants, voiced their anger. Clearly, they were very unhappy about what happened.

For them, the loss of the Forest was a greater blow than losing Bradford Town and its people. In their eyes, profit was more important than the lives of commoners whose only purpose was to pay them taxes.

Emperor Andreas listened to the nobles and closed his eyes in order to give his verdict.

While he sympathized with the townspeople of Bradford Town, he agreed that losing the Standeen Forest was a great blow to the nobles of the Southern Regions of his Empire. But be that as it may, the fact that Lux saved a lot of people was a fact.

If he were to punish him for such an act, this news would spread across the land, making the common folk feel disgruntled about his decision. The one who understood commoners the most were their fellow commoners.

If they heard that people of their status were not important in the Emperor's eyes, then a seed of rebellion would bloom in their hearts.

Also, Emperor Andreas' secret agents had also reported that although there was no clear evidence that was found on the scene, they believed that the Dark Guild, Twilight Dynasty, had a role to play in this incident.

If Emperor Andreas was to punish Lux, he believed that the Dark Guild would use this opportunity to fan the flames and make the commoners stand up and rebel against him.

Commoners and Noble Families. These were the two factions that supported his empire. Emperor Andreas was confident that if this wasn't handled properly, things could get ugly real quickly.

'Still, this isn't the first time that the Half-Elf has made things difficult for me,' Emperor Andreas mused.

The Emperor of the Vahan Empire was quite annoyed with what happened to the Sacred Dungeon. Although he acted calm on the surface, he felt cheated by what Lux had done to his representatives.

His goal was to conquer the Gate of Conquest in order to gain a key that would allow him to make contact with the Dragon Empire whose whereabouts were unknown.

Emperor Andreas believed that if he were able to make them his ally, then his wish to expand his borders would become a reality.

The incident was still fresh in his mind, yet this time, another incident involving the Half-Elf happened. As someone who bore grudges, he felt the need to punish Lux in order to teach him a lesson without dirtying his hands.

"I understand your concern but I also sympathize with the townspeople of Bradford Town," Emperor Andreas said after organizing his thoughts. "But someone as young as him risked his life to help other people, so he should not be punished by death. Also, his identity is quite special.

"If any of you make a move to kill him, a Saint, perhaps even two of them, will cross our borders and erase your existence from the face of the world. Do all of you want to die that badly?"

The moment a Saint was mentioned, all the nobles that were asking for Lux's execution all shut up. It was not long ago since the capital city, as well as the Royal Palace of the Ashina Kingdom had been razed to the ground.

Fortunately, the two Saints weren't heartless and didn't kill any of the people that resided in it. They just destroyed structures that were void of people in order to cause panic, while giving the people time to evacuate before they started their rampage.

Even so, this incident reminded everyone that there were people who they couldn't afford to mess with, prompting them to be more careful with their words and actions.

"But are we just going to turn a blind eye on this, Your Majesty?" the high-ranking noble asked.

Clearly, he was very unwilling to let this incident slide because it was a great loss for his territory.

The other nobles felt the same, and they wanted to at least punish the Half-Elf in a way that would make him suffer.

"Don't worry," Emperor Andreas assured the nobles that he was also on their side. "The Half-Elf will arrive here in the capital city in two to three days. His purpose for coming here is to take the Trial of Leadership in order to form his own guild.

"I will allow all of you to choose the manner of his trial, but let me make this clear. None of you are allowed to kill him. If you do, I will offer your head, as well as the heads of your entire family's bloodline to his Step-Father, who is a Saint, in order to appease his anger. With that said, I believe that all of you gentlemen will not do anything over the top, right?"

"Understood, Your Majesty," the high-ranking noble replied through gritted teeth.

Although the high-ranking noble was still reluctant to let the Half-Elf go with such a light punishment, he had no choice but to obey the order of his Emperor.

Since that was the case, he decided to make the red-headed teenager suffer in his Trial of Leadership that will teach him a lesson he would never forget.