5.
At the moment when Seong was utterly toying with Raktira—
The Golden Knights, escorted by the Black Knights and White Knights, stormed into the city.
Countless Basilica soldiers blocked their way, but not a single one could even slow them down.
At the forefront, Lumina, the commander of the Golden Knights, strode forward with absolute determination and speed. Nothing could hinder her advance.
However, as she made her way toward the heart of Basilica, her steps abruptly halted.
"You dare invade Basilica without knowing your place?"
"Heh, and yet, I wonder who it is that truly doesn’t know their place here?"
The one who stood in Lumina’s path was none other than a black-scaled serpent beastfolk—the absolute ruler of Basilica.
And yet, for some reason…
The black serpent trembled as he looked at Lumina.
He was the undisputed ruler of Basilica. But before Lumina, he could not assert his dominance.
"…H-How…?"
He recognized her.
That young lioness from before, back when he was not yet king—
He never imagined she could grow this strong.
Could it be that while Basilica was tearing itself apart in civil strife, gnawing away at its own power—
Ninyaru, under the rule of an absolute sovereign, had been silently growing stronger all this time?
The thought sent a shiver of fear down the black serpent’s spine.
There was no way—no way he could lose to someone who wasn’t even Ninyaru’s ruler.
Clinging to that belief, he attempted to assert his dominance—
But then Lumina spoke, her voice laced with fury.
"Cut the nonsense. Did you really think you were the only one who got stronger? We left you alone because you weren’t worth the effort, but now you have the audacity to crawl back up?"
Her voice rumbled with a low, growling intensity, and the black serpent involuntarily took a step back.
As long as it wasn’t Karnyao of Ninyaru himself, he thought he could win—
But if this was the strength of Ninyaru now, even if Basilica had launched an attack on them, they might not have been able to wipe out the feline merchants.
And now, this situation was even worse.
The city walls had already fallen, and the Golden Knights were rampaging through the heart of Basilica.