Because of this fence-sitting noble, things had progressed so smoothly that Freya was even beginning to wonder if using the King's hand to get rid of Trig was a viable path. This would also allow her to avoid her doomed ending.
As time ticked away, Freya stayed directly in the palace over the next few days because she was highly invested in the matter.
On the third day, the fence-sitting noble brought back some intelligence: the stronghold where Trig usually held his secret meetings was none other than the residence of the last of the three Dukes, the 【Ashworth】 family.
The Kingdom of Tarapaca had a total of three Dukes. The Holmes family, where Euphy belonged, was one. The Burns family—who, in the last simulation, had been coerced by Trig into verbally swearing loyalty to the royal family while actually remaining loyal only to power before ultimately backing down—was the second. As for Ashworth, they were the last.
This Duke was a powerful supporter of Trig. The noble named Damian, who had been following Trig around all this time, was actually named 【Damian Ashworth】. He was a Rank Five extraordinary and the eldest son of the current head of the family, Duke Ashworth.
Upon learning this, the King fell into a long silence. Duke Ashworth was the strongest of the three Dukes in terms of overall power, boasting a large number of extraordinaries who were generally very powerful. Although they had no Rank Sixes, they possessed several Rank Fives.
Damian was known as a genius among his peers, having reached Rank Five at such a young age.
Therefore, moving against the Ashworth family was no simple task. However, that certainly did not mean the King would sit on his hands. Since they had harbored thoughts of rebellion, the King would inevitably have to purge them.
After pondering for a moment, the King instructed his subordinates, “Go, summon all the nobles. Tonight, I shall begin the purge of the traitors!”
The main reason was that the entire city was currently locked down, preventing outsiders from entering. Otherwise, the King could have directly ordered the army to march in, which would have resolved all issues instantly. But the problem was that the external army simply could not get in.
At this moment, the King only had some members of his Royal Guard by his side. Most of their strengths were around Rank Four, with a few Rank Fives. Using only these men to fight Trig and the Ashworth family would be rather difficult.
Thus, leveraging the power of the nobles became a necessity. The King's order was to 【summon all the nobles】. Naturally, some among them had already sided with Trig, and this summon would inevitably expose them. But the King did not care. What he wanted was a direct confrontation with Trig!
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The King's subordinates immediately went into action, heading to various parts of the city to command the nobles to take action. Many of these nobles had actually already spoken with Trig and agreed to remain neutral, but that was under normal circumstances.
Now that His Majesty's men had been dispatched and the situation was laid bare, these nobles immediately defected. They swore their loyalty while helping the King. After all, their premise for remaining neutral was that 'Trig would end the coup quickly and covertly.' Now that Trig's plan was exposed, he looked entirely like a trapped beast in their eyes, destined to fail. How could they possibly remain neutral?
They would definitely kick him while he was down and add a few stomps of their own!
The mobilization lasted for the entire afternoon. Counting the massive number of extraordinaries sent by the city's nobles, the King's forces now completely outnumbered and outpowered Trig's faction. It was worth mentioning that the Holmes family and the 'unswervingly loyal' Burns family, the two great Dukes, had naturally sent reinforcements as well.
Representing the Holmes family were Euphy's father and grandfather. They even brought a large number of extraordinary items to assist in the battle. No matter how one looked at it, the situation was highly advantageous.
The King also took to the field in person. That very night, the group set off, heading toward the estate of Duke Ashworth.
As for Freya, since she was just an ordinary person, she theoretically shouldn't have been allowed to tag along. However, under her cute pleading—coupled with the fact that she was the one who provided the critical intelligence regarding Trig's rebellion—the King reluctantly agreed to let her follow.
However, an accident occurred halfway there. A black shadow flashed through the crowd. Before many could even react, Euphy's father was killed, and the large number of extraordinary items he carried were completely plundered.
Although she hadn't seen clearly what had happened, looking at the outcome, Freya immediately realized that this was Kuro's doing!
Obviously, with the King mobilizing his forces with such fanfare, Trig was no fool. He had naturally realized his plan was exposed and began preparing for the upcoming battle. Finding Kuro, re-establishing cooperation with her, and issuing a new commission was part of those preparations.
A multi-pathway Rank Five extraordinary possessed formidable combat power.
An ally who had been on friendly terms with Freya in the last simulation had suddenly become an enemy in this one!
“An extraordinary of the Trick Pathway!” the King declared immediately. “Of course! Since Trig was the one who had her steal the potion, she is naturally in league with him!”
The Royal Guard protected the King and Freya in the center, while the various nobles took on vigilant expressions, bracing themselves for combat.
However, after that single sneak attack, Kuro did not strike again. Even so, the group had to remain on high alert, which significantly slowed down their advance.
After some time, the group arrived at the gates of the Ashworth estate. As for Trig, he was already standing at the entrance, looking as though he had been waiting for a long time.
The two sides did not exchange words upon meeting. Or rather, any words would be meaningless at this point. Trig and the King attacked simultaneously, and the extraordinaries from both sides instantly clashed.
The King took the lead, shouting, “Law Enhancement! All rebels shall be punished!”
But Trig immediately distorted this power. “All rules shall now return to chaos!”
In truth, if not for Trig, the King could have single-handedly swept through all the rebels. Because this was his country and he was facing traitors, the Arbiter Pathway was exceptionally skilled at dealing with such situations.
But the problem lay with Trig. A Punisher could distort laws and rules, rendering the King's specialized effectiveness useless.
Furthermore, for some reason, both Trig's spirituality reserves and his application of abilities far exceeded those of normal extraordinaries of the same rank. This meant his actual strength was much greater than it appeared on paper.
Simply put, it was more reasonable to view him not as a single Rank Six extraordinary, but as one and a half.
The battle erupted instantly. All kinds of extraordinary effects filled the air above the street. Although the King's side had the advantage in numbers, the battle currently seemed to be locked in a stalemate.
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