In the lower city of Twilight West, on the commoners' block of 11th Avenue, lies the "Cunning Rabbit" tavern.

In the pitch-black night, several men dressed in black robes walked to the back door of the tavern and knocked on the door with a coded signal of three long knocks and two short knocks.

The wooden door opened a crack, and a man dressed as a bartender cautiously peered out.

The leader of the men in black took out a silver badge and waved it at the crack in the door. The crown and sword and shield engraved on the badge made the man relax.

The man immediately opened the door and quickly gestured for the person outside to come in as soon as possible.

Following a secret passage hidden in the wall, the man in black walked close to the wall to the end of the passage, opened a hidden compartment in the brick wall at the end, placed the badge in the groove of the compartment, and turned it forcefully.

With a creaking sound, a staircase leading underground suddenly appeared on the floor.

Carefully stepping up the stairs, the men in black reached the lowest room and pushed open a heavy iron door.

You're late.

A cold voice rang out from behind the iron gate.

The leader of the men in black removed his hood, revealing himself to be Rutledge, the patriarch of the Dawson family.

“Those spies from the Security Bureau who were monitoring me suddenly changed yesterday.” Rutledge walked into the dimly lit room, looked at the people around the long table, and said helplessly, “It took me a lot of effort to shake them off.”

Upon hearing Rutledge's words, someone echoed, "That's right, recently, the intensity of inspections in Muxi City has suddenly increased significantly."

An elderly man, dressed in fine clothes, with completely white hair and few teeth left, sat at the head of the long table, holding a six- or seven-year-old boy, and slowly said, "Is it because of his return? The master of Muxi City, the legendary Holy King?"

“Minister of the Interior, Mr. Bernstein, there’s absolutely no need for you to show humility or fear when you talk about that man! In the end, he’s just a lucky bastard!”

Rutledge turned his gaze to the Roarer.

A bald, fat man with a chillingly cold gaze that sent shivers down your spine.

“Count Nar, I know you have a personal grudge against Todd Fischer, but disrespecting your opponent is a cardinal sin on the battlefield.” Bai Ans gently patted the trembling boy in his arms and said softly, “Besides, your loud voice frightened His Majesty.”

Count Nar said through gritted teeth, "I still remember that scene in the palace. If it weren't for that brat's interference and that bitch Mary's seduction of King Guy VI, the Silver Ring Kingdom would still be standing on the earth, and the so-called Twilight City would be nothing but a beach!"

Bai Ans shook his head and said, “Count, watch your words. The Silver Ring Kingdom has existed on the parish lands for hundreds of years, and there has never been a saying that it has fallen. Although King Guy VI has passed away, his son is sitting right here. This boy will inherit His Majesty's legacy and make the Silver Ring Kingdom rise again!”

"Let the Silver Ring Kingdom rise again!"

"Take back our lost land!"

"Take revenge on the church!"

Listening to the cacophony of shouts in the room, Rutledge frowned and said, "Now is not the time to talk about this. In less than two months, Muxi City will hold a cabinet reshuffle. We had already prepared everything, and the Muxi City cabinet was practically ours for the taking. But no one expected that King Muxi, who had been missing for almost a year, would actually return at this time..."

While pondering, Bai Ans said, "A crucial question now lies before us: should we continue to use the cabinet reshuffle to gain control of Muxi City, or should we take the initiative and seize the city before the King of Muxi discovers our plan?"

Count Nar stroked his gray beard and said decisively, "Is there even a question?! Of course, we should seize the city while we still have the initiative and before the enemy notices!"

Rutledge shrugged: "Although I don't like Count Nar's style of doing and speaking, this time, I have to stand by his side."

“From the day Twilight City was founded, we have planted our own people throughout the city, and used the assets left behind by Silver Ring City as capital to gradually strengthen the power of us Silver Ring nobles.” Rutledge drew a circle on the table with his finger: “Now, our influence has penetrated every industry and every street in Twilight City. We have spies and agents in the city hall, cathedral, university, commercial street, port, market, and other areas. We can incite riots or even war at any time if we want.”

"My original plan was to wait until the Silver Ring nobles had fully taken over the cabinet, and then use the Knights Council and cabinet meetings, along with citizen protests and demonstrations, to gradually purge those high-ranking military officers and government officials from the ranks..."

Count Nar nodded vigorously and said loudly, "That's right, especially that Cumberland! He not only controls the Knights of Twilight, but he's also Todd Fischer's most loyal lackey!"

Rutledge glanced at the Earl and continued, “But now, King Musi’s return has disrupted the plans… so we must launch a surprise attack before they are prepared and take control of the entire city.”

Baines nodded: "Taking the initiative is indeed the only option right now, but the problem is how to deal with the army in the city, especially the Knights of Twilight. Rutledge, you should know how terrifying that army is..."

Rutledge said, “When it comes to this, we all have to thank the magic of money. After years of effort, I have bribed many officers in the army. So, the biggest problem is actually that group of alien knights in the Order. They are loyal to the King and only obey Cumberland. We have tried many times, but we have found that we cannot buy them with wealth.”

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