"The Formless Court?! You're one of the Formless Court?!"
Clearly, as someone born into a ducal family, the knight lady had heard of the Formless Court before.
Then, after a moment of surprise, realization dawned on her face.
"No wonder you refused to tell the Inspectorate why you were at the ruins. So you didn't want anyone discovering your origins."
With that, the knight lady dropped to one knee and lowered her head toward the northwest.
"I, Molly Windsor, swear before the Goddess Havis and the Storm King, the two exalted sovereigns, that so long as this man has not deceived me, I shall remain silent for the rest of my life regarding everything I am about to see and hear. Should I break this oath, I willingly submit myself to divine punishment and the judgment of the King."
Mozo watched her calmly, though inwardly he felt both surprised and amused.
Surprised because, despite appearing to be the stereotypical knight who rigidly followed chivalric ideals, she did not worship the Goddess of Victory.
Amused because the Storm King she had just invoked was... him.
Then again, it made sense.
While most knights worshipped the Goddess of Victory as the God of War, Molly's pathway was Lightning. Practitioners of that pathway typically followed the Storm King and the Goddess of the Sea.
Of course, "followed" did not necessarily mean devout faith. More often than not, it was simply a matter of affiliation.
Even so, an oath sworn before one's patron deity carried tremendous weight.
Gods truly existed.
And she had even invoked the King's name alongside the goddess.
If she ever violated her oath, Goddess Havis herself would undoubtedly descend to punish her.
Insulting a god was dangerous, but there were still ways to survive.
Insulting a king, however, was a completely different matter.
The gods standing behind those kings would genuinely lose their minds.
An ancient proverb existed in this world:
Self-interest is the eternal truth. Therefore, no hatred is truly irreconcilable... unless you kill a king beloved by the gods.
That was the nature of the relationship between gods and kings.
As such, Molly's oath was extremely binding and trustworthy.
Though, amusingly enough, one of the parties she had sworn before was standing right in front of her.
After completing the oath, the knight lady added kindly,
"I won't reveal your secret, of course. But once the Golden Legion enters the battle, people will inevitably become suspicious."
Mozo nodded and smiled.
"I know. If someone questions you and you find it impossible to avoid answering, then feel free to reveal my identity."
"The only thing I truly need you to keep secret is the knowledge I am about to speak."
Molly tilted her head in confusion.
"That's all?"
"That's all."
Seeing that he wasn't joking, she stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"I understand."
The moment she looked away, however, Mozo nearly burst out laughing.
What he needed was simply a reasonable explanation for how he could command the Golden Legion.
That explanation would conceal his true and far more dangerous identity.
He had considered claiming to be a member of the Formless Court before.
As hidden spectators, the Formless Court possessed countless secrets buried in the shadows of history.
Using that excuse, he could reasonably explain most of the things he shouldn't have known.
Unfortunately, the Formless Court were observers who remained hidden behind the scenes. They had no reason to suddenly step into the spotlight.
So he had reluctantly abandoned the idea.
But things were different now.
Not only was this a life-or-death crisis, there was also a traitor from the Court flying overhead.
At a moment like this, being "forced" to reveal his identity was perfectly reasonable.
Suppressing his grin, Mozo first muttered several lines of completely irrelevant Ancient Elvish.
Then he finally spoke the real activation phrases.
"I am the king chosen by the Twin Sacred Trees. I am your creator, and I am your eternal sovereign!" (Ancient Elvish)
"I command you in the name of the Twin Sacred Trees and your king!" (Ancient Elvish)
All four thousand nine hundred golden warriors erupted with crimson light once more.
Massive jets of steam burst forth.
The mighty legion stirred awake.
"Offer your shields to your great king!" (English)
"Offer your blades to your great king!" (French)
"Offer your loyalty to your great king!" (Chinese)
In truth, even if the knight lady leaked the activation phrases, it wouldn't matter.
The final three commands were spoken in languages from Mozo's previous world.
And activating the Golden Legion required far more than merely repeating the words.
Neither Mozo nor the Elven Master Smiths would ever have left such a flaw.
Anyone seeking to control the legion through the activation phrases also needed to understand the meaning behind every line.
How could anyone in this world possibly understand English, French, or Chinese?
Not to mention that Mozo had deliberately mixed in several meaningless Ancient Elvish phrases beforehand to make everything seem authentic.
As the final Chinese syllable fell, all four thousand nine hundred golden warriors rose to their feet and turned toward their king.
Looking upon them, Mozo raised his hand and pointed upward.
"Advance. Slay the Green Angel who has desecrated my authority!" (Ancient Elvish)
Crimson steam erupted like volcanic fire.
Colossal metallic bodies surged forward.
The unstoppable legion marched to war.
Watching the Golden Legion disappear into the distance, Mozo knew that he had already won.
The Golden Legion was a Sealed Artifact equivalent to Sequence Two.
It possessed more than enough power to contend with a Green Angel.
Given enough time, Imperial reinforcements would arrive, and the Green Angel would undoubtedly be torn apart.
That was victory number one.
And if the Green Angel took advantage of the legion's initial unfamiliarity with his combat style and descended personally...
Then the Contract of Ten would come into play.
That was victory number two.
No matter how he looked at it, Mozo was holding all the winning cards.
Meanwhile, above Count Hearn, the eight Green Angels were still arguing over whether a demigod assimilated into them would remain a demigod or become one of them instead.
The other Beyonders, as well as the Count himself, had already fallen into utter despair.
There wasn't enough time.
They had lost.
Then suddenly, all eight Green Angels, along with the original Green Angel atop the fortress, turned toward the Old City District simultaneously.
The abrupt reaction naturally caught the Count's attention.
Though he couldn't understand what in the Old City could possibly draw a Green Angel's focus.
Then realization struck him.
Could it be...?!
The streets of the Old City were buried beneath collapsed ruins, rampant vegetation, and even greater numbers of House Demons.
The district had become a paradise for monsters.
But not for much longer.
The ground beneath the House Demons suddenly trembled.
Then it exploded.
Countless metal warriors burst forth from below, effortlessly crushing the demons standing before them.
The King's legion had returned from the depths of history, carrying with it the will of its sovereign.