In fact, the Mavros family's main residence had not always been free from intrusions—or rather, there had never been a shortage of people trying to infiltrate it, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they came in an endless stream.
It was obviously not without reason.
If the Mavros family fell, the kingdom's border garrisons would practically be finished, and if Raven, the one guarding the border, were to be assassinated, Reiburg would surely launch a grand offensive as if celebrating a major festival, seizing Jinas's territory.
Such ever-present temptation constantly drove Jinas's enemies to scheme, racking their brains for ways to invade the residence and wreak havoc within, which made the Mavros family face numerous invasion attempts.
Sometimes, some intruders would sneak in, and other times, large-scale destructive magic would be launched from afar—there were even occasions when groups of assassins attacked the residence in surprise raids.
If not for Bessare's stringent inspections, the disturbances to the Mavros family would have been a hundred times worse.
For these reasons, the Mavros family maintained strict security year-round, setting up an intricate and meticulous magic defense to fend off external threats.
Yet, despite all these precautions, the residence was still frequently invaded, and in some cases, intruders even managed to get close to Raven, attempting to poison or assassinate him.
Considering these circumstances, it wasn't unusual for someone to try to break into the Mavros family's main residence, which would make one think the people here would probably be used to it by now.
However, in the entire history of the Mavros family, through countless invasion incidents, none had been as absurd as today's.
"What did you just say?"
In an opulent room within the Mavros family's castle, a young man about twenty-four or twenty-five years old spoke with a voice filled with shock.
He was handsome, with slightly tanned skin, as if he were often exposed to the sun, looking like an athlete and exuding the vigor of a robust young man.
He was Axel Mavros, the second child of Raven Mavros.
As the second child in the Mavros family, he was the very definition of nobility.
At his waist hung a sword, and unlike other noble children who wore extravagant attire, his clothing was simple and practical, likely chosen for ease of movement, which reflected the Mavros family's military background that set them apart from other nobles.
He was no ordinary young man because, as the son of a Sword Saint, his father had thrown him into the army for training from a young age. Not only had he been to the battlefield many times and fought against Reiburg's army, but he had also completed numerous covert missions.
At seventeen, he received a Sword Master Medal, becoming an honored Sword Master, and afterward, Raven appointed him as the captain of one of the Mavros family's knightly order divisions, giving him significant influence at the border.
He was used to facing all kinds of challenges, but even so, he was still dumbfounded by what his subordinate knight reported right now.
"You're telling me a carriage just broke through the guards, the walls, the magic defense, and then barged into the castle?" Axel asked with a startled expression.
"Yes."
Kneeling on one knee before Axel, the knight replied with a face showing the same disbelief.
"As unbelievable as it sounds, the knights on guard have already reported the incident as quickly as possible. It shouldn't be false."
"Are you serious? A carriage really broke in?" Axel still couldn't quite believe it. "Could it be some new magic item developed by Reiburg? Or maybe an ancient mystical treasure?"
"No, it's just an ordinary carriage. I mean, this place has a defense system to detect unregistered magic items, but there was no reaction at all." The knight said with a bitter smile.
'Could it be someone used summoning magic to bring the carriage inside?' Axel wondered, but then quickly shook his head. 'No, that can't be. Since the residence is surrounded by a magic barrier that blocks summoning magic, there's no way anyone could summon something from outside.'
He was truly shocked and confused.
'If it wasn't summoning magic, and it wasn't some special magic item or ancient mystical treasure, then how did an ordinary carriage get through all the guards and defenses and break into this residence?'
Axel couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought, but he knew now wasn't the time to be confused.
"Gather all the knights for me, whether they're on patrol or sleeping—gather them all!"
"Yes!"
Axel left the knight who had just received his order and ran alone toward the hall on the first floor of the castle.
"Elder Brother Axel!"
Just as Axel was about to rush downstairs, someone dashed toward him at a speed that matched his own, stopping right in front of him.
It was a young man who resembled Axel by about 70 to 80 percent, looking only slightly younger than him, with bronze skin.
"Diego..."
Axel stopped in his tracks.
Diego Mavros, the third child of Raven Mavros, was one year younger than Axel, but his abilities and achievements were in no way inferior to his elder brother's.
"I heard everything." Diego, looking astonished, hurriedly approached Axel. "Is it true that a carriage broke through the walls and crashed here? Just an ordinary carriage?"
"I can't believe it either..." Axel shook his head. "But since we both received the same news and it's so noisy outside, it seems that it really did happen."
At the same time, they looked out the window in the corridor, where they saw fully armed knights rushing toward the castle—they gathered and formed a formation before charging, looking like they were preparing for a battle.
Such a scene told the two brothers that something truly extraordinary was happening.
"Let's go check it out."
"Yeah!"
With that, the two brothers hurried down the stairs, rushing all the way until they reached the hall on the first floor of the castle.
In the vast hall, a large number of knights had already arrived in groups, forming a circle to surround the carriage.
"It really is a carriage..."
Diego's eyes widened as he looked at the carriage the knights had surrounded.
Axel also shot a sharp glance at the carriage but found no sign of any magic item or ancient mystical treasure on it.
It seemed the knights had already tried to attack the carriage, as countless arrows were scattered around it, but the carriage was completely unharmed—not a single arrow had pierced it. Meanwhile, the area within a radius of over ten meters around it was completely cleared, with not a single knight able to get close.
How?
It was because, aside from a hazy protective barrier around the carriage keeping the knights firmly at bay, chaotic currents of air also swirled around the carriage, deflecting all the arrows that were shot at it.
"Magic?"
Axel narrowed his eyes.
If the members of Blue Roses were here, they would have recognized the magic spells that protected the carriage.
A defensive magic that repelled life from approaching—Anti-Life Cocoon.
A defensive magic that blocked attacks from arrows and other flying objects—Wall of Protection From Arrows.
Needless to say, the effects of these two magic spells not only made it impossible for the knights present to get close to the carriage, but the arrows shot by the knights couldn't reach it either.
As a result, the carriage was able to stand there so boldly, parked right in the main hall on the first floor of the Mavros family's castle, with the smashed gate behind it—truly, outrageously arrogant.
Seeing this scene, Diego and Axel felt extremely displeased, their faces turning cold.
One should know that this was the residence of the Mavros family, so when someone drove a carriage straight in, parked it so brazenly, and treated the place and all the knights like they were nothing, anyone from the Mavros family would clearly be furious.
As the two brothers were about to charge over, a voice stopped them in the next moment.
"Don't go."
Saying this, a valiant knight in armor walked over with several knights.
""Elder Brother!""
Seeing the newcomer, Axel and Diego immediately called out in unison.
From the way the two brothers called the newcomer, it was obvious that the newcomer was none other than the eldest child of Raven Mavros.
Marquis Raven Mavros, known as the Guardian Sword Saint, had six children, consisting of four sons and two daughters.
The first three children, besides the second son, Axel Mavros, and the third son, Diego Mavros, were the eldest son they had just called, Kaiser Mavros.
The fourth child and first daughter, Evelyn Mavros, was twenty-one this year and already married, so she wasn't living at home.
The fifth child and fourth son, Caelus Mavros, was nineteen and was currently sent to the neutral region for military training by Raven, so he wasn't at home either.
The youngest child and second daughter, Francesca Mavros, was sixteen, but due to her exceptional magic compatibility and immense magical energy, she had been sent to the royal capital earlier this year to attend Spriller Academy.
As a result, only Kaiser, Axel, and Diego were at home among the Mavros siblings, and of the three, Kaiser, the eldest at twenty-eight, acted as the leader, responsible for managing all the household affairs.
Among the three, Kaiser's strength was also the greatest because, since childhood, he had been trained by Raven himself and often sparred with the steward, Norman, which made him one of the top experts among Sword Masters.
Not only did many believe that Kaiser would inherit Raven's position in the future, but he was also considered the only one in the Mavros family who might become a Sword Saint.
Albert Borley, known as the best swordsman just below Sword Saint, had once praised his strength, while Sergius Cordelion, the eldest son of the Cordelion family, also saw him as a worthy rival.
All of this inevitably earned Kaiser the utmost respect and loyalty from everyone in the Mavros family.
Axel and Diego admired their elder brother just as much, trusting him completely, so when Kaiser showed up and stopped them, the two brothers didn't hesitate and immediately went to his side.
"Elder Brother, did you notice something?"
Axel asked Kaiser in a low voice, making Diego also look at him.
However, Kaiser didn't look at them but kept his eyes on the carriage, his expression serious.
"Didn't you see the crest on that carriage?"
Hearing Kaiser's question, Axel and Diego turned their heads and looked at the carriage, seeing that there was indeed a crest carved on it, but sadly, they didn't recognize it.
"Which noble family's crest is that?" Axel frowned.
Because they had been away fighting for so long, Axel and Diego were somewhat out of touch with the outside world, so they couldn't really remember the crests of noble families.
"Doesn't matter which noble family it is. If they dare to barge into our place like this, they're as good as dead." Diego said with a vicious tone.
'We might not be able to do anything to them...' Kaiser thought while shaking his head.
Since Kaiser often accompanied Raven, he had not only visited the royal capital many times but had also traveled to various territories in Jinas and met with many nobles. He had even journeyed abroad for a while, giving him a much broader perspective than his siblings.
Because of that, he knew very well what that crest represented and who was inside that carriage.
Moreover, he had already heard some things about the Hadyth family from his father, which made his gaze toward the carriage grow colder and more serious.
In the next moment, Kaiser started walking toward the carriage, making Axel and Diego, who saw this, immediately follow without any hesitation.
"Young Masters!"
Noticing the arrival of the three brothers, the surrounding knights immediately stood at attention, instinctively making way.
Just from their actions alone, it was clear how much authority the three brothers held within the Mavros family. It could be said that Raven was truly strict with his children because every one of his sons and daughters had undergone his rigorous training, so none of them were weaklings.
Soon, Kaiser led his two younger brothers and stood before the Anti-Life Cocoon that surrounded the carriage.
"Kaiser Mavros, on behalf of the Mavros family, welcomes the Lightning Sword Saint and Grandmaster Nibald."
Kaiser performed an impeccably formal and dignified knight's salute toward the carriage.
'Lightning Sword Saint?'
'Grandmaster Nibald?'
Axel and Diego's eyes widened slightly before quickly bowing toward the carriage, just like Kaiser.
At the same time, the surrounding knights' faces changed in unison since they hadn't expected that the people who had intruded upon the Mavros family's main residence so brazenly were actually these two, instead of those from Reiburg.
*Buzz—*
Amid the knights' astonishment, the protective barrier and chaotic currents of air surrounding the carriage trembled before slowly disappearing.
At this moment, the girl who was previously in the driver's seat of the carriage was nowhere to be seen because, after the carriage had crashed through the castle gate and barged in, she had been called into the carriage by her master, so no one present had seen even a glimpse of anyone from this carriage—only the horses pulling the carriage were there, nervously pawing at the ground, clearly restless.
Before long, the people in the carriage finally stepped out one after another.
From the carriage, the first to step out was an elderly man who looked to be in his sixties, followed by a stunningly beautiful girl, and lastly, a young man with an extraordinary presence.
As the three of them got out of the carriage, they each showed different expressions.
The old man looked helpless.
The girl appeared visibly nervous.
As for the young man, he showed an unusual calmness and indifference.
All eyes, however, were instantly drawn to the young man.
Even though the old man of great prestige and the beautiful girl beside him were, by all accounts, supposed to be more eye-catching, for some reason, everyone felt that the one they should pay the most attention to was the young man.
Of course, Kaiser, Axel, and Diego were no exception.
'Is he the Lightning Sword Saint, Riezel Brynhart?'
Gazing at the young man, everyone silently wondered to themselves.
Kaiser took a deep breath before stepping forward, preparing to walk toward Riezel, but at that exact moment, something shocking happened.
*BOOM!*
A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Riezel, who had drawn everyone's attention, causing a roaring sound to echo throughout the hall.
Riezel's aura was both swift and overwhelming, sweeping across the entire hall like a raging storm, causing the air to grow unbearably heavy.
At this moment, whether it was Kaiser, Axel, Diego, or even the knights around them, they all paled in shock before involuntarily bending over.
While the knights dropped to the ground as if crushed by an invisible mountain, Axel and Diego were forced down on one knee, their faces pale as paper.
Only Kaiser managed to resist collapsing or kneeling, but he still bent forward, cold sweat streaming down his face, feeling both shocked and furious, clearly not expecting Riezel to act so recklessly here.
Riezel, however, didn't spare Kaiser or the others a glance since his gaze went straight to the hall's entrance.
At some point, a man had appeared there.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort came from the man, followed by an overwhelming aura that surged through the hall.
Compared to Riezel's aura, the man's aura was just as terrifying as it clashed head-on with the aura Riezel was releasing, locking them in a fierce standoff.
*Rumble—*
As the two auras collided, grinding against each other with intense friction, the entire castle seemed to tremble and sway.
Riezel stood face to face with the man, their eyes meeting mid-air—one gaze was calm and indifferent like water, while the other was domineering and fierce like fire.
Amid this tense atmosphere, the two auras clashed repeatedly, pressing down on everyone present, making it hard for them to breathe.
"Lightning Sword Saint..."
While speaking, the man's deep voice was filled with power.
"I thought the rumors about a seventeen-year-old Sword Saint were just a joke, but now I see you really do have some skill."
At this, Riezel remained indifferent, merely narrowing his eyes as he gazed at the man.