As with other countries' palaces, the empire’s palace had a sword line. The sword line was a restrictive boundary that disallowed any weapons from being carried past it. Beyond this line was where the emperor stayed, and only those guarding the emperor were allowed to carry weapons for emergencies.

However, unlike other countries, in the empire, no one was allowed to carry weapons, even the imperial palace guards and the knights guarding the emperor. This was due to the massive magic circle that covered the empire’s palace. The magic circle immediately killed anyone that entered the inner palace while armed, making it impossible to invade the palace even if one was a member of a battle race.

However, there were exceptions to those who could possess weapons within the magic circle. One was the emperor himself, who was being guarded by the magic circle. The other was the head of the Imperial Guard Division charged with protecting the emperor until the end, and the last person was Glont von Asilante, the person standing at the peak of the empire's army. Other than the emperor, these two people had special passes.

"Step aside." 

Unlike usual, Glont spoke to the chief attendant with an indifferent voice. The dull voice did not contain even a trace of killing intent or martial aura, but it gave the chief attendant goosebumps.

When the chief attendant saw...