The Purge

In a royal palace office at night, a burly man sat in a chair, reading through the documents on the table. Illumination moss provided the lighting.

He continued to write a letter, stamped it with a two-headed snake crest, and secured it to a pigeon, releasing it from his balcony.

He stood there, gazing into the distance, illuminated by the moonlight.

He muttered, "Leaving the Crown Prince alone is too dangerous. The Serpent Realm should send someone soon." He glanced into the distance before returning.

...

*Huff*

*Huff*

Archie was currently exercising with his small and frail body.

[Daily Quest: 100/100 push-ups, 100/100 sit-ups, 100/100 squats, 10k/10k run]

[Reward: +0.01 to all stats and 10 AP]

"System!"

[Status Window]

Name: Archie Avalon

Kingdom: Avalon

Cultivation: Awakening - Root Circle

[Stats]

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Stamina: 10

Mana: 5

AP: 50000

Five years had passed since the baptism ceremony.

Archie, who was lying on the training grounds, muttered, "It's time to initiate Operation Red Wedding."

Having the territory map ability, he had mapped most of the locations where the spies operated inside the royal palace.

Unable to accuse them without evidence, he tasked Lilly Starfall, his newly appointed maid, with gathering information on the targets. A total of 140 staff members turned out to be spies from other kingdoms, which deeply concerned Archie. He needed to clean the house up before proceeding with his plans.

He rose from the ground and displayed his recent progress in magic abilities.

*Zap*

"Sigh."

Archie sighed in disappointment, unable to believe that this was the extent of his progress after years of training.

It appeared he needed to expand his magic circles to enhance his abilities. With his creation magic, he could only craft a few small figurines. However, cultivation was a time-consuming process.

"But there is a solution," he smirked.

"System Store."

[System Store]

[Appraisal Expansion Lv.1: 20000 AP]

[Inventory Expansion Lv.1: 10000 AP]

[Swordsmanship Talent: 25000 AP]

[Cultivation Manuals: 20000 AP]

[Emergency Recovery (Item): 10000 AP]

"I've accumulated 50,000 AP points from years of training; it's time for a shopping spree," he said.

Archie pointed and selected:

[Appraisal Expansion: Increases the amount of information from the selected target]

[Confirm/Cancel]

"Confirm."

He knew he'd need the appraisal skill for recruitment in the coming days.

[Swordsmanship Talent: A one-time purchase, that places you in the top ranks for swordsmanship talent]

[Confirm/Cancel]

"Confirm."

"With this, I won't struggle in the swordsmanship classes I'll be taking with Sir Roland" Archie thought, feeling exhausted just thinking about it.

"Archie, we are ready to initiate the operation," Lilly said as she handed him a towel to wipe off his sweat.

"Based on the information we've gathered from various sources, including letters, merchants, and shadows, we have acquired enough evidence to prosecute the spies within the royal palace." Lilly added.

Archie responded, "Very well, let's meet with Father so we can clean up this place."

They left the training grounds and made their way to the king's office, located in the center of the palace, where Henry was reviewing documents and state affairs.

*Knock Knock*

Archie knocked on the office door, awaiting a response. Butler Alfred Winifred opened the door and led them to the seats in front of an office table.

Archie's father looked up and asked, "What's the matter, Arch?"

Archie began, "Father, we have located spies within the royal palace." He spoke calmly.

With a questioning look, Henry asked, "Oh, and how have you managed to get your hands on such information and discover them when we couldn't?"

"And do you have evidence to support this claim?" He added.

Henry paused while reading the documents on his table, his gaze shifting back to Archie.

Archie responded confidently, "Yes, we have gathered evidence on 140 staff members, including some on the board of advisors."

Shocked, Henry gestured for Alfred to activate the isolation array, just in case. He looked directly into Archie's eyes and said, "These are serious accusations, and that evidence better be solid."

Archie swallowed hard and instructed, "Lilly, hand him the proof we've collected so far."

After a period of silence spent reviewing every document filled with evidence of bribery, espionage, corruption, military intelligence, and even floor plans, Henry declared, "Alfred, summon Saint Celsus to take care of the cleanup."

Alfred promptly left to bring in Saint Celsus, and after a few minutes, they both arrived.

Saint Celsus reviewed the documents himself and received a briefing on the situation.

"I have failed, Your Majesty," he admitted, looking defeated.

"And to think a 10-year-old gathered this much information. He's truly remarkable, he has my respect. I'll inform the Shadow Saint of the situation so his department can work on counter-espionage."

"At ease, our shadows couldn't even pick up on this, how were you supposed to catch on?" Henry comforted.

With that, they sprang into action. Before proceeding with mass incarceration, Saint Celsus ordered a lockdown of the entire royal palace, claiming it to be a training drill.

The palace went on high alert, and Saint Celsus's loyal retainers began apprehending servants left and right according to their target list.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Stop! I've done nothing wrong!"

"This is unlawful! You'll hear from my family!"

"Fight back!"

Such protests could be heard throughout the palace, and there was some resistance, but order was eventually restored.

...

In another office, a burly man quickly packed his documents and fled the royal office building.

He questioned, "What's happening? Are they conducting a mass purge? How did they catch on? I know they don't have such strong intelligence capabilities."

"I'll have to alert the Serpent Realm Kingdom. They need to cancel the assassination of Prince Archie, as without inside information, it's a suicide mission."

He made his way to the woods, where he spotted a man sitting on a boulder in the distance, looking cold.

"You!" the spy exclaimed.

"It seems the kid was right, you truly were one of them, Advisor Gerhard," responded the man sitting on the boulder, unsheathing his sword.

Gerhard followed suit and drew his sword.

"You know, I always had a feeling you were trying to hinder the kingdom's development, I guess I was right." Sir Roland Stormblade added.

Sir Roland Stormblade, one of Saint Celsus's trusted generals and an Emperor-rank 7 circle cultivator, had the task of intercepting escaping targets.

Gerhard trembled when he met Roland's gaze.

Roland infused his sword with wind mana, his dark gray armor reflecting the moonlight, and his white gold cape fluttering in the chilly night.

A wind aura erupted from his sword, causing the surrounding trees to tremble and leaves to fall, flowing around Sir Roland Stormblade.

He gazed directly at Gerhard and said, "Let this be a lesson for your next life: don't meddle in our kingdom's affairs." He said it coldly.

Slash!

With a swift slash, a bright green light illuminated the area, cutting through everything in its path.

Without a chance to respond or defend himself, Gerhard vanished without a sound.

Once everything settled, Sir Roland Stormblade sheathed his sword and disappeared from the scene.

All that remained was a single sword slash etched into the ground, dividing the forest in two.

Shimmering leaves slowly fell to the ground, marking the end of a significant purge.