From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 490 The Secret of the Shield Knight

The phantom of Velakis vanished, but Leezel remained staring blankly at the flickering flames of the chandelier.

“As long as the Lich Queen remains in power, I will never be able to freely soar above the Astral Sea, never be able to transcend the shackles of the Void.” Lyezal suddenly turned to look at Ivy, who was surveying the Shield Knights' hideout. “Could the Comet Prince also be an ambitious schemer like Vyrakis? Like the Council of Four at Baldur's Gate, filled with scum and puppets… I am a warrior, not a politician. I cannot trust my own judgment…”

“Whatever you think, Leezer, my father was a good man,” Will quickly vouched for the Ravengard name.

“I know,” Leizer said impatiently, still staring intently at Ivy. “A ruler who has become the city’s weakness.”

“Oh! That’s a bit sharp.” Even Will couldn’t refute it. Due to Ravengard’s integrity and pedantry, he often became the primary target of hostile forces lurking in the shadows.

When Eltoril fell, High Duke Ravengard was reluctantly sent there by Duke Salamara Van Sampur on a high shelf with a book of people, and ended up falling into Avernus along with the entire city.

Having finally returned to the Material Plane from Aphrodite, they were attacked by the Order of the Supreme God.

To describe it as "just out of the wolf's den and into the tiger's lair" would be an understatement.

“You are ruling a burgeoning city, and even I can see its potential. You are very confident in it, as if city politics were as easy as playing a lute.” Leizer pressed on. “Tell me, Ivy, can I trust the Comet Prince? Can I trust Voss?”

“I think you’ve done enough, Leezel.” The Shield Knights’ stronghold was filled with decorative knight statues, each with a stone shield in front of it, with an eye pattern engraved on it in stripes.

Ivy ran her hand along the edge of the shield, gently rubbing off the dust, silently trying to figure out how long this secret room had been abandoned.

“You witnessed the lies of Vellakis with your own eyes, so you naturally have the ability to discern the truth about the Comet Prince. I don’t know much about the Githyanki; you are their brethren.” Ivy wiped the dust from her fingertips and stopped in front of a map. “Perhaps you’ve already sensed it: don’t listen to what someone says, but look at what they do and who benefits from it. A person’s true self is only revealed through their actions.”

“You are a true warrior, one who wields a greatsword to behead enemies and then triumphantly stands atop their corpses.” The map before Ivy displayed the Shield Knights’ action logs, the handwriting faded but still legible. “A true liberator fights alongside his people, not for personal enjoyment or power, but for the future of his race. I can only say that Vairakis, who locks himself in his palace and rules his subjects with lies, clearly has no future. As for the Comet Prince, an unliberated prisoner, we know almost nothing about him.”

Leizer paused for a moment: "If we free him from the Astral Prism..."

The Mind Flayer's voice immediately echoed in the air: "That is extremely dangerous, Lyezal. I will become a slave to the Supreme God, and you will suffer the same fate as me after becoming Mind Flayers. Even if you want to save your people, at least ensure your own survival first."

"Pah!" Lyezel spat angrily. "Damn mastermind, damn mind flayer tadpoles!"

While Ivy and Leezel were chatting, Evil Spirit also emerged excitedly from the secret chamber pointed out by the monarch, clutching a magical sword in his hand.

The entrance to the secret chamber was hidden behind a statue of a shield-bearer, and it seemed that the secret door had never been opened since the monarch was captured by Gotash.

"What's inside?" Ivy asked at the opportune moment about the evil thoughts' gains.

“A bunch of random junk,” Evil Thought replied nonchalantly. “Butter knife, collar, chains, and stuff like that. Maybe our Mind Flayer friend has some unusual quirks, like that Lovita follower in the goblin camp. Only this sword is decent enough to be a collector’s item.”

Ivy nodded with satisfaction.

Whatever the monarch's original purpose in leading everyone here, it could not have been simply nostalgia.

Evil Thoughts remained extremely wary of Mind Flayer, accepting the sugar coating but tossing aside the cannonball.

“My past is inside.” The monarch’s voice sounded somewhat helpless. “I just hope to gain a little trust. Like I said before, I’m just an adventurer as unlucky as you are.”

“Swapping the past is indeed a good way to increase trust.” Ivy first affirmed the monarch’s motives, then once again stirred up the adventurers’ distrust of him. “While we were chatting by the campfire, you were hiding in the Astral Prism and heard everything, right?”

“I won’t deny it,” the monarch said almost without hesitation, “but there’s a reason for it. My image isn’t suited to openness, especially since they’ve just come off the snail-shell ship.”

"Hmm." Ivy nodded noncommittally. "How about I ask you some questions to dispel the distrust between us?"

After a moment, the monarch asked hesitantly, "What do you want to know?"

“Shield Knight.” Ivy’s answer relieved the monarch.

In fact, the monarch had long understood that if he wanted to corrupt Ivy's adventurer companions, he would inevitably create a conflict with Ivy in practice. And a great mage capable of casting ninth-circle spells was naturally beyond the capabilities of a mind flayer like himself.

Therefore, gaining Ivy's trust is also essential.

“The Shield Knights are gone, and knowing their information is of no help to us,” the monarch continued. “But since you have a question, I will answer it. It’s getting late, and it’s too late to go outside the city to investigate the murder. How about we tidy up this place and use it as a temporary base?” “No.” Ivy shook her head, her gaze sweeping over the other adventurers gathered together. The mini-giant space hamster, Little Bu, had become the new star among them, and Minsk had no objection to this, even feeling quite proud. “Tonight we are going back to the guild’s territory. In order to fight against the Supreme God and the Order of the Three Gods of Death, the power of the underworld is worth borrowing. Therefore, we need to go back and synchronize information with them.”

“Very wise. But that’s not my style.” There was little agreement in the monarch’s voice. This mind flayer was a secretive, after all, even within the Knights of the Shield, he was considered an anomaly. “The Knights of the Shield are a group of information brokers and political pawns who crave power. Information has value, but firsthand, exclusive information is even more valuable.”

"Belina and I are such a team, manipulating Baldur's Gate from both the light and the dark..."

“I’m not here to hear you boast,” Ivy interrupted the monarch’s statement. “I ask questions, you answer.”

"What is the Shield of Sylvam?" Ivy asked the first question before the monarch could even give his approval.

This item was mentioned in the notes that were not taken from the Shield Knights' hideout. The members of the Shield Knights seemed to believe that this shield could block the detection of the Iron Guardians and the Eye of the Supreme God.

“Ah, good question,” the monarch said calmly. “The Shield of Sylvam is the origin of the title Shield Knight. It is an artifact that is said to be able to reflect the rays of all Colossi, but I have never seen its true form.”

"So, besides you and Duke Belina Steme, there are other high-ranking members of the Shield Knights within Baldur's Gate?" No normal underground organization would actively invite a Mind Flayer to join. These brain-eating creatures could easily learn the secrets of the brain through their food, which, for Shield Knights—information brokers and political agents—means practically a devaluation of their merchandise.

Therefore, Ivy believes that the monarch must have learned of the Shield Knights' existence after a meal, thus usurping their position and becoming their leader in the lower city. He then manipulated Duke Belina Steme to gain control of the Baldur's Gate Shield Knights. However, this certainly doesn't mean that the organization was led by only two people.

As a Mind Flayer who cannot show his face in public, building an underground criminal organization from scratch is almost an impossible task. Not to mention that the Baldur's Gate Lower City is full of talent. Besides the Nine Fingers, a guild that almost controls everything, the Zantarim Society is also a super-transnational criminal organization with its eyes on the world. There is no reason for the Shield Knights, who are neither powerful nor weak, to become the decisive force in Baldur's Gate politics.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: the Shield Knights had already existed as part of the underworld for many years before the Monarch took control of it. The Monarch's involvement may have indeed opened up new market share for the Shield Knights, thus increasing its weight in the underworld. However, in reality, the Guild, the Zantalin Guild, and the Shield Knights had already maintained a three-way balance of power for some time.

Before the rise of the Supreme God, who represents the Three Gods of Death, none of these three underground forces could be said to be dominant. However, after the rise of the Supreme God, the balance between these three forces was immediately broken.

The Shield Knights were almost wiped out; the Zantalin Guild also split up on the spot. After purging the opposition, it quickly joined forces with the Supreme God, leaving only a few big and small members, represented by Rugen, who had abandoned the darkness and turned to the light. However, even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse. The guild could still rely on its years of cultivation in the lower and lower districts to deal with the Stone Lord, who represented the Supreme God.

But without Ivy's intervention, the guild would have been pretty much finished.

If the monarch wasn't lying about the ecological status of the Shield Knights, then he must have lied about their composition. The fact that the monarch only had a superficial understanding of the "shield" of the Shield Knights further confirms this.

"..." Sure enough, after a moment of silence, the monarch replied, "The noble family of the Upper City, the Hune family. They have always possessed the Shield of Sylvam, but I have never heard of anyone in the Hune family ever using it. Moreover, before Eltoril fell into Avernas, I heard that the shield was stolen, but I don't know exactly who did it."

“It was Salamara Van Sampur who stole the Hune family’s shield,” Ivy said definitively.

From the newspapers and notices posted throughout the city, Ivy learned the true identity of Duke Salamara Van Sampur, a sorcerer loyal to Zariel.

Zariel likely wanted to replicate his success in El Toril by dragging Baldur's Gate into Avernus, and the person who facilitated this was Salamara Van Sampur.

For this plan, Zariel had already begun laying the groundwork within Baldur's Gate. In addition to Salamara Van Sampur, one of the members of the Council of Four, the son of High Duke Ravengard had become a sorcerer under her command.

The wandering Edge Blade naturally wouldn't have any impact on the political situation at Baldur's Gate, but Will's bloodline was enough to make him a useful pawn. Now, this pawn has grown legs and returned to Baldur's Gate to save his biological father.
Furthermore, Zariel must have already begun implementing her plan to drag Baldur's Gate into Avernus. Her possession of Will to thwart Tiamat's plan to descend upon Dusteaven was undoubtedly because she considered the entire Baldur's Gate her own property.

Ivy had no idea that a devilish guild could uphold any justice. Furthermore, in that operation to protect the property, Zariel also gained Will as a pawn, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

As for the artifact shield lost by the Hune family, it was probably taken by Salamara Van Sampur as a key item to cause Baldur's Gate to fall into Avernus.

However, in the end, Salamara Van Sampur's operation failed, and her identity as a devil's lackey became a hot topic in the newspapers, causing the entire family to completely lose credibility within Baldur's Gate.

Ivy linked the Hune and Van Sampur families together because of the Devil's Lackey story in the newspapers.

The pact between Will and his demon overlord Mizora, and Zariel and Salamara Van Sampur, would only be more stringent.

Before Mizora appeared at the camp, Will couldn't even discuss his magic contract, so how did the relationship between Zariel and Salamara Van Sampure get leaked? And why did it cause such a stir in the newspapers?

The Hune family, being among the high-ranking members of the Shield Knights, is highly suspicious. After all, selling information and acting as political brokers are precisely the strengths of the Shield Knights.

While it may seem far-fetched to link the loss of the Hune family's shield with the exposure of Salamara Van Sampur, it is nonetheless something that can be verified.

Both the Shield Knights and the Van Sampure family are in a state of near collapse. A trip to the upper city will naturally verify Ivy's idea.

(End of this chapter)