Kingdom's Bloodline, page 273
Since he reformed his arm in endless agony and torment, Raphael had seldom encountered such a situation.
'Oh, only once…'
At that time, he stood behind the Black Prophet respectfully and waited for His Majesty's call.
A short, murderous man walked out of His Majesty's room, and when he passed Raphael, he glanced at him—intentionally or otherwise.
At that time, his arm had begun to tremble for the first time. Later, Raphael knew who the man with the ferocious look was: Baron Arracca.
Since then, Raphael knew that this is his arms' instinct and it was urging him to flee. To escape from the danger that could not be stopped, even with both of them combined.
However, he could not leave.
Raphael furrowed his eyebrows. Putray's strategy was a simple one. They had an advantage over the enemy, the only advantage: they knew what the enemy planned to do, but the enemy did not know their objectives.
So, they had to maintain this advantage until they succeeded.
Raphael sighed with complex emotions as he thought of the prince, and then looked at the corner in front. His arm trembled so much that he started to lose control, forcing his increasingly fractious arm down with all his might.
Finally, the enemy emerged from the corner. Raphael's gaze concentrated.
He recognised the person, his portrait was placed at the Secret Intelligence Department's 'Eckstedt Intelligence Room', on the wall for the most important people and among the top twenty.
Raphael exhaled. 'Looks like I am the unluckiest one. And…'
Raphael frowned deeply as he saw his opponent's weapon.
The wielder was an irresistible force with powerful lethality, the enemy's willpower and reaction were both top-notch. He seemed proficient in most weapons, possessed a rarely seen ability to make judgements in battle, and most terrifying of all... almost unparalleled experience.
'This kind of opponent…'
The enemy's footstep stopped. His tall body possessed extremely oppressive power.
"How strange." The person who had approached looked at him as he spoke with a strong northern accent. "In this situation, you dare to wander from your troop. What are you trying to hide?"
Raphael was momentarily startled. He immediately spread his arms.
'This being the case… There's no any other way.'
"Yes, we are planning on…" Raphael smiled and shrugged. "Why don't you take a guess?"
The enemy was a little shocked, not quite used to Raphael's attitude. The enemy opened his mouth and muttered, "I would advise you to—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Raphael unexpectedly turned around and fled.
The sound of footsteps echoed urgently.
'This…'
The enemy was somewhat dazed, but his battle instinct immediately took him over.
He grabbed his weapon, and with heavy yet careful pace, chased the fleeing Raphael.
Raphael's heart clenched in fear when he heard the footsteps behind him.
'With this speed, he'll catch up—'
But before he could even finish his thought, he felt a chill on the back of his head.
*Whoosh!*
There was a gush of wind. Raphael instinctively tilted his head.
A sharp, black blade swept over the side of his left ear!
The moment the young man from the Secret Intelligence Department turned around, his enemy nodded at him.
'Good response to crisis. There is potential...'
But before the enemy could take the moment to react, Raphael, who had been avoiding his attacks in a disheveled manner, suddenly stopped.
*Thud!*
The young man's legs hit the floor, his right hand took the enemy's long weapon, and he turned around to face the enemy!
The enemy, still rushing forward, saw it clearly in Raphael's eyes—a look filled with killing intent. The enemy then instantly understood that he was the targeted prey.
'I underestimated him... I thought he was just a young man with decent potential. But now…' The enemy silently thought, 'It's been so long since I was on the battlefield that I've made the most fatal mistake—arrogance.'
However, he did not have time for self-reflections.
In the next moment, Raphael's expression became so terrifying that he looked like he was suffering from pain and madness.
His right arm let out a piercing and terrifying screech, his sleeves were torn, his bare skin began to swell, and a boundless red light exuded from along the blood vessels.
Like the color of lava.
Raphael's right hand clutched the enemy's weapon, following the enemy's momentum, then abruptly jerked. The enemy held his own weapon with both hands, prepared to wrestle with the other party. But the moment he used his strength, the enemy's face paled.
'No way. This kind of strength… Coming from a normal person is just not possible...'
In the wake of a grating sound, the enemy could no longer hold on to his weapon, and it was yanked away by Raphael's strange right hand. The enemy was now left empty-handed without a weapon.
He lost his balance, momentarily terrified of Raphael. The latter grimly stomped on the floor and rushed towards his opponent.
The bones in his left hand were making strange, cracking sounds as well. As if there were millions of tiny worms biting him continuously.
In the next second, Raphael calmly attacked with his elbow and his Power of Eradication erupted with a bang, slamming into the enemy's chest.
Little did the enemy know, things were far from well. For a moment, he could not evade in time and could only push his palms together, holding the other side of the opponent's elbow.
*Thunk!*
There was a heavy, muffled sound.
Using the direction of his enemy's fall and his own strength, Raphael roared and the continuous surge of power in his arm became stronger, like a tidal wave.
*Bang!*
The enemy was slammed onto the floor after getting elbowed. While he was feeling the pain and numbness in his arms and back, the enemy also gasped in surprise.
'This Power of Eradication is…'
However, it was not over yet. The enemy saw Raphael's right hand in the air as it swung in a circle… with the enemy's hilt turned upside-down and pointed straight at him.
The enemy's gaze focused as his pupils contracted.
'Sh*t.'
He could still feel the numbness in his arms; he could not defend himself or react.
As for the weapon...
'So deadly... Why are youngsters nowadays so scary?' The enemy felt dejected as he thought about it.
In that split second, Raphael looked at the enemy with an ice-cold gaze. He directed the tip of the blade and thrust it downwards!
In that life-or-death moment, the enemy activated the energy in his legs and abdomen, and jumped up from the floor! He turned his body during the maneuver and avoided that deadly weapon.
*Ching!*
The sharp tip of the blade stabbed into the ground, stirring up numerous shattered stones
*Thud!*
The enemy brought his head down and headbutted Raphael. This was clearly a headbutt from below when he jumped up from the ground, but with this much strength and at such an angle, it still felt as if it can shake the earth.
In that split second, Raphael felt dizzy and his vision was a blur. Trepidation spread through his body and he could not help but take a step back.
He clenched the weapon in his hand so that he would not fall down. But the next moment, the enemy stood firmly on the ground.
The enemy's right fist hit the side of Raphael's face. The latter clenched his teeth, the muscles in his arms tightened up as he tried to grab the enemy's hand.
But the enemy's left hand was faster than his right fist, and for a split second, when Raphael tried to block the other hand, the enemy bypassed his unusual two-handed block and slammed into Raphael's chest like a knife.
*Thunk!*
Raphael felt a chill in his heart, and then, an intense pain shot up his chest.
He could no longer hold on to the weapon as his body flew and crashed on the floor.
As quickly as it had begun, the battle ended in a flash, thus revealing the winner and the loser.
"Yeesh… I was almost a goner," the enemy said after finishing his combination attack. He gasped in a deep breath before he picked up his long weapon from the ground. "Each of you is more dangerous than the last."
The enemy looked at Raphael on the ground and muttered,
"Such a young supreme class, so rare. Your only weakness is that you need more practice and experience.
After a few seconds, Raphael twitched as he turned over and painfully spat out some blood. The sharp pain in his arms made them tremble continuously. With Raphael's movements came the painful, unpleasant sounds of his fragile muscles and bones grinding against each other, like a pair of rusting bellows.
But Raphael did not take notice of it. Instead, he looked at the person in front of him in a daze.
'This can't be real. This killing technique… didn't even work?'
"You're creative, and not just desperate."
The enemy thumped his own chest and exhaled a breath with some difficulty, apparently tired. "Your observations are quite accurate. Your timing is pretty good as well. The most difficult part is that, in a split second, you exceeded your limits and had all your strength burst out of your body, and you showed determination and resolution.
"Even though you knew that, probably after this strike, you would have no strength to fight back."
Raphael sighed. He felt another sharp pain in his chest as he coughed out more blood.
"Kroesch said that this time, there will be a few classmates from the Tower of Eradication—all of them are Seeds," said the enemy plainly with a sad tone.
'I really miss it.' The enemy sighed.
Raphael could not help but feel stunned.
After the enemy exhaled, he raised his head and gave Raphael an affirmative and resolute glance. "I recognize this style. This is the kind of extreme fighting style that seeks vitality in a desperate situation. It is cruel and decisive.
"Also, your Sword of Baptism's Death is one of the Disaster Swords' style."
Before Raphael stood the legendary commander; 'Ground-Shaker' Kaslan Lampard. He released a breath with a desolate gaze.
"You are Shao's student, a Seed from the tower's Death of Crime department." His tone was completely certain. Raphael stared at the old man, unsure about how to react.
Kaslan held the Soul Slayer Pike tightly and looked at Raphael with a sad and regretful gaze as he sighed quietly. After following the Sin of Hell's River, that sorrowful yet cruel fellow has his eyes on this?"
Kaslan laughed bitterly, which was both ridiculing yet pitying.
He looked at Raphael's trembling hands and said something that struck him pale,
"Those underground demons… the strange beings of flesh who can regenerate endlessly?"
Chapter 248: I am Very Honored |
Heroic Spirit Palace, West corridor.
"Damn it, I almost stabbed you too just now!"
Wya gasped for breath as he extracted his single-edged sword from the last enemy's body. He patted himself on the left side, apparently the injuries had split open. "Who arranged this strange combination for a group?"
The dead body was flipped over as Kohen Karabeyan miserably got up from under it. He felt his skin crawl as he watched Wya's sword being extracted right beside his ear and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I just can't compare to Miranda. I'm not as strong as Raphael and I'm definitely not as able to fight as the White Blade Guards, veterans of a hundred battles," the police officer said perfunctorily. "That's why I needed your help… Your Excellency, attendant Wya Caso!"
Just a moment ago, Kohen and Wya had escaped from several interceptions by the Black Sand Region's elites.
The attendant took a deep breath and said, "Alright, perhaps I should rejoice. At least I don't have to be grouped with the mute one—that guy's really sensitive. He'll notice every time I stare at his throat for more than a second. That expression of his, it's as if I was the real culprit who crushed his throat…"
Kohen's footsteps halted. His expression when he looked at Wya was one suggesting a foul mood. Wya was stunned for a second before he shrugged awkwardly. "Right, sorry. I forgot that you were the one who actually did that."
"Thank you for your understanding," Kohen replied in a huff.
Wya glanced at the three dead bodies before him, massaged his shoulder, and sighed. "His Lordship didn't guess wrong. They sent small elite units to spread out and search for us. If the prince was still with us, our whereabouts would have probably been long exposed. Then, we wouldn't be able to move an inch with that endless commotion."
"Let's hurry." Kohen panted as he heard faint sounds of fighting from the eastern side. "Count ourselves lucky this time. Their reinforcements received the signal, but was misled by another party—I don't know whether it was the White Blade Guards or our own people."
They walked on for more than ten seconds until they arrived at a fork.
Wya pointed in one direction, frowned, and said, "Should we continue? We already…"
Kohen caught up with Wya's pace. Without the slightest hesitation, he surpassed him. "We can only continue onwards, we have to widen the distance for the prince and the rest."
Wya cast a glance at Kohen and suddenly broke into laughter as he hastily caught up.
In the heavy atmosphere, the police officer's gaze swept across the other's single-edged sword. He frowned slightly. "You're the student of Teacher Chartier, but you seem like someone from Master Shao's side when you use your sword."
Wya nodded, his eyebrows pinched together.
"I know—my teacher told me before. My Power of Eradication is very special, even the sword skills that entails me were affected."
The police officer raised his eyebrows.
'Is it just special?'
Kohen recalled the figure in the white shirt and said flatly, "Combat styles of faculties like 'Death of Crime' are always dangerous. Most of the time, it looks like suicide."
"And yet, it's the most accomplished faculty." Wya shook his head with a heavy look. "Many famous swordsmen or experts were born from there."
Kohen slowly nodded. "Since you just graduated, how did you get elected as an attendant? Was it a good family background or your good sword skills?"
"There were many more brilliant candidates who were also born into more noble families." Wya shook his head and continued walking forward. "But the prince was still young. They needed someone who could grow together with the prince and become his arm in the future. A newbie who just came from the tower is a white slate and most suitable for this errand.
"Otherwise, forget being an attendant, the Caso Family wouldn't even be able to be a squire for the prince since we are a family with a long genealogical history like the local Rudollian nobles, and we're also not a respected imperial bloodline like you Karabeyans. Four generations ago, we were only the squires of a small place, and one hundred years ago, we couldn't even become squires, much less an attendant."
Kohen nodded in understanding.
Kohen muttered to himself, 'It's also precisely because of this that the king was at ease with you serving as an attendant.'
Wya suddenly turned around and asked, "So, what does it feel like to be born into the Thirteen Distinguished Families? Not everyone has a family that has a legacy of a millennium behind them."
Kohen's expression stiffened. "A thousand-year-old family?" Kohen was stunned and immediately sank into deep contemplation.
'That dark, mysterious, forbidden door; the ancient castles of all sizes…'
"You have plenty, but your burdens are great, and you cannot take them off your shoulders." Kohen's complexion darkened slightly. "That is what it feels like."
Wya looked at his expression and shrugged.
"The appointed heir to the count, willing to be condescended and lowered in rank, and become a small police officer in the capital." The attendant shook his head. "This is uncommon?"
Kohen spitefully said in his heart, 'This ain't nuthin—Bah! Blurted some western dialect—At Blade Fangs Dune, I've even arm-wrestled with the orcs in the desert before.'
"My old man said that times are changing, learning how to adapt isn't a bad thing." Kohen shrugged. "'The era of Count Karabeyans being directly appointed as Chief of Intelligence has long passed. An appointed heir of a count becoming a police officer? Just treat it as an exercise—to see how the kingdom functions.'"
"Not a bad thing indeed." Wya shrugged. "That's why we—Caso and Karabeyan—can have the opportunity to fight side-by-side here, isn't it?"
Kohen laughed softly. "Remember to tell your grandchildren this story."
"Precisely." Wya unfolded his hands, shook his head and burst into laughter. "Your grandfather used to foray with the kingdom's future appointed count in Dragon Clouds City. They went through fire and water for the future supreme king—"
In the next moment, both their expressions changed at once.
*Clank!*
They both took out their swords with the fastest draw-speed from their sheaths. With a slight bend of their knees and their feet apart, they nervously looked towards the flight of steps across from them.
An armored figure appeared there.
They saw 'Fire Knight' Tolja gradually descending those steps, one foot after another. He was watching them with a serious expression.
The police officer released a long breath, lamenting his own 'luck'. Wya narrowed his eyes, there was apprehensiveness in his heart.
"Come on, lunkhead. I didn't forget that blow in the prison cell." The police officer gritted his teeth and put on a starting stance. "It's time to pay back your debts."
In front of them, Tolja impassively held his golden saber.
"It's him again." Wya nervously stared at Tolja before them and recalled the scene in the prison cell. Gravely, he said to Kohen, "Are you sure we're going to fight?"
