Kingdom's Bloodline, page 462
Ricky stopped whatever he was doing.
Lasalle did not speak. He saw the eyes of the others being filled with great distrust.
Masked Man frowned.
"This will make things very ugly," Stake said coldly. "Do you think that Shadow Shield would come all the way here just to let you take our target so easily?"
Ricky took a deep breath and turned around to look at Masked Man.
He laughed.
"Hahahaha…"
Masked Man laughed as well like they had heard the greatest joke in the world.
"I can understand that you feel indignant because you gave me the letter, and you feel as if you've been taken advantage of." Ricky laughed happily and waved his hand. "Are you still worried that we'll act based on the situation and suddenly join forces with Constellation so that all your efforts turn out to be in vain?"
Stake's expression grew more and more unpleasant.
Ricky walked forward and moved past Masked Man, arriving in front of Stake.
"Let me tell you, Stake. Like you, we were doomed to be enemies of Constellation a long time ago."
Stake was slightly startled.
Ricky stared at him and plainly said, "As a reward for your 'sincerity' by giving us the letter..."
His expression was calm as he beckoned someone behind him with his finger.
"Samel?"
While Stake, Lasalle, Thales, as well as the rest were still puzzled, Masked Man snorted and stepped forward.
He reached out and pulled his mask off without hesitation.
The flickering light cast a shadow on Masked Man's face, allowing the others to only see his face vaguely.
It was a worn-out face belonging to someone who had experienced many great changes in life. The man was around forty or fifty years old. He had high cheekbones, and the graying hair on his temples were somewhat visible.
Stake scrutinized him, appearing puzzled. For a moment, he did not know what to make of the situation.
"You are…"
Masked Man shook his head in disdain.
However, next to Stake, Lasalle's expression changed!
"That's…" Eckstedt's former baron stared at the other person and shuddered a little.
Many of the mercenaries, including Quick Rope, were puzzled, and they began to look at each other.
Thales tried to stretch his neck to have a look, but he could only see Masked Man's side profile.
'Damn…
'Who's that fellow…?'
But Thales was immediately stunned.
It was just a side profile.
Yes, he could only see Masked Man's side profile.
But it was enough.
There was an obvious and hideous brand on the side of the man's face. It stretched from his chin to his cheekbone.
His skin was turned inside out, and it was blood red.
Just like…
Thales stared at the brand on the man's face.
It was just like the two brands on the wrists of Raphael Lindbergh from the Secret Intelligence Department. He saw them six years ago. The Arunde Family's symbol was inscribed there…
The prince was given another shock immediately after that!
He recognized it.
The brand on Masked Man's face had a pattern and a shape…
'That's…'
Thales could not believe his eyes.
Regardless, Masked Man spoke quickly, providing an answer to Thales' question.
"This is the ancient letter 'S' of the Empire, which symbolizes the Jadestar Royal Family. I got this brand a long time ago," he said coldly. He touched the ugly and horrifying brand on his face gently.
Stake trembled!
Masked Man whispered, "A person marked with this brand is a sinner who's been punished by the Supreme King of Constellation. He will carry this shame and sin for eternity, with no way of redeeming himself."
Stake stepped back, feeling dismayed.
Ricky wrapped his arms around himself and sneered coldly. Klein looked like he had known about it a long time ago and was not surprised.
There was a complicated look on Marina's face as she listened to Masked Man's confession.
Thales stared at the man named Samel and found himself filled with indescribable emotions.
Stake remembered something, and he asked with uncertainty, "You said that you are Samel? You're…"
The unmasked Samel snorted.
"As you've mentioned, everyone has a past."
Samel turned around and faced the entire tavern.
"After the war eighteen years ago, aside from all of you thrice-accursed assassins... there was also a group of people in Eternal Star City who was sent to jail by the newly-crowned King Kessel."
Samel slowly moved his feet. His tone was icy.
"They were all warriors who were highly skilled, highly experienced, and of noble descent. They once made a glorious pledge to defend the most noble blood of the kingdom."
Samel turned his head and looked at Thales, surprising the latter.
Under the reflection of the light, the brand on the other person's face became more obvious, and he looked even scarier.
His gaze was very strange. He was clearly staring at Thales, but it seemed like there was a water curtain separating them, and he was actually staring at the fog in the distance.
"However, because of that failure and disgrace, which the whole world knows occurred eighteen years ago, the new king placed false charges on them in his rage. They were forced to bear heavy charges, and they could only waste their lives away in the miserable underground world," Samel slowly said.
"Never will they be free, never will they see the sun."
Samel looked up, and his tone was filled with pride as well as pain.
"I am Colin Samel, the youngest son of Viscount Luca Samel. I am from Eternal Star City," he said sadly.
"I used to be the vice flag bearer of Constellation's Royal Guards, the personal guard of the late King Aydi the Second, part of the glorious 'Emperor's Praetorian Guards'."
His gaze on Thales was incomparably complicated. "I was a member of the royal guards who guarded Renaissance Palace during the Bloody Year."
Thales stared back at him. His mind was a mess.
'Royal guard?
'Then, that means he's…'
Samel gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "I am also the only fortunate one to have fled while all forty-six of us were on our way to the white Prison of Bones. We were sentenced to be imprisoned there for life when we refused to plead guilty during that unfair trial," said Samel angrily amid the almost-suffocating atmosphere.
"I am a felon who has no place in all of Constellation."
Stake no longer spoke. He just looked at Samel with a profound gaze.
The tavern was silent.
Then, Ricky spoke again, "This is our guarantee. Compared to that letter of yours, which is really more of a little parlor trick than anything of substance, ours is much more reliable, Stake.
"We can't work with Constellation.
"So the prince will remain under us, even as we act together," Ricky said coldly. "His safety and whether he can be handed over to you… depends entirely on the success of out next move.
"And right here, right now, I shall thank the both of you beforehand for your gracious help," Ricky said, his words filled with an underlying meaning.
Stake and Lasalle frowned.
Ricky snorted lightly, turned his head, and ignored them.
The leader of the Disaster Swords swept his gaze over the grim-looking mercenaries and allowed it to linger for a while on Thales' face. Thales, conversely, had a myriad of very complicated emotions in his heart.
"Now, we leave. Our destination… is the Prison of Bones."
Chapter 406: The Intruders |
The bright moon to the west shone in the corner of a small alley. Thales leaned against the wall in the alley while he looked around at the Blood Whistle mercenaries, or rather, the Disaster Swords. They were lurking around silently and skillfully while being extremely vigilant. As he watched them, he felt anxious.
'Damn it.'
After they left the tavern, they took their separate ways, but they became more alert.
'I won't find a chance like this anymore.'
The Disaster Swords pretty much acted as fast as lightning from their planning to execution. After a few minutes, the Prince of Constellation and Quick Rope were brought out of the tavern efficiently and in an inconspicuous manner. They were now near the Prison of Bones.
The cooperation between Shadow Shield, Disaster Sword, and Lasalle was not to be looked down upon. Aside from them intentionally splitting up to conceal their operation, they did not alert a single person as they moved from My Home to their current location. The patrols they were supposed to meet on the way also disappeared.
However, at that moment, that was not what Thales was worried about the most. It was the person watching over him—a certain enraged swordswoman.
"About eight or nine years ago, when I went back to my hometown, a local ruffian tried to rape me."
Marina rubbed her lips with one hand, and with the other, she pressed down lightly on her sword hilt.
She went up to Thales' ear and spoke softly. There was a hatred, which could not be ignored, in her words.
"Do you want to know what happened to him?"
'No.
'Not one bit.'
Despite that, in the face of the exasperated Marina, Thales could only reply with a remorseful but helpless, awkward smile.
"Hey, that matter earlier... I'm very sorry for that. Your skills are too good, so I could only do that to..."
Before he finished, a cold glare shone in Marina's eyes!
It caused Thales, who was in the wrong in the first place, to freeze.
His flattery did not have any effect on her.
The heavens could tell he had never sexually harassed anyone before in this lifetime or the past, which he could only remember vaguely. He, too, looked down on such acts.
Nonetheless, earlier...
Thales lowered his head in great sorrow to avoid Marina's severe gaze.
The good name he bore in two lifetimes was gone in a night.
Marina snorted coldly and drew her sword gently.
"That time, I placed my sword in between that bastard's legs, just like this..." As goosebumps broke out all over Thales' skin, the cold-looking Marina lowered her weapon gently. "And I turned my wrist—"
Luckily, a mature and gentle voice stopped her right when Thales was about to cry out for help. He felt a chill in his groin.
"Marina, I asked you to watch over him, not to find a chance to finish him." Ricky's figure appeared at the tightly-guarded entrance of the alley. He nodded slightly at his subordinates in the small alley. Then, with a serious expression, he said, "Restrain yourself a little."
Marina frowned, but still put away her sword before Thales' hopeful expression.
"Of course," she said softly. The indignance on her face disappeared.
However, the next sentence from Marina once again made Thales groan in his heart.
"We should gag him, and maybe even cut off one of his arms or legs just in case he decides to…"
But Ricky shook his head.
"Our noble guest is not some idiot." Crassus of the Disaster Swords narrowed his eyes while he watched the prince force himself to appear calm. "He knows when to negotiate and when to retaliate. He also knows who he can depend on at this moment."
Thales instantly became downspirited.
He knew that the people of Shadow Shield were hiding around them. Compared to those people, being in the hands of the Disaster Swords was not a considered a terrible choice.
"Isn't it?"
Ricky tilted his head back.
Quick Rope, Dean, and Tampa were over there. The three poor hostages were unceremoniously bound, gagged, and brought to the place by around a dozen fierce Disaster Swordsmen. They frequently threw enraged or pitiful looks in Thales' direction.
As he watched them, the prince could only sigh sadly.
"Of course."
Compared to that, Thales only had his weapon and luggage taken away from him. He was already very lucky. He glanced at the Crossbow of Time on Marina's back and the JC dagger at her waist. He unwittingly gulped.
That action of his made the look of disgust in Marina's eyes even more prominent.
Upon Ricky's signal, all the mercenaries including Marina obediently widened the space between them and Ricky.
Ricky stood before the prince. His eyes sparkled, and they made Thales uncomfortable.
"So, you wanted to be in the Prison of Bones…"
The prince coughed and spoke, attempting to get some information, but was unexpectedly interrupted halfway by Ricky.
"It's not enough," the leader of the Disaster Swords whispered.
Thales was shocked. "What?"
"The Sin of Hell's River." Ricky cast him a weird look. "You haven't experienced it enough, so you haven't fused with it deeply. You can't even touch the threshold of that power."
'The Sin of Hell's River.'
The shift in sudden topic made Thales nervous.
"What does that mean?"
'I can't even touch its threshold…'
The prince stiffened. "So, you need someone like Black Sword?"
However, Ricky shook his head to deny it.
"He's not enough either."
When he looked at the prince, there was an undisguised coldness and ruthlessness. But there was also a feverish zeal that caused others to be uneasy. These two contradicting emotions made Thales increasingly uncomfortable.
"So you need to endure more hardships amid blood and danger. It will then grow faster and become stronger. You must release it, so that it will eventually surpass the supreme level and reach the legendary level. Let it grow in maturity as soon as possible, strengthen it, and release it until it surpasses the ultimate level, to the extent that it achieves true legendary status."
Thales frowned, and he became more confused. "Surpassing … what level?
"What are you talking about?"
"That is the only way," Ricky continued as if he did not hear him. He proceeded to focus his attention on Thales. "We believe that there is a reason why you've been chosen by the Sin of Hell's River and why you returned from the dead."
Thales' eyelids twitched.
"In fact, there are people who have this power as far back as the Iron Blood King, Jill Kurse, and the Black Night. Then there are the Ninth, Shawlon Tannon, and Hill Crassus, the recent ones who were recorded to have this power," Ricky recited names, some of which were familiar to Thales, and some not. "You are one of them, Thales Jadestar."
Thales was perplexed.
'These names…'
'The Iron Blood King... He sounds like the ancient Northland King who led the army against the ancient orcs...
'Jill Kurse... I haven't heard this name before...
'The Black Knight... Hmm, I may have come across him in Little Rascal's pile of novels about tragic knights or from some bardic songs I read before…
'As for the Ninth, what the hell is that? A nickname?
'Shawlon Tannon... Tannon, a very familiar surname…
'Hill Crassus... Strange, isn't Crassus a title for the leader of the Disaster Swords?'
'As for Thales Jadestar… Wait a second, what about me?
'Damn it. If he's like Saroma who likes reading and has photographic memory…'
Ricky continued to say, "We believe that the people who struggled back from the edge of Hell's River over the course of thousands of years have their own destiny to fulfill in their era."
'What?'
Thales could not help but ask, "What sort of destiny?"
However, Ricky did not reply him. Instead, he revealed a very discomforting smile.
"You received a key, prince, which can open up the door we've been waiting for over one hundred years." The leader of the Disaster Swords laughed and said, "Don't waste it."
The bewildered prince was about to speak, but was interrupted by the sound of horse carriages coming from beyond the small alley.
The mercenaries who were silently lying low around him all became alert at the same time, as if they were beasts and that their territory had been invaded.
Ricky lifted his head and looked at a figure outside the alley.
"Their signal is here." Crassus of the Disaster Swords frowned and said, "Go."
Thales' expression changed. Before he could react, he was unceremoniously brought out of the alley by the impatient Marina, who was standing behind him.
On the empty, dark street, a long line of caravans was moving towards them. There were carts carrying unknown goods pulled by humans, and there were also horse carriages pulled by horses.
Tampa let out an uneasy moan behind him, but when Shawn gave him a rude "warning", he quieted down.
When he saw the wine glass on the flags of the caravans, Thales immediately registered what was going on. Those were My Home's supply caravans.
There were about twenty people in that group, and they all wore ordinary clothes made of rough fabric. It made them look shabby, but allowed easy movement. They looked exactly like the locals in Blade Fangs Camp. They did not stop, and they ignored Ricky as well as his group when they came out of the small alley.
There was a coachman on the carriage nearest to them. He tipped his hat at Ricky and nodded his head courteously.
Thales recognized the coachman. It was Stake.
"No need to worry, the patrol team closest to us has left."
Stake sat on the coachman's seat and approached Ricky, looking pleased. "There were three thieves who wanted to take advantage of the darkness to steal, but they have also been taken care of.
"All factors which may expose our actions…"
Ricky ignored him. He looked at the other person sitting next to Stake.
Next to Stake was Samel, the former Royal Guard of Constellation. He snorted softly.
"Along the way… I must say, Shadow Shield really has some skill." Samel did not bother to hide his disdain, but he still nodded his head.
Stake smugly tipped his hat.
"As promised."
