Kingdom's Bloodline, page 515
His voice became dejected, and his eyes were dull. He sounded like a weak traveler drinking his last drop of water as he trudged through the desert, before finally falling down with all his hopes crushed because of a mirage.
As the crowd waited quietly and breathed, Nalgi put his torch down, and Zakriel’s shadow was elongated on the wall.
After a long while, Barney Junior forced out a sentence from his dry throat, “Bewitched? By a queen? By a calamity?… How did you know?
“You judged a queen guilty simply because of a few phrases taken out of context from a pile of yellowing papers, and even delivered the death penalty on the late king?”
Zakriel snapped out of his daze and chuckled. “How did I know? The answer lay in that night.” His gaze drifted as if he was remembering the past.
“…That terrible, rainy night,” the Knight of Judgment forced the sentence out in anger. His words sent chills down everyone’s spine.
‘That rainy night?’
“In the name of wanting to meditate, His Majesty dispersed all his followers, servants, and guards, including the old captain, and Barney Senior who were in control of the Supreme Shield, and Judgment Spear.
“Then, he took his new queen alone to answer that invitation, which I still, to this date, cannot believe had happened.”
The Royal Guards stiffened.
“What invitation?” Nalgi could not help but ask.
Zakriel looked lost, as though he was lost in the past and could not escape from the shadows known as history.
“That night, I clung to the Supreme Sword, and with its strength, I followed them to the sacred Hall of Stars. I hid in the shadows behind the pillars, I did not even dare breathe…” The Knight of Judgment’s pupils slowly shrank. “Finally, I saw them.”
The dungeon was very quiet. Only the waning flames shone on the decrepit old walls in the Magic Tower. It was as quiet as a coffin buried under the earth.
Barney Junior’s expression was still stiff. Samel’s lips were pursed. The others looked at each other in confusion.
Thales held his breath.
“Them?” Nalgi’s voice quivered—he did not notice. Zakriel did not look at him and only nodded.
“The storm that night was so violent that even the sentry tower was almost overturned.” In the dim dungeon, Zakriel spoke of his astonishing past in an airy voice. “Two mysterious guests appeared one after another without warning on the hall terrace, while the thunder roared, lightning crackled, wind blew, and rain poured.”
‘Mysterious guests… appeared without warning… eighteen years ago in Eternal Star City. No…’ Thales felt his heartbeat accelerate.
Zakriel’s words tumbled out of his mouth as he breathed, and his breaths had become erratic—his tone fluctuated.
“They were like gods in legends who descended onto the world, and they were like the devils who woke in an abyss filled with the greatest evil.”
‘Gods. Devils.’
“Who were they?” Thales asked stiffly. Zakriel suddenly lowered his head and shot a cold glance at Thales, it made the prince’s heart skip a beat.
After a few seconds, the dry, hoarse voice of the Knight of Judgment tumbled out of the man’s bloodless lips,
“The man emerged from the rain. He had an elegant posture, composed, but he was dry and clean. The wind and rain could not touch him, and he arrogantly observed Renaissance Palace as like was observing a chess piece that was bound to be eaten sooner or later in the game. ”
Thales’ body tensed up without his notice. Zakriel’s former colleagues stared at him intently in the prison.
“And that woman…” Zakriel shook his head, in his eyes were the fear and wariness that would only appear for a brief moment when he acted abnormally. “I will never, for the rest of my life, forget the sight of the wind and rain hitting her. It was as if her skin had life, and the wind and rain instantly sank into her skin. They were completely absorbed, nothing was left.”
Everyone’s breathing slowed down as though they were afraid of waking up a fierce beast who was deep in slumber.
“One of them referred to the queen respectfully by her true name, and the other did so in contempt. They called her… Freuland.” Zakriel shuddered out of the blue. “Similarly, our queen appeared to be reuniting with her old friends. She called them by their names. The two names that are equally forbidden—”
Thales shut his eyes tight.
Barney Junior interrupted the knight’s narration. He was gasping when he said, “Watchman, you are saying… No, you are accusing His Majesty—”
But Zakriel’s voice suddenly became louder. He shouted, “I saw it the night rain came down with a vengeance!”
Barney Junior was stunned by his words. Zakriel’s face was illuminated by the fire, but the brand on his forehead was hidden in the darkness, allowing him to show his usual determined and indifferent face.
“That night, King Aydi served as the witness, and used Constellation as his wager.” The Knight of Judgment’s voice seemed like it was infused with power, because with every word he spoke, the people’s blood vessels throbbed loudly.
“His Majesty, the Sensory Mystic, the Air Calamity… and the Blood Calamity.”
The light was dim. Zakriel no longer paid any attention to the others’ expressions. He continued to speak coldly, “The unprecedented alliance between the King of Constellation and three major calamities… was formed in such a situation.”
At that moment, Thales’ eyes snapped open; he remembered. Freuland. He had indeed heard this name before.
He heard it six years ago in Dragon Clouds City, when he held that shivering girl in his arms and gritted his teeth in the soon-to-be-destroyed Shield District. At that time, he had been caught between the confrontation of those two terrifying existences.
“‘Did you forget our original intentions when we cooperated with each other, Giza?”‘
At that time, the elegant Air Mystic had said these words. His eyes had been indifferent.
“‘Regardless of whether it was for my plan, Freuland’s ideals, or your persistence, did the three of us not work together so that the Mystics could one day be free of those shackles?”‘
‘That’s right. Freuland.’ Thales was covered in cold sweat. His breaths were quick and short. But the others had no time to take notice of his loss of composure.
“You don’t understand what kind of taboos His Majesty broke.” Zakriel looked up. He spoke coldly to the group who were becoming increasingly nervous. “He tried to touch the power that mortals should not cast their eyes on, and hoped to use it to rule the kingdom we were proud of. He wanted to use it to rule over the kingdom we built from the ruins left behind by the Battle of Eradication.”
The Knight of Judgment had a complicated look in his eyes when he swept his gaze over every listener. In the end, his gaze landed on Thales’ face.
“In the conversation, His Majesty even referred to the three monsters as his… three calamity allies.”
Chapter 447: Enemy of The World |
‘”Many people had the same idea—that Mystics may coexist with other races in peace, and even help each other.”‘
At this moment, the conversation Thales had a long time ago came to his mind.
…That was in Dragon Clouds City six years ago. Giza had just disappeared thanks to the Blade of Purification. As ash filled the sky, when Thales vowed to find a new future for the Mystics, Asda, as elegant as a scholar, casually said these words, and Thales had no idea whether he said it intentionally or not.
‘”Mystics, humans, even the elves… With numerous attempts and great effort, all have failed.”‘
The words from that pleasant voice were clear in his ears, but the cruel truth before him shook his conviction.
They all failed.
Thales might be staring at Zakriel with a stern gaze, but he was thinking of another person.
‘Asda, just how many things did you hide from me? Eighteen years ago… what on earth did you and Giza do?’
“His Majesty… formed an alliance with the calamities?” Tardin asked disbelievingly in the dead silence.
Naer voiced his thoughts, “Air and blood? Oh, I still remember, Blood Bottle Gang, right…”
Their voices broke the silence, and many of the people subsequently spoke in their shock. While the group broke into commotion, Barney Junior stepped forward swiftly and cut them off by saying,
“Silence!”
The noisy prison immediately became quiet.
Barney Junior’s expression was still stiff, but Thales could see a variety of emotions surging underneath his calm facade. Barney asked coldly, “Just like this? Three calamity allies?”
The Knight of Judgment moved his gaze back away from Thales’ body while he remained standing in front of the prince. He seemed to be immersed in his own world as he murmured, “Those calamities… did not harbor good intentions. They did not care much about the future of Constellation. On the contrary, they only wanted to achieve their own goals through the kingdom, even if it meant that they will bring us all kinds of misfortune and disasters…
“That was just the beginning.” Zakriel’s dull and dry voice rose and his words sounded like a hammer shattering their fantastical image of Constellation. “It seemed like it happened overnight. The kingdom suffered through continuous, natural disasters; our harvests stopped, our cargo was blocked, our trade routes by sea were locked down, our business and agriculture industries descended into nationwide chaos, many people lost their jobs, and conflicts were frequent. Then, the country suffered multiple rebellions, the situation was so bad that things were out of control…”
When everyone in the hall heard these words, they sank into silence together.
“At that time, when we were busy subjugating rebellions and pacifying the country, the whole world seemed to have received some kind of order at the same time…”
The Knight of Judgment stared blankly into space.
“Our allies and companions fell strangely silent and refused to respond us, as though it was all a coincidence. It’s the same for the Three Kingdoms of the Mystery Ocean, Sacred Tree Court, Hall of King’s Chronicles, and even the Tai Xuan Palace on the other side of the sea. They all avoided responding to Constellation’s call for help.
“Our enemies and opponents were united in an unprecedented fashion; the Camians set up an embargo with Constellation, the Great Desert invaded us, the Kassaians robbed us on sea, Hanbol set up a naval trade blockade, and Eckstedt provoked us from the north. Even the rebels seemed to have endless support. It was as if that agreed to work together and cause trouble for us.”
Zakriel remembered the history of the Bloody Year, and the sadness in his words infected the atmosphere in the hall, making the faces of the Royal Guards become even more unpleasant.
Thales furrowed his brow subconsciously.
“And at that time, for some reason, the materials to form the Mystic Guns we purchased from Mane et Nox were cut off. Even the shipment of Eternal Oil and Crystal Drop Ores could not catch up to our supply demand. It was incredibly difficult for us to provide conventional weapons and military supplies for our armies.”
Zakriel continued to speak, his voice growing tense as though he was slowly suffocating, “We lost not just the war, the king and his vassals were not united. The protests from the nobles came one after another, the relationship between the three temples and Renaissance Palace was really tense, and the shameless Tower of Eradication even criticized His Majesty’s rule.
“When all these things were added together, it turned into the most unfavorable situation for us”—pain and grief appeared in Zakriel’s eyes—”and what you saw was the number of our brothers in the guards being reduced. For duty and honor, they left their wives and children to follow the Jadestars. They went onto the battlefield in batches, fully-equipped. They would reply through letters once every half-month to inform their families that they were well and alive, or never be heard from ever again.”
At that moment, no one from the Royal Guards including Samel spoke, but they each had their own reactions. Some bowed their heads deeply, some avoided eye contact with each other in an unnatural fashion, and Canon even cried softly.
“But do you think that all of this was really just a coincidence?” Zakriel watched the fire of the torch in Nalgi’s hand with an absent-minded look in his eyes. He delved deeper into his memories, and a ferocious tone was added into his words.
“I know… I know the reason why we became everyone’s target. No matter what His Majesty’s original intentions were, working with the calamities was the beginning of our disaster. It made Constellation fall into an unprecedented dilemma, and we turned the whole world into our enemy.”
“F*ck!” Nalgi slapped his thigh and cursed. No one knew whether he was cursing King Aydi or Zakriel.
‘The whole world is our enemy.’ Thales’s breathing became erratic, but he did not notice it.
“Why?” When he heard all this, Barney Junior interrupted Zakriel coldly, “If you think this was the root and the reason… why didn’t you tell us at the time? Why didn’t you ask the old captain for help, or even my father? They must have had a way! Why did you make a decision without any authorization from your superiors?”
Zakriel’s gaze moved. The knight slowly swept his gaze past the Royal Guards present. Thales noticed that many people subconsciously avoided his eyes, which were as sharp as blades.
A few seconds later, Zakriel let out a seemingly mocking sneer, and he lowered his head.
“You don’t understand. When I finally made my decision to do something, it was already too late.” He shuddered slightly. “The situation was bad, and it went from bad to worse. We even constantly heard news about the passing of the princes’ personal guards, who were the most elite of us all.
“In less than a year, the momentum of the rebels’ attacks grew stronger, and they conquered our cities and lands. The morale of our soldiers was low and we lost ground. The war in Western Desert and the southwest spread towards our country, and even drew close to our borders. The citizens’ hearts were uneasy, and they were in a constant state of anxiety…”
Each time Zakriel said one word, the brows of the guards would draw even closer together.
“Then, even Eckstedt showed its fangs. That terrifying Great Dragon who just subjugated the Golden Passage and the Camians joined the movement to take advantage of our situation. They spared no expense and deployed all their forces. They had a hundred thousand elites, and their march was unstoppable. Their steeds rode forth with iron hooves, and they charged in with the force of roaring waves.
“I think that was the best final blow our enemies had prepared for our kingdom. It was supposed to be the final chapter of the historical poem that depicted our country’s downfall.”
Thales could not help but think of Nuven the Seventh, the king whose power and influence had not reduced in the slightest even though he was old. The cunning, fierce, and powerful lion.
He also remembered what the Raven of Death had said about the purpose of Eckstedt marching south. When he thought of this, Thales could not help but wonder: Did King Nuven really deploy his troops so decisively purely for political purposes?
“We were already overwhelmed, had exhausted all our resources, and couldn’t even form a decent army.” Zakriel sounded even more distressed. “Just like that, Constellation, which had borne the glory of the Empire and had existed for seven hundred years, was on the brink of destruction. It was only one step away from falling into the abyss, and facing complete annihilation.
“But even so, even if the calamities led the kingdom to Hell’s River step by step, His Majesty continued to act wilful and stubborn. You wouldn’t be able to imagine just how obstinate he was…”
When he said this, the Knight of Judgment suddenly looked up. His eyes were filled with resentment as he looked in front. “It’s hard to imagine just how much he trusted that woman… that monster who slept beside him… And it all originated from that night.”
Zakriel slowly stopped speaking. Barney Junior closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“That’s why you betrayed the country and rebelled? That’s why you went to His Majesty’s enemies?” The vanguard seemed to be trying with all his might to suppress his own shock and shift his focus back to the present.
Zakriel was silent for a long time. He seemed to be hesitating.
Finally, the Knight of Judgment opened his mouth and said faintly, “His Majesty was entranced. He couldn’t see that the calamities were the root of everything… He had to be awakened.”
The Knight of Judgment’s gaze gradually turned clear. “As long as he stayed away from the monsters with their dubious motives, cast aside their sinister plots, stopped putting his hopes on a taboo, and return to ruling the country with proper means…” Zakriel was like a traveler who saw hope at the final moment of his struggle in the abyss. “…the strange alliance of our enemies formed by them taking advantage of our misfortune will lose its foundation, and collapse on its own. In fact, the two supreme and forbidden existences spoken in the legends would also shift their gazes away.
“Our supply of Mystic Guns and Eternal Oil would be restored; we could re-establish our relationship with the allies; the hostility against us born not out of personal interests would be eliminated; the behind-the-scenes support for the rebels would stop; our troubling situation of being surrounded by enemies would be alleviated; the hearts of our divided citizens would be unified; and the critical situation on the frontlines would improve. The only thing we needed to worry about it would only be our old rivals.
“Constellation would then survive this catastrophe.” Zakriel’s expression became more and more agitated, but all of a sudden, his expression turned dejected. “But before that, someone had to stand up and shoulder the responsibility to turn the tide, even if it meant carrying out the most unforgivable betrayal, and bearing the most unforgivable disgrace to his own name.” His eyes radiated deep pain. He stared at his own fists, spellbound. “Someone had to save us before His Majesty made the world our enemy, and before he plunges the whole kingdom into the abyss.
