Kingdom's Bloodline, page 563
Strangely, although the Legendary Wing appeared murderous (he also just killed someone), his body under the robes and light armor seemed thin. And he surprisingly smelled… rather pleasant.
The troops suddenly changed direction.
As he felt the endless jolts through his bones with the constant soreness in his body, and smelled the smoke and dust that blew at his face, Thales had no other choice but to cover his mouth and nose.
At this moment, a hand appeared before his eyes.
“A face mask to prevent dust,” Roman shouted as the horses galloped on and stirred up dust and sand.
Thales was stupefied for a while before he took the face mask from Roman’s hand. He noticed that Roman had also covered his face. However, his amber-colored eyes still appeared lively.
Thales sighed and tied the face mask around his face. He inhaled deeply behind the face mask and felt much better.
“You are not afraid of being threatened, of the Secret Intelligence Department nor the king…”
The Legendary Wing moved a little behind him. The white horse jolted. Thales could no longer be bothered about feeling awkward as he held Roman’s waist tightly to maintain his balance.
But he still asked, “Why did you agree to my conditions earlier?”
Roman did not answer. Just when Thales thought that the conversation had failed, Roman said, “Maybe it’s because…” Roman snorted coldly on his horse. He lowered his head and stared at Thales. His amber-colored eyes revealed a complicated gaze.
Roman extended his hand to pull the mask over Thales’ face a little straighter.
“You’re more good-looking?”
Thales was speechless. A second later, out of awkwardness, Thales tilted his head down unnaturally, and tried his best to bury his face in Roman’s arms.
Fortunately, the mask covered his expression well.
The horse jolted again, scaring Thales into holding on to Roman even tighter.
“Where… are we going?”
This time, Roman did not answer him. Instead, the Legendary Wing straightened his body, drew out the white spear on his back, and allowed it to slowly grow longer.
“Send a signal to Felicia and Frank!” Roman suddenly spoke louder. He was heard bellowing, “Everyone, prepare to increase your speed!”
Before Thales registered what happened, waves of responses traveled from the horses in front, behind, and from the flanks.
“Hah!” The Legendary Wing’s bellowing soared to the sky. “We’ll attack the camp!”
His voice seemed to possess the power to motivate others. It traveled through the galloping horses and into everyone’s ears. Even Thales could not help but feel his blood boil.
“Hah!”
All the cavaliers answered simultaneously. The eagerness to fight could be heard in their voices. Soon, the cavaliers began to speed up. The sand and dust in the air grew more vicious, and it made Thales shut his eyes. He had no choice but to lean against Roman tightly.
‘Damn!’
The dull thudding of horseshoes as they kicked against the sand grew crisper. But the Legendary Wing’s voice was still clear and impactful.
“Our camp!”
As the cavaliers sped faster, they drew their weapons and replied frenziedly, “Hah!”
Countless sounds were mixed together, including those of horse hooves, sand and dust, bellows and jolts. They made Thales’ heart beat tremendously fast.
‘Is he crazy? He’s bringing me along, and still wants to fight a battle?’
The white spear turned in the Legendary Wing’s hand before it headed to the front.
“No matter who you meet on the road, be it humans, mixed breeds, Barren breeds or goddamn Bloody Thorn Lizards; if you see Constellation flags, and those who refuse to surrender and kneel…” The Legendary Wing’s voice grew more merciless as it carried a sharpness and rage that were both unheard of before. In the next second, the Legendary Wing swung the white spear. He bellowed words in the language of the orcs, words that used to made Thales tremble in fear.
“Sel! Lic! Ca!”
When the white horse leaped, it shook Thales so much that it caused him to almost loosen his grip!
He closed his eyes and held Roman’s waist with great effort. The soldiers’ enthusiastic and boorish roars traveled to his ears. “Sel! Sel! Sel licca!”
As Thales listened to the roaring that rose and fell, and came and went, his heartbeat and blood began to grow calm. A wave of tiredness overcame him.
‘I’m so… tired.’
“Sel, sel…”
Amid the endless jolts and waves of roaring, Thales only felt his eyelids grow heavier and his body lighter. The sounds that traveled to his ears seemed to be blocked by a water screen, it no longer stimulated his nerves.
In the next instant, Thales closed his eyes, and his arms loosened. It was as if he had fallen into water.
However, a strong arm with a rein in its hand wrapped around his torso from the front.
Before the teenager fell off the saddle, it clenched around him.
“Sel liccaaaa!”
In the roaring waves, Thales seemed to have realized something while he was dazed. But before he could register the situation, the teenager fell into the Legendary Wing’s arms…
…and fell asleep.
Chapter 485: Too High |
Everything was blurry like he was in a fog. It was white, hazy, indistinct, and had no base to support it.
Only that gentle voice sounded as if it was right beside his ears.
“‘Qiren, I beg you, don’t be afraid.”‘
‘How can this be?’ His heart was filled with strange resentment and grief, but he had nowhere to vent these emotions. It was as if… he was losing something.
“‘I’m just… I’m just…”‘
That voice sounded so helpless, so miserable… like it was leaving him.
“‘I’m just… living in a world different from you.”‘
Her voice dispersed. He suddenly felt very empty, and his heart clenched in pain. He stretched out his hand in the direction of that voice, wanting to touch her, to hold her tight, and to make her stay.
But when he thought he was about to approach her and have her remain by his side, a red light suddenly shot through the fog!
The white fog dissipated, and the blurry view faded away.
It was as if blood had descended from the skies to dye the walls red. Everything around him turned into a brilliant shade of red that looked sticky to the eye. It appeared bloodthirsty and gloomy! Everything changed.
Strangely, he became nervous.
“It has been a while…”
While the blood-red shade surrounded him, an unfamiliar and cold voice that was sonorous and excited rose from thin air.
“It has been a while…”
A terrifying sense of weight descended on him without warning, pressing down on him to the point he could not breathe.
‘No.’
“It has been a while… been a while… a while… while…”
The echoes sounded grave, and the repetition was endless. It was as though there was someone striking a stately war drum, and the sound made his heart tremble.
‘No.’
“My…”
That voice was very excited, but he was very scared.
‘No.’
“My…”
The blood-red shade around him became even redder, darker, gloomier… and closer.
“My… My… My…”
It was inevitable. The endless red crawled up his body and his senses, and he could not free himself from it. He could not escape.
‘No.’
It violently crashed against his thoughts and occupied his mind. It filled up… everything about him.
‘No!’
“My my my my my my my my…”
Finally, when the endless red filled him up from the inside, the distant and unfamiliar voice became incredibly clear, as if it was right beside his ears, but it actually came from within him!
“My…”
All the voice’s unclearness and the feeling as if there was a barrier between them seemed to fade away. That voice shot out of his mouth in a roar and it sounded like a volcano eruption, like a huge tidal wave crashing down.
“…blood brother!”
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
He cried out in fear and struggled to sit up. Panic, helplessness, terror… He panted as if he wanted desperately to catch something.
At that moment, a heavy, black figure suddenly appeared above his head.
It was like a phantom that descended on him like darkness itself, as if it wanted to cover him and devour him. In the next moment, a familiar sensation came to his right hand. He was nervous, he did not even think, he just thrust the weapon in his right hand at the black figure!
*Slap!*
A soft sound rang. His right hand was seized in a tight grip, he could not push forward nor pull back!
“Thales.”
A familiar, hoarse voice tumbled out of the black figure’s lips. That figure called his name. A thought struck Thales!
“Yo-Yodel?” The teenager gasped and tried his best to separate the blood-red shade in his dreams from the black figure before him. After much effort, he managed to identify a pair of lenses that reflected chilling rays of light.
In the dim firelight, the black figure’s grip over his arm lessened slightly.
“Yes. It’s me… I-I am here,” said the black figure hoarsely. He comforted Thales, who still had not recovered from his shock. His comforting motions lacked experience. “I’m here.”
He unwrapped his gloved hand over Thales’ wrist, and patted the teenager’s arm in a stiff and inexperienced manner, trying to encourage him to relax… And the blood-red color that dyed Thales and the entire world red in his dream… was not here.
Thales’ tense nerves relaxed the moment he became absent-minded. The JC dagger in his hand slipped out of his grasp and Yodel caught it.
“I’m here, I’m here…” The black figure repeated clumsily. After a few seconds, he figured out the next words he could use. “It’s… It’s alright now.”
Thales exhaled and fell backwards, but the Masked Protector quickly supported his back and placed his head gently against the pillow. The prince saw the JC dagger in Yodel’s hand and felt rather alarmed and guilty.
“The dagger… I’m so sorry.” Thales opened his eyes halfway. His entire body felt weak, and his breathing was uneven. “That was just… a nightmare. You know, I…”
But Yodel interrupted him. “I know, I know. It’s alright now.”
The Masked Protector helped Thales tug the pillow up so that he could lean against him. He also did not forget to tuck the teenager in. When Thales lay back down on the bed, he noticed that he was covered in a layer of cold sweat. It soaked into his undershirt, which he had changed into at some point. Thales pressed against the bandages beneath the undershirt. All he could smell was the scent of medicine. He sucked in a deep breath in his pain, and only then did he realize that they were in an unfamiliar room.
It was dark, gloomy, and narrow.
The room was not big. There were only about ten steps between the head of his bed to the entrance of the room. A small study table was placed beside the bed, and the wooden window beside the study table was shut tight. He could vaguely see a few rays of sunlight seep through the cracks of the window. An Everlasting Lamp was placed on a wooden bench in the distance, it barely lit up the room.
‘But…’ Thales narrowed his eyes as he lay on the bed. He found that while the headboard and study table were clean, the four walls of the room were dark and solemn, and there were even a few spider webs in the corners of the ceiling.
“Where is this place?” Thales forced out the question, his throat felt dry.
“Blade Fangs Camp.” The Masked Protector walked to the wooden bench. When he returned, there was a cup of water in his hand. “You slept for a full day and night.”
‘So, we came back. One full day and night… so long?’
Thales gratefully received the cup of water and wet his throat, which was so dry that it felt like it was about to burn up. Yodel watched him drink as he grabbed a length of rope beside the bed. He tugged it gently.
*Ding ding ding…* The faint sound of a bell chime rang from beyond the door.
“The doctor said you must eat.” Yodel provided a simple explanation under Thales’ puzzled gaze. Before Thales could react, the indistinct sounds of people arguing and footsteps rose from outside the door.
“The bell! It’s the bell!”
“I swear on me life, I heard the bell ring! Felicia said it’s the lords’ way of crying in bed… ahem, I mean, it’s the way they make their servants wake up… No, I don’t think it’s ghosts… Fine, ya chickens, I’ll go meself!”
The owner of the voice and the footsteps was clearly in a hurry. When he made his way over, they could even hear crashing that came from the person accidentally bumping into things, and also him knocking into things out of panic.
*Bang!*
In the next moment, as the door to the room was pushed open, Yodel disappeared into thin air. Thales narrowed his eyes as he leaned against the bed. He watched the man who hastily opened the door now try his hardest to maintain his balance while flustered. This was… a soldier, and Thales found his attire somewhat familiar.
“You are…?” Thales put down the empty cup and asked in puzzlement.
The soldier finally managed to regain his balance. When he saw Thales, his expression changed; he was first surprised, then delighted.
“F*ck me arse, ya woke up! Ya finally woke up!
The soldier spoke with a heavy Western Desert accent, but he seemed to have noticed something and immediately coughed violently a few times before he instinctively stood up straight. He then switched to a more standard version of the common language in the Western Peninsular, which was also unique to military couriers.
“I mean, Your Honorable and handsome Highness, now that ya woke up, all of us in Blade Fangs Camp are so touched we’re about to keel over and die!”
The smile Thales tried his best to put on his face froze.
The rather excited soldier stared at Thales—still lying feebly on the bed—as if he was afraid he would miss him if he blinked. At the same time, he stiffly and mechanically recited a long string of words.
“Ahem, your present—urgh, is it present or presence—we, um, add… luster…?”
With every phrase he spoke, the soldier would lower his head. His facial expression changed during the times when his speech was not refined. He even stuttered sometimes.
“Anyway, we will definitely work hard to protect the borders of the kingdom. We will watch over the desert and keep the orcs at bay. Therefore, please rest assured, Your Majesty… ack, isn’t this the last part? Ahem…
“Um, my team and I are very honored to have your… I mean, to take your, no, to receive your…”
Thales coughed loudly and interrupted the soldier’s mistake-laden welcoming speech.
“Alright, thank you, soldier, I understand your zeal.” Thales pointed feebly at the soldier’s waist. “There is no need for you to recite the rest of your script.”
The soldier’s face turned red. He awkwardly stuffed the “cheat sheet” that was full of words and pictures, and which he had raised to his waist, back into his trouser pocket. “Um, the stenographer in charge of writing our letters bit the dust half a month ago…”
“You’re the only one here?” Thales looked outside the door but found only dim lighting.
The soldier who was busy being awkward had a thought. He quickly stood upright and replied, “There is also Weird Flame, and Spirit Blade—she just changed shifts. Mystifying Eyes is not here yet. We will come up to check on you once every half hour because we are afraid that the ghosts will take your life, or Spirit Blade, who has been going crazy over money, will sneak her way into your bed and embrace you…”
Thales quirked an eyebrow. The soldier immediately felt that something was off right after he finished speaking. His expression changed.
“My apologies. You know that is not what I meant…” In his panic, he forced a smile. He flailed his arms about, because he found he had no idea where he should place them. “What I mean is, Your Honorable and handsome Highness, we have been taking great care of you, and we loved you as if you were our own son…”
The more he spoke, the more horrible it sounded. Thales was originally exhausted, but as the soldier continued chattering on, he became somewhat energized. He sighed and reached out to cut off whatever the soldier wanted to say next.
“I remember you. You are Snake Shooter, a Psionic. You are… the new captain serving Baron Williams.”
The soldier named Snake Shooter was stunned for a while before he showed great delight.
“Ah, you remember my name! As expected of the honorable and handsome prince… Yes, Your Highness, please remember me. I am Snake Shooter, and I serve Baron Williams. I am loyal, and I absolutely have never smuggled, evaded taxes, or committed any other form of organized crime. After I was recruited by the baron, I have bled, sweated, and wept for the kingdom…”
Snake Shooter, who was immersed in showing his loyalty again, noticed that Thales’ expression darkened. He quickly coughed and returned to the main topic.
“The baron originally wanted to get a few pretty whores or some of the nobles’ maidservants to let you have a good time-ahem, I mean, to serve you and warm your bed or something, but you know, the camp has just regained its peace, so he had the Freak-urgh, let us, the glorious third shock brigade of the Stardust Unit take care of you, love you, and make you so comfortable so that you will refuse to leave in the end—”
Thales stretched out his arm, because Snake Shooter’s chatter gave him a headache. He cut off the man’s lengthy speech, which he had clearly been cooking up for an entire day.
“Thank you, please convey my gratitude to the baron. Now then…” The prince forced himself to smile. “I am a little hungry.”
Snake Shooter was astonished for a few seconds before he patted his own head. “Oh, right, food! Yes, the baron snatched-I mean, the lords-I mean, the nobles graciously donated a lot of food to you and the baron,” Snake Shooter said while beaming with joy. He rushed out of the room hastily, leaving a bewildered-looking Thales behind.
