Kingdom's Bloodline, page 73
'What...?'
Thales stood where he was, stunned. He understood what the king said… But he also did not understand it.
'What?'
At that moment, everybody in the hall, be they nobles, suzerains, officials, guards, servants, or even the Duke of the Northern Territory, opened their mouths wide in shock!
"Your Ma—" Gilbert's face was pale. He wanted to object immediately, but somebody was faster than him.
"Your Majesty!"
For the first time in history, Duke Cullen's expression was solemn. He spoke loudly with an anxious expression, "Do you know what you are saying?"
Thales was trembling, and his ears rang, he could not even feel his own breathing.
Kessel replied coldly, "Quiet, Bob. Your king has already made his decision."
Cullen stared at the supreme king in shock, unable to say anything. Even Fakenhaz could not laugh anymore.
Behind him, Zayen watched Thales with a complicated expression. On the other hand, the One-Eyed Dragon lowered his head in contemplation.
At that moment, the Nine-Pointed Star Royal Crown on Kessel's head glistened. Like an emotionless God, he spoke slowly to Lasalle, who was already in total shock.
"On a personal level, we should be able to quench a father's fury and ease his despair if we exchange a father's only son with another father's only son.
"On an official level, exchanging the life of the heir to the King of Constellation for the heir to the Archduke of Dragon Clouds City is fair, is it not?"
The king stepped onto the floor beneath the stairs. His stately and authoritative voice boomed like thunder. "After being tainted by the blood of each other's only heirs, Constellation will not owe anything to Eckstedt anymore!
"This is fair enough, is it not? At that time, we will not be able to turn back anymore! We will forgo all qualms and burdens, then engage in an all-out war with the determination to completely annihilate the other party!
"This is fair, no?"
Different emotions shone in Lasalle's eyes. He was so stunned by the king's sudden, shocking words that his eyes opened wide and his mouth hung open. He raised the scroll in his right hand, and his mouth trembled. He wanted to say something, but was at a loss for words.
'It is one matter to draw on a horrible, foreign affairs incident and strive for the gains of Eckstedt (and perhaps Archduke Lampard too) to such an extreme extent. However...
'To sacrifice their only heir… Constellation does not run a king selection system like Eckstedt does. If the prince who will inherit the throne is killed, it will be a blood feud that spans for generations-for tens of generations. This will forever turn the two kingdoms into irreconcilable arch enemies, and they would not stop fighting until the other is destroyed. It will bring war that destroys kingdoms—this is another matter entirely!'
Under King Kessel's authoritative and aggressive gaze, Lasalle was drenched in cold sweat. His brows moved about, as if they reflected the intense conflict in his mind.
"This… this… with my status, I am unable to reply to this matter right now…" he replied with a stutter.
Kessel yelled furiously, "Then go and ask your king!"
Lasalle was so scared that he took a step backwards.
The supreme king did not even glance at Thales. He continued speaking in a dark tone, "Tell him that I have already dispatched Baron Arracca Murkh, along with two thousand regular soldiers of the royal family, to Broken Dragon Fortress!
"Prince Thales will set out soon afterwards and go before King Nuven. The prince will be at his mercy! This is the price Constellation can pay!"
The people in the entire hall did not even dare to breath.
The king glanced at Lasalle, who was no longer frowning and who was at a loss for what to do. "As for Archduke Lampard from Black Sand Region… I know that he has already dispatched a large army and is preparing to invade the Northern Territory at any time. Will he make way and escort my son to Dragon Clouds City to apologize, or will he wage war on Baron Murkh at all costs? I look forward to seeing what he would choose!"
Lasalle staggered backwards in dejection. He gasped for breath like a drowning man.
"Your Majesty!"
The one who spoke up was the fifteen-year-old Duchess Lyanna. The elegant young woman's face was pale. "He-His Highness is your only-only heir. If something bad happens to him on the way… your throne…"
"Ha!" The supreme king let out a bark of laughter out of anger. "That is far too simple a problem!"
Thales' whole body trembled as he looked at everything happening in front of him. Kessel the Fifth turned and faced the suzerains in the hall, "No matter what happens to the second prince, if he so happens to die and the royal bloodline's existence is completely wiped out…
"The person who totally destroys Constellation's enemy, who successfully avenges the last Jadestar prince, who takes revenge for the absolutely humiliated Constellation…"
The king abruptly turned and raised his scepter up high.
"Will be the next Supreme King of Constellation!
"If Constellation does not even have a person like this..."
Kessel coldly swept his gaze over the nobles in the hall. He spat out his words, and they were as sharp as knives, "Is there any meaning left to its existence?!"
The whole hall was silent.
Kessel coldly concluded, "The meeting is over. I await King Nuven's reply."
Then—
"Kel."
Duke Val Arunde, whose face was ghastly pale, struggled to speak. He stared at Kessel and at Thales in disbelief. "What… what sort of crazy thing are you about to do again?"
Kessel the Fifth sneered. "Crazy?"
The king snorted coldly, and repeated Val's words from before in a mocking tone, "Everything I do is for the sake of Constellation."
Two guards walked forward and took the stunned duke away. The sweat-drenched Lasalle left. The suzerains whispered among themselves and looked at the king and his heir.
Gilbert clenched his fists tightly and stared at the king, who donned an astral blue cape. The king left in large strides and did not spare a glance at anyone.
Thales was absent-minded and still, not moving except breathing. He was unaware of the stares from the entire hall trained on him.
Chapter 73: Powerless |
Lower City District, Underground Market, Sunset Pub.
"You should have gone to take a look two days ago. There were hordes of people, especially when the second prince appeared. That cheer… I could not help but cheer along- Hey, brat! Watch where you're going!"
A ten-year-old boy who carried a sack full of potatoes squeezed past the plump and fierce Edmund with an agonized look. Edmund snorted, turned his head back and continued fiddling with the food on the plate.
"Hehe, you didn't know about this, right? The new prince is called Thales. The exact same name as that black-haired little scoundrel who always came to ask for free stuff… Brat, why are you looking here? What does the prince have to do with you? Continue with your work!
"I heard that Kessel—that playboy—wants to ask for peace from Eckstedt with the prince's life as an exchange. People were talking about this everywhere in the market today. Everyone was righteously indignant, saying that all the suzerains in Constellation are worthless wretches that are unable to protect the kingdom, and that the royal family had sacrificed too much for Constellation… B*llshit, are we talking about that Jadestar Royal Family that only produces lunatics? You don't know this, but twelve years ago, I was in front of the palace door…"
In front of Edmund, a young woman wearing tight long pants and a vest played with her short, brown hair in boredom. She leaned over the food delivery window between the counter and the scullery, looking as if she had given up on life.
This brunette was lithe and had a valiant bearing. At that moment, she spoke through gritted teeth as her face twitched, "I'm asking you, are you going to give me that plate of steak before you poke them until they're shredded to pieces?!"
Edmund raised his head. His expression was filled with fury. He glared indignantly at the bartender of Sunset Pub, Jala Charleton, and angrily pushed the steak in his hand into her hands.
Jala turned and passed the plate to a timid little girl with a scar on her face beyond the counter.
Behind her, Edmund snorted. "What is this attitude?! Your uncle only wanted to have a little chat with you… And to give you some guidance so that you can forget that blond cop who is very obviously a heartbreaker…"
Jala angrily rolled her eyes. Her delicate face became as sour as rotten milk. She turned her head and snapped, "Damned fatty! If you use this to stir up an argument again- I will talk about your dream-lover…"
"Hey, hey, hey!" The plump cook Edmund's expression immediately changed greatly. He raised his plump hands and tapped the food delivery window a few times.
"Are you going to turn hostile because of a slight disagreement? I was just showing concern for my adorable niece's love life. It is the most important thing for two people to have a common language. If a bartender from a gang mingles with a police officer…"
Jala could not take it anymore and angrily punched the bar counter!
"Everybody, listen up!" Jala said gruffly and loudly, drawing the stares of all the customers, "My still single, forty-one-year-old uncle, the cook of Sunset Pub, Edmund Skorch, has a woman he loves the most in his life. She is—"
At that moment, like a frightened pet cat, Edmund sucked in a sharp breath!
Before Jala could reveal the name, the plump cook roared furiously with the most energy he had ever used in his life, "Stop—!"
Jala shut her mouth and glared disdainfully at him. She scornfully continued, "You are going to be forever alone, scaredy-cat! Person with an unrequited love!"
Edmund stared dejectedly at his niece and spoke in an embarrassed manner, "Erm… we are out of potatoes. I'll go and restock…"
Sinti, who was coming in with another bag of potatoes, watched with a bewildered expression as Edmund escaped from the scullery.
'We are out of… potatoes? Then what am I carrying…?'
At the moment, a boy whose right hand was wrapped in strips of cloth staggered in with a frightened expression.
"Th-They-They're here!"
Ryan's face was glum. With haste, he dashed behind the bar counter. There was a bruise on his head. The stunned Sinti hugged the poor child. Jala's face sank. She put down the rag in her hand. Coria—who had just finished delivering food—raised her head and looked at the main door. She could not help but start to tremble.
She watched with a pale face as more than ten malicious and powerful-looking figures in black rudely pushed aside the customers who blocked their way, then slowly walked into the pub.
The noisy pub immediately fell silent.
"Go to the scullery."
Jala moved her hand to her thigh and calmly alerted the three child beggars, but two of the thugs walked forward with hostile expressions and forcefully blocked the door between the bar counter and the scullery.
The three child beggars cowered and hid beside Jala again.
Jala asked furiously, "What is the meaning of this?! This is 'Sunset Pub', not Black Street! Even Morris does not dare to behave atrociously here."
However, the group of thugs were not swayed at all. Instead, with calm expressions, they walked to every corner of the pub as if they were on sentry duty.
A brawny-looking thug—obviously a tough one to deal with—took out a single bit axe from behind him.
Under the indignant and terrified gazes of a few customers, he swung the axe with one hand and with a cold expression, then… chopped down a bar table.
*Thud!*
The huge force smashed the table in two, and the pieces flew outwards!
Amid the panic, many of the customers hugged their heads to shield themselves from the flying pieces.
The brawny man with the axe coldly turned his head and shouted loudly to the other people in the pub, "The Brotherhood is handling some affairs here. F*ck off."
The customers in the pub recognized the identity of these people, and who they worked for—Aoschok the Thunder Axe, one of the Brotherhood's Thirteen Generals.
They were the group of people who were responsible for the trans-border smuggling of weapons, and were an incredibly difficult bunch to handle.
Footsteps rang in the air. Many of the people did not even hesitate before getting up and escaping from the pub.
Suddenly—
A streak of silver lightning flew towards Aoschok at a rapid speed! It was a throwing knife with its blade curved at a strange angle—the famous Wolf Limb Blade from Sunset Pub!
Aoschok's expression changed. He flung his axe outwards and knocked away the throwing knife just in time.
*Ting!*
Aoschok's whole body trembled!
He realized in shock that the throwing knife carried a strange surge of energy, and as the blade shook, the energy was transmitted to his hand. Because of that, he could not help but freeze.
Gritting his teeth, Aoschok fought against the shock. 'What on earth is this?'
The graceful figure moving faster than him had already grabbed onto another knife. The knife flew rapidly towards him from the bar counter.
'Assassination Blade! It's coming straight to my throat!'
Aoschok was still frozen. His pupils shrank. He was already unable to avoid it.
However, the anticipated splattering of blood did not come.
Jala gritted her teeth and stared ahead in disbelief. Her knife, which should have plunged into Aoschok's throat, was gripped tightly by a hand that was wearing an iron glove.
The owner of the iron glove was a middle-aged man whose face was full of scars.
He stood beside Jala. As simple as that, during such a crucial moment, he seized the Charleton Family's Assassination Blade!
The scar-faced middle-aged man said coldly, "I still remember that as a Charleton who abandoned her family occupation, you were only a useless person of the ordinary class. If it weren't for 'Reversed Machete', you wouldn't even have the chance to become a bartender here. The Brotherhood does not take in useless people."
The middle-aged man let go of the blade in his hand and snorted softly, "However, from the strange shock your knife delivered, you have unexpectedly become a supra class elite. Looks like the massacre and battle in Red Street Market made you improve. As expected, people from the Charleton Family can only improve their skills in bloody situations."
Face filled with fury, Jala took a step back. She gritted her teeth and stared at the formidable enemy before her.
'Damn it.'
After the incident at Red Street Market, she had undoubtedly improved a lot.
She reached supra class and also mastered 'Eerie Shock', but why was this man able to seize her Assassination Blade?
The few remaining customers whispered among themselves and left dejectedly. One of them looked bewildered. He wanted to speak out, but was immediately pulled away by a person beside him who knew everything about what was going on.
They recognized the middle-aged man whose face was full of scars. He was the head in the weapons smuggling scene, and was only second to Cenza the 'Crownless Fist' among the Brotherhood's Six Powerhouses.
'The 'Iron Heart', Shanda Roda. He is also Quide Roda's father.' Jala gritted her teeth in silence.
Without hesitation, all the customers ran off. Not a single one remained.
"You don't have to wonder why I'm able to catch your knife. There are never any certainties when it comes to battles. The alleged classification of ordinary class, supra class and so on, is just a way of categorizing things."
Roda, who looked vile and sinister due to the scars, sneered softly. He did not even look at Jala.
Aoschok glared indignantly at Jala and returned the axe to his back. He pulled out a chair for Roda.
"Due to various reasons, there are instances where one party totally dominates the battle between two people of the same class. There are also instances where two people of different classes are equally matched in a battle. All of this is very normal."
Roda casually sat on the chair and folded his arms. He looked towards the female bartender, who seemed like she was facing a formidable enemy.
"When I was young, I even saw a swordsman of only supra class engage in a battle where there was a huge gap in skill between him and his opponent, and he had almost no possibility of victory. That supra class swordsman…
"Slaughtered two supreme class elites."
'What?' Jala's pupils contracted.
Looking at the astonished Jala, Roda laughed. "That was the battle that made the person I respect the most famous. Facing such a tight encirclement and such enemies, I thought I would to die there… until he raised his sword. Ever since then, I did not believe in any absolute classification of abilities. Even supreme class elites can be slaughtered like pigs…"
Roda leaned his body forward. Then a contemplative and serious expression appeared on his scarred face. "So why would it be impossible for my good-for-nothing son to be killed by a few child beggars?"
Jala furrowed her brows as shock appeared on her face. She stared at Roda. 'He… As expected, he is here to…'
The three children behind her cowered even more. Without realizing it, Jala took a step sideways and shielded the three children. She raised the knife in her hand.
"Now then, are you sure that you still want to use the knife on me, little girl?"
Roda exhaled and laughed in satisfaction.
Through the corner of her eyes, the female bartender swept her gaze past Aoschok and the burly men around her, who were more than ten in number. She knew that this was the elite squad that was responsible for the smuggling of weapons in the Brotherhood.
She was no match for them.
Jala gritted her teeth and thrust the Wolf Limb Blade in her right hand into the table beside her.
'Damn it. What should I do?'
"So this is the prototype of the Reversed Machete's weapon?"
The scar-faced middle-aged man looked at the strange curvature of the Wolf Limb Blade. He gently stroked the four rings on his left hand with his iron glove-clad right hand and slowly said, "The legendary Assassin of the Brotherhood changed his weapon because of the creativity of a little girl like you. He even had a change of nicknames in a short few years. This is very rare indeed."
