Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 10 Yara's Knife (Part 1)

The children's testimonies were not difficult to piece together—in their view, Thales was the hero who defeated Quaid.

So the boy made up an excuse, telling them that Yara would arrange everything, and that whoever asked, he should just tell them that "Thales stabbed Quaid in the neck."

This was the biggest and last thing Thales could do.

Only in this way will they be safe once the storm has passed.

“I’ll run far away,” Thales said with a smile when they asked him what he was going to do.

"They can't catch me."

As four-year-old and eight-year-old children, Coria and Lane rarely had any doubts.

In their eyes, Thales was always omnipotent.

Only the slightly older Sinti harbored doubts.

But Thales managed to get him to keep the agreement that "you think of it, I'll do it."

Then, he should set off—oops—he should leave.

As the boy nonchalantly waved to the other kids and strode out of the Sunset Bar, Thales felt a touch of tragic grandeur within him.

Children, I won't be able to take care of you anymore.

You all need to take good care of yourselves.

See you another time, if there's a chance.

It was a truly heavy farewell.

Thales thought to himself.

After all, I did stand up for myself...

There's a rather bleak wind here—wait?

Thales' eyes widened.

A pair of shapely, long legs swung with confident strides, passing him from the side.

That was Yara, fully armed and expressionless.

"Hey! Shouldn't you stay at the bar and take care of the three of them?" Thales said urgently.

"Without you, they—"

“Don’t worry, I hid them in a dark room and left a note for Edmund.”

Yara, dressed in a dark gray bodysuit, pulled down a transparent pair of goggles from her forehead.

She pressed Thales' forehead with a displeased look and squatted down beside him.

"But--"

“No buts, kid!” Yara interrupted him without room for argument.

"Since you're going to bear the Brotherhood's wrath alone and then go to Red Street to die, then at least I should see you off."

Yara patted the wolf leg knife on her boot: "For this reason only."

"Besides, the Brotherhood's sentries are not something a seven-year-old can avoid. Even if I explain it in detail a hundred times, you still won't be able to fool them."

Thales stared blankly at Yara for three seconds before finally managing to utter a sentence:
"But a battle is raging on Red Town Street—"

"Stop wasting time, get on, let's go!"

Yara didn't waste any more words or bother to explain; her haughty expression forced Thales's hesitation back into the depths of his mind.

But, come up?
Where did you come from?
Thales stared blankly at Yara, who was kneeling on one knee.

This short-haired, cool woman already had a hot figure, and the tight-fitting clothes accentuated it even more, making her curves even more shapely. Imagine being hugged by her…

Thinking of this, Thales lowered his head in embarrassment and touched his hair.

"Boom!"

"Ah! Pain!"

Yara then pointed a fierce finger at Thales' forehead, causing his worldview to tremble.

"You brat, stop thinking about nonsense!"

As if reading Thales's mind, Yara fiercely drew her wolf-leg knife halfway, her eyes radiating a "don't mess with me" aura from behind her goggles:
"Climb on my back! I'll carry you!"

-------------------

The moon gradually sank in the west, and the long street became dark and gloomy.

But this is nothing to Redmore.

He possesses the superpower of night vision, making his vision as bright as day.

Hidden behind a corner in a dark alley, Redmore, as a professional sentry, had a clear view of the intersection leading to Red Street from that angle.

Under the curfew tonight, this place is deserted.

"Most of our elite troops went to Red Town Street today, so be careful—this is the last intersection leading to the battlefield," he said calmly.

It was also the first intersection the Brotherhood passed during their retreat, Redmore thought silently.

His companion, another Brotherhood sentry, was behind him, equally vigilantly observing the other corner.

“No problem, I’m in perfect condition. Not even a black fly can fly over here, and not even a gray centipede can crawl over here,” his companion said gloomily.

Redmore nodded to his companion, remaining vigilant and observant: "Good, my alert period is almost over. I'll go straight to the handover and switch Nasri with me—he should have woken up an hour ago."

Just as Redmore was about to leave through the hidden alleyway, he paused slightly.

Just now, he seemed to sense:
There was something else in the empty alleyway before me.

No, it's impossible.

His superpowers were innate, and his ears, eyes, and nose had been trained by Lord Lancer, making his senses acute and able to recognize various visual disguises.

If there is an intruder, as long as the intruder does not possess a rare supernatural ability such as mental influence, they will not be able to escape his sight and hearing.

But Redmore decided to go and take a look anyway—he surveyed the area across the street but found nothing.

The Brotherhood scouts were finally relieved.

It's probably because the alert period has passed, creating a misconception.

He shook his head and went back to his shift.

As Redmore turned to leave, a short-haired woman in a black bodysuit quietly appeared behind him.

There was a child lying on her back.

The uninvited guest—the bartender Yara—watched Redmore's retreating figure, then bent down, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and quietly and gracefully leaped out of the alley.

Heading towards Hongfang Street.

"When dawn has not yet broken and the long night has not yet ended, ordinary people are most relaxed in their guard and nerves."

"Everyone knows this, from the city gate security team to the noble dropouts at the Royal Military Academy."

For some reason, Yara was still able to speak even while traveling at high speed.

Thales clung tightly to Yara's back as she nimbly and swiftly weaved through the alleyways.

It moves swiftly like the wind, yet lands silently.

The wind blowing in their face forced Thales, who was clinging to Yara's neck, to close his eyes tightly.

He pressed his head against the bartender's neck, completely unaware of where he was or where he was going.

But Yara's voice still came through clearly.

"Therefore, one of the six leaders in charge of intelligence gathering for the Brotherhood, 'The Sleepless Eye' Corbion Lancer, specially trained a special sentry unit called 'The Sleepless'."

"They don't actually not sleep, they just have different sleep schedules than normal people."

"I don't know their exact number, but all of them have staggered schedules, from dusk to dawn, from noon to morning, they are at all times."

"Therefore, Lancer's team of sentries can ensure that each sentry on duty is in their most energetic and alert period of rest, without any slackening, through a shift system. Lancer calls this the 'alert period'."

“From sensory experience to coordination to tracking, Lancer trained them to be better than the purebred Rudolphs of the Security Bureau.”

"They have a detachment stationed at headquarters, where they usually live and work among the crowd, gathering intelligence and monitoring the police department's raids on them; in case of major operations, they can perfectly transform into sentries, enough to monitor all the intersections in the lower city."

“Those two people we just passed should be the last sentry post of the ‘Sleepless’ in front of Red Town Street.”

Thales did not speak.

Yara's swift movements were already astonishing enough—Redmore wasn't the only sleepless they passed.

Each time Yara leaped to the Sleepless Ones' post, she would slow down from her brisk pace.

What surprised Thales the most happened at this moment: Yara's behavior suddenly entered a strange state:
She quietly crept behind the sleepless one, hiding her shadow and body simultaneously in the sleepless one's blind spot—sometimes the blind spot of both sleepless ones—synchronizing her footsteps and breathing to a rhythm almost identical to the other's, so that the sounds and movements she made were always perfectly concealed.

All the sleepless ones were completely unaware of them.

Thales' original plan was simply to have Yara distract the sentries—it was the first time he had heard of these 'Sleepless Ones,' and his previous assessment of the Brotherhood had been too simplistic—while still risking exposure.

Now it seems I underestimated this female bartender.

She is not only agile and skilled with a knife.

Yara, carrying the boy on her back, was slightly surprised. From beginning to end, even when following behind a sleepless person, even when the other person could see them with a turn of their head, the child remained calm and composed, his heartbeat unchanged, and even his breathing steady and undisturbed.

This is clearly excessive for a seven-year-old boy's composure.

Of course, if he hadn't used a special stealth rhythm to perfectly mask the child's breathing, his supposedly steady breathing would have been detected long ago.

But that's no easy feat.

This kid... must have gotten from years of experience on the streets.

It can't be something you're born with, can it?

"arrive."

In a corner by the intersection, Thales gently slid off Yara's back (reluctantly?).

Before him lay the Red Town Street bathed in the night.

The gates and walls are high, the streets are clean, the layout is neat, and a few houses are magnificent.

I still vividly remember meeting that down-colored noblewoman here a few days ago.

They cautiously slipped into the alley and proceeded prudently.

Hongfang Street is no smaller in size or scale than Heijie Street, and is a well-known place for pleasure-seeking in the Xihuan District.

In fact, many nobles, from earls and bureaucrats in the central territory to honorary lords and clerks in the countryside, often frequented this place, either incognito or openly.

To attempt to have voluntary or involuntary relationships with certain cute and naive teenagers.

Of course, this is a tacit understanding that has been maintained by many nobles and the Blood Bottle Gang for many years.

Tonight, the Black Street Brotherhood has reached out to this place.

But they didn't get the cake they wanted.

"This is bad," Yara whispered as she walked slowly forward.

Thales also noticed this.

In many of the alleyways they passed, they saw many people lying sparsely: severed hands, twisted bodies, protruding intestines, bulging sternums...

Blood stained the dark streets of Hongfang Street a deep crimson.

A quick count revealed that at least thirty people had collapsed here since they entered Hongfang Street.

Even Thales, who had just killed someone, couldn't help but take a deep breath and try to turn his head away from the corpses scattered all over the ground and the various ways they had died, trying not to think about them.

Not far from the alley, the faint sounds of fighting could be heard.

A second later, Yara suddenly reached out and calmly pressed down on Thales' shoulder, pushing him into a secluded corner.

Thales returned a questioning look.

"The last time I killed someone was probably before I met you."

Yara looked somewhat dejected.

Thales couldn't see her eyes behind her goggles, but he suddenly felt that Yara looked a little serious and desolate at that moment.

"Kid, from now on, you owe me a favor."

Thales froze, then saw Yara crouch down and touch the knife on her leg.

"Don't speak, don't move."

The female bartender whispered her instructions, barely audible.

“There are real experts ahead, not those incapable scouts from the Sleepless.”

"It's going to get bloody."

Thales shuddered, his hair standing on end.

He was somewhat frustrated, barely daring to breathe.

He was still thinking of taking advantage of the chaos to cross Red Street and escape the Brotherhood.

But if there's a problem with just the first stop—alas, he's still too naive.

The next second, Yara pulled out a thick black cloth from under her left abdomen and gently covered Thales' mouth and nose.

"Use this breath to cover your face, and conceal your voice and breath."

Yara didn't say much. Wearing goggles, her expression was unreadable. She simply slowly drew the knife from her leg and began to observe the alley in front of her.

Thales pressed the black cloth tightly against his mouth and nose—under this cloth, he felt no difficulty breathing, and his original heavy breathing was also covered up.

It feels like... wearing an invisibility cloak?

But the next moment, Thales was no longer at ease.

"I found him."

Yara said softly.

The next second, she shot up into the air and kicked off the wall next to her!
The female bartender darted towards a corpse at the alley entrance like an arrow released from a bow!
The only thing faster than Yara was the wolf-leg knife she threw.

While breathing through a black cloth, Thales was astonished to discover: the corpse outside the alley...

It moved slightly.

"Ding!"

A flash of cold light suddenly appeared from behind the corpse, deflecting the wolf leg knife!

But the second wolf-leg knife was already in its owner's hand, as Yara rushed over.

He slashed at the corpse in an instant!

"Clang!"

Thales recognized the sound ahead; it was the sound of a sharp metal blade piercing flesh.

But before he could realize what was happening, everything went blurry.

A figure stumbled out from behind the corpse.

A rapier clattered to the ground as he fell.

Yara landed lightly.

Her left hand touched the ground, while the knife in her right hand was covered in blood.

The figure hidden beneath the corpse had already swayed and collapsed to the ground.

like a statue.

The female bartender picked up the wolf leg knife that had been thrown out of her hand and silently stood up.

In just a few seconds, the boy hiding in the corner was so shocked his jaw almost dropped.

Thales knew that Yara was very strong.

But aside from killing that vicious dog back then, it wasn't until today, witnessing her swift and decisive attack, that he truly understood the bartender's skill.

But Thales remained silent and motionless.

He had a vague feeling that Yara was even more solemn at this moment.

“It’s really eye-opening.”

As the sound rang out, a huge, bald, and menacing man appeared from outside the alley.

He walked across a pool of blood, a ridiculously large five-sided mace slung over his shoulder.

"Among mortals, you'd be considered an excellent assassin."

The bald man didn't even glance at his dead companion at his feet; he just stared intently at the female bartender in the middle of the alley.

"You know, your Brotherhood is finished."

"You were ambushed and wiped out—and you can't imagine how terrifying our men are tonight."

Yara remained silent, but slowly rose to her feet.

The menacing bald man snorted dismissively:

"Our mission was to keep watch or intercept any possible Brotherhood reinforcements, but we never expected this..."

"After fighting for most of the night, just as the battle was about to end, the prestigious Black Street Brotherhood finally sent in a little girl wielding a knife."

The burly, bald man walked into the setting moonlight.

Thales saw his face clearly:

This is a man missing half a nose, with his nostrils bulging outwards in a grotesque manner, making him look like a skeleton.

Thales suddenly recognized him—not long ago, the boy had used him as an excuse to escape Quaid's torment.

Bald Spencer.

The leader of the Blood Bottle Gang who collects illicit debts.

He is widely known in the streets and alleys as one of the "Twelve Strongest" members of the Blood Bottle Gang.

(End of this chapter)