Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 102 Exter's Welcoming Ceremony

Three days after the second prince arrived at the Broken Dragon Fortress.

"The messenger sent to the Lombard camp has returned."

Standing atop the fortress walls, Commander Sonia Sathere gazed solemnly at the fortress ahead:

"Chaman replied that he awaited His Highness's arrival."

"You'll probably have to head north today."

Thales was lying on the observation post on the city wall, looking towards the wide, snow-covered plain to the north.

In the distance, one could vaguely see a vast military camp stretching out, with the Iron Fist banner representing the Rumba family of Black Sand Territory standing tall. Many other camps were hidden out of sight, with smoke rising from them in the distance.

"With thousands upon thousands of people waiting for my 'arrival'?" Thales sighed. "I didn't realize I was so popular."

The Flower of the Fortress turned to Thales and said, “Chaman Lumba is the Grand Duke of Exter, who borders the Stars. After the Exter delegation was assassinated, he quickly mobilized his vassals in the Black Sand Territory and gathered an army of more than 10,000 men in a few days, approaching the border.”

“They have been stationed there for two weeks. At first, it was just a show of force, but in the last three days, Lumba has started sending small groups of troops to clear out the surrounding roads, and even looted two villages, and clashed with our patrols several times... We have had to reduce the range of our scouts and retreat to the area around the fortress.”

Thales felt the biting cold, rubbed his hands together and breathed warm air into his palms: "I've arrived at the fortress, and the nine-pointed star banner of the Starry Sky has been raised... Why hasn't he withdrawn his troops yet? He clearly no longer has an excuse to invade the stars."

Putile, standing behind Thales, raised an eyebrow: "Judging from Chaman Lumba's unique life, he was a typical gambler. One of the characteristics of a gambler is that even if he loses until the very last moment before leaving the game, he is unwilling to look back."

"So my arrival has no effect on this gambler?" Thales chuckled. "Even in a situation where he's bound to lose, he'll still place a bet?"

“Not necessarily,” Putilae replied earnestly.
"Our biggest worry was that the other two Grand Dukes, who also border the Stars, Trudida of Rebuilding the Tower and Olesh of Wilan, would both send troops. The three Grand Dukes, and even more of the Exter vassals, would gather their forces to pressure the Lonely Tower, Watchtower, and Coldcastle, which are mutually supportive of the fortress. If they could not come to the rescue, they would attack the isolated Dragonslayer Fortress at any cost—the Exter soldiers are better adapted to the cold winter in terms of both physical strength and quality than our reinforcements heading north."

“If they take this place, they just need to wait for the coldest part of the winter to pass,” Sonia continued, picking up where Putila left off. “Then next spring, they can use the fortress as a base to launch a major southward offensive—just like they did eleven or twelve years ago.”

Putila nodded:

"But with your northward mission, neither of the two dukes has appeared... This means that our mission is only half complete: with the impending bitter cold of the dead of day, the Duke of Lombard will not be able to take the fortress with his ten thousand men before supplies run out."

"He has already lost."

Putila said calmly.

"So, the other half of our mission—to completely quell the conflict between the two nations—will probably have to be accomplished by me personally going to King Nuen, is that right?" Thales shrugged helplessly.

"First I have to get through the camp of the Grand Duke of Lombard—where more than ten thousand strong, energetic northern men with nowhere to vent their frustrations are waiting for me."

Putila shook his head: "Lumba dares not endanger your safety... Attacking the fortress and annexing the North, versus plotting to harm the heir and fighting against the Star Kingdom, are two different things."

“Lumba may not dare, but his opponents would probably be happy to see such a thing happen... We still need to be careful,” Sonia said with a bright smile. “Arakka will escort you to the gates of Lumba’s camp with his Fury Guard.”

“Arakka?” Thales shook his head, recalling the aggressive and dangerous man and the disdainful look in his eyes. “Are you sure he’d be willing to do this?”

“I don’t deny that I hate him,” Sonia scoffed, “but he is indeed the guy who has fought the most Exter people on the battlefield.”

"Moreover, it was his own insistence—I originally intended for Miranda..."

Thales was taken aback.

They insist on escorting me?

He began to recall what the man looked like... Arakka Mu.

That name sounds so familiar.

I must have heard it somewhere before.

Just then, a black-haired female swordsman slowly walked up the city wall, her black glove pressed against her left breast, and she gave Sonia a slight bow with an expressionless face: "The delegation's team is ready. Please have Your Highness's people do a final check."

Although the female swordswoman addressed him as "Your Highness," she never glanced in Thales's direction or bowed to him.

“Hmm.” Sonia nodded, then turned to look at Thales and Putila.

Putile sighed, "I'll go with you... Miss Arend."

Thales was startled again.

Aaron...

The female swordswoman, Miranda Arendt, nodded stiffly and walked down the city wall with Putila.

He still didn't glance at Thales.

“Don’t mind her,” Sonia smiled faintly. “Miranda is the only daughter of Duke Aarond. Her father was imprisoned in the capital, which brought shame to her family. It’s normal for her to harbor resentment towards you.”

“Oh,” Thales nodded awkwardly, “I think I heard Wyman mention it. There’s a particularly famous female swordswoman in the fortress, and I heard she’s some kind of ‘seed’ from the Tower of Endings…”

“It’s a ‘seed’,” Sonia sighed, watching Miranda’s retreating figure. “The Tower of the End preserves a vast amount of combat techniques and the legacy of the End Power from before the Final War—swordsmanship is the most prevalent, and its inheritors are constantly developing new swordsmanship, techniques, and even the End Power, cultivating generation after generation of End Power wielders for the human world—and only a few of the most outstanding students can receive the title of ‘seed,’ like Miranda.”

"They are the hopeful ones, the ones who bear the mission of passing on the power of the end."

Thales looked at Sonia and frowned slightly.

The power of ending.

The extraordinary power that humanity awakens from its own self-awareness.

Another piece of news worth noting.

What does that have to do with my fluctuations?

Sonia didn't know what Thales was thinking, and she continued helplessly, "Even so, Miranda's situation is still very difficult lately."

"After Duke Arend was imprisoned, the North was managed by several of her father's most trusted vassals, who were waiting for her to return after the crisis was over... But several of Arend's cousins ​​and nephews were eyeing the right to inherit the Dukeship of the North."

"Fortunately, although Val Arend is imprisoned, he is still the Duke of the North—His Majesty did not accuse him of treason, nor did he strip him of his titles and lands, but merely charged him with murdering foreign dignitaries, which is some consolation."

Sonia sighed deeply, "I never expected him to do something like this. You know, for more than a decade at Dragon Fortress, Val has always been our support."

"He's a coward!"

Just then, a deep yet unsettling voice came from afar.

"Compared to his valiant brothers, Val Arend is a complete coward, a disgrace to his own flesh and blood... They fought to the death to protect His Highness Horace, not retreating an inch." Alakka Mu's figure slowly walked up from beneath the city wall, his face full of impatience:
"In contrast, twelve years ago, that Duke of Val was terrified by those bastards of Exter... and actually believed in someone like Rumba."

"If you ask me, the only good thing he did was kill that Prince Exeter."

“At least this time, you only said that after Miranda left,” Sonia sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Should I thank you for being so considerate and for taking her feelings into account?”

"Her feelings?" Alaka scoffed. "Do I look like the kind of person who would consider such things?"

Thales rolled his eyes inwardly: Why does this guy always act like someone owes him money?
Sonia scoffed lightly: "What do you want now?"

Arakka gave her a disdainful look.

“I’ve come to see this brat,” Arakka said, his fierce gaze fixed on Thales, making the latter slightly nervous. “The three hundred men of the Fury Guard are ready… If you’re really going to Exter to die, at least don’t keep me waiting too long.”

“It seems you’re not too happy with my journey north, Baron Mu,” Thales couldn’t help but ask, “Then why send me to the military camp in Lombardy?”

Sonia let out a breath.

Arakka stared intently at Thales, making the latter feel somewhat uneasy.

“Because I owe Canxing a favor,” he said slowly after a long pause, “and you, this annoying, fussy brat, happen to have the surname Canxing.”

After saying that, Arakka turned and left without looking back.

We'll leave this afternoon.

"Don't dawdle."

Thales and Sonia watched Araka's figure disappear into the distance.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Sonia said sarcastically to Thales. “That’s just his unique way of saying ‘hello’—you know, Arakka is rather shy.”

shy?

Thales couldn't help but stick out his tongue.

"Is it because of ideological differences?" Thales suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Sonia looked puzzled.

“Your conflict and discord with Baron Mu doesn’t seem to stem from a specific grudge,” Thales mused to himself.

“And what you said about him and my uncle, Prince Horace…” Thales hesitated for a moment, but still said, “Although he seems quite unpleasant, Arakka doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would stab someone in the back.”

Sonia was silent for a second.

“That was just said in anger,” Sonia said with a wry smile. “Back then, it was Arakka who led the remaining troops, fighting his way through bloodshed to break through the encirclement of Exeter and retrieve Prince Horace’s body.”

"Before the Fortress Treaty, the Starshine Legion marched north to join the Kingdom's remaining remnants and fought three fierce battles against Exter in the North, the Clifflands, and the Central Territory, with heavy casualties on both sides. I witnessed firsthand how the almost crazed Arakka's impact and lethality on the battlefield were so great that even Exter's most prized heavy sword infantry were wary of him... I think this is why Exter finally agreed to sit down and negotiate."

Thales was taken aback.

That impatient-looking man was actually...

“As for the philosophy, yes,” Sonia sighed, “John—your father’s uncle, the Starshine Legion’s operational principle is to be steady and cautious, do our best to protect ourselves, be flexible in our advance, and seize opportunities to attack.”

"But Prince Horace's army was known for its ruthless command and harsh discipline, and Alarca, under his command, was accustomed to fighting tough battles and bloodshed. Because of the high casualties, Alarca's army always had a large number of new recruits, while he only kept those tough men who could withstand bloodshed and death..."

Sonia shook her head: "I don't understand why His Majesty would put the two of us together—we can't even agree on whether to advance or retreat on the battlefield."

“Perhaps this is what the king intended,” Thales suddenly said.

Under Sonia's questioning gaze, Thales raised his head: "When defending a fortress for a long time, you need a general who is both steady and cautious, but when Exter's army is pressing in, you need someone who can fight a tough battle on the front lines."

Sonia looked up and glanced at him.

"Perhaps so." Sonia chuckled. "They're right. You're definitely not an ordinary child. His Majesty's choice to send you north wasn't without reason."

"Cough cough..."

Thales scratched his head awkwardly, trying to find a way to change the subject: "By the way, with such a glorious record, why isn't Aragah very famous?"

Sonia was completely stunned.

"Not very famous?" Sonia stared at him, her eyes wide with a look of disbelief.

Thales narrowed his eyes in confusion.

“No,” Sonia realized, and shook her head with a smile, “You definitely know him—even if you don’t know his real name.”

Under Thales's bewildered gaze, Sonia looked up at the distant Exter military camp, her eyes gleaming:

"From beggar to king, every starman knows him."

"At least I know his nickname."

Thales stared in astonishment.

Everyone knows...

In that instant, he knew who Arakka Mu was.

------

Under Ramon's "treatment," Jora's condition has stabilized, but he obviously can't go north with him.

"Yes, we need to add more personnel."

Putila walked beside the neatly dressed Thales, followed by Wyatt, who was wrapped in bandages; Rolf, whose arm was in a splint; and Ada, who was still slumped over from the cold.

"There are at least some advantages... We replenish our fortress with battle-hardened veterans, rather than the Starry Sky family's private soldiers who are primarily trained in individual combat and protection—"

Thales looked at the thirty veterans standing before him, their postures dignified and their eyes resolute. They were equipped with weapons ranging from swords and shields, bows and crossbows, spears to axes.

The former Starshine Legion's Duke's personal guard, Jenard, stood resolutely at the forefront, leaving Thales somewhat stunned.

Putila continued:

"Thanks to your trial under the gallows, many veterans are willing to join our mission... even though many people feel that our journey is dangerous."

As they passed the last row of soldiers, a dark-haired young man holding two pistols waved to him happily.

Thales frowned: "A veteran?"

“He insisted on coming,” Putila said, shrugging as he looked at the sunny-faced Willow Ken. “But there are only twenty-nine veterans among the volunteers, the rest are new recruits—if I want to get thirty, at least this new recruit who owes you a debt of gratitude is more reliable.”

Thales smiled at Willow: "At least they gave him a new pair of weapons."

Putilé shrugged: "There are plenty of broken spears in the storeroom; cutting out a pair of shorter ones won't be difficult." "But that suspicious doctor… are you really going to take him?" Putilé turned to Ramon, pursed his lips, and shook his head: "I thought you'd learned your lesson from the Duke of Iris…"

Ramon cowered in the line, and when he inadvertently looked up and saw Thales's eyes, he was slightly startled and quickly lowered his head.

“Don’t worry, I found out where he came from and we have an agreement,” Thales said, looking at Ramon with a complicated expression. “And he did save Jorah.”

A strange doctor.

The power in his hands.

If I'm not mistaken, then it is...

I need to know more.

“If you have no further questions, Your Highness,” Sonia approached from a distance, followed by Miranda with a cold expression, “it is time to depart as agreed.”

“Arakka has already selected three hundred sword and shield soldiers from the Fury Guard.” The Flower of the Fortress crouched down and patted Thales on the shoulder, but this time her grip was a little firmer: “Sorry, there can’t be more. There are only three thousand people in the fortress in total, but Arakka has selected veterans from his ranks.”

She gestured towards a lightly armored man in the distance carrying a bow and arrows, who looked visibly impatient: "They will escort you all the way to the border."

Thales exhaled a puff of mist and stomped on the snow that belonged to the stars.

He raised his head and said quietly, "Of course."

Sonia nodded at him.

The second prince of Xingchen smiled easily at everyone:
"Let's go."

"Follow me, and let's go see the kingdom of dragons!"

Thus, the double-star flag representing the Star Kingdom and the nine-pointed star flag symbolizing the Star Family were raised at the same time.

Wyatt mounted the Northern horse, a breed known for its broad hooves, and pulled Thales into the saddle.

“I will hold the reins tight, Your Highness,” Wyatt said solemnly. “Please do not worry about your safety.”

Thales nodded naturally: "Then it's up to you, squire." — He was already used to Wyman's "overly forceful" attitude.

Putila and a few of the remaining Star Guardians, who were trained in horsemanship, rode the remaining horses.

Rolf was clearly not suited to riding a horse, while Ada, for some reason, shook her head violently whenever she saw one.

Arakka rode up to Thales, followed by his swordsmen and shieldmen with solemn expressions.

“Don’t be scared, kid,” Alaka said coldly. “I heard from the guards upstairs that Exter has prepared a welcoming ceremony for us.”

what?
Thales was taken aback.

Before he could react, he heard Alaka shout at the winch of the gate above his head:
"Open the gate!"

With the metallic scraping sound of hinges, the north gate of the Broken Dragon Fortress slowly rose.

Thales took a deep breath and, along with the Star Envoy of less than forty people and the escorting guard of more than three hundred people, slowly walked out of the Dragonbreaker Fortress and headed north.

They first passed the five fortresses north of the Broken Dragon Fortress, where the soldiers were all holding bows and arrows, ready for battle.

But Thales quickly understood what Arakka meant by "welcoming ceremony".

Suddenly, a large number of people appeared on the vast white snowfield before us.

Or rather, Exter's army.

Those were six battalions of infantry, arranged in a figure-eight formation on either side of the road in front of them.

Putila's pupils contracted: each battalion of infantry had nearly four hundred men—meaning that more than two thousand Exter infantrymen were waiting for them to march north.

The members of the delegation unconsciously tensed up, and Wyatt tightened his grip on the reins.

"This is our welcoming ceremony?" Thales looked at the Exter army formation not far ahead with a displeased expression. "They really did cross the border..."

He turned around and glanced at the fortress, where Sonia's figure was faintly visible.

"Prepare for battle," Arakka, who was walking in front, turned back to his soldiers and said in a deep voice, "Don't let your guard down."

“Perhaps it’s for the sake of demonstration,” Putila frowned, “but there’s no need to line up in front of the fortress… waiting for us to enter Exter’s camp would have the same effect.”

“I have a bad feeling,” Thales said, his face pale.

"So you're going to back down, little prince?" Alaka said sarcastically. "It's not too late to turn back now."

“What a joke,” Thales exhaled with his eyes closed, then opened them again. “Let’s keep going.”

"Don't worry," Putila said in a deep voice, "Lumba wouldn't be so foolish as to murder the prince and heir of the Star Envoy in broad daylight at the border between the two countries."

"As long as we don't do anything provocative or give the other side an excuse."

They moved slowly until they entered the figure-eight shaped area.

“They didn’t say anything like that would happen…” Ramon nervously nudged a dark-haired soldier next to him in the group: “The mission should be alright, right?”

“Huh?” Willow Ken was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and patted Ramon on the shoulder with a smile: “Don’t worry! I’ve met them before… Exter’s soldiers are all very nice.”

"Pretty good?" Ramon was taken aback, but Willow's next words made him turn pale.

“If they want to kill you, their swords are very sharp—they won't hesitate, and you won't suffer.”

At that moment, six battalions of infantrymen slowly began to move.

The delegation members immediately tensed up!

Fortunately, Exter's soldiers did not approach them.

On either side of the delegation, the two leading Exter battalions advanced slowly, almost brushing past the delegation. Thales could even see the beards and yellow teeth of the northern soldiers.

They had a rugged and fierce appearance, and the tall soldiers were often equipped with large axes or huge maces.

The Exter people also turned their heads to look back at the Starry Sky delegation with hostile expressions.

"Pfft...pfft...pfft..."

The heavy footsteps on the snow came in a disorderly manner, but the sheer number of more than two thousand people coming from all directions made these dense footsteps quite impressive.

They walked past both sides of the delegation.

Thales' expression hardened.

Facing such a large army of thousands for the first time, he felt somewhat flustered.

But he wasn't the only one.

Even the swordsmen and shieldmen of the Fury Guard couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Pfft...pfft...pfft..."

"Stay calm," Alaka said in a deep voice.

Feeling uneasy, Thales tried to calm himself down, so he turned his head to take a closer look at the soldiers from the North on both sides.

From their armor and weapons to their movements and marching, Exter's infantry battalion was clearly not as well-organized and uniform as the Starry Sky phalanx. Some wielded axes and wore chainmail, while others carried single-handed swords and wore only breastplates. Some carried shields in one hand and spears in the other, and there were even sword-and-shield soldiers similar to the Starry Sky sword-and-shield soldiers. However, Thales could clearly sense that these infantrymen were different from the Starry Sky infantry.

They all had one thing in common: unfriendly eyes, fierce expressions, imposing manner, and a look full of contempt and disdain.

These infantrymen carried banners with the Iron Fist emblem—representing the Rumba family—yet they would occasionally rub, strike, and swing their weapons in a show of defiance, exuding a murderous aura, like wild beasts ready to go berserk at any moment.

"Pfft...pfft...pfft..."

Not quite right.

Thales told himself this silently.

If it's a protest...

“They were all light infantry—at least by Northlander standards.”

“Exter’s renowned two-handed greatsword infantry and heavily armored axemen, even the northern heavy cavalry, are nowhere to be seen, not even light cavalry,” Putila said slowly, deep in thought.
"If it were the troops behind us, it would be too easy for them to wipe us out... If it were light infantry, it would probably just be a show of force."

"Then why don't they use their other powerful units to intimidate us?" Thales asked, frowning. "A bunch of heavy infantry, marching imposingly next to us...wouldn't that be more effective?"

Putila frowned as well.

It's really strange...

"Pfft...pfft...pfft..."

"Don't let your guard down!" Alaka Mu's voice rang out.

“Even two thousand light infantry, if they swarm us, would be enough to chop us to pieces in half an hour.” Alaka tightened his grip on the silver-black metal bow on his back, turned to them, and said coldly:
"On a battlefield with thousands of troops, without support and cover, even a master of the highest level cannot last more than half a quarter of an hour."

But in the next instant, the situation completely changed.

The six battalions of Exter moved slowly, and the two leading battalions, after passing them, suddenly turned around at the command of their officers and joined up with the enemy.

"Pfft...pfft...pfft..."

The sound of two thousand people's disordered footsteps kept coming!
Exter's light infantry, surrounding them, slowly changed from an "eight" shape to a "mouth" shape.

"They're surrounding us!" Wyatt roared. "What does that mean?"

Putila stared in shock at the Exter people before him.

Thales stared incredulously into the distance, trying to make out what was ahead.

impossible.

"Halt!" Arakka roared, halting the entire delegation and escort: "Form ranks on the spot!"

Despite their tension and trepidation, the more than three hundred soldiers of the Star Kingdom—especially the veterans—stopped and turned around in an orderly fashion, forming a wall of swords and shields and creating a circular formation around the prince.

“It’s impossible to break out now,” Alaka said angrily, glaring at the Exter people around him. “These bastards…”

Amidst surprise and tension, the Starry Sky members watched the menacing Exter infantrymen surrounding them.

"What do we do now?" Wyman asked through gritted teeth.

"Do they have anyone they can communicate with? Officers or commanders?" Thales asked nervously. "They wouldn't dare kill me for the sake of Rumba's interests..."

But the next moment, several unfamiliar yet powerful commands rang out within Extt's army.

Arakka and Putila's expressions changed drastically!
There are also many veterans.

They recognized this Exter's military order.

The next second, more than 2,000 Ext infantrymen from six battalions raised their weapons and roared in unison!

"wooh! wooh! wooh!"

The deafening roar filled Thales with dread: "What...what's wrong with them?"

The next moment, Exter's infantrymen, their faces contorted with rage, took off.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The footsteps, even louder than when they had just started, thundered out.

More than two thousand infantrymen, brandishing their weapons, charged toward Thales's delegation from six directions!

"kill!"

Exter's light infantry roared wildly as they charged toward them.

Thales stared blankly at everything before him.

Didn't you say that Rumba wouldn't dare to endanger my safety?
We eagerly await His Highness's arrival.

Then why...

Why would he... kill me?
“Damn it,” Putila exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise as he drew his half-sword from his waist. “They actually…”

A louder roar suddenly erupted, interrupting Putila's words:
"Enemy charge!"

At the center of the group, Alakka Mu, his face ashen, gripped his restless mount and forcefully drew a fierce two-handed longsword, roaring at the Star Guard's escort—his Wrathguard:
"Prepare for battle!"

This book has surpassed 500,000 words! Hooray!

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(End of this chapter)