Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 104 The Bet (Part 2)

In the distance, Grand Prince Chaman Lumba of the Black Sands rode on horseback, fully armed.

Surrounded by countless infantry and cavalry, he gazed coldly into the distance.

Amidst the deafening shouts of battle, the two star-shaped banners in the distance began to waver under the siege of six battalions and over two thousand Extant light infantry.

Grand Duke Lombard touched the sword at his waist.

That was the sword he used to kill his brother in a duel, and he had never parted with it for over a decade.

“It has begun,” Earl Levan behind him whispered. “They will soon break out and retreat toward the fortress—we just need to wait for Satherley to send reinforcements.”

His most trusted advisor, Viscount Cambida, also nodded:
"The light cavalry and mounted infantry on both sides of the battlefield are ready, and we can quickly engage any troops that come out of the fortress to reinforce us."

"The knights and three hundred heavy cavalry have already unloaded half of their loads and can charge at a faster pace... Even if all three thousand men in the fortress rush out hand in hand, we can at least rout their vanguard in the first instance—if they don't retreat within five minutes."

"Five hundred heavy sword infantry, and eight hundred heavily armored axemen are on standby; they can follow later..."

"Archers, magic gunners, and the remaining regular conscripts can also be deployed."

"Once they begin their breakout, we can advance at the appropriate time, and the heavy infantry can set off first."

At this moment, Chaman Lumba, with a serious expression, raised his hand to stop Kambida's report:
"No, everyone stay put and wait in place. No one is allowed to approach the battlefield without authorization."

"Let the light infantry continue fighting."

"We need to give the Fortress Flower some time to consider whether or not to send troops to its aid."

Lord Tuleha, standing beside the Grand Duke of Lombard, tensed upon hearing this:
“If they break out toward the fortress, we’d better have our main force follow up,” he said, frowning. “If the distance is too great, even if our cavalry holds off the Satherian reinforcements, our heavy infantry won’t be able to keep up, let alone annihilate them in open battle—with her abilities, she can definitely snatch their prince back.”

"Then our plan would be meaningless, whether we take the opportunity to attack the city or engage in open-field attrition warfare."

Rumba looked at the battle in the distance and shook his head slightly.

“Sathere is a cautious man,” Grand Duke Lombard said slowly, looking at the distant Dragon Fortress with a complicated expression. “To lure her into sending troops, we must take a risk and give her some hope: if we don’t send troops, their prince will surely perish on the battlefield; if we do send troops, there may still be a 50% chance of rescuing the prince.”

"And as the prince breaks through to the rear and gets closer to the fortress, the latter's chances will only increase..."

“Even the most cautious and rational person—like Sonia Sathere—can’t help but waver when the hope grows and the chances of success increase.”

Rumba's eyes revealed an unprecedented desire for challenge, his gaze fixed on the Star Cross double-star flag of the Dragon Break Fortress.

"Now it's up to our old rival, the Flower of the Fortress, to make a decision."

"Sonia Satherley".

"Will you send troops to rescue their only prince, or will you watch helplessly as the heir to the stars perishes on the battlefield?"

----

"What's going on here!" Sonia stood atop the high fortress wall, watching the chaotic battle on the distant plains. Gritting her teeth, she slammed her fist into the wall of the Broken Dragon Fortress. "Does Rumba intend to openly murder His Highness here?"

"The force besieging the prince consists of only about 2,300 light infantrymen. With the Fury Guards there, they might be able to hold out for a while."

“But the numbers are too disparate.” Miranda frowned as she observed the enemy situation on the plain. “The rest of Lombard’s main forces are far away. If Baron Mu can break through with the prince, or at least retreat some distance, we should be able to send out a support force to break through the light infantry’s encirclement and bring the prince back.”

She turned to Sonia and said, “I can launch an attack. I need a thousand men, including elites like the Star Guard who can break through enemy lines.”

"The Star Guard can ride out; the enemy is just light infantry. If they can merely break through the blockade to rescue His Highness..."

"No!" Sonia said angrily, looking at the stalemate on the battlefield, "The prince's delegation is not his priority..."

“Send our only elite troops to rescue the prince…that’s what Lumba wants!”

"I can guarantee that his cavalry is ready, charging at all costs to intercept our reinforcements, even braving the fortress's crossbow fire to breach the gates and then launch a full-scale assault..."

"At the very least, they can eliminate our support troops..."

"If it's the former, then the fortress is in danger of falling; if it's the latter, it can greatly deplete the troops in the fortress, paving the way for his subsequent siege."

Sonia clenched her fists tightly: "We will never do what the enemy wants."

Miranda raised an eyebrow and remained silent for a moment.

The sounds of fighting continued in the distance.

“But he is the second prince, and the sole heir to the Stars,” Miranda thought for a moment, then said quietly, “If the fortress doesn’t send troops, he is very likely to perish in battle, and His Majesty…”

Sonia gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and let out a long sigh: "This is what Rumba's purpose is. He is waiting for my choice: the safety of the fortress and the prince, military or political. He wants me to choose one of the two."

"This is an obvious trap."

"Rumba had no chance of taking the fortress, yet he managed to find a sliver of an opportunity... Rumba's audacity is truly beyond imagination!"

Miranda gripped the sword at her waist and looked up, saying, "Perhaps with Baron Mu's abilities, during the breakout, he could take the prince further away, closer to us, or even into the fortress's cover?"

"We'll try to finish this quickly and safely capture the prince before their reinforcements arrive..."

"Watch out!" Sonia's eyes snapped open, her gaze filled with caution. "That's exactly what Lumba wants us to think—the fortress is our greatest asset. He desperately wants our troops to leave the fortress and fall into his field battle rhythm."

"Everything he did was to take down the Dragon-Slaying Fortress smoothly at the lowest possible cost!"

Miranda was taken aback: "But does he really dare to gamble with the crime of murdering the Star Prince?"

----

"What if the Star Prince really dies in battle?" Lord Tuleha looked at the distant battle and hesitated, saying, "Anything can happen on the battlefield."

“Then let’s see if the Sunset Goddess will protect us, and how loyal Sonia Sathere is to the Starry Sky Royal Family,” Grand Duke Lomba said in a deep voice. “If we win this gamble, we will open the gates to the North of the Stars; if we lose… hmph.”

He said no more.

"The prince's life or death is probably not a matter of luck, but rather a matter of our choices," Viscount Kambida said thoughtfully.
"If the Satheres refuse to send troops and would rather watch their prince's entire army be wiped out than surrender the fortress... should we really kill the prince's entire delegation?"

“Not necessarily,” Earl Levan shook his head. “We only sent out light conscripted infantry. As things stand, the Star People can hold out for at least a quarter of an hour… If that happens, we can call it a day.”

"Then invite the prince in and tell him everything that just happened, including that all those dead people were a misunderstanding?" Tuleha replied, frowning.

Their grand duke lifted the reins and spurred his horse forward a few steps to get a better view of the situation in the distance.

“If Sathere still remains holed up in the fortress,” Grand Duke Lombard said calmly, looking at the massive fortress, “that’s fine too.”

“When that time comes,” Grand Duke Lombard tightened his sword belt and inhaled the chill of winter, “we will slaughter everyone in the delegation and leave only that seven-year-old brat.”

"Then……"

"Everyone in the fortress will see how we strip their only prince naked, tie him to a flagpole, and then, carrying their heir, attack the fortress... and see how much the morale of the Star People can withstand."

"Of course, whether we succeed or not, that poor brat will live and be sent to Dragoncity afterward as a sign of our respect and loyalty to King Nuen. I will not shed the blood of the Starry Sky royal family—that family's blood has been stained with curses and misfortune since the imperial era."

“Under these circumstances, as long as he doesn’t die, all Xingchen will see is the shame the prince left them, not the hatred the Rumba family has incurred with them.”

Upon hearing this, Tuleha frowned deeply.
"He's just a seven-year-old child."

The usually stern-faced Grand Duke of Lombardy fell silent for a moment.

Scenes of his childhood playful fights with his brothers flashed through his mind.

But no one else knew what he was thinking.

The next moment, Chaman Lumba raised his eyes and said in a cold voice:

"He is a prince."

“A prince can never have a ‘child’ stage from birth.”

"This is their privilege, and this is also their price."

Tuleha stared blankly at Grand Duke Lomba, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end he just lowered his head and sighed.

Only Viscount Cambida frowned:
"That child will hate you when he is crowned king..."

But he was interrupted by the Grand Duke.

“He’ll be afraid of me!” Rumba said firmly.
"Even if he becomes the King of the Stars, wearing a nine-star crown and wielding a star staff..."

“I will make him remember this day forever—the most shameful, the most terrible, the most horrifying day of his life!”

----

"Boom!"

Jenard held up his shield and took a heavy blow; the force of the blow made him stumble.

But the veteran cleverly used his sword to slash open the man's kneecap, and then killed him as he fell to the ground.

However, Jenard was immediately stabbed in the left shoulder blade by a sword thrust from the side. He endured the pain and trembled as he retreated from the second row.

However, the soldier who came to replace him was clearly inexperienced, and as soon as he stepped forward, he was stabbed in the thigh with a sword.

Jenard had no choice but to grit his teeth and charge forward again, forcefully blocking the enemy's sword and forcing his wounded comrade to retreat.

The veteran sensed that the frequency of Exter's light infantry attacks was beginning to decrease.

It seems the time to break through has arrived.

At this moment, Jenard sighed.

On the battlefield, the first to die are the inexperienced recruits, while the surviving veterans are all shrewd and tough steel-like beings.

The real battle is yet to come. "Therefore, the key to the battlefield lies in Sathere's choice," Thales, panting heavily, said to Putilay, who nodded slightly, and Arakka, whose face was contorted with blood and rage, at the center of the formation.
"And whatever she chooses, Rumba should have his own corresponding strategy: capture the fortress, weaken her forces, or humiliatingly capture me as a bargaining chip for the attack."

“No matter what she chooses, we are in a dilemma,” Putile said, frowning. “These light infantrymen in Lombardy are enough to give us a headache—the soldiers won’t last long.”

“If you have any ideas,” Alaka looked at his dead and wounded subordinates around him, his anger reaching its peak, and he sneered, “you’d better say so before the Exter people chop us all into pieces and hang you up along the way.”

Thales ignored Arakka's disrespect and looked up at the Iron Fist banner of the Rumba family not far away.

He exhaled and said slowly, "Sonia's choice is a dilemma no matter what."

"Therefore, she cannot make the choice."

Thales's gaze turned cold as he clenched his fist amidst the contrasting expressions on Putila and Arakka's faces.

"Only we can make the choice for Lord Satherley."

"To dispel her hesitation and doubt."

"Prepare to break out," the second prince said coldly.

Putila was slightly taken aback.

Arakka grinned.

----

"It seems they're about to break out." Miranda looked at the distant battle and hesitated before asking, "Are we really not sending reinforcements?"

"Even if they do manage to break through the encirclement and get closer and closer to the fortress?"

Sonia closed her eyes in pain.

No.

Protecting others is my greatest responsibility.

I've failed once... I can't afford to fail again...

“No.” Sonia gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and placed her hands on the city wall, saying with difficulty, “Sending only a small number of troops will not be enough to rescue them, and if we send out all our elite troops, it will play right into Lumba’s hands.”

"Defend our fortress... We cannot give him even the slightest chance."

"I will deal with His Majesty."

Miranda remained silent, and the city wall was quiet for a long time.

But the silence was soon broken.

The sounds of battle echoed again from afar.

"Sir!"

Miranda stared in shock at the chaotic battlefield in the distance: "They've started breaking out!"

"But it's strange..."

Miranda's face was filled with disbelief.

Ok?
Sonia opened her eyes in confusion.

----

"My lord!" Tuleha rode anxiously from afar: "A message from the light cavalry!"

"They've started their breakout!"

Grand Duke Lombard opened his eyes and looked at the two flags adorned with stars.

“Very well,” he began, “now we’ll wait for Satherrei…”

and many more.

Rumba squinted.

The flags are waving...

Not quite right.

He immediately realized something was wrong.

No way.

Grand Duke Lombard's eyes widened, his mouth agape in astonishment: "Could it be..."

"Yes, sir, our plan must be revised immediately!" Tuleha exclaimed anxiously.

"Moreover, according to the light cavalry's report, there was more than one unexpected incident!"

Rumba suppressed his inner annoyance and cast a questioning look at Tuleha.

Tuleha gritted his teeth on horseback and said, "There is another person with that prince."

Grand Duke Lombard frowned deeply as he looked at Tuleha and uttered words that caused the expressions of the surrounding vassals to change drastically:

"It's him!"

"It's that guy!"

"Take that bow with you!"

----

With a cold expression, Arakka tightly bound Thales to his back, pressing him close to his large, silver-and-black metal bow.

“Is it really safe to stay behind this guy?” Ada asked irritably. “I have a feeling I’m going to lose my job.”

Thales smiled at her: "Just think of it as a vacation... Even authors have times when they take a break."

“This is risky; it’s like we’re gambling,” Putila said worriedly. “Gambling on the enemy’s choices.”

Thales took a deep breath and smiled at Putila:

"Yes, this is a bet between me and Rumba."

It's a game of 'dare or not'.

“Little Prince, I’ll ask you one last time,” Arakka said coldly, suppressing his anger as he watched the first rank of the Wrathful Guard soldiers nearly wiped out, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“This is the only way,” Thales said with a wry smile.

Arakka did not speak.

“And are you really as powerful as the rumors say?” Thales gritted his teeth, lying on Arakka’s back, adjusting his stomach which was chapped by the Great Bow, and forced a smile: “Prove it to me.”

Alaka remained silent.

Thales gently closed his eyes, then opened them firmly, his gaze sharp:
"The most powerful warrior in the Star Kingdom..."

“Arakka Mu”.

He exhaled softly and loudly uttered the name known to everyone, young and old, throughout the entire planet:

"Wrath of the Kingdom".

The moment those words were spoken, those trapped in their predicaments tensed up, as if even the atmosphere around them had changed.

The next second, Alaka turned his head and sneered at Thales:
"Long ago, in a desperate situation, a bright star told me..."

Thales was taken aback.

Arakka pulled the two-handed greatsword from the ground, swung it in a flourish, and strode forward.

Putila, Wya, Rolf, and others followed behind them, some with resolute expressions, others with worried looks.

Arakka strode onto the stirrups, his gaze fierce.

Eda nimbly followed behind their horses.

Alaka continued in a cold voice:

"He said……"

"Since there's no way to retreat..."

Why not go all out and move forward?

Thales didn't react for a moment.

The next moment, Arakka Mu—the man known as the Wrath of the Kingdom—galloped forward on horseback, his face fierce, past his guards.

"Rage Guards, charge the formation!"

The Kingdom's Wrath's greatsword pointed at the Ironfist banner flying high in the distance, and roared:

"Target—North!"

"Let's go find Rumba!"

(End of this chapter)