Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 15 Ashda Sakorn
Even throughout Ashda Sacken's long life, his first impression of the boy was particularly amusing and laughable:

In the dim candlelight, the black-haired boy looked rather disheveled. Blood was dripping from his forehead, his face was covered in bruises, there were red marks on his neck from being strangled, and his trembling body was covered in tattered, coarse linen clothes. A dagger was tightly bound to his legs.

Upon learning his identity, he appeared bewildered. He clutched his chest, slightly tense, as if he vaguely understood the meaning of the term "magic master." The pressure throughout his body changed drastically, and even the air he exhaled became noticeably turbid.

But his eyes were truly remarkable.

Yes, those strange eyes were not filled with fear and unfamiliarity, nor with panic and vigilance, but rather with curiosity and excitement.

Thales's thoughts at that moment surprised even himself.

Upon hearing the word "magic master," after the initial surprise, he suddenly felt an urge to ask what exactly a magic master was.

Is this considered an occupational hazard?

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Thales saw three irregularly shaped spheres placed quietly in a dark corner, each sphere as big as a person.

It wasn't until Thales recognized that human hands and feet were vaguely visible on those spheres.

The boy's face was a little pale.

“I think you’ve already met the Taren brothers and Moria from the Brotherhood,” the mage Ashida said, noticing his gaze. “They’re very ambitious; they came straight for the heart of Red Street.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not used to using methods like suffocation or compression like Morris does. In fact, I prefer simpler methods.”

Is squeezing a living person into a ball really a simpler method? Thales thought to himself, silently grumbling.

“Come, child,” Ashida smiled gently, his voice particularly pleasant and refined. “Come and look at my chessboard.”

Thales swallowed hard, turned his head, banished the images of those fleshy spheres from his mind, and quickly considered his situation. Then, upon seeing the blue energy ball projected from Ashida's left hand that looked remarkably like a 3D effect (though he knew it definitely wasn't), he decisively cleared thoughts like "pulling out a dagger and putting it to his neck" from his mind.

Following the method he used during his thesis defense in his previous life, Thales took three slow but regular breaths before slowly walking up.

It's a blessing, not a curse, but it's a curse that cannot be avoided.

Ashida watched the boy's seemingly adult-like behavior with a half-smile. Just as he approached the chessboard and was about to speak, she was surprised to see the boy pull out a chair without hesitation, sit down, frown, and then, seemingly dissatisfied with the chair's view, get off and move the chair a little towards Ashida before climbing back up and sitting down.

"Uh, my legs are a little sore." Thales smiled sheepishly at Ashida, but accidentally pulled at the wound on his forehead, making him hiss in pain.

"It is my fault."

Ashida turned her head with interest, and with a gentle tap of her right hand, the wound on Thales' forehead seemed to be pressed down by something, and the blood stopped flowing.

"This is—you increased and fixed the local pressure of the air?" Thales touched his forehead in surprise and found an invisible membrane that prevented his hand from touching the wound.

Ashida suppressed her smile and nodded calmly.

"That's right, your tutor taught you physics?"

"Uh, no." Thales lowered his hand awkwardly. It seemed that Ashda mistook him for some nobleman or rich kid.

Ashida nodded and turned to the chessboard on the table.

Do you recognize this?

Thales carefully examined the map on the table.

“A board game with Red Street as the map—no, this is the current battle map outside! The red side is the Blood Bottle Gang, and the black side is the Brotherhood!” Thales exclaimed in realization.

"of course."

With a blank expression, Ashida stretched out his right hand, and two black chess pieces and a crystal chess piece flew from afar and were caught in his hand.

"This should have been a flawless trap."

“I will wipe out the entire Brotherhood here, from Maurice to Cincha, in a short time.”

"But things never go as planned, do they?"

The three chess pieces flew through the air, circling around Thales' head like little birds.

"Magic, magic, just treat it as a magic show," Thales said, trying to remain calm as he watched Ashida's performance.

"First of all, the guys under me are all useless."

"They should have attacked Maurice and Cincha immediately and killed them at all costs. But instead, they cowardly bypassed the powerful enemy and used guerrilla tactics to clip their wings first. This is a typical case of bullying the weak and fearing the strong."

"Secondly, I don't know if it was reinforcements from the Brotherhood, but in any case, the unexpected entry of these pieces disrupted my plans far too early."

As Ashda narrated emotionlessly, the chess pieces above Thales' head suddenly fell onto the map one by one.

"This is your companion who came up from the lower city with you. He's incredibly fast. He took down Dorno and Spin in a single move. Rolf is still chasing after him, and Numeno, a tracking ability user, can't even pick up the dust behind him. I can only say that it's truly commendable that the Brotherhood has such a promising newcomer."

In the air, a black swordsman landed on the map, one after the other, and further away, a red prime minister.

Thales knew he was referring to Yara, and could only hope in his heart that she was safe and sound, especially with the Red Chancellor in the distance.

“This gap is fatal. A lot of pawns escaped, although they were all small fry, but—” Ashida sighed, “through them, the Black Street Brotherhood headquarters knew about the situation here an hour earlier than I expected—I could sense that Lancer and his men had already taken control of the entrance.”

"The mousetrap is broken."

He lowered his head dejectedly, filled with regret and sorrow. At that moment, Thales almost thought that he was a compassionate temple priest.

But Ashida immediately raised his head, his sorrowful expression vanishing without a trace. He flicked his finger, and the two chess pieces in the air began to spin again.

"This guy came in from another direction. I don't know which faction he's from. He killed the Layton siblings in less time than he killed two pigs. This guy charged all the way to the vicinity and no one could stop him. I had to send out Groudon, which left me with no one to talk to."

Aishida seemed dissatisfied as the crystal knight in the air fell down and was placed next to a red guard.

"It's probably a pawn from another faction that's entered the game, either a noble or an official—that's quite an accident."

Thales swallowed again.

"Finally, it's your turn, little one. Since there's no one else available, I had to come and invite you in person."

Aishida tilted her head, her eyes suddenly sharpening.

The last black pawn above Thales' head suddenly fell to the very center of the map.

It landed next to a red king.

Thales couldn't help but tense up.

"Tell me, what is your background?"

Ashida leaned back in her chair, her expression unreadable.

Why would the Brotherhood escort you all the way to the center of Red Town?

"Are you some kind of terrifying weapon? Sent to me to assassinate me?"

"Is it still important intelligence and a package that needs to be handed over to that other pawn?"

“I hope you can answer my questions willingly and kindly, instead of yelling ‘Death to the mage’ and rushing over—frankly, that would be pure suicide.”

Ashida looked at him quietly, her eyes filled with sincerity.

Unlike the obviously self-serving sincerity in Rick's eyes, the sincerity in Ashida's eyes was devoid of emotion, as if he didn't care about the answer to the question at all.

In that instant, Thales felt that the man in front of him didn't even seem like a human being.

Calm down, Thales, calm down.

The boy reminded himself, constantly recalling the scenes from several paper presentations and seminars in his memory, and how to use language familiar to the audience to lead them into unfamiliar fields.

I'm very good at this, aren't I?

Thales took a deep breath
“Mr. Ashda Sachs, are you saying that you can sit here and know everything that’s going on in the entire Red Town neighborhood?”

His first task was to gather all the intelligence.

“Not entirely,” Ashida replied nonchalantly. “I can know even the slightest air conditions on the entire street, from changes in air pressure throughout the human body to the flow of air outside. In other words, every living thing breathing on Red Street is under my surveillance.”

Is this his ability? Is it a superpower? Is that why he's called the Air Mage? Thales thought to himself.

No wonder my brother got beaten up so badly.

“Then you will naturally understand,” Thales began to organize his words and logic, searching for a chance to survive in the verbal exchange:
"Along the way, my companions and I carefully avoided any confrontations, only taking action when absolutely necessary—whether it was the Brotherhood or the Blood Vial Gang."

“I think this proves that we are not members of the Brotherhood, at least not here tonight for the Brotherhood, and we have no intention of getting involved in the battlefield. So we have no intention of being your enemy.”

“That makes sense.” Ashida nodded, still looking devoid of emotion, but her tone didn’t soften at all: “But you still managed to take my pieces.”

“I don’t care about the lives of those small fry, but I do care that my plans and goals are interrupted—whether intentional or unintentional, even the most corrupt judge wouldn’t turn a blind eye to manslaughter, would he?”

"And you haven't answered my question—who are you? And why does it matter?"

Upon hearing this, Thales quickly adjusted his words: "I am an enemy of the Black Street Brotherhood!"

Only this sentence made Ashida raise her head slightly.

Thales figured out what had happened and decided to tell part of the truth.

"I'm just an ordinary beggar who offended the Brotherhood's higher-ups and had to flee. The Lower City is full of the Brotherhood's eyes and ears, and Red Street, which is adjacent to the Blood Bottle Gang, is my only chance!"

"But my companions and I didn't anticipate the gang war that would break out tonight. So, unintentionally—"

“I apologize for our recklessness, and I can make amends—I mean, when I am able to.”

"I believe in my future value, and it is absolutely worth it for you to spare my life today."

"I am destined to be an enemy of the Brotherhood, no matter how weak I am. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Blood Vial Gang has no reason to eliminate potential enemies for the Brotherhood, does it?"

Aishida narrowed her eyes.

What an eloquent child!

"that's it?"

"that's it."

Aishida remained silent for a long time, her expression a faint smile.

"The air pressure inside your body didn't fluctuate much, and your breathing was tense but steady. Sigh, although you didn't tell the whole truth, you weren't lying."

The mage shook his head with a wry smile and said sincerely:

"So, your appearance and the disruption of the chess game—it all seems to be a coincidence."

"Actually, I don't care about those pieces you've taken. After all, they're just small pieces. The so-called Twelve Strongest, Thirteen Generals, Superpowered Warriors, and Six Giants, apart from Qin Cha, are all just 'mortal' or 'super-level' beings."

"Even the Blood Bottle Gang is just a relatively large pawn. I don't even care that you disrupted my plans and triggered my trap."

Ashida gave a wry smile and looked at Thales.

"But, I never expected that my plan would be ruined by chance and coincidence."

"This makes me very frustrated."

“By chance, by chance—heh heh, I’m beginning to understand the source of Queen Black Orchid’s power.”

What a strange and enigmatic person, Thales thought to himself as he nervously observed the air mage. “The world is truly wondrous.”

Ashida suddenly burst into laughter.

"Child, do you know? The birth of magic power was purely accidental."

Thales' heart began to race, and he inexplicably sensed danger from the strange-looking mage!
“A long, long time ago, there was only magic in the world, not magical power.” A look of longing and complexity appeared on Ashida’s face.

“The mage seeks the truth of the world and uses various ingenious methods and wisdom to utilize the world’s resources and energy to serve a better world.”

"Until one day, a low-aptitude mage apprentice accidentally discovered that his magic was unstable. It was as if the magic itself had come to life, beginning to go out of control and rebel against its master!"

The next moment, Thales felt a jolt, as if a tremendous force was bearing down on him from below.

The boy was shocked to discover that he had begun to float in the air!

In a panic, he tried to grab the edge of the table, but found himself floating higher and higher until his arms could no longer reach the table!
He quickly looked at Ashida, only to be horrified to find that the mage's expression was filled with pain and madness!

“Yes, that’s how it all started! A mage apprentice’s accidental mistake!” Ashida muttered to herself nervously, while gently picking up the black pawn that had just fallen on the map.

Thales watched as the pawn was taken away, and a chill ran through him: he knew what the mage was going to do next.

"From instability to complete loss of control, to being dominated by it, the world you know begins to collapse. Fear and panic strike, and no one can save you except yourself!"

Thales painfully discovered that the airflow around his body was accelerating and the air pressure was changing!
"No one knows what happened to him. When he returned to the world, people found that he was no longer a mage."

"He is no longer even human, no longer an ordinary person."

Along with the rising air pressure, the temperature also increased. Terrified Thales felt the surrounding air becoming increasingly stuffy and hot, and began to sweat profusely.

"It was also an accidental slip-up; he unintentionally killed two gods."

"It's like accidentally stepping on two ants."

Ashida's words were utterly cold. He slowly turned his head and curled his lips into a smile.

This madman!

Thales loosened his clenched teeth and tried to speak, only to find that his voice couldn't penetrate his throat at all!

"This is the first mage."

"Also the most powerful mage in history."

"The sorcerers were horrified to discover that compared to him, their spells, magic, and research were like child's play and tricks! The gods were horrified to find that their once supreme divine power and divinity were so vulnerable and laughable!"

"The colorful but naive and ignorant era of mages has come to an end."

"A newly born mage stands above the heavens, surpassing the gods and looking down upon all living beings!"

In the intense heat, Thales began to feel the pressure coming from all directions!
His limbs were squeezed close to his body, and his whole body was shrunk into a ball, floating in mid-air, which was quite terrifying.

It's like being stuffed into a washing machine from my past life!

"Fear, of course, humans will fear! Unrestricted, unbound power, yet only enjoyed by a few, how can they not fear!"

In mid-air, Thales felt his body begin to lose strength, but he couldn't help but notice that Ashida's tone had already placed him outside the realm of humanity.

"And so the war began."

Ashida stood up gently, the energy ball in her left hand still spinning.

"However, it was probably also due to chance."

"we lose."

We lost.

And all I can do is hide in this dark, godforsaken doghouse, running this worthless Blood Bottle Gang.

Waiting for that faint and humble hope.

Even the smallest steps, the most subtle breaths—all must be taken with utmost care.

Ashida lowered her head dejectedly, raised her right hand, and without even looking at Thales in mid-air, clenched it tightly.

boom!
Thales' joints started cracking, his eardrums felt like they were being crushed, and his blood surged through his body!
Is this what they mean by "killing someone with a joke"?
Am I going to be strangled to death?
Thales thought hopelessly; his mind was no longer clear.

Like crushing an ant?
Blood suddenly gushed out again from the wound on his forehead that Ashida had sealed up.

Is this what a mage is?
Really...

As Thales lay dying, he caught a glimpse of Ashida's left hand in his peripheral vision.

Between the man's fingers, a blue orb of light spun continuously, as if an endless storm was churning within it.

Thales's chest wound, burned by the silver coin, suddenly began to burn painfully, and his muscles all over his body felt as if they were on fire.

Getting hotter.

It's getting hotter and hotter.

"So, we magic users, and magic power itself, have become taboo—hiding in hiding, barely surviving, like rats in a sewer."

As Ashida spoke her last words, she frowned almost imperceptibly.

His last words should have been accompanied by the death of his target.

"Has my control weakened?" The mage didn't think much of it, but simply clenched his right hand again with a blank expression.

But at this moment, Thales felt a sense of pleasure amidst the burning sensation, and the pain of being squeezed by the air seemed to lessen somewhat.

He discovered that he could speak again.

Thales opened his mouth with difficulty and looked at the energy ball in Ashida's hand.

I hate it the most.

Someone showing off with a ball.

That guy.

"Screw you, magic power."

Thales heard himself say that.

Then, a surge of heat emanated from his body.

A look of surprise appeared in Ashida's eyes.

Suddenly, the dark card room was filled with a red light that seemed to come from nowhere.

Ashida looked around in shock, but then he spotted the source of the red light and looked down at his left hand.

There, within that blue energy sphere, a sliver of red light peeked out.

The blue storm begins to erode within!
A trace.

a little.

First line.

one side.

The red light spread out.

Until it erodes the entire energy sphere.

“No! This is—this is—” Ashida murmured, as if she were seeing the most incredible sight.

The translucent energy ball in Ashida's hand suddenly stopped spinning.

Then, the red energy ball disappeared from his left hand.

The air mage suddenly raised his head and looked at Thales in mid-air.

There, in front of Thales' right hand, a red energy ball floated silently.

Excitement appeared in Ashida's eyes.

"You are--"

However, before the mage could finish speaking, it seemed as if the world had shattered for Thales.

"boom!"

The energy ball exploded violently!

An invisible energy is being transmitted from within!

It transforms into immense power.

If the cellar of the card room was like a balloon, now it's as if that balloon has been blown out from the inside!

Doors, windows, glass, chessboard, candles—everything was instantly blown away and shattered!
The house exploded violently, from the beams to the pillars!
"Boom!"

Ashida was struck as if by a tremendous force, sent flying backward and crashing through the wall!

Thales was also thrown away by the force and slammed into the ceiling, but the ceiling and walls were immediately shattered!
But the force that had bound and squeezed him had disappeared.

Just like his consciousness.

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

A street.

"Boom!"

Morris put down the two Blood Bottle followers who had been suffocated to death by his powers and listened in astonishment to the explosion beside him.

The extent of this explosion.
It's at least a battle at the "extreme" level!

Could it be Qincha? Did Qincha encounter a Qi Demon Master?

Do not……

Do not!
Then Qincha is doomed.

He thought bitterly.

Even Maurice's elite men were filled with doubt and suspicion.

"Boss!"

The assassin, Lyok, covered in blood, sped over from a distance, his face a mixture of joy and worry, panting as he spoke:
"Invisible wall—"

The invisible wall has disappeared!

(End of this chapter)