Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 165 Let's Talk It Out
Under the moonlight, the two stood facing each other in silence.

Thales looked at Ashida in disbelief, then at Black Sword.

what?
Fuxing Palace... a massacre has begun?
Murder...the Crown Prince?
In Thales' memory, the only event that fits both descriptions...

Thales swallowed hard, his mind racing: What roles did these two guys play during the Bloody Year?
Ashida maintained his chilling smile, but this time, it seemed to carry a different emotion.

“It’s time to get down to business,” Ashida said, a strange blue light appearing in her eyes, growing brighter and brighter. “This time, I’ll get rid of you completely, you troublesome one.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ashida "changed".

Thales stared in disbelief as the blue light in Ashida's eyes overflowed, splitting into several small branches like streams flowing across his face.

From a distance, Ashida looked like her skin was cracked, with blue light flashing beneath the cracks, which was quite eerie.

A chill ran through Thales.

In that instant, he felt that Ashida had changed not only in appearance, but in her entire being.

what happened?

“Your luck ends here,” the mage, whose face was glowing with blue light, spoke slowly, but this time, it was as if all his emotions had faded from his words, and his tone was completely flat. “You will never have another chance to get close to me.”

Like a wooden puppet with a stiff expression.

Black Sword's brows furrowed slightly; clearly, he had seen Aishida in this form before.

Black Sword slowly moved his left hand up the spine of the sword, bent his knees slightly, and lowered his body, making a gesture that Thales found extremely familiar, yet completely different from what he remembered.

"That was just a test," the black sword said calmly, its tip pointing at the strangely-looking Ashida.

"Whatever you want to test," the mage said expressionlessly, his words coming out of his lips, which occasionally glowed with blue light, "it all ends here."

The next moment, Black Sword silently pushed off the ground with his hind legs and charged forward again!

The mage, whose blue light shimmered, didn't even glance at his opponent; his eyes were fixed blankly ahead.

Black Sword's charge this time was noticeably faster than last time; in just a few seconds, he had already closed the distance to within ten steps of Ashida!
The mage simply raised one hand slowly, facing the direction from which the black sword was charging.

Black Sword let out a low growl, leaned his upper body forward, and a surge of power flowed from his legs, increasing his charging speed once again!

"Air is everywhere," the mage's unusual, emotionless voice slowly rang out, "pervading your entire body, inside and outside."

Thales' eyes widened; he sensed something was happening.

Sure enough, the moment Ashida raised her right hand as if unaware, the figure of the black sword suddenly swayed!
His speed suddenly slowed down.

“The air in your lungs has condensed, it’s not going in or out,” the blue light on the air mage’s face intensified, “You can’t breathe anything.”

Black Sword's expression changed, and he clutched his chest tightly with his left hand!
Thales opened his mouth in surprise.

what?
Air inside the human body?

Is it possible for Ashida to have done this?
Sure enough, Black Sword seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, and his face and eyes began to turn red.

His movements became distorted, and his steps began to sway!
Thales looked at him with worry, at his only chance to escape.

He braced himself against the ground with the black sword, lowered his head, and gritted his teeth.

But the next second, the scene around the black sword suddenly blurred in Thales's vision.

At that moment, it was as if some force blocked Thales's vision, which surprised him.

But reality didn't allow Thales any time to think—the black sword in front of him had already been drawn from the ground!
His frozen movements became surprisingly fluid again at that moment.

Black Sword moved, surprisingly regaining its original speed, and continued charging towards Aishida!
Thales looked puzzled: What did Black Sword do?
“A good response,” the mage’s calm and ruthless voice rang out again, answering Thales’ question: “Use the power of termination to strengthen and activate all the muscles related to breathing, and force in a small amount of air.”

Black Sword staggered and staggered as he rushed towards Ashida!
Like a drunkard, his movements had long lost the ease of his first charge—Taylor was very worried that he might fall at any moment.

Moreover… Thales frowned: If there were no legendary anti-magic weapons, wouldn't Aishida be…

The mage seemed completely unconcerned about the black sword before him, and said in utter indifference, "It will only give you a few more seconds to live."

Black Sword stared at Ashida, who was shimmering with blue light, and clenched his teeth, seemingly enduring unprecedented pain.

He raised the strange sword in his hand towards Ashida!

A wave of blue light flowed across the path of light on the mage's face once again.

The next moment, the magic master's eyes shone brightly with blue light!

It's impossible to see his eyes clearly.

Thales saw that the air around Ashida was emitting faint blue light—the air pressure had decreased again.

No—Taylor gritted his teeth and took a step back, maintaining his focus: This time, it's not just about the pressure!
A muffled boom!
Thales was horrified to see that, within a circular area centered on Ashida, the snow on the ground had visibly receded by a layer.

It felt like I'd been slapped hard!
"Boom!"

Black Sword uncontrollably fell to his knees!
Black Sword's right hand still gripped his sword tightly, the blade only inches away from Ashida.

He knelt before Ashida, gritting his teeth and growling, his left hand gripping the ground tightly, trembling uncontrollably.

It was as if I was carrying an immense weight, unable to move.

"laugh!"

Black Sword had no choice but to retract his sword, its blade firmly embedded in the ground, supporting his body from being crushed.

Oops.

The prediction was wrong... Black Sword is no match for Ashida at all.

Thales clenched his fist, feeling uneasy: But with such a commotion, surely someone must have noticed?
“See, once your body is severely injured and your reaction speed is slowed down,” the mage mechanically uttered, his voice lifeless, “you become much easier to deal with.”

Black Sword knelt on the ground, letting out a low, angry roar of resentment.

"Your incredible luck in surviving these near-death experiences has allowed you to live for a full twelve years—you always manage to escape with your life on the line."

“But this time, neither my companions will risk their lives to create an opportunity for you to kill me,” the blue light on the Qi Mage’s face flowed again as he slowly said, “nor will any companions risk their lives to save you.”

At that moment, Black Sword struggled to raise his head, his eyes filled with hatred and rage.

“Monster…” he forced out the word.

The mage shook his head slowly, seemingly unconcerned, and extended his right hand, silently clenching it into a fist.

In Thales' eyes, the blue light in the air began to brighten—the air around Ashida slowly tightened with a terrifying force.

"Swoosh!" The strange sword that was stuck in the ground was even pressed down several inches further, and the serrated edge of the sword rubbed violently against the rock, making a piercing noise.

Black Sword's body was slowly lowered, and his left hand and legs, which were supporting him on the ground, uncontrollably contracted towards his torso.

Thales felt a chill run down his spine—he remembered the mage's favorite technique: squeezing a humanoid ball.

I've tried it myself, haven't I?

The trembling on Black Sword grew more and more violent, and its body continued to contract under the constricting air pressure.

His bones began to crackle.

The black sword let out a painful roar.

But his right hand still gripped the sword hilt tightly.

It was as if that was his life.

It’s over.

Thales sighed.

But right now.

The black sword in Thales's vision blurred again.

The second prince's heart stirred.

Based on the previous experience, this means that Black Sword... "Crackling..."

A strange sound faintly came from underground.

The mage realized something, his eyes flashed, and a blue light shone brightly on his face: "You..."

The next second, the ground where the black sword lay, starting from the sword he had plunged into the ground, emitted a crisp, audible cracking sound!

"boom!"

The ground beneath the black sword suddenly cracked open!
"Wow..."

He was completely engulfed in the cracked rock!

The Qi Mage suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing rapidly with blue light.

In that instant, Thales saw it clearly through his vision: the black sword twisted and clung to the ground, pulling the sword horizontally!
They literally pulled a hole out of the rock strata!

The terrifying air pressure seemed to have found an outlet, drilling into the hole and breaking through the entire rock layer. Then, more and more air seeped into the gradually cracking rock layer.

The pressure in the air was thus suddenly reduced!
Thales was taken aback: In that case...

Sure enough, Black Sword, who was curled up on the ground, was freed from the air's restraint. He stepped on the sinking rock and suddenly sprang up!

At that moment, the black swordsman's eyes were clear, pure, and resolute as he leaped up.

He looked at the mage who remained expressionless, and at the latter's eyes, which were glowing with intense blue light.

Black Sword took another step, closing the distance to Aishida by one step.

The mage suddenly raised his hands slightly, and his body floated backward as he was propelled by the air!
It's like they're trying to escape the Black Sword.

But before he could drift too far, Black Sword's right hand trembled violently!

A strange power surged forth—the black sword's blade, amidst the turbulent air currents, pierced towards Ashida with unparalleled stability, power, and precision!
Thales took a deep breath, watching the black sword's instantaneous counterattack.

The sword was aimed at Ashida's head.

The blue light on Ashida's face shone brightly again.

"clang!"

A dull thud was heard!
The sword's edge seemed to have struck the hardest metal, blocked by a strange, transparent barrier, firmly stopping it just before Ashida's nose!

Thales frowned: he saw a blue barrier appear in front of Ashida, blocking the black sword's weapon.

"An invisible wall," he said to himself, looking at a blue orb of light in Ashida's left hand.

“You always manage to find a way out of seemingly hopeless situations,” the mage said lifelessly. “A beautiful counterattack.”

Black Sword roared, pushed off with his feet, charged forward, and thrust his sword forward!
Ashida floated backward, but the sword remained firmly in front of him, seemingly unable to break through the barrier of the air wall.

It looked as if the black sword was pushing Ashida backward.

But... Thales was startled: they were drifting towards him!
"Kill me again?" The mage's voice was cold and calm, as if he were dealing with a fly rather than a sword: "You knew all along that I am unkillable."

"Then why are you still defending?" Black Sword's eyes widened in anger, his hands gripping the sword, his feet moving without stopping, as if he was determined to break through this barrier of air at all costs.

“My habit,” the mage floated back and said calmly, “is that I don’t like people getting close to me.”

Thales felt a chill run down his spine as he watched them float towards him, and he was about to run away.

But at that moment, the situation on the field changed again.

Black Sword suddenly sheathed his sword and swiftly turned around.

His steps faltered on the ground, and he abandoned his attempt to stab forward, completely distancing himself from Ashida's side!

As if he hadn't expected the black sword's move, the magic master's face flashed with light.

The next second, the black sword rolled to the side and landed—

Beside Thales!

Thales was startled. Before he could react, he felt a tightness on his shoulder!
He turned around in surprise—only to find that Black Sword was already standing behind him, gripping his left shoulder tightly!

What... Thales's mind was completely blank.

"Black Sword!"

The air mage, who had been lifeless and seemingly devoid of emotion since the very beginning, roared out his words with emphasis for the first time: "You dare!"

Ashida released her left hand, which was holding up the air wall, and raised her right hand.

But in that instant, Thales felt a chill on his neck.

That strange, jet-black longsword was already held against his throat!

Ashida's hand froze in mid-air.

Black Sword's cough sounded behind Thales' ear.

It made his heart race.

Thales realized what was happening.

Black Sword... is he being held hostage?
I… Thales suppressed the urge to complain, feeling bitter inside—why am I so unlucky!

As the Qi Mage watched all this, the light on his face flashed faster and faster, and he frowned: "You always manage to surprise me."

“I told you, that was just a test,” Black Sword coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood, “to make sure my skills haven’t declined and your responses haven’t changed much.”

"Then, we found such an opportunity."

Black Sword, panting, slowly tightened his grip on Thales's hand: "This boy, is he important to you?"

The blue light in the mage's eyes dimmed, revealing his true expression.

The light on Ashida's face gradually faded.

Thales gave him an ugly smile and tried to shrug, but his shoulder was already firmly gripped by the black sword, rendering him unable to move.

“Even if you slit his throat, I can use air pressure to stop the bleeding.” Ashida looked at the black sword holding Thales hostage and said solemnly, “You know it’s futile.”

Upon hearing this, Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

Until Black Sword's next sentence.

“Yes,” Black Sword sighed, switching the serrated edge of the sword to Thales, continuing to press it against him. “So, I’ll just cut his entire head off…”

"Can you help him put it back together?"

Thales's breath hitched.

Na...Nani?
“Try it,” Ashida said, her brow relaxing as if she didn’t care, but her eyes flashing coldly. “Threatening a mage? See what price I’ll make you and your Black Street Brotherhood pay.”

Black Sword gave a soft snort.

The blade in his hand slowly approached the boy's neck.

As Ashida watched his movements, her eyebrows slowly lowered.

"Wait—wait a minute!"

A clear, boyish voice rang out.

Black Sword and Aishida both paused and turned their gazes away.

"You two!" Thales, nestled in Black Sword's arms, cried out, his scalp tingling with fear, "Let's talk this out!"

I was too busy chatting in the group last night to write anything.

The next chapter will be posted after midnight. It's the final stage of my graduation defense, so please bear with me.

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(End of this chapter)