Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 196 Behind the Scenes (Part 1)

Thales stared blankly at the half-drawn blade of Rumba's sword.

This was not the first time he had been in danger.

Based on Thales' understanding of this world, this probably won't be the last time.

But he really didn't know what he could do when he was in the same carriage as the menacing Grand Duke of Lombard, with countless soldiers outside.

Use that so-called magical power again?

Thales reached out and grasped the little rascal's hand.

“You must be Nuen’s granddaughter, little girl,” Rumba said casually, turning his sword over.

The two of them stiffened slightly.

Thales' palms were ice-cold, and he didn't know how to react for a moment.

He found out.

The Black Sand Grand Duke stared intently at the old sword in his hand, his eyes filled with a peculiar emotion.

“When Nunn went to fight the disaster, he took you and her—his two most important assets—with him. This move really surprised me,” Lumba said to himself.

The little rascal was so frightened he couldn't even speak.

Thales took a deep breath.

What should he do?
No.

Since it's already the last one.

He needs to figure out at least a few things.

Thales slowly raised his head and looked directly into Rumba's eyes: "I think your actions probably surprised Nunn as well."

"The regicide."

"Shh!"

A crisp metallic scraping sound.

The little rascal twitched slightly, startling Thales.

Rumba turned his head, and the blade in his hand had already returned to its sheath.

“Don’t you understand? Whether it’s the death of Nunn or the current chaos,” Grand Duke Lombard’s gaze was complex, but Thales couldn’t read much emotion in it. He only heard the Grand Duke say, “It’s all your doing.”

“Me?” Thales looked up in surprise.

Rumba's expression rose and fell with the swaying of the carriage, shifting between light and shadow.

“If everything goes smoothly and according to the plan that Aaron and I have made,” the Grand Duke said calmly, “then both the stars and the dragons will be reborn.”

"Until you destroy everything."

Rumba's gaze sharpened and turned cold, fixed on Thales.

“In the Stars, you turned the destined king Aarond into a prisoner; in the Dragon Fortress, you blocked my last escape route; in Exter, you used Nunn’s wrath to push the Black Sand Territory to the brink of destruction,” the Black Sand Grand Duke’s words turned exceptionally cold, sending chills down Thales’ spine: “It was you who forced me to choose the most drastic means.”

Thales gritted his teeth

“A coward’s excuse,” the prince said, trying not to look at the old, worn-out scabbard, “why don’t you ask yourselves why you’re so restless as to assassinate Prince Morar and covet the throne?”

"Even after the plan failed, you were not without other options, but you chose the most extreme one."

Thales gave Rumba a cold look:
"The Grand Duke who murdered his lord."

Rumba stared at him without moving, then gave a rare cold laugh.

“When I was your age,” Rumba’s lips turned slightly to one side, his eyes shining, “my mother took Harold and me back to Dragonstreet, and at the city gate, I watched a prisoner being executed.”

"Just before the execution, my grandfather's order arrived: he wanted to pardon the prisoner."

Thales frowned and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the carriage.

No.

There is still no chance.

“As a result,” Rumba continued, “the executioner chopped off the prisoner’s head with an axe before the warrant was read out and before the king’s order took effect.”

The little rascal was still terrified, but as she listened to Rumba's story, she unconsciously showed a look of attentive listening.

"The executioner was a formidable warrior, his methods swift and decisive, without any hesitation. I still remember the raised head and the spurting blood, and the scene of him accepting the king's decree with bloodied hands, completely unconcerned."

The Grand Duke paused for a moment, then lowered his head and looked down at the sword in his hand.

"Inside the carriage, Harold kept comforting me as I cried in fear," Lumba seemed lost in thought, and he murmured, "That was the first time I understood what death and killing were."

He looked up and turned toward Thales.

This time, however, Rumba did not look at Thales.

Instead, they turned towards his back.

Throw it at the little girl.

Thales felt a pang of anxiety and instinctively tightened his grip on the little rascal's hand.

"Later, my mother told us that the executioner was her own brother, our uncle, Prince Noon Walton."

Rumba said expressionlessly, his sharp eyes fixed on the little rascal:
“Nuen Walton VII, your grandfather, my uncle, was born a killer, ruthless, stubborn and intolerant of weakness and hesitation, especially after his coronation.”

The little rascal just stared blankly at Rumba, not daring to utter a sound.

“He has always preferred to deal with his enemies in a simple, brutal, and swift manner,” Rumba said casually.

Thales's eyes flickered.

The scene of King Nunn ruthlessly killing Pefit, poisoning Alex, and banishing Milek in the Hall of Heroes is still vivid in my mind.

But what impressed him most was when the old king took out the 'Triumphant' and placed it in the little rascal's hands.

“He did the same to the Glacier Orcs, to the White Mountains, to the Free Alliance, to the Star Kingdom, and now,” Rumba turned his gaze back to the window, his tone heavy with the same weight that Thales could sense, “he’s doing the same to the Black Sand Territory.”

"The only solution to facing him," Rumba tightened his grip on the scabbard, his voice suddenly turning cold, "is to be faster than him, to destroy him before he destroys me."

At the same time, Thales sighed.

“I understand,” the prince suddenly said, his voice filled with weariness and emptiness: “Let’s start with the fortress.”

Rumba looked at him, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What?"

“Your conspiracy,” Thales leaned back in the carriage, his mood somewhat somber, “began from the moment I was assassinated in front of the fortress and then entered your camp, didn’t it?”

“You knew very well back then that if you didn’t take Dragon Fortress, you would face King Nuen’s terrible and furious revenge.”

Thales looked up and met Rumba's eyes, saying firmly, "From that moment on, you were determined to destroy Nunn completely—before he destroyed you."

Rumba's eyes narrowed slightly.

It seems a bit unexpected.

“Tell me about your plans,” Thales raised an eyebrow and exhaled through his nose. “You’ve meticulously planned and accomplished an unprecedented feat, but you have no one to confide in. It must be incredibly boring.”

"Tell me, how did you accomplish all of this?"

Rumba's gaze remained fixed on him, unmoving.

As the carriage turned a corner, the inertia caused the prince and the little rascal to tilt slightly.

Thales decided to take the initiative and lead the conversation.

Just like those dreams from past lives, filled with countless field investigations and interviews.

"So you proposed an alliance with me in the camp," the prince said calmly, "but were you not entirely well-intentioned? Perhaps you wanted to use me to arrange something?"

For example, it would be easier to pin the blame for King Nunn's death on him—just as Lumba is doing now.

Thales recalled his days in the Black Sands military camp.

A sneak attack from an ally is always more effective than an open confrontation with an enemy.

He thought of Serena Corleone.

He was taught to be wary of femme fatales among his allies.

Finally, Rumba let out a soft scoff.

“No, I really wanted to reconcile with you back then, and even considered sharing my plans with you,” the Grand Duke shook his head, his tone turning cold: “Unfortunately.”

Thales's brain started working.

He had already determined the origin of this conspiracy. Therefore…

“Pefit,” Thales’s eyes flickered, “when you were investigating your magic gun unit and my assassination, you claimed to have found the Blade of Calamity, but King Nunn found out about it.”

“Now it seems that this was information you deliberately leaked to King Nunn, didn’t it? You knew that King Nunn would deal with this nearby enemy first,” Thales recalled the thrilling duel in Valhalla: “Pefit was actually betrayed to Dragonsreach by you.”

Rumba snorted coldly.

“Kaslan,” he said calmly amidst the scraping of the carriage wheels, “my uncle used to be in the Tower of the End. He was very interested in the Sword of Calamity, and he was also on good terms with Nuen—so I leaked the information to him, and Nuen will naturally find out from him.”

It can also accomplish other things.

“Kaslan doesn’t know you plan to kill the king, does he?”

Thales looked at him quietly, trying to find something in Rumba's eyes: "I heard he and you have a bad relationship."

Rumba gave him a meaningful look.

Thales had no choice but to withdraw his observation.

Rumba slowly shook his head: "I knew it when you were attacked that it was Peffert who framed me. That selfish and cowardly guy naively thought that we were just playing a game where we could withdraw our chips and cut our losses at any time."

Thales sighed: "He paid the price—betraying his allies, and in the end, he died because of their betrayal."

“As you said, the investigation was only to leak this information to Nunn, and of course, to fill the gaps in my forces—in fact, it was this investigation that led to my unexpected discovery.” Rumba’s fingers lightly brushed against his sword.

Thales looked up: "What did you find?"

Rumba gave him a mysterious look and shook his head.

Thales looked at him silently, but the other man showed no intention of explaining.

The prince could only sigh inwardly.

“So, you used Pefit as a pawn to attract King Nunn’s attention,” Thales chose to skip this point and continue the conversation, based on his experience with interviews, “while you were busy preparing your conspiracy, such as using my assassination attempt as an excuse to openly send troops north to escort me, and even contacting allies like Shrews, right?”

Rumba looked at his sword with a cold gaze.

“This is the last bit of use that coward from Beacon City can play,” the Grand Duke said slowly. “To divert some attention and buy some time—meetings, banquets, duels. I heard Nunn is having a great time in Valhalla.”

Thales' tone lowered: "At the same time, he lost his vigilance towards you."

“In the half-day that Peppet’s death has given me,” Rumba nodded, his eyes sharp and piercing, “I must secure the victory.”

“Selling out allies, drawing away enemies, seeking alliances, seizing the opportunity to send troops, preparing plans, and then the final thunderous strike,” Thales sighed, “and then this happened to be a chaotic night caused by disaster—you’re a madman.”

He looked up at Rumba with disbelief in his eyes: "Do you know that if any part of this goes wrong, you will be doomed?"

Rumba paused slightly.

The carriage jolted violently as it passed over an uneven patch of ground!
The already nervous little rascal couldn't help but let out a scream.

Rumba suddenly looked up!

"No chance of recovery?"

The Black Sands Grand Duke's voice rose, and Rumba's sharp eyes flashed with chilling intent: "Child, you know nothing."

"do not know anything."

Thales frowned.

Rumba fixed his gaze on him with unprecedented firmness and seriousness, his tone filled with suppressed, unreadable emotions:

"In order to complete that grand plan with Aaron, we started preparing many years ago, from connecting intelligence to mobilizing the territory, from acquiring connections to recruiting and cultivating talents."

"In order to take the fortress, I issued a mobilization order that was unprecedented in the entire history of Exter, exhausting almost every copper coin, every drop of blood, and every person in the territory. With the bitter cold of the day imminent, I had no reserves of supplies, no cultivated wasteland, and no grain transport. I bet everything on this plan!"

Thales was slightly taken aback.

Rumba continued, his tone growing increasingly urgent:
"Black Sand Territory has long been running out of money for this plan, both in terms of food and funds. The money I borrowed from the Commas merchants is simply impossible to repay. The finances are on the verge of collapse, and next year will only get harder."

“I don’t have many reliable standing troops at my disposal, two thousand is the limit, and even fewer are willing to fight against Dragonstreet. After the dragon appeared last night, I secretly executed a group of wavering soldiers. Even so, I can’t directly order them to besiege and kill the king. I can only give them vague orders to fight against ‘Exter’s enemies’.”

"As for Dragon City, the earls on the outskirts alone can raise an army several times larger than ours. As for Walton's own conscripts... once they discover us, we could be wiped out in Dragon City's siege without even making a ripple."

"For last night, I braved the impending bitter cold, eating dry rations and leading the meticulously trained army all the way here. Their eyes were filled with exhaustion, dejection, and confusion as they looked at me, maintaining only the most basic fighting strength with the instincts left over from past training."

“My men, from Lewandowski to Cambida, from Tuleha to Bits, have risked their lives and heads to bind the army to follow me into this bottomless abyss.”

"We didn't even consider supplies and warmth for the return trip."

Rumba gripped the scabbard tightly, his expression terrifying and ruthless: "Because I know that we might not even have a way back!"

"This is an expedition with no way back."

Thales stared blankly at Rumba.

The stern-faced Black Sand Duke, who ate venison in his tent, his face flickering in the firelight, and who offered him a wine cup only to be mockingly refused, began to come to life before his eyes.

"Do you understand, little prince? While you were comfortably sitting in the Palace of Restoration receiving your royal name, while your father was helping you eliminate enemies like Arend," the Grand Duke of Black Sand said slowly, "Black Sand and I are already—doomed."

"What I did was to snatch the last glimmer of hope from a hopeless situation that had already led to utter ruin."

"I racked my brains to manipulate the situation and atmosphere, mobilized all possible and impossible manpower and connections, and made countless promises, from the Marquis of Shanliu to the gangster boss, from the merchant caravan of Cornmas to the intelligence brokers of the Armored District, from the Shadow Shield to Sarridon, and even had Srace urge and intensify the conflict between you and Peffert as quickly and decisively as possible, and..."

Lumba stopped talking, took a deep breath, and composed himself: "Just to rush ahead and deliver the final, lightning-fast, fatal blow before Nunn notices."

A glint of light flashed in His Excellency’s eyes: “Only after going through all this can I sit here.”

"To firmly grasp the future of our two countries in our own hands."

Thales stared blankly at Rumba.

It felt like I was meeting him for the first time.

The carriage drove through a street, and the soldiers of Black Sand Territory discreetly and efficiently cleared the way for them.

Thales suddenly noticed that Rumba had much more gray hair and looked much more haggard than when they last met, with pale lips and sunken eyes.

Before the final battle with Giza, Black Sword's words resurfaced in my mind.

They seek hope in desperate situations, turn defeats into victories, elevate favorable circumstances to invincibility, and transform unforeseen events into advantages...

Thales took a deep breath.

“I understand,” the prince said, closing his eyes. “So that’s how it is, strong man.”

Rumba squinted: "What?"

Thales opened his eyes and, under the curious gaze of the little rascal, said calmly, "In your game, in the standoff between Dragon Sky City and Black Sand Territory, you are undoubtedly the weaker party, at a huge disadvantage, and in a precarious situation."

The prince chuckled softly: "Do you know that after Nuen killed Pefit, he even threatened to send troops to Black Sand Territory in the spring to replace him with a Black Sand Grand Duke who would satisfy him?"

Rumba lowered his head and hummed softly, "Just as I expected—my dear uncle."

“You know your uncle, your king, and your adversary very well.”

“But he doesn’t understand you, he doesn’t understand his nephew,” Thales sighed. “You’ve gambled everything, left no way out, schemed and plotted, and gathered every last bit of leverage to fight to the death for your survival.”

Rumba didn't speak.

Thales chuckled softly, his voice filled with sorrow:
"In contrast, Nunn Walton, as the King of the Commonwealth, possesses Dragonstreet City and holds supreme power and immense strength. Even though you killed his son, he still treats you as a mere weak vassal."

Thales sighed softly:
"He is confident because of his own strength, and regards you as someone like Pefett, someone insignificant who can be destroyed with a flick of his wrist."

“In this life-or-death struggle between Nunn Walton and Chaman Lumba, you were the true victor,” the second prince raised his head and calmly gazed at Lumba, “while King Nunn suffered defeat and death…”

"It was destined long ago."

In that instant, Thales noticed that Rumba's gaze towards him had changed.

well.

The conversation has begun.

Thales took a deep breath.

"So, there's still one last question that I still can't figure out," Thales said slowly, word by word, under Rumba's complicated gaze:
"Beyond the assassins—why did you come to Dragon Sky City in person?"

"besides……"

How do you plan to handle this?

Note: The next chapter will be a bit more intense, so please buckle up.

This week, thank you to readers Du Erhu San for the 2000 Qidian Coins reward, Qingshan Gumeng for 1100, Fangxin Shichi for 1000, Yu Nanfeng and Yiqu Wangzhe Shoumenyuan for 500, Jinghong for 300, Yu Zutao, Biaoyibubeiqizhu, Shen Xiaochuan, and Migang for 200, and duhaitao, Liezhipin, and Gequyinxingbanlezhangxingyongka (Wow, this ID is amazing!) for 100!

And also to the readers of Genesis Station, the 999 book coins reward from Predestined Fate, and the 100 book coins reward from Standing at the Top of the World and Looking Down on Life!

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(End of this chapter)