Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 201 The Prince's Last Day

Dragon Sky City.

Under the eaves of a secluded house.

Nikolai, his face covered in blood, lay on his side beside a wooden barrel. He gritted his teeth and struggled to reach out and break off a crossbow bolt that had pierced his thigh from the tail. Then he gripped the bloody arrowhead protruding from his hind leg and tightened his grip slightly.

"laugh!"

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, but the Meteorite gritted his teeth and, without uttering a sound, pulled out the arrow while trembling.

Nikolai exhaled, threw away the arrowhead, and tore off a piece of cloth to prepare to bandage it.

This is the last arrow.

As for the two arrows still lodged in his body... Nikolai looked at his left arm and left leg.

There, conspicuously, remained two arrow shafts, broken down to just an inch or so.

The meteorite's eyes were fierce, and he clenched his fists.

Immediately, his unique finishing power emanated from his bones, tensing his muscles and sealing off the area around the arrow shaft.

This should be enough to last for a while.

Nikolai took a deep breath, feeling the grim reality of his injuries, and frowned.

The Meteorite slowly raised his head and looked at the man lying on the ground in front of him, covered in wounds: "You are the person Grevol was talking about."

But there was no response.

"Good skills, the way you blocked the crossbow bolts was ingenious." Nikolai nodded slowly.

In fact... Nikolai took a breath and told himself: This is a tough character.

The man carrying a strange black sword snorted coldly and bandaged the last major wound on his body.

“You’re not bad either,” he said casually, glancing at the badly worn shield on Nicolai’s left arm.

Nikolai squinted.

"Did you seal away the calamity?" The Meteorite struggled to his feet and leaned against the wall. "You have... those weapons?"

“I suppose so,” Black Sword nodded, his expression indifferent. “That cripple dropped a spear, didn’t he?”

Nikolai endured the pain in his arms and calves, scrutinizing the man carrying the strange sword. His gaze swept over the other sword at the man's waist, and a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes.

"You know us...who exactly are you?"

The leader of the White Blade Guard casually placed his hand next to the Soul-Severing Blade and said softly, "You know about magic users, and you also know about legendary anti-magic users..."

But he was interrupted.

“Hey,” the plain-looking, unremarkable man shook his head slightly, “Are you sure you want to waste your time here?”

Nicolai frowned slightly.

“You heard what those commoners were saying,” Black Sword lowered his head and began wiping his longsword, “Your king…”

He shrugged.

The meteorite remained silent for a moment.

“Yes,” Nikolai said, picking up a crossbow bolt, his face grim and his eyes dim. “I have a feeling the worst has already happened.”

The humiliation of being stabbed in the face.

I am afraid……

Nikolai's eyes grew colder and colder, and he slowly clenched his fists.

Black Sword, wiping his weapon, glanced over and observed Nicolai's expression: "You're not planning to do anything? At least you should send a message?"

Nikolai's gaze was fixed on the crossbow bolt in his hand, his left fist clenched tightly and trembling slightly.

"Whoever started this rebellion—Black Sand Territory or anyone else—has been planning this for a long time with meticulous detail," the Meteorite gritted his teeth, grinding the words between them. His pale face stood out starkly against the backdrop of blood. "Now, no one can be trusted except my Bladesworn brothers."

Black Sword gave a soft snort, hung his weapon back on his waist, and struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support: "Then good luck."

Nikolai looked up at the man who was about to leave.

“Hey,” the Meteorite called out to the strange man, nodding at him, “You’re not from the North… why did you save me?”

Black Sword turned around and gave Nikolai a meaningful look.

In that instant, Nicolai felt a strange emotion flicker in the man's eyes.

"I can't stand those despicable people who use crossbows to outnumber their opponents," Black Sword said calmly, turning back around.

Nikolai, who was resting against the wall, scoffed at the words.

"Come on," Nikolai slowly shook his head, revealing a sarcastic smile: "As the White Blade Guard, the King's sharpest blade, I have fought many battles, served as his reserve, messenger, military judge, executioner, suicide squad, elite vanguard, rearguard... every position you can imagine."

Black Sword didn't turn around, but his voice came through:

"so?"

Nikolai struggled to sit up a few inches and took a deep breath.

“So, I’ve interrogated many prisoners of war, spies, traitors, and enemies. I can distinguish between lies and truth, and I’ve seen how different people fight,” Meteorite responded to Blacksword, his eyes sparkling. “I saw how you beat Tuleha up—kicking up snow and dust? You don’t look like one of those righteous crusaders who stand up for justice.”

Black Sword turned his head and glanced at Nikolai, who was panting on the ground.

After a while.

Nicolai snorted and shook his head, saying, "If you're not going to say anything..."

at this time.

"Is this the knife?" Black Sword asked softly.

Nicolai frowned.

"what?"

The next instant, the Meteorite noticed that the man's gaze had fallen on the Soul-Severing Blade beside him.

Nikolai's breathing began to quicken, slightly aggravating his injuries.

He unconsciously touched the hilt of the knife.

"This is the sword," thankfully, Black Sword asked in his deep voice, "that killed Horace Star?"

Nikolai's eyes widened slightly.

what?
The two men stared at each other for two seconds under the eaves.

"Yes, the Blade of Severance."

Nikolai's gaze never left Black Sword's eyes. He nodded slowly, raising his guard to its highest level and adjusting his body to a position where he could either launch a sudden attack or defend in time. Only then did he calmly say, "Twelve years ago, the Sword of Light died by its hand."

Black Sword breathed slowly, his eyes flashing with inexplicable emotions.

“Horace,” he began slowly, “did he suffer before he died?”

Nikolai took a deep breath, leaned on the wooden tub, and stood up shakily, gripping the Soulbreaker Blade tightly in his right hand.

"Now I know why you saved me."

The Meteorite gritted his teeth, his gaze growing increasingly sharp.

But Black Sword just stared at him silently, without saying a word.

“If you want revenge for the Sword of Light, now is a good time,” Nikolai gasped painfully, widening the distance between his legs as he quickly assessed the moment to strike. The power of termination slowly condensed within his bones, his words revealing intense hostility: “Of course, don’t expect me not to fight back.”

However, the man in front of him only glanced at the Soul-Severing Blade before turning and leaving.

Nikolai frowned deeply.

He watched the black sword's figure slowly disappear, his doubts only growing stronger.

"and many more."

The Meteorite finally spoke.

"What exactly is your purpose, you mysterious fellow?" Nicolai said slowly. "There's a saying in Commas: 'Beware of gifts given without expecting anything in return.'"

Black Sword turned and gave the Meteorite a deep look. “Compared to interrogating me,” Black Sword shook his head slightly, “I believe you have more important things to do.”

Nicolai frowned slightly: "Yes, believe me, I'm already doing it."

Black Sword twitched the corner of his mouth, shook his head, took unsteady steps after his injury, and turned to leave.

Nicolai stared at him blankly.

I stared at the man's departing figure.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

Nikolai's brow twitched, as if he was hesitating.

Until the figure of the black sword disappeared behind the wall around the corner.

After an unknown amount of time, the Meteorite sighed.

"Fine." He seemed to have made up his mind, and gave a light scoff.

The footsteps behind the wall stopped.

"The death of Horace Shining Star," he said calmly, "in return, if you really want to know..."

There was no sound from behind the wall.

Nicolai slowly slid down against the wall, his eyes lowered, his gaze drifting back to the past.

"That night, that battle..."

Nicolai murmured, "Horace, that cold-blooded butcher, in his black armor, with his guards, bearing wounds and shattered armor..."

"That was a real bloodbath; everyone went mad."

Nikolai's gaze wandered, already fixed on another place that was no longer in front of him.

That rocky pass.

He said in a calm tone, "Tyrend, Jules, Tuleha, and the people from the Stars... We all forget everything in the midst of swords and blood, feeling nothing but killing and death. I feel the blood in my veins boiling."

"When Tuleha was wounded and left, we roared in fury. Jules, who was being pushed back, laughed heartily. When Tyrande was killed, we went even crazier... It was the final battle, and so it was the same for the Star People..."

"Living people fell one by one, bleeding, while the dead were carried away one by one..."

Nikolai lowered his eyes: "Everyone's gone mad. The battlefield, you know."

He gave a nonsensical chuckle, his emotions and intentions unclear.

Silence remained behind the wall.

It was as if Nicolai was talking to himself.

But the one who fell from the sky knew that there were people listening to his story.

“But Horace is different,” Nikolai raised his head again, his tone shifting, a subtle change in his expression: “While we were all acting like wild beasts, he showed no expression at all, as if he didn’t care about the battle at hand.”

Nikolai lowered his head and said softly:
He died peacefully.

The words fell.

A second later, a low but disordered breathing sound came from behind the wall.

"Peaceful?" Black Sword's voice trembled as it came.

Nicolai nodded, letting out a sneer that was hard to tell whether it was sarcastic or helpless: "When he fell into my arms... the look on his face was like he was finally free."

The black sword behind the wall remained silent, and his breathing gradually faded away.

Nicolai lowered his head and sighed, "Killing Horace wasn't a pleasant experience."

"Because that didn't feel like a fight at all."

There was still no movement behind the wall.

But Nikolai continued speaking, his expression indifferent, giving a desolate smile.

“That feeling… it was as if he was seeking release,” Nikolai murmured, his voice desolate. “Have you ever seen someone on the battlefield who has suffered an incurable wound but doesn’t die anytime soon…”

"That's the feeling... those eyes seeking relief..."

The sound of fingers rubbing against a sword hilt came from behind the wall.

Although it was very faint, Nikolai heard it.

The breathing became heavier again.

"Liberation?" Black Sword's voice came, trembling slightly, as if he were struggling to speak:

"why?"

The Meteorite sighed: "I don't know."

“And I don’t want to know,” Nicolai shook his head, his eyes unfocused. “I guess people have all sorts of thoughts before they die, thoughts they don’t usually have, and the prince is no exception?”

Maybe.

Especially the prince.

Nikolai's eyes dimmed as he thought of King Nunn and Prince Suril.

He took a deep breath and roused himself.

The breathing behind the wall disappeared again.

Nikolai's gaze drifted into the distance, and he chuckled softly in a daze, his words dripping with sarcasm: "The Meteorite... the Meteorite... haha, haha..."

Under the eaves, the two men on either side of the corner remained motionless and silent.

A long time passed.

"Thank you," Black Sword's voice came from the other side of the wall.

Nicolai snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and scoffed, "It's just as repayment for saving me. There's nothing to thank me for..."

But he was interrupted.

"No, this isn't for me," the man behind the wall said calmly.

"It's for Horace."

Nikolai was slightly taken aback.

why?
He really wanted to ask that.

But a few seconds later, Nikolai shut his mouth. He understood something and nodded knowingly.

There was no sound from behind the wall.

The Meteorite leaned against the wall behind him, his eyes calm: "Alright."

“Good luck,” Nikolai whispered, “the man with the black sword.”

On the other side of the wall, Black Sword did not answer.

The forlorn-looking man raised his head and gazed deeply at the northern sky.

The next second, Black Sword turned around and disappeared under the eaves.

Hmm, it's necessary to move this chapter to Chapter 13, and then revise it later.

Believe it or not, I'm going to start stockpiling chapters starting today, otherwise I won't be able to update daily (damn it, shouldn't new employees be doing odd jobs? Why am I doing so much work?!).

It's time to say goodbye to the 7-word chapter.

It's nothing.

I'll write slowly, and you can read slowly.

(6-1! A comeback victory!)
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(End of this chapter)