Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 207 The Prince's Question

In the quiet cell, Cohen and Miranda looked at the newcomer with complicated expressions.

"You, from the Kingdom's Secret Service?"

The prince was startled, first thinking of the Black Prophet, then of Kessel.

Thales, still shaken, breathed heavily as he carefully examined the newcomer, Raphael.

Those eerie red eyes made him quite uneasy.

The little rascal clung tightly to his back, only daring to show half his face.

Raphael was also carefully observing Thales.

Compared to the last time in the Hall of Stars—Raphael smiled slightly: He seems to have grown quite a bit.

The next second, Raphael suddenly stood up, startling Thales.

“Come in,” Raphael said calmly. “It’s safe now. My men will keep watch.”

Thales was taken aback.

But then, the thick door separating the cell from the outside was opened again.

A man dressed in patrol uniform walked into the cell with his head down.

His legs and feet seemed a little unsteady, and one of his arms was also stiff.

The newcomer raised his head, tore off the disguise, and revealed the lower half of his face—a half-silver mask.

Thales' eyes widened suddenly!

“Rolf!” the second prince blurted out.

The Ghost of the Wind raised his head and nodded silently to Thales. He walked to Thales's cell, turned the key left by the guards, and opened the door.

Wyman let out a long sigh of relief and collapsed as if suddenly relieved: "My God... I knew it, leaving you there on purpose was useful..."

Thales breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "I'm saved."

He walked out of the cell with the little rascal and saw Rolf and Raphael still opening the door, and his eyes lit up.

“Those sudden gusts of wind just now,” Thales said, his eyes darting around before he suddenly realized, “Rolf, was that you?”

Rolf opened Wya's cell door, blinked slightly, and gave the prince an affirmative gesture.

“Hopefully the sound of the wind will help us cover our tracks and the sounds of fighting,” Raphael said, walking over to the poor guard leader and calmly searching the dead man’s pockets. “Keep quiet. There are still hundreds of men guarding outside. We can’t let our guard down.”

Thales felt a slight tightening in his chest: several hundred people?
Raphael retrieved a bunch of keys, stood up, and walked to Cohen's cell.

“Raphael,” Cohen sighed, annoyed, “you actually had those guys execute us, couldn’t you have come up with a different reason…”

Raphael chuckled softly.

Rolf glanced at the guard, his eyes still filled with disgust.

Cohen looked at the Ghost in the Wind and shrugged helplessly.

"You know each other?" Thales frowned as he observed the unusual interaction between Cohen, Raphael, and Rolf.

"Know each other?" Cohen scoffed. "More than that."

Raphael ignored his tone and said calmly, "There are six of them."

“I can’t take care of them all quietly, so I need to wait for the best opportunity, like when they all turn their backs to unlock the locks,” Raphael walked expressionlessly to Cohen’s side, took the leader’s key, and squatted down to unlock the chains on his body: “And by the way, have them help me unlock the prison door.”

Freed from his restraints, Cohen shook off the chains and sat up.

But then his face contorted, he clutched his right shoulder with his left hand, and screamed in agony over the pain in his right arm.

Raphael's eyes flickered, and he placed his hand on the guard's right shoulder, then grabbed his dislocated right arm. Cohen, without hesitation, released his grip, letting Raphael do as he pleased.

"The person who reattached your arm probably suspected you had the ability to break the chains, so they deliberately left a small loophole—bear with it, I need to loosen the joint and reattach it," Raphael said calmly.

He suddenly tightened his grip on Cohen's hand, pulling and pushing him.

Cohen bit his lower lip and groaned, his body trembling violently as his joints cracked.

A few seconds later, the sweating guard breathed a sigh of relief, panting as if he had just been tortured, and patted Raphael on the shoulder.

The latter pulled him up from the ground.

“Speaking of which, Raphael,” Cohen gasped, staring blankly at the newcomer Raphael:

"How did your swordsmanship become...so strong?"

“Simple,” Raphael glanced at him casually, then turned and headed toward Miranda’s cell: “Practice more.”

Cohen's eyes flickered, and he said, "Your right hand was just chopped off..."

Raphael suddenly turned around!
"Snapped!"

He patted Cohen on the shoulder.

Cohen was startled and stared blankly as Raphael raised the back of his right hand towards him.

“Look,” Raphael said softly, staring at the guard with his distinctive dark red eyes, “he didn’t hit me.”

Cohen was startled.

He rubbed his eyes hard, examined Raphael's intact right hand, and then looked at his old friend with suspicion.

how come……

sleeve.

Even the sleeves were torn in two!

Cohen frowned.

and……

Cohen's gaze swept over the six dead men, his mind replaying Raphael's ghostly movements over and over again.

Recalling that moment, the guard was filled with shock.

Over the past three years, Cohen believes he has been transformed through the life-and-death trials on the Western Frontier. His swordsmanship, characterized by its wild and aggressive style, has grown rapidly under immense pressure. Miranda, on the other hand, has become stronger with each battle in the dangerous standoff on the northern border, and her fighting rhythm under the celestial symphony has become increasingly distinct.

However, the timing and manner in which Raphael instantly killed six people—Cohen frowned: it had transcended the characteristics bestowed by the power of termination, and was no longer a particular style of swordsmanship or combat tactic, nor a fixed fighting technique or a simple application of strength.

Rather, it's about integrating combat into every instinctive movement, a more fundamental understanding of battle...

Cohen gritted his teeth slightly, recalling what his teacher, Jedd Tufner, had said: "The breakthrough from the mortal level to the super-level is easy to identify—simply put, it's like a normal person suddenly becoming abnormal; a simple fight becomes a chaotic mess, all messy and snotty..."

The teacher's cynical words echoed in my ears.

“But the sign of advancing from the Super Rank to the Ultimate Rank…” The teacher’s eyelids twitched slightly, and one corner of his mouth curled up.

"That's hard to say—from terrifying swordsmen who survived the battlefield to theoretical experts who have never touched a weapon, there are those who are reasonable and those who are not, those who are well-founded and those who are talking nonsense. People have been arguing about this for thousands of years, and there are many different opinions."

"What fancy 'power control,' 'micro-management,' 'essential understanding,' and all that esoteric 'expert' talk about 'externalizing a domineering aura,' and even that utter nonsense about 'realm suppression' and 'innate phenomena'..." Jed sighed deeply, his back to Cohen, and muttered to himself:

"In my opinion, there is a simple and effective standard for defining this."

Mr. Jedi turned around and looked directly at the stylish and young Cohen, his eyes shining:

"When one day you find yourself facing a formidable foe, whether a weak newbie or an invincible foe, whether trapped in a deadly situation or an evenly matched opponent, you can resolve the battle in an instant, regardless of victory or defeat..."

The teacher nodded slowly, crossed his arms, and looked deep into his eyes.

"You're probably close to the limit."

An indescribable mix of emotions welled up in Cohen's heart, including the disappointment of seeing his peers, who started at the same point, far surpass him, and the感慨 of his friends becoming increasingly powerful.

But that's impossible.

Raphael.

How could you... both Miranda and I...

Thinking of this, Cohen quickly turned to look at the other side.

Look at Miranda.

Miss Arendt stared blankly at the ground, her expression subtle and complex.

Raphael calmly unlocked the chains binding Miranda.

Miranda grabbed the fence and got up, her expression unchanged.

The two did not speak, as if deliberately avoiding each other's gaze, and did not even exchange glances.

It seemed very deliberate.

Raphael turned around, and just then, the female swordsman's voice came.

“Your hand,” Miranda said softly, kicking away the chains beneath her feet.

Raphael paused slightly.

“It’s nothing,” he said calmly, then stepped out of the room without hesitation and walked toward Wyman.

Having observed everything, Cohen couldn't help but mutter to himself:

Dog men and women.

On the other side, Rolf crouched down next to Thales and used his hidden blade to cut the ropes behind Thales and the little rascal.

"Secretary... how did you find him?" Thales shook his sore and numb arm and gestured toward Raphael with his chin.

Rolf gave him a smirk, pulled out the JC dagger that Thales had been confiscated from his waist, and handed it to the prince.

The Ghost of the Wind raised his hand and made several gestures: [He is looking for me.] Thales sighed and looked at the visitor from the Secret Service with a complicated expression.

There were some things he needed to clarify.

Rolf turned around, took a package from behind his back, unwrapped it, and revealed two longswords inside.

The Ghost of the Wind walked up to Cohen, frowned, and threw Karabyan's sword to him with a look of disgust.

Cohen raised an eyebrow and tested the hilt of the sword.

“Alright,” the guard exhaled and snorted, “I gave you a lot of injuries, and you saved my life.”

"I think we're even?"

Rolf was taken aback.

“You hurt him, and then he saved you,” Wyatt said, his eyes wide. With Raphael’s help, he stood up and couldn’t help but say, “It’s clear you owe him… how can it be even?”

Rolf gave Cohen a deep look, his fists clenching slightly.

Cohen smiled.

The Ghost of the Wind immediately turned its head away and stopped looking at him.

After Raphael unchained Wyah, he turned to retrieve his sword, which was stuck in a corpse. But when he looked up, he found the hilt of the sword already presented to him.

Raphael raised his eyes and looked at Miranda, whose gaze was subtle.

The two looked at each other, their expressions different.

A few seconds later, Raphael looked away, took the sword Miranda offered, and nodded slightly.
"Thank you."

Cohen, who was stretching his arms nearby, rolled his eyes.

“Check your own status,” Raphael’s cold voice came just as Thales was about to speak, “and listen carefully.”

Everyone turned to look at Raphael, who had just rescued them.

“We are in a dangerous situation,” the young man from the secret service said gravely. “Our first priority now is to escape from here.”

Thales frowned slightly and looked around: "Where exactly are we?"

Raphael looked at him.

“Between the highest city gate in the entire Dragonsreach City—the Axe District and the Hall of Heroes,” Raphael pointed to the dimly lit cell, “this is the temporary guardhouse inside the city gate.”

Thales was slightly taken aback.

"The city gate near Valhalla? You mean this place..."

“Yes, the gate has now been captured by Lumba…” Raphael nodded solemnly, “The soldiers of Black Sand Territory are using the geographical advantage of this gate to hold the line between Valhalla and Dragonsky City.”

“Rumba?” Thales’s expression shifted slightly.

“Rumba,” Raphael said confidently.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, a heavy silence settling in the air.

"How is that possible?" Cohen, who had experience in war, asked in disbelief, "This is the famously impregnable barrier gate of Dragon Sky City! How did they manage to take it down?"

“They didn’t launch a full-scale assault; instead, they seized the city quietly and cleverly.” Raphael shook his head. “Now, Valhalla and the rest of the city are isolated.”

Thales frowned.

He asked with a hint of something deeper, "What about the rest of the people in the city? Are they just watching?"

“The vassals of Dragonstreet are still completely unaware,” Raphael replied calmly. “Prime Minister Lisbon and the General Order are busy searching for King Nunn’s whereabouts and quelling the chaos.”

“There are still hundreds of people inside the city gate—there are two squads on the level above us alone, we can’t fight them off,” he glanced at the crowd, pointed to the ceiling, and said calmly, “Our only advantage is that we haven’t been discovered yet.”

"How did you get in?" Thales's expression changed. "How are you going to escape?"

“We infiltrated secretly, we forged Rumba’s warrant,” Raphael said, finding it somewhat strange. “As for escaping…”

“Disguise is no longer an option,” Raphael said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the two children. “I’ve planned the route. I’ll be the striker, with Cohen and Miranda working together. A surprise attack should be enough to break through, since most of our forces have been taken to Valhalla by Rumba.”

Thales was startled.

"Rumba went to Valhalla?" he exclaimed in astonishment. "What is he going to do? Capture the other grand dukes?"

“I don’t know,” Raphael shook his head, his expression calm. “But this is a good thing for us. With the interior empty, I can sneak in.”

"As long as we break through, we can meet up with the secret service's reinforcements."

Miranda frowned slightly.

“Can’t we notify the other loyalists in Dragonstreet?” she began. “Once they notice the anomaly at the gates, Rumba will have nowhere to hide.”

“First of all, although the king’s body has not yet been found, His Highness is now a suspect in the eye of the storm, given that rumors have already spread throughout Dragon City,” Raphael shook his head. “Even those loyal to Walton, such as Prime Minister Lisbon, would make arrest His Highness as their first choice if he found out.”

Thales's face darkened.

“Secondly, we don’t know how many spies Lumba still has in Dragon City, nor do we know if he has a way to perfectly deceive the Walton vassals, given the current rumors…” Raphael paused slightly, then stopped speaking: “So I don’t recommend you take the risk.”

Raphael tested the sword in his hand, and Thales noticed that his right hand was still as smooth and delicate as ever, without a speck of dust on it: "Finally, I think that since Rumba has taken over this city gate, he must have follow-up measures, and he may not even be afraid of being found out."

"The situation has spiraled out of our control."

“For your safety, and for the future of the stars, you need to leave immediately,” Raphael said in a low voice, his dark red eyes wide open. “Leave Dragoncity, leave Exter.”

“Return to the Star Kingdom.”

Thales watched the young secret service member silently without saying a word.

His gaze grew increasingly profound.

It was as if they wanted to see something through Raphael.

The prince's gaze made Raphael feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Okay,” Thales finally said softly, “one last question.”

Raphael nodded slightly, politely indicating for the prince to continue.

Looking at the gazes of those around him, Thales sighed softly.

“I find it strange, Raphael,” the second prince said softly, his voice carrying a faint chill: “You stand here, neither asking how King Nuen is, nor asking me what happened to me.”

"I'm heartbroken."

Raphael was slightly taken aback.

what?
The people around were also stunned.

The little rascal blinked, puzzled.

“Your Highness,” Wyatt frowned, “perhaps now is not the time…”

Wyatt didn't continue, because Thales spoke up again.

“While the entire Dragoncity was in chaos, and even the Walton family’s vassals were kept in the dark,” Thales said, slowly walking to the corner of the wall and touching it.

“Raphael, you know perfectly well that Chaman Lumba was behind all of this,” Thales turned and looked directly at the young man from the Secret Service. “You even found this place—the city gate—and easily forged Lumba’s warrant to sneak in and rescue people.”

Thales narrowed his eyes, his pupils contracting slightly:

Is the Secret Service really that powerful?

Raphael said nothing.

Cohen scratched his head, looked at Thales, then at Raphael, and finally turned his questioning gaze to Miranda.

But to his surprise, Miranda was also looking at Raphael with a gleam in her eyes.

A few seconds later.

“We have our own channels,” Raphael said softly, a slight smirk playing on his lips, his tone extremely cautious: “The Secret Service has been operating in the shadows for over six hundred years…”

But he couldn't continue speaking because Thales interrupted him.

“I find it strange too,” Thales slowly shook his head, his tone becoming more serious and his pace quickening, “The Grand Duke of Lombardy in Black Sand Territory, with the help of a retired commander, a minor official involved in the mafia, and a foreign nobleman, was able to resolutely head north to the capital of the most powerful country in the Western Continent…”

"He easily killed the co-ruling king of the Dragon Kingdom, the 'Born King' who had been renowned for thirty years, Nun Walton VII."

Is Rumba really that amazing?

Raphael's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes flickered slightly.

"As a representative of the Secret Service, which has 'operated in the shadows for over six hundred years'," Thales's gaze sharpened, "can you answer this question for me, Raphael?"

The atmosphere became somewhat serious. Wyatt frowned and nudged Rolf, but the latter gently shook his head.

Sensing something amiss, Cohen bit his lip, trying to get some hints from Miranda, but she remained silent.

Only the little rascal, looking around timidly, seemed lost among the group of Star People.

“We will investigate this matter,” Raphael sighed, “but now…”

“Now,” Thales interrupted him again.

“Now, if you still enjoy acting, Raphael,” the second prince took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his tone resolute, “then I might as well ask more clearly.”

Thales stood with his back to the wall, staring directly into Raphael's eerie red eyes.

“The Kingdom’s Secret Service,” Thales murmured softly in the silent cell, “when exactly did it begin…”

"Started working with Chaman Lumba?"

(End of this chapter)