Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 221 Shelter
As a group of people emerged from the secret passage, filled with doubt and unease, Thales had a vague sense of seeing the light of day again.

But whenever he thought about everything that happened in Longxiao City, his mood was as if shrouded in a shadow, which deepened and became more and more entangled in assassinations, conspiracies, and betrayals, and he could not shake it off.

He was dispatched to quell a potential war between the two countries.

but……

Before Thales' eyes appeared Nunn's head, which had rolled to the ground, and Rumba's rugged, indifferent face.

He couldn't help but hold his breath.

The second prince raised his head and looked at the gray sky over the north, but felt only a deeper sense of confusion.

"What's next?"

Miranda remained wary, surveying her surroundings—a secluded, cramped corner of the city, the weathered stone walls bearing the marks of time and hardship. Turning to the Fallen One, she asked, "Your plan? To find the vassals still loyal to Walton?"

But Nikolai just stared intently at his weapon, ignoring her words, seemingly still absorbed in his negotiations with the Scarlet Witch.

Raphael answered her.

“Dragon Sky City is still very dangerous, even for Walton’s vassals…” The young man from the Secret Service frowned: “We can’t just show up like this.”

“His Highness’s safety is the top priority, as it concerns the stability of the stars,” Wyatt interjected, sighing. “Right now, all the northerners of Dragonsky City are looking for him. In a few days, the entire Exeter might join in, and there’s such a large group of us…”

Rolf patted him on the shoulder, and the latter shook his head at Wyman with a serious look in his eyes.

Wyman didn't finish his sentence, but he still glanced at the White Blade Guards, a deep worry creeping onto his face.

Thales felt that many eyes were glancing at him, intentionally or unintentionally.

He understood what Wyman meant: these guards with bayonets were, after all, from the North.

Perhaps they share a common enemy, or perhaps their goals and interests temporarily align, but...

They are not one of our own people, after all.

The safest course of action is to get out of trouble and find an opportunity to part ways with them.

The shared crisis brought the Star People and the Northern People together temporarily, but after escaping danger, the hostile tension seemed to return—as evidenced by their clearly defined formations.

And the reason why the White Blade Guards are here... Thales turned his head and met the eyes of the little rascal in mid-air.

Those were bewildered and anxious eyes, unsure of what lay ahead.

Thales paused for a moment.

Nikolai, who had been silent, seemed to finally come to his senses. He raised his head and squinted at the front of him.

“Let’s think about these things after we’re settled,” the Meteorite exhaled. “Our backup will be here soon—let’s head to the shelter first.”

Thales frowned: "A shelter?"

“Ever since we arrived, this city has had a lot of complaints about the prince,” Cohen said, a look of doubt on his face. “Not to mention what has happened, who can still protect us in Dragon Sky City?”

Raphael shook his head, his expression somber: "For some beings, even the biggest things..."

"It's nothing more than a conflict among mortals."

Telston was taken aback.

The next moment, a rugged figure appeared at the corner ahead.

The group immediately went on alert.

But Nikolai waved his hand, signaling them to lower their guard.

“One of our own,” the Meteorite said briefly, then glanced at the newcomer with a complicated expression.

He was a burly man with a buzz cut.

Thales couldn't help but squint, trying to see who it was.

That person seems somewhat familiar...

That is……

Thales was startled, a sense of surprise and astonishment welling up inside him.

"Michael?"

The prince looked at the newcomer and, overwhelmed with surprise and doubt, couldn't help but call out his name, "Lord Michael?"

The newcomer's expression stiffened slightly.

Lord Byrne Mailk, the former chief minister of Dragonsreach, a criminal exiled by King Nunn himself in the Hall of Heroes, strode toward them with the steps of a warrior.

He looked at the Star Prince, who had witnessed the tragedy in the Hall of Heroes, with a complicated expression.

"His Majesty has already stripped me of my position and title, so you might as well change your form of address slightly."

Michael exhaled and said in a low voice, "Good day, Prince Thales."

Many images flooded Thales's mind.

Alex's body convulsed and his hands hung limply at his sides.

Michael knelt down, weeping and confessing his sins.

King Nunn roared with hatred and pain.

Holding his lifeless daughter, Michael staggered out of the hall in a daze.

“You…” Thales felt a lump in his throat. He opened his mouth, but the words stopped abruptly.

He saw the look in Michael's eyes.

The former official's expression was calm, but his eyes held a lifeless, deep gray.

It was as if nothing in the world could interest him anymore.

Thales suddenly remembered another pair of eyes, the eyes of the Black Sword—it was strange, but Thales just had this feeling.

The former king's official cast his gaze toward the sly little fellow behind Thales, his expression complex.

The little rascal seemed surprised to see the former officer here. She seemed to remember something and subconsciously lowered her head.

Michael shut his mouth, his expression somber, and remained silent.

"Nothing went wrong?" Nikolai stepped forward, shook hands firmly with Michael, and then let go.

Michael shook his head but remained silent.

“Please follow me,” Michael said calmly, looking at the group of people before turning back. “Try to be quiet and respectful.”

Cohen looked around and a question popped into his mind—the empty, dilapidated walls and paving stones, the unswept snow and withered branches, looked like the backyard of some noble family that had not been tended to for many years.

"Respect?"

The guard exhaled and looked up at a very imposing stone house in front of him, which had only one small door: "Speaking of which, what exactly is this place?"

Miranda seemed to understand something. She put her index finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture: "Just do it."

Cohen raised an eyebrow and followed the others forward.

Thales turned his head, looking at Nicolai with a nervous expression: "Why..."

The Meteorite choked him off.

"I know what you're thinking."

Nikolai lowered his head, watching Myrk's retreating figure with a subtle expression: "Yes, His Majesty Nunn exiled him, and also..."

The meteorite then raised his head, his eyes slowly hardening.

“But Byrne Mailer, he was… at least once a member of the White Blade Guard.”

Thales frowned:
"Is he still loyal to Walton?"

Nikolai shook his head.

“He’s true to his principles,” the Meteorite sighed, as if recalling something. “No matter what happens, that has never changed.”

"That's why we, the White Blade Guard, are here."

Thales was slightly taken aback.

He recalled the scene in Black Sand Territory where four melee guards, each holding one other's arms, tightly surrounded him and Little Sly.

He let out a soft sigh.

“Thank you, Lord Nicolai,” Thales said, his tone carrying a barely perceptible emotion. “And thank you for your White Blade Guard.”

Nicolai raised an eyebrow slightly. "If you really want to thank me, you odd boy."

“When you sit on the throne one day,” the Meteorite and Thales’s eyes met in the air, “then you will repay this favor.”

Thales did not speak.

He simply smiled and followed the others through the small door of the stone house.

“Be careful,” Thales heard Wyatt whisper to Rolf behind him. “God knows where we are, and who knows what’s waiting for us ahead.”

Rolf let out a muffled groan that was hard to decipher.

He seemed somewhat disdainful.

The stone house was spacious, seemingly a large back hall, but the lighting was dim—not from large chandeliers, but from layers of portable lamps hanging on the walls.

Thales couldn't adjust to the sudden darkness and opened his eyes wide, trying to see his surroundings clearly.

A strong smell of lamp oil filled the air—Tales had a sudden thought: this concentration of eternal oil must mean that the owner of this stone house was either very rich or very noble.

Raphael seemed to be very familiar with the place. He walked into the darkness ahead, and when he came out again, he had bandages and medicine in his hands.

He casually tossed one of the rolls of bandages to Cohen, who was looking puzzled, and carefully handed a medicine bottle to Miranda, who was in a daze.

“Take care of your injuries and recover as soon as possible,” Raphael said, pointing to the wounds on Cohen’s body that had been tightened by the power of the End, his expression serious. “Our battle is not over yet.”

"This is the 'shelter'? What kind of place is it exactly?"

Wyatt squinted, looking at the surrounding stone walls and floor tiles, his hand still firmly on the hilt of his sword: "Wait, this style of architecture... I feel like I've seen it before..."

Just then, two figures appeared in the darkness ahead.

"Your Highness!" A younger figure strode forward, a smile on his face, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "Thank the gods, you have returned safely!"

Thales was taken aback: "You are... Willow?"

It was that new recruit they brought to the Broken Dragon Fortress.

The one who was almost hanged as a deserter.

“Your Highness, you…” The slightly more mature figure breathed a sigh of relief, “I knew it…”

Veteran Jenard looked at Thales with a complicated expression: "I know..."

Looking at the two familiar faces in the Star Envoy, Thales felt as if a shackle had been lifted from his heart.

“You…” Thales looked at the group, a thought suddenly occurring to him: “Where are the others?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than another familiar voice came from the darkness ahead.

"It seems everything is going smoothly?"

Thales was startled, and then blurted out:

"Putilay!"

Under everyone's gaze, Lord Neman Putilay, the knowledgeable deputy envoy of the Starry Sky Mission, came before them. The thin man still held his pipe, seemingly very calm, but his pipe was clearly full of tobacco, yet he did not light it.

“Your Highness,” Putila said with a calm smile, but with a hint of relief in his voice, “I am very pleased to see you return safely.”

Thales watched his deputy quietly, and after a few seconds, he smiled and exhaled.

“I am also glad to see that you are safe and sound,” the prince said with a smile, lowering his guard. “Your Excellency, Vice Envoy.”

Putila nodded and turned to look at the young man from the Secret Service.

"Nothing went wrong inside the city gate?" the deputy envoy asked casually.

“There were some unexpected issues,” Raphael’s expression shifted slightly, “but… it’s all sorted out.”

Thales's heart skipped a beat: Putilai and the people of the Secret Society...

They seem to know each other well?

“That’s good,” Putila said, then looked at Nicolai and Maille and nodded slowly. “Thank you for your hard work.”

Nikolai snorted and turned to leave, while Michael nodded in response without any emotion.

Thales frowned: He's also familiar with the White Blade Guards.
"Try to rest for a while." Putila, unconcerned by the coldness of the guards, forced a meaningful smile at the prince:
"We still have a long journey ahead of us."

Thales gave him a deep look and raised an eyebrow.

In that instant, he had so much to say and so many questions to ask.

Calamity, dragons, the black sword, the death of Nún, Rumba's conspiracy, the Shadow Shield, the schemes of the Dark Chamber, the mysteries of the Secret Society, the secrets of the White Blade Guard...

But all these words, once on the tip of his tongue, were abruptly cut off, ultimately turning into an empty sigh.

Thales's face darkened.

Along with tension and trepidation, fatigue and drowsiness struck again.

"It's not over yet, is it?" The prince turned his head with a complicated expression, looking at the little rascal surrounded by the White Blade Guards, and said dejectedly, "This nightmare."

Putila looked at him silently, without saying a word.

He could only sigh silently in his heart.

“It will end,” the Deputy Envoy said calmly. “A nightmare is still a dream.”

Just then, a young girl dressed in a silver-white robe slowly walked forward.

Her expression was solemn and dignified as she bowed slightly to the people among the stars.

Thales paused slightly as he noticed the pattern on the girl's robe: a crescent moon.

"The High Priest wants to see him," the girl said softly, her voice hollow and seemingly devoid of emotion.

Raphael raised an eyebrow: "Who?"

The girl didn't speak, but simply cast her gaze among the crowd.

It took Thales a full three seconds to realize that she was looking at him.

"why?"

Putila frowned: "His Highness, he..."

“The high priest’s request,” the young girl turned to the side, raised her hand behind her as if inviting, “is the will of God.”

Thales was immediately taken aback.

"Huh?" he asked the people around him, puzzled. "What imperial decree?"

Putila pursed her lips, hesitating to speak, seemingly somewhat worried.

But without his explanation, Thales recognized the place.

His eyes had adjusted to the dim light, and he could barely make out the walls on both sides—covered with murals and reliefs.

The direction the girl was pointing was a huge stone statue surrounded by an ever-burning lamp: on the statue, a woman with a cold expression had her right hand on her left shoulder and her left hand on her right hip bone, with her chest hunched and head bowed.

Behind the stone statue is a huge full moon, but arcs have been carved into its surface, as if to express the changing phases of the moon.

Thales was stunned.

He recognized the stone statue.

That is……

Thales now knew what kind of place his "sanctuary" was.

The next second, Thales's gaze was suddenly drawn to a slender figure under the statue.

Before the stone statue stood a veiled female figure, dressed in a silver robe embroidered with both a crescent moon and a full moon.

Just like the statue of the Moon Goddess, Thales also recognized the woman.

That was the lady Thales had met once before in the Hall of Heroes.

The woman who witnessed the duel between King Nunn and Pefit.

High Priestess of the Temple of the Moon - Jewel Holm.

She was looking at Thales quietly through her clear, emotionless eyes, visible beneath her veil.

It seems like we've been waiting for a long time.

(End of this chapter)