Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 261 Reasons to Fight

In the Hall of Heroes, in the corridor near the armory, the Soul-Severing Blade and the Soul-Slaying Spear were separated by more than ten meters, one firmly nailed to the wall, the other lying quietly on the ground.

The Soul-Slaying Spear emitted a faint but ominous tremor, intermittently.

But neither of the two, who should have noticed this, had the time or energy to even glance at the weapon.

Their battlefield had long since shifted from the corridor to other places.

"boom!"

With a loud crash, a large wooden door was smashed open!

In the darkness, two figures rushed into the room.

This is an armory, with wide shelves covered by layers of thick cloth, preserving a dazzling array of equipment in the darkness: from longswords and maces to shields and armor, there is no shortage of them.

It is a special reserve established by the White Blade Guard in Valhalla—the Valhalla court guards, trained according to standard equipment, have far less need for such a diverse range of unique weapons.

In the darkness, the composed Nikolai rolled over and, following his memory, reached out towards the nearest storage shelf!

Hearing the voice behind him, he knew that the other party would not hesitate.

Just like I wouldn't hesitate either.

The next second, Nikolai suddenly turned around in the dim light, his weapon flying through the air.

"Ding!"

Sure enough, Nikolai felt a sudden pause in his hand: his weapon had encountered a human-caused obstacle.

In this sudden clash of weapons, both he and his enemy swayed slightly, using the force of the recoil to retreat repeatedly in the darkness.

Nikolai retreated to the wall, found the location he remembered, and skillfully flipped his weapon backward, sparking it against an iron rack. The eternal oil on the rack quickly turned into flames, igniting the firewood in the brazier.

Across from him, with a soft sound, the enemy also struck a nearby flint and lit a brazier in the corner.

The dimly lit armory was suddenly illuminated.

Kaslan stared at the single-edged battle axe in Nikolai's hand.

“It seems you think the same way I do,” Kaslan said, brandishing a broadsword he had just acquired. “In battle, find the weapon closest to you.”

Nicola nudged his lips but did not reply.

of course.

This is one of the principles of the White Blade Guard.

The person who taught me this back then...

Nikolai didn't speak. He lowered his eyes, gripped the handle with both hands, and skillfully swung the axe blade back and forth in front of him, carving an "X" shape.

Kaslan smiled.

According to custom, when a new Grand Duke of Exeter becomes co-ruling king, he has the right to receive the symbolic Book of the Whiteblade and form a special guard that the Northmen are proud of—the historic and prestigious Whiteblade Guard—to demonstrate the honor and importance of being king.

The White Blade Guards are elite soldiers selected from experienced warriors—such as the standing army that undergoes three training sessions a year—and then retrained. In this process, they are transformed into elites who can both recognize the battlefield and command battles, and also personally engage in life-or-death combat: they are not only the king's guards, but also his blade.

Each generation of the Melee Guard is filled with the personal characteristics of its commanders. For example, Kaslan Rumba of "Earthshaker" required his Melee Guards to master the use of almost every battlefield weapon, based on his own example.

That's why this armory exists, storing almost every type of weapon from every era.

“Your judgment in assessing combat has deteriorated,” Kaslan said, lifting his gaze from the other’s weapon. “You know, the attacks are monotonous, the slashes are sluggish, and I’m not wearing heavy armor—the battle axe is really not a good choice.”

His response was Nikolai's merciless axe blow.

nonsense.

If you can't see anything clearly, you'll just grab whatever you can and use it.

"Pong!"

Kaslan deflected the opponent's slash and swung his broadsword back, but it was blocked by Nikolai's instantaneous change of direction once again.

Nikolai took two steps back, annoyed.

No.

The broadsword is double-edged and flexible in attack. If he counters with a backhand, I will have to expend some finishing power to defend.

With that thought in mind, Nikolai didn't hesitate to flick his hands, sending his battle axe flying towards the enemy.

Kaslan deflected the opponent's throwing axe, but when he looked up again, a light and even one-handed slashing sword had already come from the weapon rack not far away into Nikolai's hand.

"Good choice."

Kaslan only had time to utter those two words before Nikolai used his finishing power to unleash a slash, a thrust, and a cut, with almost no gaps in the transition between them!
Between rounds, he skillfully used the gaps in the broadsword's two-way slashes to attack back and forth, combining slashes and thrusts, leaving Kaslan in a rather sorry state.

With a final blow, Kaslan managed to deflect Nikolai's slash, but was forced into a corner by Nikolai's change of tactics. He had no choice but to roll close to the ground, simultaneously hooking down a row of weapon racks to block Nikolai's advance.

Amidst the clanging of countless weapons hitting the ground, Nikolai was forced to stop and catch his breath.

“You must be injured,” Nikolai said confidently, kicking aside a row of shelves blocking the way and brandishing his rapier. “Can’t you handle any move that’s even slightly agile?”

Kaslan chuckled softly.

He rubbed his aching chest and thought of the elf, the instructor of the Star Royal Guard.

“Well done,” Kaslan spat out the dust in his mouth and tossed aside his broadsword, “but…”

"You seem to have an injury on your leg as well," he said casually, picking up the handle of a new weapon from the ground with his right hand.
"I guess it's not very convenient to dodge?"

Nikolai's expression changed drastically upon seeing the new weapon in Kaslan's hand!
With a creaking sound from the weapon rack, the three iron chains attached to the Caslan handle were slowly straightened, revealing three metal balls covered with spikes at their ends.

Without hesitation, Nikolai instantly threw away his sword and turned to flee!
Sure enough, the next moment, three terrifying shackles drew three arcs in the air and slammed hard into the spot where Nikolai had been standing.

"Bang!" Stone chips flew everywhere.

Nikolai knew that Kaslan had found his weakness at this moment.

Multi-headed flail.

This weapon, with a hammer attached to a long handle, was a true battlefield weapon, not only incredibly powerful, capable of breaking bones and tendons with a mere graze, but also capable of killing just as many comrades as enemies when wielded.

Normally, dodging it would be a piece of cake, but now...

Nikolai gritted his teeth and endured the pain from the arrow wound in his leg, keeping moving forward, but then he heard the sound of wind behind his ear.

Without a second thought, the meteorite rolled on the spot!
A flail head kicked up a piece of stone that hit the back of Nicolai's head.

Nikolai scrambled to his feet and continued his escape.

"Bang!" Kaslan swung the yoke with practiced ease, the chained head grazing the weapon rack next to Nikolai and slicing it into three pieces.

Broken weapons scattered in the air.

Nicolai ducked to dodge a falling dagger and a barrage of flying broken wooden pieces.

But he knew he couldn't stop.

No!

until……

As Nikolai fled from Kaslan's attacks, he turned around a stone pillar and his eyes lit up—he had finally found what he was looking for.

The next moment, Kaslan swung the flail again!
But his pupils then contracted—Nikolai threw himself to the ground, and when he got up, he had a long weapon in his hand.

The Meteorite turned around and went to meet Caslan!
"Clang!"

The iron chain in the air got wrapped around an iron rod that suddenly appeared!
Nikolai jerked the long handle back from his hand.

With a metallic clang, the chain circled the iron bar twice and then stopped moving—the flail head was tightly locked to the axe-shaped design at the top of the iron bar.

Kaslan's heart tightened.

In Nikolai's hand was an intricately designed axe-halberd.

Its protruding axe tip, the shape of the axe blade, and the specially made hook were all cast specifically to deal with cavalry—as long as the strength is sufficient and the movements are skillful, infantrymen can also easily hook cavalrymen off their horses with this long weapon.

And now, it has perfectly locked itself in its shackles.

Nikolai took a couple of light breaths, feeling the fatigue in his body—even someone as strong as him was exhausted after several hours of intense fighting.

Fortunately, the other party was the same.

Without pausing, he stretched his right hand back, and with the axe and halberd in his hand, still attached to the flail, he skillfully thrust it towards Kaslan!

Kaslan awkwardly released his locked shackles—this time it was his turn to stagger and dodge Nikolai's unpredictable, ever-changing axe and halberd.

"Sizzle!"

The axe knocked down a row of bow racks beside Kaslan, and the unstringed longbows fell to the ground.

Kaslan did not stop. His expression was serious as he rolled around again, dodging Nikolai's sweeping long weapon.

Nikolai gripped his weapon tightly and, without hesitation, swung his halberd backhand.

"boom!"

Kaslan slid in to dodge the attack, but in doing so, he knocked over a weapon rack, sending the weapons crashing to the ground.

The old man tucked three or four weapons under his left arm, then ran seven or eight steps before turning back to face him.

Upon seeing the weapon in Kaslan's hand, Nikolai felt a sudden sense of alarm!
The old man stretched out his right hand and pulled out an outdated weapon from his left arm—a weapon that had long since disappeared from the battlefield.

javelin.

Kaslan solemnly held the javelin horizontally, spreading his right arm.

"Whoosh!"

The javelin slipped from his hand.

At that moment, Nikolai didn't even bother to throw out his axe and halberd; he just ducked and shrank back!
"Keng!"

The javelin hurtling towards him whistled past Nikolai's drooping forehead and plunged deep into the stone bricks behind him.

Ignoring the chill still creeping down his forehead, Nikolai decisively threw down his axe and halberd.

But the next second, there were two more whooshing sounds! Nikolai used all his strength to avoid the two javelins aimed at the target's chest and head, but the arrow wound in his leg began to ache again.

The meteorite hid behind a stone pillar, and just as he was taking cover, a javelin flew from afar and pierced the spot where he had just been standing.

Nikolai leaned against a stone pillar, panting, anxiously searching for a new weapon, cursing under his breath.

As the White Blade Guard trained by Kaslan himself, no one knew Kaslan's terror better than him.

Kaslan's strength and reflexes are terrifying, earning him the title "Earthshaker".

But the old commander's special skill also lay in his mastery of the use and characteristics of almost every weapon. Any weapon he could grab on the battlefield could be turned into an unparalleled killing tool.

For example, right now... broadsword, flail, javelin, every time he changes his weapon, the pressure on him increases dramatically, while the Meteorite can only react passively.

A sound came from behind the stone pillar—Kaslan picked up a bundle of javelins again and tore open the sealing rope.

“You’ve neglected many skills, you troublemaker,” Kaslan’s voice came through the stone pillar. “It’s evident from the weapon you’ve chosen—have you forgotten everything I taught you?”

"As a melee guard, understanding the characteristics of each weapon is..."

Nikolai, leaning against the stone pillar, gritted his teeth.

Resentment and pain rose in his chest.

"Why?" he asked with difficulty, interrupting the other person.

"What? Why?" came Kaslan's voice.

Nikolai gasped for breath, his fists clenched.

"Why……"

"Enough with the nonsense..."

Kaslan stopped what he was doing.

"You damn bastard, from the moment we met until now, you've been making excuses..." The Meteorite gritted his teeth, the pain in his heart slowly building up: "You motherfucker..."

Why bring up so many things from the past?

He raised his head and roared, "Do you think we can still spar on the training ground like we used to?"

"traitor!"

The old man behind the stone pillar fell silent.

For a moment, only Nikolai's panting could be heard.

"Iceberg... do you still remember that nickname? Big Mouth Monty gave it to you..."

“It was you,” Nikolai said painfully, “it was you who selected us for the White Blade Guard…”

"It was you who trained and tormented us day and night..."

"Transforming us from conscripts who only knew how to fight for food, money, face, honor, and promotion..."

"They have become a glorious and iron-blooded White Blade Guard!"

Kaslan remained silent.

Nikolai closed his eyes tightly, feeling his blood surge through every vein: "Back then, you told me those things while whipping me..."

"Those words you spoke to me as I broke through enemy lines on the battlefield..."

The next second, the Meteorite grabbed the javelin stuck at his feet and darted out from behind the stone pillar—

"Are they all fake?!"

Nikolai roared, facing Kaslan, and together they raised their javelins and spread their bodies apart.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Two javelins were thrown from the hands of the two men toward each other!

"Bang!" "Clang!"

The javelin landed.

Kaslan's javelin grazed Nikolai's calf, tearing the leather armor on his leg and drawing blood.

Nikolai rolled again and hid behind another stone pillar.

He touched his calf; it was wet.

But he no longer had time to care.

silence.

"Judging from your expression just now, I thought you only wanted to kill me," at the other end of the stone pillar, Kaslan, with a sorrowful expression, looked at the still trembling javelin beside him and wiped the wound on his forearm:

"I thought you would never ask again."

“A commander on the battlefield must always think one step ahead of his subordinates and retreat one step less,” Nikolai couldn’t take it anymore: “Didn’t you tell me that?”

Nikolai tore off a piece of clothing and tightly bound the wound on his leg.

"Tell me how to be a qualified commander..."

"To become a strong shield, an iron wall, a battle flag that comrades can rely on and take shelter on the battlefield..."

"But what about you?"

The Meteorite was agitated; his face contorted as he roared, "What happened to your oath of the blade?"

"To resist powerful enemies, to fight every battle, until blood is spilled," Nikolai said, trembling. "To pass on hope, to let glory shine, until all things sleep forever..."

Where is your blood?

Where is your glory?

"Boss!"

Nikolai's roar startled Kaslan!
A long silence fell over the armory.

Only their panting remained.

One is intense, the other is unstable.

Finally, the old man spoke slowly.

“You troublemaker, being a commander must be exhausting.” Kaslan took a slow breath, his voice weary, helpless, and pained.

It was as if they were being tortured.

"You have to protect your own men..."

"You must also offer your lord unwavering loyalty."

Nicolai took a break.

Kaslan lowered his eyelids and spoke softly:
"You troublemaker, it's been nearly twenty years. His Majesty Nunn, how much darkness have you endured, how many secrets have you carried on your shoulders?"

"How many things in there will make you feel guilty, sleepless at night, with heavy shoulders, yet unable to speak out?"

The meteorite gritted his teeth and did not answer.

But a deep, indescribable sorrow welled up in his heart.

Kaslan said quietly, "And all you can do is continue to instruct your subordinates with an upright and dignified expression during the training the next day, to be a loyal, honorable, honest, and brave White Blade Guard."

Nikolai closed his eyes and forced a breath of air through his teeth.

“Yes, I know, I know it in my heart,” Kaslan said bitterly.

"As one of His Majesty's most trusted men, his most capable captain of the personal guard, and the commander of the White Blade Guard, the world will forever remember your heroic figure on the battlefield and your imposing presence beside the King..."

"But behind the glamorous exterior..."

There are always things we can't escape.

Behind the stone pillar, Nikolai merely frowned, his hands trembling slightly.

“Nun and I grew up together, like brothers—far closer than my relationship with Holt,” Kaslan sighed softly, drawing out the javelins one by one and arranging them in front of him for easy access.

“I still remember that day more than forty years ago when I accepted King Kahn’s appointment to take up my post in Dragonstreet,” the old man said quietly. “Prince Nunn Walton, covered in snowflakes, led me to stand on the Cliff of the Sky.”

"The two of us stood there under the statue of Naikaru, overlooking the entire Dragon Sky City."

"I still remember him at that time, the determination and resolve on his face."

“‘Kaslan,’ Prince Nunn said back then,” Kaslan said bitterly, “‘Exter is ill, very ill.’”

The meteorite clenched his fist slightly.

“‘My old friend,’ Caslan gasped, his face contorted with pain, ‘if I wanted to completely change Exter, to change this country…’”

"'Wanting to change this place, as great as ever, yet as outdated as ever...'"

"'To change this country that has made no progress in over six hundred years...'"

“'If I were to create a completely new, unburdened, and unprecedented Kingdom of Exter…'”

"Will you help me?"

Nikolai was visibly shaken!
"I'm surprised."

"But I didn't hesitate."

Kaslan sighed deeply: "Because at the time, I never realized..."

"What does this choice really mean?"

When I was halfway through writing this chapter, just as Nicolai started questioning the old man, my background music automatically switched to Tokyo Ghoul's Unravel—I can only say: God-tier insert in the ending theme.

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(End of this chapter)