Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 284 A Familiar Visitor
Thales gritted his teeth and controlled his body movements.

calm down!

Calm down, Thales!

This is not a life-or-death battle!
"boom!"

The next second, Nikolai skillfully dodged Thales' shield and struck his weapon with his sword!
Thales felt the longsword in his hand vibrate violently and fly out of his grasp in an instant.

"Clang!"

Thales' longsword fell to the ground.

He sighed, and facing the heavy sword that Nikolai held across his shoulder, he spread his hands in surrender.

The battle is over.

"You seem to really enjoy daydreaming," the Meteorite sheathed his greatsword, sneering at him. "Just like before, enjoying spacing out during battle?"

Thales gave a helpless smile and did not refute.

Only he knew that "that" had just come again.

A year ago, Thales encountered a similar situation during training.

A sparring warrior from the North cleaved the prince's shield with a fighting axe, and shards struck the prince's chin and neck.

In that instant, the moment the carotid artery was threatened, the Sin of the River of Hell surged forth like a startled hedgehog!

This startled Thales, who was already feeling dizzy.

He instinctively knew how to retaliate: he quickly threw down his longsword, spun around and stepped forward, squeezing to the side of the enemy just as the axe blade grazed his cheek, risking being struck by the axe blade, and punched the enemy in the throat!

At that moment, Thales was like a wild beast with its fur standing on end, with only one thought in his mind: to fight.

With the blessing of the River of Hell, he might be able to severely damage the opponent's throat cartilage with a single punch.

Then he was slashed in the side by the opponent's axe blade.

If Thales hadn't come to his senses halfway through and stopped to give up the attack...

Finally, the warrior kept apologizing for losing control of his strength and scratching the prince's arm, and everyone assumed it was an accident during training.

But at that moment, only the shaken Thales knew that it wasn't an accident.

It was his own, a thrilling counterattack that never quite reached its conclusion.

At that moment, Thales, still shaken, deeply understood the essence of the River of Sin for the first time, and began to comprehend the Black Sword's words: do not treat it as a tool, but as a companion worthy of dialogue.

From that moment on, Nikolai decided to personally spar with Thales—compared to others, the Extreme Warriors were better able to control the rhythm and intensity of the battle, preventing unnecessary injuries.

From that time onward, Thales became consciously vigilant against similar situations to prevent disasters such as "the Star Prince disregarding human life and indiscriminately killing during training."

Back to the present: Thales, filled with anxiety, touched his heart, feeling his blood surging and unable to calm down.

Just moments ago, as Nikolai's sword swept across his hair, the Sin of the River of Hell stirred restlessly like a wild beast whose territory had been invaded: it frantically filled his leg muscles while rapidly surging into his brain, numbing his fear, seemingly urging him desperately to throw off his shield and take a step!
Taking advantage of that moment of liberated agility, he turned around to face the enemy's sword.

A desperate counterattack!

As long as we fight back... we can...

Then...

Thales pressed his forehead and sighed deeply.

But he can't do that.

The thoughts at that time, the methods of fighting...

too exaggerated.

It's a lose-lose situation.

Black Sword doesn't seem to have mentioned that this kind of unchanging, primal power, when the so-called Sin of the River of Hell is activated, still possesses this "wildness."
Thales shook his head, shifted his gaze elsewhere, and tried to clear his mind of the thoughts.

"Hey!"

The discontented voices of the Meteorite could be heard once more.

“You’d better concentrate,” Nikolai snapped coldly.

"Stop looking at her."

The gaze of the meteorite was especially cold.

Thales was startled and realized that he had unknowingly turned his attention to another couple doing outdoor exercises.

Not far from them, Grand Duchess Selma Walton of Dragonstreet was dressed in light hunting attire, learning to use a dagger for self-defense under the tutelage of Lord Justin. Her cheeks were slightly flushed with sweat from the exercise.

Thales sighed: he knew that Nicolai had misunderstood the reason for his distraction.

but……

Thales recalled the penultimate paragraph of Gilbert's letter:
[…Furthermore, while I am pleased with your political efforts to strengthen relations between our two countries, I must remind you: in your dealings with Ms. Walton, please clearly separate politics from personal feelings. If this can deepen the friendship with the Grand Duchess of Dragonsreach, then even the most expensive hand-polished spectacles from Master Ponk's workshop are still worthwhile. However, if this friendship takes it a step further, then it is worth discussing: remember, friendship is beautiful, but love is terrible…]

Damn Gilbert...

Wasn't he far away in the Star Kingdom? What kind of bizarre rumors did he hear...?

However, Thales recalled what Putila had said the day before and felt a little depressed.

That poor little girl...

She's getting married.

Thales slowly bent down and picked up the sword from the ground.

"why?"

Nikolai narrowed his eyes slightly: "What?"

"Six years ago, when King Nunn died, why were you still willing to be loyal to..." Thales brandished the sword in his hand, recalling that fateful night, and said solemnly, "She was clearly not... You know what I mean."

Selma's identity...

Selma's marriage...

The vassals of Dragon Sky City...

One's own identity...

After thinking through yesterday's events from beginning to end, Thales felt inexplicably that something was amiss.

Nikolai's expression changed.

"Watch your words, little prince."

The Meteorite's icy tone began to seep into a subtle hostility: "Especially in a city that's full of hostility towards you."

"Thank you for reminding."

Thales shrugged nonchalantly and raised his longsword again: "So, King Nunn has succeeded. The Walton family still rules Dragonstreet, and you and Risban are now surrounding the Grand Duchess."

“But Selma is a Grand Duchess with insufficient prestige… she’s even being pressured by her local vassals to marry him and bear a local Walton heir?” The prince gritted his teeth. “Is this really you, this is Risban, this is what King Nunn wanted?”

The next moment, Nikolai suddenly drew his sword!

Thales, who was prepared, calmly took a step back, ready to deflect the attack with his shield—wait, what?

This time, Nikolai's greatsword deflected strangely before it even hit the shield!
It seems that no effort was put into it before.

"Bang!" The back of the sword, carrying immense force, slammed into Thales' left knee!
Losing his balance, Thales stumbled and felt himself about to fall to the ground, which startled him.

The sins of the River of Hell surged forth with a deafening roar!

But unexpectedly, long before the Sin of the River of Hell took effect, the merciless Nikolai decisively threw aside the heavy sword that was already in irreversible and punched him in the ribs!

Severe pain struck.

Then comes numbness.

"Clang!"

Thales' shield and longsword both fell to the ground.

"thump!"

His body also collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Wyman and the others watching from the sidelines exclaimed in surprise.

Thiels, clutching his stomach, lay on the ground drenched in cold sweat, his face contorted and curled up.

Before the River of Sin could react, he had utterly failed.

They instantly lost all ability to resist.

At that moment, Thales's sense of luck, along with his pride, vanished completely.

That small self-comfort that thought of "I have only suppressed the sins of the River of Hell" was shattered under Nikolai's relentless attack.

“That’s enough for today,” the Meteorite said with a terrifying expression, his tone utterly rude. “Your movements are still utterly terrible.”

There's simply no student dumber than you.

"Also, what happens to the Grand Duchess is none of your business."

Nikolai uttered his last words and coldly turned and left.

Wyatt and Rolf quickly followed and helped Thales up, who was covered in cold sweat and had blue lips.

"In that final strike, he used the power of termination, right?"

That guy... did it on purpose!
Thales rubbed his aching ribs and said with difficulty, "That counts as cheating, right?"

"Are you taking advantage of my lack of power to end things?"

Wyatt and Rolf looked at each other in bewilderment.

"When I have the power to end it all..."

Wyman sighed softly:
"Forgive my bluntness, Your Highness, but the swordsmanship of the Northern Army is, after all, somewhat...ancient. Generally speaking, if you haven't awakened the corresponding finishing power before the age of eighteen..."

"Moreover... even if you awaken the power of termination, facing an existence like the Meteorite, you would most likely..."

Unlucky Thales could only sigh.

After the outdoor training session ended, Thales quickly approached Selma.

Looking at the girl with rosy cheeks who had just finished training, the prince once again ignored the disapproving looks from Lady Jinx and the two maids, and leaned close to her ear.

“Selma, listen,” Thales said seriously and heavily, “we need to talk this afternoon.”

"It's in the library."

Selma, who was straightening her clothes, frowned, habitually lowered her head, and whispered:

"What to talk about?"

"About our... cough cough, actually, it's about your marriage, I always feel there's something to it..."

Selma's face instantly turned ugly, and the pince-nez on her face trembled slightly.

The girl pouted, looking at Thales with apparent dissatisfaction.

"What's there to say? This has nothing to do with you..."

Just then, a deep, gentle yet powerful voice came from behind.

"Madam! Your Excellency!"

The solemnity of the Regent of Lisbon's tone was palpable even from ten paces away: "I apologize for disturbing you."

Accompanied by his entourage, the white-haired but still steady-stepping Regent of Lisbon slowly approached, his face solemn.

The old regent stopped steadily in front of them.

The count first glanced at Thales, who was standing next to the Grand Duchess, with a scrutinizing look. The deep meaning in his eyes sent a chill down the prince's spine.

Lisban then withdrew his gaze, bowed respectfully to Selma, and nodded slightly to Lady Jinx: "Please change immediately; you need formal attire."

Selma frowned slightly: "Now?"

Lisban nodded: "We have very important guests who need to be received immediately."

Thales' heart sank: he instinctively sensed something was wrong.

Selma took a deep breath and, as she had done for the past six years, respectfully returned the greeting: "Of course."

Thales shut his mouth, somewhat annoyed: It seems he can only wait until the afternoon...

But his thoughts were interrupted.

“Please change your clothes immediately, Prince Thales.” Regent Lisban’s gaze fell on him again.

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

"What?" The prince's eyes widened in surprise. "I want to go too?"

This time, the Lisbon Regent's gaze seemed softer, no longer the polite yet indifferent scrutiny of the past.

Instead, it was a reminder and warning tinged with concern.

“This guest specifically requested to see you,” Lisban said casually.

"Guest? Who?" Thales squinted.

Lisban's expression remained unchanged, but he clenched his hands tightly: "I believe you are no stranger to him."

The count spoke, word by word:
"The current Deputy Chief Advisor to the Royal Council, and His Majesty Charman's Goose Keeper—Viscount Els. Cambida of Menton City."

"I have arrived in Longxiao City this morning."

At that moment, Selma and Thales were both deeply moved.

Hearing the count's words, everyone, including Nicolai who was wiping his hands in the distance, Rolf and Wyatt who were chatting against the wall, were all taken aback.

“He brought greetings and concern from His Majesty Chaman,” Lisban said, his voice laced with chill and vigilance, “as well as important intelligence.”

"I need to convey this to you in person."

In that instant, Thales, unable to hide his surprise, subconsciously turned his head to look at Putila beside him, wanting to ask for his opinion.

However, the thin lord continued to leisurely smoke his pipe, his expression unchanged.

It seems unsurprising.

(End of this chapter)