Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 344 Black Path
The next second, Greaver shoved Thales aside, looked away, and breathed heavily.

Krz coughed lightly.

“I see Kevin.” Krz shook his head to the left, where a young man was peeking furtively from behind a wall and waving in their direction—Tyls recognized him as the young coachman who had brought Old Raven to the Shield District last night.

Perhaps because they had just finished talking about him, the three of them didn't look too happy when they saw Kevin.

It's like being caught talking badly about someone behind their back.

"I'll go do the final confirmation. Wait for my signal." Krz spat out the grass in his mouth, dusted off his hands, and stood up. His previously roguish demeanor instantly transformed into a sharp and efficient one.

Griveaux nodded and watched her leave.

Only the old soldier and the prince remained.

The atmosphere was a bit heavy.

As Thales watched the seamstress's retreating figure, he suddenly said:
"To be honest, I've been in the North for six years, and I've rarely seen girls like this from the North."

Griveaux paused slightly and gave a soft hum.

"Kertz's father was a military doctor, and she grew up in the military camp. Her childhood was filled with blood and screams."

Thales's eyes flickered.

The veteran's fingers tapped on his wheelchair, as if recalling the past:

“Until her father died unexpectedly, teenage Kertz was surrounded by those old thugs—you can’t imagine what a girl would go through in that hell, let alone what she would become.”

Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked somewhat surprised at the corner where Krzys had disappeared, recalling the strong impression the seamstress had given him.

Griveaux said absentmindedly, "At least until I get her out."

"Unfortunately, the renowned Dragon Sky City isn't much better off, and the Shield District and Hammer District are even worse."

At this moment, the once tough veteran appeared particularly exhausted, as if he had just experienced a major battle.

Thales took a slow breath: "No wonder."

Greaver snorted and shook his head: "You were born noble and had everything go smoothly—it's hard to imagine, but do you think she was born with a foul mouth, a grumbling mouth, a violent and unruly temperament, and no gentleness at all?"

"Do you think she doesn't want to be like an ordinary noble lady from the North, wearing gorgeous dresses and elegant makeup, sitting in a warm and magnificent palace, softly enjoying a sumptuous dinner and a man's affection?"

“When life is tough on you,” Grevo gripped his wheelchair tightly, the three remaining fingers on his left hand trembling slightly:

"You have to be tougher than it."

Thales remained silent for a long time.

But he immediately looked up.

“But I think she’s fine as she is now,” the prince said, his gaze sharp, his mood inexplicably heavy.
"This is exactly what makes a woman at her strongest, most beautiful, and most charming."

Boom!
Thales cried out in surprise.

He clutched his aching forehead with both hands, glaring resentfully at Griveaux.

The veteran withdrew his right hand, which was as big as a large pot, expressionlessly: "At such a young age, don't try to pick up girls."

Thales gave him a wronged look.

"But that's right."

“She’s wonderful,” Greaver smiled slightly, a glint of light in the wrinkles around his eyes.

"It's been over a decade, and Krz has long been our brother."

Thales rubbed his head vigorously and said irritably, "Just brothers?"

"She will be very disappointed."

Griveaux glanced at him, seemingly casually, but said nothing.

A few seconds later, the veteran suddenly spoke.

"What kind of person is your father?"

Thales tensed up.

"My father?"

Greaver turned his face to the other side, shook his head, and shrugged as if he didn't care: "Yes."

The prince blinked.

That's a memory from so long ago.

Thales frowned and answered somewhat hesitantly, "He... he's a king."

Boom!
The second time, Thales, with tears in his eyes, covered his head with his hands and looked at Griveo with indignation as he withdrew his right hand.

why?
Greveo appeared quite exasperated:
"Damn it, who the hell doesn't know your father is the king... Can we talk about something else, something useful?"

Thales gritted his teeth: "Stop touching me!"

"Other? He..." The prince was about to speak when his eyes darted around, "Wait, why do you want to know this?"

Griveaux coughed and turned his head as if it were nothing unusual.

“Oh, that? You know, both Kings of Exeter were despicable bastards,” the old soldier shrugged a second time, seemingly unconcerned, and rubbed his back against the wheelchair.

"I was just wondering if the king of the stars was the same."

Thales looked at him with suspicion.

"But the old crow said you don't care about high-level politics."

Griveaux's expression changed: "Yes... I, I suddenly changed my mind... Knowing more is not a bad thing. Next time we meet, I can turn the tables and laugh at him."

The veteran shrugged for the third time.

Thales gazed thoughtfully at Griveo.

Griveaux coughed awkwardly and turned his face away.

Thales tentatively asked:

"But didn't you say you didn't want to see him again—Hicksser?"

Greaver blushed: "What's it to you!"

“Of course, of course, but…” Thales carefully observed Greaver’s profile, narrowing his eyes:
Why my father of all people?

Griveaux's face stiffened.

“Oh, come on,” he waved his hand dismissively, interrupting Thales, “You know… never mind, forget about it.”

Griveaux snorted repeatedly, clearly extremely displeased.

"Who the hell cares about your king father?"

The veteran crossed his arms, turned around, and shrugged for the fourth time while muttering angrily to himself, "Just another precocious, young, rich, handsome, charming, and domineering pretty boy."

Thales looked at him quietly and smiled.

"And what about Thran?"

Griveaux trembled slightly: "Huh?"

“You heard what I said,” Thales sighed. “What about my mother? What kind of person was she?”

The wait time for this issue has been exceptionally long.

After a long while, Griveaux finally curled his lips and shook his head dismissively.

"Your mother? Ha!"

"That annoying, cunning little girl," the old soldier in the wheelchair said with a complicated and incomprehensible expression, speaking nonchalantly, "is best at causing a lot of trouble and making everyone angry."

"She tricked everyone into wiping her butt."

Thales nodded: "Including you?"

“Spare me,” Griveaux shook his head and sneered.

"I hate her the most."

Thales smiled slightly.

"You and Hixser... were both slaves in the desert back then, weren't you?"

This question seems to have hit Griveaux's sore spot.

"Hey!"

He jumped a few inches in his wheelchair, extremely annoyed:

"I don't care what the old crow told you..."

Greaver pointed at Thales with an unfriendly expression: "I agree to do you a small favor, but that doesn't mean we're close!"

"Stop with that sentimental 'I'm your best friend' act."

Thales blinked helplessly, indicating his understanding.

The two returned to their original positions and waited for Krzyzee's signal.

Until Griveaux reopened his mouth.

“Hey, the old crow didn’t tell me much, but judging from the direction you’re going…” Griveaux seemed unable to smoothly transition from his “rage” state, and he said stiffly:

"You're going to the desert, aren't you?"

Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

He shrugged and just smiled with narrowed eyes.

But Griveaux seemed to read his mind and snorted softly:
“Listen, if you’re going into the desert, you’d better have a skilled guide, otherwise…”

Grivell shook his head dismissively.

Thales's heart skipped a beat: "Is the desert really that terrifying? Orcs or Bone People?"

“Both,” Griveor smirked, his eyes sharp. “Orcs, they can smash your skull as easily as we smash an egg, but the Bone People… well, that’s a different story. Those guys are really weird.”

"Something strange?"

“But your greatest threat is far more than them,” Griveaux said solemnly.

"It is the desert itself, the sun and the yellow sand, and the demon that whispers in your ear all the time—'Lie down, sleep, dream, and never get up.'"

The veteran's expression drifted into the distance again.

Thales looked at his profile and seemed to remember something: "You've been to the desert, haven't you?"

Griveaux nodded absentmindedly.

"When I was in the army, I fought in battles."

Thales frowned slightly: "And then?"

Griveaux looked up.

“Then,” the veteran in the wheelchair looked sternly at Thales:
That was the end of it.

Just now.

A commotion suddenly broke out on the street in the distance.

It appears to be two men arguing.

"get ready!"

Griveaux gripped both ends of the wheelchair alertly: "The signal has come—it's our men."

Thales stood up nervously and crouched down to grip the low fence.

"Can this succeed?"

Thales watched with concern as the two men, who had started fighting at the slightest provocation, grew increasingly violent.

More and more people joined in, turning the brawl into a mass brawl, and the mass brawl into a riot.

The patrol at the sentry post began to frown as they approached them, seemingly suspicious.

Thales felt uneasy: "The Meteorites might be suspicious—I've witnessed the former White Blade Guard's actions in Dragon City, and I've seen how they tracked down a Cornmas man in half an hour amidst the chaos. The Meteorites and the White Blade Guard know Dragon City inside and out; this is their home."

The riot in the distance grew larger, and many people rushed over from outside the street to join the fight.

Until a patrol soldier who tried to break up the fight was also punched to the ground.

Griveaux gave a mocking laugh.

"The Meteorites? Heh heh, that lackey leader, and his cronies?"

The veteran in the wheelchair turned his face, his expression serious:

"you are wrong."

"The people who are most qualified to call this city 'home'..."

Griveo silently patted his chest.

"It was never them."

The next second, Grevo turned his wheelchair around and, amidst the growing chaos, decisively drove out of cover, hurrying along the side of the countless people towards Skycliff: "Let's go."

Thales let out a deep breath, jogged a bit, and caught up with the veteran.

Avoiding the sentry posts was easier than expected. The brawl among the poor in the Shield Zone was so large that the patrol team of a pitiful dozen or so men were completely surrounded and could barely protect themselves, let alone discover them sneaking into Skycliff.

In Griveaux's words, "Dragonhill City is getting worse with each generation."

In the chaos, before the patrol sent a large team to quell the unrest, they slipped into the rocky, uneven cliff bottom—God knows how that old soldier in his wheelchair could rock so fast!

After many twists and turns, just before Thales became dizzy, he followed the rear wheel of Grevo's car and finally saw Krzysz in front of a dark little hole.

"Ready?"

Kuz looked nervous, but her movements were swift and decisive. She pulled a cheap, unburning lamp—clearly a repurposed old item—from the bag behind her and tossed it to Thales.

Panting heavily, Thales hugged the inextinguishable lamp, watching as Krz pulled out ropes and tools, and said solemnly, "Anytime."

The sounds of fighting behind me began to subside.

Krz chuckled lightly, seemingly disdainful: "Remember, only touch the places I've stepped on."

Thales took a deep breath and nodded with mixed feelings.

"Pray I don't die in there," Krzys said with a smile, patting the veteran on the back.

The seamstress bit the ever-burning lamp into her mouth, straightened her body, and slid into the dark hole with her feet down.

They've vanished without a trace.

This is... Blackpath?
Before Thales could even express his surprise at how the small cave turned out to be a hidden paradise, Griveaux sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

“My men will have horses ready over there to take you wherever you want to go,” the veteran said with a displeased expression, but ultimately said nothing. “But stay close to Krzys in there.”

Thales took a deep breath and, imitating the seamstress, put his legs into the cave—he didn't touch the bottom, but he could feel the coolness inside and the faint breeze.

"You're not coming?"

The fight behind us continued, but the patrol team's whistles could be heard in the distance.

Clearly, time is running out.

Greaver patted his half-exposed thigh and scoffed, "Do I look like someone who can fly over walls?" Thales felt a lump in his throat.

“Go on,” Griveaux said grimly, turning to the side. “I have to go back and clean up the mess—especially that deadface.”

Thales clenched his fist as he looked at the veteran.

“Greev,” Thales nodded emphatically through gritted teeth:

"Thank you."

The boy said earnestly, "Whether it's for the old crow or for my mother."

Griveaux was stunned.

Thales looked at him sincerely and nodded slightly.

The next second, the veteran's expression turned angry. He slapped Thales on the back and pushed him into the Blackpath amidst the latter's scream.

Watching Thales disappear into the dark path, Grevo took a couple of deep breaths to calm his agitated emotions.

Oh shit.

Griveaux cursed silently in his heart.

For his mother?
Who does he think he is?

Grevo turned his wheelchair around, looked at the increasingly clear situation of the brawl on the street, and spat in annoyance.

"A king."

He looked at the sky that had just begun to brighten and murmured to himself.

“A king,” Griveaux’s face darkened, his muttered words filled with dejection.
"How could it be... a king?"

The veteran looked at his severed thigh, then touched his empty left eye, his expression strained and somber, and whispered:
"Hold."

But just a few breaths later, Griveaux relaxed his tense expression.

With a stiff face and a look of utter bewilderment, he pulled a loose thread from the pocket of his clothes.

He slowly pulled a small black leather bag out of the hidden compartment.

Griveaux shakily opened the leather bag, stared blankly at its contents, and then looked at the entrance to the Blackpath.

He remained silent for a long time.

The veteran stopped what he was doing, gave a soft scoff, and shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh: "Damn..."

The sounds of fighting behind me began to subside.

But Griveaux seemed oblivious.

He gripped what was in his hand, his face flushed and paled, and strained to make a fierce expression as he shouted:
"Hold!"

It's as if this proves something.

A few seconds later, Griveaux leaned back in his wheelchair with a sense of relief.

He gave a few weak, dry laughs.

The veteran closed his eyes tightly, his voice tinged with a faint sorrow:
"Hold."

Finally, the object in Grevo's hand slowly floated down and landed on his wheelchair.

The morning light illuminated it.

It was a neatly tied strand of a woman's hair.

Smooth, glossy, and lustrous.

Its color is fiery red.

----

Feeling the friction between his back and the rock formations, and sliding down with a tense mind, Thales opened his eyes to complete darkness.

Until footsteps were heard.

"Oh, you're afraid of the dark?"

Thales squinted to adjust to the sudden light, his shock subsiding as he looked at Krzysz, who was holding the ever-burning lamp and watching him with amusement.

It was dark all around.

And the cold.

Their ever-burning lamps can only illuminate a small area around them.

“Come on,” the seamstress, whose face was only partially visible in the lamplight, helped him turn on the ever-burning lamp and sighed, “The dark path is like life—some paths, no matter how difficult, you must keep up with.”

Krzysz's words were tinged with melancholy: "Because once you fall behind..."

"There's no going back."

Thales scrambled to his feet in a disheveled state.

Kerz turned around and used both hands and feet to climb up the dark rock wall, seemingly going uphill.

"I have to climb this lousy place again..."

"At least last time they took three hundred gold coins..."

Kuz muttered sarcastically to himself, "And this time, our client has given us a chance to hang ourselves, ha!"

"Prince? Hmph."

Thales had no choice but to pretend he hadn't heard.

The Black Path was narrower than Thales had imagined. Just as he reached out to grab the inextinguishable lamp beside him, his arm slammed hard against the rock wall.

thump.

Thales rubbed his sore spot with a hissing voice, no longer daring to be careless. He carefully grabbed the inextinguishable lamp and struggled to keep up with Krz's pace.

Krzys was clearly an expert, and he could only barely make out Krzys's trousers and boots in the dim light of the ever-burning lamp.

Soon, Thales experienced firsthand the power of Blackpath.

Obviously, there were no flat roads here; it was all uphill and downhill, and the terrain was full of potholes. Several places were even steep slopes that resembled cliffs, requiring Kez to use a grappling hook to climb up and then lower a rope to pull him up.

“Is this even a place for humans to walk?” Thales complained in anguish after falling for the eighth time. “The Black Path?”

“It wasn’t this difficult to walk before,” Kez chuckled, “but you know… the calamity was playing with stones in Dragonsreach for no reason, and it just happened to shake half of this place down.”

"Let them be the ones to blame."

In the darkness along the way, there were bumps and bruises everywhere. Thales often fell or slipped because of his lack of experience. If it weren't for his rich experience of falling and bruising when he was a child, Thales felt that he would probably be bruised and battered by now.

"Be careful, don't fall again."

Krzy's voice came from ahead.

Thales blushed and cautiously explored the surrounding rock formations: "Thank you."

Krz snorted.

"I'm not talking about you, but that poor, never-ending light—who cares if you fall or not."

Thales raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes in the darkness where no one could see.

"The ventilation here is terrible; you'll suffocate if you use a torch."

Kuz, who was leading the way, chuckled twice:
"And it's too dark here. The light that won't go out is broken. Without lighting, you can't get out at all."

Speaking of which...

Thales had a sudden inspiration: I do have a way.

He chuckled to himself.

The sins of the River of Hell answered his call and surged into his eyes.

As the blood vessels around his eyes throbbed, Thales watched with satisfaction as the pitch-black scene before him slowly began to brighten.

Including the sounds from inside the cave—though only a slight chill was flowing through it.

Thales felt that everything in front of him was much clearer, and he could now avoid many obstacles that were invisible in the dark.

So he quickly caught up with Kez, which made the seamstress think more highly of him.

"You picked it up pretty quickly!"

Thales couldn't help but feel a little smug, and he began to pay attention to his surroundings.

"Oh, there are words here?"

Thales climbed onto a relatively flat rock platform and, through the River of Sin, saw strange writing on the rock wall.

"what?"

As he fumbled for the path ahead, Krzys asked in bewilderment, "How come I didn't find it?"

Thales paused, and the sins of the River of Hell continued to surge.

He squinted and touched the words carved on the rock face.

“August, 20th...livestock, grain…” he read the words aloud.

Thales' expression turned serious.

"Ancient Empire".

Kerz climbed onto a protruding rock and asked in surprise, "What?"

“The writing, the writing on these rocks, is the script of the ancient empire. This style of writing… is not the final empire, but an ancient empire from long ago,” Thales blinked, recalling with a mixture of surprise and doubt the ancient imperial alphabet that Gilbert had taught him long ago: “This tunnel is at least a thousand years old, or even longer—at least back then, the North was under the rule of the ancient empire.”

“No,” Thales said, seeing a new sentence and immediately dismissing his own idea. His curiosity piqued, he said with great interest, “Some of the writing shouldn’t be that old. I noticed that there are also some Common Language words and usages mixed in with these writings—it seems to be recording supplies and stockpiles—this is definitely Imperial grammar from the final Imperial period.”

“From the ancient empire to the final empire, it seems,” Thales said, looking at the rock face with a touch of melancholy, “that the history of Blackpath is quite complex.”

Krzy gave a few dry laughs.

The seamstress seemed to be doing something strenuous, perhaps rock climbing, and said dismissively with a sarcastic remark:

"Yes, really... really impressive... really amazing... Now, move your butt and keep going—Grand Scholar Thales!"

Kuz finally climbed onto a huge rock at the top. Catching her breath, she leaned out and reached her hand down at Thales, sarcastically remarking:
"Then give me your hand, and I'll pull you up."

Thales raised an eyebrow, glanced at the figure above, and continued forward.

But he immediately froze.

and many more.

Thales raised his head again, looking up at Krzysz in disbelief.

The ever-burning lamp only illuminated a small section of the rock wall around her; the rest was pitch black.

but.

Upon seeing the scene before him, Thales was suddenly startled!
He blinked in astonishment: in the near-daylight darkness of the River of Sin, above Kerz's head, on the rock formations...

Suddenly there was another person.

That's a man.

He wore ancient-style armor, had intricately braided hair, a gaunt face, an open mouth, and bulging eyes—but no pupils, only the whites of his eyes.

Like a dead body.

Amidst the faint chill, Thales noticed that in the dimly lit path, only black and the golden light of lamplight mingled, but the man was "vibrantly colored," with dark blue shoulder armor, bright silver chainmail, a dark red belt, and even his weapon was distinctly colored.

Even more bizarrely, the man seemed to be embedded face down in the rock strata, defying gravity, lying upside down on top of Krzy's head.

At that moment, Thales felt his whole body stiffen—he suddenly remembered the story of the bunkmates "back to back" in the dormitory on campus in another illusory world.

Why now...?

I know perfectly well... I'm most afraid of this kind of thing...

"Hey!"

Krz shook his arm impatiently and said, "Are you stupid?"

next second.

The man moved.

He slowly and stiffly lowered his neck.

It's like my neck is rusty.

Thales' scalp began to tingle, and a chill ran down his spine.

The next moment, seemingly with his neck bowed to its lowest point, "he" began to turn his eyes again, those empty, pale pupils staring lifelessly at Krzys below.

He slowly pulled at the thin muscles on his cheeks, forcing a stiff, cold smile that revealed abnormally sharp, rusty teeth. With a hoarse, tearing voice, he uttered a single word.

Upon hearing the much longer phrase, Thales froze.

That was the language of the ancient empire.

[A living...person...]

But Krzy remained impatient, seemingly oblivious to the object just inches above his head: "Are you still coming up?"

It seems they didn't even hear that word.

Thales took a deep breath, lowered his head, and suppressed the trembling that was running through his body.

just now.

How exactly was he supposed to tell Krzyze: "Above your head..."

Have……

There is a...

Thales took a few deep breaths, desperately trying to fight off the fear.

He made up his mind.

What's this?
Do not……

is not it……

It's just one...

It's just a ghost!

Filled with indignation, Thales gritted his teeth, opened his eyes, and suddenly looked up!
But then he froze.

All that could be seen above Krz's head was a layer of pitch-black rock.

Empty.

What man lying upside down, what brightly colored ghost?

It's like it never appeared.

"Hey Hey hey?"

Kuz looked at the dazed Thales with a displeased expression, the lamplight illuminating her profile and the rock wall:
What are you spacing out about?

(End of this chapter)