Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 376 Flag
"Good, if no one knows."

Amid the merchants' collective silence and the mercenaries' curses, Kandar surveyed his surroundings with an indifferent expression.

"Then let the duel begin as soon as possible."

Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

Oops.

He clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on the blue-faced orc Duraman in the distance.

If things get to the worst...

If a duel is unavoidable...

How can I survive?
Thales took a deep breath, entering a state of hellish senses, and began to observe the enemy's situation, but a sudden "bang" sound from outside his eardrums startled him.

It took Thales a few seconds to realize: the orcs were looting the caravan's goods from a distance.

On the barren rocky ground, his battles with the Meteorite and the Death Howl Raven significantly improved his Sin of the River of Hell, and even enhanced his Hellish Senses.

But it was precisely because of this that Thales learned a lesson: while a hellish sense can bring extraordinary perception, sometimes, overly sensitive perception is not necessarily a good thing.

When countless pieces of information that are usually isolated from his senses are flooded into his brain by his Hell Senses, Thales is in complete chaos and can hardly tell which way is which. For example, in the recent melee, the sound of orcs grinding their teeth twenty meters away was deafening in his Hell Senses, like a large army marching. It was often confused with the sound of swords and axes a meter away. The movements of the distant enemies were clear, as if they were right in front of him, causing Thales to subconsciously raise his hands to defend himself, while ignoring the threat that was right in front of him.

While having sharp hearing and eyesight might seem enviable, the person in question actually suffers from unspeakable pain: even slightly loud noises and bright lights become unbearable for Thales, causing him to overreact and experience perceptual distortions.

He needs time and practice to readjust to the new situation.

Thinking of this, Thales shook his head inwardly: In his hazy memories of his past life, those predecessors who underwent a complete transformation and had their meridians opened, yet were able to skip the adaptation phase and unleash their full power with their upgraded abilities, were probably born superhumans.

He tried his best to focus his slightly out-of-control hellish senses on his dueling opponent, but couldn't help but frown.

In the senses of hell, the fluctuations reflected in the vision of orcs are not as diffuse as those of humans, but rather solid and heavy.

At least within Duraman's body, Thales couldn't find any trace of light similar to the power of termination, but as the boy watched the fluctuations in its muscles and bones, listened to its heavy breathing and powerful heartbeat, he subconsciously swallowed.

Completely different from humans, yet it gave him an even more terrifying sense of crisis.

Thales had no doubt that this so-called Holy Guardian, the blue-faced orc, could unleash a power that most super-class warriors couldn't achieve even with the power of termination, with just a flick of his wrist.

No.

He silently came to a conclusion: based on his current self, still groping and adapting to new strengths...

No chance.

Not to mention…

Thales glanced at the other two Holy Guards with a headache.

“If he loses,” the orc warchief Kandar stared intently at Thales, his eyes gleaming coldly, “you have no reason to live… Clearly, the Desert God doesn’t like you.”

These words made everyone tense.

At that moment, a strange feeling crept into Thales's heart.

He raised his head subconsciously.

wrong.

The prince silently said to himself: Something's not quite right from the very beginning.

Where exactly is it?
What's wrong?

He turned his gaze and looked around.

Just then, a timid male voice rang out from the crowd.

"I...I know..."

The prisoners frowned.

A trembling hand was raised.

“I know…I know why the Star People sent troops…Great War Chief…”

Thales was slightly surprised.

Candall turned his head slightly.

“See, I knew it,” Kandar said with a scornful smile, striding off to the other side. “As humans, you are all lazy, and all you need is a little bit of motivation.”

Dean and Louisa frowned.

"What are you doing?"

Dean could hardly believe his eyes: "What could he possibly know?"

A bald man curled up on the ground struggled to straighten up, clutching his belly. Ignoring the dust on his body, he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "If I told you, great war chief, would you let me live?"

Kandar stopped in his tracks, lowered his head coldly, and stared directly at the caravan's owner—Sep Tomdin.

"It depends on what you tell me."

Thales stared wide-eyed, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, trying to guess what Tomdin was going to say.

Could it be that……

The orc Duraman roared, seemingly very unhappy that the duel had been delayed.

Tomdin, kneeling on the ground, shivered, but his words prevented Thales from immediately meeting his doom.

“They… about ten days ago, at the Baki camp, I was chatting with my cousin. He’s a regular soldier on the Western Front, under Williams, that guy…”

Kandal's eyes turned cold:
“I know who Williams is, get to the point.”

All the prisoners stared intently at the conversation between the two, their hearts pounding with unease.

The orc's eyes seemed to possess some kind of mysterious power, causing Tomdin to tremble even more violently.

The merchant's speech quickened, but his stammering worsened: "My cousin, he, he told me that the big shots are going to, going to, going to close the border soon, so I was thinking of bringing caravans out to smuggle and make some money..."

Kandar suddenly stretched out his only remaining left hand!

It gripped Tomding's necklace tightly, pulling the terrified merchant off the ground, dragging him by the legs, and roared with its gaping maw close to his face:
"Important!"

Tom Ding's scream, which he had just begun, was swallowed back down by this roar.

Looking at the ferocious orcish face of the other party, Tomding was like a field mouse facing a poisonous snake, with nowhere to run.

A few seconds later, the merchant, his teeth chattering and his face pale, said:
"Baron Williams was talking to some officials and nobles in his room, and my cousin overheard it... These important people are going into the desert, apparently to hunt down someone..."

Upon hearing this, Thales's breath hitched!
He remained calm, refraining from looking at Dean and Louisa.

What exactly does this Tom Ding know?
Really bad.

They face the threat of a duel...

I need to think of a way to get out...

There's also the risk of having your identity exposed...

Thales gritted his teeth: Is today an unlucky day?

He frowned slightly, the uncontrollable hellish sensations reflecting back to their heartbeats: the caravan owner was almost scared out of his wits, while Kandar, though seemingly ferocious, still had a steady heartbeat—though Thales didn't know if this was a trait unique to orcs.

In the distance, the sounds of orcs looting their spoils drifted over, their rough movements and constant noise disturbing his peace of mind.

That strange feeling is still there.

wrong.

Something's not right!

The boy's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

In Hell's Senses, the orcs in the camp were noisy, their rude whispers and rough movements seemingly right next to your ears.

The strange feeling in his heart became more and more obvious.

"Pursuing someone?" Kandar seemed thoughtful, his grip loosening slightly.

"Who?"

Tom Ding shook his head violently.

This action caused Kandar to tighten his grip again.

It curled its lips into a smile: "It seems you need more motivation?"

Tom Ding screamed, "No no no no—I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"

His voice trembled with sobs as he cried, “I swear, I swear on the noble honor of my ancestors! I really don’t know who they’re after!”

Dean and Louisa both sighed.

McGee, who had been knocked to the ground, gave a disdainful sneer.

Kandal had been watching Tomdin for a long time.

A few seconds later, the orc warchief looked at the snot and tears that had flowed onto his hand with disgust before letting go.

Tom Ding fell back to the ground with a thud.

The caravan leader breathed a sigh of relief, sobbing as he patted his chest.
"But, but since they are as wicked as you say, leaving not a single living creature in the desert alive, then they must hate that person as much as they hate you..."

Kandal, who was swinging his arms, lowered his head.

Realizing he might have said something wrong, Tomding raised his hands, trembling:

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to, I just, I just..."

But Kandar ignored his disrespect: "You're saying the Star Kingdom traversed the outskirts of the desert just to hunt down someone?"

"My cousin overheard all of this..."

Kandar sneered, "Who exactly are they that warrants such a massive upheaval on the entire kingdom's western front... a bloodbath with corpses strewn across the fields?"

At that moment, Thales was completely shaken!
That's it!

The boy suddenly understood.

He understood where that strange feeling came from!
The prince's chest heaved, and his eyes changed drastically.

So that's the answer.

It was also their only chance to survive against these cruel and cunning orcs!

Candall and Tomdin's questioning continued, but the prince had lost interest in listening.

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the other side, Thales felt a surge of excitement and his lips moved slightly.

"Dean," the boy tilted his head and whispered to the prisoner beside him:
"Orcs, they are looting your goods."

Dean gave him a strange look.

"Of course, they really like human spoils."

Dean was somewhat worried and hesitant, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Kandar, who was interrogating Tomdin:
“Listen, Wyman, it will never let us go, so you…”

Thales shook his head.

"No, Dean, listen to me: although they are scavenging, they discard anything of value and instead rush to plunder food, water, and even medicine."

Dean's brow twitched.

"what?"

The bald mercenary asked curiously:

"How did you know?"

Hearing the noise beside him, Thales paused slightly:
“I heard… I walked at the very end and saw that they were all looking for necessary supplies.”

Looking for supplies...

Dean seemed to be deep in thought.

On the other side, Tomding was frightened to tears by the orcs once again.

“Dean,” Thales continued softly.
“We just took up arms to fight back, there were at most a dozen of us, and according to that war chief, they only lost a few people, right…”

Dean pursed his lips: "What?"

“But they… there are nearly dozens, even hundreds of them, and almost half of them are wounded,” Thales gestured with his chin toward the rows of orcs.

"Including the war chief himself, whose armor also had dried bloodstains and fresh wear."

Dean's gaze froze in mid-air.

“Luisa said that they deliberately removed their armor and attacked lightly for concealment and surprise, but what if, what if they weren’t deliberately lightly armored… but were forced to do so?”

The bald mercenary's spirits lifted:
"did you mean……"

“Their condition isn’t as good as they say, Dean,” a flame of hope ignited in Thales’ eyes.
"They had recently been in a battle, and were traveling lightly and quickly, lacking food and clothing, and urgently needed supplies..."

"They are..."

Thales looked at Kandar, at his scarred armor beneath the fur, and uttered the next sentence: "Running for his life."

In that instant, the atmosphere between the two changed.

The pitch-black night seemed to brighten considerably.

Dean remained silent for a long time.

"That means..."

Thales nodded: "We just need to figure out a way to..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Because in the next moment——

"boom--"

A deafening roar, like a thunderclap, came suddenly!

The shock made everyone stand still!
Whether orc or human, merchant or mercenary, warlord or prince, at this moment they all turned around in alarm, facing the direction from which the loud noise came.

In the deep of night, a terrible raging fire broke out at a camp not far away.

The fire was so high that it even reached the upper half of the sky, a full ten meters high!

The firelight illuminated the sand dunes in all directions, making them incredibly conspicuous in the night sky.

Thales and Dean stared blankly at the flames in the distance, exchanging bewildered glances.

“Kandal…” Yakul, one of the Holy Guards, stared in astonishment at the burning camp, abruptly pulled off his black bow, and said something anxiously to the War Chieftain.

"Hura—" the Khandal Warchief roared at it, but it still turned its head and waved its arms.

Yaku nodded and led a dozen orc warriors to investigate.

It turned around, grabbed Tomding, who was equally terrified, and pointed at the flames, roaring furiously:

"what happened!"

"I I I..."

Tom Ding waved his hands frantically, trying his best to appear innocent and cooperative.

"In the Blade Fang Dunes, the army has been moving around frequently and on a large scale these past few days. They're so busy running around that management has become a bit lax," the merchant said with a mournful expression.

"So I took the opportunity... to smuggle some military supplies... like a tiny bit of Eternal Refined Oil. Your men probably did it by accident while they were robbing—I mean—while searching..."

"A tiny bit?" McGee repeated sarcastically, lying on the ground, looking at the fire on the sand.

Kandar looked at the flames, then at Tomdin, his expression furious, his cheeks twitching, his upper and lower rows of teeth practically grinding together.

"You may not be familiar with the properties of Eternal Oil, and its quantity may be more than 'a tiny bit'..."

Tomding stared at the raging fire, momentarily forgetting the horrors of the orcs, and said with heartache:

"So, if we want to extinguish it, we'll need a lot, a lot, a lot of sand..."

Candar roared and threw the unfortunate Tomdin off the ground.

Sure enough, a minute later, the orc Yakul returned with a dozen or so warriors, looking disheveled. He shook his head at Kandar, whose expression was grim.

Looking at the burning camp, Kandar roared in frustration.

The war chieftain turned and gave orders in their language, and many lightly armed orcs immediately sprang into action, scattering around the camp.

The flames are still burning.

“It seems Tomding’s greed and audacity did help us,” Dean said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes. “They’re preparing to retreat… Your guess was right, we have a chance.”

Thales pursed his lips.

In the unexpected chaos, Kandar seemed to finally remember the group of human prisoners.

“What a pity,” the orc warchief turned to them, coldly stroking the sharp iron fork on his wrist, “it has to end sooner than planned.”

"I'd like to chat with you all a little longer."

The prisoners' expressions changed drastically.

Kandar snorted softly, glancing at Thales. Its white face, illuminated by the flickering flames, appeared even more ferocious.

“You know, Seka, I really want to see how you react to Duraman…”

Duraman roared and slammed his spiked club heavily onto the ground.

Thales felt a chill in his heart.

Not good.

The orc warchief slowly stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Thales:

"Especially since I've just figured out a lot of things..."

Just then, on the horizon beyond the desert, a burst of sparks rose from the ground with a piercing, mournful sound! "Whoosh—"

Bright, jarring.

Everyone, including Kandar, instinctively looked in the direction of the spark.

A few seconds later, from where the sparks had appeared, on the other side of the dune, several faint sounds drifted from afar:
"Thump—thump—thump—"

Somber, low-key, and hurried, yet with a certain rhythm.

Getting closer.

Almost simultaneously, on the other side of the dunes, a roar from an orc warrior suddenly rang out:

"Cruery——"

The roar was abruptly cut short, turning into a cry of pain:
"Ahhhhhh—"

Before Thales could react, the orcs present all changed their expressions drastically!

The soldiers' cries of pain had not yet subsided.

But Kandar roared and suddenly turned to his warriors!
Without any hesitation, the tribe's war chieftain swung his powerful arms and roared the order in the loudest voice he had ever displayed:
"Musa!"

The next second, faster than the blink of an eye, all the orc warriors roared and drew their weapons. Led by Yaku and Lusana, they strode forward, spontaneously forming teams and running!

Apart from the orc Duraman, it pointed excitedly at Thales among the prisoners and said something to Kandar.

This orc, who had a blood feud with Thales, seemed determined to settle the score here and reclaim his brother's battle spirit.

Thales' heart sank.

“Don’t worry,” Dean said calmly beside him.

“I’ve already talked to Louisa, we’ll find an opportunity to retaliate.”

But his words of comfort had no effect—because Kandal was even more furious than Duraman, shouting and even punching the Holy Guard hard without any mercy.

Finally, Duraman gave Thales a resentful look, turned around, and joined his companions.

The prisoners stood in the center of the field, watching with suspicion and uncertainty as the busy orcs, their faces filled with fervor, ran past them in large, heavy steps, heading in the opposite direction from Spark!

They had almost no time to care about the prisoners.

“How…” Louisa exclaimed in surprise.

The next scene revealed the answer.

Not far from them, on a sand dune, a tall figure swept over the sand and gravel, breaking through the dark night and appearing in the firelight.

That was a knight.

A horse, a man, feet in stirrups, reins in hand.

He rode with the swift sound of hooves, his whole body pressed against the horse's back, rising and falling with the speed of the gallop, flying down the sand dune.

Two orc sentries on the sand dunes spotted the knight.

With a roar, they brandished their terrifying weapons, took astonishing strides, and propelled their powerful bodies toward the intruder!
The rider ignored the approaching threat; he simply arched his back and accelerated.

The two sides are getting closer.

Until they meet face to face.

The orcs' roars were filled with hatred: a heavy hammer and a greatsword drew dangerous arcs in their hands, carrying terrifying force and the howl of death, their momentum overwhelming, and they were about to cut open the horse's belly!

No, they are too strong...

Thales was startled and instinctively wanted to speak up to warn him.

But the knight only whistled softly.

In that instant, his mount nimbly turned around, its hooves pounding, and just before the weapons were upon him, it managed to change course!
The moment the knight turned around, the sharp-eyed Thales noticed the pattern on his robe:

A crow.

A dark blue crow with only one wing.

The knight narrowly avoided the orcs' interception and dodged two deadly weapons.

But it didn't end there.

A nimble, sharp spear suddenly emerged precisely from the horse and pierced the neck of the leading orc.

Amidst the roars of the two orcs, the knight swiftly lowered his lance and sped away with superb horsemanship, leaving only a spray of enemy blood behind him.

And a few inches of ponytail.

“This insignia belongs to the Crowwhistle Light Cavalry of the Clomar family,” Old Hammer couldn’t contain his excitement, “It’s the famous Second Assault Team of the Raven Guard—the ‘Ravens of Thunder’!”

Thales's heart skipped a beat: The Clomar family...

The Clomar family?
The name sounds familiar...

The orc, its neck pierced, howled incessantly. With terrifying, heavy steps, ignoring the spurting blood, it and its companions relentlessly pursued the knight.

But they can't catch up.

The knight spun in an arc, riding further and faster across the sand dunes.

Finally, the orc whose neck had been pierced collapsed after running a considerable distance, almost staining the sand red.

Before bleeding its last drop of blood, the orc's tenacious life force sustained it as it raised its blade against the knight's elusive back.

But its blade is too short.

I can't reach it.

As it thought this, its thick arm trembled in the air for a moment before finally falling limply to its side.

It stopped moving.

Beneath the sand dunes, the Khandal chieftain watched his warriors fall from afar, and roared in grief and rage.

The beastmen roared in unison, venting the hatred in their hearts.

"Hey! You bastards from the Rock Crack Sect, haven't seen you for two days!"

The first human knight looked at the burning camp in the distance and the angry orcs below, and reined in his horse.

He stopped on the sand dune, his laughter carrying far and wide, reaching the ears of every orc: "'The Day of Pursuit of the Holy' hasn't arrived yet, let's have a bonfire party now..."

"Isn't it a bit too early?"

Another orc sentry howled and charged toward the knight.

It failed to reach the finish line.

"Thump—thump—"

A second knight charged from the other side of the dune, brandishing his saber as the orc turned around, and passed by it.

Amidst Kandar's mournful roar, the head of the second orc, filled with resentment and anger, flew high into the air.

The prisoners were silent, while the beastmen cried out in grief and indignation.

Thales stared blankly at the scene, watching the fierce orcs fall one after another in battle.

Kandar's roar grew more and more urgent.

At his command, nearly a hundred orcs quickly split into two groups:
Nearly twenty orcs, exuding an astonishing aura, wielded heavy weapons and marched forward, forming a battle formation facing the dune where the knight was located.

The remaining orcs, shouting slogans and filled with hatred, put away their weapons, turned around, and ran wildly in the opposite direction.

"What are they doing..." Quick Rope asked in astonishment.

Old Hammer shook his head, and with his extensive experience, he succinctly gave the answer:
"Run for your life."

Just as Thales was about to ask a question, he found himself suddenly grabbed by the neck by a huge orc!
"Wyatt!" Dean and Louisa shouted as Thales was restrained in Kandar's left arm.

But the orcs guarding the prisoners did not move; they stood coldly behind the humans, suppressing anyone who wanted to resist.

Thales tried to exert his strength, but found that his opponent's power was the most terrifying he had ever encountered: "You—"

He didn't finish his sentence, because the next moment, Kandar's iron fork was pressed against his throat.

"Quiet!"

The orc warchief gripped Thales's throat, looked at his bewildered gaze, and said coldly to the prisoners, "This will be over soon—I don't want to make things too ugly."

The next second, Kandar put his mouth to his ear and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Tell your father, and tell Morat too."

"I found you first."

“And I know who you are.”

In that instant, Thales was completely frozen.

Dean and Louisa were still shouting excitedly, but it didn't matter anymore.

what?
Father?

Morat?
Who found me first?
Do you know who I am?
What does all this mean?
Candall turned Thales’ head toward him, his bright yellow eyes sharp.

Thales stared intently at Kandar, utterly bewildered.

He suddenly realized that the other person's expression was extremely serious at this moment, with neither the previous humor nor the grief and indignation.

Instead, remain calm.

A rare calm.

“So, Starry Sky, I’ve kept my promise,” Kandar said in a low voice, “And what about yours?”

"Until we meet again, Seka."

The next moment, Thales felt a sharp pain on his forehead and instantly swallowed a mouthful of sand.

"Wyman!"

A few seconds later, Thales, still shaken and helped up from the sand by Dean, could only watch in shock and confusion as the orc warchief's figure receded into the distance, and as Kandar and his warriors joined the Horde's ranks and ran into the distance.

what happened?

Are you alright? What did it do to you?

Thales didn't answer; he just blinked, his face full of surprise and doubt.

Its promise? The promise of Shining Star?

He doesn't understand.

This orc...

Who exactly is this orc...?

“My God,” Quickline blinked in disbelief, pulling McGee up from the ground. “We survived…they’re gone!”

Dean looked at the fleeing orcs in the distance, then at the orcs who remained and formed ranks, his expression complex.

The knights on the dunes charged down, whistling. There were more than a dozen of them. They skillfully dodged the orcs who had already formed a battle line and chased after the fleeing Kandar.

With the orcs gone, the captives regained their freedom, but they had no time to celebrate their good fortune, for soon, the next thing caught their attention.

ocean waves.

For a split second, Thales thought he had misheard.

But that's right.

It's just ocean waves.

The faint sound of the waves assaulted his ears again and again.

Wow...

Wow…

"What is that?" Quick Rope asked in horror.

"Oh no..." Old Hammer's face turned grim.

In the firelight, the prisoners looked around in panic, but saw nothing—except for the dark horizon.

But the waves did not disappear.

Wow…

A dozen seconds later, the 'wave' got closer and bigger!

It turned into a terrifying raging torrent.

Boom...

Rumble…

The next instant, the prisoners looked down at the ground in terror, then looked into the distance.

"Shit!" Dean sensed something was wrong and cursed.

Everyone felt it: an undeniable tremor was continuously transmitted from the sand to their feet, up their backs, and shaking their chests.

It touched their hearts even more.

Rumble…

The ground tremors became stronger, more noticeable, and more frequent.

Rumble…

Thales even felt as if his internal organs were about to be shaken out.

Rumble…

Finally, the unease brought by the raging waves came to an end.

In an instant, countless dark shadows appeared simultaneously on the top of the sand dunes ahead, at the boundary between the sky and the earth.

Rumble…

In the blazing firelight, the shadow formed a continuous black line.

They resembled countless ants, or a sweeping black tide, covering the sand dunes from top to bottom, turning the sand under the firelight pitch black.

Just like the night.

“My God, that’s…” Louisa squinted, her face turning deathly pale.

Thales couldn't help but hold his breath.

He could see the shadowy figure clearly.

are people.

Exactly.

They were cavalry.

One, two, ten, a hundred… the prince counted in astonishment.

cavalry.

Countless cavalrymen.

Rumble…

Their thunderous hooves thundered, their momentum astounding and overwhelming!

Like black lava devouring everything in a volcano, it poured down at breakneck speed.

They rushed toward the small camp.

Unstoppable.

Unstoppable.

Thales stared at the scene in a daze.

At the top of the dune, a knight who looked like a commander appeared in the range of firelight and shouted orders.

The cavalrymen responded to him in unison with shouts.

But Thales didn't notice him.

What he saw was: behind the lead knight, another galloping knight, holding a tall banner in his hand.

As the car sped along, the flag unfurled completely in the flames.

Thales stared blankly at the flag, at the pattern that was neither familiar nor unfamiliar, a mix of emotions welling up inside him.

That is one side...

one side……

One side has a white border and a blue background...

Silver Cross and Double Star Flag.

The next second, the leading knight raised his sword, pointed it down at the camp beneath his hooves, and spoke loudly, his aura imposing!

"In the name of His Majesty Kingsel!"

"Anything with fewer than four legs..."

"Leave no one behind!"

In the name of the swordless!
Anything called a monthly pass...

Leave no one alive!
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(End of this chapter)