Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 381 Ghost Prince

Compared to their journey there, the caravan's return trip was much calmer. They encountered hardly any orcs or sand bandits, and apart from a few corpses near some supply points, they didn't see a single person, or even animals.

But everyone knows why.

The thought of this makes many people feel heavy-hearted.

As always, the merchants kept their distance from Dante's greatsword, staying at the rear with their eight empty camels, their furtive glances sometimes revealing barely perceptible resentment and unwillingness.

The few remaining mercenaries, their steps weary, led the way, pulling two camels. None of their warhorses had been left behind; the two camels were "temporarily borrowed" by Dean after he argued with the merchants (even threatening them with his sword), ostensibly for safety reasons.

Dean and McKee walked at the front, their tired bodies and gloomy moods making their way home, occasionally discussing the location of the next supply point.

Old Hammer, still recovering from his injuries, leaned half his weight on the camel, coughing as he struggled forward, looking as if he might fall at any moment. Louisa walked behind him worriedly, ready to catch him if he fell. Quick Rope followed behind sullenly, looking preoccupied, and had lost all interest in telling jokes or promoting his business.

The atmosphere in the group was quiet and oppressive. Death and bloodshed had eroded the once relaxed and cheerful atmosphere among the mercenaries. After the raid, battle, casualties, and extortion, it seemed that the happy group would never return.

In this situation, the prince could only remain silent—he tightened the crossbow behind his shoulder, straightened the sunshade on his face, and consciously walked at the rear of the mercenary group. Having fought side by side against the orcs, he had become quite familiar with this heavily damaged team.

Fortunately, perhaps the Star Riders had eliminated most of the threats, or perhaps their misfortune had finally passed. Apart from the endless yellow sand beneath their feet and the scorching sun overhead, there were no further incidents on their return journey.

As the journey progressed, Thales felt a strange sensation with each step he took on the sand: the earth beneath his feet seemed to come alive again, telling him the direction and the terrain with each step.

and so……

Looking at the unchanging yellow sand around him, Thales made his own guess.

Finally, on a certain day when the sun was setting and the team was moving forward in silence, Thales paused as he climbed a sand dune.

The mercenaries ahead stopped.

Louisa exhaled, her expression complex.

No one speaks.

"What's wrong?" Thales caught up and asked cautiously.

Dean turned around and said quietly, "We've arrived."

I paused for a moment.

Following his gaze, Thales looked up with mixed feelings, gazing down at the sand dunes and at the seemingly endless desert horizon.

The boy was immediately stunned.

fortress.

A fortress standing in the desert.

No, it was more than one fortress.

It's a cluster of fortresses.

They are countless fortresses of all sizes and styles, extending beyond the horizon.

They appeared behind a low wall that stretched endlessly, nestled between several thick, large sand dunes, varying greatly in distance and size.
Some fortresses stand alone in the wilderness, far from other fortresses of the same kind; some fortresses are stacked tightly together, pressing against each other; some fortresses are built in the style of watchtowers, pointing abruptly to the sky; some fortresses are square, with faint yellowish-brown stone steps visible between different layers; some fortresses are multi-faceted and thick, clearly for defensive purposes; some fortresses are wide and low, more like civilian houses; some fortresses are over ten meters high, standing out among the sand dunes; and some are only one or two stories high, seemingly only good for drying clothes.

Perhaps due to the wind and sand, the color of these fortresses blends with the sand and gravel, and many places bear traces of fire and smoke. From a distance, they look like a pile of clumsy building blocks on the beach.

Thales swore that if it weren't for the vegetation growing between the fortresses, the foundations beneath many of them, the double cross and silver star flag flying high above the fortress at the very front, the wooden barricades placed around the low walls, and the bustling figures moving between the fortresses, he would have thought it was the ruins of some ancient desert city.

“Baki Dunes,” Dean looked at the familiar place, his gaze complex. “Baki Camp.”

Baki Dune?

Thales shook his head in surprise, looking at the man-made structures that had suddenly appeared in the desert wilderness.

This is……

“After passing this large camp that can sustain thousands of lives, and walking another day to the east, the sand beneath your feet will no longer be yellow sand,” Dean patted Thales on the shoulder. “Congratulations, Wyatt, the desert ends here.”

So far.

Looking at the star-studded flag fluttering in the distance, and feeling the sense of direction returning to his heart, Thales sighed softly.

Merchants caught up, and many wept with joy upon seeing the familiar scene before them.

“I knew it,” Tomding breathed a sigh of relief, then his face fell with worry: “But our goods…”

But his expression quickly changed: "Hey, Dean, we're very grateful for your escort all the way. To be honest, you're the best guide and bodyguard I've ever met. Really, if it were anyone else... But as you can see, we had bad luck on this trip, lost everything, and are having some cash flow problems, so the promised final payment might have to wait a while..."

Dean's expression darkened, and he stared at him coldly.

The mercenaries' eyes all turned cold.

"Wait a while?" McGee said softly, "Then how about... you 'wait a while' in the desert, until you have enough money, and then we'll send you back?"

Tom Ding's smile froze.

But he reacted swiftly, turning his head away from the bald mercenary and the skeleton man, and looking at Louisa instead: "I'm not going back on my word... and I guarantee you with the reputation of the Tomding family, we started out in lending—even the Starry Sky royal family borrowed money from us back in the day—we're the most trustworthy people..."

Thales raised an eyebrow.

Tomding's eyes darted around as he gripped the camel's reins tightly, as if he were about to ride off at any moment: "I'm just saying, you have to understand us... dear Louisa, think about it, your father, old Dante, is such a good man, helping the poor and needy, and I've known him for so many years, would I really renege on a debt for such a small amount?"

His face was filled with sorrowful longing as he looked at the female captain with hope.

Louisa stared at him intently, and finally let out a helpless sigh.

“Forget it, stop using the ‘I know your father’ trick. I never expected you to give me money in the first place…” Louisa muttered, shaking her head. “You should be thinking about how to get past the guards… The lockdown is still in effect, and we’re entering the camp at this time…”

Tom Ding's face lit up the moment he heard "never mind".

“I knew you were a good person,” the portly businessman said cheerfully, seemingly about to pat Louisa on the shoulder, but his arm was swatted away by McKee halfway. “Don’t worry, we’ve already bribed Duro… that greedy freak. He said no one would make things difficult for us…”

They soon found out whether Duro's words had any effect.

"Duro?"

The guards at the Baki camp stood before Tomding, looking at the caravan, which had nothing but ten camels, with suspicion: "Did he say that?"

Tom Ding nodded obediently, smiling broadly, as if he knew the ropes well: "Yes, yes, Brother Duro and I know each other very well. He'll find out when he gets back... We didn't know about the lockdown order..."

The guards frowned as they sized up each person.

"Really? You and Duro... are very close?"

Tomding waved his hand and laughed heartily: "Of course, we met on the road...we even drank together. Before I left, I gave him a lot of good things, and he insisted on sending Stardust Guard soldiers to escort me back, but I refused..."

Quick Rope's eyes widened, and he turned to give Thales a surprised look that seemed to say, "What's going on?"

The guard nodded with a stern face, then turned and whispered something in the ear of a higher-ranking officer.

"Ah, I have a bad feeling," Old Hammer whispered.

Louisa frowned slightly: "Why?"

Old Hammer shook his head, pointed to the soldiers standing guard in front of the barricades with unfriendly expressions: "Because I think I recognize them, they aren't..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the officer nod.

The officer strode forward and sternly gave orders to the Star Soldiers present:

"Get them!"

Tom Ding's face turned pale instantly!
The officer coldly gripped the weapon at his waist: "You violated the lockdown order, went out without permission, and even dared to bribe the army... You are truly audacious."

The mercenaries looked at each other in astonishment.

Seeing the dozen or so soldiers surrounding him with their weapons drawn, Tomding waved his hand anxiously: "But Captain Duro said..."

"I don't care what that freak said!" the officer said sternly, pointing to the star-studded flag above his head. "This is the land of the stars, and we are a sacred army. Before the law, no one can bend the law for personal gain!"

Tomding instantly transformed into that helpless little kitten, bewildered and filled with grievance: "But... Duro...aren't you together?"

The officer frowned.

"Who the hell told you we were with that bunch of freaks?"

He took off the shield from behind him and tapped the pattern on it hard.

Thales squinted and was astonished to see that the shield was a huge, horrifying skull with four dark eye holes.

This isn't that...

"Can you see it clearly? This is a four-eyed skull!"

The officer proudly declared, "We come from the ruins; we are soldiers of the Falkenhausen family!"

"Not like Williams' bastards!"

Tom Dingchet was completely stunned. He stared at the unfamiliar skull and murmured:

"Four-eyed skull..."

Dean sighed quietly.

Thales, however, thought a little further: the guards at the Baki camp were conscripts directly under the Falkenhausen family, which meant that their commander was at least...

"You have two choices," the officer said arrogantly, "either pay a fine, or I'll send you to the Bone Dungeon..."

Amid the merchants' terrified cries, the Stars' soldiers pressed closer and closer.

The mercenaries gritted their teeth, while Thales clenched his fists, wondering which of these soldiers was the supreme commander.

Just now.

"Colin!"

Old Hammer's voice rang out: "Little Nose Colin!"

The righteous and stern-faced officer was slightly taken aback.

"Who?" The officer with the small nose looked around in confusion. "Who's speaking?"

“It’s me,” Old Hammer sighed as he stepped out of the crowd, “I served under Lord Mann with you, we even got ambushed together while lying in wait…”

He didn't need to say anything more.

"hammer!"

Colin, with his little nose, stared wide-eyed.

Old Hammer gave an awkward laugh.

The mercenaries exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief once again.

A few minutes later, the merchants, dejected, were escorted into the Blade Fang camp by soldiers. Their camels were taken away by the Falkenhaus soldiers as a fine. The greatswordsmen of Dant stood on the other side, silently waiting for the outcome of Old Hammer's negotiations.

“My goodness…” Colin chuckled as he watched the ten camels being led away, patting Old Hammer on the shoulder with his familiar Western Wilderness accent: “Hammer, how did you become a ‘sword dealer’?”

Old Hammer sighed.

"It's a long story... Has there been any major operation recently? Why were soldiers from the Wasteland and Wing Fort simultaneously conscripted and sent to the desert along with the regular army?"

Thales was intrigued by these words and listened intently through his hellish senses.

Colin rubbed his hands together: "It's a long story... Anyway, it's not just them. In the past month or two, the Blade Fang camp has been filled with conscripts from all over the Western Wilderness. Many of them are nobles or noble soldiers who can afford to bring their own horses, including the Skull Guard and the Raven Whistle Light Cavalry, who take turns entering the desert..."

Old Hammer frowned: "What exactly happened? I saw them chasing orcs in the desert..."

Colin shook his head: "I don't know, but I guess the Bone People or the Grey Bastards are going to migrate east again, because those going in are mostly cavalry... while we two-legged folk..."

"You're collecting tolls right here?" Old Hammer looked at the ten camels and Tom Ding, who was about to cry, from afar.

Colin shrugged but didn't answer.

Old Hammer sighed helplessly: "But, ten camels, that's all these people have..."

"No, Hammer, don't plead for them. You pity them, but who will pity us?"

“The standing army gets paid by the king, but what about our stipends? They can’t even buy a ball of yarn!” Colin sniffed in dissatisfaction. “You know, it’s September, my family’s mill will be starting soon, and my term of service is long over, but my brother and I don’t know when we’ll be able to go back. One of my buddies is about to give birth…”

"But you're being far too greedy. The merchants will protest—but what about the nobles in the camp?"

Colin's face hardened, clearly in a bad mood. "Listen, Hammer, you've been out of the army for a long time... Unlike during the Desert Wars, the Falkenhausen family is no longer in charge of the Blade Fang Camp," the small-nosed officer waved his hand.

"This is the territory of the Royal Guard now. Usually, the kickbacks go to Williams's bastards. There aren't many places for us to skim off. If the Royal Guard hadn't gone on an expedition and been short-handed, do you think we'd be standing here? So, who cares about protests? Let's grab what we can. Anyway, if anything goes wrong, it'll be Williams's problem..."

Thales listened to these words thoughtfully.

“Listen,” Colin put his arm around Old Hammer’s shoulder, “I’ll spare you for the sake of the past, and I won’t take the mercenary tax anymore. But when you go back, remember to tell my dad to keep a close eye on my wife and not let that cripple from the next village get his hands on her…”

Finally, thanks to the camaraderie of Old Hammer, Dante's greatswordsmen entered the city—or rather, this rather large oasis camp in the desert—without incident.

Beyond the boundary formed by the low wall and barricades, a crowd of people came rushing towards us.

A crowd that Thales hadn't seen in a long time.

Shoulder to shoulder, shadowy figures.

Dean coldly shoved aside a man who looked drunk, and as the man collapsed, he kicked him hard in the stomach.

"New here, trying to scam others—we're not pigs!"

"Dant's greatsword, never heard of it?"

Thales watched as the man who had gotten up from the ground, cursing, walked into another alley, where a group of fierce-looking men were staring at them with ill intent.

“I thought you’d died out there, bald,” a man inside chuckled, rubbing his fists. “Oh, and my beautiful, thorny little flower, Louisa! When are you coming to sleep in my bed for the night? I guarantee it’ll be more comfortable than Big Dean’s!”

"Go get the hell out of here!" Louisa gave him the middle finger expressionlessly and continued walking forward.

The man laughed heartily.

"Here's a free message, Baldy," he picked his nose, "Things' been messing around here lately! Don't mess with the soldiers! They might be some nobleman's bodyguards!"

The bald mercenary frowned upon hearing this.

Dean turned to Thales and said, "Stay close, don't get lost."

"You don't want to be alone in the Bakiri camp; these people are more terrifying than orcs."

The quick rope behind him nodded vigorously.

Walking along the "streets" between the fortresses, Thales looked around with surprise and trepidation: he soon grasped the "unique features" of the Blade Fang Camp.

The architectural style here is not even as orderly as that of an ordinary small village in the Starry Sky City, but the chaos here is comparable to the Shield District of Dragon Sky City and the Lower District of Eternal Star City.

People came and went everywhere amidst the yellow sand and gravel. The uneven and varied roads between the fortresses made the place seem even more chaotic and disorderly. The people on the street dressed in a style that was completely different from the Northlanders and the Star People that Thales had seen. Their clothes were both light and sun-protective, and many of them covered their heads and faces.

And if you add sound to this picture...

"Even the king can't enjoy the Dragon's Kiss velvet, now it's only two silver coins a bundle!"

"Want to know the story of your life? A true descendant of the Wild Bone Demons, a favorite of the Desert God, I'll divine your destiny. Six copper coins per reading..."

"Hey, handsome, don't you feel lonely sleeping alone tonight... Want to see my face? How about looking at my legs instead? Yes, I'm a guy... Hey, that's not right. If you don't believe me, come over and touch me. What part of me is inferior to a woman's? Hey, you've already touched me, and you think you can just leave? Come on, look at my pectoral muscles and fists, look at the brothers behind me. Say it again: Are you going to pay me? Are you going to pay me? Are you going to pay me?"

"Desperately want to kill someone? Hate someone? Want to sleep with someone else's wife? Experienced mercenary Mara, who has seen countless lives, will kill for you for ten gold coins! Guaranteed no action in the city, clean method, swift disposal of the body, absolutely no illegality, and a well-regarded reputation! You can pay a deposit now, and the balance after the mission is completed!"

"What? You're saying I stole your wallet? Damn it, do I look like the kind of person who would steal from you? Look again, is this your wallet? — Yes, it is! I never steal, this is outright robbery! Go to hell!"

"Believers! Lambs! Calamity is imminent, the Dark Night will return, only those who believe will live! Now proceed to the Temple of the Dark Night to watch the latest play, 'The Untold Story of the God of the Dark Night and the Queen of the Restoration King,' and you'll have a chance to win an unexpected reward—Huh? This can't be performed? Hey, you misheard, I said the latest play, 'The Untold Story of the God of the Dark Night and the Queen of a Certain Founding King'—Hey, what are you doing—let me go—Waaah, you—you can't interfere with artistic freedom—the Dark Night will return—help!"

"Weapons for sale! Weapons! Swords, spears, axes, bows, shields, lances, hammers—second-hand or new, military or privately owned, bulk purchases preferred, fair prices!"

"What if the camp is blocked? Merchant Billy can help! We'll take you around the desert from the east, avoiding patrols—absolutely safe! A comfortable camel caravan will take you straight to the Duchy of Sera, one gold coin per person!"

Merchants hawking their wares along the street, mercenaries carrying knives, adventurers hurrying along, prostitutes exposing almost every part of their bodies, and of course, hordes of soldiers—the whole place was bustling and lively.

Dante's greatswordsmen routinely squeezed through the strange and diverse crowd, occasionally scaring away many restless individuals with their fierce glares and impolite actions—according to McKee, it was Thales's "white pig-like appearance" that attracted a lot of attention, and if they hadn't been fully armed, there would have been even more trouble.

They finally turned past a fortified building with windows and came to a less narrow and enclosed open space.

Dean stopped and said gravely, "I need to go to the guardhouse and find Frank. He needs to know about this."

“I’ll go with you,” Louisa said, her face somber. “After all, I’m the captain.”

Dean nodded.

McKee glanced at Dean, then at Louisa, and sighed, "Well... I'll go get rid of the extra equipment."

“Then let’s go to ‘my house’ and meet up with Seaman and the others,” Old Hammer chimed in. “And while we’re at it, let’s ask Wyman where his family is.”

Thales was taken aback, but before he could say anything, the mercenaries scattered in perfect unison.

He was pulled along by the rope, following behind Old Hammer, and turned onto another secluded road.

“Let me tell you,” Quick Rope sighed, “you have no idea how terrifying this place is. The first time I came here, I met a beautiful young lady, and then… sigh, life is unpredictable. Wyman, you have to cherish your life, for example…”

Thales gave an awkward smile and looked pleadingly at Old Hammer.

Old Hammer smiled upon hearing this and interrupted Quick Rope, who was about to start doing business, without hesitation.

"It is said that the Blade Fang Dunes originally consisted only of sand dunes, without any camps. Until a long time ago, a caravan spontaneously built a fortress here for rest. As more and more people entered and exited the desert from here, fortresses were added one by one... until it was comparable to a small town, when a Star King or a Western Wilderness Duke took it over."

"Clearly, this location is too important... Although Baki Camp has been granted to many families, most of them have perished due to war and the harassment of the desert."

"After the Bloody Years, this place became Baron Williams' fiefdom, guarding the desert alongside the Western Wilderness Territory. However, he was not a vassal of the Falkenhaus family, but a direct vassal of the King—I once doubted whether he could collect enough taxes from this fiefdom that didn't even have arable land, but clearly, it seems now..."

Old Hammer shrugged as he looked at the strange and unusual people all over the street.

Thales nodded.

“Bake Fang Camp is notoriously chaotic, full of opportunities but even more dangers,” Old Hammer sighed, speaking to Thales with nostalgia and emotion. “Many criminals from the kingdom were exiled here. Some went to the Bone Prison, some became suicide squads, and those who survived became the residents of this city—I don’t know if I should call it a city—plus the farmers, artisans, and soldiers who couldn’t make a living in the surrounding area, and that’s how it became like this: more bad people than good people, more criminals than law-abiding citizens, and more weapons than food.”

“It was even more exaggerated here during wartime.”

Thales walked up a hill, and the surrounding noise suddenly became much quieter.

Immediately afterwards, he saw a very tall tower behind a circular bunker.

It is twenty or thirty meters tall, slender and towering, seemingly standing in the middle of the open space of many fortresses, yet far away from other buildings, appearing particularly isolated.

Thales couldn't help but notice that the area around the tower was sparsely populated. The various people who were originally shouting and hawking their wares would strangely fall silent as they passed by, turn their heads to look elsewhere, and quickly leave.

It seemed as if they were afraid of something.

Thales squinted and saw that the highest window at the top of the tower had been sealed shut with wooden strips.

Sparsely populated high-rise buildings...

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

"That tower is really tall. Does some important person live inside?"

The boy asked curiously.

Old Hammer followed his gaze and his face immediately darkened.

"Do not."

“The nobles never live there, and I guess Baron Williams doesn’t either… That tower is called ‘Ghost Prince’.”

"Over the years, no one should have dared to live there."

Thales frowned:
"What prince?"

"I know, I know!" Quickrope exclaimed excitedly, "The legends of Baki's camp... there's something ominous in that tower..."

"Shh!" But Old Hammer interrupted him sternly.

"Eighteen years ago... during the Bloody Year, the Bone Tribe and the Orcs once attacked and captured the Blade Fang Camp. I was serving here at that time."

The veteran's expression was tense as he pointed to the tower: "Before the camp fell, a noble prince—I mean the king's son, a genuine royal, not some fairytale prince—came to the western front, to the Baki camp, to comfort the troops and oversee operations."

"He lived there, in the tallest tower of the Baki camp."

Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

He gazed at the solitary tower, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

"On a dark night, the prince was there, being lifted from the highest window..."

"It was pushed down."

Thales was stunned.

He looked at the small window sealed off by wooden strips in the far distance of his field of vision, and then his gaze slowly moved from there to the open space at the bottom.

The prince felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

“I heard the rest of the story from other people after I retired,” Old Hammer said slowly, “It is said that King Kessel caught the murderer after the war.”

"As punishment, he locked the murderer and his accomplice in the highest room and set fire to the first floor, burning upwards."

Quickstrip let out a breath and pursed his lips.

"Many people couldn't bear the burning and jumped out of that window, paying the price for the prince's death."

"Whether they were burned to death or fell to their deaths, the prisoners' screams and wails disappeared within the first hour," Old Hammer's voice turned cold and desolate, "but the fire burned for a whole day."

"What's strange is that even though it was burned for a whole day, the tower still stood up—and what's even more mysterious is that after the flames went out, there wasn't a single trace of fire on either the exterior or the interior."

"Bright and clean as new".

Quick Rope pursed his lips and nodded solemnly as Old Hammer explained, his eyes serious.

Thales stared intently at the tower, its intact state sending a chill down his spine.

“From that time on, all sorts of strange things happened there—from midnight singing to ghostly figures at the window, even faint screams and wails, and the sound of burning flames, even in broad daylight… The Baron had to seal that window shut.”

"Some of the nobles stationed here, defying the odds, wanted to move in... but..."

Old Hammer silently shook his head.

"Everyone who lived there died in the desert and never returned, not even with their belongings."

"So everyone said that the tower was cursed by the prince's death."

Old Hammer pulled Thales, who was unknowingly moving closer to that direction, back a little.

His expression was grim.
From then on, the locals called it 'Ghost Prince'.

Quick Rope shook his head and clicked his tongue.

Thales stared blankly at the gloomy, deserted, and desolate tower.

Ghost Prince...

"Who?"

The boy asked blankly, "Died there..."

"Which prince is it?"

Old Hammer shook his head.

“I’ve forgotten,” the veteran said sternly. “I only saw him from afar when he entered the camp.”

"That prince was very handsome, even beautiful, more charming than a girl."

He is very handsome.

Thales swallowed.

A name from long ago comes to mind.

The Ghost Prince.

"But what good is being handsome?" Old Hammer scoffed, gazing wistfully at the open space beneath the "Ghost Prince."

"That night, I was among the first patrol to arrive. And I remember it very clearly, that handsome prince..."

He sighed slowly:
"He landed face-first."

(End of this chapter)