Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 424 Loyalty
Thales hadn't experienced this feeling in a long time.

grey.

white.

He walked in a gray and white world, from the ground to the walls, from gravel and broken wood to sand and dust, even the air shone with a bright white light, as if the surrounding darkness had been swept away.

There were no other colors.

It was very quiet around me, with faint shouts coming from the side, like someone underwater hearing a call from the shore.

Just like...

Like another gray and white world.

The boy seemed somewhat dazed.

wrong.

His vision was somewhat shaky and unsteady, with occasional faint double images.

Dazzled, Thales shook his head frantically, tapping his longsword on the gray ground to dispel the faint dizziness and try to regain his sense of direction.

He felt a sudden tightening in his right arm.

A gloved hand, rippling with moisture, gripped Thales' arm.

"Concentrate," Yodl's voice came from his ear, guiding him forward:
“The paths of shadow reflect reality; they sometimes overlap, but never meet. As we walk through them, it is like drifting on the sea, sometimes floating on the surface, sometimes sinking to the bottom.”

"You must distinguish between reality and illusion; you cannot get lost here."

Thales staggered along, being dragged forward by the only thing in this world with normal color—the Yordles—trying his best not to look at the gray and white, overlapping images around him.

Really bad.

He took several deep breaths, and the air entering his lungs felt somewhat unreal.

Thales watched in astonishment as he walked out of the gray hall and into the gray corridor, watching as the Yordles carefully avoided the Blades of Calamity, which had also turned into gray figures.

But no one noticed them.

The boy turned around.

"We're just leaving like this? You're not helping him, but helping Sacel?"

Thales was panting, feeling his words echoing faintly, like a dream.

“Defeating the enemy is not my mission.” Yodl shook her head, still holding tightly to Thales, her purple mask casting a double image against the gray background.
"To me, you are the most important person."

In the gray and white world, they quickened their pace, walked out of the passage, and came to the stone steps.

As if receiving some signal, several mercenaries who were holding the position hurriedly headed in the direction they had come from, passing by the two men with normal skin color.

“Don’t touch them,” Yodl’s advice was simple.

One of them seemed to sense something; the gray-haired man turned around warily, his gaze sweeping over Thales and Yodl.

Thales didn't dare to breathe, but followed Yodl step by step, trying his best to avoid the sleeves of others.

A fraction of a second later, the mercenary shook his head, dismissed his wariness, and followed at his companion's call.

Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

“But Saxeel…”

The boy glanced worriedly at the road behind him: "He's been imprisoned for over a decade. His mental state is questionable, but his physical abilities, strength, and reflexes have all declined..."

Yodl shook his head again, sparing with words:

"This doesn't affect his fighting ability."

really?
Thales frowned and exhaled.

"He was all alone, facing eighteen of them, or even more."

Yodl seemed completely unconcerned about the problem and simply continued forward:
"He'll find a way."

Suppressing the slight dizziness, Thales remained silent.

But Yodl suddenly spoke up.

"We can't get around this, we need to make ourselves visible for a while."

Thales was taken aback:
"what?"

He would soon no longer have any doubts.

Several corpses lay on the narrow stone steps ahead, some of them mercenaries, others of the Shadow Shield, their grayish-white blood splattered all over the ground.

It seems the battle between the Shield of Shadows and the Blade of Calamity continues.

The three masked assassins in black appeared to be the only survivors; they put away their weapons and were making their final preparations.

But as soon as one of them raised his head, he suddenly trembled!
"bass!"

A short sword pierced through his chest and then withdrew with a hissing sound.

Along with that, a purple mask appeared out of thin air behind his shoulder.

His companions were unusually alert and grabbed their weapons immediately, but the masked attacker was faster than them!
The attacker closed in, his short sword making a light slash.

"Shh-"

The unfortunate assassin's final action was to clutch his throat, which was gurgling and hissing, before collapsing to the ground, powerless.

The last assassin, who was further away, was terrified and instinctively retreated at top speed!

But another longsword, gleaming silver and with a beautiful curve, had already pierced the air with great force, heading straight for his head!

"call!"

The assassin raised two oddly shaped weapons with handguards, crossed them above his head, and slid down, preparing to use the force of the block to roll to the side.

Something unexpected happened: the longsword with its beautiful curve suddenly changed its trajectory halfway through, turning from a slash into a thrust, and gently pushed forward!
"laugh!"

The assassin was incredulous—he watched helplessly as the blade swept past his perfect parry and plunged straight into his throat.

Thales steadily drew his longsword, looking at the blood on it with disgust.

On the other side, having dealt with the two, Yordle, who had just arrived, silently watched the prince, the gears behind the mirror slightly turning.

"Nice shot."

Yodl sheathed her short sword, her words carrying a deeper meaning:

"Therefore, you have awakened the power of termination."

Thales didn't answer, he just nodded.

The swordsmanship of the Northern Army consists of two moves from two different offensive techniques.

There's the Thunder Cross Pose and the Crouching Pose.

The two are connected by the twist of fate.

only……

The boy looked at the assassin with complicated emotions, watching him tremble and crawl on the ground, groaning as he awaited the end of his life.

It's impossible to kill with a single blow.

Thales looked at the assassin's desperate eyes and sighed: in the instant he drew his sword to fight, he always saw the fervor and enjoyment that the Blades of Calamity had shown when they killed their enemies.

And in the instant when the sins of the River of Hell surged forth, mimicking the twists of fate, that lurking emotion reached its peak. Alas.

“I hate this.” Thales shook his head, gritted his teeth, and raised his sword, wanting to end the assassin’s suffering once and for all.

But Yodl suddenly reached out and grabbed Thales' wrist tightly.

Under the prince's questioning gaze, the masked guard crouched down gently, and with a swift thrust and withdrawal of his short sword, took the enemy's life.

Thales lowered his sword and silently watched the masked guard stand up. With a flick of his wrist, the bloodstains on the Supreme Sword were instantly cleared, leaving it sparkling clean.

Yodl patted him on the shoulder.

You shouldn't like it.

The masked guard said calmly.

Thales suppressed his discomfort and smiled at Yodl.

The prince looked up, picked up the torch, and gazed at the path leading to the ground.

“I don’t know if you heard me, but the Swords of Calamity may know another path that leads outside…”

Yodl shook his head, took the long, dark green stone from his pocket, and handed it to Thales.

“As long as you have the key,” the masked guard’s hoarse voice held a hint of certainty, “we can wipe them all out.”

"Now, all we need to do is get to the ground safely."

But what after that?

Thales stared intently at the black cell key in his hand, a growing number of questions welling up inside him.

What to do with the quick rope?
What should Dean do?
What should be done about the secret service?
Knowing that this was not the time to think about such things, Thales, his mind in turmoil, tried to clear his mind, threw away his torch, took Yodl's outstretched hand, and followed him back into the path of shadows.

But luck doesn't always favor them.

As they went up another floor and came to a corridor, Yodl suddenly trembled slightly.

"Be careful."

There's something strange ahead.

Before the prince could react, the masked guard swiftly released Thales's arm.

Thales, who was still enduring the discomfort in the Shadow Path, felt a jolt around him, and the gray world in front of him rippled again, returning to its normal color—dim—as if the tide had receded.

Thales groaned in pain, leaning on his sword for support amidst the dizziness brought on by the shifting world, trembling and gagging.

how?

While he was still wondering, Yodl had already disappeared from sight.

But almost simultaneously, the instant Thales materialized, a familiar yet chilling male voice rang out from the darkness ahead.

“I knew it, Your Highness, you always have a way to get out of trouble.”

As the firelight blazed, a fair-skinned man holding a torch appeared before Thales with a friendly smile:
"It was worth all the fear and anxiety I endured here, and all the long waiting."

When Thales saw this person, he had such a headache that he had to support his forehead with his hand.

"What a coincidence."

The prince twitched his lips and called out the name of the person in front of him with a hint of annoyance: "Chisel".

He shook the torch in his hand, a friendly smile on his face.

Thales suddenly missed Ricky's group of mercenaries.

Swords of Calamity, shouldn't you have wiped all these people out?

How can you be so useless?

Thinking too much was pointless, Thales tried to clear his mind of unnecessary emotions and cautiously engaged his hellish senses to observe his surroundings.

Seeing his wary expression, Qianzi shrugged helplessly, looking slightly comical.

But Thales knew that "funny" was definitely not an adjective that fit this guy.

"No need for your trouble, Your Highness," Qianzi said, raising his hands with a sincere expression.

"I'm a businessman. I don't like violence if things can be resolved through negotiation."

Is it.

Thales looked at him with a headache, feeling the information coming from his hellish senses.

I dislike violence...

Then why are there at least a dozen breaths hidden in the darkness behind you?

"That's reassuring," Thales said with a forced smile, trying to locate Yordle.

But Yordle still didn't show up, nor did she use the Shadow Path to take him out.

This means that the enemy will find it difficult to avoid and will be very difficult to deal with.

What would you do, Yodl?
“Fortunately, our shrewd Baron Russell isn’t here, so I’ll be frank,” Chip seemed pleased:

"Rest assured, Your Highness, we never intended to hand you over to the Northerners. Our cooperation with them is merely using King Chaman's intelligence network... You know, our manpower within the Starry Sky is not very effective."

You don't intend to hand me over to the Northerners?

Ha ha.

This is the expression Thales wanted to give him in return.

But he can't.

"So you're saying you want to take me all for yourself?" Thales maintained his composure, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

The chisel shook its head.

"No, our purpose in coming to Baki's camp is simply to meet with you alone."

Chisel's eyes narrowed to slits, and his expression became serious:
"Let's see if the legendary wise prince can become our savior."

Thales was slightly taken aback.

"Savior?"

But the next second, Chisel's words and actions shocked Thales, who had been on high alert.

Then, Qianzi lifted his cloak and knelt on one knee before the prince, showing utmost respect.

Björdl was even better.

"His Highness Thales Star, the First Heir of the Star Kingdom."

The chiselman's voice was submissive, his tone respectful, his posture humble, and he appeared to have no hostility whatsoever.

“‘Skewer’ Kosei, here representing the Shield of Shadows, we are willing to pledge our allegiance to you, to lead the way for you, to redeem the heinous sins we have committed, and to reverse our declining fate.”

"Please accept our sincerity."

"And our loyalty."

Revise it after getting up.

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(End of this chapter)