Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 443 Not Just You
The flames flickered, figures moved swiftly, and Sackel's surprise attack brought with it a fierce gust of wind, accompanied by Barney's angry and alarmed shouts.

Just as Thales' hair stood on end and he was preparing to grit his teeth and fight back, the former royal guards unexpectedly reacted swiftly.

"Shh!"

"call!"

The axe blade flashed, and the hammer pierced the air.

They both pursued Sacel from the flank and rear!

The Knight of Punishment heard the sound of wind behind him from the left and right, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It's Belletti and Brie.

They were not taken down by Sacel's sudden attack. On the contrary, Belletti used the rebound from the wall and Brie roared as she took a step to steady herself. In a split second, the two of them adjusted their balance and, before Sacel could even get a body length past them, they sprang up and counterattacked!

This forced Sackel to halt his advance.

From the Shield of Shadows to the Blade of Calamity, the Punisher Knight's offensive is fierce and efficient, always achieving a victory, and rarely encountering an opponent who can withstand a single blow.

To be honest, this was the first time Thales had ever seen someone who could withstand the pressure and quickly organize a counterattack after being hit by him.

As he pondered this, Belletti's axe blade appeared fierce and hard, carrying an aura that seemed to tear everything apart.

Brie's robust figure came crashing down with overwhelming force, simultaneously pressing down with the menacing hammer.

Thales remembered that just now, these two were at the forefront of the battlefield, one breaking through the formation and the other ruthlessly hunting down the enemy, completely shattering the Sword of Calamity.

As expected of an old colleague, he's really difficult to deal with.

In a flash, Sacel, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, stepped and spun around, dodging Belletti's axe wind, and first moved towards Brie to his right rear!

"Ding!"

With a soft click, the Knight of Punishment's right hand spun the fighting axe in a magical arc within his palm.

Precisely from the side—clamping Brie's hammerhead.

Brie frowned deeply, suddenly sensing something was wrong.

"Whoosh-"

Sure enough, amidst the whistling wind, Sacel approached him like a dancer in a close embrace, deftly and nimbly grazing Brie's powerful hammerhead, and then just barely brushing against his menacing body.

They narrowly missed each other, almost brushing past the imposing Brie.

Like two gears in a clock that drive each other but only intersect at a single point.

Oops.

Looking at Sackel's expressionless face so close to hers, that was Brie's next thought.

The next second, Bri felt a strange force coming from the other's axe blade, pulling him in an uncontrollable direction!
Just as Brie was about to grit his teeth and endure it, he suddenly felt a jolt in his knee.

"Boom!"

Brie was immediately horrified to realize that his weight-bearing foot had been struck by Sackel's sudden kick, and he had lost his balance.

In a fraction of a second, he had become a giant sandbag in the air, whose attacks had all missed, whose lower body had lost its balance, whose direction could not be controlled, and whose only remaining feature was his robust body, which was at the mercy of Sakel.

Thales recognized the tripping motion: just moments before, he had been struck by the same move by Sacelle and narrowly escaped death.

No.

In that instant, Brie, who had lost his balance, understood something.

Sacel's target wasn't him, but—

The next moment, after missing her first attack, Belletti, who had caught up from the side, felt a chill run down her spine as she saw Bri's bear-like figure flying towards her!

Oops.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he instinctively swung the axe horizontally to support Buri's back, struggling to take a few steps back under the immense weight and impact to steady himself.

In that instant, Belletti looked over Brie's shoulder and saw Sackel's cold and ruthless gaze.

Damn it, sir.

Belletti felt a chill run down her spine.

But before he could react, an axe handle shot out from under Brie's armpit like a viper's tongue!

It flashed like lightning and moved with the speed of thunder.

"Boom!"

The surging power gathered at the end of the axe handle and slammed heavily onto Belletti's left shoulder!

"Uh-huh-"

Belletti swayed and groaned in pain.

This tough guy, who dared to fight back against the sword of disaster, could no longer hold on. His hands and feet went limp at the same time, and he fell backward like a landslide, rolling around with Buli!
Sacel effortlessly withdrew his axe handle, seemingly without breaking a sweat.

"No!"

Barney's angry shout only came at this moment.

Thales looked at Belletti and Brie in disbelief.

These two men, who were displaying great prowess on the front lines just a minute ago, fell to the ground in a sorry state after only their second exchange with Sackel, kicking up a cloud of dust.

From the moment the two counterattacked, the Punisher Knight turned around, to the moment the two fell to the ground—it was only a little over a second.

The outcome was decided in a second.

Thales was immersed in the hellish senses, his thoughts racing through his mind in an instant.

This time, facing the even more troublesome Belletti and Brie, Sacel's agility, positioning, and attacks far surpassed his previous encounters with the Shadow Assassins, where he was unstoppable, attacking with speed and striking with speed.

Turn around, dodge, strike with axe, pull someone, trip them, and strike with the handle.

It came in a chain, all in one go.

He swept by like a perfectly timed breeze, effortlessly breaking through the two men's aggressive joint attack without exerting any force.

It even made Thales think that he had seen Yara, who could leap and dart, or Eda, who was light and elusive.

In Thales's mind, every master of the extreme realm has their own strengths, maximizing their advantages in a duel:
The Yordle's instantaneous kill from stillness to motion, the vampire sisters' ghostly and swift battle, Ada's dreamlike and swaying movements, the Kingdom's Wrath's invincible frontal breakthrough, the Fortress Flower's impenetrable defense, Nikolai's unpredictable and bizarre movements, the Fire Knight's powerful attack of steel clashing, and the Night Raven's devastating thunderous assault.

But this guy—Tales frowned as he looked at Sacel—was a bloodthirsty lion with a fierce and unparalleled attack one moment, and a nimble and agile bird that skimmed across the water the next.
What exactly is he good at?
Half a second later, the sound of Saxeel's clothes rustling in the wind startled Thales: after easily breaking through the two men's blockade, he didn't stop and attacked again!

Tardin and Naki, who were positioned in front of him, immediately tensed up.

But this time, the instant he took his next step...
"what!"

On the other side, another figure hissed and charged forward with his sword!

The enemy appeared like a sudden avalanche, bringing with it a biting cold wind, mysteriously appearing in Sacel's sense of danger.

The Knight of Punishment swiftly scanned his opponent's entire body, finding three weaknesses in the latter's ordinary offensive movements:

Left elbow.

Lower abdomen.

There's also the point three points above the opponent's sword.

He only needs to continue as before, adapting to local conditions and individual circumstances, seizing these weaknesses to launch a counterattack—

"call--"

A sword wind strikes!

At that moment, Sackel instinctively tensed all the muscles in his body, and goosebumps rose on his skin!

strangeness.

His body, honed by countless battles, developed a strange instinct that forcefully restrained his restless right arm.

No.

what happened?

Sacel stared incredulously at the approaching figure.

He stared at the sword pointing straight at his heart.

Was my movement too slow?

Sacel gritted his teeth, watching his opponent's unremarkable moves, and forced himself to step forward to meet the attack, his axe blade aimed straight for his opponent's lower abdomen!

Once you get close enough, you can adjust the force and angle, deflect the opponent's sword, force them to change their stance, and then unleash a series of combos...

Ultimately, he—

"Ding!"

Just as Saxel had anticipated, the axe blade grazed the opponent's sword.

The next second, Sacel's nerves jumped again!
No.

A thunderbolt seemed to explode in Sacel's heart!

No.

As the axe and sword clashed, feeling the force from the opponent's sword, and gazing into the opponent's icy gaze for a fleeting moment.

He suddenly realized something.

All the enemy's weaknesses, gaps, and flaws are not the key.

The key lies in his strongest point!

Sacel watched in surprise as the two sides clashed in close combat.

No matter how I adjust my tactics, change my moves, or inflict irreparable damage on him, he will ignore me.

However, no matter what, his sword would somehow pierce his own heart.

"hiss--"

The sword's edge sliced ​​an inch across the axe blade.

will die.

Sakel suddenly had this long-forgotten thought.

"Ahhh!"

The next moment, the Executioner Knight let out a rare, furious roar!
But contrary to his imposing manner, Sacel instantly sheathed his axe, turned sideways, stepped back, hunched his chest, and dodged!
Thales was surprised to see that the seemingly invincible Punishment Knight, at this moment, retreated somewhat conservatively and even in a disheveled state, moving away from this seemingly ordinary sword strike!
"call!"

The axe blade and the sword edge rubbed together in the air for more than an inch before passing each other, the distance between them increasing.

The man who was intercepting Sacel missed his target with his sword, lost his balance, fell sideways, and rolled several meters away.

But he did not lose control of his body. As his shoulder brushed the ground, he twisted his elbow and regained his balance like a rapidly spinning carriage. He instantly rose from his side, knelt on one knee, and faced Sackel again.

This strange encounter has come to an end.

Thales was surprised to see that Sacel, gripping the axe handle and staring wide-eyed, was actually—breathing slightly?
His opponent silently stood up, also breathing softly.

It was as if they had just experienced an unprecedented war.

A surprised Sacelle suddenly raised his hand and touched his forehead.

It's a cold sweat.

The Knight of Punishment was quite surprised and was somewhat taken aback.

This is……

Sacel was stunned.

He was surprised to find himself trembling.

A few seconds later, Sacel clenched his fist, slowly curled the corners of his mouth, and raised his eyes.

From chills to goosebumps, from a pounding heart to trembling, every sign on his body reminded the veteran that a threat was imminent.

He had only been out of prison for a short while, but the opponents he encountered, whether they were so-called mercenaries or the Shadow Shield, were quite disappointing to him. They were at best just a warm-up.

Even the long-absent young Yod is only skilled in assassination.

but now……

just now……

“Bellety, Brie, you’ve regressed.”

Sacel took a deep breath, and his smile gained more color and vitality.

He looked at Belletti and Brie, who were helping each other to their feet, and shook his head with a click of his tongue.

"but you……"

The Knight of Punishment looked up and gazed at his opponent, who had forced him back with a single sword strike.

Looking into the other person's cold eyes.

"you……"

He savored the feeling of that moment just now.

The cold sweat, the tension, the trembling at that moment.

will die.

will die!

Sakel felt a surge of long-lost passion and excitement welling up within him.

A fighting spirit and impulse that he hadn't felt for many years were returning to his veins.

That's right.

This is what it means...

The feeling of fighting and slaughter!
Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

what happened?

Not only Thales, but everyone in the royal guard felt a jolt of fear at that moment.

The prince noticed that Saxeel's eyes were slowly changing.

It was as if the person standing in front of them had transformed from a dangerous crocodile lazily lying underwater, waiting for food, into a hungry cheetah crouching in a tree, eager to hunt.

Sacel's smile grew wider and wider. "You're different now."

The Knight of Punishment smiled as he looked at the man who had risen from the ground, gazing at the brand of sin that ran from the man's right cheek to his chin, and recalling the terrifying sword strike the man had just delivered.

"Your sword is more deadly than before."

The knight's lips curved into a smile:

“Chief Vanguard Officer, Quill Barney Jr…”

"Has anyone ever told you that you are probably the one who has mastered the outdated Northern military swordsmanship of the Star Kingdom in the last half-century..."

"The one who uses it most skillfully?"

Opposite Sacel, Barney, who had just intercepted him with a sword, slowly stood up from the ground, straightened his shield, and his breathing gradually became steady.

He continued to stare coldly at the fiercely determined Sackel.

Northern military swordsmanship?

More than that.

Barney said quietly.

you do not know.

Sacel, you don't know.

Little Barney gazed at the other person from afar and suddenly remembered the past.

When his father told him that he had made the shortlist for the Watchman and was a potential candidate to become the next commander of the Guard, the first of the Guard to be recorded in history, how excited and worried he was as a young man...

Barney slowly tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.

You don't know, Saxeel, you don't know.

He had asked Prince Horace for this ancient swordsmanship that he had only practiced in his childhood, a style often ridiculed by the Stars and Southerners, and despised by both the combat and defense schools of thought. This style was even more northern than the North itself, and had been lost even to Exter…

He practiced day and night, breaking down each move and technique, learning from the northerners to experience the feeling of going to the battlefield...

It was precisely to seize the last glimmer of hope, to uncover the secrets of Northern martial arts, and to defeat his greatest rival.

Defeat that genius.

After defeating him and joining the team, you have to look up to him, desperately try to catch up, but can never reach him...

To defeat someone who surpasses you in birth, achievements, and skills...

That guy.

The Imperial Guard is supremely powerful.

The number one expert.

You don't know, Saxeel, you don't know.

For so many years, no matter how many people have been chasing after you...

You're just that arrogant, aloof bastard who's always out of the loop.

You'll only ever look up at the stars from a high place.

Even if there are endless giant waves in front of you, never look back or down even once.

You never look back.

Never.

Barney clenched his nails tightly, using the pain to pull himself back from his memories.

"For the sake of the setting sun, watchman."

Barney calmed himself down, ignoring the opponent's increasingly undisguised fighting spirit, and said softly:
"What secret do you have that you can't tell us, your former brothers?"

His tone was calm, yet tinged with melancholy, a stark contrast to his previous aggressive manner.

The guards exchanged glances.

This surprised Sacel slightly.

What secret is there...?

His fervent fighting spirit cooled slightly.

"What exactly are you holding in your hands that you think we have no right to know?"

Barney stepped forward slowly, once again shielding Thales behind him, and sighed softly:
"What exactly is it about you that you have to bear all by yourself?"

These two sentences made Sacel momentarily dazed.

It is necessary to...

All by myself...

bear……

The initial excitement of encountering an opponent gradually faded.

As the firelight dimmed, Sacel's gaze became unfocused.

His face looked somewhat forlorn.

Yes.

The Knight of Punishment looked at his fighting axe, at the blood-stained blade, and listened to Belletti and Brie's panting, and suddenly felt a little disheartened.

Even the fighting spirit and desire I had just felt now seemed so ridiculous.

Yes.

So many years, so many things, so much of the past...

He's no longer the spirited, confident man he once was...

The Knight of Punishment.

Sacel gently lowered his axe, sighed, and gave a faint smile.

"Quail Barney, why are you so stubborn?"

Sackel swept his gaze over each of his former colleagues.

At that moment, it was as if he had transformed back into a peaceful, unassuming middle-aged man, and all the murderous aura had evaporated from him.

His words were tinged with deep melancholy:
Why do you... absolutely need to know the answer?

Upon hearing this, the royal guards trembled as they sensed the pain and struggle in the other person's words.
Confused, Quick Rope turned to look at Thales, wondering if he should find a chance to slip away, but he was surprised to see that Thales was breathing heavily and watching the situation on the field intently.

strangeness.

wrong.

Thales thought to himself in a daze.

them……

They were arguing, locked in a tug-of-war, interrogating each other...

"Because you don't understand."

Barney lowered his head deeply and closed his eyes.

“You’ve never heard of it, have you, Saxel?”

Different names, one after another, came out of his mouth:

“Allen, Walker, Morian, Toby, Ross, Chimera… these former brothers…”

Thales saw that with each name he uttered, Sacel's figure swayed.

Within the royal guard, Belletti's veins bulged on her hands, Brie groaned deeply, Tardin shook his head expressionlessly, Nate gripped his dart tightly, Naki covered his forehead, and Cannon's face was shrouded in shadow, making it difficult to see clearly.

“You didn’t hear their cries of agony before they died; you just quietly went through it all alone, never having to bear that burden.”

Barney spoke in a hoarse voice, sounding as if he were being tormented in an endless hell:

"Just like in the past, we all looked up to you, but you never looked down at us."

Sacel's pupils dilated.

"So you don't understand."

Barney opened his eyes and continued speaking.

But his tone slowly shifted from a desperate cry to a venomous hatred:

"The past eighteen years."

"This damn stubbornness, this damn stubbornness of having to know the answer—even if it can never be reached."

"And this..."

Barney tremblingly reached out and touched the brand on his right cheek briefly before withdrawing, as if it were molten lava.

He held up the hand that had touched the brand, trembling uncontrollably.

It was as if what I had just touched was not a useless piece of dead skin, but a filthy and ominous plague.

"These are what sustain me, allowing me to bear their past and their injustices, and to eke out a living in the boundless darkness..."

Barney's last few words were practically ground out of his throat with blood:

"The only reason."

Thales noticed that Sackel's breathing was becoming increasingly rapid.

Barney continued to stare intently at the other person, his eyes bloodshot, almost as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

In the dim firelight, the palloring knight turned his head away, averting his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Quill."

His tongue trembled slightly:
"sorry."

tread!
Barney took a commanding step forward and roared:

"I don't need your apology!"

The vanguard officer was once again filled with a chilling aura.

Barney tried to suppress his anger, but could not:
"I need answers."

He emphasized the last word.

Answer.

Thales breathed silently, and in that moment, he suddenly understood something.

The flames in Naki's hands slowly died down, and the entire passage grew darker and darker.

"bass!"

Tardin picked up another torch, and after striking it a few times, he lit it with a blank expression.

The firelight flickered back on, and Thales noticed that Sackel had completely slumped over.

He looked at Barney with a blank expression but displeased eyes:
Sometimes, the answer isn't as nice as the question.

Thales could no longer hold back.

"What are you talking about?!"

The boy's voice suddenly rang out, echoing in the dungeon and attracting everyone's attention.

Quick Rope stared in shock at the audacious Thales, puzzled as to why he had done this, but his attempts to communicate with Thales were met with complete silence.

Ignoring Tardin and Naki blocking his way, Thales took a step forward, unable to contain his anger:
“You’ve been talking way too much nonsense from the moment we started…”

The former royal guards exchanged glances silently, their brows furrowing in unison.

Until Thales coldly uttered the next sentence:

"But in the end I realized it."

“What do you mean, ‘You’re not that crazy, are you?’ What do you mean, ‘a reason to die’…”

"What 'targeting the royal bloodline,' what 'bloodline pointing swords at the Starry Sky,' what 'everything has a cause'..."

"What 'something I once swore to protect,' what 'a secret that can't be told,' what 'the answer'..."

With each word the prince spoke, some of the guards paled a little more.

“Your Highness…” Naki interrupted him with a troubled expression, but was interrupted by Thales’s voice, which rose again.

“From beginning to end, all of this—you’re not talking about me at all!”

"Not that damn Thales Star!"

Thales was quite excited. He stretched out his arm without hesitation, pointing directly at Barney and then at Sackel.

But both of them looked disgusted by his pointing.

"What you are questioning, and what he is avoiding—is something else!"

"Is it?"

Thales's final question echoed in the darkness, barely audible.

But neither Sakel, with his head bowed deeply, nor Barney, who had just questioned loudly, received a reply from the former royal guards.

Until another male voice, besides those present, sounded faintly from behind Sackel.

"You are very clever, Your Highness."

"What they're talking about isn't you, or it's not just you."

His voice was tired and tinged with sadness.

At that moment, Sacel and the other seven were all deeply moved!
Upon hearing the somewhat familiar voice, Thales looked up in surprise, looking over Sackel's shoulder, and saw the person who had appeared on the steps.

It's him.

Is he... still alive?

(End of this chapter)