Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 446 The Alliance of Three Calamities
Sakel's words echoed in his ears, reverberating among the ruins, like the tolling of a bronze bell in a city tower, lingering and repeating over and over again.

Sensory magician.

The words of the Knight of Punishment were so shocking that it took Thales a while to recover from his astonishment and ponder the chilling implications behind them.

Senses.

What is this threshold name?
In the deathly silent dungeon, Thales pondered in a daze.

Moreover, she was also the queen of the former King of Stars, Eddie II.
What is her connection to the "Year of Bloodshed"?
That night was incredibly impactful for Thales.

Thales didn't even have time to consider the reactions of those around him; he could only sense their emotions from the chaotic, rapid breathing around him.
Barney was in a daze, Belletti gripped his weapon tightly, Tardin and Naki stared wide-eyed, Brie's panting and Cannon's low whimper rang out one after another, Samir's eyes were fierce, and Quick Rope bit his left index finger tightly, trying to make himself inconspicuous.

"No, you mean, you mean..."

The trembling breaths of the Second Chief Logistics Officer, Sass Nye, could be heard from inside the dungeon.

Everyone stared incredulously at Sacel, whose chest heaved and whose emotions were unstable.

"impossible."

“When she entered the palace, we all met Queen Fiona and we all remember what she looked like.”

Executioner Belletti was pale, seemingly unable to believe the memories of the past:
Even when Prince Kessel poured scalding hot tea at her during the wedding banquet, she didn't...

The Knight of Punishment snorted coldly.

"really?"

"The question is, what do you remember of her appearance, or what does the sensory mage want you to see?"

Belletti's gaze faltered slightly.

All he heard was Sacel's cold questioning:

"Ask yourself honestly, is what you see Queen Fiosa, or the calamity of Freylan?"

Freyland.

Silently repeating the name, Thales took a deep breath, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Freylan?
Suddenly, Thales' memory jolted!
It was as if a bell was tolling from the distant past.

Thales's gaze gradually froze.

Freyland.

He had heard of that name.

Thales looked at the astonished crowd with bewilderment, desperately trying to recall.

He must have heard it somewhere, but at the time, yes, he must have been doing something that required his attention, so he didn't pay attention.

Where is it?

“Your Majesty’s Queen, she is, she is…” Little Barney muttered to himself, his eyes vacant, as if he was still processing the fact.

Tardin's laughter could be heard, albeit weakly.

"No, she never did anything abnormal during her time in power... She never even killed a chicken!"

Tardin looked at Sakel expectantly:

"Perhaps you've misunderstood, or mistaken me for someone else..."

But the Knight of Punishment was clearly unmoved.

"That's what I thought at first too, and I hope I'm wrong."

Sacel spoke slowly, a shadow passing over his eyes.

"More than anyone else."

His ashen face, filled with despair and madness, made everyone's hearts sink.

Just now.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Everyone turned their heads and saw Samir covering the brand on his face, his eyes closed, his shoulders shaking, laughing without any restraint:

"Is this your reason for betraying me?"

"The reason you've made us bear so much guilt, stigma, torment, and pain for so long..."

Samir's laughter was tinged with sorrow:

"In the end, it was all because the king married a woman of unknown origin?"

He shook his head with a smile, but there was no smile in his cold eyes.

Upon hearing this, Sacel's face darkened even more.

“You don’t understand.” The knight shook his head with difficulty.

clang!
A sharp sound rang out; it was Little Barney who had plunged his sword into the ground.

"I really don't understand."

Barney seemed to have suffered a great blow, managing to squeeze out broken sentences with great effort:

"Whom Your Majesty chooses to marry, be it a calamity, a dragon, an elf, or even an orc, no matter how absurd, bizarre, illogical, or unbearable it may be..."

Barney paused, his cheek twitched, and then he spoke resolutely:
"But those were His Majesty's decisions!"

"If you are dissatisfied, if you have doubts, then protest and offer advice to him openly and honestly."

He became increasingly indignant as he spoke:
"That should not be your excuse for participating in treason, colluding with the enemy, and murdering the emperor!"

It's unclear what word triggered Sackel's already sensitive and unstable nerves, but he let out a painful groan and slammed his fighting axe heavily on the ground!
Boom!
"I did it!"

Sacel looked like an enraged beast, veins bulging around his neck, hair and beard bristling, his sharp eyes sweeping across the surroundings like blades.

Everyone was stunned by him.

“I tried to directly advise His Majesty and warn him of the threat coming from his bedside, but he always just laughed it off and seemed oblivious.”

“I tried to contact nobles who are still loyal to the royal family and are trusted by the king, hoping that they could exert influence on His Majesty.”

The Knight of Punishment spoke haltingly, each word laced with resentment.

“I tried to seek help from the Crown Prince and Lord Hansen of the Secret Service, but it was no use…”

At this point, Sacelle's expression turned sorrowful, and he shook his head, his voice trembling.
"Too late."

The people looked at each other, and among them, Barney and Samir's eyes were the coldest and most unforgiving.

The Knight of Punishment lowered his head, his tense shoulders and voice softening, revealing helplessness and despair:

"I don't know when it started..."

"His Majesty seems like a completely different person. The once gentle and tolerant man has become tough and stubborn, and his word is law..."

His bewildered gaze slowly gathered, as if seeking validation from the eyes of the person before him:

"You know, you've seen it..."

"His meetings with his senior ministers at court became increasingly shorter, while his summons of private advisors became more and more frequent..."

"He began to alienate his ministers, ignore their advice, and even his own blood relatives: he revoked the crown prince's position, reprimanded the second prince who commanded the army, and demoted his own duke brothers..."

Thales, whose mind was wavering, couldn't help but frown as he listened.

The Knight's accusations and bitter words continue:

"His relationship with his great vassals deteriorated, to the point that he publicly berated the Duke of the North, with whom he had always been on good terms, and issued orders to reprimand the disgruntled Duke of the Blade..."

"He forcefully issued royal decrees and convened a council of high-ranking nobles—severely punishing loyal nobles, investigating dissenting ministers, and blindly trusting treacherous officials and those who incited political turmoil..."

Every word was uttered in a hoarse voice, every sentence filled with pain.

"He ordered increased taxes, expanded the army, borrowed money, and purged officials; each order tested the patience of every subject within the country, whether loyal to him or dissatisfied with him..."

As they listened to Sakel's words, many of the former royal guards looked wistful and lost in thought.

"Until the people within the country were suffering, public sentiment was turbulent, the subjects were disloyal, and rebellions broke out everywhere—all of his decades-long reputation for 'constant good governance' was destroyed in an instant."

At this point, Sacel's shoulders trembled, and he spoke in a trembling voice like a child filled with fear:
"I knew it then..."

"Our beloved Emperor Eddie, the former King of Changzhi, is no longer our Emperor."

The surrounding audience members had varying expressions—some were indignant, some were sad, some were hesitant, and some were heartbroken—but they all remained silent, as if the latter's words had touched a nerve.

He is no longer our emperor.

Thales listened to those words in a daze, yet a strange feeling arose within him.

Their original Emperor Eddie...

What is it like? Or rather, what should it be like?

Sacel's voice grew increasingly low:
"He has been bewitched, coerced, and manipulated by the most evil being in the world."

His voice trailed off, and his eyes dimmed.

It was as if a weak traveler, having trudged through the desert, had drunk his last drop of water and finally collapsed before the mirage that had shattered his hopes.

In the quiet of the crowd as they breathed heavily, Naki put down the torch, and Sakel's body cast a long shadow on the wall.

"Confused? By the Queen? By disaster?"

After a long while, Barney finally managed to squeeze out a sentence from his dry throat:

How do you know?

"You judged the Queen's crimes and sentenced the late King to death based on mere fragments dug from a pile of yellowed old papers?"

Sacel snapped out of his reverie and chuckled softly.

"how could I know?"

That night.

His gaze wandered, as if a memory had been stirred within him.

"That terrible rainy night."

The Knight of Punishment forced out those words in a breathy voice, sending a chill down everyone's spine.

Rainy night?

"His Majesty dismissed all his attendants, servants and guards under the pretext of meditation, including the old captain and Big Barney who were in charge of the Supreme Shield and the Judgment Spear."

"And he went alone, hand in hand with his new queen, to that unbelievable invitation."

The members of the royal guard felt a chill run down their spines.

"What invitation?" Naki couldn't help but ask.

Sackel looked bewildered.

It's like being lost in the past, unable to escape its shadows.

"That night, I gripped the Supreme Sword tightly, using its power to follow them to the sacred Hall of Stars. I hid in the shadows behind the pillars, not daring to breathe..."

The Knight of Punishment's pupils slowly contracted:
"Finally, I met them."

The dungeon was quiet, with only the dim firelight illuminating the dilapidated walls of the old magic tower, like the deathly stillness after a coffin has been laid to rest.

Barney remained stiff, Samir pursed his lips, and the others exchanged puzzled glances.

Thales held his breath.

“Them?” Naki’s voice trembled slightly.

Sacel didn't look at him, he just nodded.

"The storm that night was so fierce that it almost blew the watchtower off its feet..."

In the dimly lit dungeon, Sacel recounted his horrifying past in a low voice:
"On the hall terrace amidst thunder and lightning and torrential rain, two mysterious guests appeared one after the other without warning."

A mysterious guest.

They appeared without warning.

It happened in Yongxing City eighteen years ago.

No.

Thales felt his heart begin to race.

Sacel's fragmented words rose and fell with his uncontrolled breathing:
"They are like gods descended to earth from legend, or demons awakening in terror from the deepest abyss of evil."

God.

demon.

"Who are they?" Thales asked stiffly.

Sacel abruptly lowered his head and gave Thales a cold glance.

It made the latter's heart skip a beat.

A few seconds later, a dry, hoarse voice finally came from the almost bloodless lips of the Executioner:

"The man emerged from the rain, elegant and composed, yet his clothes remained dry and clean, impervious to wind and rain. He arrogantly surveyed the Fuxing Palace, as if looking at a dead piece in a chess game that would be captured sooner or later."

Thales instinctively tensed up.

In the dungeon, the knight's former colleagues stared intently at him.

"And that woman..."

Sacel shook his head, a flicker of fear and apprehension in his eyes that only appeared briefly when he was out of control:
"When the torrential rain and gale hit her, the sight was unforgettable: it was as if the wind and rain instantly penetrated her living skin, absorbed completely, leaving not a drop."

Everyone slowed their breathing, as if afraid of waking a slumbering beast.

"They addressed the Queen by her real name, Freylan, with either respect or disdain."

Sacel felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.
"Similarly, our queen addressed them by their names as if they were old friends."

"Those two equally taboo names."

Thales closed his eyes tightly.

Barney interrupted the knight's narration with a panting voice:
“Watchman, you are saying—no, you are accusing His Majesty…”

But Sackel's voice suddenly rose, loudly proclaiming:
"I witnessed it with my own eyes that rainy night!"

Barney was so provoked that he stopped talking.

Sacel's face was illuminated by the firelight, except for the brand on his forehead, which remained hidden in the shadows, revealing a face that was as resolute and indifferent as ever.

"That night, with His Majesty Eddie as witness, the stars were wagered."

The voice of the Executioner seemed to be infused with some kind of power, causing everyone's veins to throb with each word.

"His Majesty."

"Senses Mage".

"Disaster caused by anger."

"The calamity of blood."

The firelight flickered dimly. Ignoring everyone else's expressions, Sacel coldly enunciated:
"An unprecedented alliance between the Supreme King of the Stars and the Three Calamities..."

"This agreement is hereby concluded."

In that instant, Thales suddenly opened his eyes!

He remembered.

Freyland.

He had heard of that name before.

Six years ago in Dragon Sky City, in the Shield Zone which was about to be reduced to dust, he gritted his teeth and held the trembling girl, caught between two terrifying beings in a standoff.

Have you forgotten why we started this partnership, Giza?

At that time, the elegant and indifferent Qi Mage said these words.

Our collaboration, whether it's my plan, Freylan's ideals, or your persistence, is all for the sake of one day...

Can we break free from those shackles?

Correct.

Freyland.

Thales was drenched in cold sweat and breathing rapidly.

But no one else had time to notice his loss of composure.

"You don't understand what taboos our Emperor has broken."

In the dungeon, Sacel raised his head and said coldly to the increasingly tense crowd:
"He sought to access a power that mortals should not covet, hoping to use it to rule our proud kingdom, the kingdom we built upon the ruins of the final war."

The Knight of Punishment's complex gaze swept over each listener, finally settling on Thales's face:
"In his conversation, His Majesty even referred to them, those three monsters, as his—"

"The Alliance of Three Disasters".

Don't rush. Filling the hole requires more effort than digging it. Let me focus on finishing this section.

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(End of this chapter)