Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 469 Appearing in the Fire
Ricky's voice was hoarse, sounding as if his vocal cords had been cut off and just put back in.

Ricky's head reappeared on his neck—Tales watched this with a chilling ache—the horrific gap between the head and neck was clearly visible, with a bloodless, deathly pale face above the gap and the still-fresh red skin of the neck below.

It was like... the head was sewn back onto the corpse.

The stitches are simply not visible.

"Are you..."

Sacel could hardly believe his eyes.

He stared intently at Ricky, who was wrestling with him, refusing to give up his effort to slice him in half with the axe blade:
"What the hell are you?"

But Ricky didn't answer him directly. Crassus, the Blade of Calamity, just chuckled with a deathly pale smile and the horrible scar on his neck.

This even made many of his mercenaries nervous; Josh even closed his eyes and turned his head away.

“I have to admit, between the two of us,” Ricky’s voice was weak, but it made his laughter all the more sinister:
"You're still stronger."

The next second, the dead came back to life. Ricky, who had already frightened everyone, suddenly exerted his strength in both arms, lifted Sackel into the air, and then slammed him down!

boom!
There was a loud noise.

"Sir!"

Amid Tardin's desperate roar, Sakel fell to the ground like a lifeless sandbag, convulsing in pain and spitting blood.

Ricky shook his head with a cold laugh, pulled the axe blade embedded in his chest, and casually tossed it to the ground.

"Dang Cang..."

Thales was stunned.

that person……

What exactly is...

He shuddered at the horrifying image of Giza putting his head back into his body.

Is he really... not a mage?
With the sound of the axe blade hitting the ground, Sacel trembled as he tried to get up.

But whether it was due to the severity of his injury or his lack of strength, his arm only supported him on the ground for a few seconds before bending back down.

He fell to the ground again.
Thales breathed in a daze.

He had never seen Sakel so powerless.

But what chilled him to the bone was...

Thales looked up with a chill and saw Ricky casually twist his neck—the horrible dislocation on it gradually disappeared with a rustling sound, filled with new skin, and the skin on both sides gradually became the same color.

A crackling sound came from his chest, like bones that had been broken by an axe blade and were resetting themselves.

He is recovering.

“But fortunately, I am always better than my opponents…” Ricky stretched out his hand and silently adjusted his collar and armor under the fearful gazes of both his subordinates and enemies.

"An extra life."

An extra life?

Thales stared blankly at Ricky in front of him.

"The setting sun!"

Barney, who was usually so tough, watched this scene unfold and lost his composure.

"I know it's not fair, is it?"

With a visible rate of healing, Ricky chuckled, shrugged, and pulled a fragment of an axe blade from his chest cavity:
Welcome to the real world.

Ricky took a deep breath, as if he had relearned how to breathe.

He walked toward the dying Sacel on the ground.

"No!"

Tardin and Brie roared and charged forward together.

Only the bloodshot-eyed Cannon remained, steadfastly guarding the incredulous Thales.

Ricky chuckled, picked up his longsword, and the Blades of Calamity gathered around him.

But Saxeel, who was lying on the ground, suddenly roared:
"stop!"

As if they were born to obey that voice, Tardin and Brie, though emotionally charged, instinctively stopped in their tracks.

As Sacel coughed up blood in agony, he said to them:
“Do your job well…”

Tardin and Bri both froze, looking conflictedly at their seriously injured superior, then at Thales behind them, whose eyes were bloodshot with rage.

Ricky, standing beside him, glanced at them with interest.

"Ricky!"

Samir stepped forward, glanced at the others seemingly indifferently, and said:

"They are all excellent soldiers and will be very useful."

"And we... are short-staffed."

Ricky's eyes flashed as he looked at Samir.

Samir neither dodged nor avoided the attack; his expression remained unchanged.

"Humph."

Finally, Ricky gave a soft hum and nodded:

"of course."

"Then capture them alive."

Thales breathed a sigh of relief and released the dagger he had once again gripped in his palm.

One more life.

Thales repeated it unconsciously, still finding it hard to believe what had just happened.

They can't afford to fight any longer.

The strangeness surrounding Ricky... is truly...

At this moment.

"What the hell are you?"

Ricky lowered his head.

Sacel was breathing heavily in pain, clearly having used up his last bit of strength.

The knight of punishment stared at him in a daze:
"I have seen the legendary second-generation vampires who, despite suffering heart damage and even a broken cervical spine, still recovered completely."

"I have also seen terrifying orcs as strong as steel, fighting for dozens of hours with unimaginable injuries."

"I have also seen extremely rare superhuman warriors and the power of termination, who can heal terrible, fatal wounds in a very short time."

Ricky raised his eyebrows.

This guy has quite a lot of knowledge.

Sakel trembled and gasped for breath.

"But you...you don't belong to any of the above categories."

Ricky hummed softly, it was unclear whether this was a tacit agreement.

Sacel coughed, his eyes unfocused:

"And...the brain and skull were damaged?"

His gaze cleared slightly for a moment, revealing a resolute expression:
"Do not."

"In this situation……"

"Even the most powerful immortal species cannot withstand it."

"Even the most powerful orc cannot survive."

"Even the most terrifying superpowers and destructive forces... have their limits."

Sackel, who was lying on the ground, raised his head, his bloodshot eyes staring straight at Ricky, as if determined to get an explanation.

Thales and the others also looked at Ricky with vigilance and solemnity, yet with anticipation.

Ricky laughed.

A peculiar emotion appeared on his face.

It's like reminiscing.

"There have been many miracles in this world," the man who had come back from the dead shook his head in a daze.
"And you, you are just too ignorant."

Sacel coughed again.

"ignorance?"

For some reason, the Knight of Punishment chuckled:
"There is only one way to prove it."

The next second, Sakel suddenly reached out and picked up a torch that a mercenary had dropped from the ground!
Ricky's expression changed.

Sacel flipped over, and the torch flew straight toward the leader of the Sword of Calamity!

“You—” Ricky gritted his teeth and swung the torch away, but was still hit by countless sparks.

Meanwhile, several mercenaries rushed forward and firmly suppressed the exhausted Sacel.

Thales watched in surprise as Sackel did this:
What is he doing?
But unexpectedly, in an instant, countless flames burst forth from Ricky's upper body!
It's as if he is the torch that will ignite at the slightest touch.

"Ah!"

Ricky roared and struggled to shake off the flames on his body.

"What's this!"

Sacel chuckled softly, despite being suppressed by several people.

"This is—uh—a piece of oilcloth taken from the torch," the Executioner Knight said, still managing to finish his sentence despite being kicked hard by a mercenary.
"I stuffed some into your clothes; it'll light instantly."

Several seconds later, Ricky managed to brush off the flames and lower his hands.

The smoke dissipated from his body.

But at that very moment...

"what!"

Upon seeing Ricky's appearance, Thales exclaimed in surprise and took a step back!

He wasn't the only one to react this way; the prisoners of the royal guard, and even many of the Blades of Calamity, were startled.

Ricky was different. Even though it only lasted a few seconds, the areas on his body burned by the flames were peeling off inch by inch, like paint peeling off a wall.

Especially his left cheek.

Thales stared in horror at the person in front of him.

Ricky's left cheek skin is gone.

Instead, there were layers upon layers of deep black wrinkles, like muscles or leaf veins, which trembled from time to time as Ricky gritted his teeth.

His left eye had also "peeled off," leaving only the same dark muscle texture and a terrifying eye with an eerie yellow glow.

Not only his left cheek, but also his left shoulder, left abdomen, right hand... all the places touched by sparks or flames revealed layers of dark, seemingly self-conscious, writhing muscles.

The rest of his body remained intact, just like a perfectly normal human being.

But the human skin and the pitch-black muscle groups, the human and the non-human mixed together, make it all the more eerie.

Thales was stunned.

what is this?
What the hell is this?
The Ricky before them looked like a human whose outer skin had been peeled off, revealing a dark, muscular, writhing, and terrifyingly grotesque yellow-eyed monster inside.

"Oh my God……"

Kaira was dumbfounded:

Am I living in a horror story...?

Tardin instinctively grabbed him, preventing him from continuing.

Although Tardin himself was almost paralyzed with fear.

Ricky trembled, his human side showing anger—of course, Thales couldn't discern the emotion in his non-human side either.

The black-and-white monster Ricky glanced at the prince in the distance, and his eerie and terrifying appearance made Thales shudder.

Beside Ricky, Josh expertly handed him a hooded jacket—Tales could tell that the latter was doing this with great fear or disgust, and the swords of calamity around Ricky subconsciously moved further away.

Ricky pulled on his coat, covering his half-human, half-ghost appearance with the hood, and slowly began to speak:
"I know……"

In that instant, Thales' hair stood on end!

He only felt that the moment Ricky opened his mouth, what came out of his throat was a rough, dry, sharp noise, like a millstone.

It's like scratching a steel plate with your fingernail.

It's a sound you only hear in everyone's worst nightmares.

He wasn't the only one who thought so.

Kaisen even turned pale and instinctively covered his ears!

Whether it was the nightmarish voice or some other kind of negative magic, as the sound spread, everyone present became tense and uneasy.

The mercenaries who were nearby nervously moved away, wishing they could get as far away from their leader as possible.

So much so that they forgot to even guard against the enemy.

“I know I don’t look good like this,” Ricky said coldly, each syllable sending chills down everyone’s spines. Thales even felt a shiver run down his spine.

"It will take some time to recover."

Thales breathed a sigh of relief the moment he fell silent.

Ricky stared coldly at Sackel on the ground with his terrifying yellow left eye and his normal human right eye.

"And you..."

The moment Ricky spoke again, Thales truly felt like he was being tortured in a horror story.

But the Knight of Punishment, gazing upon his appearance, though still filled with astonishment and doubt, spoke first:

"As expected, the flames... they made you reveal your true form."

Thales breathed a sigh of relief and was very grateful to Sackel for interrupting Ricky.

Ricky, with his hideous face, trembled slightly and clenched his fist.

Sacelle stared straight at him, clenching her teeth, her expression aggressive:

"Tell me, which of the seven monarchs do you serve?"

Beneath the hood, Ricky's exposed human pupils contracted sharply!
At that moment, many people were stunned.

Including Thales.

Seven monarchs?

Wait, you little rascal—cough cough, Selma seems to have mentioned this to me before…

Seven Lords...

But before Ricky could answer, Sackel continued to speak loudly, his voice fierce and resolute: "In what guise do you appear in this world?"

"Possession? Contamination? Deception? Or a brutal and direct invasion?"

Everyone was stunned.

The strange and unfamiliar words interrupted Thales's train of thought, adding to his confusion.

Perhaps they couldn't keep up with the conversation, or perhaps they were too shocked to understand it, but the royal guards, including Thales, stared blankly at the conversation between Sacel and Ricky.

A few seconds passed.

Finally, Ricky's hood twitched slightly.

"Truly worthy of being the guardian of the royal guard."

"You know quite a lot."

That chilling, trembling voice rang out again.

Thales instinctively shuddered.

Sacel stared at him for a very long time.

“I see,” the Knight of Punishment finally spoke, this time his tone losing its aggressive sternness and gaining instead a solemn mix of awe, surprise, and wariness.

"I know what you are now."

Ricky was slightly taken aback.

He then gave a helpless smile—yet even his laughter made Thales want to cover his ears—as if he understood something:
"Ha, you've never seen it before, have you?"

Enduring the torment to his ears and the mental anguish, Thales struggled to understand what the other person was saying:

Ricky looked up, revealing a glimpse of incredibly eerie black skin beneath his hood, causing Thales to instinctively turn his head away.

It was as if she was afraid of being discovered by him.

Ricky's horrible voice began to scrape again:
"So, you were just... testing me?"

Sakel closed his eyes and nodded resignedly:
"But now I'm certain—you really do exist."

Ricky stared at him for a long time before finally nodding, admiration shining in his human eyes.

Meanwhile, Barney, who had been listening to their conversation, couldn't hold back any longer. He looked at Ricky in horror, then at the Executioner: "Sakel?"

"what happened?"

Sacelle breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Thales and his former colleagues:
"you……"

"Put down your weapons."

These words shocked everyone on Thales' side.

"Sir, sir?" Tardin asked tentatively.

Sacel shook his head:

“We can’t defeat him…at least, we don’t have the right weapons and means.”

Ricky gave a soft hum.

His terrifying voice made Thales uneasy once again.

“He…” Thales hesitated, glancing cautiously at Ricky, whose expression was cold, yet whose terrifying presence was hidden beneath the hood:

"What is he?"

Sacel was silent for a moment, then glanced at the others.

Those in the know, including the Sword of Calamity, bowed their heads, while those who were unaware looked puzzled.

"They are like the gods... ethereal and illusory legends."

Sacel stared at Ricky, struggling to breathe under the pressure of the two mercenaries, and gritted his teeth as he said:

"But the Watchers' legacy from long ago, as well as the archives of the Secret Society, both record this existence."

"They have appeared in the history of the kingdom and even the empire more than once."

This...exists?
Thales was stunned.

Sacel sighed softly.

He recited a description with intonation and rhythm:
"They feed on flesh and blood, and hunt souls."

"It appears in the fire, but vanishes before the gods."

Thales blinked; Sacelle's words evoked a sense of familiarity.

Appearing in the fire...?
Before the gods... disillusionment?
That's right, this is the common language translated from the ancient imperial language.

That's why it's so strange.

Thales frowned: "So he is..."

Sackel shook his head, his gaze towards Ricky growing increasingly wary.
No, it's not 'him'.

The Knight of Punishment quickly changed perspective, sending chills down the spines of those present:

"It is not human."

it?
With a strange sense of panic, Thales looked at Ricky, who was motionless under the hood.

The next second, Sacel said in his most mysterious and nervous tone:

"It comes from hell..."

In the eerie and unsettling atmosphere, Ricky, who looked like a monster under his hood, curled up the corners of his mouth.

With great interest, and under the horrified gazes of the crowd, it listened to Saxeel's last word:
"demon."

I updated another 10,000 words today. I must be a fake Wujian.

—by Wujian with a serious expression.

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(End of this chapter)