Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 475 I'm Not Some Demon After All
This is a small sandy area.

It lies nestled among several sand dunes of varying sizes, sleeping peacefully in the dim light of dawn, utterly still.

Until all the sand and gravel on the ground began to tremble slightly.

boom.

With a muffled thud, an irregular flat surface suddenly bulged out in the center of the sand.

thump.

Amidst a series of muffled thuds, countless grains of sand slid down from the gradually arching surface and plunged into the dark cavern revealed beneath.

The falling gravel made a rustling sound.

The plane, several meters wide, kept rising, revealing its dark gray nature.

A dozen seconds later, a figure carrying a torch and covered in sand emerged from the dark and mysterious cave.

The figure brushed the sand off its body and looked around.

He then turned around, reached out and grabbed the second person, pulling him out of the hole.

Then came the third, the fourth... and more and more people crawled out of the hole.

There were dozens of people.

Until a slender figure emerged from the hole in the ground, was pulled out, and stepped onto the sand.

"Cough cough cough..."

Covered in dust and dirt, Thales removed his towel, coughed up dust and sand in pain, and brushed the sand off his body.

The pre-dawn chill and the smell of sand assaulted his senses simultaneously.

It made him shudder.

Familiar yet unfamiliar.

Thales instinctively reached behind his waist, only to find nothing. Then he remembered:
Ricky confiscated his dagger again.

Behind the boy, Tardin, Bri, and Cannon, their hands tightly bound, were escorted out one after another.

Sacel, Barney, and Belletti fared even worse, being blindfolded and personally guarded by Klay and Josh.

Quick Rope seemed to be treated as an unimportant errand boy, laboriously moving equipment and tools salvaged from the battlefield by a mercenary, occasionally glancing at Thales as if seeking help.

Chisel was also blindfolded and roughly pushed out under the guard of two mercenaries.

Everyone came to the ground one after another.

"This...this isn't the Prison of Bones?"

Stepping on the familiar sand beneath his feet, Thales steeled himself, ignoring the mournful look in Quick Rope's eyes behind him. While cleaning himself up, he strained to observe his surroundings in the dim light of dawn.

"Not even... Baki Camp?"

The vast expanse of yellow sand around him surprised and terrified him.

Ricky turned around in the dim light of the eastern sky:
"how……"

"You still think we'll go back the way we came?"

Ricky threw away the torch in his hand, shook his head sarcastically, and said:
"The entrance to the Prison of Bones—it's probably been surrounded by the Secret Service for a long time."

Thales sighed inwardly.

The prince crossed his arms, rubbed his body which had been suddenly chilled by the wind, and looked around in confusion:

"Where is this?"

“Not far from the Blade Fang camp,” Ricky looked up in the gray sky, gazing at a familiar row of fortresses in the distance:

"But it's just right that you can see it."

Thales squinted at the seemingly close-up Baki camp, feeling dejected.

In the desert, "just able to see" is equivalent to "walking for a whole day".

So, what will happen to them next?

"What are you waiting for?" Thales asked, rubbing his hands together.

This time, Ricky merely gave him a cold glance:
"opportunity."

opportunity?

Thales frowned.

Amidst the howling wind, Ricky looked up at the sky, then turned and gave the order:

"Everyone, final check."

"We're leaving."

Ricky walked past Thales, who was deep in thought, and headed toward Samir, who was standing in a secluded spot.

He stared at the guards who were bound tightly in the distance, and lowered his voice to Samir:
"How about it?"

Samir avoided the crowd, glanced at Sakel, and shook his head:

"They refuse to join."

Ricky frowned and exhaled.

Barney?

Samir gave a soft snort, seemingly quite displeased:

“Especially Barney, that guy has a temper harder than a rock.”

Ricky stared intently at Barney, who was blindfolded, and clicked his tongue softly:
"But it was precisely him who mastered the secrets of the Northern Army's swordsmanship."

Samir's eyes lit up:
"Is that him?"

Ricky shook his head in disappointment:

"The melting of glaciers".

The two remained silent for a while.

Ricky glanced at his subordinates who were making final checks and preparations behind him, and nodded in Sackel's direction:
“I’ve been trying to persuade their superior if he agrees first…”

But Samir decisively shook his head.

“Not Sacel,” Samir’s resolute tone surprised Ricky.
"The key is not Sacel."

Samir looked at the slightly shorter, thinner figure behind him, his expression complicated.

"They are loyal only to him."

Ricky followed the gaze and saw the boy, who was battered and bruised, staring dejectedly at the sand beneath his feet, muttering something to himself.

"he?"

Ricky paused briefly, his gaze lingering on Thales for several seconds.

“You told me you could make them fight amongst themselves,” Ricky turned around, his expression turning serious.

"What happened next? When that child appeared, you all knelt down?"

what happened.

Samir remained silent for a moment.

Before him lay the sleeping Naki and Nai.

And the boy's smile.

I have rested peacefully beside the Emperor…

"nothing."

Samir raised his head, shaking off the memories, and tried his best not to look at Thales:
"He's just...very persuasive."

Sensing the distance in the other person's tone, Ricky raised an eyebrow.

"Ho."

Very convincing.

Is it.

He gave Samir a deep look.

“I’m curious about something, Samir,” Ricky’s words made Samir nervous, as the man named Krassus narrowed his eyes:
"Before we arrived, did you get the answer: Why did the Knight of Punishment kill the child?"

Samir's breath hitched slightly.

why?
He remained silent for several seconds.

Ricky slowly approached him:
"Is there something you haven't told me yet?"

"Perhaps...about the royal family?"

Seeing Samir's expression, Ricky chuckled:
"Okay, I know you might still have some lingering feelings about the vow you made back then, and I completely understand that..."

Semir took a deep breath and interrupted him.

“Sakel did that—”

Samir looked intently at Ricky:

"Maybe it's because... he really went crazy."

Has he really gone mad?

Ricky frowned, looking suspicious.

Samir lowered his head awkwardly.

“You saw it too, Sakel was shouting for war one moment and then he came back to help them the next—I think he must have really gone mad.”

This time, under the gloomy yet approaching dawn sky, Ricky stared at Samir for a very long time.

Samir did not look up.

“Oh, you’ve gone mad,” Ricky said, his eyes never leaving the other person, but his tone turned strange.
"No wonder it's so difficult...to communicate?"

He continued to observe Samir's expression.

Samir coughed and suddenly spoke:
“Listen, you want the secret of Barney's swordsmanship? Fine, if we can take the child with us…”

At this moment.

"Hey Ricky! Uncle Ricky? Little Ricky the Dumb?"

Ricky and Samir turned around and were surprised to see Prince Thales raising his hand high in the crowd and waving at them.

Little...stupid?
"Um, can we talk in private for a moment?"

Thales's vigorous waving and loud shouts attracted the attention of many people, and Marina behind him even put her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

"You mean...take him away?" Ricky glanced at Samir, sighed, and walked back.

"I'd like to."

Ricky approached Thales, resuming his composed and slightly humorous demeanor: "Your Highness, don't tell me you're looking for a secluded spot to pee."

"Because you can solve it on the spot—we don't mind."

But to Ricky's surprise, Thales just smiled, revealing a row of teeth:
"I suddenly thought of a question about the Calamity of Qi—he went to the Tower of the End with you, right?"

Disasters caused by anger.

Upon hearing this, the mercenaries, who had been busy with their own tasks, all fell silent.

Many people were looking this way.

Ricky's expression changed.

He turned his head, his face grim, and said to Samir:
"Watch them."

After saying that, Ricky grabbed Thales's shoulder and roughly dragged him to a quiet corner away from the crowd.

"Ouch, ouch, be gentle... I'm still young... you can't..."

"Okay, okay, I won't resist anymore, please stop using force..."

Amidst Thales's stumbling and protesting commotion, Ricky shoved him aside.

“Give me a reason not to knock you out,” Ricky said coldly.

But Thales just dusted himself off, panted, and shrugged.

"That Dragon Slayer or whatever, that's what the Calamity of Qi wants, isn't it?"

Thales said with a smile:
"Your behavior in prison makes me feel... that you're not that eager for this."

Ricky's expression underwent a subtle change.

“And what you want is the black sword embodying the sins of the River of Hell,” Thales’ tone became formal:
“That’s right, I know, that weapon was brought back by the Black Sword.”

Ricky's eyes widened slightly.

He stared intently at Thales for three seconds.

“Honey, I’ve discovered,” Ricky’s tone was as warm as a desert night:

You're cuter when you're paying attention in class.

Thales grinned helplessly.

The boy looked back at the crowd and scratched his head:
"Those names."

"Those names you mentioned, it took me some time to recall them, but..."

Ricky squinted.

Thales turned around, took a deep breath, and said seriously:
"The Iron-Blooded King was a northern king who died a heroic death fighting against the ancient orcs before the Chronicles of Kings."

"There is a scene from an imperial drama about how the Black Knight was tried for treason and regicide;"

"Solon Tann is a name from the Tann family of the North, who were stripped of their Weyland territory and removed from the list of the ten great ducal houses of Exter for attempting to assassinate the king;"

With each word Thales spoke, Ricky's expression darkened a little more.

"As for Chu Crassus, he is the one who betrayed the Tower of Ending more than a hundred years ago and built the Sword of Calamity."

Thales finished speaking his last sentence.

Ricky looked at him and gave a soft snort.

Perhaps Samir is right, child.

Thinking of this, Ricky spoke up:

"Correction, we don't call it a calamity..."

Thales interrupted him again:

"According to you, they were all people who awakened the sins of the River of Hell, right?"

Ricky raised an eyebrow.

“You once said that the power of termination is yourself,” Thales took a few deep breaths:
"But it seems that every master of the River of Sin met a bad end."

"Including the Black Sword."

This time, Ricky stared intently at him, as if he had discovered something extraordinary in Thales. “I have a few friends who trained at the Tower of the End, and they told me,” Thales tentatively said.
"The biggest difference between the finishing power of the Sword of Calamity and theirs is that it surrenders to the worst thing in power—madness, violence, pain, which can even be felt by the opponent."

Am I overthinking it?

Thales observed the other person's expression:
"Or should I really give up the Sin of the River of Prisons?"

Madness, violence, pain.

Whether it was the "Tower of Ending" or the "Sword of Calamity" that triggered his nerves, Ricky's expression turned ugly.

“Your friend must be someone important,” Ricky said after a moment of silence.
"You should know that we are the secret scar that the Tower of Endings is most unwilling to uncover."

"Also, correction, we are not called the Sword of Calamity."

Thales realized the other person was changing the subject and couldn't help but sigh.

“I’ve seen how you fight, and you can’t deny it: you fight like beasts.”

Ricky scoffed and shook his head:

"Then you should know that our power is greater than that of ordinary Terminator swordsmen, and we have fewer constraints."

But Thales didn't buy it:
"What you taught me today, and what you said about expecting me to one day reach the 'true world' or something."

"Will it eventually turn me into that kind of beast?"

Ricky snorted in annoyance, about to reply, but then he suddenly remembered something.

"strangeness."

Ricky raised an eyebrow:
Why are you suddenly talking so much?

Thales stiffened slightly, glancing furtively behind him as if afraid of being seen, before awkwardly raising the object in his right hand:

"Because of...this?"

Ricky saw clearly what Thales was holding in his right hand.

It was a gleaming dagger.

It seems to be the one he confiscated before...

Ricky's expression changed drastically!

He subconsciously looked down and reached into his clothes:
"And when did you steal it—"

Ricky didn't finish his sentence.

"laugh!"

The next second, a gray blade that he knew all too well suddenly appeared out of thin air!

It was like an invincible warship breaking through the waves, piercing straight into Ricky's left forehead and penetrating his skull!
Swish!
The gray blade ripped the head out, drawing forth endless blood!

It splashed the sand, turning it a deep crimson.

"Ricky!"

Thales gritted his teeth and ran a few meters to the side. Before he could even greet the dark purple mask that had reappeared, he heard a commotion and exclamations from the mercenaries watching behind him.

"Enemy attack!"

With gritted teeth and burning hatred, Clay roared and drew his sword, leading several mercenaries to charge at the suddenly appearing figure in black!
"Damn it, it's him again!"

Clay laughed in fury, and led several men to surround them as well:

"How the hell is this...?"

But the next moment, Clay realized something was wrong.

"Boom!"

With a loud thud, Clay felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, and then he collapsed, feeling dizzy and disoriented!

The three mercenaries beside him instinctively turned around and saw that the disheveled prisoner, whose left arm was still in a splint, had already squeezed into the middle of them!

Clay lay on the ground, trembling as he turned his head.

He watched in despair as Sacelle, who had somehow broken free of his restraints and regained his freedom, deftly and swiftly knocked down three people—or rather, only one, since the other two had inexplicably knocked each other unconscious—before stepping over his body.

Sackel limped toward where Ricky and Thales were, leaving behind only a casual remark:

"the fourth time."

Clay gasped painfully.

Do not……

When exactly were they released from their restraints...?

Not far away, Bree, who had also broken free of his restraints, roared and knocked someone away. Little Barney headbutted the mercenary guarding him, Tardin snatched an axe and threw it to Belletti, and Cannon threw a throwing knife that appeared out of nowhere...

The mercenaries' ranks were thrown into chaos!
Josh, who was charging ahead, turned around in surprise and found that, without anyone noticing, all the guards' prisoners had broken free of their bonds. Taking advantage of the shock caused by Ricky's fall, they quickly broke through the encirclement and joined up with Thales.

No.

they are……

"Whoosh!" A sharp sound rang out!

Josh instinctively looked down and found an arrow embedded in the sand at his feet.

"Damn it, why did I miss again... You're a fake, aren't you..."

Across from him, Quick Rope angrily pounded the Time Crossbow in his hand.

But upon discovering that three people were surrounding him, Quick Rope immediately panicked and ran wildly towards Thales, waving his arms and legs:

"Help me—"

In the crowd, Samir roared as he reorganized the chaotic ranks and formation:

"Don't panic, they're just at their last gasp!"

"We have the numerical advantage!"

In the brief chaos and uproar, Thales breathed heavily as he turned to see Yodl throw something at Barney and the others who were rushing towards him.

But before the prince could give his remarks, a chilling rustling sound came from nearby!
A cold wind blew, and Thales turned around with goosebumps.

really.

That was the demon's panting.

"What are you..."

In the pool of blood, Ricky, his face ashen and deathly pale, trembled as he rose from the ground once more.

He gritted his teeth and glared angrily, reaching for the "Eternal Truth" sword at his waist:
"Seeking their own death—"

But before Ricky could finish speaking, Sackel, who was the first to rush towards him, suddenly lowered his body, leaned forward, and reached out his hand!
The next second, Thales' eyes widened and his mouth gaped open.

what?
He was shocked to see:

The dashing and imposing knight of punishment heads towards the resurrected Ricky...

He threw a full shovel...

sand.

"Ahhh!"

Perhaps not expecting the renowned Knight of Punishment to be so despicable, Ricky, who had just drawn his sword, was caught off guard and was sprayed all over his face.

"Damn it!"

Ricky cried out in pain, forcefully covering his eyes, which were full of sand, with his left hand, and instinctively thrusting his right hand forward, but was nimbly dodged by Sackel with a roll.

"Correct!"

"That's it!"

In the chaos, Kuaisheng, who had scrambled and crawled to safety, gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and shouted:

"Give him another hit!"

Cannon, who had covered his way to Thales' side, frowned and looked at Quick Rope upon hearing this.

The sound of the rope suddenly subsided, and he looked at Cannon apologetically:

"I, um... the atmosphere, the atmosphere..."

“Don’t worry about Ricky, he’ll recover soon,” Samir gritted his teeth, trying to restore order and direct the scene.
"Surround them first!"

The next second, Thales saw Barney raise the object he had taken from Yodl and suddenly realized what was happening.

"You think you can kill me like this?"

Ricky painfully rubbed the grit from his eyes while swinging his sword in response to the sound of the wind in his ears.

But soon, he heard a metallic sound in his ear.

With his eyes closed and enduring the pain in them, Ricky felt a tremendous force rolling over him, squeezing him from all sides!
He was squeezed so hard that his whole body jolted!
puff.

With a soft sound, eternal truth fell to the sand.

Amidst the mercenaries' gasps, Ricky struggled to open his eyes a crack and saw the scene before him:

Iron chain.

Before he knew it, a vicious iron chain with countless barbs had wrapped around him three or four times from top to bottom, locking him tightly!

His left hand was bound to the left side of his face, while his right hand was tightly locked to his body, and his legs were barely kneeling on the ground.

Barney and Belletti held onto one end of the chain with cold expressions, while Brie and Tardin gripped the other end firmly.

The four men exerted all their strength to taut the iron chains on both sides.

They completely locked down Ricky's movements.

"Alright, we know we can't take you down."

Sacelle, panting with his arm in a sling, approached Ricky, who was trembling and unable to move.

"Then let's just trap you."

Ignoring the strange looks from his subordinates and Thales's rope, the Executioner Knight calmly rubbed the remaining sand off his right hand, picked up the Eternal Truth sword in front of the immobilized Ricky, and turned towards the mercenaries:

"By the way, it's a really good sword."

Sacel shook his head and clicked his tongue.

Thales exhaled, catching the rickety rope that was stumbling towards him, and recognized the chains on Ricky's body:
Those were the chains that the chisel used to restrain the yodels.

"Ahhh!"

Ricky, who was tightly bound and locked up, roared in uncontrollable rage:

“Sakel!”

But just like Yodl before, the more he struggled, the deeper the barbs on the chains pierced.

The harder it is to break free.

Thales took a breath and smiled, giving Yodl a thumbs-up.

Nice job.

From the moment Yoddle appeared to the moment Ricky was trapped, only a dozen seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity to him.

Yodel reversed the Supreme Sword, held the hilt to his chest, and bowed slightly to Thales.

The next second, the masked guard in black created ripples and disappeared into thin air once again.

A few seconds later, led by Josh and Samir, dozens of Blades of Calamity surged forward, spreading out from the front and surrounding the guards!

But another figure had already blocked their way.

The Knight of Punishment seemed to possess a certain aura; wherever he stood, the mercenaries who had witnessed his abilities would all freeze in place.

"Hold on!"

Samir, enraged, blocked all the furious mercenaries, staring at Sakel before him:
"Don't forget his abilities!"

Josh gritted his teeth and said:
"He's badly injured! All we need to do is—"

"No!"

Samir decisively shook his head:
"I can't take the risk, and don't forget that mask!"

Josh roared indignantly.

Thales finally caught his breath and observed the situation, which had returned to a stalemate.
Ricky had his eyes closed and was chained by four men. Thales stood behind him, holding onto the rope, while Cannon stood guard vigilantly beside him.

Sacel, holding aloft the eternal truth, calmly stood in front of the remaining mercenaries.

The small patch of sand slowly returned to silence, with only the sound of countless panting breaths audible.

"My old friend who wears a mask."

Caged by chains, Ricky struggled to open one eye, desperately searching for the mysterious figure:
Marina said you were killed—when did you get back?

no respond.

Thales took a deep breath and said with a smile:

"Underground, while your people rest and wait, I am 'listening attentively' as you ramble on about demonic knowledge and the power of endings, allowing you to enjoy the pleasure of being a know-it-all."

what?
Listen attentively...

The thrill of being a know-it-all?
Ricky paused slightly.

The boy continued:
"Your old friend is lurking in the shadows, busy untying ropes, passing messages, and making plans."

Ricky's chest heaved violently as he was tightly locked up.

He struggled again, but the four guards, their faces flushed, held him firmly in place.

"And you're using this to lower my guard, waiting for the right moment to 'speak privately'?"

Although Ricky's eyes were closed, his voice carried a fury that seemed to burn everything to ashes.

Thales chuckled, indicating his agreement.

Under the gray eastern sky, Ricky, his face full of anger, gritted his teeth and said to Thales behind him, "I underestimated you again, Your Highness."

"Even when you are listening attentively, it is the same—insidious, cunning, and full of tricks."

Insidious and cunning.

Cunning and scheming?

Thales sighed.

He turned his gaze and looked in the direction of Baki's camp.

You flatter me.

Thales turned around, flashing a friendly smile and revealing a set of bright white teeth to the group of furious mercenaries in front of him:

"After all, I'm not a demon."

Chapter 200 celebrates Thales' release from prison after serving his full sentence (in every sense of the word)!

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(End of this chapter)