Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 52 Thales and Janne (Part 2)

“The White Eagle family reacted faster than we expected—Iron Eagle arrived at Eternal Star two hours ago, which will give His Majesty plenty of time to prepare before the news spreads.” Janne sat elegantly in a carriage without coat of arms, driven by the knight Seychelles.

He uttered those words with a cold expression and looked out the car window.

Another carriage, equally mysterious, was parked next to them, with both carriages having their windows open to allow their owners to talk.

"But so what? No matter how fast a fish swims, it can't avoid the current. This is the current that His Majesty is destined to face." A sharp voice came from another carriage.

“But our intelligence has run into some problems,” Jann said coldly. “There’s an unexpected big shot in the mission…and the consequences are more serious than we thought.”

"You want to give up?"

Jann paused, took a deep breath, and said, "No, no, the plan remains the same."

There's no going back now, is there?
"That's good." The shrill voice said nonchalantly, "The general decree has been issued, and the nobles will arrive one after another in a short time. By then, Exter's formal response should also arrive: mobilizing the army, demanding territory, threatening war—guess how His Majesty will respond? Will he endure humiliation, or will he recklessly send our country to hell?"

"And you guys really had to be ruthless to do something so big..."

Jann sighed softly, then shook his head slightly: "As your tribal motto says, 'Power from violence,' this is a necessary step. I need to ascertain your attitude and stance—your continued refusal to join 'The New Stars' is very troubling to us."

Another voice laughed loudly: "It seems you have a lot of confidence in yourself! No wonder—just imagine, the young, elegant, and virtuous Lord of Emerald City, the Duke of the South Bank, Jann Kevindir, has been named as His Majesty's heir! What a wonderful sight!"

“We promise, with the honor of our families, that your rule in the Western Wilderness will be unshakeable, and that you may even benefit from the decline of the Northern Territory,” Jann said earnestly and sincerely. “And it doesn’t necessarily have to be me… the Stars might also become a system of elective kings, wouldn’t it?”

He leaned forward slightly and said slowly and softly:
"And as one of the six, you are destined to be chosen as a king or nobleman."

There was a silence between the carriages for about ten seconds.

“Alright, from now on, you have my guarantee,” the shrill voice said slyly. “If Xingchen goes that far, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Falkenhausen family will follow the trend.”

Jann clenched his fist slightly.

He forced himself to suppress his impatience.

This guy.

They still wouldn't place a bet easily.

Does he think Falkenhausen also has a chance? Or has he simply sided with one of the other teams? Cullen? Southrest? Or the least likely, Tebak?
“I will remember… Falkenhausen’s attitude,” the owner of the tricolor iris said calmly.

Although Jann remained calm, he was extremely wary of the person in the other carriage: this guy was second only to the fat Duke of the East Sea Guardian on his list in terms of threat level, and even more so than the One-Eyed Dragon of Southrest.

The shrill voice burst into laughter again, continuing, "What an honor! Future His Majesty Janne! I heard you've been humiliated lately by the Blood Bottle Gang? Aren't you cooperating to control the gang? Is that old man Cullen just standing by and doing nothing?"

Upon hearing the word "Your Majesty," Jann frowned slightly and subtly pursed his lips: "Thank you for your concern. Everything is under control. That's all for today. I need to head to the Restoration Palace, while you should be in the desolate ruins now, receiving His Majesty's decree in person."

“No need to worry,” the shrill voice suddenly turned cold: “Falkenhaus is never absent.”

“Very well, Lord Falkenhausen, I look forward to seeing you again.” Jenn left with his last words.

“Yes,” the shrill voice laughed, “I’m also looking forward to the reunion of the nineteen noble families’ capitals twelve years from now… hahaha.”

The two carriages started up separately, passed each other, and drove further and further away.

Jan lowered his head, closed his eyes, and gently rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Sir,” Seychelles’ voice came through the front window, “something’s not right up ahead.”

Jann gently opened his eyes.

A sharp, strange sound came from a distance outside the carriage.

Seychelles released the riding whip with one hand, gripped the sword at his waist, and said in a cold voice, "It seems a carriage has been attacked."

----------------

“Stay calm,” Gilbert said calmly, looking at the beggars lying or standing on both sides of the street. He leaned forward, opened a small window in front of the carriage, hesitated for a moment, and then said quietly, “Ms. Ginny, something is wrong around us.”

Through the small window, Thales clearly saw that Ginny's back trembled slightly.

"...An assassin?" she said slowly. "Coming for the child?"

Her words were slow and soft, like the murmurs of a drunken woman in the middle of the night.

However, for some reason, Thales sensed an uneasy emotion in Ginny's words.

He also noticed that Gilbert was watching Ginny's retreating figure with concern.

"Not necessarily." The middle-aged nobleman's expression turned strange.

"Perhaps it was just an accident."

uncertain?
Thales was examining the JC dagger at his waist when he heard this and was taken aback.

But even Yordle was certain she was an assassin, so why did Gilbert tell Ginny "not necessarily"?
Ginny snorted coldly: "Be ready at any time. I'm going to get rid of you as quickly as possible."

Gilbert paused slightly, glancing at the scene outside the window.

"But before they actually make their move, Ms. Ginny, you must remain calm! You must! Remember, they are not necessarily assassins."

Don't let... affect you.

Ginny's back trembled again.

Thales sensed something was wrong: Ginny was acting very strangely.

The middle-aged nobleman was extremely solemn, seemingly realizing that his words to Ginny were somewhat inappropriate, so he immediately added, "Yordle, the same goes for you!"

"Is it coming for me?" Thales's expression turned serious. He put aside his doubts and began to consider the most urgent matter.

“This…” Gilbert sat back down, his eyes sharply scanning the area around the carriage, and said silently, “Your presence and whereabouts are theoretically impossible to be leaked, but please prepare for the worst.”

“At least seven.” Though invisible and intangible, Yodel’s hoarse voice sounded eerily in my ear: “Well-hidden, well-trained, and arranged along the way to the Palace of Restoration.”

"I'm ready, I can accelerate at any moment, so hold on tight." Ginny's voice rang out, adding a chill to Thales' ears.

“Ginny, calm down!” Gilbert seemed a little off, and he said this to Ginny seriously.

Even the most inexperienced Thales could sense that something was wrong with Ginny.

The carriage rounded a corner and drove from the dirt road onto the brick road—the central district was just two blocks away.

Just now.

An elderly beggar who had just been groaning on the ground to their left suddenly changed his expression. He ran to one of the horses and reached out to Ginny, begging for money.

"Crack!"

As soon as the whip cracked, the entire carriage began to shake violently!

Without warning, the carriage started to accelerate!

Gilbert's face changed drastically. He lunged to the front of the carriage, ignoring Thales's reaction, and shouted, "Ginny, no! Wait—"

But it was too late.

All that could be heard was a furious shout from the driver's seat, Jini!
"Come on! You shameless scoundrel!"

With a sharp crack of the whip, Ginny's wrist twisted rapidly, lashing the old beggar hard!

"Snapped!"

A tremendous force surged, and a line of blood spurted from the beggar's body.

The old beggar flew five meters away, covered in blood, and a short curved knife fell from his sleeve.

Astonished Thales was still trying to figure out what was happening, he saw a beggar behind the carriage suddenly leap up, daggers in his hands, and roar...

"The incident has occurred, take action!"

A dozen or so figures rushed toward the carriage from among the beggars and vagrants!
Thales's expression changed drastically.

There were more than seven assassins!
Unfortunately, by the time he had counted the number of assassins, the enemy had already launched their attack.

The two horses were the first to suffer. Two assassins rolled across their bellies, and with the black steeds' mournful cries, blood spurted out.

Amidst Ginny's angry shouts and the lash of the whip, the carriage continued forward due to inertia, but then it collided with the fallen horses, and the entire carriage flipped violently to the side!

Ginny leaped up and whipped one of the assassins to the side, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Her expression was crazed. She gritted her teeth, drew the long sword from her waist, turned around, and stabbed the assassin behind her into the left chest.

"boom!"

The train eventually tipped over onto the road.

Just as the carriage overturned, Gilbert caught Thales tightly beneath him, and they fell to the side near the window as the carriage tipped over.

Three assassins leaped onto the overturned carriage!

When Thales scrambled to his feet, dazed and confused, he felt Gilbert push him aside.

"Crack!"

It wasn't an assassin who made the move, but Gilbert. He calmly drew his cane, swung his arm, and shattered the car window above his head!

Fragments flew into the air, and the three assassins instinctively raised their arms to protect their eyes.

Gilbert's cane shot out like a venomous snake, a sharp blade popping out from its tip. With a precise thrust and retraction, an assassin collapsed, clutching his neck.

Thales clutched his head, feeling small shards of glass falling around the carriage.

Two longswords were thrust into the carriage, aimed at Thales, but were deflected by the noble rapier drawn from Gilbert's left hand with skillful technique and force.

"Swoosh!" Two sword blades, one pierced the sofa in Thales' left hand, and the other swept past his right arm, piercing through the air.

Thales gritted his teeth, feeling the coldness coming from his right arm.

One of the assassins saw what was happening inside the carriage.

He immediately exclaimed in surprise, "No..."

But the assassin was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

Yordle appeared like a ghost behind the two assassins, her dark dagger slicing across the back of their necks.

The assassin, who had been dressed in rags for two years, suddenly collapsed.

"Send him away!" Gilbert roared, pushing aside the scattering glass, pressing down on the carriage, and flipping himself out of the car!

Yodl grabbed Thales' belt and pulled him out of the carriage.

Amidst Ginny's roar, Thales made out the situation around him: illuminated by the ever-burning lamps, seven or eight assassins dressed as beggars, casting long shadows, charged toward the overturned carriage!

Unrelated passersby ran and fled amid screams and shouts, and the street instantly descended into chaos.

Gilbert kicked a shard of broken carriage towards the nearest assassin, then thrust out his twin swords, forcing back a knife-wielding assassin on his left.

Yordle flashed and slit the throat of an oncoming assassin, then grabbed Thales and pulled him into her arms.

Just as he was about to enter the realm of shadows, a sudden change occurred!
"Cha-"

A piercing, sharp sound suddenly exploded in the air!
Yodel suddenly released Thales's hand.

"Cha-"

It was a sharp, extremely high-decibel sound!
In that instant, Thales gritted his teeth in pain, feeling as if his head was about to explode from that sound!

hateful!

What is that sound?

He instinctively covered his ears! But the sudden sound, like a demonic whisper, penetrated his brain without any obstruction.

"Cha-"

The noise continued, and both Ginny and Gilbert seemed to be greatly affected, their expressions distorted and their movements deformed. Ginny was even slashed on the left arm by a knife while she was swaying.

"His-"

The demonic voice grew increasingly urgent.

Yodl trembled, resisting the assault of the demonic voice. He lowered his head; Thales knew he was speaking, but the boy's mind was filled with a piercing, grating sound, making it impossible for him to hear clearly.

Thales squinted, enduring the pain in his eardrums, and tried his best to cover his ears. He looked up and was shocked to see that five of the assassins, who were in pain but could not move, simultaneously reached behind their backs, pulled out a weapon, and pointed it at him and the masked guard.

Crossbow.

Alternatively, it is called a crossbow.

Thales felt a chill run down his spine; he no longer doubted that this was a meticulously planned assassination.

The crossbows all shuddered.

No mechanical sounds could be heard from the demonic noise, but five long, dark shadows appeared simultaneously in Thales's field of vision.

The next moment, Thales was thrown several meters away by Yodl.

"His-"

Amidst the tormenting sonic booms and the fierce winds in the air, Thales watched in despair as a dark shadow hurtled toward the masked guard.

Yodl's figure jerked violently as he spun around!
No. Yodl...

Yodl Gato.

He thought with trepidation.

Thales fell to the ground and rolled twice outwards.

"Hiss—" The demonic sound grew closer and closer.

He covered his ears and struggled to his feet amidst pain and trembling, only to be met by a ragged figure.

He was a disheveled young beggar with delicate, youthful features, not much older than Thales.

His lips were open and vibrating rapidly.

As he drew closer, the tormenting demonic sound grew ever closer.

The beggar coldly drew a dagger from his waist.

Thales, gritting his teeth and enduring the piercing sound, understood something.

Following the instincts he had developed over the past month, he subconsciously pulled his right foot back, raised his left arm, shifted his weight backward, and assumed a standard Northern military sword stance.

One of the three defensive stances, the Iron Body Stance.

Amidst the demonic chant, a dagger pierced through his left arm with incredible speed!
Pain struck, but Thales gritted his teeth and knew he had made the right choice.

The young beggar was somewhat surprised, but he immediately opened his mouth wide at Thales, and as his tongue trembled, his demonic voice became even more shrill!
"Ha-"

The feeling in that instant made Thales abruptly close his eyes!

He screamed frantically and futilely, almost trying to rip his eardrums out of his ears!

In the violently vibrating air, every cell in Thales' body seemed to begin to tremble.

He felt himself starting to heat up—like food being microwaved.

stop!

He suddenly pulled his arms away and instinctively covered his ears.

stop!

The dagger was pulled from his left arm, drawing a trail of blood.

stop!

Thales' face contorted in agony as he collapsed to his knees amidst the terrifying, piercing sounds.

stop!

The dagger was thrust at his throat again.

stop now!
At the last moment, Thales opened his eyes in despair and saw the cold-blooded face of the young assassin gradually distort into another blurry face.

She was a girl with long eyelashes, staring at him with bright eyes and curiosity.

"Huh? Your name is Wu Qiren?"

"What a strange name."

"My name? Guess..."

The boy, trembling, reached out his hand to the blurry face.

Excitement and burning passion surged through his heart at the same time.

He felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, and the demonic voice in his ear suddenly rose, drowning out the girl's next words. All he could see was her indistinct lips opening and closing.

stop.

He murmured unconsciously.

stop.

I can't hear her anymore!

stop.

He reached out his hand and suddenly grabbed something, as if he had grabbed something out of thin air.

stop.

he murmured.

then.

The demonic sound really stopped.

His mind was no longer in turmoil.

No more eardrum pain
The scene before my eyes returned to normal.

Thales opened his eyes, trembling.

The dagger that had been aimed at his throat was now embedded in his left shoulder.

The owner of the dagger, the young assassin, gripped the hilt and knelt down helplessly.

The young assassin fell face-to-face into Thales' arms, his lips twitching and his whole body trembling.

Thales looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The young assassin's face gradually paled, and he looked into Thales' eyes, his gaze filled with confusion and bewilderment.

why?
Thales read that message in his eyes.

Thales, panting heavily and enduring the pain in his shoulder, looked at him with surprise and disbelief.

The boy also wanted to know why the superhuman assassin who had been so menacing just moments before... and so on.

and many more.

This is……?
Thales supported the boy, panting as he lowered his head.

Within the space enclosed by their bodies and arms, Thales raised his warm right hand.

He trembled as he looked at the warm, damp thing in his hand.

It was an irregular red sphere.

There were still quite a few tubes inserted.

It seems to be vibrating?
Thales's gaze focused.

He saw clearly.

His gray pupils suddenly contracted!

In his previous life, Thales didn't do well in high school biology. When he went to college and got into graduate school, his knowledge of biochemistry regressed dramatically.

But that didn't stop him from recognizing what was in his hand.

It was a burning, relentlessly beating heart...

Bright red, with liquid in it...

heart.

Its two chambers of the heart, the blood vessels that could not draw blood, were twitching violently.

Thales instinctively looked at his own chest, then at the young assassin's chest—but their chests were intact and untouched by blood.

"Gurgle...gurgle...gurgle..."

The heart was beating slower and slower.

Slower and slower.

Thales froze for a few seconds before suddenly shuddering!
A fresh, bloodied heart slipped from his hand and fell between the young assassin's knees.

The young assassin's breathing grew weaker and weaker, and his face turned pale as he seemed to realize his fate.

“Lucy…” he groaned listlessly and weakly in Thales’ ear.

These were his last words.

Until he stopped moving.

The sounds of fighting finally returned to Thales's channel.

The trembling boy stretched out his right hand, which was covered in warm blood, and painfully pulled out the dagger from his left shoulder. Without looking back, he threw it aside and scrambled away from the young assassin.

The young assassin's body lay face down, limp and crushed...his heart.

His own heart.

What's this?
Have I "lost control" again?

Thales shuddered, remembering Yodl being surrounded and killed by crossbow bolts.

He instinctively turned his head, but there was nothing beside the assassin's corpse.

Thales's still-painful ear twitched... and another assassin landed beside him.

The assassins noticed the anomaly in the corner the instant the demonic sound disappeared. Having barely managed to free up some men while Gilbert and Ginny were engaged, they rushed to their aid.

The assassin who came to the rescue stared in astonishment at the boy lying on the ground, then at Thales, and without hesitation flicked his right hand, revealing a hidden blade from under his wrist.

Thales reached out to JC, considering the possibilities of both defense and escape.

Or perhaps—he glanced at the young assassin's corpse—with that force…

At this moment!

Thales was wracked with intense pain from the inside out!
"Forehead!"

Thales gritted his teeth and suddenly collapsed.

It felt like someone was tearing his soul apart!

Do not!
Do not!
But the assassin ignored his movements and coldly thrust his hidden blade at him—but at this moment, Thales didn't even care about the danger to his life.

He had never experienced such pain before.

It felt as if every molecule in my body was roaring in protest!

"what!"

Thales could no longer bear the torture-like pain. He screamed, convulsed, and watched helplessly as the enemy's hidden blade came at him.

Is this the end?

It hurts.

Ouch...it hurts so much!
That kind of power is definitely not... without a price.

however.

"laugh!"

Just before the assassin succeeded, a tall and slender figure appeared behind him.

Before the assassin could turn around, a long sword struck from behind and pierced his head.

Thales, who had collapsed to the ground, barely managed to lift his head.

A well-dressed, elegant young nobleman with a round face stepped out from behind the assassin.

The young nobleman frowned and wiped the liquid off the sword onto the latter's clothes.

The pain receded like the tide.

Feeling the pain subside temporarily, Thales took a deep breath, like a drowning man.

He glanced at the nobleman's shoulder, and then his eyes flickered.

There was an intricately patterned heraldry embroidered there.

Thales recognized the emblem.

Red, blue, green, three petals
Three-colored irises.

In the distance, a Seychelles knight with a fanatical gaze, brandishing his sword, stood beside the slumped Gilbert and beheaded an assassin.

“Come behind me, child,” said Jann Kevindir, Lord of Emerald City and Duke Guardian of the South Bank, with a detached and elegant air.
"Murder is not welcome in Everstar City."

This was the first time Thales and Jann had met.

(End of this chapter)