Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 72 The Iron-Fisted King (Part 2)

Two members of the royal guard, dressed in silver Everlasting armor, walked silently to Val's side.

Duke Cullen shook his head helplessly: "Friends are heartless, brothers turn against each other, is there anything more tragic than this?"

No one answered him.

After a long pause, Val Arend smiled calmly and raised his head:

"At least I accomplished one thing."

He looked at Baron Russell, whose expression was strange.

"I brought war, didn't I?"

“Even if Lumba and I orchestrated everything—weren’t the ones who actually killed the prince the restless nobles like Star?”

In an instant, Janne, Köst, and some of the earls all had strange expressions, while only Duke Cullen continued to shake his head and sigh, as if he was still immersed in the recent falling out between his brothers.

Val said sadly, "Haha... Kai, Star is still recovering from its injuries and is no match for Exter—what are you going to do?"

“Then you can just watch,” the king said coldly. “Compared to a coward like you, look at me, look at how the cold-blooded, iron-fisted king faces the wrath of the dragon.”

“What?” Val laughed bitterly, “Are you going to conscript children under the age of fourteen again?”

The king ignored him and turned to Exter's urgent envoy.

“Baron Russell, I have at least met the third condition of your terms. Unfortunately, I cannot hand over either the Duke of the North or the Grand Duke of the Black Sands to you. Since people in your own country are also involved, it seems unreasonable for you to demand territorial or resource compensation from us.”

Russell replied with a grave expression, "That's impossible! I only saw your Star Palace arguing back and forth, but there is no evidence to suggest that the Grand Duke of Black Sand Territory was involved!"
“Exter insists on the compensation terms he just presented. The specific amount can be discussed, but it must not be waived… Otherwise,” he raised his head, “otherwise—let’s settle this on the battlefield with our swords!”

The nobles in the hall began to whisper among themselves, and Val, guarded by his guards on either side, even began to sneer.

"Moreover, the anger and despair of King Nunn at losing his only heir cannot be filled by a mere murderer!" Russell added with a gloomy expression.

The king sighed.

“Yes,” Kaiser V said somberly, “I felt it.”

Russell raised an eyebrow.

“I sensed his anger and despair,” the king said somberly. “This is truly unfair to King Nunn.”

"The mission was assassinated, and the prince suffered a tragic fate—whoever did it, they not only humiliated Exter, but also the Stars! The Stars' shame in this matter is a thousand times, a hundred times greater than the former!"

Many eyes turned to Val.

The king raised his head, his eyes filled with coldness:

"The stars have never thought of shirking their due responsibilities—since it undermines fairness, we will pay the price."

The two counts of the North immediately tensed up.

Is the king really going to sacrifice the North?

Indeed, after all—Duke Aarond, he…

Zemuto glanced at Val, only to see the latter smiling indifferently.

"His Majesty is indeed a man of responsibility and courage," Baron Russell smiled. "Whether it's Pinecone County to Bear County, or the area around Hammerfell Castle, the specific land and even the area can be discussed, as long as we are satisfied..."

"You will definitely be satisfied."

The king said coldly.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the supreme king of the stars grabbed his scepter, rose from his throne once more, and slowly descended the steps.

With heavy steps, King Catherine V approached the bewildered Russell.

“Go and tell King Nuen, and your master in the Black Sand Territory, Star, that he is deeply sorry and feels extremely guilty about the assassination of the delegation.”

Russell smiled and nodded slightly: "I will convey your message. As for compensation... we need a map to measure the territory..."

"Do not."

Russell was taken aback.

The Supreme King said coldly:

"The stars have no territory to compensate Exter, nor can they make up for King Nunn's grief and loss."

Russell's expression changed.

Thales's breath hitched: Is this... is this going to be the start of a "this_is_Spartacus" scenario?

"But the stars will not shirk their responsibilities."

"The king said softly."

The next moment, the hairs on the prince's body stood on end!

Because the thirty-ninth Supreme King of the Stars, Kaiser Starlight, slowly raised his scepter, which shimmered with strange starlight, and pointed it at—Tales!

"You haven't met him yet, have you?" King Kessel V spoke slowly. "This is Thales Star, the second prince of the stars, my son and sole heir."

Everyone looked at Thales.

“I will send him to Dragonsreach to apologize to King Nunn and Exter.”

Thales was stunned.

Russell was also stunned.

The king didn't even glance at Thales, but his cold words continued: "If this is not enough, if the grief of losing a son cannot be quelled by an apology..."

"Didn't King Nuen want fairness?"

"Then I'll give him the fairness he deserves."

“Tell King Nuen—he can kill my son, kill the sole heir of the Star Kingdom, and avenge his only son and heir who died in the stars!”

"Let him fill the void with his blood, and wash away his hatred with slaughter!"

"I'll trade my son's life for his son's! I'll use the blood of the stars to make up for Exter's blood!"

what.

Thales stood there, stunned.

He understood what the king said.

But he didn't understand. What?
At this moment, everyone in the hall, whether nobles, lords, officials, guards, servants, or even the Duke of the North, was shocked and gaped!
“Your Majesty—” Gilbert’s face turned ashen. He wanted to speak immediately, but someone was faster than him.

"His Majesty!"

For the first time in his life, Duke Cullen's expression turned serious, and he raised his voice with a tense look: "Do you know what you're saying?"

Thales trembled, his ears ringing.

But he couldn't feel his own breathing.

“Shut up, Bob,” Kessel replied coldly. “Your king has made his decision.”

Kulun stared blankly at the Supreme King, unable to utter a single word.

Even Falkenhausen couldn't laugh anymore.

Behind him, Jenn looked at Thales with a complicated expression, while the one-eyed man lowered his head in deep thought.

At that moment, the nine-star crown on Kessel's head shone brightly, and he seemed like a merciless god, speaking word by word to the completely stunned Russell:
"Personally, being the only son of one father and the only son of another father should be enough to fill his anger and despair, right?"

"In terms of public order, exchanging the heir to the throne of a Star Kingdom for the heir to the Grand Duke of Dragon Sky City—is that fair?"

The king stepped onto the ground, his deep, majestic voice booming like thunder:

"Now that we've both shed the blood of each other's sole heirs—Starry Sky owes Exter nothing more!"

"Isn't that fair enough?"

"At that point, there will be no turning back! Let go of all your worries and burdens, and with the determination to completely destroy each other, wage all-out war!"

"Is that fair enough?"

Russell's pupils dilated and contracted. He was stunned by the king's sudden and shocking words. He raised the scroll in his right hand, his chin trembling, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a word.

It is one thing to take advantage of a bad diplomatic incident to maximize the interests of Exeter (and perhaps the Grand Duke of Lombard).

but.

Sacrificing the sole heir—and unlike Exeter's elective system, the murder of the hereditary prince in StarCraft would be a blood feud that would last for generations—making the two countries irreconcilable enemies, mortal foes, and triggering a war of annihilation—that's another matter entirely!

Under King Kessel's imposing and forceful gaze, Russell broke out in a cold sweat, his brows furrowing as if a fierce battle was raging within him—deciding on his reaction and words.

"This...this...I am not at my level to give an immediate answer to this matter..." he stammered.

King Catherine V roared, "Then go ask your king!"

Russell was so startled that he took a step back.

The Supreme King did not even glance at Thales. He continued in a somber tone, "Tell him that last night I dispatched Baron Alakka Mu with two thousand royal standing troops to Dragonbreaker Fortress!"

"Prince Thales will then depart to personally go before King Nunn and be at his mercy!"

"This is the price that the stars can pay!"

No one in the entire hall dared to utter a sound.

The king glanced at Russell, whose brows were furrowed and who seemed at a loss: "As for the Grand Duke of Lombardy in Black Sand Territory... I know he has deployed a large army and is ready to invade the North at any time."

"Whether he makes way and escorts my son to Dragon City to apologize, or he throws a wedge at Baron Mu at all costs—I'll wait and see what he chooses!"

Russell staggered backward, gasping for breath, like a drowning man.

"His Majesty!"

The speaker was the fifteen-year-old Duke Lyanna, a beautiful young girl whose face was now pale.

"He—His Highness—is your only, your sole heir. If anything were to happen to him on his journey…your throne…"

"Ha!" the Supreme King laughed angrily, "Too easy!"

Thales shuddered and looked at everything before him.

King Catherine V turned around to face the lords filling the hall.

"Whatever happens to the second prince that leads to the extinction of the royal line..."

"The enemy who utterly destroyed the stars, the one who successfully avenged the last Prince of the Stars, the one who finally wiped the shame from the stars..."

The king suddenly turned around and raised his scepter:
"He will be the next supreme king of the Star Kingdom!"

"If even the stars don't have people like this."

Kaiser coldly swept his gaze across the nobles in the hall, his words sharp and forceful:
"Then what's the point of its existence!"

The hall was completely silent.

"Meeting adjourned," Kessel concluded coldly. "I await King Nunn's reply."

Just now.

"Kay."

Duke Val Arend, his face ashen, struggled to speak.

He looked at Kessel incredulously, then at Thales: "What... what's wrong with you now?"

King Catherine V scoffed.

"go Ape?"

The king snorted coldly, and with a mocking tone, uttered the words he had just spoken to Val:
"Everything I do is for the stars."

Two guards stepped forward and took the stunned duke away.

Russell left, covered in sweat.

The lords whispered among themselves, glancing at the king and his heir.

Gilbert clenched his fists, looking at the emperor in the star-blue cloak.

The king strode away without glancing at anyone again.

Only Thales was breathing in a daze.

Completely oblivious to the stares of everyone in the room.

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The bewildered and lost Thales needed comfort!
Yesterday, my hand slipped and I accidentally posted the draft I had saved up... I'm so upset. There's nothing I can do but split it into two chapters—okay, I've lost another chapter of my drafts.

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(End of this chapter)