Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 74 Murderous Maniac

Mindis Hall.

On the training ground where light snow was falling, a small figure held a heavy wooden sword and shield, and with a series of footsteps and parries, he knocked away the wooden sword of a guard in front of him.

Panting, Thales, supporting himself with his wooden sword, straightened up and shouted, "Again!"

His training partner, Jorah, the leader of the Star Private Army in Mindis Hall, was looking at Thales with a troubled expression.

"How long has His Highness been like this?"

On one side of the training ground, Count Gilbert Cassel asked a Star Guardian soldier beside him with a worried expression.

“The training has been going on for three hours since this morning, sir.” The guard said with equal concern, “And last night, the light in His Highness’s study was on all night long… Lord Jorah even ordered us to stand guard at the door all night, and to rush in immediately no matter what happened inside.”

Gilbert sighed.

After yesterday's unusual meeting with the envoys, the second prince returned to the Mindis Hall.

Gilbert then received His Majesty's most urgent order: to make the most thorough preparations for His Highness the Prince's mission to the north.

After all, the robust messenger ravens could travel between Yongxing City and Longxiao City in just a few days... they could set off at any time.

Yesterday, he and a group of officials and lords of all ranks were busy with various affairs—from His Highness's attendants and travel schedules to the wording of official documents, and even the aftermath of the Northern Border after the Duke of the North's imprisonment—and only now have he had time to come to the Mindis Hall for a quick look.

But what truly worried Gilbert was Thales' mental state—after all, not every child can remain calm when used as a bargaining chip by their father to quell a war.

For example, right now, His Highness is probably feeling... about His Majesty's seemingly heartless decision.

Gilbert looked up and was surprised to see Thales panting heavily, waving his hand and throwing down the sword in his hand.

"Take a break and go have lunch—we've been practicing for so long, why didn't you remind me?" Thales waved his hand wearily.

A relieved Jorah nodded quickly in agreement, while Thales began to unscrew the shield in his hand.

Gilbert strode forward.

“Your Highness,” the former foreign minister said cautiously, “forgive my bluntness, but your old injuries have not yet healed, and you really shouldn’t be doing this… to exhaust your health.”

“Don’t worry, Gilbert… Look, my injuries are almost healed,” Thales said with practiced ease, quickly removing his left shield, stretching his left arm, and baring his teeth. “In just three days… maybe I really am some kind of monster.”

Gilbert was speechless for a moment, then said with a stern face, "Your Highness, please don't think such things..."

"Alright, alright—after all, it's my own body, and I've lived in this world for several years..." Thales interrupted him, scoffing, "Do you think I don't know that?"

"This strange constitution is probably because of my mother, who is even more mysterious than a magic master, right?"

Thales said with a smile, while carefully observing Gilbert's expression.

He hoped to glean something from the other person's reaction.

Yes.

From the moment he arrived at the Mindis Hall, and from the king’s strange attitude when he spoke of his mother, Thales had been suspicious.

From bizarre and mysterious magical powers to strange brain patterns, inexplicable memory flashbacks, and even seemingly inhuman physical regenerative abilities...

And the most suspicious point is that after he was found by the royal family of Shining Star, whether he wanted to or not, he could not hide the abnormality of a "transmigrator"—his speech, knowledge, reaction, and even his ability to learn to read and write in just one month were all extremely unusual to Thales.

However, neither Gilbert nor his nominal father reacted much beyond their initial surprise, as if it were to be expected.

It seems that Thales was born to look like this.

Especially considering the first and last items, and combined with Li Xiya's and the King's attitudes, he was almost 100% certain that this was related to his mother, whom he had never met.

Thranjalana—who exactly is she, that a king and a god's representative fear her to the point of not wanting to mention her?
Of course, Thales had already reached a conclusion on this.

Think of what Yodl said in the Hall of Mindis, and what Aarond said in the Palace of Renewal.

A family entangled with disaster.

Thales looked at his nine-pointed star emblem and sighed.

His mother was very likely a...

Until he confirmed it, he tried his best not to think in that direction.

But he had to find out the answer—from the strange behavior of the king and Lixia to his middle name, he was unwilling to let any possible information slip by.

Even if the outcome might not be good.

Gilbert frowned deeply.

really.

His Highness had already begun to have doubts.

“Your Highness,” Gilbert exhaled and shook his head, “I cannot comment on your origins, but you must know that the Radiant Star bloodline you inherit from His Majesty originates from the ancient empire and extends to the final empire. It is the noblest bloodline in human history—the Imperial bloodline, the Carother family… Perhaps such an ancient and great bloodline still holds some unknown secrets…”

Thales sighed inwardly: As expected of a diplomat, from his expression to his wording—perfectly flawless.

They had no choice but to find another way to help the tadpoles find their mother.

"Alright, don't worry about me overthinking it," Thales said, sitting down and shaking his boots to empty the sand out. "It's not a bad thing for now anyway."

Moreover, how could there be a distinction of superiority or inferiority between bloodlines and races?

The prince then said cheerfully, “As for my mother—I’ll find out someday anyway, but my immediate priority is that country to the north where the dragon flag flies.”

Gilbert paused, glancing at Jorah packing up training equipment in the distance, then looked at Thales with difficulty: "Your Highness, I think what His Majesty said when he sent you on this mission yesterday was not what it seemed..."

“I know the king has his own reasons.” Thales shook off the last bit of sand from his boot and got up from the ground.

Gilbert looked at him with concern: "Exactly... so you don't have to be so... um... frustrated..."

"what?"

Thales frowned.

But he soon realized something.

"how?"

The prince turned his head and laughed out loud: "Did you think my sword practice just now... was a sign of self-abandonment or venting my anger?"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

"Oh my God……"

Thales slapped his forehead and said with a wry smile:
"Sigh, since I'm going to that unfamiliar country anyway... I should at least prepare myself. Although my seven-year-old body can't do much, at least I should master the Northern Army's swordsmanship, learn to ride a horse, and know how to save my life if I encounter danger, right?"

"If I'm lucky, I might even master the power of ending..."

Gilbert couldn't help but interrupt him: "Your Highness, even in the Tower of the End, which has a special training tradition, the youngest person to awaken the power of the End early due to special circumstances is twelve years old—generally, the awakening time is sixteen... and seven years old... um..."

Upon hearing this, Thales gave an awkward, dry laugh.

He scratched his head and said sheepishly in a low voice, "Really? I thought it was like grinding for skill points."

“But,” Gilbert still looked at him suspiciously, “you really…know and understand His Majesty’s intentions without any reservations?” “What a joke, I’m a graduate student with MAX stress tolerance—cough cough—a second prince with a strong mentality…” Thales brushed the dust off his clothes nonchalantly and walked towards his study, preparing to begin lunch and his writing assignments:

"Well, actually I was quite startled when I heard him say he was going to kill me to make it up to Exter."

"But I spent an entire night poring over documents and researching materials—the materials in the Mindis Hall were far too scarce and their arrangement was unscientific—and at least managed to understand some of His Majesty's plans."

Gilbert noticed that Thales addressed Kessel V as either "King" or "Your Majesty," and he sighed inwardly: Sure enough, His Highness still harbors some resentment towards His Majesty's recognition...
“Want to hear my opinion—about my trip to Exter?” Thales asked, grimacing as he rubbed his aching neck.

Gilbert bowed slightly respectfully: "I am all ears."

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

in the dark.

Morat's distinctive, hoarse, and aged voice came through in a deep voice: "He got away all of this?"

Raphael, with his light and bright voice, answered him: "Our men also find it strange—it seems that the eccentric doctor saw through the trap and returned without hesitation, leaving the assassination team empty-handed. For days we have been patrolling the eastern border of Exter and the Stars, between the Forrest family's Lonely Tower and the Trudida family's Reconstruction Tower, but we have not found any trace of Ramon."

Morat rested his chin on his hands, pondering deeply: "Even though the lineage has been extinct for over six hundred years, a mage is still a mage—it's impossible to overestimate him, but he clearly came prepared..."

The Black Prophet raised his head slightly: "Our Net couldn't have come up empty-handed; he must have accomplices... Putting aside Black Sword for now, what about the Brotherhood's other two assassins? Reverse Scimitar and Prison Scythe? Or perhaps the near-perfect Ginchal and Rhoda?"

Raphael shook his head helplessly: "From beginning to end, we haven't heard any news of the Reverse Scimitar or the Prison Scythe appearing nearby, nor have we seen any assistance from other Brotherhood officers, but..."

Raphael frowned slightly.

Morat's eyes sharpened.

Raphael continued, "In the past week, Anton and Rhoda, two of the six leaders, have returned to Everstar City—except for 'Alpha Wolf' Razanchi Fissor, who is still in the south, five of the six leaders—Cincha, Rhoda, Lancer, Anton, and Morris—have all gathered in the capital..."

Morat abruptly raised his hand, stopping Raphael's report.

His expression kept changing, and after pausing for a few seconds, the Black Prophet exhaled deeply.

"All five of them gathered?"

"Humph."

Morat closed his eyes and shook his head: "I know who Ramon's helper is. It's not someone from the Brotherhood."

Raphael looked puzzled.

Morat opened his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp: "The 'Dark Room' was the first to leak the information to us, while the Secret Service's elite assassination team came up empty-handed at the border between the two countries—isn't that obvious?"

Raphael looked up in surprise.

Morat remained silent for a long time.

“Hehe,” the Black Prophet chuckled, “It seems Ramon isn’t a mage at all. We’ve been tricked by that old woman in the north again.”

"But there's no reason why she's using fake news to get our attention... She's helping the Brotherhood, so what exactly are they trying to cover up?"

"Withdraw half of the men from the north and focus on investigating the Brotherhood's activities these past few days... The gathering of the five of them is no accident..." Morat chuckled, "To actually dare to make a deal with Exter's 'Dark Chamber,' Lancer truly deserves to be my most outstanding disciple outside of Norfolk..."

Just then, a loud noise suddenly came from a cage covered with a black cloth next to Raphael.

Raphael opened the cage expressionlessly.

A head, about the size of a fist and resembling both a bird and a rat, emerged from inside. It was covered in bright red slime, opened its mouth with sharp teeth, offered a piece of paper, and then quickly withdrew.

Morat didn't even glance at the hideous, strange, and eerie creature; he just stared at Raphael.

The latter looked at the small piece of paper, his face growing increasingly pale.

Raphael put down the piece of paper, his face more solemn than ever before.

“We have received reports that the two leaders of the Blood Bottle Gang’s eight superpowered warriors, ‘Phantom Blade’ Catherine and ‘Red Viper’ Nekra, have appeared in Lywall City one after the other.”

"And two days ago, our informant in the neighboring Steel City..."

He said gravely, "We've found traces of the Blood Mage."

Morat's pupils suddenly contracted!
"Looks like we've caught a big fish..." Morat smiled.

Raphael pondered, muttering to himself, "But... how could they have hidden in the Steel City for so many years... Did the dwarves of the Hall of Kings not notice anything?"

Morat closed his eyes and shook his head: "Because of the Sunset Goddess, the relationship between the Hall of Kings and the Black Orchid Queen has deteriorated over the past three hundred years, and the Burning Wind Cannon has mysteriously fallen into a cooling-off state - they don't even have a single usable legendary anti-magic weapon, so even if they knew, they could only pretend to be deaf and dumb."

Raphael frowned and gave a soft scoff.

"Are you sure it's a Blood Mage? What's the specific reward?" The Black Prophet gripped his cane tightly and asked solemnly.

But he immediately noticed that Raphael simply looked sad and sighed.

The young man in white lowered his gaze and unfolded the piece of paper.

"No reward."

He said in a deep voice.

Morat suddenly looked up, his sharp, unstoppable gaze piercing straight at Raphael.

We await his explanation.

The young man in white exhaled and said softly:

"The reason we discovered the Blood Mage..."

"Because of……"

“We had informants all the way from Steel City to Lywall City… thirty-four people…”

"All perished."

Raphael said silently.

"and……"

"Flesh and blood were scattered everywhere, and there was not a single intact corpse."

"It matches the style of the Blood Mage in our records..."

He said no more.

half an hour.

Morat sighed deeply.

"It's a show of force against the Secret Service: it can find any one of us outside the capital."

"As expected, it's that damned guy..."

He said hoarsely:
"A serial killer."

Thank you to reader "Good Names Already Been Taken by Others 2" for the 500 Qidian Coins reward! —What?! It's a girl?! There's even a girl reading this book!!!
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(End of this chapter)