Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 767 The Weeping Knight

Seeing that the prince was no longer staring at them, the Kevin Deer cousins all turned to look at each other.

Jenn stared intently at Federico:

"Fuck you."

Federer, not to be outdone, responded with a cold snort:
"Fuck you!"

"Why don't you two just fight?" Thales turned around impatiently, his words laced with rudeness. "Or maybe just have a good fucking?"

Jenn and Federico then looked away from each other.

"Can we go now?"

Cassandra looked at the three persistent nobles, his tone carrying a hint of mockery and disdain that he himself was unaware of:
"It seems that we won't be able to find the mastermind behind this until you gentlemen turn this place into an underground boxing ring."

The altar fell silent.

Thales glanced at the two irises, shook his head, and walked away with a hint of disappointment, brushing past them.

"and many more."

Jenn, who had been staring at the ground, suddenly spoke up:

"That suicide note."

Thales paused in his steps.

Everyone turned around and saw Jenn take a deep breath and say firmly:

"It's too fake, full of loopholes and flaws."

Thales squinted:

"How to say?"

Look, isn't Duke Janne able to speak?

They're not just people who cry and whine and fake fights.

Federico frowned as he looked at Jenn, who had broken the silence.

"Leaving aside why it's so neat and beautiful..."

Jenn stared at the suicide note in Wyman's hand:

“If, as the suicide note says, this little Bot did it to hurt Hilay in order to get revenge on me, then he shouldn’t have killed Chadwi. His best option would have been to gather his men, capture the priest when he was alone in the alley, torture him to find out where Hilay was, and then make his next move.”

"Perhaps something went wrong during the arrest of Chadwi, and he had to kill someone to protect himself?" Wyah wondered.

“Even if you were to kill, you shouldn’t have chosen a temple where people come and go in full view of you, where there’s no way out once you make a move,” Marius said quietly.

Jenn nodded worriedly:

"If this assassin truly hated me and was willing to risk everything for revenge, then he would be fearless... So why did he commit suicide out of guilt after failing to assassinate Chadwi?"

The Duke of the South Bank turned to Thales:
"Why didn't he insist on living to see you, personally confess my crimes, and witness my suffering? Wouldn't that have been more direct, more convincing, and more satisfying than leaving a suicide note?"

Hmm, that makes sense.

Thales looked back at Jann, carefully observing his reaction.

"Because he's not that kind of person."

Surprisingly, it was Federico who spoke out.

Everyone turned their heads.

“I don’t know if he’s the Little Bot you’re talking about, but someone who has been on the run for years with a blood feud, fearless in his pursuit of revenge?” Federico stared at the body covered with a white sheet, slightly lost in thought, and patted his own thin, frail body. “Neither physically nor mentally could he possibly have that peaceful and prosperous appearance—just look at me.”

This time, it was Jenn's turn to look at his cousin with a complex and subtle gaze.

Thales's gaze shifted between the two of them.

“And I’ve seen his hands before, and to be honest, they don’t look like they belong to someone who’s been living under an assumed name, in exile, or doing any kind of hard or dirty work.” Federico shook his head.

But Thales narrowed his eyes, staring at Federico's hands:
"And when you were in exile in the Kingdom of Night, the Queen of Night didn't make you do manual labor or transport goods, did she?"

Federico bowed slightly, about to reply, but someone beat him to it.

“His last name is Kevin Deer,” Jann said quietly. “His political value is naturally different—at least not compared to this drug dealer’s son who only ever worked as a clerk.”

Federico was somewhat surprised to see his cousin voice his support. The two irises exchanged a glance, their emotions unreadable.

The altar was quiet for a while, with only the rustling of Wyatt taking notes being heard.

“Very good, this has accumulated quite a few clues.”

Thales nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Janne and Federico, his words carrying a double meaning:
"It seems that you two are still somewhat useful after all."

Upon hearing this, Jenn and Federer tacitly averted their gazes.

“This man did not commit suicide; he was silenced by someone else,” Marius abruptly said, “as a scapegoat.”

Thales immediately turned around:
"Thor?"

"Terrorblade" stared intently at little Bot on the ground:
“I examined his fatal neck wound, which matched the dagger shoved into his hand. But if it were suicide, the blade wouldn’t be at this angle and length. And the stab was executed with practiced skill, yet this guy didn’t have calluses on his hands from practicing with a knife.”

Upon hearing this, Wyman quickly stepped forward, lifted the white sheet, and re-examined the body, taking notes as he looked.

"The specifics will have to wait for the investigation by the surveillance officer and the coroner, but..."

Marius looked at the crowd and gave his conclusion:

"The assassin was murdered—by a strong, skilled knife-wielding man who slit his throat from behind."

Everyone was taken aback by the unbelievable, resentful expression on Little Bot's face before his death.

Thales frowned:
"Why didn't you say anything just now?"

Marius smiled slightly:
The atmosphere isn't right.

Thales raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically:
"Thank you."

Marius bowed respectfully.

Federico looked at Bot's body and shook his head:

"I suspect that this so-called 'assassin' was also kept in the dark, tricked into coming to the temple under some other pretext, or even kidnapped. After he was silenced, he was left at the scene of the priest's assassination, with a petition and a plea for justice stuffed into his arms."

Wyman asked in confusion:

"for what?"

“For Hilla,” Jann said with difficulty, “to bring her, her friends, and me together.”

Cassandra's expression changed slightly.

“To threaten him,” Federico chimed in at the opportune moment, “by using Jann’s family, his weaknesses, to threaten him.”

"They deliberately wanted us to see this scene and find the clues ourselves, to figure out the solution," Marius added.

“This is not a letter of revenge,” Jann said, his gaze fixed on the assassin’s suicide note in Wyman’s hand, “but a blackmail letter without explicit wording.”

Thales looked serious.

Federico took a deep breath and looked at his cousin:

"This is to tell him... or tell us: they have their eyes on Hilla, they are getting closer and closer to her, and every step they take is a warning, until..."

Federico did not continue.

"Until I bowed my head and gave in."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jann pressed his head in pain. He swayed and was only caught by Seychelles to prevent him from falling.

"Give in?"

Wyman cautiously asked, "What kind of style?"

No one speaks.

It wasn't until Jann got rid of Seychelles' support that he chuckled.

“I believe it now, cousin. You probably didn’t do it,” Jann said, meeting Federico’s gaze with a relieved expression. “You are hateful and deserving of death, but it wasn’t you—the suicide note’s intention to target me was too obvious, so much so that everyone would think you were the one who was after me.”

Federico did not respond to him, but only glanced back at his cousin with a wistful look.

"You're not that stupid..."

Jenn sneered and pointed at Thales:

"Otherwise, once discovered, this guy won't let you off easy."

But Federico showed no sign of relief at clearing himself of suspicion.

Instead, his face was full of hesitation and wariness.

"Of course, conversely, I am the same, just like everyone else..."

Jenn muttered to himself:
"This wasn't done by any of us present..."

"Who did that? They even dared to assassinate someone inside the temple. Who else has the guts and ability to do that?" Wyatt couldn't help but ask.

But at that moment, the prince's attendant suddenly noticed:

The expressions on the faces of Thales, Janne, and Federico were all extremely solemn.

Seychelles squinted, Cassienne remained motionless, and Marius crossed his arms in deep thought.

Everyone was silent.

Jan took a deep breath, as if to bolster his courage.

“Tell me, cousin, come, look me in the eye and tell me,” he approached Federico, who seemed lost in thought, and placed his hand on the other’s shoulder, his expression serious and solemn. “In the name of the iris, did you really, really, really not betray our family to them?”

Faced with his cousin's questioning, Federico paused for a second before reacting. He pulled away from Jann's arm, turned his head, and said with some difficulty:

"I, I didn't."

Thales' eyes flickered:
"What are you betraying, Hillary?"

But Jenn refused to give up; he gripped the other man's shoulders tightly, forcing him to look at him:
Even without your knowledge?

“I…I…I…” Federico was breathing rapidly.

"In a situation where you yourself are not even aware of it?"

Federer slowly raised his head, seemingly wanting to deny it, but in the end, he could only shake his head helplessly.

"I...I don't know."

Janne stared at him blankly, sighed, shook his head and let go of the other person, then lowered his head and rubbed his forehead.

"Of course, you wouldn't know what I'm asking..."

Federico lowered his head, remaining silent, his expression a mixture of shame and anger.

“Jan!”

Thales had to speak up to remind him.

Jann snapped out of his daze and looked at Thales with a bewildered expression.

“Thales,” he said with difficulty, “it’s him, he’s here.”

Thales' heart sank.

"Perhaps they're dissatisfied with your progress, perhaps they're unhappy with the compromises you made for the three of us, or even with the current state of Emerald City..."

Jenn struggled to speak:

"But he really came, and he personally took part in it."

Thales took a deep breath, trying his best not to feel the bone ring Gurtaksa in his inner pocket.

“No, calm down, Jen,” he tried to reassure him, analyzing the situation, “He can’t do everything himself; at most, his subordinates will handle the specifics…”

"That's enough to make us drink a whole pot!"

Jann appeared somewhat agitated, pacing back and forth beneath the statue of the goddess, furiously scratching his hair. Coupled with the disheveled state left by the earlier brawl, he was a far cry from the former dashing Duke of the South Bank.

"And with your meddling in Emerald City, its finances, trade, military, manpower, allies... no, all my plans have been ruined... With the few remaining means and tools, I can't stop him, nor do I have enough leverage to make him wary... I can't just kidnap his son..."

Everyone looked at the Iris Duke in this state with some shock, except for Thales, who seemed to recognize him:

On the night of the Battle of Kings, the same gaze filled with the same eyes as the lonely Janne smoking his hookah on the Kongming Palace viewing platform.

“Jan!”

Thales interrupted him loudly.

“Even if it really is him, I will not let him succeed, neither in the Emerald City nor in Hillay,” the prince said firmly, looking at the bewildered Jann. “I swear.”

“Maybe it’s not that bad,” Federico, whose face was grim, chimed in. “We need more information to confirm.”

Jenn was taken aback at first, then gave a cold laugh, seemingly not really believing them.

“You, Fede, you're just a pawn, you can't do anything… As for you, Thales, you couldn't even persuade Hilly—”

But before he could finish speaking, Jenn stopped abruptly, his expression changing drastically!

“Jane?” Thales frowned.

Jann gritted his teeth and grabbed his arm: "Go find her, Thales, send your best men... no, no, no, no, you can't take anyone, just you, only you, you alone, go find Hilly right now!"

what?
Thales glanced around instinctively.

“As I just said, I’ve already made the arrangements, Hillary…”

"not enough!"

Jenn's stern and serious gaze made Thales involuntarily tense:
"If it really is them... I have a feeling this isn't their only move, that they have more trump cards up their sleeves, and that they'll take more actions..."

“Listen, Hillary will be alright. They can’t hurt her, and they wouldn’t dare to…”

No! You don't understand!

Jan interrupted him, and the Duke was extremely anxious, drawing the attention of everyone else.

“I’m not worried about her,” Jann said, glancing at the others, especially Federico, but after a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, “It’s not just… her.”

Thales' brow twitched.

Not just her?

Who else?

Thales felt a sudden unease as he recalled a name that had been used to open up people's hearts, and the infant corpse that had become from it.

"And if, if the people who did all this really were them..."

Jann took a deep breath, his face turning cold.

"You don't know... You are their nominal master, you have never been their enemy... So you don't know, you don't know what they are capable of..."

He said quietly:

"...What methods will they use?"

Federico's expression changed slightly.

Thales was puzzled.

"but I know."

Jenn released the prince, slumped down beneath the statue, his expression blank, his voice hoarse:

"I...I know."

----

Corpse Demon Pit.

“Didn’t they tell you?” Losang II’s voice echoed in the dark dungeon, “My powers are dangerous, and you are… too close.”

A few steps away, DD, looking disgusted, was pinching his nose and tiptoeing, carrying a lamp and concentrating on avoiding the dirty puddles on the ground. He didn't have time to answer.

The vampire assassin sneered:

"Aren't you afraid of falling for it again?" Doyle finally found a relatively dry and clean place to stand. He sat down cross-legged and pushed the ever-burning lamp forward, illuminating the chained King Losang II.

"Then let's give it a try."

DD drew his sword and beckoned disdainfully to the prisoner:
"Come on, use your power on me again."

Doyle patted the scabbard, took a deep breath, and was almost overwhelmed by the stench from the sewers:

"This time, I will overcome it and ignore it."

This is a rare request.

King Lausanne II squinted at him, seemingly lost in thought.

"Come on, don't hold back, show us your most terrifying skills."

DD held his breath, looking at the assassin with an awkward expression.

“And I will prove to you that I can defeat it,” Doyle said through gritted teeth, though he was getting used to the stench around him. “As a knight.”

Is it?

Is it to prove oneself?
For the sake of the knight's honor?
That does fit the identity of a Johor Bahru student.

Each one is more prominent than the last.

King Lausanne II remained silent for a moment.

"What about the other guards?"

"We treated them to a good meal, and they're enjoying the perks outside."

DD shrugged, brandished his sword, and gave a defiant look:
"Come on, where's your power? What are you waiting for? Are you scared? Grunting? Backing down? Going to cry?"

Doyle clicked his tongue and shook his head, revealing the Doyle family's signature hateful smile:
"Oh my, I know! Didn't you get enough of the rats? Are you hungry?"

The next second, DD even pulled out a dead rat from somewhere, held it by the tail, and waved it back and forth in front of Lausanne II, his sly smile lingering in front of the eternal lamp.

But the severely injured King Lausanne II remained unmoved.

He simply gazed silently into Doyle's eyes.

"You cried."

Ok?
Doyle was taken aback: "What?"

Startled, DD threw away the dead rat, took out Golov's handkerchief to wipe his hands clean, and then bent down to wipe his face, but found it dry; there was nothing on his face.

Damn it, I've been tricked.

So when he looked up, he was furious and embarrassed:
"Fuck you—"

“That day, when we fought,” Lausanne II said quietly, “others may not have noticed, but I saw it.”

Despite being imprisoned and severely injured, at this moment, King Lobsang II's gaze was sharp, piercing straight to the heart:
"You wielded your sword with tears in your eyes."

At that moment, DD trembled violently.

"What nonsense are you talking about..."

“Some people think that my special ability is to create illusions,” but Ignoring his interruption, Lobsang II continued in a low voice, “but in fact, what people see in the ‘whispers of evil spirits’ is their past, their past lives.”

Doyle's rebuttal came to an abrupt end.

"Tell me, Joaquin's student, what is it that makes you want to watch it again..."

King Lausanne II's eyes flickered, his gaze fixed on DD.

"Your past?"

Wow!

DD suddenly stood up!

He stared intently at the vampire assassin before him, his eyes filled with terror and rage, yet he couldn't stop his hands from trembling.
"you you……"

“Those who communicate with swords are better able to understand each other,” the vampire assassin murmured.

Doyle fell silent.

King Lausanne II was not in a hurry; he simply waited quietly.

But the next second, Doyle gritted his teeth, stood up, swung his arm, and drew his longsword!

Swish!
Fuck you!

As DD lost his temper and cursed, the blade stopped an inch in front of Lausanne II's nose.

The sword tip remained steady.

The cold light is everywhere.

A chilling murderous intent emanated from him.

But King Lausanne II remained completely still, his expression unchanged except for a tuft of hair being ruffled by the wind from the sword.

His heavy, dark eyes met DD's bloodshot eyes in the glow of the ever-burning lamp.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

"puff!"

The longsword trembled at first, then fell to the ground.

DD could no longer hold back and bent over, bursting into laughter.

"Haha, were you scared?"

In the dungeon, Doyle forced a twisted smile and brandished the tip of his sword at the prisoners:
"Hey, I knew you were scared! Haha, with the lighting effects of the never-ending light, my self-created Legion Eleventh Move is called 'The Undying Jump Scar'! Hahaha! Are you scared or not!"

King Lausanne II remained expressionless.

DD held his waist and lowered his longsword.

"Oh my god, this is hilarious... I laughed so hard I cried... You didn't even need any superpowers... I was really scared..."

He was laughing so hard he was doubled over and couldn't stop, and he even rubbed his eyes.

"In the world of knights, tears are often seen as a symbol of weakness."

Amidst DD's unusual laughter, Lausanne II's voice drifted out:

"But someone once told me: That's not necessarily true."

Perhaps he had laughed too much and gotten tired, because Doyle's laughter gradually subsided.

King Losang II seemed to speak in a daze:
"Tears, especially those shed for others, often contain the greatest power deep within a person's heart."

The powerless vampire assassin looked at Danny Doyle, who maintained a stiff smile and occasionally chuckled, but whose eyes held no real joy.

"A knight who can still cry, who knows why he is crying..."

Doyle's longsword trembled slightly, causing the light of the inextinguishable lamp to tremble as well.

"It's about finding a knight who isn't afraid to shed blood, who doesn't care about the reason for his bloodshed..."

King Losang II sighed softly:
"...which is even more commendable."

DD's laughter finally stopped completely.

After a long while, only Doyle's breathing could be heard in the dungeon.

"Humph."

Finally, DD coldly snorted and spoke:
"Anyone who would say that to you is probably a crybaby themselves."

King Lobsang II was taken aback at first, then admitted in a low voice:

"Yes."

“Ha, I knew it,” Doyle said absentmindedly, stroking the hilt of his sword. “All you do is cry, cry, cry. You’ve cried all your luck away…”

“Indeed, he would shed tears of genuine compassion for the most insignificant person,” Losang II recalled. “Therefore, those most insignificant people…would shed tears for him, and even more so for those tears he had shed so sincerely…”

At that moment, the assassin's emotions were incredibly complex, a mixture of regret and hatred:

"Blood flowed freely."

Doyle's expression changed slightly.

The two remained silent for a while.

"why."

King Lausanne II said dismissively, "I don't know, maybe that's just how people are."

DD suddenly looked up.

No, I'm asking you.

He coldly questioned:
"Lossan II, since you still remember Joaquin's teachings, why do you insist on doing evil and committing all sorts of bad things? Why can't you be a good person?"

King Lausanne II frowned slightly.

Doyle asked, puzzled:

"No matter how unfair fate has been to you... for revenge, for a sense of justice, for... for who knows what, is it really worth paying such a price, turning yourself into this grotesque state?"

King Lausanne II was silent for a moment, then smiled:
"Who said this is Joaquin's teaching?"

DD was stunned for a moment.

Ah...isn't that right?

Didn't that drunken old man say those words?
Um... then who else could it be?

Just as Doyle was about to say something to ease the awkwardness, Lausanne II spoke again.

"I've tried, I've tried to be a good person."

The vampire assassin said quietly:

"Whether you believe it or not, most people in this world are actually good people... at least they have tried to be good people, good people in every sense of the word."

Lausanne II's eyes darted around:

“And some people… some people are even better than good people, and would make many people—like I said, willingly die for them.”

Even better than a good person...

DD frowned.

So is it really worth dying for?
Is that why it's worth dying for?
So is it worth dying for?
He kept his doubts to himself and didn't voice them.

King Lausanne II gave a soft hum:
"But no matter how good they are..."

"They'll all turn bad?" Doyle interrupted him softly.

King Lausanne II paused for a moment.

He looked at Doyle and smiled.

“It wasn’t them,” the vampire assassin denied. “It didn’t have to be them who turned bad.”

Doyle couldn't understand again.

He looked at the dead rat on the ground and sighed.

“Nonsense,” Doyle waved his hand, losing interest in the conversation. He turned away listlessly, intending to practice his ‘Undying Leap’ in another setting. “Fine, I don’t have time to listen to your babbling…”

In that instant, King Losang II frowned!

"Don't."

"Ok?"

DD, feeling utterly bored, stared at the scabbard opening, preparing to sheathe his sword.

"Don't sheathe your sword."

"Ah? Why?"

"Because you need it to save your life."

"Help?"

What life-saving? What nonsense is this—huh?

But in the next instant, Doyle felt an unprecedented, terrifying chill, like a wave sweeping up his spine and up to the back of his head.

This made him tremble all over, and his hair stood on end!

What is this? Before he could even process what was happening, Doyle's power of destruction arrived unbidden. It coalesced into a ferocious spider that climbed up his brain in his consciousness, its legs piercing his soul!

No, Daniel.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

At that moment, DD's face contorted in pain!

As the evil spider tightened its legs, his body and mind were like boiling water that suddenly boiled over. Before Doyle realized what was happening, it moved on its own, forcing him to throw down his sword sheath on the spot, roll forward, and then, as he landed on his back, gripped the sword with both hands and swung it back!
DD felt a jolt from the blade.

clang!
Doyle lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, he barely managed to defend against this deadly attack.

what happened?

The clanging of metal and the trembling of his wrist fed back to the evil spider in DD's brain. The spider skillfully extended and retracted its eight limbs, allowing him to stand up and raise his longsword with a trembling wrist, facing his opponent and assuming a defensive stance.

DD regained consciousness amidst the excruciating pain, his breathing rapid.

Someone's attacking?
Unlike last time, this time, he was finally able to sense a trace of his own consciousness outside of that evil spider.

And he just... survived?
Still shaken, DD forced himself to look at the enemy who had ambushed him, at Spider's command—wait, what?

Doyle stared in astonishment, his eyes wide:

Before him, besides the still-bound King Losang II, lay the dungeon illuminated by the ever-burning lamp…

No one is empty.

Where is the enemy?
Doyle was stunned to see the empty dungeon.

And... what about everyone else on guard duty outside?
How did the enemy get in?
But just a second later, Losang II's loud shout made him tremble:
"left!!!"

In that instant, the evil spider in Doyle's brain stirred, forcing him to twist his hips, turn around, and assume a stance in the most perfect posture, doing everything in his power to defend his left side!

But just as DD turned around, he realized with a chilling realization:
Too late.

His defensive stance is not yet fully formed.

But the enemy's blade was already slicing across his neck.

Doyle was astonished to feel the glint of a blade so close to his eyes.

Fresh blood gushed out.

And he was...too late.

No, Daniel.

In the instant before his death, DD's vision blurred.

"You're the young master... If someone sees this, I'll be so embarrassed."

In the moment his vision blurred with tears, Doyle had neither time for regret nor any other emotions.

He could only barely see:
What took his life was a strangely shaped single-edged sword.

The blade is long and narrow.