Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 96 I Will Never Let You Suffer

Thales jumped off the black coffin and stared blankly at everything before him.

The ashes turned to dust, and no flesh or blood remained.

The scattered limbs gradually withered, turned to ash, and blended into the snow under the moonlight.

ended?
Giza—the Blood Mage, that madman…

Just disappeared like that?

The hydra's tentacles loosened and shrank, and Cortrina and Serena both fell to the ground, coughing violently.

From the nearby jungle, Ada helped Rolf, whose face was ashen, out.

“Those branches, at least a hundred,” Ada said, still shaken, “how could they all suddenly wither away…”

But Ada paused for a moment, then pointed at the female warrior exaggeratedly and shouted, "Ah! You weirdo, you've come!"

The female warrior sheathed her shield back on her back and laughed, "Long time no see, forgetful Ada!"

Ada's face immediately darkened.

The female warrior picked up the two-handed broadsword, swung it twice with ease, and shook off the blood. Her face was calm, but her eyes were sharp.

She immediately turned around and looked at Thales.

Thales also looked curiously at the person who had suddenly appeared and saved his life.

There was no doubt she was a soldier—Thales told himself.

Her armor was covered in the blood of a mage, yet she exuded a calm and resolute aura, showing no signs of dishevelment. Instead, she gave the impression of someone who had been through countless battles.

She had a neat, short, brownish-yellow haircut, but there was no need to describe her strikingly handsome appearance in detail, because when she appeared, the aura of fierce battle made you only notice her warrior side, thus forgetting her pure appearance.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

The female warrior suddenly grinned, boldly planted her two large swords upside down in the ground, and knelt down on one knee.

"So you are Thales, child—my prince?"

“Yes, I am Thales Star,” Thales smiled, “Thank you…”

Thales had a strange feeling. Although both of them were kneeling on one knee before the prince, Gilbert was full of politeness and respect, while Yodel gave him a sense of trust. But the female warrior in front of him was full of casualness and elegance.

The female warrior's next action confirmed his guess.

Because she actually raised her hands, which were covered in blood and gloved with iron, and ruffled the hair of the second prince of the Star Kingdom twice!

"Well done, kid!" she laughed heartily, her voice sharp and witty. "Many of my recruits would probably have vomited from fright if they encountered that situation!"

Thales, his vision blurring from being rubbed raw, felt the greasy blood on his hands and awkwardly said, "Um, ma'am..."

The female warrior interrupted him with a loud laugh:

“I am Sonia Satherley, little lord,” Sonia’s words showed no trace of the awareness of being a “little lord.” In high spirits, she even punched Thales on the shoulder, causing the weak man to cough violently.
"The Broken Dragon Fortress, temporarily guarding the border between the two countries!"

Thales snapped out of his daze: "Ah!"

"You, you are the 'Flower of the Fortress'?"

Although he had made preparations before his mission, he was still slightly excited when he actually saw Sonia.

Flower of the Fortress.

During his lessons in the Mindis Hall, Gilbert would occasionally intersperse his explanations with information about the current state of the Star Kingdom, such as the most famous "Three Star Generals".

In the calamity of the Bloody Year, although the stars suffered heavy losses, they also gained many talents in various fields, such as politics and diplomacy, as well as military and war.

Many royalists and new nobles rose from obscurity to become pillars of the elite in this context—Gilbert Cassel, "The Cunning Fox," is one such example.

Amidst blood and fire, on the battlefields facing Exter, the Western Wilderness Orcs and the Bone People, as well as the Southwestern Rebels, many young people from commoner backgrounds rose to prominence and were granted titles.

Since the Bloody Year, King Kessel has expanded the royal standing army, recruiting many commoners and young people to guard the four corners of the kingdom.

These people are basically battle-hardened veterans who have shone brightly on the battlefield.

Twelve years have passed, and their fates have diverged, but three of them have remained steadfast, withstood the test of time, and grown into military commanders capable of standing alone—the renowned "Three Star Generals" who are famous throughout the kingdom.

The kingdom's subjects gave them each a resounding nickname, and even their original names were rarely mentioned anymore:

Wrath of the Kingdom.

Legendary Wings.

Flower of the Fortress.

Among them, Lady Sonia Satherley, the flower of the fortress, stepped onto the historical stage of the Star Kingdom while accompanying Duke John in his campaign against the southwestern rebels.

Since the Bloody Year, she has led the royal standing army, always guarding the harsh northern border, watching the northern dragon's every move.

Many Star People believe that as long as the Fortress Flower continues to bloom in Broken Dragon Fortress, the Northern Frontier of Stars will remain steadfast.

Of course, many noblewomen in the capital would gossip behind her back: she acted like a man in every way, no wonder that noblewoman who wielded a sword in battle couldn't get married until she was over thirty.

And now, the legendary Flower of the Fortress herself stands before Thales.

“Ha, Arakka will definitely regret not bringing troops to your rescue,” Sonia said smugly, tapping her shield. “I was the first of the three to seal a magic user…”

But the next moment, Thales saw Sonia's expression change!
"What's wrong?" Thales asked in surprise.

"Something's not right!" Sonia clenched her fists, raised her shield, and looked around warily. "She's not sealed away!"

"boom!"

Before Thales could react, Sonia suddenly scooped him up and leaped off the ground, avoiding a section of blood-red tentacle emerging from underground!
Thales stared in disbelief at the tentacles before him: Giza hadn't already been...

The tentacle suddenly split into dozens of smaller tentacles. At the moment it split, Thales felt as if he had been given anesthesia and lost all feeling in his entire body!

This is... what it feels like to have your body controlled?

Thales released Sonia's arm with trembling hands.

But the latter seemed completely unaffected, stretching out his arm to hug him even tighter!

Sonia gritted her teeth, roared, and took down the two-handed greatsword from her back. With a single swing of her arm, she unleashed a magnificent blade of light, slicing off countless tiny tentacles that had split off!

Several of them were heading towards their original location—the Dark Night Coffin!
Many tentacles, upon touching the black coffin, withered and collapsed into ashes, just as they had upon touching the Supreme Shield.

But even more tentacles, seemingly ready to die, wrapped around the black coffin. Between withering and renewal, they actually managed to lift the black coffin despite the corrosion of the legendary anti-magic weaponry!

"The black coffin!" Cortrina, who was in the distance, saw this and shouted anxiously, "We can't let her take it!"

Sonia remained calm and composed, her feet moving swiftly, holding Thales in her left arm and swinging the greatsword far away like a boomerang with her right!
"Crack!"

They severed the tentacles that were wrapped around the black coffin.

"Boom!"

The black coffin fell to the ground again.

Sonia leaped swiftly onto the black coffin, set Thales down, removed the shield from her back, and warily looked ahead—two tentacles once again extended from the darkness before her.

"impossible!"

Thales saw what was happening before him and cried out in surprise.

Protected by two tentacles, Giza Trillman appeared before them still as a naked girl covered in blood, smiling.

Thales jumped in surprise, but Sonia calmly stepped forward with her shield, protecting him behind her.

Sonya frowned.

Thales was dumbfounded.

How did she...

Nothing happened at all?

Serena had told him that the legendary anti-magic weapons could deal with magic users.

He clearly remembered that when Yordle sealed Ashda, he only used a surprise attack to pierce Ashda's back, which caused Ashda to burst into white light and disappear without a trace.

Yodl and Morat both called it... a seal?
Thales thought he had learned something about the weaknesses of magic users...

However, Giza before them was...

why?
"What, is that strange?" Giza chuckled. "Legendary anti-magic weapons, why aren't they working on me?"

Sonia abruptly raised her hand, stopping Ada and Cortrina from rushing forward:
"Step back!" she shouted, as if her voice carried the authority of a command that commanded absolute obedience.

Ada and the Queen abruptly stopped in their tracks.

Sonia stared intently at Giza in front of her, her eyes filled with seriousness.

"I've heard two legends about you from the secret service."

Sonia looked at Giza with a resolute expression:

"First, the more enemies a Blood Mage faces, the stronger their destructive power and vitality become, because enemies will become your nourishment."

"The biggest misconception about dealing with you is that 'the more people, the better,' which will only make you stronger in battle... The best way is for a highly skilled and swift expert to carry legendary anti-magic weapons and fight you alone in a deadly place where there are no living creatures."

Giza's smile faded slightly.

Secret Service.

It's just as annoying as it was hundreds of years ago.

“A good choice,” Giza nodded with a smile. “No wonder I sensed many humans a few hundred meters away—did you leave all your men there and come alone?”

Sonia snorted: "It seems your investigative skills are quite strong as well."

The next instant, two tentacles suddenly shot out towards Sonia!

At the same time, more than a dozen tree roots burst up from the ground and lashed out at Sonia and Thales!
An attack with no blind spots.

The surge of energy coursed through Thales' limbs, and he was about to dodge it.

But in that instant, he felt another power erupting from Sonia's body!
With a single spin, she incredibly maximized her body's momentum, slamming the shield in her hand hard against the tentacle!

"bump!"

Giza's tentacles were smashed into ashes.

As the female warrior spun around, she released her grip, then miraculously grabbed the edge of the shield in mid-air, using it as a sharp blade. With another spin, she slashed horizontally, powerfully shattering the dozen or so tree roots that were attacking from below.

"Sizzle!"

Sonia stood unharmed on the ground, and with a flawless defense and counterattack, completely shattered the Blood Mage's attack.

Thales stared at Sonia in astonishment.

The fluctuations within him had already reached his eyes, and he could see a powerful, colorless energy filling Sonia's entire body.

It was something completely different from the blinding light within a mage's body and the lush flesh and blood of a vampire.

This was the first time he had used this kind of fluctuating vision to observe normal humans other than magic users and vampires.

“A good response, rarely seen even among humans in extreme environments.” Giza nodded appreciatively. “And there’s that familiar supernatural power—one of the four original supernatural powers, known for its ability to strike with the flow of energy, ‘Glacier Melt’.”

“It’s now called the Ending Force,” Sonia said dismissively, “in memory of how we beat you to a pulp more than six hundred years ago.”

Thales suddenly realized something.

So the colorless energy within Sonia's body... was the Power of Termination?
“I had no idea you could control trees.” Sonia exhaled, cautiously observing her surroundings. “You’ve given me so many surprises.”

"What, in your understanding, only the red liquid inside an animal's body can be called blood?" Giza chuckled softly.

“There’s something a little hard to believe about your second legend,” Sonia said, carefully flexing her wrist. “Until today.”

With a smile on her face, she uttered the legend, word by word: "The legendary anti-magic weapon cannot seal the Blood Mage?"

Thales stared in shock at the Blood Mage.

Unable to be sealed?

Then... wouldn't she be uncontrollable?
How was the final battle won? "Impossible!" Cortrina exclaimed. "The legendary anti-magic forces are the nemesis of calamity—that's what everyone in the know is taught!"

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Giza first smiled, then sighed:
"The legendary anti-magic weapon—the end of magic users, the nemesis of calamities. A mere touch can lead to our utter destruction."

"Is it."

Giza calmly said:

"Lebra, Arek, and even the 'Truth Brothers' were terrified of that weapon and never allowed anyone to come near them again—that's how Lebra was sealed away."

But the next moment, Giza, with a deep chill in his voice, chuckled softly:
“But I am the only exception.”

"A mage who relies on 'physical form' in combat."

Thales was startled.

He felt that these terms he couldn't understand for the time being were things he would need to learn in the future.

Even if not to become a magic user, even if only for myself.

Giza continued with a smile:
"He is also one of only two mage masters who are not afraid to engage in close combat with legendary anti-magic forces."

“I am willing to suffer even close-range harm... Those who get close to me often get close to their own death.”

Thales frowned slightly: The only two who are not afraid of close combat?

Who is the other one?
So... there's such a big difference between magic users?

His curiosity and fear of magic users tormented Thales, leaving him deeply conflicted.

Giza smiled and said, "Even if the legendary anti-magic weapon hits my physical form, it will only damage my flesh and blood, and it cannot seal me away."

Thales frowned.

No.

Something is wrong.

He was puzzled until Sonia raised an eyebrow and confidently hummed, "Is that so?"

She stepped forward, as if she had found the enemy's weakness, and raised the Supreme Shield against the mage.

"Then why were you running just now?"

"Or rather... what were you hiding during the time you disappeared?"

Giza's expression changed.

Thales realized what was happening too.

Yes, the shield was still effective against Giza's flesh and blood—it remained in effect for a while after she first turned to ashes before reappearing.

During that time, whether she was healing, recovering, escaping, or hiding, it all represented...

She is by no means without weaknesses!
“The reason why legendary anti-magic weapons are so rare and precious, and why countries compete for them,” Sonia said calmly, “is not only because they can seal magic users, but also because each legendary anti-magic weapon has its own unique and powerful abilities that allow the user to be transformed in battle.”

Thales took a breath.

Legendary anti-magic weaponry.

Unique and powerful abilities?

He looked down at the dark coffin beneath his feet.

Then I thought of Yodl's gray short sword—what power did that sword possess?
Thales suddenly realized that the short sword and the gray shield in Sonia's hand were so similar in color.
Giza pursed her lips, and the tentacles beneath her trembled uneasily.

Sonia tapped the Supreme Shield: "You probably haven't seen it before—it was created along with the Supreme Sword during the later stages of the Final War, when you were all fleeing for your lives, so you wouldn't know its capabilities."

Giza finally turned pale.

“That’s what they told me when I received the shield,” Sonia chuckled. “The name of the Supreme Shield’s power is full of the Black Orchid Queen’s personal characteristics.”

The Blood Mage's expression grew increasingly serious.

Thales sensed that Sonia had found her weakness.

The female warrior grinned, a hearty laugh spreading across her face: "The name of its power is..."

"'Hunting'."

The next moment, the cold-faced mage seemed to remember something terrifying and suddenly waved his hand!

"boom!"

A flood of sound erupted!
Under everyone's wary gaze, the enormous tentacle instantly dissipated into blood and severed limbs.

Then it disappears into the air.

Giza disappeared into the darkness, her eyes giving Thales a deep look.

Leaving behind a poignant message:
"We'll see you again."

Thales shuddered.

Giza's words carried a chilling indifference:
"I will never let you suffer."

Thales was pale and filled with anxiety.

I will never let you suffer.

Damn.

and many more.

He suddenly realized something.

Blood Mage...

They were scared away?

"She's gone," Sonia said quietly.

“What a pity,” she tapped her shield regretfully. “I really wanted to keep chasing after them.”

Thales took a deep breath.

"Serena!"

Thales turned his head and saw Cortrina gritting her teeth, staring at an empty corner:

"She ran away!"

The sound of horse hooves came.

Putila, Wya, and Jenard, escorted by a group of cavalry, came before them.

Thales felt somewhat relieved when he saw them.

However, it seems that there are not many of Canxing's private soldiers left.

This night.

It's over again.

The cavalrymen approached and bowed to Sonia.

The leader was a female swordsman with a cold expression. When her eyes swept over Thales, the latter felt a chill.

Did I offend her?
Thales scratched his head, puzzled.

Just then, a call filled with complex emotions rang out.

"team leader!"

Sonia shuddered and turned to look at the person who had spoken.

Thales was taken aback.

Could it be... that she, wielding a shield, is truly "Captain Star"?
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the thirty-year-old veteran, Jenard, dismounted from his horse.

He shrank back slightly, slowly approaching the female warrior, looking at Sonia with an excited yet apprehensive and ashamed expression:
"team leader……"

His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a word.

"I……"

Jenard lowered his head deeply, gritting his teeth.

"I……"

Sonia looked at the veteran with a complicated expression.

"Jernar".

But the female warrior exhaled deeply.

She raised her eyes, her gaze filled with power.

"Look at me, soldier!"

Sonia shouted.

The veteran jolted awake and stood up straight instantly.

He took a deep breath and looked directly at Sonia.

A few seconds later, Jenard swallowed and took a deep breath.

"I am back."

The veteran said firmly.

Sonia scrutinized him closely.

For a while.

She immediately punched Jenner in the shoulder, her smile fading.

"Return to the team."

Jenard was startled.

He gritted his teeth and forced back his tears.

The veteran shouted with all his might:
"Yes!"

“Excuse my bluntness, Your Highness.” Sonia turned her head to look at Thales, who was being carefully examined by Wyah for any damage.

She frowned, but then sighed deeply: "Although we've been through a lot today, you still need to get to Duanlong Fortress as soon as possible."

Thales was somewhat puzzled, but he nodded nonetheless.

Only the experienced deputy envoy, Putila, behind him, pressed his wound, but his expression changed.

“Lord Satherley,” he asked solemnly.

"What happened?"

Everyone was silent for a second.

Sonia frowned, then looked directly at Thales.

“The Black Sands Grand Duke of Exeter, Chaman Lumba, has already…sent small detachments across the border between the two countries without any regard for the past day.”

Sonia answered expressionlessly, but with a solemn gaze:

"They began clearing the area around Dragonslayer Fortress, especially the roads leading to reinforcements from Cold Keep and Lonely Tower."

Thales' pupils contracted.

Sonia nodded and said seriously:
"The North is no longer safe."

(End of this chapter)