Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 167 Berg: Is Your Highness's other attendant this strong?!

City square.

A buzzing sound filled the air, and the entire plaza's stone slabs began to tremble.

The intense white light, like a cataclysmic flood, engulfed the entire circus tent, occupying almost a tenth of the city square.

Outside the tent, even the brothers Karen and Roy Roland, who were both Crescent Knights, felt a strong threat of death from the white light and instinctively had to stop in their tracks.

"Your Highness!"

Witnessing this scene, Berg, who thought Xia Mingyu had been attacked by the white light, was furious and tried to rush into the white light, but fortunately Karen grabbed his arm in time.

"Calm down! You have faith in His Highness. With the protection of 1.4 billion, His Highness will never die here!" Karen shouted.

Meanwhile, at the center of the white light.

The leader of the Faceless Ones, Aoji, who was just one mission away from gaining a face, could only watch helplessly as his body was gradually evaporated by the terrifying white light, turning into chaotic particles.

He realized that he was about to die.

How ugly! He has never experienced anything, no family, no friends, and has never even felt the warmth of the sun a few times, yet he is about to die here with nothing.

Memories of the past flashed by like a revolving lantern.

Born an abandoned child, she was taken in by the organization and learned various assassination techniques from a young age, undergoing brutal training. After taking a magic potion to erase her face, she began to commit one killing after another as an assassin in order to complete her missions.

The most memorable mission was when he killed the entire family of his target, leaving only a blind little girl innocently calling for her father.

He, who was usually emotionless and only mechanically carried out his tasks, felt a sudden pang of pity and chose to let her go.

Upon returning to the organization, he was severely punished—all his previous records of completed missions were erased!
There were a total of twenty-four mission records; otherwise, he might have already achieved his dream.

Strangely, Aoji showed no remorse, even though it indirectly led to his current death.

In his final moments, Aoji struggled to raise his head and glanced at his mission target—the sage with black hair and black eyes.

What a handsome man! I wish he had such a perfect face.

A sage who upholds justice and equality. How wonderful! I hope he can correct all these mistakes.

Aoji slowly closed his eyes, his consciousness dissipating along with his flying body. The two Crescent Faceless Ones following him were also evaporated into scattered particles by the white light.

In the utter silence, the white light slowly dissipated after about two seconds, and the people who had been enveloped by it gradually regained their vision.

The entire circus, all its facilities such as wooden houses and props, including the giant tent covering the venue, completely evaporated and disappeared in the raging white light.

The place was empty, leaving only a group of children and deformed actors looking at each other blankly, staring at the blond youth standing in front of the sage on the stage, whose body was gradually fading.

“You did very well, Tamerlan,” Xia Mingyu said softly.

Upon hearing this, the blond youth's handsome face lit up with a radiant smile. He placed his right hand on his left shoulder and bowed deeply to the lord to whom he had sworn to serve for life.

The magician beside him glanced at Tamerlan with a solemn expression, for that dazzling sword strike, which defied simple description, had already been capable of harming him.

If he hadn't been able to anticipate that his sword would evade anyone other than the assassin, he probably would have already gone all out to protect the safety of his teammates.

Then, Tamerlan's body completely dissolved and disappeared.

At this point, everyone gradually came to their senses.

"The Sage's magic is amazing!"

"I'm going to brag to all my friends that I witnessed the Sage's magic, which allowed him to summon living people and make everything disappear!"

The children jumped and leaped about, as excited as a flock of newly hatched chicks flapping their wings.

They all thought this was the magic trick performed by the sage, and it was indeed extraordinary!
Even the circus members with deformities clapped excitedly; it was even more spectacular and magical than the ringmaster's magic tricks.

Only the magician Rune, the leader of the guild, looked at the empty ground, and his lips twitched slightly.

Damn it, these huge tents and all sorts of props were custom-made by craftsmen at great expense; they didn't just appear out of thin air!
If he had known, he would have taken care of those intruders himself first.

A deep sense of regret welled up in Rune's heart.

At this moment, Karen and her group, who had rushed over, breathed a long sigh of relief upon seeing Xia Mingyu safe and sound.

"My lord, I failed to protect you when you were in danger. Please punish me for my mistake."

Karen and Berg knelt down on one knee before Xia Mingyu, their knees slamming into the ground with a dull thud, their faces filled with self-reproach.

"It's alright, it was my own choice to come to the circus that led to our separation."

Xia Mingyu shook his head and immediately helped the two people up.

"By the way, my lord, who was that blond young man in the blue pajamas earlier?"

After getting up, Berg asked with a puzzled look.

When they arrived, they all saw the blond youth wielding a dazzling longsword, who was undoubtedly the creator of that world-destroying white light.

“He is one of my servants, whom I summoned from afar,” Xia Mingyu replied.

Berg was taken aback. Although he appeared outwardly normal, he felt a deep sense of defeat.

So, Your Highness's other attendants are all that strong?
I couldn't even withstand the aftershocks of his casual strike, which could reach hundreds of meters away.
The young hunter clenched his fists tightly, secretly vowing to become stronger as quickly as possible at all costs, and never again to be so passive as he was today, forced to watch helplessly as His Highness fell into danger.

Karen felt that only someone like him was worthy to be a servant to His Highness, who had the protection of 1.4 billion. She herself was only able to serve as His Highness's "dog" because His Highness was alone and needed subordinates.

Thinking of his wife at home and his child, blessed with the title of "King's Son," Karen felt a sense of urgency. He even began to think that if a major crisis were to occur in the future, he could sacrifice himself to leave a deep impression on His Highness and bring blessings upon his wife and child.
Afterwards, the parents, who had been waiting anxiously, took their still excited children home one after another. Before leaving, they did not forget to thank Xia Mingyu and Lu En for giving their children such a happy day.

After all, children from noble families may be happy every day, but children from commoner families may only be happy for one day a year.

As dawn broke and the cool morning breeze swept across the empty square, Xia Mingyu looked at the group of Monster Circus members still standing in the same spot, and a sense of self-reproach rose in his heart.

After all, it was because he summoned Tamerlan that these members, who were already on the fringes of society, were left homeless.

He walked up to a magician not far away who was resting his chin on his hand, seemingly deep in thought, and spoke softly:

"Mr. Rune."

"Is there something you need, Your Excellency?"

Rune, who was even more curious about Xia Mingyu because of his previous actions and was thinking about how to further observe the sage, was interrupted and looked up to ask.

“Because of me, your circus tents and props have been damaged. If you don’t mind, please rest at my place for a while, and I will have someone make new props for you,” Xia Mingyu explained patiently.

Rune was taken aback. To be honest, he and his group members didn't actually need a place to live, because soon those members would be taken into his own Avici Hell of Grace.

However, this is indeed a good opportunity to further observe the sage.

Moreover, looking at the expectant expressions on the faces of Helena, Mia, Little Toby, and the other members, he knew that none of them wanted to live in an inescapable hell, especially those deformed members whose minds were still like children.

“Your Excellency, I accept your invitation with great gratitude.”

Rune smiled calmly, removed his top hat, and bowed gracefully to Xia Mingyu.

Behind Red Fox Castle, in a somewhat dilapidated but rather large courtyard.

"This is it."

Xia Mingyu led a large group of circus members here.

He happened to pass by this place while cleaning the tombstone of Crimson Flame in the cemetery behind the castle. Although he didn't understand why the former Earl Martha would build such a large courtyard in such a desolate place, it was undoubtedly more than enough to accommodate all the members of the Monster Circus.

Looking at the courtyard in front of him, the smile on Rune's face gradually disappeared.

This is... his old home!
Damn it, if he had known he was being brought here, he would rather have slept on the street than accept Xia Mingyu's invitation.

Rune was filled with regret, but seeing his teammates running wild in the courtyard and even competing to see who could pull up the weeds the fastest, he could only swallow his words about leaving.

"Your Excellency, thank you very much!"

Rune forced a stiff smile and spoke through gritted teeth.

Xia Mingyu, who had picked up on the tone, had no idea why. He simply assumed that the other person was resentful because he had ruined his circus business.

"Don't worry, I'll have the craftsmen make the new tents and props in half a month at most," he reassured him, completely unaware that the magician's hands, which were clasped tightly into fists behind his back.

Okay. I want to hit someone. How about I secretly turn this sage into a rabbit for a day and throw him into the deepest hell to eat grass?

It took Rune a long time to suppress this tempting idea.

Afterwards, Xia Mingyu, who was dizzy from exhausting his magic power by summoning Tamerlan, returned to his room and collapsed onto the soft bed covered with layers of silk quilts, falling into a deep sleep.

Upon learning that the Monster Circus was temporarily residing in Red Fox Castle, Anlia rushed over as well.

The courtyard behind the mountain.

Upon seeing the blue-haired woman with a gentle smile on her pretty face, Anlia's eyes welled up with tears, and she rushed over and threw herself into her arms.

"I miss you so much, big sister."

The blonde girl hugged Helena tightly, her melodious voice carrying a hint of coquetry.

"Just call me Helena, I miss you too."

Helena gently stroked the girl's silky long hair with her first hand and said softly.

After saying that, she gently pushed Anlia away and carefully observed the girl's face after she grew up.

With skin as delicate as porcelain, eyes as blue as the sky, and thin, cherry-pink lips, this face, seemingly sculpted by the gods, was so perfect that even Helena, a woman herself, couldn't help but be captivated.

Is this kind of beauty truly something that ordinary people can possess?

Helena looked at the white "Commoner" sign above the girl's head and even wondered if the world had misspelled "Blessing".

Such a beautiful girl would be perfectly reasonable even if she were born into the noblest royal family!
"Sister Helena, what's wrong?"

Seeing the stunned blue-haired woman in front of her, Anlia asked with concern.

"It's nothing, it's just that you've grown up to be so beautiful, little Anlia, that even I'm captivated by you."

Helena, regaining her senses, smiled gently.

"Sister, you're exaggerating."

Anlia blushed and said coquettishly.

"By the way, little Anlia, why is your bracelet on the Sage's wrist? Can you tell me?"

Helena's pretty face was full of curiosity. This question had been on her mind all night, after all, gossiping is a hobby that no one can avoid.

"I'm now the sage's maid, and maybe he likes me a little bit."

When asked about this, a blush instantly spread from the girl's neck to the tips of her ears. She lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers, speaking shyly.

"I understand, I understand." Helena smiled knowingly.

"Your Excellency is a rare and wonderful man, one in a hundred years. Little Anlia is so beautiful, you should try your best to win him over soon!"

Helena patted Anlia's head and teased her.

"Sister, why haven't you aged at all in almost ten years?"

Unable to bear the blue-haired woman's teasing any longer, Anlia decided to change the subject. Looking at the woman's still young and beautiful face, she couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"Well, maybe it's because I don't get much sunlight."

Helena paused, then stammered.

Fortunately, Anlia didn't press the matter. Instead, she took Helena's hand and said gently:
"Sister, I've now become a chef. May I serve you a few dishes?"

"Then I won't be polite." Helena playfully licked her lips.

The two women smiled at each other, then held hands and jogged away from the courtyard.

In the evening, the moon is high in the sky.

The magician Rune stood alone in front of the ancient oak tree in the center of the courtyard, stroking the knife marks carved by a mischievous child on the bark, a hint of sadness showing on his handsome face.

Tapping.

A figure dressed in a black tuxedo slowly approached him from behind.

“Welcome back, Master Rune,” Seris said softly.

(End of this chapter)