Chapter 155: The Cornered Beast's Struggle

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The imperial palace was brightly lit that day. The guards watched the people below with tense expressions. Having witnessed several incidents like this, even those fleeing understood what was happening.

“Prince Field, you are not planning to rebel as well, are you?” The new captain of the guard was nearly in tears. He had thought his promotion was something to celebrate, only to find that before his first day was even over, another crisis had erupted.

“I am merely reclaiming the honor that belongs to me. Lay down your weapons. Surrender, and you will not be killed,” Prince Field said calmly.

“Your Highness, do not force us!” The captain truly felt like crying. Why? Why was misfortune always his to bear?

“Open the gates!”

Field’s voice was not loud, yet it struck the guards’ hearts like a heavy hammer. The crowd immediately began to stir.

“Enough, brothers. Listen to me. If you want to run, do it now. Hide somewhere, and you should be safe,” the captain said with a sigh.

“What about you?” a soldier beside him asked quietly.

“Me? I am not going anywhere. Now that I have been promoted, I have to prove myself worthy of this position, don’t I?” The captain forced a smile more miserable than tears. “I will hold them back.”

“Captain!” the soldiers cried together in low voices.

“Go, brothers. I know you look down on me and think I have no courage. I admit it—I am afraid of death. I am very afraid of death, and that is why I have no courage. But today, I want to stand tall just once. It feels rather good to straighten one’s back.” The captain took a deep breath. “Your Highness, I challenge you to a duel. If you win, I will have nothing more to say. If you lose, please turn back. I will pretend that none of this ever happened.”

“It is useless. Nothing you do today can stop me from entering,” Field said calmly. “For the last time, open the gates. I will not kill you.”

“Then I thank you for your mercy. But I cannot speak for my brothers.”

The captain drew a great bow from beside him and nocked a long arrow, aiming its tip at Field.

“Why?” Field suddenly asked.

“Do you not see that my legs are still trembling?” the captain replied with a bitter smile.

“What is your name?” Field asked.

“Jilly Bris,” the captain said with another bitter smile.

“Bris, I will give you a proper burial,” Field said. Then he waved his hand. “Attack!”

Whoosh!

A rain of arrows poured down from the palace walls.

“Why are you still here?” Bris shouted furiously at the guards behind him. “I talked to you all for nothing!”

“No, that is not it. We were just wondering where we could run. After thinking about it, we realized there was nowhere to go,” one of the soldiers said with a bitter smile. “So we came back.”

“Thank you, you idiots.” Tears streamed down Bris’s face.

“Look out!”

A soldier beside him slammed Bris to the ground. In the same instant, a long arrow pierced the soldier’s throat.

“I’m sorry.” Bris collapsed to the ground and began to weep.

“Captain, get up. If you die, we will have no choice but to surrender.” A soldier nearby kept drawing his bow and firing back at the attackers below as quickly as he could.

“Thank you!” Bris struggled to his feet. “I am sorry. Because of my foolishness, I have dragged you all into this death together with me.”

“Even if we offered no resistance, we probably would not survive. Since that is the case, why not fight at least once?” the soldier replied while continuing to shoot.

“Thank you. Knowing you has been the greatest honor of my life. Almighty God of Light, today I offer my life for Her Majesty, the queen I love most. I only hope the gods will forgive me!”

Bris tore open his armor.

“Brothers, show them who guards this palace!”

“We do!”

The soldiers roared as one.

“Then show them that we are not afraid!”

“Yes! We are not afraid!”

Their thunderous cries shook the heavens.

“Then fight!”

“Your Majesty, it is over.” Carniel bowed toward Field, who sat astride his horse. He no longer resembled the frail old man he had once appeared to be. Instead, he wore imposing armor and held a greatsword in his hand, radiating murderous intent.

“What of the guards?”

“They were completely wiped out. Not one surrendered,” Carniel replied.

“Give them a proper burial,” Field ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Carniel turned toward the inner palace.

“Attack!”

That night, the imperial palace once again endured a storm of bloodshed. The ground, long since dried, was once more drenched in vivid crimson.

Field sat silently upon his horse, watching everything before him.

“Your Majesty!”

The portly Guildmaster Pierre appeared before him.

“You have done well,” Field said. “I will keep my promise.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” A trace of relief appeared in Pierre’s eyes. After enduring betrayal after betrayal, Pierre was truly exhausted. At last, he could breathe again.

“What a beautiful scene,” Gerard said as he slowly approached, stepping through the scarlet blood. “It suits you perfectly.”

Field glanced at Gerard but said nothing.

“Do not be sad. The Charlie family seized everything from your ancestors in exactly the same way.”

Prince Field raised his head and looked at the palace. Why did such a magnificent place always have to endure storms of blood and violence?

He sighed softly. Whatever happened, his wish had finally come true. That was what mattered most.

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The battle had been surprisingly simple. Because of the rebellion, the palace guards had been greatly reduced, with most of them stationed at the entrance. In other words, the queen’s elite guards were concentrated at the gates. Once they were eliminated, dealing with the interior became far easier.

Moreover, Prince Field had brought a full thirty thousand soldiers, enough to fill the enormous palace.

“Tell them not to kill indiscriminately. Capturing them will be enough,” Field ordered. The command was immediately carried out.

“Have you found Reysina yet?” Field asked calmly.

“Not yet. They probably have not located Her Majesty’s bedchamber,” Carniel replied.

Just then, one of his subordinates hurried over and whispered several words into his ear.

“What?” Carniel exclaimed in shock.

“What is it?” Field asked coolly.

“Your Majesty, the men say they found the queen’s bedchamber, but there is no one inside. It does not even appear to have been used recently.”

“What do you mean?” Field asked with a frown.

“It seems the queen is not in the palace,” Carniel said with a sigh.

“That is impossible! Have you not had people watching her all along?” Field suddenly grew flustered.

“Yes. That is precisely what makes it so strange. After returning, the queen did go back to her bedchamber, and she never came out. My men learned this through the palace’s network of informants. Could they have been mistaken?” Carniel asked, frowning.

“What are we supposed to do now? If we cannot find Reysina, we will end up like Gistak.” Field frowned deeply.

At that moment, an explosion sounded nearby.

“What happened?” Field asked.

“Your Highness, a unit of soldiers suddenly attacked from somewhere. They are extremely well equipped, and they seem to possess powerful magic!” one of his subordinates reported.

“Hold them back. Have everyone else search for the queen. Find her as quickly as possible!” Field commanded.

“There is no need to trouble yourself. The queen is not here.”

An incongruous voice suddenly sounded beside them. Everyone turned at once and saw a young man crouching on a stone pedestal nearby. He wore a strange, close-fitting hemp outfit.

Field immediately stared in astonishment.

“It is you!”

“You know me?” the young man asked, puzzled.

“Hmph. So you are the one stirring up the capital.”

“What are you talking about?” The young man scratched his head and gave a foolish grin.

“Stop pretending. You are Geer—the boy who healed Reysina!” Field said through clenched teeth.

“Heh, so you know me.” The young man laughed. “But I am sorry. I really do not know you.”

“Hmph. I saw you at the banquet, you arrogant brat. Where have you been hiding all this time?” Field demanded.

“What does that have to do with you?” the young man replied with a smile.

“Hmph. Then why have you appeared again?”

“That does have something to do with you,” the young man said cheerfully. “I came to fulfill my promise.”

“Are you Geer?”

Gerard suddenly walked over and looked the young man up and down.

“Hmm. Indeed, heroes do emerge from the young.”

“Are you saying that you have become a cowardly old bear, Uncle?” the young man said with a grin.

“Brat, do not be insolent!” A sinister smile spread across Gerard’s face. He waved his hand.

Crack!

The magic crystal mounted on his staff suddenly fell away. Gerard grunted in surprise and stared at the broken staff. Then he looked at the ground, where a long arrow quivered violently.

“Brat, how dare you destroy my staff!” Gerard’s heart bled. His staff was a treasure envied by everyone in the church, yet it had been ruined in an instant. How could he not be devastated?

“You are quite skilled,” Field said, staring at the still-quivering arrow. “As an archer, you must already be at the tenth rank.”

“Do not worry. I am not that powerful,” the young man replied with a grin. “I am merely a little faster than most. That is all!”

“Is that so?”

A greatsword suddenly came crashing down. Its force was so tremendous that it seemed to tear the wind apart.

“Old man, do not get so worked up!” the young man said with a smile.

He performed a backward somersault and landed steadily on the stone pedestal beside him.

Boom!

Stone fragments flew in every direction. The pedestal beneath his feet had been reduced to rubble.

“So strong!” the onlookers exclaimed.

“Geer, you came here today only to die. I have fifty thousand soldiers. Even if each of them fired a single arrow, they could kill you,” Field said calmly from atop his motionless horse.

“Yes. No matter how powerful one person is, he cannot possibly defeat an entire army. That is why you have painstakingly accumulated your strength,” the young man said with a sigh.

“Fifty thousand. In truth, your forces number more than that, do they not? There are thirty thousand soldiers inside the palace. The remaining tens of thousands have been kept hidden because they lack weapons and equipment. Am I wrong?”

The young man smiled.

“You have investigated this very thoroughly,” Field snorted.

“No. I guessed. As for the weapons used by your men, they should have originally been supplied to Gistak. Am I right?”

The young man sighed.

“Your intelligence is truly frightening. An elaborate plan becomes nothing but a display before your eyes,” Field said with a sigh. “It is a pity that I cannot use you.”

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“Heh. You think too highly of yourself. Your plan is riddled with flaws. I simply did not feel like pointing them out,” the young man said with a sigh. “I know you would never surrender willingly, so I suppose we can only fight.”

“Hmph. You and those people from the Bradyss family?” Field glanced at Truman, who was being protected nearby. “I knew from the beginning that you would intervene.”

“Is that so? His Highness the prince certainly thinks highly of us,” Truman said calmly.

“You are two inexperienced boys. No matter how capable you are, you cannot stop an army of thirty thousand!” Field sighed. “You would only be throwing your lives away.”

“I know. That is why I invited some reinforcements.”

At once, the sound of slaughter resounded across the sky. Field suddenly shuddered.

“Impossible!”

He turned around and saw a vast, dark mass of soldiers. What distinguished them was the bloodlust surrounding their bodies. Even from a distance, the stench of blood was enough to make a person dizzy. Gathered together, their murderous aura was so overwhelming that Field’s own men began to tremble.

“Who are these people? How did you manage to summon them?” Field could not understand where these soldiers had come from. Even mercenaries who lived alongside death every day could hardly possess such pure, terrifying bloodlust.

“They are His Highness the prince’s personal guard. That should make everything clear,” the young man said calmly.

Now it was not only Field whose expression changed. Even Gerard’s face turned grim.

The frontier troops—men who danced with death every day. No wonder the stench of blood around them was so heavy.

“I have not lost yet!”

Field knew that his own troops were no longer enough. His only remaining hope was Gerard. The latter did not hesitate. He blew a sharp whistle, and a hundred armored warriors dressed in sacred white robes suddenly appeared before them.

“This is bad, Lord Geer! They are holy knights of the church!” Truman cried in shock.

He had never expected Gerard to carry such a powerful trump card. The situation might yet change.

“Holy knights?” The young man frowned. He seemed to have heard the term before, though the memory was vague.

“Protect yourselves!”

He leaped down from the pedestal, shot forward, and charged straight toward Field.

“So fast!”

Field was startled. He drew his sword like a flash of lightning and slashed downward.

“Shhk!”

The young man lowered his body and slid beneath the horse’s belly, then drove his fist into the animal’s most vulnerable spot. The horse screamed and crashed to the ground.

“Your Majesty!”

Carniel immediately moved to protect Field. His greatsword swept toward Ye Tian, its edge howling as though it were tearing through space.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the young man instantly retreated dozens of yards away.

“So fast!” everyone exclaimed.

“Holy Binding!”

A beam of white light suddenly appeared around the young man. He was startled and turned his head to see Gerard grinning viciously nearby.

“Die!”

Gerard discarded the scroll in his hand, its magic already exhausted, and drew a dagger, thrusting it toward the young man.

“No!”

Gerard felt the dagger plunge into the young man’s abdomen. He raised his head with a savage grin, only to see a delicate face veiled in cloth.

“No!”

The young man cried out in anguish.

The woman struck Gerard with a single palm, sending him flying. He landed like a dead dog, vomited a mouthful of black blood, and collapsed on the ground.

“Holy knights, kill them!” Gerard struggled to his feet and shouted.

The holy knights immediately turned and charged toward the two of them.

Crack! Crack!

Cracks spread across the white light surrounding the young man. At last, it shattered.

“Get away!”

The young man roared. A wave of force burst outward, sending everyone stumbling back more than a dozen yards before they could regain their footing.

“No…”

The young man trembled as he touched the woman’s pale face. Her features were already darkened by a black radiance—the unmistakable sign of deadly poison. She could not be saved.

“No, Mola, no!”

The young man held the woman in his arms and wept in agony.

“Do not be sad, Ye Tian.” The woman gently stroked his face. “Do not grieve. I am fine. I am only a little tired, that is all. Just a little tired.”

She smiled faintly.

“You know, Lola is very lonely by herself. I have to go and keep her company.”

The woman’s strength faded, and her voice grew weaker.

“I hope he will not be angry.”

With those final words, Mola’s head tilted to one side, and all life left her.

“Ah!”

Ye Tian threw back his head and roared. His voice resounded through the heavens.

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