Kingdom’s Bloodline
chapter-164

“So, you are telling me that…”

Standing in his bedroom, King Nuven put on his crown and armor. Two rows of White Blade Guards anxiously stood beside him on guard.

The king turned and stared at the leader of his team of personal guards. With authority, he said, “Something that has not been seen for hundreds of years in Eckstedt has appeared in Dragon Clouds City…”

King Nuven tucked a saber by his waist. His expression was solemn.

“A calamity?”

Wielding a knife, Nicholas’ expression was deadly. “To be more precise, Your Majesty… it is not just in Dragon Clouds City…

“According to the Soul Slayer Pike’s scope of warning, which is recorded in the ‘Legend of the White Blade Guards’, I’m afraid that creature is in Heroic Spirit Palace.”

The old king contemplated the situation for a few seconds.

“Very well. At least we now know that those monsters are not just legends.” King Nuven’s expression became serious. He took huge strides out of his bedroom and the members of the White Blade Guards followed him closely.

The old king glanced at the large number of guards outside the door. They were keeping a vigilant eye. “What is the present situation?”

“I have already rung the highest priority alarm, and sealed off the gatehouse that leads to Axe Region and Spear Region. I have also ordered my subordinates to report back regularly.” Nicholas shook his head. “Unfortunately, until now, no one in the palace has gone missing, or shown any signs of abnormality, be it guards, servants or members of the White Blade Guards.”

King Nuven turned and glanced at Nicholas with furrowed brows.

‘Unfortunately?’

“Excuse my language.” The latter lowered his head slightly. “Because of this, we have no way of locating that creature.”

King Nuven inhaled and nodded.

“Inform all the archdukes first. They should know why our alarm rang…

“Then, lock all those drunkards in the banquet hall up, and chase them out in the morning…

“Summon all the members of the White Blade Guards who are on break. If possible, send someone to Shield District and call Gleeward over. I need him to wield the Soul Slayer Pike…

“Inform the Chief Garrison Officer, and order him to dispatch all the disciplinary officers under him to patrol various districts and send out signal arrows. Similarly, they must report back regularly…

“Light the torch on the first gatehouse, and order all the archers to get into position. Do not be stingy on the Eternal Oil…”

As the king gave his orders, the guards responsible for passing them down ran back and forth hurriedly.

“Do not be anxious, lads.” The old king continued walking. His eyes shone with a bright light. “We are in Eckstedt, Raikaru’s homeland.

“Neither are we living six hundred something years ago, nor are we in the Battle of Eradication. These are not the days where those monsters are afraid of nothing anymore.”

“But no matter what, they are the calamities who are talked about in legends,” Nicholas said cautiously. “‘The Legend of the White Blade Guards’ talked about how powerful they are…”

“I know that they are powerful. Every single archduke is taught about this,” King Nuven’s voice was firm. “However, if power is everything…

“Why the f*ck did we fight in the Battle of Eradication six hundred years ago?”

The old king’s expression became solemn, and his gaze was sharp.

“Of course.” Nicholas nodded. His face was pale. “After ensuring the safety of the palace, I will extend the search area outside the gatehouse.”

At this very moment, unknown noises rang from the back of the troop.

*Whoosh!*

The guards and the members of the White Blade Guards nervously whipped out their weapons at the same time!

They surrounded the king.

Watching his subordinates, King Nuven snorted coldly.

The guards only relaxed and returned to their usual position after Nicholas reprimanded them.

A guard hurried over to pass a message.

“Your Majesty, it is one of the envoys from Constellation… He insists to see you!” the guard shouted.

King Nuven furrowed his brows.

Soon enough, the vice diplomat of the Constellation Diplomat Group, Putray Nemain appeared before the king.

The gaunt vice diplomat’s face was pale. Ignoring the more than usual number of guards around him, he anxiously said, “Your Majesty, there are intruders in your palace…”

“I already know that.” King Nuven waved his hand and impatiently said, “I am taking care of it.”

The guards on both sides of the king blocked Putray and signaled him to leave.

“No, Your Majesty!” Grabbing a guard’s arm, Putray shouted. “Whoever that intruder is…

“He has kidnapped Prince Thales!”

King Nuven’s expression immediately changed!

Nicholas on the other hand, stared at Putray in a strange manner. He was obviously suspicious.

King Nuven stared at Putray and his expression was unpleasant.

“What happened?” King Nuven took a deep breath. Calmly and carefully, he asked, “Is anyone else missing?”

The guards let go of Putray, who was panting heavily.

“Yes…” Steadying his breath, Putray dropped another bomb. “Your granddaughter is also missing…

“Miss Saroma Walton!”

…..

“Such bad luck. Why am I meeting you here?”

Asda shut his eyes and his tone was filled with dissatisfaction.

“Since when did the Brotherhood open up a tourist path to Northland?” the Air Mystic mocked. “Or is your hatred towards me so strong that even Broken Dragon Fortress can’t hold it back?”

Thales took a deep breath of the cold outdoor air.

From Asda’s words, he could finally confirm the man’s identity.

Standing in front of Asda, the man shook his head slowly.

“Someone told me that I could meet an old friend here,” the man did not speak at a rapid pace. However, there was an inexplicable feeling of pressure. “I thought he was lying to me.

“Unexpectedly, I actually ran into you.” The man sighed. “It seems that sometimes, even lies come true.”

Staring at the man, Thales could not help but recall his life in the Brotherhood.

As the lowest ranking members of the Black Street Brotherhood, the child beggars were lowly beings who often endured beatings and scoldings. However, they were also the future of the Brotherhood. Hence, the internal affairs of the Brotherhood were what the child beggars talked about the most.

In the ten years of the Brotherhood’s history, the Thirteen Generals, whom the child beggars were the most familiar with fought their way to prominence in the last five years. All of them shared a few special characteristics—they were mean, fierce and young. On the other hand, the influential and powerful Six Powerhouses were highly experienced people within the Brotherhood. They each held a different business lifeline of the Brotherhood. Every single one of them could be considered as a big player of the kingdom’s underground world.

However, there was another kind of existence in the Black Street Brotherhood—the most powerful, horrifying and unbelievable group.

They were undoubtedly the Three Main Assassins, who ranked higher than the Six Powerhouses. There were also rumors saying that there were actually four assassins. However, the fourth person was so mysterious that there were many versions of his nickname.

Whether they were responsible for their own nicknames, or whether it was other people, bizarrely, the Three Main Assassins were named after three strange weapons.

Reversed Machete.

Prison Lock Sickle.

Black Sword.

Among them, Black Sword’s stories were definitely the most legendary.

Thales had heard a few rumors about him. One of them was how all alone, he made a river of blood out of Black Street, which used to be occupied by many powers. In the end, he obtained the Brotherhood’s established first turf.

In another horrifying rumor, the Brotherhood’s enemies conspired to kill Black Sword, throwing out ruthless words and substantial rewards. However, they were decapitated when they were in dreamland.

There was even a legendary rumor where after being bribed, soldiers from the city defense team went to Sunset Pub to capture Black Sword, who was alone at that time. Black Sword sat calmly and just continued eating and drinking, forcing seventeen troops of police officers to retreat with only his gaze as well as his movements.

The most absurd rumor would be when determined to take him down, the shrewd and ruthless Blood Bottle Gang ambushed him heavily. They surrounded him with a battle array of a few hundred people and supposedly killed him. However, the very next day, they realized in horror that Black Sword was walking along Black Street, totally unharmed.

In the stories that circulated among child beggars, thugs and the common people, Black Sword was like a multifaceted and all-powerful legend of the underworld. He was a legend and a symbol of terror in the underworld. In the ten years of the Black Street Brotherhood’s history, even the two sensational Mystics were inferior to Black Sword.

Now, the legendary Black Sword was standing in front of Thales just like that.

He could not really believe it.

Unlike the hideous, fierce, cold and cruel image that the legends gave him, Black Sword’s face appeared very plain under the moonlight. He had a flat forehead and small eyes. Even his body size was just slightly above average. He was not fat or thin.

In a crowd, he would be an extremely plain person who did not even have any distinguishing characteristic that others could remember him by.

It was as if there was nothing presentable about him at all apart from his sharp gaze that did not go with the rest of his style, and his sword.

Thales narrowed his eyes and watched as the man slowly raised his sword.

It was a strange sword.

Its entirely black appearance may have explained Black Sword’s nickname. However, this was far from its only strange point.

The odd sword was medium in length, and its blade was slightly curved. However, the tip of the sword was curved inwards like the beak of a bird. The blade was single-edged, and there was a deep and long blood groove along the sharp edge.

One third into the other edge of the blade, a portion was dug off to produce a reverse hook. The other edge of the blade was also serrated starting from this ‘reverse hook’ all the way to the hilt.

Staring at the strange, legendary black sword, Thales could not help but furrow his brows.

The handle of the strange sword was not aligned with its ridge at all. Instead, it was skewed to one side like a… kitchen knife. On top of that, the sword did not have a cross-guard. It only had a unilateral hand guard, which extended downwards from the hilt and it was almost parallel to the handle. It seemed to be just enough for four fingers, excluding the thumb.

Staring at the sword, Thales criticized it internally. ‘It doesn’t look like a sword at all. Instead, it looks more like a long and straight knife with all kinds of little designs on it.’

Thales could not help but recall the Swiss Army knife from his past life.

However, at the same time, Thales was aware that the strange black sword was not Black Sword’s only weapon. The latter also had another long weapon that was covered in linen. It was tied to his waist.

‘Is that another sword?’

“And you… you are just like an annoying black cockroach, insignificant but extremely resilient,” Asda’s tone was flat, as if he paid no heed at all to the legend in front of him. “You were always able to hold on to your last breath and crawl away, then crawl back again at a later date in the most disgusting manner.

“You just continue to annoy.”

The man did not reply. His gaze swept past Asda and fell on Thales.

Being stared at by those sharp eyes, a chill ran down Thales’ spine.

‘These two men are both extremely dangerous,’ Thales thought.

‘As members of the Brotherhood and Blood Bottle Gang respectively, they’re obviously enemies.

‘Perhaps, there will be an opportunity for me to escape Asda.’

“All these years, I’ve been watching as you went from supra class to supreme class, and became increasingly powerful.” Staring at Black Sword, Asda shook his head a little. “I’m almost getting attached to you.”

Black Sword still did not say a word.

“You know, standing still in front of me is the stupidest thing to ever do.” Asda paid no heed at all to Black Sword’s rudeness. He smiled and said, “During this period of time, I can totally take all the air in your body and…”

However, before Asda could finish talking, Black Sword moved!

Treading across the accumulated snow below his feet, Black Sword charged towards Asda with one hand wielding his sword and another shielding his chest.

Asda smiled ever so slightly, not taking it seriously at all.

Thales was shocked.

Ever since that night in Red Street Market, he had witnessed the movements and skills of many elite fighters, ranging from the supra class to supreme class. All of them had their own distinguishing features.

There was Yodel, who came and went like a shadow; Chris, who could transform into blood mist; and Aida, who was so quick and noble that it was hard to track her movements with the naked eye. There were also the Corleone Sisters, who were so fast that they could not even be seen clearly during battles; the Fortress Flower, who could move freely despite carrying her heavy weapon; and the unstoppable Kingdom’s Wrath. Every single one of them was memorable.

Even Ralf’s posture as he flew along with the wind, Istrone’s extremely quick movements, and Nikolay, the Red Viper’s heavy punches that increased in speed with time; all had their own distinguishing characteristics.

‘However…’ Staring at Black Sword, who was charging forward at a moderate pace, Thales furrowed his brows.

It was not because of how sharp or dazzling his movements were.

Instead, as Black Sword ran, his movements were too…

Too common.

They were so common that he seemed like the most ordinary soldier charging towards the most powerful opponent.

There was no distinguishing characteristic at all.

Even Jala’s precise movements as she leaped seemed more advanced than that of Black Sword’s.

‘Compared to the legends I’ve heard about Black Sword…

‘Wait.’

Thales then thought of something.

‘The most ordinary soldier? The most powerful opponent?’

He narrowed his eyes and saw Black Sword’s movements clearly.

Black Sword’s hand was raised high to shield his chest, and he dragged his sword behind him. The distance between his legs…

Thales began to remember something.

‘This move… is so familiar.’

Once again, Thales used his special vision to observe the scene before him.

As expected, through his eyes, Asda was a bright ray of blue light.

But strangely, Black Sword looked exactly the same as he did with no changes whatsoever.

However, Thales did not have the time to care about all of this.

Standing still and staring at the approaching Black Sword, Asda snapped his fingers softly.

*Click*

Thales felt a surge of panic.

*Swoosh!*

The next moment, piles of accumulated snow on the ground between Asda and Black Sword suddenly flew off.

All the snow dispersed, revealing a layer of grayish-black rock formation.

Through his special vision, Thales could see a surge of energy tinted with blue light, rising all of a sudden. It swept towards the charging man from the midpoint between them!

Thales’ pupils contracted, and he immediately realized that the surge of energy was air current—the most chaotic air current ever.

It was more than ten meters in height, and dozens of meters in width. There were many layers to it and it was like a moving wall. It stood between Asda and Black Sword, completely covering a portion of the summit.

It swept up plenty of accumulated snow and rolled violently towards the charging Black Sword.

*Shoosh!*

It was akin to a huge racquet swatting a tiny fly.

‘Sh*t.’

Thales furrowed his brows anxiously. ‘Black Sword can only see the fluttering snow. He can’t see the invisible air current.

No matter which direction he moves in, it will be impossible for Black Sword to avoid this impeccable attack. Unless, he goes underground.’

Seeing the situation clearly, Thales blurted out, “Careful! There is a… wall made of strong wind in front of you! Dodge it quick!”

Asda moved slightly and turned his head back to glance at Thales.

His gaze was a ruminating one.

As for Black Sword…

He did not seem to be aware of it at all. He continued charging forward.

Thales gritted his teeth.

‘He can’t hear me because of the air current?

‘The air current will sweep him away.

‘He’ll be swept off the cliff…

‘And he’ll fall to the ground from the highest peak of Dragon Clouds City.’

Thales felt dejected. ‘Black Sword is probably my only chance to escape from Asda. If he lives, he can at least report back…’

However, Thales could only watch helplessly as Black Sword charged straight into the invisible wall.

Towards his death.

Finally, Black Sword entered the chaotic air current. His hair was blown backwards by the wind, and his clothes fluttered. It seemed like the air current was going to sweep him away.

Yet, in the next moment, Thales opened his mouth wide in astonishment.

Black Sword was not swept away.

Swaying amid the air current, he held his sword with both hands and pointed it to the front.

Abruptly turning his body sideways, Black Sword started to move in a strange way. He did not charge forward in a straight line anymore. Instead, he started to advance in a zig-zag pattern, according to the direction of the tip of his sword!

Just like that, with the sword in his hands, Black Sword continued to charge towards Asda amid the air current, which was strong enough to even sweep large boulders away. Even though he kept changing directions, his speed was not reduced at all.

He was like a peg that lodged itself into the air current, moving deeper and deeper within.

Thales looked at Black Sword’s movements in disbelief.

‘This… How is this possible?

‘Why is he not affected by Asda’s air current at all?’

Narrowing his eyes, Thales started to concentrate on the fluctuations within his body, so that his vision would become clearer.

Soon, Thales understood why.

Via his special vision, Thales could see that Black Sword was not staggering without direction. Amid the air current, which sparkled with blue light, he systematically moved towards certain spots. They were almost always the sparsest and dimmest parts.

Through some unknown method, Black Sword already had a clear grasp of the air current. He found the sparsest spots of the uneven air current that Asda controlled and he somehow squeezed through it.

Thales could not help but feel puzzled. ‘Normal people can’t see the air current at all, let alone when they’re inside it. How does he do it?’

As Black Sword’s opponent, Asda did not seem surprised at all. He only moved his fingers slightly.

Through Thales’ vision, the air current, which sparkled with blue light became brighter in the blink of an eye.

The air current suddenly became a few times stronger and Black Sword halted his steps abruptly.

It seemed like he was about to get swept away.

At the same time, Black Sword moved his strange long sword.

He drew an arc with his sword in the thick of the chaotic air current!

Thales widened his eyes. With the back of his black sword, Black Sword struck a dim spot in the midst of the bright blue light—Thales was getting confused by all this Black Sword and black sword business.

Asda’s expression changed a bit.

The air current lost its momentum due to the strike.

Thales could clearly see that at that moment, the man used his sword to… tear an opening in the air current.

In the blink of an eye, Black Sword leaped from the ground and exited the air current through the tiny, unstable opening! He was like a legend who suddenly came back to life.

In a split second, Black Sword was almost right in front of Asda.

Without stopping, he stared coldly at Asda.

At that point, Asda raised his hands abruptly.

For some unknown reason, Thales could feel that Asda’s movements were a little… panicky?

The next moment, it was as if the air around Asda suddenly exploded.

*Boom!*

A large amount of air exploded outwards with Asda at the center.

The only thing Thales could see was blue light propagating outwards in a sphere around Asda.

At that time, Thales thought of a funny analogy. Asda looked like an exasperated porcupine that was furiously shooting its quills at the charging Black Sword.

Thales was pressed onto the ground by a force in the air and his thoughts returned to the present.

Thales knew that it was Asda’s doing. It was to protect him from the exploding air. Gritting his teeth, he raised his head to see the battle clearly.

Snowflakes were raging in the air.

A few steps in front of Asda, Black Sword was the first to bear the brunt of the mighty explosion.

Then, Black Sword did something unexpected again.

He apparently knew what he was up against. As he charged forward, he started to… spin?

Astonished, Thales was fixated on Black Sword.

*Tear… Tear…*

Grazing past the highly pressurized air, his body produced a loud and shrill sound.

He continued spinning like an odd dancer as he advanced, surrounded by the exploding air.

At the same time, he skillfully reduced the frontal pressure on him to the lowest.

Black Sword spun his body twice. Perfectly balanced, each spin brought him one step closer to Asda.

The air pressure did not affect his speed at all.

Amid the shrill explosion and Asda’s solemn gaze, Black Sword went up to him.

At that instant, the Air Mystic and Black Sword’s eyes met.

The next moment…

With an unpleasant expression, Asda raised his right hand and clenched his fist!

Conversely, Black Sword thrust his strange sword forward!

A peculiar change started happening to the air around them.

Black Sword drew a weird arc with his long sword.

*Slash!*

The sound of blade against flesh could be heard.

However, as Black Sword waved his sword, Asda simultaneously clenched his fist, and the air around them suddenly became extremely thick, heavy and doughy!

This reminded Thales of the time Asda suffocated him. It sent a chill down his spine.

*Thud!*

Asda’s right arm where he clenched his fist detached from his body and dropped to the ground.

*Boom!*

Black Sword kneeled on the ground with one knee as a result of the strong force in the surrounding air.

With his left hand propped on the ground, Black Sword did a backflip without waiting for his opponent’s reaction. Concurrently, he waved his long sword and tore open the heavy layer of air around them.

Flipping a few meters back and leaving the range of Asda’s air pressure, Black Sword held his sword in front of his cheat. Panting, he stared vigilantly at Asda.

Alternatively, the Air Mystic stared at his fallen arm in a daze.

The dramatic duel finally ended for now.

Thales got up from the ground. He was so absorbed in the duel that he almost forgot to breath.

Asda’s ability to control atmospheric air at will was already astonishing enough to him with the sweeping air current and violent exploding air. Plus, how did the air suddenly become doughy and thick? Anyone else would have fled in a panic when faced with a situation like that.

Despite that, Black Sword could detect all the flaws in Asda’s strange abilities within a short amount of time. Conquering every obstacle, he got in front of the Mystic.

He even chopped off the Mystic’s arm.

Unlike Giza who ‘bled a lot’, there was not a single drop of blood on Asda’s wound. Just like that time in Red Street Market, it shone with a dim blue light instead.

The Air Mystic was stumped for more than ten seconds.

On the other hand, Black Sword used that period of time to regulate his breathing.

Finally, the strange Mystic heaved a loud sigh and slowly said, “Ever since we first met, this is the closest you’ve gotten to me.

“You even chopped off my arm.” Asda shook his head and moved his severed arm. “Whether it’s your reaction time, physical qualities or intuition, I must admit that you are getting better.

“I take back what I said about you being a ‘black cockroach’,” Asda said mockingly. “You are now a poisonous black scorpion.”

Black Sword fixed his eyes on the Mystic and did not reply.

‘In addition, ever since I first met him twelve years ago, his ability has been rapidly increasing, as though he experiences no bottlenecks and obstacles at all,’ Asda thought.

‘At that time, he was insignificant. But now…’

Thales’ blood froze as he watched Asda’s severed arm transform into blue light and disappear. Even though it was not new to him, and he had already expected it to happen, Thales still found it a little strange.

At the same time, blue light shone again in the position of Asda’s severed arm and converged to form a new arm. It even included his sleeve.

“A mortal who is able to fight a Mystic head on without being on the losing end…” Asda touched his regenerated arm and sighed. “Black Sword, you’re probably the first one in history.”

Recalling his life of more than one thousand years, Asda could not help but sigh. ‘Throughout history, have there been any supreme class elites with this sort of ability?’

Having heard this, Thales stared at Black Sword in a daze.

The latter rose up slowly and flipped off the snowflakes on his long sword.

“I’m flattered,” Black Sword’s tone was still flat. “However, I could feel that you were deliberately holding back your power.

Black Sword raised his head and looked at Raikaru’s statue. He furrowed his brows slightly. “In the past, you would have blasted the entire summit into pieces.”

Asda narrowed his eyes.

“Why?” Black Sword turned his head back and stared straight into the Mystic’s eyes. “Is there something you dread… in this city?”

Thales furrowed his brows. ‘Of course. Asda mentioned that there are at least two legendary anti-mystic equipment in Dragon Clouds City.’

Asda flashed a faint smile.

“This is after all, the capital city of a kingdom. There must be order,” the Air Mystic shrugged and said nonchalantly. “I don’t intend for there to be a citywide massacre… I don’t like that.”

“Capital city? Order?” Black Sword took a deep breath. At that moment, his expression became extremely scary. “Why didn’t you have such consideration twelve years ago when you were killing everyone in Renaissance Palace, you monster?”

Thales shuddered!

However, what Asda said next was equally shocking to him.

“Tsk, tsk. Isn’t this a little too ironic coming from you?” Staring at Black sword, Asda shook his head and flashed another little smile. A hint of blue light surged in his eyes.

“If I remember correctly, weren’t you the one who assassinated the crown prince?”