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Chapter 243 ~ Last Prince

“He must be livid now.”

Enri stated as they returned to their army ranks. 

“I think so. If he weren’t a coward too, I’d even expect him to lead the charge.”

Ninya responded. 

And she was right. The kingdom’s drums began to pound, and the infantry began their march forward. 

“Signal the goblin mages.”

Ninya ordered and looked behind her. The flag waved as she raised her enchanted staff high into the air as a signal, and the rest followed suit. 

“Twin magic! Fireball!”

“Acid Javelin!”

“Wind Strike!”

“Bombard!”

“Scorching Ray!”

Ninya, Nfirea, and the host of goblin casters at their backs fired their spells, slinging them in a long, deadly, inexorable arc into the densely packed lines of the Kingdom infantry. 

It was impossible to not at least hit one of them. 

Men fell screaming, writhing in pain, as fire scorched their skin, acid melted their muscles, and blades of wind cutting their bones. 

Soon, another volley of magic came again, and the walk became a jog. 

“Archers!”

Enri called out, and arrows were nocked, then flew into the air to land again amongst the densely packed rank. Some scratched a soldier’s side. The unluckier ones were silenced by an arrow through the eye, necks, brain, or heart. 

A horn blew from behind the kingdom lines, and cavalry began their charge. Heavy, armored horses numbering in the hundreds rumbled the ground beneath them as they raced through the open field. 

“Wolf Riders!”

Enri shouted, and the howling of wolves drowned out all else for a moment before the pounding of their large paws of these massive wolves began to compete with horses. 

The goblins atop the wolves were armed, armored, and skilled in ways the kingdom’s cavalry could only dream of being. 

They were fewer in number, but soon enough, the kingdom’s cavalry were the ones that was dealt with heavy damage. 

“Now! Infantry! And sound the drums!”

The boom of the goblin army war drums reverberated and shook the air, sending waves of terror into the advancing, yet thinning, ranks of the kingdom soldiers. 

Enri drew out her sword. Her infantry were close. Her armor was one of the finest sets in the carts delivered to her by Master Gown and Master Zero. And the weapons and armors equipped by her army were much greater than even the ones worn by commanders of the royal prince’s army. 

‘Last time they came, all i could do was run away and die! I couldn’t save my parents! I couldn’t do anything but die! Now… I can do something. I will do something this time!’

“Charge!”

She shouted and lowered her sword forward, and the army advanced along with her, Nfirea, and Ninya as one into the fray. 

The clashing and clamoring of swords filled the battlefield, and screams and dying of men were indistinguishable from those of wild beasts. 

The heavy goblin infantry treated the war like a chore. Like farming, and the Kingdom’s soldiers, regardless of their superior numbers, fall like wheat before scythes. 

And soon, the numerical advantage shifted, and the Goblin Strategist gave the final signal. 

From the little clump of woods, a small number of hidden wolfriders emerged behind the enemy lines, and rushed straight for the commander of the Kingdom’s army. 

His small honor guard saw the surprise attack too late, and were culled by the force they were no match for. 

Barbro saw the horror unfolding in front of him. The army of almost eleven thousand men, including the ten thousand his brother “delivered”, were devastated. 

His mouth dropped open in disbelief. And he felt fear begin to rise in his mighty chest. 

‘Why… Why is this happening? Why aren’t they winning?! This should’ve been easy! I’m the crown prince, dammit!’

Then, one of his men let out a cry. 

“Ambush!”

Barbro turned to where the soldier pointed, and saw a dozen wolf riders emerged from the little patch of woods and charged towards him. 

“G-Get them! Stop them, you idiots! Protect your prince!”

Barbro’s voice became a high pitched squeal of fear as he turned his horse around and began to spur it to a gallop. 

Behind him, his army, having lost their leader, broke entirely and soldiers ran for their lives, trading their pride and dignity for a precious few seconds of life and a glimmer of hope for a longer one. 

It was a massacre, and the prince alone survived. 

He run and run. His lungs burned from his hard breathing. And his horse were similarly exhausted. 

And yet, at his back, the wolf riders were gaining on him.

“No!”

At his left and right, the wolf riders fell in, almost liek they were his honor guard.  Taunting, laughing, waving as their wolves kept pace with the prince’s horse, but not turning on him. 

And after what semed to be hours, the horse reared back on its hind hooves, kicking wildly, and flung Barbro from its back, giving out a single final whinny of pain and fear. 

It fell with a heavy thud, and landed dead on its side as its powerful heart finally overloaded from fear, stress, and exhaustion. 

Barbro felt the wind knocked out of him when he landed on his back, wheezing without any air to spare, and stared at the wolves and their riders circling him. 

“Bring him back to the Summoner.”

One of them said, and a wolf’s jaw snapped out over Barbro’s leg, piercing through the enchanted greeves like they were made of leather along withi the flesh beneath and breaking the bone.

“Nooooo!”

He screamed and clawed at the dirt. His fingers bled, nails torn and broken , painting the ground with red streaks. But the wolves continued to drag him and began to run, dragging him over dirt and rocks and viscera and blood of his fallen men, through the site of the massacre. 

Then finally, it jerked its jaw forward and released its hold, and the prince landed with a grunt only to look up and saw the brown haired girl who called herself the sister of his pet Lakyus. 

“He’s yours, Ninya… Do whatever you want. But don’t waste time. We have a kingdom to build.”

Enri said and turned away, Nfirea and Jugem following closely behind. 

“Yes, my Queen.”

The young magic caster bowed before putting her foot on the throat of the Re-Estize’s crown prince and began to press down.

His eyes bulged in his head. His face quickly turned red, then purple. 

“My name is Ninya Veyron. You killed innocents. Ruined lives. And raped my sister. Now, prepare to die.”

She looked up at the wolf riders. 

“Start to chew on his limbs. Make it hurt, but not kill him. He’s not allowed to die until he begs.”

Barbro’s head shook and struggled under the boot. Then, his throat gurgled out howls of pain as a wolf latched onto each limb and began to tear away at his flesh, as if his armor wasn’t even there. 

Bits and pieces of metals fell off, and then flesh and blood, littering the ground. 

Then Ninya lifted up her foot form his throat, and relished in the screams of his sister’s abuser. 

The tearing continued until he was down to his bones, exposing them to the air. He kicked and struggled against the massive jaws, only the rip his muscles and tendons from his bones faster and break his bones. 

At last… He begged.

“Please…! No more…! I’m sorry! I beg you! Kill me…! Kill meeeee….”

The crown prince laid on the ground like a sack of bloody potatoes, his limbs gone, leaving him with bloody stumps. 

“Mercy… Death… Kill me… I beg you… No more… Pain…”

Ninya recalled what her sister had said. Her begging, crawling, scraping. How she humbled herself as if she had done something wrong, and made to suffer as a substitute for his hatred of someone else. 

It wasn’t enough.

“No. Continue.”

Barobro’s screamed again as the wolves went back to tearing off bits of his flesh. 

Until finally, he could no longer scream or beg when his throat lost the power to even plead. 

Finally, she felt satisfied. 

“Now you can die. Be grateful. Death for people like you is a release many of those you tortured wish they could have sooner.”

Barbro watched in silence as the open maw of razor teeth of one of the massive wolves came to him. 

His fear of death was long gone. He feared only one thing, not being allowed to die. 

The teeth closed in, slowly piercing his skin. Blood spurt out of his veins and hot fluid run over his skin. Then, his head began to crunch as the jaws closed tighter. 

Prince Barbro, last son of King Ramposa III, first born and rightful heir to the Throne of RE-Estize was dead. And wish his death, a cheer shook the world. 

“WOLF KING! WOLF QUEEN! LONG LIVE! CARNE!!! CARNE!! CARNE!”

The green and gold banner of Carne waved proudly over the field. And from a far distance, through means that existed solely in the unknown heights of divination, a black-winged young man watched in silence. 

There was no trace of sympathy in his eyes, for such an end was fitting for a tyrant. 

He raised from his chair, and cast a spell. 

“Demiurge, It is time. Prepare for the Golden Princess’ take over.”

[“Yes, my lord. It shall be done.”]

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Ashen white. 

That was the color of King Ramposa’s old, wrinkled face. His hands and fingers shook so much that they rattled the paper on which the words were written. 

Everything was looking up… Everything was finally going to the right direction! 

Eight Fingers was broken, the heads of their leaders sat on top of  pikes at the gates of the capital. 

Another powerful Adamantite ranked adventurer party in good terms with the royal family had appeared like a heaven sent. 

And a caster at hand who may have the power to defeat the empire. 

But this…?!

“Sire… What do we do? The Adventurer’s Guild had refused to undertake any quests for any members of the royal faction… Even Providence… If this continues, we won’t have a faction…”

Marquis Raeven shuddered at the thought. 

At first, he was suspicious at the adventurer party who came out of thin air and became Adamantite instantly. Moreover, they were too agreeable. Too reasonable. Too friendly. Too good to be true. 

But after seeing their achievements, receiving their help, and talking to them, he began to think that the Kingdom was finally graced by the Gods and be given a heaven sent in the form of Providence. 

Now this… After hearing about how the crown prince had bought a slave and abused her while making her act as Lakyus, Providence became the first to complain and begin the strike, with Blue Rose following soon after. 

It was obvious as to why… Who would want to protect a kingdom who would insult them?

One was bad… Now, there were two Adamantite ranked adventurer parties who were making their stance against the royal family. 

“That is bad… But my brothers, and the peasant rebellion… That is worse.”

Princess Renner frowned and looked down to her trembling hands. Her lips flushed as she bit it in frustration. 

“My sons… Both of them…”

The king could no longer read the document put together from survivors’ testimonies. His pooling tears blurred the hated ink, as if trying to protect him from reading further the words of Prince Barbro’s abuses and corruption, which had spread like wildfire. 

Even without the documented proof, the use of an Eight Finger’s contract purchase to pretend to abuse an Adamantite ranked adventurer was enough for even the dullest peasant to draw the correct conclusion. 

But even then, even after everything he had done, in the midst of his few trusted advisors, the King wallowed in despair for the lost of his sons. 

“My sons… Barbro… Zanac… They’ve cost me a lot. But I would have preferred they lived and cost me more…”

The King’s head slumped. 

“He was wrong… You don’t have to tell me that, Gazef.”

The king said, not even needing to meet his eyes to know the look his Head Warrior was giving him. 

“But he was my son… Bad as he was, I loved him. And Zanac… he would have been a good King, if only he hadn’t been killed.”

He leaned back, his tired, wet eyes drifted into the ceiling, before glancing at the documents arrayed on the desk. 

Next to the one informing him of his sons’ demise was the declaration of independence for the Kingdom of Carne, along with the lands they’ve taken. From villages, to a number of towns, including E-Rantle, who surrendered without a fight. 

Then right beside it, sat the document from the Empire, declaring their annual war. 

“What can I even do… At this point…?”

He asked. He was at a loss, and hoped that his trusted advisors could have an answer he so seek. But neither Gazef nor Raeven had an answer. 

However, his last remaining child did.

“Father, I believe… there is only one course of action.”

Renner put her hand over his and looked up into his face with her loving, warm blue eyes that seemed to hide deep sorrow below the determination a member of the royal family should possess in times of such crises.

“My brothers… they’re gone, but the Kingdom remains still. The nobles won’t send an army to fight the empire when the rebels are hanging entire houses. They can’t even if they wanted to. We have to stop the rebellion from swallowing us in pieces. We must gather the noble houses together, all of the noble faction, and go fight the rebels. Leave the Empire to Master Gown, who’s ready to declare the existence of his Kingdom and warn the Empire to stay clear.”

The faces of her father, the Marquis, and Gazef first turned ashen, then intrigued, and finally… as she spoke and argued as gently as possible, resigned. 

“One third of Re-Estize will be lost.”

The King of Re-Estize replied at last. His voice void of the strength he once had. 

“We can have two thirds of our Kingdom, or none of it. And at the end, father… A new ruler will be needed.”

Renner said gently and laid her hand on his arm. 

“Let our Kingdom’s great renewal be your legacy, not the things my older brother did. Please father… Let me help you.”

The king finally gave a somber, silent nod. 

It took weeks for it to happen. 

The nobles were slow to heed the call at first. But when the “Wolf King and Wolf Queen” ate up territory, hung captured noble houses from their towers, and continued gaining strength until they seemed unbeatable, they finally heed. 

Tens of thousands of levied soldiers and household retainers, along with the heads and entire families, came to gather at the capital. 

“Father, is it really necessary for you to go yourself?”

Renner asked, her face filled with worry.

“Yes, my dear daughter. I am the King. I do what needs to be done. Sacrifice what I must for the greater good. And that means I must put myself at risk.”

“... Is this the case of “the King must move for his subjects to follow”, father?”

A look of shock flashed across the old king’s face as Renner uttered the words of the “Supreme Being” Lord Demiurge mentioned before in reverence to his name, before smiling wearily and nodded. 

“Renner, you were more than I knew you to be… And I regret not seeing it until you brothers were gone.”

Ramposa laughed bitterly. 

“Not to worry… I shall make up for lost time when I return. We’ll set everything right, and restore our Kingdom to what it used to be.”

“Yes, father. I can hardly wait.”

Renner stepped forward and fell into the open arms of her father into a tight embrace. 

“Just assist Marquis Raeven as best as you can. I shall end this once and for all quickly.”

“As you say, father.”

She removed herself from the embrace and stood to the side of her bodyguard. 

“Protect my daughter, Climb. She is all I have left.”

King Ramposa said with a deep well of sorrow within his heart. 

“Majesty, no one shall touch her unless they’ve killed me first.”

Climb went down on one knee and bowed his head to swear loud enough to echo fof the stone walls of the palace. 

“I believe you.”

The King said, looking the blond boy over, clad in the armor the princess had scrimped and saved to give to him. 

Diligent, hardworking, and above all, loyal and utterly devoted. 

‘If only he’d been a nobleman… he might have made a fine match, perhaps, even worthy to be king. But… it’s simply not meant to be.’

King Ramposa reflected with a sense of pity. 

“Send word to Gazef that I will bring him after all. Tell him to hurry. We’re leaving soon.”