Chapter 144: Castle · Reversal (Part 2)

Doubt and confusion made this young lady’s brows furrow slightly, but it did not affect her beauty in the slightest; on the contrary, it added a distinct radiance to her.

Her full-body armor and the longsword in her hand gave this young lady an intense heroic aura at all times.

Her long golden hair was tied up in a simple manner behind her head, which did not look abrupt at all; instead, it made her look even more pleasing to the eye.

Her emerald-green eyes were clear, lively, and tough.

They were unforgettable.

In fact, anyone facing this lady would not forget her, whether because of her beauty, her strength, or her power.

Ailu Nick was this young lady’s name.

The surname Nick was inherited from the King of the Emerald Kingdom, Nick, representing her status as a member of the Royal Family, while the name Ailu was inherited from the Valkyrie of the Emerald Kingdom, Ailu, representing the foundation for her to obtain supreme glory—

The Emerald Grand Duke!

The position of Grand Duke, appearing below the King, seemed to explain everything.

After all, compared to a Prince, a Grand Duke who could be directly addressed as “His Majesty” was undoubtedly more prestigious.

Although she herself had not accepted such prestige.

However, becoming the youngest Gold-rank Knight in the history of the Emerald Kingdom at the age of twenty-three made this prestige even more dazzling.

At least, within the Three Southern Counties, this Grand Duchess represented absolute authority.

It far surpassed that of the Grand Duchess’s younger brother, the very young King.

However, the Grand Duchess had no intention whatsoever regarding her younger brother’s Throne; this was a point recognized throughout the Emerald Kingdom; after all, that young King had ascended the throne only with the support of his sister.

If the Emerald Grand Duke had any other ideas, becoming a Queen would not be a difficult task for her.

After all, both the Emerald Kingdom and Goth had seen eras ruled by Queens.

Moreover, they had done better than ordinary male Kings.

The Emerald Grand Duke naturally displayed such qualities.

However, under her persistence, it was still her younger brother who became the King—regarding this, while many people expressed confusion, they also offered their respect to this Grand Duchess.

Handing over the position of the ruler of a country was absolutely not an easy thing to do.

Therefore, within the entire Emerald Kingdom, this Grand Duchess was a person highly revered; even enemies would retain a degree of respect when facing her.

Just like Zmrok right now, the leader responsible for this ‘Brotherhood’ operation, who had shown a certain respect for the Emerald Grand Duke from beginning to end.

Of course, he showed no mercy when attacking—

“Grand Duke Nick, is this the backup you arranged?”

Sensing the fierce Prestige outside the hall, Zmrok gripped one long and one short longsword in his hand and attacked the Emerald Grand Duke like a violent storm.

However, the undiminished resistance between the two longswords made this leader of the ‘Brotherhood’ look extremely grave.

In fact, since the fight with the Emerald Grand Duke began, the grave expression on Zmrok’s face had never changed.

After all, she had become a Gold-rank existence at the age of twenty-three.

Although there was a gap compared to the rumored King of City who became a Gold-rank existence at nineteen, such a gap was definitely not something he, a Silver upper-rank Knight who was about to touch the Gold-rank threshold, could evaluate.

Therefore, even though this operation had been prepared for six years, Zmrok still did not dare to look down on it in the slightest.

And everything that followed proved the necessity of his caution and raised vigilance—

Although her strength was suppressed by layers of Magic, the opponent’s longsword was still not something he could block; even the team of Grand Knight crossbowmen he brought found it difficult to play their role.

Because the Emerald Grand Duke’s speed was simply too fast, so fast that even he, a Knight possessing the upper rank of Silver, was overwhelmed, let alone those Knight-rank crossbowmen led by the Grand Knight level; they did not even have the ability to lock onto the opponent—Zmrok could even be certain that if the entire hall had not been sealed by Magic, it would have been effortless for the opponent to leave.

Even as time passed and more Magic seals appeared, suppressing the Emerald Grand Duke’s strength, Zmrok did not gain the slightest upper hand.

On the contrary, more than half of Zmrok’s subordinates had been killed or wounded.

The only thing to be thankful for was that the Grand Duchess was still in this hall.

This became the reason for Zmrok’s persistence in the end; after all, he believed in Ytil’s ability—as long as the Magic Array was fully operational, it would be the moment of their victory.

However, clearly, such victory no longer existed!

After sensing the fierce Prestige outside the hall, Zmrok had this realization.

And now, what he had to do was to complete his goal before the effect of the Magic Array disappeared, and before the existence emitting such fierce Prestige entered the hall—

Assassinate the Emerald Grand Duke!

Although by now, calling it an assassination was somewhat laughable.

However, this leader of the ‘Brotherhood’ would never give up his mission.

“A little bit, just a little bit more… just need to wound her…”

Waving the two longswords rapidly, Zmrok encouraged himself like this in his heart.

After all, the blades of the one long and one short weapon were coated with a poison that killed upon contact with blood; perhaps it would not have a great effect on a Gold-rank powerhouse, but it would definitely affect the opponent.

Once the opponent’s speed slowed down, his subordinates holding crossbows behind him would definitely deal a fatal blow to her.

As for applying poison to weapons and using crossbows, was it a loss of style?

As a member of the ‘Brotherhood’, they would stop at nothing to complete the mission.

They would not even care about fighting with their lives—

Facing a sword strike from the Emerald Grand Duke, Zmrok did not dodge, as if he had not seen it, while his dual swords stabbed straight at the Emerald Grand Duke’s throat.

Facing such an attack, the Emerald Grand Duke’s expression did not change; with a flick of her wrist, her longsword deflected Zmrok’s dual swords, and she even counterattacked towards Zmrok’s throat.

Watching the sword about to pierce his throat, the corner of Zmrok’s mouth turned up, revealing a smile.

He opened his mouth, and a small blowgun appeared there—undoubtedly, at the last moment, this leader of the ‘Brotherhood’ began to reveal his poison fangs.

Puff!

The poison arrow in the blowgun shot out directly, and the Emerald Grand Duke had to bring her sword back to block.

Taking advantage of this moment, Zmrok’s dual swords turned back like a two-headed snake and stabbed towards the Emerald Grand Duke.

Buzz!

Just when Zmrok thought he was about to succeed with all his might, the layers of magical aura surrounding the Emerald Grand Duke suddenly trembled, and then just shattered like that.

“Finished!”

Seeing the magical aura that had been binding and imprisoning the Emerald Grand Duke shatter, Zmrok, who was on the verge of success, was startled in his heart.

However, before he could think about what to do next, a palm had already appeared in front of him, and a scorching aura instantly enveloped him—

Boom!

Fierce flames erupted the moment Dean grabbed Zmrok; this leader of the ‘Brotherhood’ did not even have time to react before he was submerged in flames.

When the flames receded, all that remained was a piece of charcoal.

“And… and you!”

A tyrannical voice came from Dean’s mouth.

The next moment, the remaining Grand Knights and Knights of the ‘Brotherhood’ were all swallowed by the flames.

It was not that no one resisted, but the result of any resistance was exactly the same as before: death approached even faster.

“Hehe… Mission accomplished, we will take your Soul!”

Amidst a burst of wild laughter, there was a hint of joy.

However, soon, that joy turned into annoyance—

“Bastard, the guy from Hell, this guy’s Soul already belongs to us!”

An even more tyrannical voice than before suddenly came from Dean’s body, and at the same time, a thick scent of sulfur began to appear on Dean.

Hiss, hiss!

The temperature in the entire hall began to rise rapidly; the air, distorted at first, quickly ignited, and even the bluestone floor began to melt.

Scorching, incomparably scorching!

One side was incomparably tyrannical.

One side was incomparably cruel.

But their roots were both scorching heat and Flame.

It was as if two extremely terrifying monsters had started a fight.

However, the tyrannical side clearly had an absolute advantage; just a few seconds later, the cruel side began to retreat step by step.

Finally, the heat began to devour the heat.

The Flame of the Bloodline wrapped around the Flame from the sulfur river, burning fiercely.

The latter unconsciously let out a wail.

The former paid no attention to it—

“Just an incomplete brand, yet you dare to offend our majesty, you… Bastard! What are you doing!”

Before the tyrannical words were finished, they were replaced by shock and anger.

Outside the hall, the Emerald Grand Duke, who had appeared there at some point, was slashing towards the gate made of Lightning with her sword.

As if sensing the crisis, the gate made of Lightning shook violently.

Creak, creak…

The distance, which was originally just a crack, widened a bit more.

A red claw tip covered in scales stretched out from it; although it was just a claw tip, it was taller than a Warhorse, and this claw tip stabbed straight at the Emerald Grand Duke who was swinging her sword.

“Don’t think that just because you are the person this sacrifice needs to protect, we won’t dare to kill you!”

A teasing voice appeared inside Dean, replacing the previous tyrannical voice, and it even used Dean to make a mocking expression.

However, the next moment, that mocking expression froze.

That red claw tip passed straight through the Emerald Grand Duke’s body, but it was just a phantom.

The real Emerald Grand Duke was already standing in front of the Lightning gate, and the longsword in her hand flashed past.

Crack, crack…

Boom!

Amidst a muffled sound, the gate made of Lightning collapsed with a crash.

“Bastard! Ahhh!”

And Dean, who was originally standing, also fell straight backwards after uttering such an unwilling roar following the disappearance of the Lightning gate, completely losing consciousness.

Before Dean fell to the ground, the Emerald Grand Duke instantly appeared beside him, grabbing the unconscious Dean; looking at Dean’s weak breathing, the Grand Duchess frowned and muttered to herself.

“Prison of the Demon Dragon…”