Chapter 400
Shining glanced at the untouched banquet, stood up holding his black longsword, and said solemnly:
"Haven't I made myself clear enough? You're not my family. The colleagues who were sent to monitor me and Liz have already been asked to leave. Don't send me any more invitations; I won't be coming. The next time we meet will probably be on the battlefield."
Seeing her pushing the Wheelchair, it seemed she was truly about to leave. The Confessors Leader put down his knife and fork, wiping his mouth with a napkin:
"Are you really planning to just leave like this?"
Shining didn't speak, but just stared at him coldly.
This man, her blood brother and social fiancé, carries the soul of her father within him.
The father used Secret Art to possess his son's body and even addressed him as "sister" according to their past relationship. This kind of address, which violates social norms, is truly disgusting.
She doesn't want to say even a single word to these so-called family members right now.
"Sister, what if I don't want you to leave?"
The forceful statement pushed the atmosphere to a freezing point. Shining gripped her Black Sword tightly and said succinctly:
"You can't stop me."
Seeing that the other party remained unmoved by either soft or hard tactics, the Confessors Leader spread his hands, seemingly wanting to demonstrate magnanimity:
"Alright, I allow you to leave. And you don't have to return to my side for the next few years. But don't interfere with the Regent's plans. And don't interfere with the other Sarkaz moving towards the long-awaited future. No matter how much you despise your bloodline and yearn to break free from those shackles, you can never truly deny it. Denying the generous gifts of this bloodline is meaningless."
Shining didn't even bother to call him "father," pushing Nightingale's Wheelchair away from the Confessors's stronghold. She didn't want any contact with these people; she just wanted to escape as far away as possible.
Speaking of which, Doctor Zhongli and Amiya should be somewhere in the Central City District, right?
June 24, 0:32 AM
Because their movements had been discovered, Vigna and her companions did not risk passing through the Fifth Outpost. To avoid being surrounded by the City Defense Army and reinforcements, they decided to take a long detour and enter the designated area via Pincer Attack path.
"We've arrived. Go out ahead and you'll find the road connecting the Royal Palace and the Duke's Mansion."
Alda's tone was light, and she seemed to be in a good mood.
"I know this place. Many years ago, His Highness appeared here with the Breath of the Kings, which caused quite a stir."
Vigna pondered for a moment, but had absolutely no recollection of it:
"Really? I don't remember."
"It is true, Your His Highness. However, you were too young at the time and may have forgotten it over the years. If you ask some of the older nobles, they should still remember."
"Alda, I am not seeking the Breath of the Kings for any title. Rather, I wish to use the treasures of the Former Emperor to rally the people and bring peace back."
Alda doesn't seem to care much about any of this; she's now focused solely on finding the Breath of the Kings.
"Aha, right here. As long as we break through this sealed wall, we can reach the Place Where Hope Sleeps. No matter what the situation is like outside, we must obtain the Breath of the Kings. It may be the key to disrupting the Sarkaz plan and even changing the course of the entire war."
Morgan was displeased with her riddle-solving manner, but not wanting to say it outright, so he politely asked:
"What exactly is the use of this sword? What do you mean by saying it can turn the tide of a battle?"
Shi Lei is now well-read and knows the origin of the Breath of the Kings. Legend has it that it was a sword forged by Spirit of the Plains for Aslan's ancestor. He used it to win countless battles and cut off the head of the King of Monsters.
Later, Aslan arrived in Victoria, defeated Dolak, and forced them to accept a system of Dual Monarchy. This sword then became a symbol of royal power.
"According to historical records, this sword possesses the powerful ability to cleave through Catastrophe. If it is truly as powerful as the legends say, once we master this power, we can drive all the Sarkaz out of the city!"
Upon hearing that Alda sought out the Breath of the Kings for such a reason, Shi Lei found it extremely boring.
I thought there was something special going on, but it was all for nothing.
Catastrophe can be overcome without a sword.
Seeing that Alda was speaking with great enthusiasm, Vigna's expression turned somewhat serious:
"You seem to know a lot about the Breath of the Kings?"
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"You seem to know a lot about the Breath of the Kings?"
Alda reacted quickly and didn't reveal any flaws:
"I've seen it before, when His Majesty brought back the Breath of the Kings. It... is beautiful, with a power that can stir the soul. When I saw it, I was deeply moved. Later, I specifically looked up information about it, so I know quite a bit about it."
Vigna couldn't find anything wrong with it, so she didn't ask any more questions.
For some reason, her memories of her childhood are very vague. She feels that something very important happened back then, but she can't recall the specifics.
Vigna has been having the same recurring dream lately: she dreams that golden mane has sprouted beneath her. Whenever she reaches out and grasps that warm gold, she transforms into a four-legged beast, and the dream abruptly ends.
"Let's go, it's time to set off."
Shi Lei easily broke through the sealed wall, revealing a pitch-black Cave Entrance. He used his Psychic Power to probe the deepest part and was surprised to find that there were actually living creatures inside.
Judging from the outline, it looks like a human figure.
The only entrance to the Place Where the Kings Sleep is this path. According to the books Shi Lei had read, this place was sealed off 26 years ago after the Lion King was hanged.
If no other food is put in, how have the creatures inside survived until now?
That's interesting.
He can use his Psychic Scan the internal situation, but others cannot.
Vigna went in first, using her phone's light for illumination. Alda, Dagda, Morgan, Indra, and others followed closely behind, weapons in hand.
Shi Lei shielded everyone with Jade Shield, not in a hurry to go inside. He paused at the Cave Entrance for a moment, and soon waited for Ines and the other two to bring Heredrey before him to beg for forgiveness.
Although W could not accept his actions, the deed was done, and the only option was to minimize the damage.
"My lord, please let me explain."
Shi Lei's expression remained calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
No, let him say it himself.
Whether Heredrey warned the Sarkaz City Defense Army or not didn't significantly affect the overall plan. Everyone was mentally prepared to be pursued even before they officially set off.
Shi Lei was indifferent to this, but it was obvious that W and Ines were very protective of him.
Several years ago, when they airdropped supplies to Ursus Schuratzburg City, the three of them were inseparable. It's perfectly understandable that they're now trying to exonerate their friend.
"My lord, this is what I'm thinking..."
After hearing Heredrey's explanation, Shi Lei's expression remained unchanged.
This person values relationships and is somewhat clever. But cleverness isn't necessarily a good quality.
Besides, he wasn't his subordinate, so it was better to do W and Ines a favor:
"Want to go to Liyue City? No problem. I don't care what you were like before, as long as you love peace and don't cause trouble in the future, you can join. If you can stay peaceful for the rest of your life, even if you're just pretending, I won't kick you out."
Furthermore, given your behavior, it might be difficult for you to become a manager in the future. You'll be under W's supervision for now. Any promotions will depend on your performance, understand?
Heredrey learned from Ines that the City Lord disliked sycophants. He immediately clasped his hands in thanks to Shi Lei for accepting him, without saying any polite formalities.
Back to Vigna, they had reached the end of the black passageway. There stood a heavy door, reserved only for King Victoria.
A massive doorway stretched across the Underground Space, and apart from everyone's breathing, there was not a sound.
Only then did Vigna realize that Shi Lei hadn't followed, and she turned around to ask:
"Dagda, where is Doctor Zhongli?"
"Um, they're still outside, right? He has people in that Sarkaz squad; they're probably waiting for them to regroup before coming in. Vigna, should I go out and look for them?"
"No need, we're here."
Shi Lei and Ines emerged from the shadows.
Now that Heredrey has joined Liyue City, he's considered one of their own. He didn't hide anything and summoned Rock platform out of thin air, much to the other's astonishment.
W volunteered to look after Heredrey, and together they ascended to the sky atop the Rock platform to await orders in the high-altitude Rock House.
When Vigna saw that the remaining two Sarkaz were missing, she did not ask Shi Lei to confirm their whereabouts.
She took out the key provided by Rhodes Island, inserted it into the keyhole in the center of the door, and began to turn it.
"Klala..."
With the sound of gears turning, the heavy, old door opened a crack for passage.
Vigna took the lead, with Alda close behind.
The lighting inside was even dimmer; even with a cell phone light, one couldn't see distant objects.
It was very quiet here, so quiet that the only sounds were the footsteps and breathing of each person.
Vigna suddenly stepped on something and stood there motionless. Seeing her stop, Alda asked, "..."
"Your His Highness, what's wrong?"
Following Vigna's gaze, everyone saw a lot of dried blood that had hardened into a crust on the ground.
The winding trail of blood crawled all the way to the deepest part of the shadows, with no end in sight.
As the group continued deeper into the area, they encountered broken arrowheads, rusty swords, and deep craters left by magical attacks.
There were no corpses or skeletons at the scene. Only various signs of fighting, showing later visitors just how intense the battle was.
Ines crouched down, picked up a dusty Mechanical Crossbow, examined it for a moment, and then reported to Shi Lei:
"My lord, these are Sarkaz weapons. They are crudely manufactured products from the armory in Kazdel. You can see there isn't even a safety pin here."
Upon hearing this, Vigna bit her lip and remained silent.
Based on the information observed at the scene, it is not difficult to deduce that a fierce battle had taken place here.
But now even the corpses are gone, which means that the Breath of the Kings in the deepest part has likely been taken away.
Alda also realized what was happening, her expression turning unusually serious as she thought to herself that her years of waiting had come to this:
"Your His Highness, something is not right."
"I know, let's keep going. Even if the Breath of the Kings is gone, we have to confirm it ourselves."
Vigna, not wanting to waste time, gave the order:
"Morgan, Indra. You two retreat outside the passage and keep watch to ensure the safety of the evacuation route."
"Yes, Your His Highness. If we are surrounded by the Sarkaz City Defense Army later, we will inform you in time."
"Everyone else, follow me."
Vigna was unwilling to leave empty-handed and wanted to venture deeper into the Place Where the Kings Sleep. If the Breath of the Kings could stop this war, she would do everything in her power to obtain it.
The group continued walking until they reached a half-open door. Passing through the crack in the door, they entered a corridor lined with large statues of Victoria monarchs on both sides.
This corridor is like a microcosm of history, with each departed person silently gazing down at those who come to visit.
"Alexandrina".
Vigna felt as if someone was calling her.
Her gaze lingered on the statues of the Aslan King before settling on her grandfather Frederick III. He had participated in the Four Nations War and, during his reign, had allied with other nations to destroy Gaul.
Beside the statue stands Vigna's father, the Lion King, who was hanged in the garden twenty-six years ago.
However, the Stone Statues was not yet completed; large areas remained uncarved. Although traces of carving tools were visible, the work was hastily done. The sculpture's head was a blur, with only the outlines of the eyebrows and eyes vaguely discernible. Only the crown atop its head proclaimed the Stone Statues's identity.
The Lion King's death was actually foreshadowed.
The debts from years of war were suffocating Victoria. And the already weakened Dolak was unwilling to accept Aslan's rule.
Only one of the two royal families can survive.
While Dolak's incitement of the nobility to rebel was unexpected, it was also within reason.
Seeing that Vigna remained silent, Alda glanced discreetly into the depths before quickly withdrawing her gaze.
"The Lion King is a great emperor. No matter how outsiders criticize him, my father and I believe he is no less than any of the other kings here."
"Perhaps, Alda. I haven't seen my father in years and have long forgotten what he looks like. I'd rather be a gang leader fighting in a tavern than a high and mighty Royal Family descendant."
Ines, uninterested in their conversation, walked ahead of Alda and suddenly spoke: