End of Volume: The Bloodline of the Kingdom

An accident—Tales lowered his head, a heavy sense of helplessness rising in his heart—accidents always arrive suddenly.

In that instant, Tales felt as if he could see the Air Elementalist's ambiguous smile surfacing in his mind, saying to him: "Look, this is what we call coincidence."

Yordel silently put away the tinder.

The middle-aged noble calmed his excitement, looked at Tales, and patted his head gently.

"Child, it's alright."

"I am Gilbert Carso, and you can trust me, just as your father trusted me."

"Come, child, I will take you home."

"To see your father."

Tales took a full minute to compose himself.

During this time, both Yordel and Gilbert waited for him patiently.

"Let's go." Tales raised his head, his eyes now calm.

Gilbert nodded, approval showing in his eyes; he stood up and gestured toward the carriage.

Tales turned his head to look at Yordel:

"Yordel, you will be coming with me too, right?"

"Of course," Yordel's raspy voice sounded, though to Tales's ears at this moment, it was incredibly reassuring: "Please go ahead, I will be right by your side."

Tales took a deep breath and strode toward the carriage.

"Mr. Gilbert."

"Yes, young master, what is your command?"

"What did you do before?"

"Diplomatic affairs, my young master."

Diplomatic affairs?

Tales turned his head slightly, and at an angle where Gilbert couldn't see, he rolled his eyes at Yordel behind him.

Tales turned back around.

For some reason, he vaguely felt that Yordel seemed to have smiled behind his mask.

Tales arrived in front of the carriage; it was a simple, yet clearly expensive vehicle, and the glass on the black carriage door was decorated with pitch-crystal.

Two tall, jet-black horses were quietly chewing on their bits, one of them nuzzling affectionately toward Gilbert.

Looking at the high step, Tales measured his seven-year-old height against it and felt a bit troubled.

But before he could even turn around, Gilbert beside him opened the carriage door, lifted him inside, and placed him on the deep red sofa within.

"My apologies, there is no boarding stool." Gilbert smiled apologetically and closed the carriage door.

"But I promise this is the last time."

Tales sat alone on the spacious sofa; he didn't know what material it was made of, but although it was very comfortable, he felt somewhat restless.

The four corners of the carriage were illuminated by glow-in-the-dark paint, allowing him to barely make out the decorations inside. He saw that on the back of the carriage, a star pattern framed in a circle was firmly embedded.

One, two, three, four, five... nine, a nine-pointed star.

Tales thought to himself: This is a Nine-Pointed Star.

Before he could even recover his senses, the carriage started moving.

Tales climbed to the carriage window; the sky was just beginning to brighten, and the scenery outside was still unclear.

So, Tales sat back on the sofa, bored.

"Yordel, are you there?" he asked tentatively.

A reply came immediately to his ear:

"Yes."

Tales was startled and sat up, looking around, but inside and outside the carriage, apart from Gilbert who was driving, there wasn't a single soul.

Forget it, he was used to it anyway.

Tales sat back on the sofa and continued to ask: "Where are we?"

"Ahead lies Mindis Hall." The raspy voice came again.

Min—Min—Mindi—Mindis?

Forget it, he didn't know it anyway.

Who could have imagined that just a few hours ago, he was bleeding for survival in a Ruined House and getting injured while fleeing for his life on Red Quarter street, and now?

Tales patted the sofa beneath him, wondering who his father in this life was.

Whatever, let the soldiers come and the generals block, let the water come and the earth cover; he had even encountered a bizarre existence like an Elementalist who couldn't die, so what else could scare him?

The boy let out a breath, feeling a bit hot, and tugged at his tattered clothes.

He accidentally tugged at the wound on his chest.

Tales hissed, staring at the burn on his chest.

Along the edges of the wound branded by Quade, a circle of reversed, ancient-style decorative characters seemed faintly visible.

This is—Kings are not honored by bloodline—Tales recalled the words on that silver coin.

He suddenly slapped his forehead.

Mindis—Mindis Silver Coin?

Wasn't that, wasn't that the wise king of the first generation of the Starfall Kingdom?

Wait, Mindis Hall?

The carriage suddenly stopped.

Tales was still lost in chaos and ignorance, not knowing what to do, when Gilbert respectfully invited him off the carriage.

Beneath the carriage was an exquisite little garden paved with hard, unrecognizable floor tiles. In the center of the garden stood a delicate fountain, with water spraying from the mouth of a stone dragon looking up and roaring at the sky.

Tales turned his head in a daze, looking at the large black iron gate of the garden. The black iron gate seemed to be engraved with reliefs; Tales did not recognize a single scene on them, but a large flag stood on either side of the iron gate, fluttering in the wind.

On the flags was the Silver Cross Double Stars on a blue background with a white border: two silver cross stars, one large and one small, were layered together, with the small cross star positioned to the lower right of the large one.

Tales recognized it; the flag flying highest on the West Gate bore this same pattern.

White border, blue background, Silver Cross Double Stars.

The flag of the Starfall Kingdom.

The two flags in the garden, however, had an extra small nine-pointed star embroidered on the lower left corner of the large silver cross star, with four gold points and five silver points.

That was the pattern engraved on the back of the carriage.

Tales came back to his senses. Before him stood a magnificent three-story building, with eight exquisitely carved pillars supporting a large balcony on the second floor. In the center of the top floor, light shone from a window.

The main entrance of the building was made of cedar—Tales had once seen a furniture merchant at the large market by the West Gate shouting to sell a large square cedar table, asking for fifty Gold Coins.

Of course, later he "voluntarily" sold the square table to the Black Street Brotherhood at a discount of one Gold Coin.

Tales followed Gilbert in a daze, refusing Yordel's gesture of opening his arms, and insisted on enduring the wounds and exhaustion all over his body as he walked with difficulty through the door carved from giant cedar.

The entrance, the hall, and the corridor leading to the spiral staircase were all illuminated by magnificent Eternal Lamps burning Eternal Oil. Standing there were fully equipped, unblinking guards. Each guard seemed to have been carefully selected, uniform in height, equipped with swords, shields, and crossbows, and their metal shields were all marked with the gold and silver nine-pointed star.

Tales held onto the railing beside the stairs and walked slowly up to the second floor.

On the second floor, on the wall facing the main entrance of the building, hung three portraits.

In the center was a young Knight of heroic bearing, charging with a Long Spear. The Knight's features were handsome and his expression heroic; he wore a Silver Seven-Star Crown on his head, charging fearlessly against a backdrop of a brutal battlefield.

On the left was a sturdy warrior with a sword and shield. The shield bore a nine-pointed star with all-silver points, and he wore a Nine-Star Crown. His face was resolute and heroic, and the background was a lush, towering Holy Tree.

On the right was a seated portrait of a kind and gentle middle-aged man. Behind him was a room with expensive interior decorations. In his left hand, he held a precious Crystal-inlaid Scepter, and in his right hand was a thick book with five different patterns of suns, stars, and moons on it.

The temperaments of the three noble figures were all different, but the painter seemed to have captured the spirit of each of them well. Tales stared blankly at the portraits, as if the people themselves were present.

It seems they really are a great noble family with a long heritage.

Unfortunately, Tales did not recognize a single one of them.

Wait, why does that middle-aged handsome man look so familiar?

Just as Tales was about to lift his clothes to look at the portrait branded on his chest, a calm and steady sound of footsteps approached.

"That is Tomond I, the last Prince of the Final Empire, the founder of the Starfall Kingdom, the 'King of Renaissance'. His heroism in The Ending War is still praised to this day."

"On the left is Midier IV, comrade of the hero Sara and the prophet Kaipeng, protector of the Holy Tree, the 'Oath Keeper'. Starting with him and his Elf Queen, the Chanstar Royal Family gained the blood of the elves."

"Finally, there is Mindis III, the 'Wise King'. From nobles to priests, from merchants to beggars, all praise his wise rule."

This voice was heavy and dignified, coming low, yet it felt like thunder hidden behind dark clouds, vibrating faintly.

Gilbert and Yordel behind him knelt on one knee in unison.

Tales swallowed a mouthful of saliva and lifted his head slightly.

A sturdy figure walked slowly to his front. The majestic and resolute face always reminded him of the sword-and-shield warrior on the left of the wall.

This was a physically strong, middle-aged noble with black hair, a high nose, deep eyes, and a broad face. His sky-blue pupils were as sharp as swords. The noble stood before Tales, leaning on a scepter with his left hand, examining him carefully.

Tales looked back at the noble in front of him, somewhat dumbfounded.

He could not suppress his nervousness.

In his two lifetimes of experience, no one had ever taught him what to do at a time like this.

The sturdy noble examined him for a long time, so long that even Tales felt a bit embarrassed.

However, his gaze did not make Tales feel friendly or at ease in the slightest; instead, it put him under immense pressure, making it hard for him to breathe.

To put it bluntly, even the crazy look in the eyes of Echeida Sackern was easier to bear than this.

But Tales suddenly noticed that the sturdy noble before him was wearing something on his head that looked like the Nine-Star Crown worn by the sword-and-shield warrior in the painting, and the scepter in his left hand looked exactly like the Crystal-inlaid Scepter in the hands of the middle-aged man in the painting on the right.

Gilbert reminded him in a low voice from the side: "Child, this is your father."

"Father?"

Tales lowered his eyes, looking at the star-blue cloak behind the man, and couldn't help but murmur.

The face of his father from his previous life slowly reflected in his mind, though it was somewhat blurry.

Tales took a deep breath and refocused his gaze.

"Who are you?"

He heard his own voice ring out flatly.

The robust nobleman did not answer, merely knitting his brows slightly.

Just then, Gilbert raised his head and spoke solemnly, his tone filled with authority, gravity, and an air that brooked no doubt:

"This is Kessel Mindis Eddie Chanstar, the fifth King Kessel of his line.

The legitimate descendant of the Final Empire's imperial house, and the successor to the King of Revival, Tomond.

The Co-lord of the Northlanders and the Ludorians of the Western Continent, the conqueror of the Dragon Bone Throne and the Desert God Altar.

The protector of the Holy Tree and the Serra Duchy, the guardian of the Steel City and the Free Alliance.

The Iron Hand, the thirty-ninth Supreme King of the Starfall Kingdom, the Southern Archipelago, and the Western Desert."

Tales felt a chill in his heart, his breathing quickening.

A suffocating pressure bore down on him as if it were physical.

Kessel looked at Tales, his eyes profound.

After a long moment, he turned his head to look at Gilbert and Yordel on either side.

The robust king, Kessel the Fifth, spoke in a heavy, thick voice, enunciating every word:

"Is he my descendant, the bloodline of the kingdom?"

"The last and only bloodline of the entire Starfall Kingdom?"

Volume One has concluded. Tales will now enter his true stage; the hardships, blood, tears, and pain of the past will all become the nourishment and capital for his future growth, for a true king is not defined by bloodline alone. Of course, the past is far from over; Rick, Layok, Yala, Kohn, Ashida, and the others also have their own unique futures, and their fates will be tightly intertwined with that of Tales. Thank you to all the readers on Chuangshi for your support along the way! Please look forward to Volume Two: Heir to the Kingdom.