Chapter 93: Breaking the City with One Blow! (74k Big Chapter)

The setting sun slanted west, burning the clouds into shades of crimson gold, like a ripe honey tangerine.

Tramp, tramp, tramp.

Accompanied by the dense sound of footsteps, the Black Wolf Territory's army had been on the road for a full day, and finally, as dusk approached, entered the border of the Night Shadow Territory.

In the carriage cabin.

"Hoo," Xia Mingyu exhaled a long breath, his brows furrowed tightly as he looked at the setting sun outside the window.

"Your Highness, what is wrong?" Lise, who had been secretly watching him beside him, noticed the change in his expression and asked softly.

"I don't know why, but ever since entering the Night Shadow Territory, I've had a feeling of palpitations."

Xia Mingyu touched his heart, feeling his suddenly accelerated heartbeat, and explained.

Moreover, his ears were always buzzing, as if countless people were wailing in his ears.

"Perhaps it's because of riding in the carriage for too long. Your Highness, do you need a lap pillow from me?"

Lise thought for a moment, knelt on the sofa, closed her legs, and gently patted her thigh to signal Xia Mingyu to lie down.

Ah?

Letting such a cute and petite girl give you a lap pillow, is that a bit sinful?

Xia Mingyu felt it was wrong in his heart, but his body lay down on it involuntarily.

So soft, so fragrant...

Xia Mingyu suddenly felt the palpitations ease a lot; he closed his eyes to rest, his breathing gradually becoming even, as if he had fallen asleep.

And Lise had the corners of her mouth slightly raised, gently looking down at the young man resting on her lap.

This was the first time she had observed Xia Mingyu from such a close distance.

Time passed second by second...

The yellowish sunlight shone through the carriage window onto the man's angular face. As the sunset slanted west, the light slowly moved from his forehead to the bridge of his nose, and then slid to his chin.

The flickering shadows highlighted his perfect bone structure, making his already handsome face look even more charming.

Lise stared blankly at this scene; she suddenly had the urge to secretly kiss him while His Highness was asleep.

His Highness is truly incredible!

Clearly the most noble prince in the whole world, yet so approachable, and even occasionally said thank you to the servants who served him in the castle.

Kind, just, genius, intelligent, handsome—the world seemed to have given all its love to this man.

And His Highness had also helped her with many things, even saying that if it weren't for His Highness, she would have probably spent her whole life in the castle's library slowly rotting away.

If she could offer her maiden kiss to His Highness, she would surely feel secretly happy about it for the rest of her life!

To kiss His Highness is to kiss the world.

Thinking of the scene where she would kiss His Highness, Lise's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

She couldn't help but think about what kind of feelings she held for His Highness—was it love, gratitude, or both?

However, this was not important, because His Highness could never belong to her.

His Highness is a potent poison to all women; in his long life, he will surely meet countless women who are so excellent they can be called perfect!

And she would only be a passerby, probably only accompanying His Highness for a very small part of his life, and then she would miss, secretly rejoice, and be happy about this brief intersection for her entire life...

Thinking of this, a surge of courage suddenly rose in Lise's heart; she tucked her hair behind her head to avoid the scattered long hair waking His Highness, and then lowered her head and kissed Xia Mingyu's lips lightly, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Afterward, as if she had done something bad, she guiltily turned her head toward the window.

Xia Mingyu: "."

Time continued to pass until the carriage suddenly stopped, and the slight jolting in the cabin woke them both up.

"What happened?"

Xia Mingyu walked out of the carriage and asked the shield-bearing soldiers holding two-meter giant shields and wearing iron armor around him.

"My lord, someone ahead is blocking the army..." the shield soldier said respectfully.

"Blocking the army?" Xia Mingyu looked surprised.

Daring to block an army of two thousand people, could they be crazy?

"Take me to see."

At the very front of the army, Kalen was currently frowning at the crazy peasant woman in front of him.

Her hair was as messy as a bird's nest, she was skin and bones, her cheeks were injured, she was barefoot, her soles had been worn to the point of bleeding, and her dull eyes revealed a hint of madness.

"Where is my child? Have you seen my child?"

She shouted with a hoarse voice, completely ignoring the long spears raised by the surrounding soldiers, just repeating this sentence over and over.

"A few people, hurry and drag her away to the side," Kalen ordered.

If it were the old him, if someone dared to block the army's advance and disrupt the morale, he would have drawn his sword directly.

But after the execution that day, he learned of the suffering of the commoners and gradually learned to be tolerant.

Several soldiers surrounded her, wanting to drag the crazy peasant woman away, but this only stimulated her; she swung her fists wildly, hitting the soldiers' heavy leather armor, looking pale and powerless.

"It was you, it was you who took my child!"

At this time, Xia Mingyu walked over.

"What happened?" He looked at the peasant woman who was still struggling hard while being held down by the soldiers and asked Kalen.

"Lord Mingyu, this crazy... peasant woman blocked the army, clamoring to find her child," Kalen explained.

Just then, a peasant who was not old but looked exceptionally aged ran over in a panic.

"Respected noble lord, please let go of my wife. She previously resisted during the grain requisition in the Night Shadow Territory and lost the child in her womb, which is why she has become like this."

The peasant looked at the blessing on Kalen's head, knelt on both knees in a hurry, and explained with a face full of sorrow.

"Although I am a peasant, I often go to Night Wind Town to transport crops. If you are willing to let go of my wife, I can lead the way for you."

Night Wind Town is the largest town in the Night Shadow Territory and also the only way to Night Shadow Castle.

If they took a detour, it would not only consume a lot of time but also require passing through a deep, dense forest.

"Let her go."

After thinking for a moment, Kalen ordered the soldiers to let go of the peasant woman.

He indeed needed someone who often went to Night Wind Town to lead the way, especially now that it was almost dusk.

However, what no one expected was.

After being released by the soldiers, the peasant woman actually looked at Xia Mingyu among the crowd, and then shouted with a face full of crazy smiles that her child, her child had been found.

"Seeking death!"

Killing intent flashed in Kalen's eyes, the pity deep in his heart was quickly replaced by anger, and the long sword in his hand was drawn directly, ready to cut off the madwoman's head.

However, he was stopped by Xia Mingyu raising his hand.

After learning the reason for her madness from the peasant's mouth, looking at the crazy woman in front of him, Xia Mingyu couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy.

She was not a madwoman, just a mother who couldn't find her child.

Thinking of this, Xia Mingyu moved.

"My child, my child..."

The peasant woman fell to the muddy ground, looking at Xia Mingyu who was walking over and giggling foolishly.

Afterward, under the astonished gaze of everyone, Xia Mingyu slowly leaned down and hugged the peasant woman.

"I bless your child to return again and grow up safely," he said softly.

Immediately after, as if a miracle had happened, the crazy peasant woman's eyes gradually calmed down, and finally, she fell into a deep sleep on Xia Mingyu's shoulder.

"Give her another child; I believe he can grow up safely this time."

Xia Mingyu held the sleeping peasant woman and handed her to the tearful peasant, saying calmly.

Afterward, he walked back to the carriage, and the sound of the peasant's trembling thanks and the sound of knocking his head on the ground came from behind.

Afterward, the army continued to set out, seeing one village after another filled with various tragedies due to grain requisition.

And after witnessing these tragedies with his own eyes, Xia Mingyu's heart became increasingly angry.

Victor... is this guy really a normal person?

How could a lord be so incompetent as to requisition all the grain from the people?

Calling him a feudal lord seems too advanced...

No, I really want to cut off his head with my own hands too!

Late at night, the night was like ink, and the bright moon hung high.

The army finally arrived at the largest town in the Night Shadow Territory—Night Wind Town, where countless candles were still lit ahead.

Tramp, tramp, tramp.

Just when Kalen thought there would be a fierce battle, the town gate suddenly opened, and a group of people ran out excitedly, holding torches.

"Respected Viscount Hughes, heroic Howling Wolf, I am Vis Night Shadow, the mayor of Night Wind Town, the younger brother of the previous Viscount of Night Shadow, I solemnly surrender to you, please, you must kill that beast Victor!"

"He is about to force everyone in the entire Night Shadow Territory to death!"

The old man at the head knelt on one knee, saying with heartbreak.

Kalen: "."

"I accept your surrender," Kalen said calmly.

According to the rules between nobles and the Southern Region Alliance, even if he won the honor war, he could not directly occupy the Night Shadow Territory; at least on the surface, he needed to support someone from the Night Shadow family to be the lord.

The old man in front of him was undoubtedly the best choice.

Afterward, the army entered the town to rest, and according to His Highness's request, tried not to disturb the people, only entering empty houses or resting in open spaces, and even set aside a portion of the military rations for the starving people in the town.

"Lise, do you know where Blade City is?"

In the carriage cabin, Xia Mingyu lay on the soft sofa covered with a quilt and asked the girl who was also lying on the opposite sofa.

Brown-Nose's living environment should currently be the worst among the members of the Spark, and he has no ties and no worries; if it is close, he should send someone to bring him back.

"Blade City?"

Hearing his words, the girl who was about to fall asleep was startled and turned her body to look at Xia Mingyu in surprise.

"Your Highness, how did you know this name?"

"Uh, a friend of mine lives there."

"... Blade City was the original name of Twilight City. Later, my younger brother's maternal grandfather, the strongest knight in the Southern Region, Red Fire, Leo Martha, felt that this name was too murderous and not conducive to the city's development, so it was renamed Twilight."

"."

After a long silence, a slight snoring sound gradually echoed in the carriage.

Red Fox Castle.

Brown-Nose got up early in the morning to work, only to see the surrounding servants looking at him with surprised eyes, or rather, at the blessing on his head.

Strange, aren't we all commoners? What is there to look at?

Just as he was puzzled, Brown-Nose was taken to the castle's butler.

"Strange, to be able to qualify as a Knight Apprentice without a breathing technique, and so young, could he be a genius?" The butler held his chin and fell into deep thought.

It wasn't until someone whispered a few words in his ear that he suddenly realized.

"So you are that lucky kid who was fed a magic potion by the young lady. Since that's the case, the young lady is missing a guard, so you go there. Speak less, do more, and repay the young lady's kindness well!"

So, after receiving a breathing technique that was countless times simpler than what his master had taught him and a set of guard clothes, Brown-Nose was taken again to the silver-haired girl with violet eyes.

He straightened his waist, but his feet trembled slightly because of nervousness.

This overly nervous appearance aroused the girl's curiosity.

"What is your name? To think you became a Knight Apprentice just by relying on that bottle of magic potion."

"Brown... Brown-Nose!" the boy answered extremely awkwardly.

The girl was silent for a moment, unable to help but cover her mouth and giggle.

"How can someone be called this name? It's too funny!" The girl even laughed until her stomach started to hurt.

"Sorry, Miss, because my parents both starved to death before they could name me, I survived by begging for food from neighbors and kind passersby, so people around me all called me Brown-Nose," Brown-Nose told the truth.

The smile on the girl's face froze.

She patted her face with both hands, and her expression quickly returned to calm.

"How old are you this year?" the girl asked.

"Ten, or eleven, because I have no family, so I don't remember my exact age," Brown-Nose answered.

"Ten years old and qualifying as a Knight Apprentice with a bottle of magic potion, that can be considered a genius..." Recalling the novels about knights and lords she had secretly read all night in her room, the girl was thoughtful.

"From now on, don't call yourself by the name Brown-Nose anymore, call yourself Leo, which means brave lion. I will bless you to become a fearless knight."

The girl thought for a moment, leaned close to the boy, and looked directly at the panic in his eyes, saying softly.

"Yes, yes, Miss, I will work hard to become a fearless knight!"

Seeing the girl's exquisite, snow-white face so close to him, to the point where he could even see her long eyelashes, Leo, who had never been in contact with the opposite sex, was so nervous that he couldn't speak clearly.

"Very good, my name is Rosa Martha, your future lord. From now on, you will dedicate your entire life to me, and I will return you honor and status, understand?"

Looking at this scene, the girl nodded with satisfaction, and then ordered like a little adult.

For the entire year that followed, Leo accompanied Rosa as a guard.

Although called a guard, in fact, it was more of a playmate, because in the entire Twilight City, presumably no one would dare to harm the daughter of the city lord, Count Martha.

Therefore, what Leo had to do every day was to play with Rosa and make her happy.

Sometimes he would play knight games with Rosa; he was the knight, Rosa was the lord who needed protection, and the opponent was a big black dog that stuck out its tongue and would come up to lick anyone it saw.

The result of the knight game was mostly failure.

Sometimes he would also go to the Storm Church with Rosa to pray; this time the girl would secretly go to play the pipe organ inside, while he was responsible for keeping watch.

He liked to listen to the piano music played by the young lady, and even more liked to watch the girl's solemn and solemn expression when playing the pipe organ.

That was one of the few times the young lady was like a young lady.

Although they were always caught by the elusive priest in the church, out of respect for the city lord, the priest wouldn't say much, just forcibly send them out of the church.

Sometimes they would also lie in the sun all day under the shade of the big oak tree in the abandoned backyard of the castle—their secret base—feeling the gentleness of the breeze blowing on their faces.

Just like that, Leo spent the happiest year ever; how he wished it could go on like this forever!

Spark Hall.

Twelve black prisms stood on the bronze earth, and the torches burned fiercely.

Leo returned here again, his physique still shrunk back to the way it was the first time he stepped here, just like last time.

This time he came relatively late, and the other three were already sitting at the bronze long table reading books.

As soon as he appeared, Tamerlane came to him in an instant, grabbing his arm and checking his body.

"Not bad, it seems Brown-Nose you have indeed worked hard. Your progress in this one day has already caught up to the level of an ordinary person practicing *Son of the Sun* for a year!"

After the examination, Tamerlane said with a satisfied expression.

Sure enough, worthy of being someone with the same will as him, this talent is indeed qualified to contribute to the great cause of changing the world.

Leo: "."

"Master, I am no longer called Brown-Nose. A kind person helped me name myself, called Leo."

"Leo... brave lion, it seems that kind person has high expectations for you!" Tamerlane smiled slightly, but felt a little regretful in his heart.

Originally, he also wanted to name his apprentice, and had already thought of calling him Tamerlane, but didn't expect to be beaten to it.

Xia Mingyu, who was reading *Biography of Red Fire*, was stunned, his fingers clenching the book pages unconsciously.

Afterward, Leo wanted to tell everyone about the different speed of time passing on his body.

After playing with the young lady Rosa in Red Fox Castle for a full year, his knowledge had also improved a lot, and he was no longer the ignorant and confused beggar he once was.

Naturally, he understood that such an urgent matter must be told honestly, even if he might be treated as a fool by his master again after being exposed.

After all, he didn't want to become an old man buried in the ground while the Prince and the others had only passed a few dozen days.

"Master, actually every time I pass a..."

Leo opened his mouth, wanting to explain clearly, but was horrified to find that he couldn't make a sound no matter what.

Boom, boom, boom!

At the same time, the hall, which was as stable as a mountain in the past, was now shaking.

On the twelve black prisms, the torches that were originally burning fiercely also became dim and flickering.

On the towering crystal dome, spiderweb-like cracks appeared.

"This... Your Highness?"

"What happened?"

Hagek Kesi and Tamerlane looked at Xia Mingyu subconsciously.

Without explanation, Xia Mingyu just got up from the main seat, walked to Leo, leaned down, patted his head, and with his back to the two people behind him, made a shushing gesture to the terrified Leo.

After this, the hall gradually stopped shaking.

"Nothing, perhaps it was just me in my sleep in the outside world being startled by a bird passing by the window."

Xia Mingyu turned around and smiled slightly at the two puzzled people.

"So that's how it is." The two suddenly realized.

"Tamerlane, this child will achieve unprecedented great achievements in history in the future. Please teach him all night tonight."

"Yes, Your Highness, as you command," Tamerlane said respectfully.

And Leo's expression was very blank.

Me, achieving unprecedented great achievements in history?

Am I, someone who can only live for a few dozen days for the Prince and the others, worthy?

However, he didn't have time to be dazed for long before he was forcibly dragged away by Tamerlane.

Since His Highness has given the order, then he will pass on all the knight training techniques that the Sun Church has kept in the box for thousands of years to this boy.

The next morning.

After resting in the town, the army set out again in high spirits after a simple meal of rye bread and oatmeal porridge.

Until noon, the army finally arrived at the core of the Night Shadow Territory—Night Shadow Castle.

Under the scorching sun, the gray-white stone walls were baked hot, the heavy city gate was tightly closed, and the iron spikes on the gate were like the fangs of a giant beast.

Several towering turrets stood on the city wall, hundreds of soldiers held bows and arrows behind the battlements of the city wall, and standing at the head was Victor.

He looked at the army below with a cold expression, and upon seeing Kalen at the head, a hint of hatred flashed in his eyes.

He couldn't forget the punch the other party gave him at the ceremony, and even more couldn't forget how the other party often mocked him together with those bastards like Lu En in the past Dragon-Lion War, and even snatched away the black bread he had worked hard to save when food was scarce.

He called it a strategic retreat and avoidance, okay!

"Victor, I kept my promise, within three days, I brought the army to take your head."

Looking at the middle-aged man on the city wall, Kalen's face was full of killing intent.

And beside him, Berg was riding a brown horse, holding a bow and arrow, carrying a quiver full of iron arrows.

The moment he saw Victor, the boy's sharp, eagle-like pupils turned red with hatred on the spot.

Must... must kill you!

At this moment, two men of different ages and different backgrounds reached a consensus perfectly.

Xia Mingyu also poked his head out of the carriage to watch the battle, and the surrounding shield soldiers immediately raised their shields and crowded together, surrounding him tightly.

"Shoot." Victor raised his hand and ordered.

The next moment, on the city wall and in the turrets, hundreds of archers pulled their bowstrings at the same time.

Swish, swish, swish!

The rain of arrows poured down, and the whistling sound of arrows breaking through the air made one's scalp tingle.

Kalen's expression tightened, and a torrent of dark green magic power erupted from his body; the arrows shot at him were blown away by the air waves generated by the magic power before they could even touch him.

Berg drew his long sword, and after a few sword lights, he cut off the arrows attacking him one after another.

As for Xia Mingyu, the ten shield soldiers beside him were like a copper wall and an iron fortress; mere arrows couldn't hurt him at all.

However, ordinary soldiers were not so lucky.

Although the army arranged a shield soldier to help defend against arrows every certain distance, after a few rounds of arrow rain, it was still inevitable that soldiers would be hit by arrows and fall to the ground wailing, quickly being taken away by the soldiers responsible for search and rescue.

"Hehe, Kalen, tell you the truth, the grain of the entire territory is now gathered in Night Shadow Castle, enough for everyone in the whole castle to eat for several years!"

Looking at the wailing soldiers below, Victor laughed while holding the battlements of the city wall.

Nobles have this one good point: they have been building castles for hundreds of years when they have money, so that every castle is not only a residence but also an impregnable military fortress, which is extremely difficult to capture.

"Victor, as a lord, you don't care about the safety of the people at all, almost dragging the entire territory into famine and tragedy. A person like you should have died on the battlefield at that time!"

Kalen said coldly.

As if poked in a sore spot, Victor's laughter stopped immediately.

"What do you know? I just want to live. As a subject, it is only right to dedicate everything to the lord, and I only took a little of their grain."

"It's you, if it weren't for you wanting to launch an honor war, they wouldn't have to be like this. This is all your fault!"

Victor said with a ferocious expression.

"Then, I will break the castle, kill you, and then distribute all the grain to the people starving in the Night Shadow Territory." Kalen said calmly.

"Just you, do you think you are the strongest knight in the Southern Region of the past, Red Fire who can break the city alone? You wouldn't be able to capture my castle even in a year."

Victor mocked, and then saw Lise come to Kalen's side under the protection of a group of shield soldiers, starting to draw magic patterns in the air.

"Hahahaha!"

Seeing this, the mockery on Victor's face became heavier, and he even laughed while holding his stomach.

"I thought you had some reliance, so it turns out it's just letting your daughter, a magician, perform talent?"

"Or are you afraid, so you want to send your daughter to me as a concubine to seek peace? If so, I can reluctantly agree to a truce," Victor said unhurriedly.

Facing his mockery, Kalen still looked calm, and Lise just settled her mind and drew the magic patterns seriously.

White light flowed like water at her fingertips, flexibly drawing beautiful arcs in the air.

Magic pattern "Wind", magic pattern "Impact", magic pattern "Increase", magic pattern "Compression"...

One magic pattern, two magic patterns, three magic patterns...

Gradually, the smile on Victor's face disappeared, replaced by dumbfoundedness.

Because he was horrified to find that Lise had already drawn at least twenty magic patterns!

And she was still continuing to draw at a very fast speed!

Although Victor had not practiced magic, as the lord of a place, he understood most magic common sense.

Being able to draw dozens of magic patterns in one breath far exceeded the scope of a magician, and even most Morning Star mages did not have this ability.

"Calm down, she is just drawing, so many magic patterns, they may not be able to be superimposed together," Victor took a deep breath and quickly comforted himself.

However, he still had to make two preparations.

"Bring me my bow," Victor ordered.

He took the long bow handed by the soldier; this bow was about one meter long, and its surface was engraved with complex magic patterns, faintly flashing with a faint cyan-green fluorescence.

This was the only magic weapon passed down by the Night Shadow family for a hundred years—the Wind Whisper Bow, which came with wind power to speed up the speed of shooting arrows.

Victor quickly drew the bow and arrow, aimed at the girl below who was drawing magic patterns with all her heart, and shot an arrow suddenly, followed by the second arrow, the third arrow...

Swish!

Several arrows shot toward Lise at a terrifying speed.

The girl also noticed this scene, a hint of nervousness flashed in her bright red pupils, her fingers trembled slightly, and the dozens of magic patterns already drawn in the air began to fluctuate.

Boom!

Dark green magic power erupted, and Kalen cut the flying arrows to pieces with one sword.

"Rest assured, my daughter, before your father falls, I will not let anyone hurt you," Kalen promised Lise behind him while cutting off the arrows.

The corners of the girl's mouth curled up slightly, and a brilliant smile like a spring breeze appeared on her pretty face, and she accelerated her drawing.

Finally, after drawing a full thirty-two magic patterns, under Lise's desperate manipulation, the magic patterns of various shapes began to superimpose.

Afterward, a terrifying scene happened.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Countless flowing winds surged from all directions, gathering in the air into a cyan-blue sphere.

As it absorbed the flowing wind, the sphere gradually expanded until its diameter reached more than three meters, and it stopped only after it became a behemoth.

Immediately after, the cyan-blue giant sphere slammed into the city gate.

Boom, boom, boom!

Accompanied by huge shock sounds, the heavy city gate twisted and deformed in an instant, making an unbearable groan.

A few seconds later, accompanied by a loud bang.

In the shocked eyes of everyone, the city gate was torn apart, and huge wooden blocks were rolled up by the strong wind, rolling into the distance and raising countless dust.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 94 =====

(End of chapter)