Chapter 79:Scared?

The greatest king in the history of the Asina Kingdom was Richard Asina Thunderbolt Lenistark.

Despite occasional hardships throughout his life, he had mostly enjoyed a comfortable childhood. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. He had never been so afraid.

Yes... the king of the Asina Kingdom and three kingdoms Richard Asina Lenistark, felt fear and helplessness for the first time in his life.

Before him were the images of dying soldiers and the so-called friends who had betrayed him. There was no description of the emotions he felt. Even his own son had betrayed him and joined the side of his enemies. Why? What caused such a massive betrayal? Why would a son betray his father? Where had Richard gone wrong? Who knew? At the moment, none of that mattered.

Richard had to find a solution and continue to fight. He wouldn't allow the legacy he had dedicated his entire life to perish so easily. Richard shook off the emotions he felt and turned to his aide.

"We must retreat immediately! If we leave the mountain behind us, we can form a line of defense."he said.

"As you command, Your Majesty" replied his aide, disappearing into the chaos.

Richard mounted his horse and shouted, "Retreat towards the mountain!"

The horns played the symphony of retreat, and Richard withdrew towards the area where the camp was set up. Meanwhile, Ethan saw the retreat and followed the retreating soldiers. When Richard arrived at the camp, he saw that within half an hour, approximately a few thousand soldiers had arrived. Ethan and Isabella had also come. Before long, Duchess Theodora and Prince Arkion arrived at the camp as well.

There were only a few thousand soldiers defending the camp, and Richard realized that he needed to find a solution as the situation was deteriorating. But Richard couldn't focus because of the consecutive enemy attacks that didn't cease. Finally, Richard regained his composure and began to speak.

"Create a high ground for the archers, and place long spears between the barriers to stop the enemy cavalry," he ordered.

Everyone around him hastened to carry out the orders. After all, everyone here was the most loyal soldiers, trained not to betray Richard. Besides, probably thousands of people had already fled the battlefield.

When the intensity of the enemy attacks finally decreased, Richard called for everyone important to gather in his tent. When everyone entered the tent, Richard was staring absent-mindedly at the map on the table.

"Father..." Ethan put his hand on Richard's shoulder.

Richard snapped out of his reverie and looked at the people in the tent. There was Ethan, Isabella, Duchess Theodora, Prince Arkion, and finally, Richard's aide.

"What is the situation exactly?" Richard asked.

"It's bad" Duchess Theodora replied.

"I know it's bad, but how bad?" Richard asked.

"Majesty. Henry, Duke Eddart, General Gideon, and General Roland's units have joined the enemy's side. According to the information I received from the soldiers here, most of the army has either been captured, or a large portion has fled towards the marshland. Our left side is held by the army of Alpshar, making it very difficult for us to escape" the aide said.

"...No way! So we're all going to die. I'm going to die. I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Arkion seemed to lose control and appeared to be having a nervous breakdown.

Arkion ran to Richard, grabbed his collar, and yelled, "All of this is because of you! BECAUSE OF YOU! If anyone has to die, it's you! Y-You-" Ethan struck Arkion hard on the neck, knocked him out and put him aside. But Richard seemed to be affected by what Arkion had said.

"Now what do we do?" Isabella asked. Though her voice sounded calm, her hands were trembling as if a volcanic eruption had just occurred.

Ethan held Isabella's hands and stopped her from trembling. Isabella looked as if she saw something Ethan shouldn't have seen. Ethan turned to Richard and spoke.

"I think we should prolong the battle as much as possible, and maybe we can negotiate a peace agreement. If we also mention that the Ada Federation has attacked, they might want to go south" Ethan said.

"That may be our only chance for now. If anyone has any ideas, speak up," Richard said.

When no one spoke, Richard looked at their faces. There was a hopeless look on everyone's face, including Ethan's.

"Well then, you may leave.," Richard said. As everyone began to leave, he said, "Isabella, you stay."

After everyone had left, Richard approached Isabella. Although Isabella tried to look at her father with a cheerful expression, she couldn't.

"What's wrong, father?" Isabella asked with a crooked smile on her face

After a moment of silence, Richard looked away from Isabella's face and spoke.

"I plan to attack the enemy's left flank tonight."

"What? But father, we already don't have enough soldiers, and risking them like this would be madness. Why would you want to do such a thing?"

"Because it might be your only chance to escape."

"Escape? Then will you come with me?"

"No. If I flee, the enemies will chase us, but if only you escape, very few people will chase you. So, listen to me and flee tonight."

"No, I will stay here with you" Isabella said.

"Isabella. A battlefield is not a good place for a woman. Besides, you're a princess and if you stay here, they might even rape you. Besides, Henry probably betrayed me because he wanted the throne. Apparently, word had spread that I was going to give the throne to Ethan, and I hadn't told anyone but Ethan. The last thing I want is to give Henry the kingdom." Richard said.

Isabella, trying to digest what she had heard, sat down on a chair to calm herself. "So Ethan was your favorite, wasn't he? Even though I did so much for you, you didn't love me. Why? What's lacking in me compared to Ethan?"

"I don't have a favorite. I chose Ethan not because he's my favorite, but because I thought he was the most suitable person for the throne. But I was wrong. Ethan is not as mature as you are. And If Henry becomed king, our country will become slaves to the Southerners, and that's why I want you to prevent that" Richard said.

Isabella looked into Richard's eyes for a while. She desperately wanted to know if he was sincere in what he said. All her life, she wanted to please her father and be his heir, but what she actually wanted was for her father to accept her. She wanted his daughter to realize that she was strong and worthy of the Lenistark name. She didn't actually want much from her father; she just wanted to be treated the same as her brothers. Finally, she had achieved that, but her father would not be by her side for much longer.

If her father was going to see her for the last time, maybe she should agree to his request.

"Okay... I'll do it" Isabella said.

"Good... Now, let's go and check on the situation" Richard said, getting ready to leave the tent.

"Dad! ...I love you" Isabella said.

When Richard heard Isabella's words, he could hardly hold back his tears. As he looked at Isabella, he remembered her as a little girl playing in the garden.

He remembered the day when Isabella had run up to him with her little feet while playing in the garden. She was covered in dust and had small cuts on her arms. She was holding a small white rabbit and rabbit didn't seem very pleased. She handed the rabbit to Richard.

"Look, daddy, I caught a rabbit for you! Do you love me now?" she had said.

Despite the beautiful memories, Richard forced himself to leave and looked at Isabella.

"I love you too, my little girl."