Tenth Episode: Chapter 6

Today was indeed a great day to be open for business! From the outside, the top floor of the Lobb Oscar hotel was like a huge, flaming torch, casting light upon the cloudy skies. The reason for it to be so was that not long after the conflagration, a rain battered down from the sky, causing the flames to dwindle until only pungent wisps of smoke were left.

Lobble Alfa Morisette had never been in such a disheveled state since the day he was born! Just look at him, his outer clothes still had sporadic flames, his trousers had quite a few holes and he appeared to only be wearing one show, without an idea as to where the other of the pair had gone. Evidently, it was His Elder Highness’ first time of charging into the scene of a fire; he was like a madman, beating the roaring blaze. When Oscar attempted to drag him away from the scene, the elder Prince actually rebuked him with curses.

Oscar still had on the reserved and lost expression; it appeared that the huge blaze burning down two of his most prized rooms did not faze him. However, from the way he mobilized manpower, he did not intend to just let it go.

The Narcissus Knights had sealed off the scene; in fact, the whole street was under their control. As the secret service advisor, Baron Messier De Quixote was undeniably a seasoned and efficient leader of the spies. After a brief investigation of the scene, his experience told him that the toppling of the flammables by man had caused the fire. This was because the room in which the combustion started had a lot of scraps and materials, emitting a strong stench of kerosene.

And just like that, the matter was settled! The panicked guests were assembled and were asked to leave courteously. Soon, the Narcissus Knights noticed that among the crowd filing towards the huge doors was a man who appeared flustered. One of the knights slowly edged closer to him and suddenly caught hold of his hand! Sure enough, the chap had the same smell of kerosene on his hand and his trousers had a few drops of concentrated grease stains.

The chief chamberlain of His Majesty the Emperor followed closely behind Lobble; this weasel was smirking and Lobb already understood what this was about. The chamberlain took out two letters written by Her Majesty the Empress to His Elder Highness. Oscar also had one, but he did not open it for he did not wish to know what the Empress had to say.

Lobb weighed the letter and suppressed the urge to tear the letter to shreds. On one hand, he was grateful that his Empress mother did not burn the whole hotel to the ground but on the other hand, he was cursing at his mother. He hoped that this sick old woman would go to hell soon or, to be blunter, die by his hands!

The arsonist was sent to the two Highness’ and after a courteous Narcissus knight greeting, his demeanor changed to resemble rags. However, he delightedly admitted to his crimes and even announced his identity to the knights. Despite his vulgar appearance, his military official identification was valid.

"How can the Capital Security Division produce a person like you?" Lobble tried his best to control his rage; he was unsure how he was going to deal with this scoundrel who attempted to undermine his dream.

Oscar was vigorously fanning himself; the weather was already hot, to begin with, and to make things worse there was a huge fire! Seriously, forget it!

Lobb ordered someone to stuff the arsonist into the carriage’s baggage compartment; he wanted to bring witnesses and hurry back to Dulin to confront his Mother Empress face to face. The Chief Chamberlain finally put on a dark expression, but he dared not hinder His Elder Highness for there was Narcissus Knights all around him, causing him to barely even dare to move.

Oscar also mounted the carriage; he still had not expressed anything. As the husband of Lobb’s younger sister, he only used a thoughtful gaze to scrutinize others.

Once the carriage got onto the national highway, it sped all the way and the distance to Dulin just less than a few kilometers. However, Lobble could not bear it any longer and suddenly gave the order to halt.

It was deep into the night and there was only a group of knights and a lonesome carriage on the national highway.

"Well, just what are you thinking about? I know that you have something to say, but please, if you have something to say, hurry up! Don’t look at me with that look of a tourist."

Oscar shrugged, the hotel was his but most of it was Lobb’s. In other words, aside from being interrupted from his lovely date, the Prince had no regrets.

"My friend, I thought that you were going to Her Majesty the Empress to apologize, but now it seems that I have guessed wrong!"

"Me, apologize to her?" Lobble’s face was somewhat twisted! "Either you have lost your mind or have been entranced by that woman! Me, apologize to her? Then who would take responsibility for me?"

"Okay, Okay!" Oscar nodded his head in exaggeration, "Do you need me to bring the knights? We could charge into Westberg Fort and seize your Mother Empress from her sickbed then make her kneel before your feet in regret, that should be enough right? You will be satisfied with this, right?"

Lobb did not utter a word, if the situation really were like that, he would indeed be very satisfied, but… wouldn’t that just be a pipe dream?

"But… I am her son! The one she loves very much! I still remember when I was young…" Lobble stopped mid-sentence; he became extremely dejected. "Forget about it! Mother Empress’ love for me has long since altered!"

"Friend, puck up! I do not wish to see you so miserable, your Mother Empress… mostly hopes to see you become a marvelous Emperor; she is afraid of losing you!"

Lobb glanced at his brother-in-law in amusement. "Afraid of losing me? No way! Even if she were to lose me, she would still have another son. She is afraid of losing power and status. I know my mother better than anyone else; she cares more about those more than anything else."

"So…" Full of resentment and rage, Lobb snorted coldly, "Do not have the slightest hope for me to apologize to her; her goal of ordering someone to commit arson is to force me to compromise with her, force me to give up! There is still a long way to go! It is indeed not worthwhile for me to pay attention to her."

"Then let us return home to sleep!" Oscar made a huge show of a yawn, "You know, I still have morning classes tomorrow and inadequate rest could be fatal."

Suddenly, there was the sound of something being flipped over from the baggage compartment of the carriage. The Prince and the Elder highness could not help but lock eyes in dismay.

"What do we do about that rascal?" Lobb felt awkward; in any case, he could not just release the arsonist.

"Hand him over to me!" It was difficult to come by an enthusiastic Oscar, and practically in that instant, he knew how he was going to deal with that unfortunate man.

***************

There was a huge cross that was planted erect in the wilderness and was the symbol of having delivered a soul to the God of Light. There was a drizzle and the wind seemed to be giving off a mournful wail.

"He… His crime was not deadly." Lobb gazed at the tragedy that was taking place outside the carriage window in alarm.

"No!" Oscar shook his head firmly, "This is a type of declaration to Her Majesty the Empress and also to all the scoundrels’ futile attempts against that hotel of mine."

After saying this, the prince gestured towards the knight outside the carriage. One of the knights threw a torch over and following the blaze of the kerosene that resembled an explosion, the body was engulfed in a sea of fire in an instant. The blood-curdling screech startled countless birds that were resting and they circled around the scene of the fire, wanting to go closer for a look yet dreading the charred, suffocating odor.

"Let… Let us leave! Hurry!" Lobb shrank back into his seat on the carriage, terrified to the extent that he was trembling.

Oscar nodded, longing for more.

The carriage turned around and a small group of the Red Tiger Knights trailed closely behind. The wilderness once again fell into silence. The rain continued to patter on and raindrops fell lightly onto the burning body. However, these meager raindrops were unable to relief or regain his life.

***************

No matter what was said, the hotel was open for business. As a result of that fire, the business of this world-class luxury hotel was very slow during the early days. However, Oscar and Lobb were not very worried; they believed that as long as the people had set foot inside the huge doors of the hotel, they would definitely return again.

Life must go on! At the end of the 10th month, his tutor, General Raleigh Thomas, officially informed Oscar that the combat elements in morning classes had come to an end. Oscar was not as overjoyed as he thought he would be. He knew that it mostly stemmed from his tutor’s helplessness because Oscar’s reactions were getting swifter and his skills at dealing with melee were getting all the more aggressive. In the end, the knights at the base were used to taking detour whenever they saw him; they called the Prince "House of Andrew’s Mad Tiger" behind his back!

As the mad, fierce tiger, Oscar had to find things to expend his energy on. However, fortunately, year 792 of the 11th month had arrived! Autumn was very short in the north and the period of transition to winter was the peak hunting season.

The hunting tradition of Titan’s nobles was dated way back; it was said that the ancient regulations were retained since the age of mythology. Since the religion of the God of Light entered the main spiritual domain of Westland, religion started to integrate into this ancient yet courageous society life. Before hunting, the nobles had to confess to the Gods about the sin of taking a life. Furthermore, the hunting party must be allocated a pastor to be justifiable.

The reason hunting was able to become part of the social life was completely due to the style of Titan’s nobles, who paid particular attention to etiquette and tradition. They would operate the hunting group according to the code of ancient times; the males would put on hunting gear that resembled armor to go on patrol while the women would stay in the campgrounds to sort out the trophy and cook food. Of course, even now there wasn’t any woman who would do things such as those. The hunting group was nothing more than a platform for the men to show off their fighting skills while what was expected of Madam or a young lady was to stay at the campgrounds to chat and wait for the return of the men with their trophies to offer them ardent flattery.

The bloodline of Titan’s nobles was filled with a yearning for military merit. Their ancestors had battled against the Romans, fought with the barbarous Yarans, engaged in combat with the fierce and tenacious people of Deiss, had a war against the Gaul people of Faran who were filled with a fiery passion, and battled against the Persians, who were as destructive as locusts. The reason Titan Empire could be designated holy was exactly that majority of the race that split apart from the Romans had waged war against every main ethnicity in Westland and rose victorious. So the pride of Titan’s nobles completely stemmed from their mentality of a good fight and this mentality was buried deep in their veins. During times of peace, the nobles could only use group hunting to vent out their boiling mentality. In this sense, hunting was a tradition and more so the integration of ethnic culture.

***************

On the first day of the 11th month, the weather was sunny without a single cloud, only a really strong gust of Northeastern wind passed by. The huge forest outside the city of Sparjoxin extended towards the northeast and this was the optimum weather for a hunt.

This was not Oscar’s first time participating in a large-scale hunting activity, but previously he had always passed as lousy and this finally gave the second Prince, His Imperial Highness Lobmus, an opportunity to make fun of him. However, naturally, Oscar refused to give in, he hired General George Romiera from the Southern Army Group who had the nickname "Last Hunter of the Southern Mountains."

Old George formed a hunting party quickly and this party was very carefully chosen and furthermore, the members must be born of noble blood. In accordance with the difference in classes, General Romiero assigned each person with different positions. When the hunting party had set up, it was split into groups to the left, middle and right. The left members were to carry out the duty of herding the prey while the right party was in charged of outflanking and lastly the archer and spear hand in the middle group would conduct the roundup.

The young prince who came from Damorga naturally did not know that there was so much to hunting. More so, he did not mind how much Golden Tis he spent to organize a hunting group, rather than bring along those hunting dogs, which were a hindrance, for their numbers were far more than the hunting party's numbers. Oscar only wanted to vent, to vent out that spirit mentioned above. As one of the most violent of Titan’s nationality, the Andrews and people of Narcissus would never refuse fresh blood.

Let us take this time’s hunting group for example, in order to express his gratitude for His Highness second Prince’s last invite, Oscar had made ample preparations. His knights had set up a luxurious campground at the periphery of the woodland. To one side of the campground, was a slaughterhouse specifically used by the gentlemen; the trophies would be dismembered here. Although the noblemen did not know how to manipulate a butcher’s knife themselves, they still enjoyed crowding around the butcher and watching him manipulate their trophies. The lounge area of the womenfolk was located far away from the men’s domain; they would naturally want to be far from the reek of blood. Once the men had tidied up the scene, only then would they mill over. At this time, the females would receive a lot of little gifts; these gifts were mostly live little animals. Perhaps they would not like the hairy wild animals, but the children and young girls all loved this cheap trick. They would deliver appropriate blessings to the men who caught the prize for them, for example, a kiss, which was good enough for the men.

Oscar clearly did not have to worry about the setup of the campground; he only had to be concerned about his prey. Before they set off, General Romiero cautiously and meticulously inspected the young prince’s equipment, proving himself to be an astute old hunter. First of all, he removed the horseshoes from the prince’s mount and then tidied up the equipment that the prince had on him. He tossed away many useless items, for example, the throwing knives and dagger.

Oscar allowed Old George to fiddle with him as he pleased. If it weren’t for this General, he might still be unsure about how to put on the hunting gear picked out for him. However, when Romiero helped him put on the short crossbow to capture little animals, he rejected indefinitely! He would not choose hares or wild geese; he only wanted to go after a wild wolf but of course, even a porcupine would be a better choice.

So now, the noble’s hunting party had already formed a solid hunting array. Oscar’s hunting group was at the periphery of this vast woodland, His Second Highness Lobmus’ hunting group had entered the depths of the forest and to the other side of the woodland, a hunting party formed by one of the Marquis of Sparjoxin was corresponding with the prince at a distance. Oscar had an expert on his side while that Marquis was an old skilled hunter; they would not be rash like His second Highness. So they will wait until the second Prince had turned the forest upside down, then only will they start out.

Oscar sat upright on the horse. He was wearing a hunting gear that was sewn from leather, a hunting sword and a triple-edged blade used for bloodletting and cut the fur. He carried a bow and arrow on his back, but he had no idea on how to use them. When facing his prey, the young lad liked to borrow the speed of the Raytheon and chase the prey until they were level. Then he would hang on the side of the horse and use the triple-edged blade or his hunting sword to pierce through the huge ferocious beast.

General Romiero would always shake his head at that time, saying that it was not the right method of hunting, for no one would choose to wrestle with a ferocious beast.

Oscar strongly disagreed with the cavalry commander and still continued using his barbarous method. In his eyes, using a bow and arrow or traps were despicable conducts. Since it was hunting, it meant that they should fight with their prey and then experience the thrill of subduing their prey therein.

In the end, with this awareness about the prince, all his group mates gave him an alarmed look as a response.

The scout party up front made a strange whistle! Oscar broke into a smile, he watched the guide who was disguised as a wild boar hurry forwards.

"Okay, does any fancy roasted pork tonight?"

"Your Highness! That is not a roasted pig, that is only a prey." General Romiero said in a low voice, "Do not celebrate too early, for hunting is the most unpredictable thing in the world; it is impossible for you to know what you will catch."

Oscar did not like the way Old George dampened his spirit, but he still respected this seasoned hunter. If it were not for his guidance, he would be like when he just started, unable to catch a single thing.

"So, my commander, please give your orders!"

General Romiero loosened his muscles and raised the command flag that symbolized the start of a hunt. Almost immediately, the riders on the left wing gave an odd shout and charged out, closely followed by the right wing that started to move out as well; they circled over a huge distance and charged towards the front of the woodlands.

Just when Oscar could not wait any longer, the guide disguised as a wild boar gave an ear-splitting shout. Old George finally made an "inviting" gesture towards his Highness and with a shout of 'Ola', Oscar charged out, cheering. The Raytheon instantly became a pitch-black cloud. Behind the prince, The King of Assassins, Snowstorm, was the first to catch up with him, next up was the hunting group’s commander, Old George, and after that was the Hercules of the southern military region, Mendez Blane, and again after that was the Chief of staff that was made up to look like a brightly-colored madman, Colonel Tantalus Piche. This man kept appearing by Oscar’s side; perhaps it was his admiration for the Prince’s identity and status, or perhaps it stemmed from his yearning towards the Narcissus Knights; he kept imparting his combat plans that were full of fictional flavor onto His Highness.

Soon, the whole hunting group had spread out! The target was right before their eyes and the Prince’s messenger, Wellington, had already loaded the feathered arrow onto the bowstring, but he was not so dumb as to let this deadly arrow fly. Among the riders, only the person of most noble status could make a move on the prey. Wellington aiming the arrow at the prey was nothing more than to keep the prince safe from danger.

Oscar admitted that he had encountered a difficult opponent! It was undeniable that this towering creature with broad shoulders and a thick hide was exceptionally intelligent. When it was fleeing, it kept changing courses and was able to keep finding an opening between those surrounding it.

The hounds were chasing after it madly, their barks startling all the birds in the woodlands. However, that burly wild boar did not care about the group of little creatures chasing from behind; it shook the brown hairs on its back, causing it to look like a moving watchtower. The desire to continue living stimulated all its survival instincts. It exuded a ferocious, ruthless air from within and the although the hounds were right on its heels, the hounds did not dare to come too close to the brave and fierce prey.

Oscar clenched his teeth; he was somewhat disappointed by his own Raytheon. This stallion, which was double the height of the ordinary warhorse, was not used to moving at high speed; when it was changing course, it was always slower than the prey. The Raytheon obviously did not know what its master was thinking, for it was already way faster than the rest of the horses. Now it was just as irritated not only because of the wild boar’s futile attempts to tease it but also because of the hounds that were a hindrance to his advance.

"Wellington!" Oscar shouted behind. He already saw the hunting group on the right wing arranging themselves into a pocket formation up front. If this distressed wild boar dashed over there, then all their efforts would have gone to waste!

The messenger’s arrow seemed to only lag the Prince’s order by half a second and without even having reacted, the wild boar was struck by it. The feathered arrow was wedged between the joint area of the forefoot and the shoulder bone and the wild boar let out a mournful, distressful cry. The right group shrank its formation and forged forwards. Oscar grasped the triple-edged blade tightly in his hand; the moment that determined victory and defeat had finally arrived.

The wild boar was forced to once again change course, but its movements were already extremely slowed; the hounds quickly bit its tail. The wild boar, having never been bullied by such things was infuriated, and after turning a few rounds, the hounds were flung aside. The remaining hounds, aside from circling it, barking furiously and revolving around it, no longer dared to charge up to it.

A huge, black object suddenly chased the hounds away. The wild boar’s survival instincts told it that the most deadly challenge had finally arrived!

Uncharacteristically, this violent and ferocious beast let out a cry that shook the heavens and suddenly charged toward the Raytheon. The tall steed saw its opponent’s resistance and in order to evade its charge, it had no choice but to rise onto its hind legs. The incident happened too fast! Oscar had one hand grasping the lethal weapon, another grabbing tightly onto the reins, but the Raytheon’s jump asserted a lot of tension onto the reins and leaving Oscar feeling as if his wrist was about to be dislocated. By the time he realized that he had fallen onto the ground, the wild boar, trembling with a ferocious, imposing air, was already pouncing towards him.

Oscar mind was blank; one of his feet was still slung over the stirrup. Just when the wild boar’s breath was huffing right in the teen’s face, a group of knights zipped past. The wild boar gave a miserable snort and retreated to one side. As it turned out, its back had more than ten hunting swords embedded into it.

Oscar made use of the precious lapse and tugged at the binds of the stirrups then jumped up suddenly from the ground. Perhaps it was the shame of having fallen onto the ground that sparked his vicious side; the youngster threw himself onto the prey recklessly.

Being trapped at the center of the group of knights, the wild boar was a little helpless, but if it did not take down these people who were attempting to take its life, it would not rest!

Oscar seemed to have the same intent! He kicked with his legs and stabbed with his blade. The weight of the wild boar caused him to tumble to the ground. Its tusk that kept shoving towards him tore at his shoulder, but Oscar still managed to find an opening while evading!

The triple-edged sword was thrust forward! The young Prince made for his opponent’s eyes without fear. He could not fathom the meaning held within its gradually dimming eyes. As warm blood spurt out of his opponent’s throat ceaselessly, aside from feeling a whole body of aches, he obtained an unprecedented thrill. He had successfully subdued a beast and this was as alluring as destroying a nation.

The people dismounted their horses one after another. The Prince’s Doctor, Mr. Parker had hurried forwards from the rear group; he noticed that the young lad’s left shoulder was already dislocated and it took him a great effort to reduce his arm. At that moment, Oscar no longer had to fake patience; he cursed at the top of his lungs, cursing the wild boar on his body, the wretched pain, even his companions, for not moving the prey away from him.

The men rolled up their sleeves. Only then did they have the time to appreciate the fierce and tenacious prey. It was indeed a huge breast, probably the King among the wild boars.

"It is about three hundred kilograms!"

"No! A little heavier!" The people whispered among themselves while enjoying the prince’s distressed appearance.

Suddenly! The messenger, Wellington swiftly trained his bow and arrow towards a direction; Snowstorm also guarded the prince by shielding him from the front! They only saw that the dense overgrowth to the left of the woodlands was issuing a rhythmic tremor.

The people immediately shifted nimbly as they wanted to outflank it; the people on the ground drew out their weapons and formed a tight protective formation to the left of the prince. No wonder the people were that tense; looking at the trembling of the branches and leaves, it had a huge surface and width, and it was definitely a gigantic ferocious beast!

The area in which the branches and leaves were trembling was getting increasingly wider and closer! Finally, the dense thicket facing the crowd parted! Wellington’s arrow was immediately shot out, but he finally got a clear look at the thing that had rushed forwards. The motion of his hands could not be stopped. The master archer only had half a second to slightly alter the angle of the bow and arrow.

The arrow brushed against the human body and fell into the depths of the thicket. The people at the scene heaved a sigh of relief together with the messenger, but once the person riding on the horse walked into the light of the woodlands, the people’s hearts almost jump right out! Oh, heavens! What happened? This knight was blood-soaked and his back had a few long feathered arrows protruding out.

"I have seen him in His Second Highness’ hunting group!" Someone suddenly shouted in alarm.

The people instantly grasped the seriousness of the situation.

Oscar had, at long last, managed to crawl up from underneath the wild boar and gave it a few kicks before he left. Parker was nursing the knight who was gravely injured, but he could already speak.

"Am… Ambush! Situation… danger… danger…"

Oscar did not wait for the rest of his speech. He glanced at the Poison Doctor and the doctor shook his head.

***************

Lobmus had never encountered such a scene; arrows flying everywhere, broken spears, decapitated bodies, dismembered limbs and blood. When he stumbled upon the ambush, he was actually foolish enough to think that it was a herd of ferocious beasts.

The guards by His Second Highness’ side were gradually dwindling. The two paladins who were guarding the prince had already rolled off their horses during their opponent’s first wave of the raining arrows but they all had their bodies shielding in front of Rom. His Second Highness was extremely grateful. He was the first to roll off the startled warhorse and then propping up a dead body, he used it as a parasol to save his own life. His good friend 'Walking Stick Tory' was the second. It was not a waste for him to have once joined the military, he commanded the knights loudly to form a circular blocking matrix immediately, but the members of the group were honestly not very obedient. The limited military men in the party were also charged over by the flocking enemies from all directions.

Torry brandished his saber in a craze. He was fortunate that he still brought this weapon with him during the hunt. Each time he sliced down a foe, the youngster would shout a maiden’s name loudly. However, when the people by his side gradually decreased, only one maiden’s name remained. Repeatedly muttering Rolanda, he prayed to the God of Light that if he emerged from this slaughter ground alive, he would definitely use his life to serve the God of Light and his love.

***************

Lobmus’ mind had already stopped functioning. The paladins he had used as shields had become blood red rags! Lobmus had also suffered a few stabs on his body and each time a wave of pain hit him, he would let out an ear-splitting wail of agony as if announcing it.

Eventually, a burly huge warrior kicked away His Second Highness’ decorative sword that was full of shortfalls. His side impact knocked Lobmus down onto the ground! Weeping pitifully, Lobmus crawled forward on all fours. He continued to beg and made countless promises but this fiend-like person still stepped heavily onto his spine.

With a yell, 'Walking Stick Tory' rushed forward, but a spear pierced him in the back and made him roll. Despite everything, the two good friends fell together with their faces facing each other. Torry no longer had on the defiant expression of his former days; he was already reluctant to budge. His mind flitted rapidly through his past and realized that he actually didn’t have anything of worth that he was reluctant to leave behind! He glanced at his friend; Lobmus had rolled over and was rushing towards the enemy, praying like mad! At that moment, Torry could not help but start to wonder just what was wrong with His Highness? How could he have become friends with someone like this?

The spear and longsword fell simultaneously; these two scoundrels were about to pay a visit to the God of Light!

Lobmus opened his tightly closed eyes timidly. To his delight, he found that the man that was attempting to take his life had stumbled onto the ground. As it turned out, a feathered arrow had pierced through his throat!

A muffled sound of a horn reverberated through the forest and the sound of the Red Tiger Cavalry’s horse hooves and weapons shattered the attackers’ resolve in resisting. When the prince finally dragged his swollen and aching shoulder to rush to the scene, the cavalry had already forced the attackers into a corner of the woodland.

The Narcissus Cavalry that had strength in numbers already had the situation under control. They loaded His Second Highness onto a horse in a tangle, and then led him away from the scene as quickly as possible. Oscar realized that there was no need for him to get involved; he was glad because as of now, he could not even lift a fruit knife.

Torry, who was similarly drenched in blood, climbed onto a horse, but this rogue did not allow the knights to assist him. With his face scrunched up into a grimace, he hurried to the Prince’s side where countless guards had assembled. It seemed that Torry still had some sense; he did not have any intent to participate in the operation to pursue and attack.

"How are you doing?" Oscar really could not tell that Walking Stick Torry who only knew to flaunt his heroism before the ladies was indeed a tough man.

"I’m fine!" Torry replied while winding a bandage around his body frantically, "But those wretched bandits, don’t tell me you don’t find their actions a little strange? If it were me, I would have made a break into the depths of the jungle! But, they instead retreated into the open space outside the forest!"

Oscar nodded, unconcerned, "Mm! That’s right! This can only be explained by them being not as intelligent as you!"

The Prince’s smile suddenly froze! The open space outside the forest? He carefully identified the direction in which the bandits had retreated to.

"This is bad! That is the campground of the women! These vermins had already planned it beforehand! Once the women break into confusion, the easier it will be for them to escape!" Oscar took the lead and rushed out; filled with consternation, he urged his Raytheon on! However, he himself was not completely sure of what he felt uneasy about deep down!

As expected, the campground broke into chaos! These pampered women had never seen so many bandits in their life. They shrieked and fled in all directions; some simply just fainted onto the ground. Sasha was probably the only female to be equipped with the hunting tools. Although her archery skills still lacked precision, she still managed to shoot down a few bandits who weren’t paying attention to her. However, just when she was secretly pleased with herself, the sound of urgent horse hooves came from behind her.

Sasha’s combat skills were not brilliant, she turned around blankly and her bow and arrow did not immediately aim towards the enemy. When she was just about to lift up her arrow, an immense force flung her aside. Sasha was irritated. She once again picked up the fallen arrow while she was rolling on the ground. The knight did not notice the foe coming up from behind; he assumed that the little girl would not dare get up again, but his horse suddenly staggered and fell!

Sasha cursed under her breath. It seemed that she should take lessons from Wellington! That single arrow was supposed to hit the bandit, but instead, she only struck the horse’s back.

The young lady was a member of Andrew. The Andrew family portrayed the brilliant roles of mighty and brave warriors regardless of their gender. Sasha’s wrath surged up as she took up her rapier, charging toward the bandit who had fallen in a bundle onto the ground.

Sasha suddenly noticed that the bandits had actually flocked over, so… This fellow was probably their leader. With this realization, the young lady waved her rapier even more rapidly. However, the swords of her opponent’s surrounding knights were so close that she had no way of approaching. The oddly-infuriated young lady swung her rapier in a wide arc; she had forgotten that this was absolutely not the way to use a rapier!

The red silhouettes in the campgrounds progressively increased; the Red Tiger Cavalry had caught up! They formed an impenetrable circle around the campgrounds and the sharp-eyed archers shot down the bandits who occasionally managed to break through the blockade.

The leader of the bandits clearly knew that the situation was hopeless; he had to make a plan…

Oscar caught up, but he realized that the battle had already come to a halt. However, the cavalry had on a disgruntled expression.

"What the matter?" 

No one answered the Prince’s question; without making a sound, the cavalry surrounding the campground opened a path for him.

"You are the leaders of the knights, are you not?" The bearded leader of the bandits bellowed towards the prince, "If you do not wish to see this young lady’s head fall to the ground, then you better release my comrades and ask your knights to retreat to the other side of the forest."

Oscar did not hear anything; his blank gaze was fixed on the long sword at Sasha’s throat.

"Hey! I’m waiting for your answer!"

Oscar met his sister’s eyes and he noticed there were tears in them! This… This was outrageous! The young prince was trembling as if he had epilepsy and his rage erupted as it did many years ago, like a volcano! His sister was not only humiliated, but her life was also at stake! This cannot be allowed! This is impossible to forgive!

However, Oscar realized that he was powerless. He looked at Paul beside him; the King of Assassins shook his head gently. A few of the bandit’s comrades were beside him and Snowstorm could eliminate all of them, but probably by that time, the young lady would have already met her demise.

The Prince then looked toward the messenger on the other side Wellington also shook his head gently. His arrows were very swift! So swift that one would barely dare believe it! However, would these arrows be quicker than the weapon held against one’s throat? Wellington did not dare place this bet.

Just at that moment, "Walking Stick Torry" pushed his way forwards. He was seriously wounded and being able to ride a horse was already not easy for him.

"Your Highness, he only has one hostage in his hand, but we have ten in ours!"

The prince gazed at this adorable rogue, overjoyed at the turn of events. Undoubtedly, a rogue was more useful in certain moments compared to a whole cavalry division. Oscar completely understood what he should do!

The Narcissus Knights brought forward the captive! Oscar came down of his Raytheon with difficulty and the knights who surrounded the bandit opened a space for His Highness.

The leader of the bandit was a little anxious, "What are you planning to do? Quickly release my comrade!" After finishing, he thrust the long sword deeper. Immediately, another streak of blood appeared on the young lady’s white pure white neck. Oscar watched a drop of his sister’s blood slowly slip down from the tip of the enemy’s long sword.

Oscar shook his head, he initially still had a sliver of hope, but now even the gods had no way of saving this bandit’s soul! He deftly flipped the triple-edged blade in his hand and the point of the blade immediately pierced through his palm. In the blood oath through the name of a God-chosen warrior, the foe before him would be thrown into the smelting furnace used to refine Andrew’s ancestral tablet, after getting a taste of the most frightening torture.

Oscar burst into laughter! The few outstanding prisoners who had rushed to deal with the scene gave a look of apprehension. They clearly knew that once this youngster made such an expression, the God of Light would usually hide.

"Greetings, I am O’Neil Andrew Morisette, the fourth son of the Andrew Family, Prince of the Empire!"

"I do not want to know these! Quickly ask your cavalry to disperse!"

Oscar shook his head, "This is not the way to negotiate. I have already announced my name, please tell me yours!"

"First, release my comrades, otherwise, everything is out of the discussion!"

Oscar again shook his head, "My apologies, but only Titan’s Ministry of Justice or the General Headquarters of the Secret Service could determine yours and your comrades’ fate. However, as one of the Princes of the Empire, I fear that I only have the scope of authority to handle a single person."

Oscar said these while gesturing behind him and the knights brought the captives forwards.

"Very well!" Oscar placed his triple-edged blade onto the ropes binding the captive. "I will like to use this man to exchange the young lady under your sword."

"In your dreams! Do you take me for an idiot?" The leader of the bandits rebuked loudly.

"So in other words… You give up on this man!" As soon as Oscar finished speaking his triple-edged blade thrust upwards abruptly. The sharp point cut open his throat, pierced through the oral cavity, and penetrated deep into the brain. This captive had met his end!

Just when the bandit let out a cry of astonishment, Oscar strode over to the second one!

"You’re also giving up on this one?"

"If you…"

Before the leader of the bandits could finish, Oscar’s blade had once again taken away a life. With resolve, he strode over to the third one.

The leader of the bandits shrank back, stunned. This noble who was covered in blood was undoubtedly the cruelest person he had ever met.

The third captive had met his demise!

"Enough! Enough!"

The long sword that was nested at the young lady’s neck was suddenly lifted. Sasha, who was freed not only did not run towards her brother but also shot him an indignant glare.

"Okay, you win! I am Morpheus, a revolutionary!"

Morpheus flung the knight’s sword onto the ground. Although he was aware that his and his comrade’s fates would be more miserable than now, he just could not bear to see his comrade-in-arms being slaughtered one after another. He knew that he had made a wrong decision. Why would these cruel noble masters care about the life of a girl? What was more was that he was facing the most malicious among them!

The Narcissus Knights swarmed forwards and the young lady was brought over.

Oscar wanted to embrace his sister, but he instead threw himself into thin air. Sasha had avoided his embrace and jumped onto a warhorse; she actually fled without saying a word!

"Did I do something wrong?" Oscar inquired while he gazed at his sister’s back.

However, the Prince did not wait for a reply. Instead, Morpheus, who had been bound tightly with ropes by the Narcissus knights shouted at the top of his voice, "O’Neil Andrew Morisette! The atheists will remember your name! Someone will demand back the blood debt from you one day!"

Oscar snatched up a thick horsewhip in rage and started to give the scoundrel who had assaulted his sister a severe beating! For that moment, the whole campground was filled with the crack of a whip striking onto a body.