The force that struck the king, a Sky Knight himself, was one he couldn't evade, indicating its strength was at least on par with his own. Sky Knights... they could be counted on one hand in the entire kingdom. Who could be launching such a surprise attack?Correk's thoughts were interrupted as he barely managed to twist his body and block the attacker's fist with his golden sword. Caught off guard, he was still sent flying, a surge of pain pressing blood to his lips.And it wasn't over yet. The attacker didn't pursue him further but turned back towards Correk's ten loyal warriors. Against Sky Knights, the high-level combatants had no chance, and one by one, they fell to bloody deaths."Damn it, stop...!" Correk roared, rushing forward again! The assault came once more. This time, attacks came from two directions, both formidable Sky Knights. Correk couldn't evade them no matter what. With gritted teeth, he blocked the attack from the right, completely disregarding the left side of his body and taking the powerful blow head-on. Despite his sturdy physique, after a moment of intense pain, he found... his arm severed at the shoulder.At this point, unable to guess the identity of the attacker, Correk felt foolish. There was only one Knight who could possess such formidable strength—Alvin, the indulgent prince of Odelia. Was Odelia intervening in Paddington's internal affairs? Correk, resilient as he was, cared little for his severed arm, gritting his teeth as he pushed through the encirclement of the city guards, exerting all his strength to trigger his combat aura and instantly return to the palace. The three guards of Alvin, the prince of Odelia, had great respect for this king, for leaders with such valor were rare indeed. That's why they didn't pursue further.Though Duke Lind was displeased, he knew he couldn't command these three. Fortunately, Correk was severely injured, making it easy to breach the palace. He signaled to Shomberg, commanding the city guards to attack with full force. With the king's guards at a disadvantage in numbers, the palace soon became perilous...!Correk, his body covered in blood, escaped back to the palace. Queen Susan, seeing his missing arm, almost fainted in horror. With only one hand left, Correk grabbed Susan tightly and urged, "Quick, take our children and flee through the underground passage to the Magic Academy. Although the academy won't interfere in royal disputes, Professor Belinda won't let our children be killed. This is their only chance to survive."Susan's face turned pale, and suddenly she cried out, "Yorban, Yorban."The king's trusted attendant, Yorban, hid in the room, shielding the eyes of the three princes and the little princess, preventing them from seeing the king's plight. Hearing the queen's call from afar, he responded, "Your Majesty, I am listening!""Yorban, take my children to the secret passage and send them to Professor Belinda at the Magic Academy. Yorban, I implore you to protect them from harm no matter what!" Tears filled Susan's beautiful face, choking with emotion."In the name of God, I will protect them with my life, Your Majesty. I will take them away now, and then I will come back to be with you," Yorban, Correk's most loyal servant, showed his noblest qualities at this moment. He led a group of trusted guards, carrying the crying princess and princes, rushing to the tower where the secret passage was located. It was a palace secret, and as the king's most trusted man, Yorban naturally knew.As soon as they entered the tower, the palace was finally breached by the rebels. A team of city guards found them and yelled as they rushed over. Yorban hurriedly ordered the guards to hold them off, while he lifted the wooden board on the ground, revealing a stone slab inset with iron rings, and pulled it up with force, revealing a deep passage below. Without any delay, Yorban carried the little princess and jumped down, then successively brought down the three princes, as the guards outside could no longer hold on."Die in battle here. The king will remember your bravery, and your families will be honored because of you!" Yorban roared, tears streaming down his face, and forcefully closed the underground passage... The last guard outside was also killed by a spear, with a smile still on his face... Finally, the princes were able to escape...!The situation was irretrievable. The entire palace was thoroughly breached, burning everywhere, and only a hundred or so people guarded the king and queen, retreating into the council chamber. After fighting for half the night, facing the fearless palace guards, even though the city guards outnumbered them, they suffered significant losses. At this moment, both sides needed a brief respite, resulting in a brief lull in the battle!... In fact, if those three Sky Knights were to strike again, they could completely solve all the problems in advance. Unfortunately, Duke Lind couldn't command them, so he had to prepare to breach the last council chamber...!Queen Susan's face was even paler than Correk's, who had lost much blood. It was the aftereffect of excessive use of magic. She trembled all over, unable to muster any spiritual strength."Correk, are we going to die here?" Leaning against the king, Susan murmured, "Why hasn't anyone come to rescue us after so long? Have all the nobles of Paddington been bribed by that rebel?""My dear, don't count on those people. Can't you see? Even the prince of Odelia has sent his men to help Lind, the rebel. Do you think the fence-sitters in the capital will show their stance at this critical moment?" Correk shook his head, his only hand embracing his beloved wife. "It's a pity. If I had recalled the border legion one day earlier, we wouldn't have ended up in this dire situation. Now it's too late for anything. Let's just hope that Suarez will come back and avenge us."Suarez, the commander of the most elite border legion of Paddington, from the Gine family, was Susan's cousin, the nephew of Old Gine. At this moment, he was leading his legion back to the capital, just one day away from returning. Unfortunately, it was a step too late!"I don't know how the children are doing. May the God of Light protect them and keep them safe." Susan worried about her children, no longer caring about her own safety. As long as she could be with her loved ones, death was not such a terrifying thing after all.
"You know, why would Alvin intervene in our internal affairs in Paddington? What does he want? Can't we meet his demands?" Queen Susan suddenly expressed her doubts. "We don't border the Odelian Empire, and we're miles apart. They wouldn't have any designs on our land. Could it be a game between several empires, involving us?"
Humans have several powerful empires, constantly in conflict, which makes it very difficult for the smaller kingdoms caught in between. The ripples of the great powers' struggles can turn these smaller nations upside down. Although Paddington is in the far west, it borders a great empire to the south, the Samoa Empire, which is no less formidable than Odelia.
Samoa and Odelia have been enemies for thousands of years. Prince Alvin's interference in Paddington's affairs may also be an attempt to cause trouble right at Samoa's doorstep... Even if they can't harm you, they'll still make you sick. It's this kind of mentality... Susan's guess wasn't unreasonable.
"Heh, Susan, you're thinking too much this time. Alvin is just a stupid pig; he wouldn't think that deeply. I have a rough idea..." Correk hesitated. "Women... Beautiful women can make that dandy do such things. Unfortunately, there are two women in Padia City that Alvin is interested in."
No need for explanation, Susan already knew who these two women were, and her face turned even paler... Alvin went to Count Delta's mansion tonight to attend a ball... Celine...
"Correk, if they break in, remember to let me die first, and destroy my body." Susan calmed down. What had to happen had already happened, and regret was of no use. Her sister Celine was probably in danger, but she absolutely couldn't be insulted...!
"Let's die together. With my power, destroying two bodies is still possible," Correk embraced Susan lovingly. "Even if we die, we'll be together, going to the hall of the undead."
Boom! With a deafening roar, the defensive magic array outside the council chamber was finally depleted by endless attacks. The metal door was smashed open, and Lind and Shomberg, accompanied by a large number of city guards, walked in. Everything was about to be settled!
Suddenly, a furious and desperate scream came from the night sky! The three Odelian Empire guards who were just watching the excitement changed their faces instantly... That voice was clearly the companion left by the prince! Oh no, the prince is in danger! Amidst a chorus of screams, accompanied by dozens of people being thrown, the three Sky Knights rushed towards the direction of the sound!
Lind and Shomberg looked at each other, suddenly feeling uneasy!
... Divider ...
Count Delta was very annoyed. He led all the gladiators he could gather, preparing to rush to the palace to assist in the battle, but was intercepted by Duke Lind's old father-in-law, Count Holley! Although he despised the old guy very much, tonight was of great importance, so Delta patiently asked, "Your Grace, what are your orders? Isn't breaking into the palace and killing or capturing Correk the most important thing?"
"There are enough General Shomberg's city guards there, and Prince Alvin's three guards are assisting. Correk can't escape." Old Holley seemed to have become much younger overnight, full of spirit. "There will always be a few nobles loyal to Correk in the city. We need to block a few intersections to prevent them from going to the palace to reinforce. Remember who comes to reinforce as well, it will be useful to clean them up later..."
The old guy's words sent a chill down Delta's spine, what a ruthless guy. Without any more objections, he assigned the gladiators to occupy several intersections leading to the palace and defended them tightly.
Can you expect a group of gladiators and desperadoes to abide by military discipline? Except for maybe the demon Selt, who could somewhat restrain these people (Selt was beaten up by Barlok and needed some time to recuperate, so he didn't come), don't expect the Duke of Delta to stop these guys!
Once released, the evil in men's hearts is almost impossible to retract. With this precedent, more slave gladiators invaded the homes of ordinary citizens, looting and committing all sorts of atrocities, and not sparing anyone... Previously, they were always watched by the citizens as if they were spectacles of bloodshed, don't expect the gladiators to show mercy to them. Hundreds of families fled their homes in panic. When Count Delta realized something was wrong and sent his guards to stop them, and even chopped off dozens of heads, finally intimidating them, at least nearly a hundred households suffered, and hundreds of lives were lost!
Count Delta vaguely felt that he had made a big mistake, but unfortunately, disaster immediately struck him. Almost simultaneously, the gladiators encountered a catastrophe!
