Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83 - Cry-Baby And Ugly-Faced Woman
Chapter 84 - The Situation Took A Turn For The Worst
Chapter 85 - The Blood Clan’S True Form (One)
Chapter 86 - Blood Clan'S True Form (Two)
Chapter 87 - Your Blood Is Quite Nutritious
Chapter 88 - Awakening (One)
Chapter 89 - Awakening (Two)
Chapter 90 - Awakening (Three)
Chapter 91 - Return
Chapter 92 - Sin Of Hell’S River
Chapter 93 - Don’T Do It, It’Ll Hurt
Chapter 94 - All The Blood In This World Belongs To Me
Chapter 95 - The Charm Of That Shield
Chapter 96 - I Definitely Will Not Let You Suffer
Chapter 97 - Our Inland Sea
Chapter 98 - Arracca Murkh
Chapter 99 - Uncertain Fate
Chapter 100 - Ramon (One)
Chapter 101 - Ramon (Two)
Chapter 102 - Eckstedt’S Welcoming Ceremony
Chapter 103 - Gamble (One)
Chapter 104 - Gamble (Two)
Chapter 105 - The Kingdom’S Wrath
Chapter 106 - The Failed Bet
Chapter 107 - Mystic Gun
Chapter 108 - Chapman Lampard
Chapter 109 - Remnants Of Magic
Chapter 110 - Paid Homage
Chapter 111 - Kaslan’S Tavern
Chapter 112
Chapter 113 - The Intersection Of Fate
Chapter 114 - The People In Hell (One)
Chapter 115 - The People In Hell (Two)
Chapter 116
Chapter 117 - Star Killer
Chapter 118 - The Unexpected Guests
Chapter 119 - A Marquis From Camus
Chapter 120 - Bait
Chapter 121 - Clue
Chapter 122 - Until Dawn Came (One)
Chapter 123 - Until Dawn Came (Two)
Chapter 124 - Queen Of The Sky
Chapter 125 - The Female Warrior
Chapter 126 - Heroic Spirit Palace
Chapter 127 - The Born King (One)
Chapter 128 - The Born King (Two)
Chapter 129 - A Duel
Chapter 130 - The King And His Archdukes
Chapter 131 - The Strange Swordsman
Chapter 132 - Who Are You?
Chapter 133 - Hunt And Chase
Chapter 134 - Little Rascal And Alex (One)
Chapter 135 - Little Rascal And Alex (Two)
Chapter 136 - Stabs
Chapter 137 - Kidnapping The Archduke?
Chapter 138 - Numb Hands
Chapter 139 - A Unique Welcome Banquet
Chapter 140 - The Red Witch
Chapter 141 - Reunion
Chapter 142 - Who’S There (One)
Chapter 143 - Who’S There (Two)
Chapter 144 - The Sword Of Baptism’S Death
Chapter 145 - The Wait
Chapter 146 - The Culprit
Chapter 147 - The Northland Road
Chapter 148
Chapter 149 - Not Even Worth Half A Penny!
Chapter 150 - The Beloved Former King, Nuven
Chapter 151 - Veteran
Chapter 152 - Shadow
Chapter 153 - Have A Drink
Chapter 154 - The Secret Of ‘Triumph’
Chapter 155 - A Bargaining Chip You Cannot Refuse
Chapter 156 - Horrifying
Chapter 157 - The Death Of Soria
Chapter 158 - Betrayal
Chapter 159 - The Fateful Night
Chapter 160 - The Invitation
Chapter 161 - The First Mystic Declaration
Chapter 162 - Letting Go Of A Suspicion
Chapter 163 - Monster And Monster
Chapter 164 - Chaos Begins
Chapter 165 - Just Speak
Chapter 166 - Surprise
Chapter 167 - Flee
Chapter 168 - The Tragic End Of Weaklings
Chapter 169 - Air And Blood
Chapter 170 - The Desperate Dash
Chapter 171 - The Outcome Of The Civil War
Chapter 172 - Elimination
Chapter 173 - The Blade Of Purification
Chapter 174 - The Truth About Elimination
Chapter 175 - Same Kind (One)
Chapter 176 - Same Kind (Two)
Chapter 177 - Sudden Entrance Into The Battlefield!
Chapter 178 - True Form
Chapter 179 - Silence And Darkness
Chapter 180 - Knocking On The Door
Chapter 181 - Phantom
Chapter 182 - A Gentle Kiss
Chapter 183 - The Cost Of Victory
Chapter 184 - The Paradoxical Assassin
Chapter 185 - Thunder Rumbles In Winter
Chapter 186 - End Of Arc: A Good Name
Chapter 187 - The Night Ends, The Day Breaks
Chapter 188 - It Is You
Chapter 189 - Symphony Of Blood (One)
Chapter 190 - Symphony Of Blood (Part Two)
Chapter 191 - Stop Meddling Into The Matters Of Elders
Chapter 192 - Six-Fifty
Chapter 193 - Choose Who You Want To Become
Chapter 194 - Ice-Cold
Chapter 195 - Spirit Of The Contract
Chapter 196 - The Manipulator (One)
Chapter 197 - The Manipulator (Two)
Chapter 198 - Price
Chapter 199
Chapter 200 - Encounter
Chapter 201 - The Prince’S End
Chapter 202 - Really Bad Luck (One)
Chapter 203 - Really Bad Luck (Two)
Chapter 204 - Understanding
Chapter 205 - Execute On The Spot
Chapter 206 - Guest From Barren Bone
Chapter 207 - The Prince’S Doubts
Chapter 208 - The Black Prophet From The Other Side
Chapter 209 - Code Name: Dragon’S Blood
Chapter 210 - The Importance Of Dragon’S Blood
Chapter 211 - A Gamble In The Dark (One)
Chapter 212 - A Gamble In The Dark (Two)
Chapter 213 - The Curse Of The Witch
Chapter 214 - The Scorching Blade
Chapter 215 - Stall
Chapter 216 - The Latecomer
Chapter 217 - A Very Big Problem
Chapter 218 - The Blade And The Wing
Chapter 219 - Trust And Loyalty
Chapter 220 - Nicholas’ Bargaining Chip
Chapter 221 - Shelter
Chapter 222 - A Critical Decision
Chapter 223 - Failure
Chapter 224 - Little Rascal’S ‘Consolation’
Chapter 225 - Save This Country
Chapter 226 - King Slayer
Chapter 227 - Creating Trouble For Ourselves
Chapter 228 - The Strongest Chess Piece (One)
Chapter 229 - The Strongest Chess Piece (Two)
Chapter 230 - The Strongest Chess Piece. (Three)
Chapter 231 - Lampard’S Plan
Chapter 232 - The Archduke’S Fight
Chapter 233 - It Has Been A Long Time
Chapter 234 - A Great Threat
Chapter 235 - Contention
Chapter 236 - The Inextinguishable Starlight
Chapter 237 - The Virtuous King
Chapter 238 - Centuries Of Strategic Planning (One)
Chapter 239 - Centuries Of Strategic Planning (Two)
Chapter 240 - Centuries Of Strategic Planning (Three)
Chapter 241 - Genuine Patrols
Chapter 242
Chapter 243 - Seize Control
Chapter 244 - Chad Vlad
Chapter 245 - Severing Souls With A Slash!
Chapter 246 - A Game Of Chess
Chapter 247 - A Chance Encounter
Chapter 248 - I Am Very Honored
Chapter 249 - When Swords Cross (One)
Chapter 250 - When Swords Cross (Two)
Chapter 251 - Arduous
Chapter 252 - I Am So Relieved
Chapter 253 - I Can Help You
Chapter 254 - The Black Knight’S Death
Chapter 255 - Changing Hands
Chapter 256 - Counter-Attack
Chapter 257 - Check
Chapter 258 - Checkmate
Chapter 259 - A Speculation
Chapter 260 - The Reason For Battle (One)
Chapter 261 - The Reason For Battle (Two)
Chapter 262 - Twist Of Fate
Chapter 263 - A Child Who’S Not Able To Drink Alcohol
Chapter 264 - You Northland Barbarians!
Chapter 265 - Two Minutes
Chapter 266 - What A Shame (One)
Chapter 267 - What A Shame (Two)
Chapter 268 - We Won
Chapter 269 - The Archduchess
Chapter 270 - The Blood-Stained Crown
Chapter 271 - The Day Before The Bitter Cold Winter
Chapter 272 - Yc
Chapter 273 - End Of Arc: The Destiny They Missed
Chapter 274 - The Quiet Prince
Chapter 275 - A Game Of Chess (One)
Chapter 276 - A Game Of Chess (Two)
Chapter 277 - First Lesson
Chapter 278 - The Truth Brothers
Chapter 279 - Traitors
Chapter 280 - Target
Chapter 281 - An Awkward Dinner
Chapter 282 - Upset
Chapter 283 - Riot
Chapter 284 - The Familiar Guest
Chapter 285 - The Honor And Humiliation Of The Great Dragon (One)
Chapter 286
Chapter 287 - The Mystery About Putray
Chapter 288 - The Dragon’S Blood Has Yet To Dry
Chapter 289 - Dragon Breaker (One)
Chapter 290 - Dragon Breaker (Two)
Chapter 291 - Meryl Hicks
Chapter 292 - The Boundaries Of Governance (One)
Chapter 293 - The Boundaries Of Governance (Two)
Chapter 294 - What Is Magic?
Chapter 295 - An Unforeseen Invitation
Chapter 296 - The Game In The Carriage
Chapter 297 - The Former King’S “Present”
Chapter 298 - The Prince’S Shackles
Chapter 299 - Friend And Foe
Chapter 300 - Victory And Defeat
Chapter 301 - A Duel
Chapter 302 - Not Too Bad?
Chapter 303 - Leave
Chapter 304 - A Storm Is Coming
Chapter 305 - The Creation Of The Two Empresses
Chapter 306 - Raven Of Death
Chapter 307 - Ian The Nuisance
Chapter 308 - Collusion
Chapter 309 - The Writers Of Legend (One)
Chapter 310 - The Writers Of Legend (Two)
Chapter 311 - The Day Of The State Affairs Hearing
Chapter 312 - The Hatred For Stealing His Sister
Chapter 313 - The Beginning
Chapter 314 - For Dragon Clouds City
Chapter 315 - The Archduchess And Her Vassals
Chapter 316 - Plan
Chapter 317 - A Romantic Story
Chapter 318 - Are All Of You Coming?
Chapter 319 - Not According To Plan
Chapter 320 - Releasing In “Installments”
Chapter 321 - The Price Of Saying “No”
Chapter 322 - The Moral Of The Story
Chapter 323 - Good Morning
Chapter 324 - Returning The Favor
Chapter 325 - Send Reinforcements
Chapter 326 - Five Archdukes
Chapter 327 - The Prince’S Whereabouts
Chapter 328 - Just Like Chapman Lampard
Chapter 329 - The Final Journey
Chapter 330 - Assassinating Lampard?
Chapter 331 - Bumping Into A Ghost
Chapter 332 - Headquarters
Chapter 333 - Smooth-Sailing
Chapter 334
Chapter 335 - The Confusion While Going Back Home
Chapter 336 - The Veteran On The Wheelchair
Chapter 337 - Double The Amount?
Chapter 338 - The Point Of Contact
Chapter 339 - His/Her Eyes
Chapter 340 - The Magical Therren
Chapter 341 - You Son Of A *Censored*
Chapter 342 - Which Will You Choose?
Chapter 343 - Exterminate Them All
Chapter 344 - Black Track
Chapter 345 - Join Us
Chapter 346 - Silver Shadow
Chapter 347 - You Will Fail In The End
Chapter 348 - You Fell Into The Trap, Eh?
Chapter 349 - The War Of The Deceased Souls
Chapter 350 - Never Lost
Chapter 351 - The Pulse Of The Ground
Chapter 352 - God Knows
Chapter 353 - The First Rule
Chapter 354 - Pursuers
Chapter 355 - The Hardest Fight
Chapter 356 - Unique Only To One
Chapter 357 - Just Die Here
Chapter 358 - The Three-Second Fight
Chapter 359 - Surpassed Kaslan
Chapter 360 - The Raven And The Snow Blade (One)
Chapter 361 - The Raven And The Snow Blade (Two)
Chapter 362 - The Black Raven’S Eyes
Chapter 363 - Who Does Your Loyalty Belong To?
Chapter 364 - Turning Against One Another
Chapter 365 - Saber Or Crossbow?
Chapter 366 - Prince In The Desert
Chapter 367 - Sellsword
Chapter 368 - Dante’S Greatsword
Chapter 369 - Desert Threat
Chapter 370 - There’S Someone
Chapter 371 - Barren Bone People
Chapter 372 - Bloody Thorn Lizard
Chapter 373 - Young Cub
Chapter 374 - Foreign Blood
Chapter 375 - Coming-Of-Age Ceremony
Chapter 376 - Flag
Chapter 377 - The Destructive Army
Chapter 378 - Freaks
Chapter 379 - Welcome To Constellation (One)
Chapter 380 - Welcome To Constellation (Two)
Chapter 381 - Ghost Prince
Chapter 382 - My Home (One)
Chapter 383 - My Home (Two)
Chapter 384 - Age Of Mercenaries
Chapter 385 - Confrontation And Stalemate
Chapter 386 - Prince Versus Prince
Chapter 387 - So Many Tricks
Chapter 388 - You Have To Laugh
Chapter 389 - Shackles Of Power
Chapter 390 - Perhaps I Have
Chapter 391 - Happily Ever After
Chapter 392 - Technical Skill
Chapter 393 - Intention
Chapter 394 - New Guest
Chapter 395 - Shadows And Swords
Chapter 396 - The Dark Side
Chapter 397 - Emergency Mission
Chapter 398 - Alliance Of Traitors
Chapter 399 - The Mole
Chapter 400 - As Bad As Can Be
Chapter 401 - Affectionate And United
Chapter 402 - F*Ck You
Chapter 403 - H.N. Jadestar
Chapter 404 - Stupid Idea
Chapter 405 - Sinner
Chapter 406 - The Intruders
Chapter 407 - Head Towards Omniscience
Chapter 408 - Black Prison
Chapter 409 - Behind The Iron Curtain
Chapter 410 - Hallucination
Chapter 411 - Seven
Chapter 412 - People Whom History Has Forgotten
Chapter 413 - The Mourning Of The Guards
Chapter 414 - Where Is He?
Chapter 415 - Fall Out
Chapter 416 - Disaster Sword’S Battle
Chapter 417 - The Knight Of Judgment
Chapter 418 - A Different World
Chapter 419 - The Queen’S Dowry
Chapter 420 - The Greatest King
Chapter 421 - Knew Clearly
Chapter 422 - Nameless
Chapter 423 - Awaken
Chapter 424 - Loyalty
Chapter 425 - Peer
Chapter 426 - He Was Probably Old
Chapter 427 - A Stalemate
Chapter 428 - Dusk
Chapter 429 - The Man At The Proximal World
Chapter 430 - The Second Declaration Among Mystics
Chapter 431 - The Anchor Point
Chapter 432 - Taurus Mill
Chapter 433 - Decision
Chapter 434 - Correcting The Mistake
Chapter 435 - Malicious Flower, Malicious Fruit
Chapter 436 - Moriah Returns
Chapter 437 - Old Self
Chapter 438 - The Prince Is Not Here
Chapter 439 - Scheme Between The Thief And Bandit
Chapter 440 - Seven To Three
Chapter 441 - Missing One
Chapter 442 - Quick Wit
Chapter 443 - Not Just You
Chapter 444 - Someone Needs An Answer
Chapter 445 - A Forbidden Name
Chapter 446 - Three Calamity Allies
Chapter 447 - Enemy Of The World
Chapter 448 - 1 Vs 8
Chapter 449 - Chaos Of Armies
Chapter 450 - Two Hands
Chapter 451 - Xx Films
Chapter 452 - Fratricide
Chapter 453 - It Was Not A Coincidence
Chapter 454 - More Than Half
Chapter 455 - I Hated Him
Chapter 456 - Nothing At All
Chapter 457 - The Person Who Supported Him
Chapter 458 - Where The Sun Does Not Shine (One)
Chapter 459 - Where The Sun Does Not Shine (Two)
Chapter 460 - Rebirth (One)
Chapter 461 - Rebirth (Two)
Chapter 462 - Rebirth (Three)
Chapter 463 - Rebirth (Four)
Chapter 464 - Rebirth (Five)
Chapter 465 - Truth Swords
Chapter 466 - Beheaded
Chapter 467 - Revealed In Flames
Chapter 468 - The Silent Demon
Chapter 469 - So Naïve That You Are Adorable
Chapter 470 - The Fate Twins
Chapter 471 - The True Essence Of The Power Of Eradication
Chapter 472 - Leaving The Prison
Chapter 473 - I Am Not A Devil, After All
Chapter 474 - Much… Higher
Chapter 475 - The Warden
Chapter 476 - Life, Safety And Freedom
Chapter 477 - Something Lighter
Chapter 478 - Get Me Something To Eat And Drink
Chapter 479 - Exclusive Possession
Chapter 480 - Kill Them
Chapter 481 - A Different Way Of Living
Chapter 482 - Get Yourself A Girlfriend
Chapter 483 - Make Me Even More… Excited
Chapter 484 - You Are Good-Looking
Chapter 485 - Too High
Chapter 486 - You Are Good-Looking
Chapter 487 - Too High
Chapter 488 - That Night
Chapter 489 - Usurp Power
Chapter 490 - Do Something
Chapter 491 - Power Comes From Violence (One)
Chapter 492 - Power Comes From Violence (Two)
Chapter 493 - The Third Party
Chapter 494 - Destiny Is Like A Poem
Chapter 495 - Raven Leader
Chapter 496 - Never
Chapter 497 - His Majesty’S Blessing
Chapter 498 - Black Lion
Chapter 499 - I Have Come In Peace
Chapter 500 - End Of Arc: Duke
Chapter 501 - Everything Will Be Better
Chapter 502 - Six Divisions And Seven Attendants
Chapter 503 - Divided Western Desert
Chapter 504 - Only One Day Left
Chapter 505 - Protection
Chapter 506 - This Is Just The Beginning
Chapter 507 - Hometown
Chapter 508 - A Small Spark
Chapter 509 - Anxious
Chapter 510 - Fifteen Minutes
Chapter 511 - King In The Mist
Chapter 512 - Crazy
Chapter 513 - A Small Favor
Chapter 514 - Like A Fleeting Cloud
Chapter 515 - Timetable
Chapter 516 - Coincidence?
Chapter 517 - Went To High School
Chapter 518 - Discovered?
Chapter 519 - Let’S Fight
Chapter 520 - Not Just The Power Of Eradication
Chapter 521 - World Class Battle Worthy Of Being Written In Historical Poems
Chapter 522 - Continuous Fights
Chapter 523 - Mutant
Chapter 524 - Self-Reliant
Chapter 525 - Lustful Woman
Chapter 526 - Knowledge Of People
Chapter 527 - Holiness Exorcism
Chapter 528 - Fight Between The Eldest And Youngest
Chapter 529 - Privacy
Chapter 530 - Alien Star
Chapter 531 - Guest
Chapter 532 - The Young Kingdom
Chapter 533 - Calm On Iron Spikes
Chapter 534 - Sorry To Keep You Waiting
Chapter 535 - Polaris
Chapter 536 - Times Have Changed
Chapter 537 - Pretty Boy
Chapter 538 - Magnificent Scene Of Hell
Chapter 539 - Side Story 7: Joint Council
Chapter 540 - Never Kneel
Chapter 541 - A Piece Of Cake
Chapter 542 - Merciless
Chapter 543 - That Gaze
Chapter 544 - Watchmen’S Code
Chapter 545 - The End Of It
Chapter 546 - To Not Perish As Foes (One)
Chapter 547 - To Not Perish As Foes (Two)
Chapter 548 - To Not Perish As Foes (Three)
Chapter 549 - To Duke Thales
Chapter 550 - What Rationality
Chapter 551 - Better
Chapter 552 - Sacrificing A Pawn (One)
Chapter 553 - Sacrificing A Pawn (Two)
Chapter 554 - Sacrificing A Pawn (Three)
Chapter 555 - Unfulfilled
Chapter 556 - Chess Player
Chapter 557 - Relieved
Chapter 558 - Punishment
Chapter 559 - Eight Arteries
Chapter 560 - Imperial Style
Chapter 561 - Cannot Escape The Sheath
Chapter 562 - Want Everything
Chapter 563 - Cause And Effect
Chapter 564 - Blazing Blood
Chapter 565 - Of Course—Not
Chapter 566 - Crown Jewel Of The Kingdom
Chapter 567 - Head Over Heels
Chapter 568 - As Truthful As Possible
Chapter 569 - Hand In Marriage
Chapter 570 - What Do I Need You For
Chapter 571 - Defects
Chapter 572 - Heart Of The Guards
Chapter 573 - You’Re A Real Dog
Chapter 574 - Antecessors
Chapter 575 - The Years Have Caught On To Me
Chapter 576 - Shooting Yourself In The Foot
Chapter 577 - Lie
Chapter 578 - The Wine Merchant
Chapter 579 - Damn The Prince
Chapter 580 - The Prince Likes Them
Categories Genre: Action, All, Drama, Fantasy, Mature, Ongoing, Psychological, Seinen, Tragedy Status: Ongoing Alternative names: Wang Guo Xue Mai, 王国血脉, ______
Total Chapters in book: 580
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 580 Page No. 579 Page No. 578 Page No. 577 Page No. 576 Page No. 575 Page No. 574 Page No. 573 Page No. 572 Page No. 571 Page No. 570 Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Escape Plan
Translator:
EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor:
EndlessFantasy Translation
“Bite on this piece of wood tightly and you will feel better. Sorry, I… I can only think of this solution.”
Thales furrowed his brows and kneeled in front of Ryan.
The crippled child beggar was half-lying on the floor with his upper body against the wall. Holding up his broken, badly injured, and almost torn off right hand that was steadily bleeding out, he stared blankly at Thales who was sharpening a dagger against a blunt piece of stone. He let Thales insert the piece of wood into his mouth.
Behind Thales, the little girl Coria sat on the stairs between the house and the yard with a blank expression. The area on the left side of her face which was burned by the silver coin was already treated with medicine and covered with a piece of cloth.
She held the charred silver coin tightly in her hand.
The little girl opened her eyes wide and looked at her surroundings, even rising her head to look at the moon after a moment before she let out a nervous chuckle.
Behind her, Quide’s wide-eyed corpse leaned against the broken wall.
Thales felt nauseous.
That sensation… that of thrusting metal into flesh and blood, kept returning. It would occasionally appear in Thales’ sword arm.
Thales sighed, suppressing the strange discomfort that came with killing someone for the first time. The burn on his chest was still aching, taking away a lot of his attention from that matter.
He had to kill Quide—Thales did not regret it at all.
The moment he thrusted the dagger into Quide’s neck and watched him fall with all his unwillingness to admit defeat, Thales had even felt a surge of satisfaction rush into his heart.
That was the pleasure of revenge.
At that moment, it was as though all his grievances and hatred were soothed and released.
Simple yet brutal, effective and straightforward.
“However,” Thales closed his eyes, and said to himself repeatedly, ‘I must not fall in love with this feeling.’
After all, he took away a life.
He might have killed a fellow human because he had no choice. However, no matter the circumstances, it was not something to be proud of.
He definitely did not kill Quide so that he can become scum like him.
‘More importantly…’ Thales turned and looked at Coria. He sped up his sharpening of the dagger.
‘What these children just experienced was most likely the most crucial point in their lives.’
Another vision from his past life bloomed in front of his eyes. The light from the projector and the words on the slides appeared like crashing waves.
“For the thesis I will be talking about in this lecture, its literature review mainly focuses on the field of psychology. From the perspective of developmental psychology, one’s childhood and teenage years are the most vital in shaping his or her mind and personality. According to Bloom’s longitudinal studies, the environment, interactions, and behaviors one experiences at those stages are strongly correlated to their future character and psychological development. Plenty of theoretical studies also suggest that this influence might even last through their whole lives…”
Thales shook his head and kept the newfound memory deep inside his heart.
The psychological health of the child beggars was only secondary—the problem at hand was survival.
Thales suppressed the nausea inside his heart and shifted his focus to the dagger in his hand.
This dagger was shorter than an adult’s forearm. It had a single cutting edge, the tip curving slightly to the side. A black leather belt was wrapped around the wooden handle to prevent slippage while both sides of the blade were smooth…’Hmm?’
Thales suddenly discovered that, after being soaked in fresh blood, two engraved alphabets appeared on one side of the blade.
JC.
‘JC?’
Thales’ gaze shifted slightly and his heart jolted.
‘Haha, no matter how many more tricks I have up my sleeves, how many more plans I concoct, or how much more intelligent I am,’ thought Thales, ‘none are as useful as this dagger called JC.’
Thales’ gaze turned icy. In one moment he was sharpening the knife edge, but in the next he appeared beside Ryan’s broken hand.
*Cha!*
Thales cut without hesitation.
The blade severed what little skin and flesh was left between Ryan’s palm and wrist.
“Hmm! Hmm… hmph hmph!”
Ryan’s whole body started convulsing vigorously like a Mariahilf river prawn that has just been dropped into boiling water.
He bit hard on the piece of wood, letting out a horrifying sound from his throat. His eyes were shut tightly from pain and his face was distorted in an over the top manner.
Tears and snot flowed ceaselessly.
Thales immediately took the piece of cloth that had been applied with medicine, though it was just some Urth Dragon Leaves, and wrapped it around Ryan’s severed wrist. He made a tight knot on it.
‘Hopefully this will help in stopping the bleeding and prevent infection, or else…’ Thales looked towards the fire and shook his head.
Ryan was still convulsing in pain. Thales pressed down on his severed wrist with one hand and embraced him with the other.
“Hang on, Ryan, it will be over soon. Hang on!” Thales shut his eyes and softly comforted Ryan. Ryan’s hair brushed over the burn wound on his chest, causing another fit of unbearable pain.
Thales looked to the other side. Kellet, Ned and Ursula were lying quietly under the moonlight.
It was as if they were asleep.
Ryan’s breath started to calm. However, Coria started crying softly again.
“Thales… *sniffs* I’m so scared. Coria really doesn’t have typhoid, Coria has already recovered…”
Thales let go of Ryan and turned to embrace Coria in his arms, taking care to avoid the burn wound on her face as he patted her gently.
“It’s okay now, Coria. Everything is okay now.”
‘I’m sorry.
‘I couldn’t protect all of you.’
“Thales!”
Thales opened his eyes and saw Sinti, who was gasping as he ran. He calmly asked, “How is the situation outside?”
Sinti sustained the fewest injuries out of all the children in the sixth house. Life as a child beggar allowed them to pick up plenty of first aid skills such as the setting of bones, or even the breaking of bones, and after Thales fixed his dislocated leg, he sent him out to gather information. He also asked him to gather information and spread news to warn the other members of the Brotherhood who might come.
“No one from above is coming. Not Rick, not the thugs either. There’s no one from the Brotherhood. It seems like no one from outside the Abandoned Houses knows about this.”
Sinti was the eldest among them and had worked with Thales for quite some time, he immediately answered Thales’ biggest concern.
“It seems like Quide went to quite a number of houses, some of the children managed to escape. But, excluding our house and the seventeenth house, at least six or seven houses show no movement inside at all.”
Thales’ gaze dimmed. The sixth house was not the nearest Abandoned House to the front gate. He could already sort of guess the fate of the child beggars in those houses.
“Right now, all the child beggars already know what happened. They are spreading rumors among themselves that the Brotherhood is planning to kill us all. Some of them are hiding in the houses, too afraid to come out, but most of them ran out to the streets, and some even want to escape.”
Thales’ eyes lit up, “Wait, you mentioned that all the thugs are not around anymore?”
Sinti knew what Thales was thinking. He shook his head and bitterly spoke, “It’s no use, the front gate is locked from the outside. Karak and the people from his house are shouting in front of the gate, but no one came. There’s no way for us to escape unless we can cross through the moat and the thorns inside.”
“Do we…” Ryan struggled to stand up while hugging his right hand, his face was pale as he asked, “Do we have to escape? We can stay here and wait till the morning, and when Rick and the others come, we can tell them that Quide went crazy himself…”
“No!” Thales firmly cut Ryan off, “Quide died in our house. If they manage to find the culprit, we will surely die. Even if they can’t find the culprit, they will still blame it on us. Moreover, Quide’s father is one of the elders in the Brotherhood, they won’t let this go easily.”
“Plus,” Thales looked at Ryan coldly, “Do you want to wait for them to send the next Quide over? Even if the next ringleader is not someone like Quide, when he knows that his predecessor died under the hands of child beggars, do you expect him to feed and serve you well, then kneel down and beg you not to kill him?”
Ryan, Coria and even Sinti could not quite understand what Thales just said. The three of them blinked in confusion.
Thales looked at them and lowered his head in exasperation. He sighed and said, “Ha… to put it simply: we must escape.”
“Oh.”
The three children nodded their heads in unison.
Thales shook his head helplessly.
Another scene suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
Snow was falling on the almost empty streets. A graceful figure was skipping in front while he kept talking.
“…Therefore, in his book, based on his observation along with historical data, which is the origination of capitalism in Europe, Weber mocked Marx’s theory that the economic base determines the superstructure…”
“Although I don’t understand what you are talking about, it all sounds very intellectual.”
“Ha… in short, it means that Weber is looking down on Marx.”
“Oh, I see. Let’s go for hotpot then!”
“You were the one who asked me about my class today, can you not change the topic so quickly? And why is it that you can do it so naturally?”
“It’s decided then, Korean barbeque! Strike Freedom, attack!”
“Weren’t you talking about hotpot just now- Hey don’t push me- And what is Strike Freedom- I told you not to push me-”
Thales shut his eyes tight and chased away the illusionary memory that surged back from the void.
Lately, his memories had been surging back towards him more frequently, “past incidents” came back to his mind one by one.
But please let it not be now.
It cannot be now.
There were more important things to do right now.
Thales opened his eyes and realized that the three children were waiting for his decision.
He stood up quietly and pulled Ryan up with him while taking a deep breath.
“First of all, we must remove Quide from the sixth house while there is no one outside. Although he is super heavy, we can’t let anyone know that his death is related to us within the next few hours.”
“After that, Sinti, start spreading word to everyone, discreetly. You must not let anyone know that you are deliberately spreading it. Tell everyone that, at the bottom of the moat on the left side of the fourth house, five of the thorns are lose. Remove them and use a slab of stone or something to press the remaining two thorns down. That way, we can escape from the houses.”
Sinti was surprised. “You… you found the secret passage in the moat?”
“Secret passage?” Ryan and Coria also looked as if they were shocked.
Thales did not reply but tapped Sinti’s shoulder instead and said, “Go.”
The secret passage was not dug by some senior child beggar with great abilities.
This so-called secret passage was dug by Thales twice per week while he went off to beg at the Western City Gate, which always allowed him to return late. Using a dagger, tree vines, linen, and a corrosive agent from the pharmacy, he dug secretly for four years.
It was totally like “The Shawshank Redemption” in Errol.
As for that myth, it was just sheer illusion.
There was never any savior, was there?
Thales patted Sinti’s shoulder again, and the latter nodded his head. As he was about to turn, he scratched his head like he suddenly thought of something, then with a voice filled with doubt, he asked,
“Why do we have to tell everyone? Can’t we just escape by ourselves? If there’s a lot of people, everyone will be fighting to get ahead and that will slow us down.”
‘No,’ Thales thought. ‘The Brotherhood are not stupid. Every single street and corner in all three lower districts are full of their spies. Even the outskirt area outside the Western City Gates is full of their lackeys. For a few child beggars who are not even ten, even if we manage to escape, it’s very difficult to escape the Brotherhood.’
Thales’ original escape plan was due to be carried out in half a year. Within that time, he would have been able to completely gauge the pattern and rhythm of the Brotherhood’s spies that were placed between the third lower district and Red Street Market. He would have also obtained materials from Sunset Pub and Grove Pharmacy, greatly increasing their chances of escape.
As long as they can reach the Red Street Market.
But right now… right now, it was not the best opportunity at all.
However, for survival, they must escape immediately. Disasters always strike unexpectedly, did they not?
That was why he must turn the sixth house’s private escape plan into a collective commotion of all the child beggars.
If the children in the sixth house were the only ones missing, it would be too obvious, and the Brotherhood would swiftly track them down. With more people, although their escape would be slow, it was safer and more discreet.
However, if he were to explain these reasons one by one…
Thales raised his head and looked at Sinti. His piercing gaze made the latter a little uncomfortable.
“Sinti, do you remember the pact that we made four years ago?”
Sinti was momentarily stunned before he lowered his head in thought.
When he looked up again, his gaze spoke of determination.
“Of course.” Sinti looked at Thales, whose height only reached his shoulders, and said slowly, “You do all the thinking, and my job is to carry them out.”
Thales nodded solemnly.
“Let’s escape together!”
…..
Jala Charleton idly watched the last customer exit Sunset Pub, then she rose lazily to clear his glass.
There were few customers today, especially members of the Brotherhood. most of them were dispatched to become part of that “big operation”. Even the cook, Edmund, had left with a chopper. Apparently, he was going to return a debt of gratitude.
The old man had not returned for a long time, either.
‘Boring.’
Jala glanced at the wall clock, it was half-past three in the morning—still a little early.
But then again, the clock was a little slow.
‘That clock is super old,’ thought Jala, ‘even the rear compartment that holds the Eternal Oil is rusty. Carelessly mixing Eternal Oil with rust drastically reduces its efficiency.’
She had to think of a way to convince the old man to spend some money and get a new clock.
Although Sunset Pub had plenty of businesses, no tax officers from the town council ever came to collect any tax.
(“For the sake of the king, I will give the tax collector two of my middle fingers!”–Jala)
There were no clueless idiots who came to collect protection fees either.
(“Each of you pay a hundred coppers, and I will protect your fingers from being chopped off by me. What do you think?”–Jala)
Even their stocks were obtained at a discounted price through Black Street Brotherhood’s internal sources.
(“Nayer Rick, as the person in charge of accounts, quickly tell our brothers lying on the floor and this knife of mine what price you will be offering us for the stock. Hmm?”–Jala)
Surely, they can afford to spend some money on a new clock?
That stingy old man.
Jala shut the front door and finished up work at the bar counter. She then set down her apron and wash cloth, tightened her leather pants, blew out the Everlasting Light on the front counter (such an ironic name) and walked into the kitchen. It was still a little early today. Based on practice, after finishing up her training, there would still be…
The next moment, Jala’s countenance turned cold and harsh.
She immediately lowered her body and bent her knees into a position where she can exert energy easily. The Wolf Limb Blade on her thigh was in her left hand in the blink of an eye.
The tip of the knife flew forward like lightning.
*Tong!*
The Wolf Limb Blade had savagely hit a beer barrel!
Only a small part of the blade stood out of the barrel, the handle still shaking.
“Ah!” A little girl screamed in alarm.
Jala slowly straightened herself, sheathed the other Wolf Limb Blade in her right hand back into her boot, then lit the Everlasting Lamp beside her.
The light flooded the dim kitchen and revealed a few small figures.
“Jala, er…” Thales, who was scared stiff by the thrown Wolf Limb Blade, forced a smile and raised his quivering right hand before he waved unnaturally. “Hi… it’s me.”
Jala glared coldly at him, still silent.
Her gaze was both piercing and frightening. Coria moved her body closer to Thales in fear.
Jala suddenly walked towards them.
Thales could feel the three child beggars behind him take a step back.
“I know,” Jala said coolly, “otherwise, I would have aimed at something else other than the beer barrel.”
Jala went in front of Thales and yanked the Wolf Limb Blade, which was two inches away from Thales’ left ear, out of the beer barrel. As if demonstrating her power, she flourished the blade around before putting it back in her boot.
“And, you brat…”
Thales rolled his eyes inwardly and raised up his hand in reflex to protect his forehead.
But a slim finger was already poking firmly on it.
“Ah! Ouch!”
“You must call me big sister Jala!”
…..
“I didn’t see Edmund when I came in through the back door, so I decided to check out the kitchen…”
They were now at Sunset Pub’s cellar. The three other child beggars were leaning against huge sacks filled with food. Although they seemed restless, they did their best to dig into the pieces of white bread in their hands. It had been a long time since they had good food like this.
Further away from them, Thales sat on a beer barrel that was twice his height. He was on eye level with Jala Charleton, who crossed her arms and had a leg against the wall. She was languid, but still exuded her signature confidence.
If he were still in his past life, Thales would have slowly admired her from top to bottom. He would then raise his head to look at the sky while savoring the memory and marveling at the world’s beauty.
Heh, you were wondering about what Thales would be doing after that? Bullshit. Of course, he would return home alone and do whatever he needed to do.
As for now? Sorry, but his body was still too young for that.
“Get straight to the point. Why did you come to me?” Jala’s countenance was still cold, and she immediately went straight to the point.
Thales was used to that. He first met Jala four years ago at the rubbish heap behind Sunset Pub. This “big sister”, who was only about eighteen or nineteen at that time, was already talking and acting that way.
He knew that this was just who she was.
“Quide went crazy and killed almost half the child beggars in the Abandoned Houses.”
Thales spoke solemnly while clenching his fists.
‘God. Damn. It.’
Ever since Jala saw that these child beggars were covered in wounds, she already had her suspicions regarding what happened earlier.
Without batting an eye, she started cursing Rick inwardly. ‘This accountant, I knew that nothing good would come out of you forcing Chaca Wine into Quide’s mouth.
‘Why did I agree to it, all for ten gold coins?
‘Half the child beggars.
‘Ten gold coins?’
Jala’s expression dimmed.
Besides… this incident will definitely anger the Brotherhood.
“No one came to stop him, nor did anyone rescue us. We had no choice but to escape by ourselves,” Thales said gravely, the incident from a few hours ago replaying in his mind.
Jala said nothing and looked at him glumly.
In the end, Jala closed her eyes and sighed.
“I get it, you guys can hide here for a day. Don’t worry, with me around, that gorilla wouldn’t dare to come here. If he comes, I will cut off his d*ck- I mean, hand.”
Jala glanced at the other three child beggars and frowned. She could tell the new injuries apart from the old ones, especially the child whose right hand was wrapped in a piece of cloth.
“When Edmund returns, I will ask him to find Rick and the others from above. Having done something like this, Quide won’t be able to escape—this bastard, why did he not die earlier?”
Jala suddenly felt dispirited. She lowered her leg to the floor and stood up.
Thales’ gaze darkened. He looked at the three child beggars and took a deep breath, then looked towards Jala.
“There’s some big operation going on in the Brotherhood today. I guess that’s why the defences and patrol systems are lax. To be able to escape, you guys must have… Ah, forget about it. I’ll go get some medicine, and if you guys need a doctor- wait, brat, are you okay?”
While Jala was busy talking to herself, she suddenly realized that Thales, who was standing in front of her, did not look right. His body was also full of injuries. His clothes were torn to pieces, and his right sleeve had fresh blood on it.
Wait.
This brat’s gaze…
Looked a little off.
Jala went in front of Thales and dragged him off the beer barrel. She then kneeled and held Thales’ shoulder while looking straight into his eyes.
Jala’s gaze suddenly turned somber and urgent.
“Brat, you… What happened to you?”
Thales was a little afraid to look at Jala’s eyes. However, in a mere few seconds, he managed to compose himself and firmly raised his head.
Thales could hear his own voice. It was calm as usual—without a tremble.
“Jala, Quide is dead…
“I killed him.”
Total Chapters in book: 580
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
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