After eating the midnight snack Viseliane brought, Grin took out his own dry rations, worried she might still be hungry.
He knew that the stamina of Class-holders was built on pre-stored energy. Like him, Viseliane had gone through consecutive battles, and her consumption was not small.
Grin replenished his physical strength through high-energy dry rations, but the way Viseliane had been “stealing” bites earlier made it seem like she hadn’t had any time to eat at all. Especially after learning that the Royal Palace was dangerous, she likely hadn’t left Dolores’s side more than a few times.
It was somewhat rude to eat while serving. However, Viseliane shook her head and refused, saying she was full and needed to return to the Princess’s side immediately.
Watching Viseliane leave and hearing that Dolores was already asleep, Grin no longer had a reason to visit.
There wasn’t much he could do right now. His System Task was stuck because of the task regarding Dolores’s Affection Level, which in turn stalled the Main Plotline. Grin only now realized that this task was not easy. What kind of methods would he have to use to kiss Dolores and have her voluntarily say “I love you”?
Furthermore, the System’s requirements included the word “sincere,” which meant Grin couldn’t use hypnosis. Adding the fact that Viseliane was constantly following and protecting her, it was even harder for him to find an opportunity to be alone with Dolores.
Because of this, Grin also held the idea of building a good relationship with Viseliane. As he thought about it, a few sparks of anxiety involuntarily rose in his heart. But this impatience only caused him to pace back and forth a few times before sighing. He felt he could only take things one step at a time.
The part involving Dolores and the System had fallen into a dead end, and his mental energy had been heavily drained in the Dreamscape.
He had a place to rest in the current Royal Palace. Halfway there, Grin suddenly thought of the Royal Brewery. He didn’t want to steal wine; rather, he remembered that there were several secret rooms in the brewery containing a few bottles of ownerless, precious Spirit Wine.
The Original Owner was a secretive brewer who had died decades ago. Moreover, there shouldn’t be many people on duty at the brewery at this hour. He wasn’t stealing; he was simply taking useful items that no one wanted. If Grin didn’t take them, they wouldn’t be discovered for another thirty years.
Changing his destination, Grin headed toward the brewery under the cover of night. He passed the West City Gate and didn’t notice anything unusual. Since this wasn’t an official errand, he took the side paths.
To Grin, who had been King for decades, the Royal Palace was as familiar as his own home. He remembered that the brewery wouldn’t have many people, especially at this time, but as he drew closer, a faint sense of unease grew heavier in his heart.
Grin trusted his intuition; it had saved his life in countless battles.
Almost immediately, he thought of the traitors who might be lurking within the palace. Hagel had mentioned that the Dragon had destroyed the new seal, but the old one was still intact. The old seals were currently located within the Royal Palace.
There was one near the palace where Dolores rested, another near the King’s Study, and one near the East City Gate. But there definitely wasn’t one at the brewery.
Grin noticed wagon tracks, but there shouldn’t be any external supplies needing transport to the brewery at this hour.
He chose a more secluded path and, from a hidden angle, saw magic stones and explosives piled up within the high walls of the brewery.
‘Run.’
Grin’s first instinct was to notify the King without hesitation. There was no need for him to take risks; this wasn’t the time to show off. Any normal person would realize that the brewery shouldn’t be stacked with a pile of dangerous explosives.
“There’s someone here!”
A sentry in the shadows discovered Grin’s tracks. Not far away, armed personnel transporting a second batch of supplies were also drawn by the sound and looked in his direction.
An arrow glowing with green light shot toward Grin, acting like a marking flare.
Grin’s stealth abilities weren’t that bad, but once he realized he was exposed, he saw seven or eight hidden sentries distributed around the path he had come from. He had avoided them on the way in, but now his retreat was cut off.
Grin wasn’t confident he could break out of this group’s encirclement on his own. He counted no fewer than ten people with professional power before him.
This wasn’t like the battle against Count Canko’s retainers. Although he didn’t have Dolores to protect, he also didn’t have Viseliane’s support. Most importantly, he had no way back. There were enemies in front of him and enemies in the courtyard behind him.
Grin’s only weapon was a two-handed greatsword. The blade was 1.5 meters long, forged from Rainbow Iron refined with magic stones, giving it a reddish-silver hue.
The first volley of arrows and magic spells flew toward him, slicing through the air with trails of colored light.
*Clang!*
Grin bent low and held his sword horizontally in front of him. After taking a stance, his entire body sank, and an energy field from his skill began to ripple around him.
The deflected arrows hit the sword like stalled birds, shattering into pieces. The counter-force made him tighten his grip on the hilt.
The next moment, the scattered energy converged. Grin canceled his block, twisted the hilt, and pointed the tip forward. The sword point aimed directly at the approaching guards. The lead guard raised a shield, and the distance between them was only… 10 meters!!!
Grin gripped the hilt with one hand as if lifting a mountain, then swung. The gathered energy formed a new sword technique. A wave of Sword Qi several meters high surged toward the guards like a tide, instantly splitting the lead man in two.
Immediately following that, one, two, and three—the intersecting Sword Qi forced the nearly fifty enemies in front of him to retreat.
However, Grin was pushed toward the wall by the continuous barrage of arrows. Suddenly, he reached out and smashed the wall behind him. Behind the collapsing dust were the enemies who had been waiting there. In the center sat the pile of Magic Stone Explosives and highly unstable miscellaneous gemstones. Magic Stone Explosives were extremely easy to detonate with the Fire Element.
Grin’s heart pounded violently from the battle, pumping blood and strength through his body. He had mastered many sword techniques, some of which could imbue Sword Qi with powerful and magnificent elements.
Naturally, that included fire.
The heavy waves of Sword Qi and the dust from the collapsing wall bought him time. The dust hid his figure in a blur.
*Thump!*
The sound of flesh striking metal rang out, and an angry reddish-yellow glow began to appear within the smoke. The surrounding temperature rose rapidly.
Grin struck the flat of his blade with his left fist, as if striking its heart. Intense flames spread and burned across the blade like flowing blood.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but today, right now, you can say goodbye to your rat-like plans…”
Everyone in the Capital would see this moment’s fireworks.
They had been hiding and lurking, but this time, they would definitely be unable to hide any longer.
Grin swung his sword heavily.
He aimed for the center of the courtyard, right toward the pile of Magic Stone Explosives.
The surging flames, entwined with Sword Qi, roared as they rushed toward the explosives.
No one present could stop Grin’s strike. All the defensive measures they hastily constructed were incinerated by the fire.
In an instant, the explosion of flames and a massive shockwave erupted in the courtyard with an earth-shaking roar.
The blast blew away the dust surrounding Grin, leaving him standing before his enemies like a victor.
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