Chapter 52: at this very moment

“Who dares?!”

A girl’s voice arrived with the force of thunder.

Gaius suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart, and the longsword he was about to bring down immediately changed course to block across his chest.

A pale blue lightning bolt shot from behind everyone, its target precisely Gaius’s heart.

Zzzzt~~~

The lightning collided with the longsword wrapped in Douqi, but instead of dissipating like the magic Gaius had seen before, it clung to the blade like a poisonous swamp.

At the same time, the high temperature released by the lightning continuously scorched the bloodstains on the blade, emitting the sizzling sound of burning fat.

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Gaius.

The power of this mana was undoubtedly seventh-rank magic!

But why hadn’t he heard any incantation?

“Where are you looking?! Move your foot away from him, this Princess commands you!”

“Holy Light… Slash!!!”

But the attack he had to deal with wasn’t just this lightning bolt.

Fierce spear intent and sword techniques followed in quick succession.

Although Gaius had already mobilized his Douqi for defense, he was still pierced through by the two attacks filled with rage.

“Heheh…”

Gaius’s body was impaled, yet a triumphant smile appeared on his face.

The spear that was supposed to pierce his heart was now firmly stuck between his ribs.

Although the spear-wielder’s strength would soon allow her to pull the spear out along with his ribs, that little bit of time was enough for him to escape!

“Break!”

Douqi exploded within his body.

Gaius instantly realized his chance had come.

Riding the shockwave of the explosion, Gaius endured the pain of half his ribs being shattered and swiftly fled back to Olivier’s side.

Standing straight, he glared furiously at the newcomers.

“Tch, that’s why I hate cockroaches like you with such tenacious vitality.”

Leah, with her golden hair and blue eyes, brandished her spear with a whistling sound, looking at them with contempt.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just died obediently?”

“Mr. Aaron, thank you for your dedication to the Empire. Please leave the rest to me now.”

Arns stood guard before everyone with his sword, the golden Douqi a manifestation of his barely contained fury.

“Arns? You’re back. Then, the young lady…”

Aaron forced his eyes open.

Seeing Arns here, he immediately wanted to ask where Winnidith had gone.

But soon, his question was answered.

“Uncle Aaron!”

Winnidith quickly descended from the sky to Aaron’s side.

Looking at the shocking amount of blood on Aaron, her delicate little face was already streaked with tears.

“Heheh, young lady, don’t cry. Your uncle is still alive, isn’t he?”

Aaron reached out a bloodied finger, trying to wipe away the tear stains on the girl’s face.

But as his finger moved slightly, it only left behind streak after streak of bloody marks.

It looked even dirtier now.

Aaron also realized now wasn’t the time for this.

Enduring the pain of his internal organs healing, he straightened his back, wanting to give Winnidith a reassuring smile.

But before he could even sit up, the girl threw herself into his arms.

The force was so great it almost knocked him over immediately.

But a small hand supported his back.

He looked sideways—it was Isabella.

“Mr. Aaron, please look after Wendy for now. Let her be a little willful for a while.”

The Empire’s princess smiled as she helped him up.

Aaron glanced at the silent but obviously unbelievably powerful Elf standing beside her, unsure what to say.

He wasn’t good at dealing with this kind of situation.

“Sir Aidan, thank you also for your aid to Mr. Aaron. Upon returning to the Imperial Capital, I will petition His Majesty to promote you to Priest of The Sanctuary.”

Isabella looked at Aidan, who had been maintaining the holy light.

He was the envoy group’s only priest.

Aaron’s ability to hold on until their arrival was undoubtedly due in no small part to his help.

“I merely did my duty as a healer. I dare not presume to seek the position of Priest.”

Aidan finally smiled.

He could finally retract the holy light he had been projecting outward and focus on combating the strange medicinal force within Aaron’s body.

Isabella’s gaze swept over the envoy group, now reduced by a third, finally settling on Hiberton, whose right cheek was slightly swollen.

“Hiberton, you also performed well. After this battle, no one in the Empire will ever again think of you as a wastrel relying solely on your father and brother.”

Hearing this, Hiberton immediately straightened his posture, looking every bit the meritorious hero about to be rewarded.

But then he noticed Etheriel beside Isabella and whispered a reminder:

“Your Highness, please be careful. It seems the Elf race has formed an alliance with Alandin.”

“I know what happened. I will explain the details to you all later. But for now, Princess Leah and the one beside me are both our allies.”

Isabella looked at these envoys, still trembling under the oppression of fear.

Taking a deep breath, she calmly told them:

“The Robert Royal Family is here.”

The Robert Royal Family is here.

That single sentence dispelled all the doubt and fear in the envoys’ hearts.

Because a thousand years ago, when all of humanity became targets of slaughter by the three-race alliance after Saint-Vien’s defeat, it was a hero bearing the name Robert who first stepped forward, holding the Empire’s last line of defense with his closest friend.

Even facing endless armies of enemy races, as long as the name Robert was on their side, fear would not take root in their hearts.

This trust, from that moment on, was engraved into the heart of every Empire resident.

Every generation of wise rulers since had deepened this imprint.

Today, Robert was no longer just a name; it had become a totem, branded deep into the soul of every citizen of the Empire.

“Tsk… Your Highness, the situation is unfavorable now.”

Seeing the Empire’s Guard Army suddenly erupt with fighting spirit, Gaius clicked his tongue, covering his wound as he stood beside Olivier and whispered.

“Arns’s strength is on par with Aaron’s. The Elf Princess cultivates both magic and martial arts; facing Gareth, she might not lose.”

“Even more dangerous is that Elf in white. The mana within him is unfathomable; he’s likely a Nine-Order Mage.”

Setting aside the Saint Realm, which produces only a handful every century, the ninth tier is the strongest in the eyes of ordinary people.

In their fantasies, every move of a ninth-tier expert would bring about celestial phenomena.

Reality isn’t that outrageous, but the ninth tier’s overwhelming superiority over the eighth is real.

With similar combat experience, at least three eighth-tier experts are needed to restrain one ninth-tier.

That’s also why, when they saw Gareth alone able to trade blows with a ninth-tier, they concluded he was one of the strongest among the eighth tier.

But now, Gareth had left, Gaius had lost all combat capability, leaving only Kieran.

It was absolutely impossible to resist a Nine-Order Mage.

Thinking of this, Gaius wanted to curse.

The Elf race had already sent troops to help them block the Empire’s retreat, yet these Elves stood there like clay puppets.

Even now, with the situation completely reversed, they hadn’t moved a muscle.

Could they really just be moving clay puppets?

Gaius couldn’t help but wonder, but then Olivier suddenly spoke to him.

“Uncle Gaius, how is your physical condition?”

“Reporting, Your Highness. Half of my torso bones are fractured. While not fatal, I am absolutely incapable of fighting again.”

At this point, Gaius suddenly thought of the mysterious drug Aaron had used and said with some agitation:

“But if I had the help of Your Highness’s miraculous medicine, I am confident I could recover fifty percent of my combat strength within ten minutes!”

Fifty percent would be enough to protect Olivier’s escape!

Gaius had that confidence.

“Forget it. I don’t want to use drugs to control you.”

Olivier walked forward, ignoring the moved Gaius behind her, walking straight to the very front of the Alandin envoys.

“Besides, isn’t there another solution to the current situation?”

Olivier clapped her hands together, smiling sweetly as she looked directly at Isabella.

“Let’s negotiate peace.”