“What was that noise?”
Dolores put down her pen and looked at Viseliane beside her.
Even though it was the early hours of the morning, the recent events had left Dolores with no desire to sleep. Thus, she had been doing something that a smart person would never do.
She was writing a diary, and she was writing it in Chinese.
Viseliane pulled back the curtain a step ahead of her. From this angle, they could just see the surging flames of an explosion.
“That direction… it’s the Royal Brewery. But there shouldn’t be anyone there at this hour, let alone an explosion of that scale.”
Dolores carefully tucked away her notebook and looked up at Viseliane. “So, do you think it was intentional?”
“It’s the only possibility. It’s highly likely the work of those traitors in the Royal Palace, though I cannot guess their objective yet.”
“But I remember seeing Master Grin heading that way not too long ago.”
Hearing Grin’s name, Dolores hesitated for a moment. “So, what is your suggestion for our next move?”
“Such an obvious commotion will surely attract the attention of the Royal Knights and others. It’s even possible that His Majesty the King, having recovered from his injuries, might come to investigate personally. We don’t necessarily need to join the fray; those who arrive should be able to handle it. If we want to understand the full picture, we only need to wait for the result,” Viseliane answered quickly.
“But, Viseliane, I want to go and take a look. Since Grin went in that direction…” Dolores said suddenly.
Viseliane did not object. Instead, she asked, “Are you worried about his safety?”
Dolores shook her head. “It’s more than that. I just feel that everything happening around him during this period is important. I want to see things for myself at the scene. My intuition tells me I shouldn’t miss anything related to him.”
Viseliane had nothing left to say. She nodded to Dolores, granting the request.
“Then I shall continue to protect your safety, Princess.”
“I’m counting on you, Viseliane,” Dolores replied with a smile.
Before long, they arrived in the vicinity.
Although they were close, Dolores and Viseliane were not the first to arrive.
The Royal Guards stationed near the West City Gate had reached the area first. Dolores saw them from a distance, but they were pointing their weapons at a familiar figure.
It was Grin.
Covered in blood, Grin was surrounded by a crowd. Half of his clothes were shredded, and a terrifying aura radiated from him. Even his eyes had turned a deep crimson.
“Princess! Watch out! Don’t come any closer; it’s dangerous here!” one of the Royal Guards shouted to Dolores as she approached.
Upon inquiry, they explained the current situation. They claimed Grin had attacked the Royal Brewery and killed many of their men. They were now preparing to capture him.
They said dozens of their brothers had already died.
Dolores observed the positioning between them and Grin. One group was encircling him, while another group of Royal Guards from the direction of the Royal Brewery stood before her.
‘There are nearly 200 of them by sight alone. Should there really be this many people here at this time?’
Furthermore, Dolores noticed that several extremely dangerous, large-scale city defense weapons were already aimed at Grin.
Grin’s current situation was dire. Therefore, she had to act.
Dolores whispered to Viseliane, asking if she could amplify her voice so everyone present could hear her. The answer was yes.
Dolores believed Grin was not a bad person. No matter how bad he might be, he would never do the foolish things these Royal Guards were claiming.
“Guard, you remember that you swore an oath of loyalty to the Royal Family, don’t you?” Dolores asked.
“Eh… Yes, Princess,” the guard replied.
“Then, I order you now to lower the weapons pointed at Grin. Grin is the man you have surrounded. This is a misunderstanding. I order you in the name of the Princess.”
Dolores paused for a moment. she needed to add one more thing.
“But Princess…” The guard still hesitated.
Dolores noted that the distance between them was three meters. She calmly stepped behind Viseliane and signaled her to amplify her voice.
The biggest problem in this chaotic situation was that it was unclear who was a friend and who was a foe. However, Grin was definitely not the enemy. On the contrary, among the Royal Guards, there might be ignorant individuals who had been unknowingly coerced by the enemy into raising their weapons against Grin.
“Soldiers of the Land Kingdom! I, Dolores, in the name of the Princess of the Rand People, order you to lower your weapons and disarm yourselves immediately! I know you can hear me. All who disobey will be executed afterward. I swear it on the honor of the People of Land!”
The moment Dolores’s words rang out, the entire scene fell into an eerie silence, including Grin in the center of the circle.
He saw Dolores appear, but he couldn’t afford to be distracted or communicate with her. He never expected her to issue such a blunt and forceful command.
By swearing on the honor of the People of Land, no one doubted whether Dolores would follow through. Logically, no one should disobey, as it now concerned their very lives.
A small portion of the soldiers—specifically, about half of the dozens of men in front of Dolores—lowered their weapons.
However, the soldiers surrounding Grin and those coming from the Royal Brewery did not move. They did not lower their weapons. Even the Ballista on the city walls 100 meters away continued to draw back its string.
The soldier who had first spoken to Dolores showed a hesitant expression. “Princess… are you…?”
“Soldiers who have lowered your weapons, pick them back up and strike those who still hold theirs! There will be a reward for those who kill them!”
Following Dolores’s words, Viseliane stomped her foot, instantly casting Earth Magic. Sharp earth spikes rose from the ground, stabbing toward those who had refused to lower their weapons alongside the compliant soldiers.
It was no joke. In a life-or-death matter like this, any hesitation was proof enough. They were definitely enemies!
Sure enough, seeing Viseliane’s move, the guard who was mid-sentence suddenly revealed a ferocious expression.
“Princess! You shouldn’t have come here!”
He raised his sword and charged at Dolores, only to have his heart shattered by a burst of magic from Viseliane in the next instant, ending his life.
“Viseliane, look there!” Dolores pointed at the Ballista on the distant city wall that was still being primed.
Following Dolores’s guidance, Viseliane drew back a terrifying arrow. Like a shooting star piercing the night, it flew out and completely pulverized the Ballista.
The Royal Guards who had belatedly lowered their weapons picked them back up and joined the fray. The resulting chaos gave Grin a chance to catch his breath.
Gritting her teeth, Viseliane constructed several small magic circles without a chant, augmenting the arrows she fired into high-powered magic projectiles. For a brief moment, her bow pointed toward Grin in the center of the siege.
“Grin, break through toward us!” Dolores shouted loudly.
Viseliane released her hand.
The arrow flew.
The arrow shot by Viseliane flashed before Grin’s eyes, accurately piercing the hearts of several Royal Guards in front of him and tearing open a gap. Furthermore, large-scale Elemental Magic churned through the crowd like a rearguard action.
Viseliane was indeed a reliable companion, possessing numerous spells and skills, and her personal strength was formidable.
Thus, Grin could not let her assistance go to waste.
Grin wiped the blood from his arm onto his Greatsword once more, causing the blade to erupt into raging flames again. He was already in a blood-soaked state; that rage and pain were being converted into his strength.
Grin fought one against ten within the encirclement. The combination of flames and Sword Qi, coupled with Viseliane’s magic, completely disrupted the formation of the attackers surrounding him.
The flames carved a path toward Dolores’s direction. Dolores saw Grin’s figure fighting through the crowd.
His fighting spirit was soaring as he shouted back toward Dolores’s direction:
“I heard you, Dolores!”