---

Chapter 108: The Fire of Rebirth (Extra)

The main gate of the Mingluan Palace.

The fierce battle was nearing its end. To be honest, while those peculiar individuals drawn from around the world weren’t easy to deal with, once you got used to them, they were just like any other foes.

Though their average strength may not match ours, the fighting spirit and teamwork of the Princess’s Knight Brigade far surpassed that of the enemy.

The most important point was that these rabble may be powerful, but they were surprisingly fearful of death.

After all, they were merely lured by profit and had no intention of laying down their lives for such a cause, while Liliya’s knights were already prepared to dedicate their lives for the sake of their Princess.

Especially since they had witnessed their Princess being publicly assassinated before them. Thankfully, the Spirits offered their protection, and the attempt failed. Now, with the Princess taking the lead in battle, their anger and fighting spirit had reached a peak.

As for the numerous city guards, being traitors, their combat effectiveness and morale were far inferior to the Princess’s elite knights and shadow guards, making their role on this battlefield quite limited.

Simply put, Ban probably never expected to rely on these people to topple Liliya’s Knight Brigade. Chromans, the true power, was his ace in the hole, but he had no way of knowing that the Princess had a divine treasure capable of withstanding deadly attacks.

At some point, yet another small team was surrounded and, after being completely wiped out, the attackers’ already shaky formation collapsed.

“Damn it! That bastard is just selling us out!”

It seemed that one burly man, acting as a lone wolf, could no longer endure the encroaching knight brigade and the fear brought by his falling teammates, abruptly turned to flee.

“I’m not fighting anymore! How can we win against the kingdom’s proper army?!”

“Master, we have no chance of victory, we should leave quickly!”

Like a signal, at least a third of those affected among the underground organizations, cults, and sects began abandoning their formations, pulling out their trump cards to escape.

Moreover, some even tore open precious teleportation scrolls, disappearing from the spot in no time.

With the loss of this core strength, those who still had fighting spirit could no longer maintain the balance of the battle. They were easily surrounded and captured by the knights, while those who stubbornly resisted fell one after another to decisive kills.

In the end, only the Elder from the Necromancer Temple, a man with a massive sword, and Chromans, the Ninth Seat, three legendary powerhouses led a small elite team, fighting desperately to break out and escape.

Liliya didn’t let the knights and shadow guards pursue relentlessly. Although they had stronger legends like Hua, Edwina, and Plakaka, defeating the enemy wasn’t difficult, capturing or killing equals of the same rank within a short time was still nearly impossible.

They didn’t have the time or energy to waste on pursuing this small, troublesome group of enemies.

Poor Miss Emily, meanwhile, was still waiting somewhere for rescue.

Though she didn’t voice it, the Princess was genuinely worried about this loyal attendant who had grown up alongside her.

If not for her absolute trust, Chromans disguised as Emily wouldn’t have easily succeeded in triggering the death protection of the Ascension Box from behind.

About ten minutes later, all the treasonous city guards and rioters attacking Mingluan Palace had been completely wiped out. Aside from a few hundred who were captured or fled, the bodies of the fallen piled up in front of the palace gate.

A river of blood flowed, and the foreboding aura emitted by the thousands of corpses made the originally beautiful palace take on a strong stench of bloodshed, as if it had overnight transformed into the abyss of hell.

Just to have this bloody smell dissipate would probably take at least several days.

But that was a matter for later.

“Damn it! That old bastard ran away so quickly, I almost chopped him down!”

The furious Holy Knight returned from the battlefield, holding her bloodied sword and shield, seemingly unsatisfied that the opponent had managed to kite them throughout the entire match using undead warriors and magic.

“Hah… cough cough… Miss Edwina needn’t be like this. The leader of the Necromancer Temple, Archmage Trecy Sol, is a well-known powerhouse of several decades. You’ve managed to force him into such a predicament as a newly ascended Holy Knight— that’s already impressive.”

Compared to Edwina, who still had some energy left and significant achievements, Mr. Nickles appeared slightly beleaguered.

With peak sky-level strength, he was trying to fight against legend-tier, and even with his wind style countering the foe’s water style, along with other strong allies supporting him, it was still impossible to bridge such a large gap.

He had several sword wounds on him, one particularly serious blow almost turning Aggressive Wolf into Two-Wolves. At the moment, he was sitting against a stone in the plaza, receiving treatment.

“Whoa, are you alright? Seriously, there’s no need to push yourself so hard, challenging foes you can’t handle—it’s not like…”

Startled by his dire state, Edwina quickly cast a healing spell on him, but she wasn’t some priestess, so her healing naturally wouldn’t have immediate effects—it merely allowed Nickles’ grievous wounds to recover slightly.

“It’s nothing, just some surface wounds.”

“?”

Looking at the shoulder where the bone was nearly split in half, Edwina was at a loss for words.

Aggressive Wolf laughed softly.

“Besides, you’ve all been so strong. As the oldest one here, I ought to exert myself a bit, or wouldn’t that be betraying Miss Vilyric and the Princess’s grace?”

It was then that the Holy Knight noticed, despite Nickles’ aura being slightly weaker due to his injuries, there was something intangible about him that had become even more ethereal and agile.

Like the true wind.

“Wait, could it be that you…?”

At this moment, the victorious Miss Fiery Blossom also walked over from afar, slightly surprised as she examined the two conversing, especially the severely wounded swordsman.

As a renowned legend, her perceptive abilities were naturally stronger than Edwina’s, and she quickly deduced Nickles’ condition.

“Nickles, have you witnessed the legend?”

The man smiled and nodded, not concealing it.

“Mission accomplished. Next time I encounter that man, I won’t lose again.”

“…Well, that’s a good thing.”

Hua didn’t express too much, merely nodded, then stepped forward to check on the Princess, cleaning the blood off her sword while examining the bandaged wound on her back.

“If you’re hurt, you shouldn’t be recklessly pushing yourself, right? Everyone’s risking their lives here, huh?”

“Haha, it’s fine, how’s the situation?”

Seeing Liliya smiling as if to brush off the topic, Hua could only reluctantly say.

“I’ve already inquired, the city guards were indeed under orders from Prince Patrick. But this mob attacking Mingluan Palace didn’t know who they were truly serving; there’s a self-proclaimed ‘Messenger,’ a guy who can change forms and leads them, offering them great rewards.”

The Princess understood and sheathed her sword.

“It’s certainly Chromans, the Ninth Seat. These people are undoubtedly Ban’s subordinates. He probably left behind a contingency plan before being caught… Hmph, is this the final round?”

“Bring someone.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

To the shadow guards, who knelt on one knee awaiting orders, Liliya pondered for a moment before directing.

“Pass my orders; the Imperial Guards are to mobilize immediately. The First Legion shall guard the royal palace, preventing petty thieves from intruding; the Second Legion shall sweep the city, eliminating the riotous. Anyone obstructing or resisting will be treated as treason and executed on the spot!”

Pausing, the Princess continued.

“The Third Legion shall accompany me to the dungeon, assist in safeguarding and capturing the traitors. Half of the knight brigade will ensure the safety of the other princes and princesses, especially Dreamna—she must not suffer any mishap, understood?!”

“Yes! Your Highness!”

“By the way, send a few more to search for Emily. She shouldn’t be too far from Mingluan Palace.”

“Yes!”

That should be enough. Luckily, preparations had been made in advance to adapt swiftly.

Liliya knew that with the kingdom on the brink of turmoil, a major disturbance was inevitable—something she couldn’t prevent. All she could do was gather forces to minimize the damage when disaster struck.

But this was a disaster, and also the fierce fire of rebirth.

And from this, the one who would ultimately emerge victorious would be the new king of this nation.