Chapter 118: The Dust Settles

In the night sky of the City of Courage, an old man and a young girl floated silently with the aid of dark red bat-like wings.

Below them, the battlefield and the fourth prince, Devitt Meikailande’s embarrassing state, were clearly visible.

“Hmph, what a mess. Even among humans, this guy is quite the embarrassment.”

The elder, wearing a simple robe, commented, speaking to the little loli prince who looked like she could be his granddaughter but was actually of similar age.

“Lucini, are you really going to help Julius support such a waste to the throne? Although humans mean nothing to us Blood Clans, this will undoubtedly become your major failure in life…”

“Enough, Augustin.”

“What?”

The Blood Clan prince, Augustin, blinked in surprise, finally realizing the meaning behind Lucini’s words.

“You…”

“I do indeed need the [Wishing Spirit Treasure] to fulfill a wish I’ve waited three hundred years for, but not through this method.”

With that, the noble little loli in her lolita dress and straight dark red hair turned and flapped her bat wings, taking off.

After the old man hesitated for a moment, he smiled contentedly and followed her.

From beginning to end, these two powerful, transcendent Blood Clan princes remained hidden from the sights of the royal capital’s people.

…

The remaining tasks were simple cleanup operations.

After Ban’s unexpected death, the many traps he had set to trouble Liliya were left without follow-up coordination or command, creating chaos as they fought each other, losing all capacity to threaten.

Under the arrangement of the princess, the Imperial Guards quickly rushed to various attacked locations, suppressing the insurrection and aiding the disaster victims.

It’s easy to add a garnish, but hard to provide support in the cold; since Liliya constantly appeared on the front lines of the battlefield, personally directing disaster relief efforts, her already high reputation skyrocketed, achieving unparalleled status in many people’s hearts.

Before the first rays of dawn broke, the great chaos of the royal capital was completely subdued.

Of the three legions of the city guards that participated in the coup, over thirty thousand men, almost four-tenths, were killed on the spot, while the remaining troops had essentially surrendered.

According to the testimony of captured senior officers, the one who ordered them to initiate the coup was the third prince, Patrick Meikailande.

As for those recruited by Ban, taking the opportunity to plunder and attack significant locations, thousands of chaotic elements attempted to flee as the situation turned against them…

But thanks to Liliya’s preparations, where tens of thousands of troops lay in ambush outside the city, a net was cast around the four gates, catching these panicking individuals right in the act.

After a chaotic battle, over eighty percent of their forces were either killed or captured, with only a handful of elite members using special means to escape, including three legends among them, including Chromans.

In this turmoil, the total casualties on both sides exceeded ten thousand, with the palaces of the second and fourth princes being directly reduced to ashes.

However, due to the curfew, civilian casualties were minimal, amounting to less than a thousand, most of whom were lawbreakers caught in the chaos.

Additionally, some were accidentally harmed when a certain Little Dragon Daughter didn’t pay attention while using her waves and collapsed several high buildings.

Overall, considering the scale of the national coup, the losses were not particularly severe, entirely within Liliya’s expected scope.

Rather, it felt a bit too easy, catching the princess and most of her subordinates, who had originally prepared for a lengthy battle, off guard.

It was akin to facing an enemy who appeared fierce and brutal but turned out to be a paper tiger when confronted; it felt dramatically subtle as if all their vigor had leaked away before the fight began.

But resolving the matter smoothly was undoubtedly a good thing.

The following day, the search party outside the city brought back news that about ten kilometers from the east gate of the City of Courage, in a certain grove, they had found Ban Meikailande’s corpse, confirmed dead on the night of the coup.

The cause of death was a lethal stab through the back into the heart, compounded by multiple follow-up stabs, with the method being incredibly brutal, leaving the body in a state of disrepair.

Upon hearing this news, even Liliya, who had long been at odds with the second prince, couldn’t help but sigh and feel sorrowful.

After all, he was still her family; perhaps the princess never genuinely intended to take Ban’s life from the beginning; it was merely fate playing tricks.

After that day, Rebecca also went missing.

However, this time, she left a proper letter for Herbert, explaining that she was leaving to travel the world and gain experiences, asking for reliable companions to ensure her safety, and promising to send home letters regularly to report her well-being.

Although President couldn’t accept it immediately, he ultimately didn’t cause a ruckus like he had a few years prior.

Notably, on the night of the coup, the Adventurer’s Guild also faced assaults from the mutinous city guards and Ban’s subordinates, but thanks to the intervention of an unknown powerful individual who took action to help, a large number of opponents were taken out quickly, allowing this side to wrap things up first.

Later on, Herbert dispatched [Lightning] Vunar and [Pure White Lion] Miss Natalie to lead teams to provide support to the attacked Duke Stephens’ mansion and the Fifth Princess’s Mingluan Hall.

Those adventurers that Vilyric saw outside the dungeon, mixed in with the Imperial Guards and Shadow Guards, were from this contingent.

Perhaps many didn’t understand who this powerful figure was, but Vilyric, who wasn’t present, had her suspicions.

It was likely Rebecca.

And the dark currents behind all of this had already been clearly surmised by the Priestess; it only needed final verification.

…

Once again waking from the bed at the inn, Vilyric grabbed the big tail of the Little Dragon Daughter, whose half of her body was weighing down on her, dragging her to the side while ignoring the dragon’s pitifully cute eyes, yawning and getting out of bed slowly.

After a simple freshening up, light knocks echoed softly from outside.

“Lady Vilyric, are you up?”

“Uh-huh, just a moment.”

Opening the door revealed the winged sisters, Leila and Renée, who had concealed their racial traits—as they had four wings in total, behind and on their ears—with the help of the Priestess.

Wearing similar fitting long dresses, they quickly clasped their hands together, giving the special greeting of the winged people to the black-haired girl upon seeing Vilyric open the door.

Vilyric had already figured out that this gesture was what the winged people used when meeting noble individuals like lords, royalty, or family heads; it was among the most respectful categories requiring their wings to be involved.

Thus, it seemed a bit puzzling now.

In fact, without their wings, the two sisters just looked like humans with uniquely colored hair.

“Greetings, may the God of Freedom bless you, Lady Vilyric.”

“Good morning to both of you! Are you ready to head out today?”

The sisters both smiled slightly, their demeanor exuding elegance.

“Yes, we’re ready to depart at any time.”

Vilyric glanced back into the room and confirmed that her reluctant pet was also slowly getting out of bed, then nodded.

“Alright then, let’s grab some breakfast and head out together.”

“Today is quite a significant day.”

   

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