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Chapter 104: The Lost and the Fanatics

In the quiet mountain woods, a strange and mocking laughter echoed: “I never imagined a brave prince like you could fall to that little brat!”

Leo, dressed in tattered luxurious clothing, was covered in dirt, with blood marking his skin, looking utterly miserable.

Of course, these minor injuries didn’t pinch his expression into a frown.

What truly vexed him was that 【Wind Chaser】 was injured.

The inside of its wings was the griffin’s greatest weakness—a veteran with twenty years of flying experience had told him this, but throughout his military career, Leo had never seen a griffin actually get hit there. Thus, his alertness was a step behind, allowing Roy and Charlotte to catch him off guard.

With 【Wind Chaser】 wounded, Leo couldn’t chase after Roy from the air anymore.

Yet again, Roy had completely outsmarted him! That guy understood griffins better than he did!

What annoyed him even more was Bruvan’s smug face.

“Fear not, Your Highness! My king’s loyal followers will never fail; even the Golden-Winged Griffin cannot escape our minions!”

“You’d better not disappoint me,” Leo said, suppressing his anger, coldly snorting.

Bruvan basked in his superiority, growing even more amused, his smile becoming increasingly sinister.

As a fellow fallen, Bruvan sensed Rayan’s aura had remained still since earlier.

Indicating that Rayan had already succeeded!

What golden bloodline, what extraordinary being—after all, they’re just mortals!

The true extraordinary power belongs to the king of the flames we worship! It’s just that you all dare not admit it and slander him as an evil god!

Even the so-called second prince must rely on my king’s strength!

Bruvan couldn’t wait to quicken his pace, leading the knights and cultists to where Rayan’s aura emanated.

“Just you wait, Your Highness. My king’s servant is already…”

Bruvan was the first to break through the thicket, maintaining his smile all the way until he froze at the sight before him.

Where were Roy and Charlotte?

What lay around was nothing but ashes and remnants of flesh, with faint flames flickering among the distant branches, and in the midst of a charred patch was a dragon man’s body, its upper half entirely blown to pieces.

The smell of burnt entrails filled the air.

Clearly, the 【Evil Dragon Society】’s pride—the impenetrable dragon scales—had become mere decoration under such a terrifying blow. A source-level three fallen had been killed in a single hit!

“No!!! My friend!!!” Bruvan wailed, rushing over to kneel and clutch Rayan’s remaining half-body, as if it were long-lost kin, overcome with immense grief.

Leo had long grown used to the cultists’ dramatic antics and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, sneering at the cultists.

You crazies are just this pathetic.

But he soon grew irritated.

Leo had guessed that the 【Evil Dragon Society】 would have a misstep.

Charlotte’s 【Flame of Incandescence】 was powerful enough to rival the Lionheart King’s full strike and could level the area.

But this scene wasn’t caused by 【Flame of Incandescence】, indicating they hadn’t yet hit rock bottom. They were more than capable of defending themselves!

Even as a Sequence 6, it wasn’t easy for him to kill a source-level three fallen in a single blow.

How could they, one Sequence 8 and one Sequence 9, manage it?!

Leo understood Charlotte’s abilities. The girl was indeed a rare talent but still lacked experience and maturity in many ways.

The real reason behind all this was Roy.

Leo horrifyingly realized he could no longer see through the guy.

That dude was just a marquis’s son; how many cards did he have up his sleeve?!

His plans had been smooth sailing until he met Roy; every step aimed at him had failed!

Originally thinking that the 【Evil Dragon Society】 had their eye on Roy for sure, he now found that even these maniacs had tripped up.

The original plan was to ambush and kidnap Roy, but that had completely derailed, making Leo immensely anxious.

“Everyone, listen up! Focus all efforts to pursue Roy and Charlotte; if there’s any resistance…” halfway through, Leo’s mind flashed back to a childhood memory of his family enjoying a happy picnic in a woodland cabin.

“Your Highness?”

Leo snapped back to reality, his tone a bit hoarse: “… Regardless of whether Roy lives or dies, avoid harming Charlotte as much as possible.”

He then turned to the cultists, instructing: “You all too.”

As Leo moved deeper into the woods along with the knights, Bruvan, having finished his tears, slowly lifted his head, gazing into the distance.

Bruvan’s eyes were glued to the looming 【Doom Volcano】, his gaze unfocused, with eerie flames swirling in his pupils.

After a while, he regained his composure, turned around, and his face was once again adorned with a grin that resembled a carved mask.

“My king is about to awaken; we must stop at nothing to obtain the blood of the False King and present it!”

“Everything is as my king wishes!”

The cultists chanted in unison, their eyes burning with fervent zeal.

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“We should be safe here.”

The Golden-Winged Griffin was too injured to continue flying, so they had to proceed on foot.

Roy, carrying Charlotte and the wounded griffin, walked for quite some time, making sure they had distance from where they fell, before finally stopping to rest.

To shake off their pursuers, he had only been able to give it a quick bandage earlier, putting the poor beast in a tough spot.

Seeing the Golden-Winged Griffin lying on the ground, looking dejected, Roy took out a bottle of 【Blue Magic Potion】 and sprinkled it casually on its wound.

The Blue Magic Potion was a topical healing agent.

Witnessing this, the girl who was panting beside him almost had a spike in blood pressure.

“Why are you using it like that? The effect will…..”

Charlotte’s words trailed off as she saw the griffin’s injuries immediately start to heal, the shocking wounds rapidly forming scabs. Though it still couldn’t fly, there was a noticeable spark of energy in its eagle-like eyes, excitedly chirping twice.

“Just making it convenient,” Roy shrugged, pulling out several more bottles of the same potion from his magic ring. “Don’t worry, my potions are pretty potent.”

Charlotte was stunned.

Previously, they had been in such a rush to escape that she hadn’t had time to ask details. Now, it was only dawning on her.

Strange explosive powders, the griffin language thought to be lost, techniques that resonated with their bloodlines; every time she became accustomed to something, it was followed by yet another surprise.

She could say that their successful escape hinged on these mysterious items and skills.

Even now, the healing potion was unlike anything Charlotte had ever seen, and there were even storage items!

She had used healing potions before, but theirs were just nowhere near Roy’s effectiveness.

But as a princess, she had yet to possess her own storage items.

“Where did you get all this stuff? You have quite a few secrets,” Charlotte squinted, staring at the magic ring on Roy’s hand, her tone oddly resentful: “And it’s in the form of a ring.”

“Every man needs some secrets,” Roy grinned, having just pulled many consumables from a lottery draw; now they were proving to be quite useful.

Noticing Charlotte’s gaze lingering on his hand, Roy found it amusing.

Turns out girls really can’t resist shiny accessories.

“Pretty nice, huh? Want one?” Roy flaunted the ring in front of her.

Charlotte caught the teasing in his tone and instantly felt embarrassed, turning away, forcing herself to say, “It’s just a storage item; it’s not like I don’t have one at home!”

“Is that so? Then never mind,” Roy scratched his head, feeling a bit regretful: “I was going to ask if you wanted one.”

He didn’t need the extra magic rings anyway, and giving them away seemed just right. But if the princess didn’t need one, it would be awkward to push it.

“Ugh……”

Charlotte felt like she had just missed out on a fortune.

Roy rare as it was to offer her a gift, especially one that looked like a token of love! In a flash, Charlotte could imagine a hundred romantic scenarios!

But she turned it down!

Charlotte wished she could turn back time and rip her own mouth out!