Inside the palace of the Victoriaz Kingdom, tension hung so thickly in the air of the throne room. The glow from the crystal chandeliers seemed unable to banish the chilling aura radiating from the ruler's fury.
King Estadian sat upright on his throne, glaring sharply at his subordinates and his three sons, who were standing in a line.
"Explain this to me! How could all those prisoners from the underground prison break free from their cells?!" the King exclaimed, his deep, booming voice echoing into the corners of the room. His eyes narrowed with deep suspicion. "Is there a traitorous spy among the soldiers standing guard tonight?!"
Not a single soldier dared to lift their face to answer. Amidst the suffocating silence, the three princes of the Victoriaz Kingdom exchanged glances before their gazes ultimately recentered on their father.
"We don't know exactly what happened down there, Father." one of the princes said, breaking the silence with a calm yet authoritative tone. "However, allowing those prisoners to cause chaos in the palace courtyard is an insult. What if I step forward to settle this matter?"
The man who had just spoken possessed a very tall and well-built stature. The silver armor covering his muscular body further accentuated his aura of leadership. He was Pratesias Palledius Der Victoriaz, the first prince and the crown prince of the Victoriaz Kingdom.
"Brother Pratesias is right, Father!" another prince chimed in, stepping forward with an enthusiastic smirk etched on his face. "If he and I make our move, the two of us will make sure to kill all those lowly prisoners without leaving a single life behind!"
The incredibly handsome young man with blond hair was Wiltan Palledius Der Victoriaz, the second prince renowned for his bloodthirsty nature on the battlefield.
Hearing the initiative from his two prideful sons, King Estadian's expression softened slightly, although the glare of anger had not yet fully faded from his eyes.
"Pratesias, Wiltan!" the King ordered with a loud and absolute voice. "Go! Take all the elite soldiers and assassin squads stationed in this throne room with you. Kill those rebel criminals, and ensure their blood becomes a warning to anyone who dares to defy this kingdom!"
"As you wish, Father!" the two princes answered in unison.
They both bowed, paying their respects to the King with great elegance.
Without wasting time, Pratesias and Wiltan turned around and walked briskly out of the throne room, followed by the ranks of heavily armored elite soldiers and dozens of black-clad figures moving soundlessly.
Now, the vast, magnificent room slowly grew empty and silent. Only King Estadian remained, leaning his back against the throne once more, alongside Lionias, the third prince who had been standing frozen in silence all this time.
Feeling disregarded, Lionias slowly mustered the courage to lift his face.
"Then... what should I do, Father?" the third prince asked, breaking the awkward silence between the two of them. "Should I catch up and help them secure the inner palace grounds?"
"You stay here!" King Estadian answered in a firm and cold tone, not looking at his youngest son at all. "Don't ever interfere with their work. Your magic level and combat experience are still far from adequate. You are not yet strong enough to keep up with the movements of your older brothers."
Hearing that heart-wrenching, outright rejection, Lionias swallowed hard. He could only remain silent, lowering his head deeply once again while fighting the sting in his chest.
My father is indeed right. Lionias thought, frustration gnawing at his pride. I am still very weak! Let alone fighting on the front lines alongside Brother Pratesias and Brother Wiltan, I couldn't even win that damn tournament, which in the end only made my father even more disappointed in me.
With his face still bowed, Lionias gritted his teeth tightly. Both of his hands clenched so hard his knuckles turned white as a dark memory of the abnormal strength of a participant in the tournament surfaced.
But... how could I possibly win when I had to fight an illogical monster like Ordion Vedegra?! the third prince lamented, his body trembling slightly as he recalled the terror of his opponent in that tournament. He absolutely could not die, as if pain and fatal wounds were mere illusions to him. And his fire element... the temperature of that monster's flames was so absurd it could melt my earth element magic into liquid lava, and make my water element magic evaporate without a trace before it could even touch him.
In that throne room, Lionias closed his eyes, trying to banish the nightmare of the figure of Ordion Vedegra who had shattered his self-confidence to pieces.
....
Meanwhile, at the front of the palace, Pratesias and Wiltan had just stepped out the doors onto the terrace directly overlooking the courtyard.
From up there, the gazes of the two princes swept across the entire area that was now in ruins. Pratesias's eyes immediately locked onto the giant palace gates that had been pulverized, as well as the silhouettes of the group of prisoners still stalled at the exit.
Seeing that unforgivable chaos, the first prince became deeply infuriated.
"Assassins!" Pratesias commanded in a suppressed voice, his eyes staring straight ahead as he pointed toward the crowd of prisoners near the gates. "Infiltrate their rear lines. Kill every rebel there without a sound!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" the assassins replied in unison from within the shadows.
In just the blink of an eye, the forms of the dozens of elite assassins faded. Using dark element manipulation magic that could cloak their presence, their killing intent, and even their footsteps, all the assassins moved with extraordinarily high speed, blending into the darkness of the night toward their targets at the palace gates.
While a deadly danger was moving soundlessly from behind, the escaping group at the palace gates had just begun to step forward with a glimmer of hope.
Kaydan, Calverd, and the remaining prisoners rushed past the debris of the demolished iron gates. The night wind outside the palace felt so refreshing, carrying the promise of freedom. However, taking only a few steps past the entrance boundary and about to tread the streets of the capital, the steps of the entire group were forcefully halted in unison.
The hope that had just bloomed was once again crushed by a cruel reality.
In front of them, rows of infantry with thick shields and cavalry units on horseback had lined up neatly like a wall of steel. The royal army troops were on full alert in an attack position, forming an absolute blockade to prevent the prisoners from escaping the capital's territory.
"Damn it!" a burly prisoner cursed in a despairing voice, his weapon trembling in his hands. "These bastard soldiers seem endless! They always come to stop us from leaving this hell!"
"It seems... we truly have no other choice left." another prisoner beside him chimed in, gritting his teeth with reddened eyes. "Retreating means dying a pointless death in the palace courtyard. We must keep moving forward and fight them!"
While panic and the aura of battle peaked once more at the front lines led by Kaydan, Calverd, who was currently at the very rear, was trying to catch his breath. The remnants of his exhaustion still felt heavy on his body.
Suddenly, a warm and invisible breath of air swept past the indigo-haired youth's ear.
"Open your mouth a little." Arvin whispered in a very gentle yet firm tone. "I will give you a mana recovery potion. You will need it badly... because right behind you all at this moment, there are many dangerous people moving quickly towards here."
Hearing that whispered warning, Calverd's body instantly jerked stiff. He immediately turned his head and stared sharply toward the palace courtyard they had just left behind.
The indigo-haired youth was utterly shocked when his eyes caught massive movement from the direction of the palace entrance they had just departed. He saw dozens of fully-armored elite royal soldiers running and charging forward at full speed toward them, ready to slaughter them all.
"Drink it quickly!" Arvin urged in a whisper, snapping Calverd out of his vigilance. "After this, I have to part ways and watch over you again from afar."
Without the slightest hesitation, Calverd immediately opened his mouth slightly, allowing the invisible man to do what he intended.
The next second, the cold edge of a glass bottle pressed against his lips. Shortly after, a thick, invisible liquid flowed in, wetting his lips and tongue. In that instant, Calverd swallowed all of the invisible mana recovery potion.
He widened his eyes upon feeling the flow of mana inside his magical core, which was previously almost empty, now surging violently and fully recovering to its absolute limit. The fatigue throughout his body vanished without a trace.
Amazing! Truly incredible! the indigo-haired youth exclaimed in his heart, looking at his hands with a sense of awe. The sensation of dense mana was once again flowing through his veins. I never expected that this invisible man would have a stock of this instant mana recovery potion.
Amidst his astonishment, Calverd recalled the gray-haired youth from the Larde tribe at the front lines earlier, who had clearly looked exhausted and almost out of mana. But surprisingly, he had suddenly been able to rise and crush those steel gates with the power of his gravity magic.
Ah... so that's how it is. It seems our protector here also sneaked to the front and gave the same potion to that Larde tribe boy when he was exhausted. Calverd thought, nodding slowly. This time, a feeling of genuine relief blossomed in his chest. A faint smile was etched onto his face. He didn't lie! He really is watching over us from the shadows and has never once abandoned us.