Chapter 168: Awaiting the Great New King

Following your ear-piercing scream that made everyone turn and stare in horror, a thin young man struggling wildly in the distance was seen being dragged along the ground by several Blackrock soldiers. They had cruelly pierced his shoulder blades with massive, rust-covered iron hooks. The poor young man was driven mad by the pain, his agonized cries enough to break anyone’s heart. However, all his desperate howling, begging, and tears were utterly useless. In the eyes of those brutal Blackrock soldiers, it was just an entertaining spectacle that only fueled their cruelty further.

The pitiful young man was dragged over twenty meters, leaving a long trail of blood and torn flesh behind him. He soon became a bloody mess, barely breathing in more than he was breathing out.

When they reached the small stone plaza, the young man was quickly tied tightly to a stone pillar by fierce-looking soldiers using barbed iron chains. The chains dug deep into the young man’s muscles. Then, someone who looked like an officer lashed out with several whip strikes. The few remaining patches of unbroken skin on the young man’s body were instantly torn open. By this time, the poor young man was clearly barely alive, having lost consciousness. As the whip struck his body, he only twitched a couple of times from instinct, lacking even the strength to cry out in pain…

Sun Fei’s frown deepened.

Just then—

“Spit! This lazy Chambord trash deserved to be dragged out and fed to the dogs! How dare he be lazy? I’ll skin him alive!” The leading officer rolled up his sleeves and whipped the young man viciously a few more times. Seeing that the young man was bleeding from his mouth and nose and unlikely to survive, he finally spat in disgust and cursed angrily, still unsatisfied.

“Boss, is this little runt also captured from Chambord City?” another soldier next to him asked.

“Yeah, the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps brought him here half a year ago. He’s supposedly from Chambord Kingdom… I was blind! I pitied the scum for being so thin and small, so I let him stay in the city to clean the barracks. Who knew this little brat would dare steal from me? Spit! Chambord scum are all lowly and despicable. I heard their idiot King is back to normal now. I think we should have sent him to the mines long ago to fill the pits…” the officer grumbled angrily.

At that moment, far away, Sun Fei’s expression instantly darkened.

A Chambord citizen?

This young man was from Chambord?

Sun Fei found it hard to believe.

Beside him, Peter Cech, Lampard, and the other top experts all had sharp hearing and naturally overheard the conversation of those Blackrock soldiers in the distance. Immediately, a blazing fury ignited in their hearts. They shuddered, instantly realizing that trouble was about to happen. Ever since their King’s intellect had returned to normal, he could truly be called benevolent, fair, and peerlessly brave. But there was one thing—he was notoriously protective of his own. Back at the victory banquet after defeating the Black Armored Army, he had dared to bloodily slaughter dozens of cavalrymen and the Empire’s Knight Commander Shemark in front of the Empire’s Prince, all for the sake of a few commoners. Seeing this scene now, they didn’t even need to think—their King would definitely not care that they were deep inside the heavily guarded Blackrock Fortress. Someone would surely bear the King’s wrath and pay the price.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

Four bowstrings twanged in quick succession, yet the four sharp arrows struck almost simultaneously. The leading officer was shot through the wrist holding the whip, pinning him to the stone pillar. The other three soldiers were shot in the knees, spurting blood, and they involuntarily collapsed to the ground.

However, the one who had acted was not Sun Fei.

It was Sun Fei’s personal guard, the golden-haired young man Fernando Torres.

Sun Fei’s personal guard was quick-witted and diligent in his studies. After being tempered by the Hulk Potion, he not only worked hard to master Two-Star Level Battle Qi but also learned incredible archery skills from the powerful female Mercenary Ileena. Originally, it was because he had nearly died ‘acting heroically’ that Sun Fei noticed him and promoted him to personal guard. Naturally, he couldn’t stand seeing his own people being bullied. In fact, his protective nature was even fiercer than the King’s. But this time, Torres thought a step further. He understood that for the King himself to deal with those scoundrel-like officers would be beneath his dignity, so he struck first. Moreover, Torres was very careful with his shots. The four arrows were perfectly controlled, only injuring the men without taking their lives immediately.

Sun Fei nodded approvingly at Torres, then waved his hand to signal the others to wait and stay alert for now. He led Lampard and the other five top experts quickly to the stone pillar.

Summoning his purple sword, Sun Fei made the blade tremble. With precise control, he severed the barbed iron chains binding the young man. Not minding the blood and filth, he gently cradled the young man in his arms, switched to Paladin Mode, and was enveloped in swirling, surging light-gold Aura. Activating the Prayer skill, a small golden ring flew from Sun Fei’s palm and entered the young man’s body.

By now, Sun Fei’s Paladin skills were nearly level 34. His use of the Prayer skill was masterful; he no longer needed to create the grand display of stepping on a Knight’s Battle Aura Ring like before. He could now freely change the size of the Battle Aura Ring.

In the World of Diablo, this modified Prayer golden ring had the effect of +100 Life Points for ten seconds. In the real world, the ring’s effect naturally wasn’t so numerically defined, but the healing effect was obvious. As the golden ring entered the young man’s body, a faint golden glow spread over him. His external wounds continuously healed; gashes and injuries wriggled, scabbed over, and then began to flake off. Even the two holes in his shoulder blades, torn by the iron hooks and as thick as a wrist, slowly stopped bleeding and began to heal.

Sensation seemed to finally return to the thin body. The young man let out a pained groan, then immediately, as if having a nightmare, started trembling all over before even opening his eyes. Mumbling incoherently, he kept pleading for mercy…

“Ahhh!! Where did these wild dogs come from? Tired of living? You dare attack Sir Robbie? You’re asking for death!!” The officer-like burly man was surprisingly tough. He pulled the sharp arrow out of his wrist, his expression ferocious, and yelled back, “Taylor, Eddie… What are you idiots doing? Get the hell out here now and kill these reckless mutts!”

Thirty or forty Blackrock soldiers, brandishing sharp blades, immediately rushed noisily from the distant black stone fortress, their arrogance extreme.

Sun Fei didn’t even lift his eyelids. Another golden ring blossomed in his hand and entered the young man’s body.

This time, it wasn’t activating any Paladin skill. It was purely infusing a stream of holy Aura. The young man was clearly delirious and terrified. The holy Aura could dispel fear and evil influences, calming the mind and soul.

Sure enough, after the golden ring entered his body, the thin young man finally stopped trembling.

“Ah… This is… No… Go! You must go!! Don’t worry about me!!”

The young man opened his eyes, their clarity reminiscent of a clear, bottomless mountain spring in autumn. He looked at the arrow wounds on the Blackrock soldiers and seemed to understand immediately what had just happened. To Sun Fei and the six experts’ surprise, the young man’s first reaction wasn’t to seek help or hide. Even though his thin, frail body trembled again with fear, his first thought wasn’t for himself. Instead, he urgently urged Sun Fei and the others to leave quickly: “Kind people, please leave at once! Don’t mind me! These demons will kill you…”

“Leave? Hahaha, too late! You six pieces of scum, Sir Robbie is going to crush you today, make you beg for death but find it impossible!” Bolstered by the reinforcements, the officer became even more arrogant. Over forty soldiers surrounded Sun Fei and his group. “Kneel down quickly and beg for mercy at Sir Robbie’s feet! Maybe later I’ll cut you one less time!”

Sun Fei’s gaze sharpened, like two cold, sharp swords resting on the officer’s neck. A murderous aura surged skyward. For a moment, those forty-plus Blackrock soldiers dared not take another step forward.

Sun Fei gently patted the thin young man’s shoulder, crouched down, and asked softly, “Little one, don’t be afraid. Tell me, what’s your name?”

“Luka… My name is Luka Modric, son of Caruso!”

The young man seemed to understand something now. He looked Sun Fei and the six strong men up and down, realizing that his wounds had somehow mostly healed and didn’t hurt as much anymore. These people in front of him gave him a feeling of great strength and familiarity. He cautiously moved a little closer to Sun Fei and answered in a low voice.

“Good, Luka. Tell me, why did they beat you so cruelly?” Sun Fei asked patiently.

“Uncle Zola’s leg is broken… He was too injured to go down the mine and dig ore… No one cared for him… They threw him into the dead pit, and he was starving to death… I… I secretly took a small piece of black bread for him, and Captain Robbie found out…” The little guy trembled slightly as he recounted his experience, his words becoming a bit disjointed.

“Just for a piece of black bread?” Sun Fei was stunned.

“And because I’m from Chambord City…” The little guy lowered his head, but his fists clenched tightly. Sun Fei clearly saw a flash of hope and pride in the boy’s eyes at that moment. “The Blackrock Kingdom soldiers hate and fear Chambord City. Uncle Zola is also from Chambord City. I heard that a wise King who issued the Sage’s Codex has emerged in Chambord Kingdom, and even the Nine-Nation Alliance was defeated. Uncle Zola was spreading the new King’s deeds among the miners captured from Chambord Kingdom, encouraging everyone to regain hope. He said that one day, the King would surely lead an invincible army to kill these damned demons and come here to save us. That’s why they broke his legs and threw him into the dead pit…” At this point, the little guy’s face filled with anxiety again. “I don’t know when the King will come, just as Uncle Zola said, leading his undefeated army to rescue us. Too many people have already died… Uncle Tom, Aunt Carra, and little Roddy… they were all beaten to death by these demons…”

By the end, having touched upon these sad memories, the little guy mustered his courage and pointed at the Blackrock City soldiers before him. He was already in tears, sobbing too much to speak.