Chapter 192: Making a Name Through Battle

The situation took an unexpected turn!

No one had expected that the battle outcome, which seemed already decided, would change so suddenly in just a moment.

Just before, the Golden Knight had looked like he was winning big, but in a flash, he suffered a crushing defeat. His golden armor and helmet, even the Golden Spear in his hand, were all destroyed by Alexander, King of Champoo, almost as if he was joking about it. Down below the broken mountain, people stared in shock and gasped out loud together. The over one hundred Golden Knights were especially scared, watching Chris Sutton’s bare body tumble down from the high peak. They were terrified out of their minds and wished they could save him, but it was far too late.

At that moment, the huge wolf beast facing off with the big black dog glared fiercely. It let out a low growl, shook its four hooves, and shot into the air like a yellow flash of lightning. Racing up the rocky slope, it caught the fallen Golden Knight Sutton with ease high in the sky. That beast roared at Sun Fei on the summit of the northern peak, marking the northern one of the Twin Peaks. Realizing it couldn’t win, it turned and fled like lightning toward the direction of the imperial capital, carrying the unconscious Golden Knight on its back.

“Hurry… protect His Excellency!” shouted the Golden Knights from the Imperial Knights’ Hall. Without caring about the nearby Shampoo Expeditionary Force anymore, they whipped their horses around and chased off at top speed. At the back of the troop, the thin old man with squint eyes and a goat beard—Alpha the Military Strategist—went pale and froze for a few moments, still unable to believe what happened. Uneasily, he glanced at the tall figure of the king on the northern peak and felt a chill inside. Suddenly, he spun around, spurred his skinny long-haired horse, and scurried away like he was escaping danger.

Whoosh!

A sharp gust of fist wind ripped through the sky, grazing his ear and whistling past him. It smashed into a giant boulder beside him, about six meters high, shattering the stone into dust that flew everywhere.

“If you ever talk people into fighting against my Champoo City again, what happened to this rock will happen to you… die!”

The voice of the King of Champoo rang in this mean old man Alpha’s ear like thunder. The goat-bearded Alpha felt his spirit tremble violently. Too scared to argue back, he stumbled off in a panic, clutching the bloody spot on his ear where the fist wind had cut it. Blood was dripping, and his gray-white hair whipped wildly in the air.

Sun Fei stood tall on the summit of the broken northern peak of Twin Peaks, watching as the Golden Knight Sutton and his group vanished towards the horizon.

In that short brawl just now, Sun Fei had felt deeply the prideful personality of Chris Sutton. Known as the Sun Golden Knight, Sutton was one of the Ten Great Judgment Knights from the Knights’ Hall. He was too arrogant now, almost to the point of being annoying. But in Sun Fei’s heart, a kind of spooky understanding between warriors, he was almost sure that the earlier sneaky attacks against his expeditionary force were not ordered by this proud knight. Things like poisoning the water, driving wolf packs to harass them, and setting magic explosions in the canyon seemed too lowly for him.

After thinking it over carefully for a moment, Sun Fei’s eyes settled on Alpha, that thin-faced old man with a silly and squinty face who had been hiding in the back of the troop earlier. He started to understand what was going on. That old timer must have played the role of a sly Military Strategist. With his sneaky behavior, it seemed like the previous events were likely cooked up by him alone, all his own idea. Sun Fei never liked shady types like that. If he hadn’t been unsure about his guess, he might have smashed that mean goat-bearded Alpha into a pile of bits already!

Putting away his Magical Equipment armor, which was almost worn out from the hits and badly needed fixing, Sun Fei straightened his clothes. Then he leaped right off the northern peak of Twin Peaks. Using his Barbarian Skill Leap, he flashed down the mountain in moments.

“Long live Your Majesty the King!” Shouted Prison Warden Oleg in excitement. His old habit of flattery kicked in, making him raise his arm and let loose a big burst of praise without thinking.

But this time, no one laughed at Oleg.

Because they all joined in with that chubby old fool, taking a pause then throwing their arms up and yelling out loud. Even Peter Cech, who was always so quiet, now joined in. He felt his whole body burning with energy. It was like something in his chest was about to explode… It was shocking, totally unbelievable! Before this battle, all the Xiangbo People knew their King was strong, really strong. But none had imagined he’d be this strong—strong enough to stand face-to-face and beat one of the Empire’s Ten Great Judgment Knights from the Knights’ Hall.

“Woof woof woof… woof—yeow yeow—!!!”

The big black dog named Black Whirlwind joined in the fun too. He wagged his tail happily, opened his mouth wide, and let out a long, loud howl at the sky.

“Alexander…”

A sweet voice sang out from the distance like a yellow bird flitting into a valley. The future Princess Consort Angela jumped down from the Princess Royal’s Magic Carriage in the distance. Like a happy, dancing white butterfly, she lifted the hem of her white gown and rushed toward him. Ignoring her graceful lady style, she pushed through the cheering crowds, flung herself against Sun Fei, and buried herself in his embrace.

Breathing in the gentle scent from her hair, feeling the warm, soft sweetness of holding her whole body, Sun Fei felt a flood of warmth inside. To him, it was like heroes and their beauties; even a man made of steel would still wish for a loving hug after a life-or-death fight. At that moment, while feeling her volcanic burst of affection, Sun Fei also felt waves of guilt deep down: He had only thought about his own thrill during that mad fight on Twin Peaks, racing between life and death. It must have made her worry, and she was probably scared to death!

Meanwhile, on the Magic Carriage in the distance, the two ladies wore different expressions on their faces.

The blonde Lori Gemma smiled joyfully. Though streaks of tears still glistened on her fair cheeks, seeing Angela and Alexander tightly embrace in the midst of all the cheers made this freckled, stubborn young girl feel a kind of peace she had never known before. Her bright eyes seemed to flicker, flashing back to scenes from the past. Like how Angela once fought tirelessly to shield the King when he was out of his mind, or like that beautiful, slim figure stealing into the room late at night to cover the young King who always kicked off his blankets. Then crying quietly at the window by the dimming firelight, praying to the God of War in those bleak moments…

As for the Princess Royal, who saw things as parts of big oceans, she cast her eyes toward the indoor spot where Angela had been sitting before. There on the purple velvet rug was a clear handprint wrinkle. Angela had squeezed the fabric hard without meaning to, caught in her tense fear. This made the Princess Royal’s slightly thin face break into a smile: “I thought that girl truly had faith in her love and didn’t worry even a bit. So that’s what happened…”

But the Princess Royal did not notice something. For a simple young lady like Angela, staying calm and cool at a time like that—showing confidence in her lover—was insanely tough. It took a mountain of courage to pull that off!

A little farther off, the people from the Sorros Merchant Caravan stared in disbelief.

Their minds were blown by the shock of it all.

Especially the robed boss Redknapp, the stylish red-dressed woman Sherry, and her nearby white-robed young swordsman. They found it hard to accept what they had seen. While the Xiangbo People probably did not grasp the full meaning of this duel’s outcome, they knew it well. The King of Champoo had just beaten Chris Sutton, one of the Ten Great Judgment Knights—the Sun Golden Knight from the Imperial Knights’ Hall. He was an Empire-wide admired super-genius, a future star of the Empire’s warriors, known as one of the top contenders for Imperial Martial Saint. Though Sutton was only sixteen, and maybe a bit less experienced than the other nine Judgment Knights, he still stood as a symbol of the Empire’s highest fighter ranks. For a king from a Vassal State like Shampoo City to beat one of the Judgment Knights? That had never happened before since the Zenit Empire was born. Only one legendary figure, known as One Sword, could have pulled that off. But even he had never taken on a challenge against them directly…

Put simply, the King of Champoo had just created a piece of history.

Digging deeper, Redknapp felt certain that the result of this fight could even ripple into things that were getting too messy already: the Empire’s boiling race to be the next Emperor and what the future Empire might become.

Right now, the Imperial Capital was a tangled web. Emperor Yassin’s health was fading daily. The two Crown Princes, Domingos and Arshavin, both held heavy power and had big backers among the leaders. Each wanted to wear the crown. The fight between them was hotter than ever. But their weakness was their failure to win over neutral groups like the Knights’ Hall and the Imperial Martial Saint, along with a few other mighty fighters whose voices mattered big. In the Zenit Empire, where strength ruled, elite power decided who sat on the Imperial throne at moments like this. Here, in this touchy time, a new young master suddenly burst forth—one strong enough to rival a Judgment Knight. What did that mean? It was like finding a deadly sword that could kill a foe. Whichever prince snatched that sword first would have the upper hand in climbing that symbol of iron and fire—the royal throne, the source of true glory!

Gazing at the ruined Twin Peaks, now broken halfway up, the robed boss sighed deeply.

He knew one thing clearly now: After this battle, the name of Sun Fei, King of Champoo, had been forged forever in fame. From now on, no king from any Vassal State would dare cross King Alexander. Back in the Imperial Capital, this news would surely spread before long. And when it did, Sun Fei would become the center of attention for all the Empire’s top players. Would they embrace him as a guest, or treat him like a thorn? The answer depended on whom the young king chose to back.

As for the broken Twin Peaks, they would stand tall forever, acting like witnesses to the incredible fight that had played out here today.

Maybe soon, huge crowds of Bards would flood this place for inspiration. Perhaps they really would make songs about it, magnificent poetic tunes that celebrated Sun Fei and the Sun Golden Knight—two rising stars born in conflict. Someday, they would both catch the eye of people across this whole land!