On the desolate road, the second prince of the Fenlei royal family, "Shark," was cursing the magic beasts, while in the distance, Lin Lei quietly slipped the spatial ring off his finger and tucked it into an inner pocket beneath his jacket.
"The Fenlei royal family is traveling in several groups, and they must have arranged a final meeting point among themselves."
Lin Lei had been fretting over how to track down Clyde, and now heaven itself had delivered Shark's group right to his doorstep. How could Lin Lei not be thrilled? Moreover, he had a suspicion — back when he had tried to kill Clyde, the Church of Light had captured him. At first, the Church of Light had wanted to recruit him to their side, so in all likelihood they had placed a gag order on Clyde, forbidding him from ever revealing anything.
"Shark might not even know that the demon who tried to kill his father that day was me."
Lin Lei pondered this as he walked toward Shark.
He had also made up his mind about something else: "If Shark does know that I tried to kill his father, then not a single one of these people can be left alive!" Shark's group might seem formidable to ordinary magic beasts, but to Lin Lei and Bei Bei — a human-and-beast pair of freaks — they were nothing.
"Your Highness, the Second Prince!"
Lin Lei called out in a warm, clear voice.
Shark, who had been gnawing on roasted meat and grumbling about the magic beasts, startled at the sound and turned toward the voice. As his gaze fell on Lin Lei, both Lin Lei and Bei Bei locked their eyes on Shark, carefully watching every flicker of his expression.
"If anything seems off, I'll seize him first, then kill him!" Lin Lei scrutinized the other's eyes and face for any sign.
When Shark spotted Lin Lei, he leaped to his feet in excitement — his massive frame, a full two meters tall, sprang up from the ground and he charged straight toward Lin Lei, beaming. "Lord Lin Lei! You're alive! This is wonderful, truly wonderful!"
"It's a joy to see Your Highness here as well," Lin Lei replied, noting that Shark's eyes and expression showed no trace of deception. He gave a quiet nod of satisfaction.
Lin Lei's guess had been spot on. Clyde had indeed been instructed by the Church of Light, under no circumstances, to reveal that the "demon" who had attempted to assassinate him was Lin Lei. And no matter how bold Clyde might be, he would never dare defy the orders of the Church of Light.
"Lord Lin Lei, have you eaten? Come, join us!" Shark boomed with generous hospitality.
At that moment, Shark had no idea that he had just walked a tightrope between life and death. If his expression had shown even a hint of something wrong, he would already be a corpse.
"Lord Lin Lei, you mustn't blame Father for not rescuing you. The truth is that the magic beast horde came too fast. Father had no choice — he didn't even have time to bring most of his concubines, only those he valued most," Shark explained on his father's behalf.
"I understand," Lin Lei said with a nod, glancing to the side.
The elite knights before him reminded him of the "Thunderstorm Squad" he had encountered in the palace when attacking Clyde. The knight formation he was looking at now had a very similar bearing. Beyond those nearly thirty knights, there was also a somewhat older woman and a little girl of five or six.
"I greet the Consort and the Princess."
Lin Lei bowed to the two women.
The Consort, despite being over forty, looked no older than early thirties — strikingly beautiful and alluring. She smiled and said, "Lin Lei, His Majesty departed too hastily this time. He didn't bring a single mage. And he assumed the Church of Light would save you, so…"
Whether it was Shark or the Consort, both were making excuses for Clyde. In their minds, maintaining a good relationship with Lin Lei was essential. They had no idea about the true nature of Lin Lei's relationship with Clyde.
"I understand," Lin Lei replied, though inwardly he sneered. Not long ago, when he had tried to kill Clyde in the palace, he had noticed that Clyde's entourage consisted entirely of warriors with no mages. This time, Shark's group likewise carried no mages.
Clearly, when Clyde fled this time, he hadn't bothered with mages at all. Mages were invaluable in battle, but this was a flight for survival, not an engagement with magic beasts. Dragging mages along the road would only slow them down. How could they compare to powerful warriors who could cover ground at tremendous speed? A strong warrior could sprint long distances without even a horse. Could a mage do the same?
On the desolate road, Shark's cavalry column pressed onward. The villages that had once lined this once-bustling thoroughfare had been reduced to ruins, and rotting corpses lay everywhere. In these barren lands, one or two magic beasts could be seen prowling at any given moment.
Occasionally, a human who had narrowly survived the initial slaughter would wander out, only to be killed and devoured by the roaming beasts.
"Our Fenlei Kingdom… is finished," Shark said, riding alongside Lin Lei. He gazed at the bleak wasteland and sighed. Occasionally, a magic beast or two would charge at them from the distance, but the Thunderstorm Squad dispatched them with ease. Shark's conversation with Lin Lei was completely uninterrupted.
"At least nine out of every ten people in the Fenlei Kingdom are dead," Lin Lei said, his face heavy with helplessness and sorrow.
Shark nodded slightly. His heart ached, for the fall of the Fenlei Kingdom meant they were no longer a royal family. Without a kingdom, what was left of royalty?
"Fortunately…" Shark thought of the five magic crystal cards inside his pouch. With those five cards, even without their kingdom, the Fenlei royal family could leverage their thousands of years of accumulated wealth to rebuild as a powerful clan. That wouldn't be difficult.
Lin Lei suddenly spoke up. "Your Highness, where exactly are we meeting His Majesty this time?"
Hanging around with Shark was all for the sake of learning Clyde's whereabouts.
Shark replied helplessly, "Lord Lin Lei, neither my father nor I anticipated the disaster would be this widespread. The two meeting points we set within the Fenlei Kingdom are both useless now. I can only follow the original plan and keep heading north. Once we reach a safe city — one that my father and I agreed upon — we'll stop and settle there."
Lin Lei understood immediately. Shark and Clyde hadn't set just one meeting city; they had arranged a chain of cities stretching northward from Fenn City. Whichever city proved safe, that's where they would stop.
"Which cities did you agree upon with His Majesty?" Lin Lei asked with a smile.
Shark, harboring no suspicion, answered directly, "Quite a few, actually. Some are within the Fenlei Kingdom, others are farther north in various kingdoms and duchies, and we even set one in the O'Brien Empire."
"The O'Brien Empire?" Lin Lei laughed.
Shark said sheepishly, "Father was worried that these magic beasts might overrun the entire Holy Alliance region, forcing us to flee to the O'Brien Empire. The O'Brien Empire is the continent's foremost military power — they can definitely hold off those beasts."