"So they got in this easily? No wonder my royal brother sought cooperation with pirates." The blonde youth stood atop the clock tower, hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the Third Legion's advance into the Royal City.
"Heh heh heh heh... Well, who told His Royal Highness, the Third Prince, to rely on those nobles? Though they have money, their power is too weak, only controlling a fraction of the city's army," the black-robed man chuckled, his head bowed.
"Mando, don't speak like that. After all, he's my brother, and most of those nobles are my elders. Show some respect. At most, I'll permit you to prune them into human sticks when the time comes." The blonde youth's voice was flat; his first sentence was normal, but the latter was filled with malice.
"Heh heh heh heh... Benson-sama, your suggestions are always the best," the black-robed man, known as Mando, gave a cruel laugh.
It turned out this blonde youth was also a prince of the Clifford Kingdom, the fifth son of Dasco XI, and the kingdom's most infamous wastrel prince: Fifth Prince Dasco Benson.
His egregious deeds couldn't be fully recounted even in three days and three nights. Yet, no one expected him to be a true master actor, deceiving everyone. As the saying goes, "Others laugh at my madness, I laugh at their inability to see through me." If there were an Oscar statuette, it would surely be awarded to him; his acting was truly superb.
"Benson, are you confident you can stop that guy?" The purple-haired youth in black plate armor turned and asked.
"Limmings, help me hold off this guy, stall him until I deal with that other one, and our cooperation will be complete." Benson's lips curled into a cruel smile as he handed the pirate Supernova a bounty poster.
"Slayer Oliver, Bounty: 120,000,000 Berries."
Limmings gravely examined the bounty poster. The image showed a cold man with a hooked nose and thin lips, wielding two swords. He recognized the man's identity, and this was even a bounty poster from before the end of last year.
"That's right, he's a Supernova just like you, the Head of Combat for the Chris Pirate Crew," Benson said, giving Limmings a sidelong glance.
"You really did find me a good opponent," Limmings narrowed his eyes, gazing coolly at the man on the bounty poster.
Limmings had, of course, made an effort to learn about the other Supernovas of his generation. While Oliver wasn't as famous as his captain, Golden Ring Aeridar, he possessed formidable strength, being the second known individual to easily defeat a fellow Supernova pirate (referring to Oliver defeating Abel). As for the first, that was his captain, Aeridar (referring to Aeridar defeating Otto).
"I hope you have fun. I have quite a bit of confidence in you, heh heh heh heh..." Benson chuckled softly.
Pere pere pere... Pere pere pere...
A Den Den Mushi chimed from Mando's person.
"Heh heh heh heh... Looks like there's a situation."
Mando took out a small brown Den Den Mushi from his pocket and answered, "This is Mando. Any news?"
"Mando-sama, it's bad! Both His Royal Highness, the First Prince, and His Royal Highness, the Second Prince, are dead!" The message from the Den Den Mushi made the expressions of the three present stiffen, their hearts shaking in shock. They couldn't help but pale.
"How is that possible? That's too fast!" Benson, who had always been calm, showed a shocked expression for the first time, blurting it out. A bone-chilling cold radiated from him, causing the bricks beneath his feet to frost over and the surrounding temperature to drop several degrees.
Keep in mind that the combined armies of First Prince Byrd and Second Prince Bolton totaled tens of thousands, and they had many personal guards. Even if they suffered heavy casualties from an artillery ambush, they shouldn't have been wiped out so quickly.
"It's freezing... This ability..." Limmings felt the sudden drop in temperature and saw the ground beside Benson's feet begin to freeze, causing his eyelids to twitch.
"What exactly is going on? Explain it clearly! Are all the guards dead?" Sensing the chill from Benson, Mando knew his master was angry and hastily demanded into the Den Den Mushi.
"His Royal Highness, the First Prince, was killed by a two-sword style swordsman. His Royal Highness, the Second Prince, and an ability user fought to a mutual defeat; His Royal Highness, the Second Prince, is dead, and the ability user is severely wounded. As for the guards of both princes, they were all intercepted by experts as powerful as monsters." The voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi trembled slightly.
"Damn it! Start!"
Benson said with a cold face, cursing.
"Benson-sama, do we start the plan now?" Mando looked at Benson in surprise.
Limmings also looked at Benson, though for him, the timing didn't matter.
"It'll be too late if we don't start now. We begin as soon as we reveal ourselves," Benson glanced at the two men, his voice cold.
"Understood."
Mando nodded, then took out several Den Den Mushi, one after another, and began to make contact. It seemed there were quite a few hidden pieces. After a few minutes, Mando finished contacting them.
"Take us there!" Benson commanded.
"Benson-sama, Limmings-san, grasp my clothes."
Mando reminded them. Once Benson and Limmings both grabbed his black robe, their bodies subtly shimmered. Then, the three vanished, as if they were never there, leaving three strange stone bricks in their place.
...
"Kill them! Kill them all! They are all rebels!"
Third Prince Casey continuously issued orders, protected by dozens of knights and hundreds of soldiers.
"Bastard! I'll cut you down!"
"Ah! My hand!"
"I'll fight you to the death!"
"No, I'm a noble..."
On the Royal Palace's Third Training Ground, thousands of knights and soldiers were clashing in a bloody melee, with severed limbs scattered everywhere. The entire training ground was stained crimson with blood.
Currently, Casey's forces held the upper hand. With the elite crew members of the Chris Pirates and the knights of the Black Spot Knights, they were steadily compressing the defense lines of the First and Second Princes' armies, completely encircling them within the Training Palace.
"Your Highness! It's bad, Your Highness!"
Just as Casey was feeling self-satisfied, a knight, covered in blood, stumbled in from outside.
"What happened? Didn't I send you to blockade the eastern gate of the Royal City?" Seeing him, Casey was startled, recognizing the newcomer as one of the four captains he had dispatched to blockade the city gates.
"The... the army stationed outside the city has broken through! Kagu Moro, the commander of the Third Legion, is with the First Prince! There are twenty to thirty thousand soldiers just at the East Gate!" Supported by a few knights, the captain gasped, his voice filled with terror.
"Twenty to thirty thousand!"
Casey gasped, and the surrounding noble advisors and guard knights were also wide-eyed with horror.
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