Chapter 144: The Crown Prince Is a Moron
After Hayashi demonstrated his overwhelming power, the Bloody Emperor fully accepted reality. He no longer harbored any thoughts of resistance and decided to be an obedient puppet.
Thus, under Hayashi's orders, he obediently dispatched an army of 100,000 soldiers. Alongside the Theocracy's 100,000 cavalry, they appeared simultaneously on the kingdom's borders from two directions before advancing together into the kingdom's heartland.
Even though the kingdom was already in turmoil—with nobles seizing the opportunity to weaken the monarchy after learning of the Warrior Captain's defeat and kidnapping—both the noble factions and the royal family were immediately informed of the joint invasion by the Theocracy and the empire.
The sky had fallen.
The entire royal family was shrouded in the shadow of war, and nearly every industry suffered catastrophic collapse—except for alcohol and the pleasure trade! The kingdom's citizens now sought desperate revelry and drunken oblivion to numb their nerves.
Inside the royal palace...
"Haah—"
Lakyus, the leader of the Blue Roses, slumped exhaustedly into a chair, rubbing her temples with both hands in a futile attempt to relieve her stress.
"Lakyus, you've worked hard—" Princess Renner placed a teapot on the table with a concerned expression. "This is herbal tea I had prepared. It helps with mental fatigue—please have some."
"Thank you, Princess Renner." Lakyus forced a smile before muttering to herself, "If only all the kingdom's nobles were like you... Those despicable scum!"
Faced with the joint invasion by the Theocracy and the empire, the noble factions—who had been united in pressuring the royal family just moments before—collapsed into disarray within half a day. Some nobles began ruthlessly exploiting their territories, squeezing every last coin from their subjects in a desperate bid to amass wealth before fleeing with their treasures—why not buy a border noble title in another country and live as a petty tyrant? Better than dying in war!
"Exactly!" The self-proclaimed "Bone King's World's Best Woman," Gagaran, crossed her arms and nodded with a huff. "The nobles of the kingdom have absolutely no sense of manliness!"
"Agreed."
"+1."
The ninja sisters also nodded in unison.
Judging from the reactions of the Blue Roses, the recent antics of the kingdom's nobility had left them seething with frustration—especially since the current state of affairs in the kingdom left them powerless to do anything about those worthless nobles.
How infuriating was that?
"Now, now—" Princess Renner smiled gently, like a saintly savior, and said, "Let's focus on what we can actually do."
"You're right." Lakyus opened her eyes and turned to the princess. "Thanks to the nobles' recent misbehavior, as well as the joint attacks from the Empire and the Theocracy, the Eight Fingers have slipped up—we've finally located their headquarters!"
"Really? That's wonderful!" Princess Renner clasped her hands together in relief. "If we can eliminate the Eight Fingers, things in the kingdom should improve, right?"
"Ah, well, yes… probably."
Lakyus couldn't bear to meet the hopeful expression on Princess Renner's face and guiltily averted her gaze—she couldn't bring herself to tell the princess that the kingdom's problems were far beyond what the Eight Fingers alone could fix. To truly revive the kingdom, they would have to purge every last one of those rotten, corrupt nobles. But the problem was…
The kingdom lacked both the will and the power to do so!
"Still, Princess Renner—" Gagaran downed her floral tea in one gulp, prompting one of the ninja sisters to mutter, "What a waste, drinking like a cow," before punching her in the arm. "Based on the intel we've gathered, if we try to take on the Eight Fingers with just the Blue Roses, we might be… just a little short—just a tiny bit—on firepower."
She laughed boisterously and held up her thumb and forefinger, indicating a minuscule gap—but anyone who knew Gagaran understood that if the difference could truly be bridged with "a little effort," she would have already been shouting about "guts" and "fighting spirit" and pushing herself to close that gap.
From his spot in the corner, Climb—Princess Renner's loyal "puppy"—looked shocked and couldn't help but ask, "Are the Eight Fingers really that strong?"
Lakyus nodded with a pained expression. "Yes. As much as it pains me to admit it, every member of the Eight Fingers' security division, the Six Arms, is Adamantite-ranked. And with the support of their other members…"
A single Blue Roses team probably wouldn't be enough to handle them.
"Then… what do we do?" Climb took an overeager step forward. "If… if you count me as part of the fighting force…"
"Climb, that's quite rude—" Princess Renner calmly soothed her little puppy before continuing, "Actually, to prepare for such a situation, I had already contacted another team of adventurers beforehand. At the time, I thought if Lakyus could handle it alone, there would be no need to hire them. But if Lakyus ran into trouble, they could serve as an extra trump card for assistance. Seems like that move was the right call!"
Hearing Princess Renner's words, Lakyus didn't feel slighted—as if the princess had doubted her capabilities by arranging a backup plan. Instead, she felt a wave of relief.
"That's great—" Lakyus leaned back in her chair, exhaling deeply. "I was just worrying about how to explain this to you—thank goodness Princess Renner was prepared. Otherwise, we'd have no idea where to find temporary allies on such short notice."
In the past, it might have been easier, but in the current situation, most capable adventurers had already been hired by the kingdom's nobles to protect their own hides. Finding suitable help was nearly impossible.
"So, Princess Renner, who exactly did you hire?" Gagaran asked with visible enthusiasm. "Not to brag, but not just any adventurers are qualified to work alongside the Blue Roses!"
After all, the Blue Roses were one of the few Adamantite-ranked adventurer teams in the kingdom—the absolute elite among adventurers. They couldn't just collaborate with any random group.
"You've definitely heard of this team—" Princess Renner smiled, pressing her fingertips together. "They're the rising stars making waves recently—the supernova adventurer team!"
Gagaran: "Rising stars—"
Lakyus: "Supernova—"
Ninja Sisters: "Adventurer team?"
The four exchanged glances before exclaiming in unison: "The Sun and Moon Forest Adventurer Team!?"
"Correct~" Princess Renner clapped her hands. "Given their track record, they should be qualified to work with you, right?"
"Hahaha! Conquering the Forest Sage King, defeating the ogre camp outside the city, slaying the Eastern Giant and Western Serpent of the Monster Forest—" Gagaran laughed heartily. "Such outstanding warriors are absolutely worthy of collaboration!"
"Exactly! Let's just kick Gagaran out—" the younger ninja sister teased.
"Right, right. We only need the Sun and Moon Forest team, not Gagaran," the elder ninja sister added, twisting the knife.
"?"
Gagaran stared at her teammates, a question mark floating above her head—Seriously? I'm the world's best woman, okay?!
Just check the bullet comments on Bilibili—how many people want to—?!
...
...
Thanks to the pressure from the Theocracy and the Empire, Leona, Diana, and Ahri—who had traveled from E-Rantel to the royal capital—finally found an opportunity to deal with Eight Fingers, the kingdom's most vile underground organization.
Upon hearing the news, the three nearly cried from relief—At last, at last, they could see hope in completing their mission and returning to Sky City to serve the Supreme One again. It had been… so, so hard!
While Princess Renner and Lakyus were discussing how to deal with Eight Fingers in the rear of the kingdom, unprecedented changes were also unfolding on the front lines of the battlefield.
"Father, let me lead the charge!" The crown prince stood tall before the aging king and declared loudly, "It's merely 200,000 enemy troops! Give me 150,000—no, 130,000 soldiers, and I'll crush them effortlessly!"
The king looked at his eldest son with disappointment. He knew exactly why his son would say such things—the nobles must have promised to support him as the new king if he could repel the enemy forces.
But, my foolish son, have you ever considered that the throne doesn't require the nobles' approval? The moment you believe you need their help to become king, you've already bowed to them. And you know full well what happens to kings who kneel before the nobility!
"Father!"
Seeing his father remain silent, the crown prince grew impatient and took a step forward, blurting out impulsively, "What are you afraid of!? Has the loss of the Warrior Captain robbed you of even the courage to fight?!"
The king closed his eyes wearily and murmured, "Do you have anyone under your command who can defeat Gazef? You know even he was defeated..."
"Father! The Warrior Captain may be strong, but he's just one man!" The crown prince interrupted with brimming confidence, his expression fervent. "War is different! Victory depends on the coordination of soldiers—under my command, we'll crush the enemy effortlessly, capture their general, and exchange him for the Warrior Captain!"
If circumstances had allowed, the old king would have grabbed his arrogant, delusional son by the collar and demanded, "Where the hell did you get the confidence to say such nonsense!?"
But ever since the Warrior Captain's defeat and capture, the old king had been exhausting himself dealing with the scheming noble factions. Hearing his son's brainless words, he felt darkness cloud his vision before collapsing onto the throne.