Chapter 661: Deviation

The king of the realm pressed Zhang Lie for more details. "What else do you know?"

Zhang Lie made something up. "I expect—and I'm sure you share this guess, your majesty—that one of the princes is behind this stampede—"

Before Zhang Lie could finish, a guard called from outside the tent, "The second prince requests an audience!"

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The king of the realm replied, "Send him in."

The second prince was covered in dust and grime, and there were visible wounds over his body. He knelt immediately as he entered. "Father, I rushed straight back worried that something had happened, but it seems I was still too late. Please punish me, Father!"

The king of the realm shook his head. "There's no issue—I'm right here."

"I'm very relieved, Father."

Just then, the second prince clutched his abdomen, an expression of pain marring his face.

"I suffered wounds on the way back, but I was so concerned for your safety, Father, that I neglected to tend to them. Now—"

The crown prince's lips twitched, as though he were experiencing a bout of deja vu.

Zhang Lie nudged the ninth prince. "Look at your two older brothers—learn from their antics!"

The king of the realm sighed. "Send for the imperial physician and have him remain here, this time! The princes will need medical attention after braving a beast stampede—for now it seems as though there's only been abdominal pain, but if any of the princes were to come in on stretchers..."

Zhang Lie was about to leave the tent when the crown prince gestured that he would be the one to do it this time.

He rushed out of the tent and called urgently, "Summon the imperial physician! My second brother's about to perish! His injuries are life-threatening!"

The second prince's mouth began to spasm.

The imperial physician rushed over and examined the second prince's injuries. His forehead began to bead with sweat. "...the second prince is grievously wounded, but...thanks to his strength, vigor, and youthful physique, he's already starting to recover..."

The king of the realm didn't want to listen to the nonsense any longer. "Enough. Have his wounds bandaged and prepare some medicine for him."

After the second prince left, the king of the realm sighed, "I'm more worried about the rest of your brothers."

The crown prince consoled him, "Father, there's no need to worry. The princes are all guarded by the will of the world, and they aren't weak. They'll at least be able to protect themselves."

"Let's hope so, then." The king of the realm paused. "If there's nothing else, let's end this audience here. I'm a little tired."

As they walked out of the tent, the crown prince began, "I intend to help shore up our defenses. The imperial troops should make their way over in a matter of moments to clean up this mess. What are your plans?" He turned expectantly to the ninth prince and Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie glanced at the ninth prince before replying, "We'll join you."

Neither the king of the realm nor the crown prince had any intention to retreat. Behind them lay the kingdom at large; if these beasts were to escape the hunting grounds, it would spell doom for the citizens whom they protected.

There were far too many superior- and peak-grade lifeforms for the cities of the kingdom to handle on their own, so unless it was a matter of life or death, the royalty wouldn't retreat.

The crown prince frowned. "Why isn't Father retreating himself?"

The general sighed. "I advised his majesty to retreat, but he insisted on seeing all his sons safe and sound first."

The second prince, who had just been bandaged, left the medical tent just in time to see the others.

"I intend on guarding the perimeter. Shall we head there together?"

The crown prince retorted, "How about your injuries? They seemed rather serious..."

The second prince narrowed his eyes. "Before I headed to Father's tent, I heard that you were on your deathbed, eldest brother. Aren't your injuries serious?"

Zhang Lie and the ninth prince smirked as the crown prince smiled awkwardly. "The imperial physician is particularly skilled, and I'm alright now."

The two princes' verbal battle awed Zhang Lie and the ninth prince.

To his surprise, Zhang Lie noticed that the second prince's troops were largely intact. As far as he knew, the second prince was weaker than the crown prince, so what was the factor that had preserved his troops?

Zhang Lie's gaze landed on a masked Jindao fighter, from whom he could sense the aura of the strong. That man would surely be a challenge to face.

The masked Jindao fighter, sensing Zhang Lie's gaze, looked back at him and nodded his head slightly.

Another wave of superior- and peak-grade lifeforms approached them all.

"Everyone, charge! We protect his majesty!" the crown prince shouted, drawing his sword.

The crown and second princes charged forward with their retinues, followed by Zhang Lie and the ninth prince. Zhang Lie nodded at their strength; both princes had surpassed the level of a peak-grade lifeform. Zhang Lie could see that the second prince was holding back, but the one who was hiding even more of his strength was the masked Jindao fighter.

Zhang Lie himself was participating in the defense. Water-attuned genetic energy wrapped around his palm and wrist. As he punched forward, he infused the power of space into the mix and produced high-energy explosions in the midst of the beast horde, annihilating an entire group of superior-grade lifeforms in one fell swoop.

As the defense against the beast stampede dragged on, the guards in the camp grew noticeably weary and wounded. Their stamina could be recovered with potions to an extent, but not their mental exhaustion.

The second prince whispered to the masked Jindao fighter, "It's time. Prepare to make our move!"

The second prince noted that the guards and even the crown prince himself were in bad shape, but the Jindao shook his head. "Second prince, we had better wait. This is a critical period, and we can't afford to be careless."

The second prince frowned. "Wait? No, we can't wait any longer—if we keep waiting, it'll be too late!"

The Jindao replied, "It's not yet time. We need to wait—there's a factor we hadn't considered in our plans that's throwing off our predictions."

They had expected that the guards would be close to their breaking point by now, but they still seemed able to fight. The sole reason was an additional fighter in their midst: the ninth prince's master.

One man though he might be, Zhang Lie's effect on the defense was as impactful as a whole battalion of elite soldiers. His seemingly careless blows had devastating impact on the beast hordes, and Red Comet was killing quite a few lifeforms by itself as well.

The second prince frowned. "It looks like we've underestimated this fellow. I can't believe that the ninth prince was responsible for this..."

The Jindao fighter warned, "He's very dangerous, and we need to be extremely careful of him."

The second prince was taken by surprise. "Didn't you say he would be easy to deal with initially?"