Elizabeth and the emperor (5)

Meanwhile, Emperor Lianghu kept his piercing gaze on Elizabeth and unsheathed his sabre. To personally join the battlefield was telling enough. Back with Lord Korogin, he delegated everything to Cardinal Hui. He did not feel the slightest need to do anything himself. However, he chose to do so for Elizabeth. Why? Because his hatred for King Harth was that excessive! He knew deep down that King Harth had killed his precious wife. That was enough in Lianghu's mind to damn a thousand generations of the Royal Family to death! Hence, two years ago, he went to Melgar and led an army against King Harth, eventually capturing him! For anyone else, he would not begin to bother. Elizabeth was a special case. She was the direct progeny of King Harth! He had to personally eradicate King Harth's bloodline!

"Kill the rest of them," Emperor Lianghu ordered coldly.

Those words felt like an executioner's blade chopping down. Everyone besides Elizabeth felt the immense suffocating feeling of death envelop them! The two remaining Royal Guards held strong, but Elizabeth's friends were incapable of doing so. How could they? Previously, they clashed with enemies far weaker than the Cardinals and barely survived. They witnessed firsthand three Royal Guards dying in an instant. The three Cardinals stood at the apex of the Xingyuu Empire! To contend with that level of strength with their meager power was beyond laughable. It was a complete joke!

Benedict felt the strength slipping from his hands. He was already a pessimistic person, born from the constant fires of war. Facing the Cardinals, he wanted to give up and surrender. At least, that way he would be spared from unnecessary pain. Indeed, his sword began to droop down in dejection. That train of thought was an infectious one that spread to Freon. Freon was always crippled by a sense of powerlessness. Forget having fought in a war, he only fought in a few small skirmishes. This battlefield, hearing the cacophony of death and destruction, made him grip his wand so tightly that blood nearly drew. He felt overwhelmed by the tides of emotions. The outcome was certain death!

Shirley's thoughts were elsewhere. It was not like she was immune to feeling hopelessness and despair. Even the strongest of women felt fear, much less her. However, she was more optimistic than her friends. Think about it. Even when they were trapped in the Yunyun Stronghold, they somehow managed to escape. Again, in the Kuthong Forest, against all odds, they rescued Elizabeth! Of course, those successes could hardly be attributed to their ability, but rather coincidences founded from luck. Still, a success was a success. Who could say the same would not happen here? Therefore, it was not the time to give up.

Regardless of what they thought, the Cardinals would not show mercy. The emperor's words were law! Cardinal Loujin and Shaolong moved, charging across the small space. The Royal Guards grimaced and intercepted them. They were a notch above the three who died, but that meant little. They could not surpass their enemies, especially now that it became a three versus two. They exchanged a nonverbal agreement to take out Shaolong first. Although Shaolong kept his injuries hidden well, it was not enough to escape a Royal Guard's senses, especially after the former fought already. It was as clear as day for those who achieved Perception Realm.

Elizabeth, Benedict, Shirley, and Freon also knew this was their best chance at survival. If they did not act now, they might never have the chance again. Freon focused on Emperor Lianghu. Despite his intimidating aura, he was actually the weakest enemy present! Everyone else was firmly in the Perception Realm as an Imperial Sentinel. On the other hand, though it was well known that the emperor was a bona-fide Perception Realm expert, how far could someone bound by the shackles of administrating the empire go? It would be enough to say that he was far below his peak. If they could capture him, then the tempo of battle would fall into their hands! As his thoughts led to this point, he began constructing a spell secretly.

Shirley's senses roared awake as she scrambled to grab Freon and ducked. An arrow whizzed by exactly where Freon's forehead once was. The time frame from death was a single breath! Benedict noticed as well, but a step too soon. On the side, Elizabeth was flabbergasted. Forget reacting to it, she might have died without realizing what happened. That was how fast the attack was! She stared at Cardinal Hui slack-jawed. His mastery of the bow was leagues ahead of her. If he wanted to, she was sure he could easily kill all of them! Freon was pale with fright and his battle spirit vanished. Pulling a fast one with Cardinal Hui here was courting death!

Cardinal Hui was slightly surprised that Freon avoided his attack. Although it was a casual attack and he had not bothered in using any techniques, it still exceeded the limits of what these children could react to. Furthermore, with his level of training, it was trivial for him to see if an individual reached Perception Realm. Even if they hid all signs from him, he could tell. Except none of them had reached that state. Elizabeth, Benedict, and Freon's reactions were within his expectations. However, Shirley… She had yet to reach Perception Realm, but her natural instincts were remarkable.

Given another ten years, she could be an apex warrior, Hui thought as he nocked another arrow. Benedict's reactions were similarly out of the norm, but still a notch below Shirley. He felt confident that the two of them, given proper training, could be powerful adversaries in the future. Yet, the emperor had already given his orders. Their deaths were but a matter of time now.

At that time, the Imperial Princesses and their two Protectors arrived! As expected, no one from the Xingyuu Empire dared raise a hand against them. Even if their guts were inflated to a thousand times their size, they dare not anger the emperor. The only one who could do such a thing was Minister Linshi. Everyone turned to face the new arrivals with the Royal Guards shrugging off Loujin and Shaolong to join Elizabeth again. Their faces were deathly grim. The situation only seemed to get worse. Forget the Cardinals in front of them, Sentinel Chang and Tai were no pushovers either. How else could they become the Protectors of the Imperial Princesses?

Princess Xiuying and Ming had faces full of emotion as they faced their father. They had much to say to their father after not seeing him for so long. Not even Princess Ming, who was famed for her stoic personality, could stop her mind from surging. They left the capital to investigate the Imperial Council and their mother's mysterious death nearly a full two years ago. They travelled through the various provinces and cities, tracing any clue they could grasp, but could it be so easy? Minister Linshi was the Minister of Information, the head of the entire Xingyuu Empire's intelligence network! Like trying to climb a vertical cliff face without tools or footholds, it was a monumental task. It was by sheer luck and coincidence that they found any scrap of information. Ultimately, they arrived in the Yunyun Stronghold to arrest Minister Linshi. The rest was history.