9 Kael Solo Show

Szzzzzztttt!!!!

A hair-thin black line suddenly appeared on the plate armor of the White-Robed Iron Guard, stretching from shoulder to waist.

Then, as if a watermelon had been sliced diagonally, the upper half slid smoothly to the ground, accompanied by a wave of blood and a nauseating stench.

The slaughterhouse-like scene made Lia's stomach churn, her face turning deathly pale with the carnage in front of them.

"Miss Lia, what do you think? Was that thousand Gold Coins well spent?"

Graaaakkkh - bluurggh!

As Kael smug voice rang out, Lia could no longer hold back. She doubled over and vomited.

"Never seen anything like this before, have you?" Kael sneered.

Just a few severed limbs and some blood. Back when I used to sleep and eat among piles of corpses, I didn't even blink.

He turned his gaze to the last White-Robed Iron Guard.

The moment their eyes met, the Iron Guard's sword clattered to the ground. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees.

Clankkk!!....Thud!!!

The way Kael had effortlessly dispatched four battle-hardened White-Robed Iron Guards, as easily as slicing through melons, had utterly terrified him to his core.

This encounter made him realize the true value of being a two-and-a-half-year champion of the Colosseum of Duskmere.

"Don't kill me, sir! Please, don't kill me!"

He knelt, begging for his life, his mind consumed by the fear of death.

Remembering Kael earlier greed, he frantically pulled a cloth pouch from his waist.

"I have money! I have money! I'll buy my life with it!"

Kael roared in contempt, "Fool! Kill you, and all this gold is mine anyway!"

Before the White-Robed Iron Guard could react, his head was already rolling across the ground, his face still frozen in shock.

Kael gleefully snatched the pouch from his hand, weighting it. At least ten Gold Coins, he estimated.

It was no match for the wealth of someone like Lia, but every little bit counts.

Still, these castle guards certainly knew how to accumulate wealth.

After collecting the scattered standard longswords into his System's inventory, Kael eyed the White-Robed Iron Guards' exquisite plate armor with a hint of regret.

The System's inventory couldn't store living beings from what he found, so the armor had to be stripped off the guards to be collected. Clearly, there was no time for that now.

"Miss Lia, the castle is swarming with your pursuers. We need to leave immediately. Lead the way."

Hearing the shouts of battle echoing through the castle, Kael knew it had become a slaughterhouse. They had to escape quickly.

While he wasn't afraid for himself, he couldn't guarantee Lia's safety if she slowed him down. After all, she was a walking thousand Gold Coins—he couldn't afford to let anything happen to her.

"I... my legs are weak."

After vomiting her guts out, Lia seemed much better, but her face was pale and her legs trembled. Her pitiful appearance stirred a protective instinct in him.

The small room reeked of blood and decay. Fresh blood pooled on the floor, splattered with crimson and white.

Having grown up in pampered luxury, Lia had never witnessed such carnage. Though her mother had often told her stories of such horrors, only now, seeing it with her own eyes, did she truly understand its terror.

"If you want me to personally serve you, that'll cost extra!"

Kael raised an eyebrow.

Before Lia could react, he had already swept her into his arms with one hand, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"What are you howling for? Do you want to attract the pursuers?" Kael slapped her butt and glared at her.

Lia seethed with anger but dared not voice it, keeping her fury bottled up inside.

"Lead the way."

Without hesitation, Lia pointed down a corridor.

Kael gripped his mithril longsword in one hand and, with his other arm around her, charged forward.

Lia, weighing barely a hundred pounds felt no heavier than an ant in Kael's arms, posing no hindrance to his movements.

"Kael, they've also captured my mother. Could you possibly..."

Held in his arms, Lia had witnessed Kael's extraordinary prowess. Beyond her initial awe, a new idea began to form.

With Kael's strength, rescuing her mother seemed highly probable.

If they could free her mother, they might still have a chance.

"Ah, that hurts!"

No sooner had she spoken than she was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground with a thud.

As the Highland Tulip, a jewel cherished by all, she had never been treated so roughly before.

Kael showed no mercy, tossing Lia aside and turning to leave without a backward glance.

He wasn't afraid of the castle guards, but that didn't mean he'd go looking for trouble.

Besides, in this succession struggle, it was obvious that Damon, the dissolute Knight, would be involved. After all, he made no secret of his ambition to seize the title.

To risk offending this iron-fisted Lord who commanded a formidable army for a mere thousand Gold Coins? That was wishful thinking.

"I'll pay more!" Lia shouted, having already grasped some of the Kael methods.

Kael paused, and just as Lia thought she had succeeded, his voice rang out, earnest and grave.

"Miss Lia, you're too naive. The entire castle is now our enemy. Even if I could rescue your mother, how would three people escape Duskmere City's blockade?"

"If I'm not mistaken, your great-uncle Damon is likely involved in this succession struggle. From what I know, he used to command the Duskmere Garrison and wields immense influence."

"The Duskmere Garrison boasts several thousand soldiers. You stand no chance against them."

"In other words, you're already a defeated dog. Why not just leave quietly and regroup later? You could rise again."

Though Lia didn't understand Kael's references to "defeated dogs" or "rising again," she grasped his general meaning and fell silent.

Her sharp mind recognized the truth in his words.

Kael approached the now-filthy girl and pleaded earnestly:

"Leaving Duskmere is your only way out. If you survive, your claim to the throne will allow you to raise an army. You might even have a chance to reclaim Duskmere and exact revenge."

"But if you die here, you'll lose everything."

"Can you imagine what fate awaits you if they capture you?"

"A beautiful woman falling into the hands of a band of soldiers... her fate would be worse than death!"

"I'm truly sorry about your mother, Madam Olivia," Kael said, forcing a single tear from the corner of his eye.

Seeing Kael's genuine sorrow for her mother, Lia nodded silently, her impression of him shifting dramatically.

"Sigh, Miss Lia, lead the way. With me by your side, I'll ensure you escape Duskmere unharmed."

Lia reached out, and Kael smoothly pulled her into his arms before continuing their journey.

But in a spot hidden from Lia's view, Kael's lips curled into a faint smile, the sorrow on his face vanishing completely.

Life is a stage, and it's all about the performance.

Only calculated moves win hearts.

He had said all that merely to trick Lia into leaving with him.

As for Lia's mother, Kael had no intention of helping.

He could rescue Lady Olivia, but the effort required far outweighed the potential reward. He wasn't about to make such a losing bargain.

With that thought, he hummed a cheerful tune inwardly.