Chapter 207 - Convincing

The Sword Princess Ashley was watching the battle from a distance and sighed. She wanted to save her older brother for the kingdom, but seeing how things were progressing there was no chance of that. Watching her older brother Niel's head being sliced off so cleanly Ashley had a weird reaction. Instead of making her feel sad it made Ashley feel a bit amazed. 

She didn't any love for her brothers, so watching them die wasn't affecting her emotionally. Aside from her father and mother, Ashley wasn't that attached to her other family members. Her brothers have always been fighting for the throne, her other mothers don't like her. Aside from those people she didn't have any other family members left since her father killed all of her uncles and aunts even their children were not spared. 

Ashley was already expecting whoever brother wins the throne would either kill her or exile her, or worse they would force her onto some old noble. So, though she was watching her older brother be cut down the only thing Ashley was thinking of was if Niel was gone then there was only Reynold and Iselv left. 

If Reynold was killed then will Iselv take over the Kingdom? Ashley already knew the answer to that question. Iselv wouldn't take over the current kingdom, he would take the land but Reschbeauch would disappear and become something else. She might not like the royal family and the nobles all that much but Ashley loves the Reschbeauch Kingdom, its people, its land, and her father that governs it. 

So she decided that she would everything in her power to try and protect the Reschbeauch Kingdom. She would even discard her pride just to make sure that the Kingdom survives. 

...

Ashley who was watching at a distance started running towards Ren who was about ready to kill Reynold as well. As she was running at full speed towards Ren, some of the soldiers after seeing Prince Niel die started fleeing from the battlefield, while the others simply stood there in shock. When Ren approached the unconscious Reynold, Ashley blocked his path. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you again Sir Ren." Ashley curtsied beside her Rika didn't speak and simply bowed her head. Ren wasn't that surprised to see Ashley and Rika as he was already aware of their presence. 

"Oh, if it isn't the lying princess and her guard... Well, it seems like you're not acting anymore. So what are you doing here? Are you going to fight me as well?" Ren who was about to kill Reynold was now feeling excited again. He showed Ashley the same vicious smile he shows all his opponents.

The moment Ren's bloodl.u.s.t shifted to her, Ashley felt like her body was about to break. Rika who was also able to feel Ren's bloodl.u.s.t was gripping her weapon as tightly as possible afraid that she might let go due to the fear Ren's bloodl.u.s.t inspired. 

Looking at the smiling fighting devil in front of her Ashley was amazed that her brothers were able to fight against such a monster. Just trying to stay conscious in front of such horrific bloodl.u.s.t was already taking all she has. 

When she fought Lara she thought that she could somehow gauge Ren's strength, but that was nothing more than arrogance on her part. This man was more than she could imagine. 

"What are you doing? Come on draw your weapons." 

Hearing Ren's command Ashley shook her head. Though the bloodl.u.s.t coupled with Ren's fearsome mana was making it hard for Ashley to breathe she tried her best to respond. 

"I'm sorry Sir Ren, I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to negotiate for my brother's life and the survival of the Reschbeauch Kingdom." While Ashley was talking she placed all of her weapons on the ground. She then signaled Rika to do the same. Rika hesitated for a bit but then decided that even with a weapon it wasn't much of a difference in the face of Ren's overwhelming power. 

Seeing them lay down their arms made Ren feel a bit of disappointment as he sighed. Once Ren no longer looked at Ashley and Rika as opponents the suffocating bloodl.u.s.t receded. 

"What a bore, if you don't plan to fight then get out of my way." Ren was about to walk towards Reynold but was once again blocked by Ashley and Rika. Ashley then dropped down to her knees and lowered her head. Rika was surprised to see the prideful sword princess do such an act. But the shock was momentary as she understood why the princess was doing this. Rika then proceeded to kneel down as well. 

"Sir Ren please listen to me. I know they were the first to strike but please have mercy." Ashley no longer tried to negotiate with Ren, as it seems like he has no interest in such a thing. The only thing left for her was to try and beg him for forgiveness. 

"Get out of my way... Or else." Ren positioned his scythe so that the blade would be near Ashley's neck. Ashley who could be beheaded by Ren with just a flick of the wrist looked at him with great resolve in her eyes. 

"I will gladly offer up my life to you if you just give my brother and the Reschbeauch Kingdom another chance." 

"You seem to be confused here, you cannot offer me your life since in this situation its already mine to take." Ren was a bit irritated by this charade, but looking at the resolve in Ashley's eyes and sensing her sword will, Ren was also a bit impressed by her. Which is why he didn't really want to kill her. Ren always had a soft spot for strong maidens, it wasn't as prominent when he was a demon, but now that he was human it was different. 

Seeing as she wasn't dead yet Ashley could see that Ren didn't really like to kill her. It was a good thing she got as much information she could from Nezzard regarding Ren. A man who seems to live and breathe for the sake of battle. A man who finds other things that aren't regarding battle to be bothersome. A man who likes beautiful, powerful women. Those were the traits that Nezzard used to describe Ren. Knowing this Ashley used her aura and resolve to entice Ren. Now that she has his attention she needed to say the right words to change his mind.

"I know that you find governing troublesome, and if you take over the Reschbeauch Kingdom then you would be forced to do a lot of work. This will squander your precious time, time that you can use in finding better opponents to fight. So you could take over and do the bothersome work yourself or you could find someone who can do that work for you. If you spare my brother, you can use him to control the Kingdom from the shadows. Unlike my brother Niel, Reynold isn't really that good in scheming so he is easier to control. Not only that, if you want I will gladly offer myself to you as a form of compensation."

After Ashley spoke of the advantages of keeping her brother alive, she hoped that Ren would take the bait. She made this suggestion, based on what Nezzard told her.

"Hmmm, fine then... I will try it your way and see what comes of it."