Chapter 430: Knight's Honor

"The princess' life?! Your majesty, you have nothing else to bargain for! Just surrender yourself! Accept that this is the end for Lioness."

The king was so weak he could barely stand, stumbling over himself as he tried to stay on his feet. Beside him, Gwen held him tight, trying to prop him upright. 

He looked into her eyes, his expression as helpless as his shaky hands that grabbed hers. "I am sorry daughter, but we have lost…"

"Father... I…" The princess was so overcome with emotion she could barely choke out the words to respond. With glassy eyes, she suddenly straightened her composure and grasped the king's shoulders tightly. "We haven't, father! I am still here. Your knights are still here!"

At this moment, there were over three hundred knights accumulated in front of the gate, completely covering the front of the Lioness castle yard, chanting aggressively and demanding the king to stand down. Upon seeing this, the fact so many of his own men decided to betray their kingdom hurt the king more than his declining health did. 

He then looked towards the 50 knights who were still standing with him. Yvain and some of the young knights as they drew their swords from their sheaths, bracing themselves for the upcoming attacks.

Once more, Fantumar raised his hand to halt them momentarily. Again, he tried to convince the men not to join the fight. 

"You fools!" He yelled, brows furrowed. "There is no honor in death! There is no shame in laying down your weapons to live another day!"

"Cih!"

A young knight spat on the ground by Fantumar's feet. The knight was Marc, one of the princess' new knights that had joined the rest of the group to protect the kingdom. 

"We are the protectors of the realm..." Marc started to cite the knight's oath and as he spoke, the knight standing next to him began to follow suit. Then the next knight followed and the next, until the entire group was chanting the oath in unison. 

"We are slayers of evil. We will always be brave and upright. Speak the truth even if it leads to our death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. This is our oath!"

Hearing this, Fantumar only became more annoyed. A vein on his forehead twitched as he gritted his teeth. 

"Richard!" He roared indignantly. "Order your knights to stand down! Or they will all die right now!"

With a weak, creaking voice, the king began to answer him slowly. "Fantumar, they are here by choice and I will not order them to relinquish their honor… It is simply something you will never understand."

The king then turned towards Gwen, expression solemn.  He caressed his daughter's face delicately, smiling slightly before pulling his sword from the sheath resting on his hip. He drew it slowly, his movements were stunted and clearly tinged with pain. He raised the blade, pointing it skywards.

"My brave knights of the Lioness kingdom... I order you to FIGHT! Don't let your …"

Shhhhttt!! 

An arrow stabbed the king clean through his chest.

"Nooooo!!!" The wail that emanated from Gwen's throat echoed throughout the yard, full of despair as she hunched over the body of her wounded father.

It was the Dread Knight who had fired the shot, standing behind the group of knights, having gone completely unnoticed. He then drew his sword swiftly and began to call his men to battle. 

"Attack!!!" He screamed. 

Yvain quickly led his group of knights to go against the Dread Knight, who was standing tall as he looked down on the horde of men, who were sent to fight him.

"Protect the King!" Dont let them pass!"

Clank!! Clank!! 

With this, the fight had finally broken out; it was, after all, an inevitable occurrence. The two sides clashed into one another in a violent frenzy, the loud grating of metal reverberating all throughout. 

Meanwhile, Gwen was cradling her father desperately in her hands, still screaming in shock as a pool of blood gushed through the chain mail that protected his chest.

Marc and Lucas quickly jumped in and carried the king back inside. They laid the king gently down on the floor next to his throne and hurried to find something that would stop the bleeding.

Gwen could only put her tiny, trembling hands to stop the blood that was continuously coming out of the king's chest, fruitlessly attempting to halt the bleeding. 

The sound of the fight, weapons clashing and screaming was drawing closer and closer as more of the Lioness knights eventually began to step back inside the castle, overwhelmed by the enemy forces.

"Form a line!" Yvain shouted, trying to block their opponents from coming in.

Clank! Clank!

One by one, the Lioness knights fell as there were just too many of them. Within just a few short minutes only two dozen knights were left fighting in front of the thrones while Fantumar's knights just kept on filing in. A hundred of them had already entered the palace hall.

"Knights of Lioness, this is our last stand!!" shouted sir Yvain. 

The princess could see that her knights were dying, but there was really not much she could do. Her hands were grasped on the king's chest tightly, almost like if she let go, her father would die.

The king tried his best to talk, choking out words as droplets of blood began to trail out of his mouth. "Leave... Me... Daughter, go..."

Tears ran down her cheeks. All she could do was weep helplessly. She cried… And she cried. Unconsciously, she began to whimper out a desperate prayer for help. 

"Help... Help... Anyone... Help."

Once again, the image of a young man's figure appeared in her mind. How she wished he was here right now. 

As if her prayer had been answered, a harsh wind suddenly blew a few steps away from her. A black line materialized out of thin air, almost as if the space in front of her had been cut out. The line slowly turned, forming a dark circle, and from the void out walked a young man. 

It was him, he has finally come.