Chapter 73 - What Happened?

Martin, on the other side, didn't know about the fight that was going on in front of the courtroom. He entered inside the boundary wall through a broken gate and rushed on the horse as fast as he could. All the senior soldiers followed behind him as their expressions became serious. They didn't know what was going on, but since the princess had warned them to stop fighting and return, they would listen to her.

It took several minutes for them to reach the court, and as soon as they did, the scene before their eyes made them all freeze. Martin's eyes widened as he watched Rhesus and Prince Heath lying on the ground unconscious.

What was going on? Just how did these two end up in such a condition? His glance swept past the pale faces of the officials and Princess Edda, who was still staring at the king unblinkingly from the courtroom, not willing to walk even a single step outside. Even the soldiers and his chief inside the courtroom were staring outside with pale faces.

Martin darted his eyes back to the king and wounded prince. From what he could remember, the enemy soldiers still hadn't come yet, and they were still fifteen minutes away! Who was it that came before Martin and created such havoc?!

As he was still thinking, his gaze narrowed toward the king's fingers that were still moving. Martin's eyes widened as he got off the horse and dashed toward Rhesus. Whatever had happened could be considered later. For now, his primary focus was to take care of the king and make sure that nothing could harm him.

Although he was thinking like this, the soldiers behind Martin didn't move. The seniors squinted their eyes at the scene and exchanged glances. At a single glance, it could be said that the king and Prince Heath had fought fiercely to the degree that one of them went unconscious and another was on the verge of dying. An ordinary citizen who hadn't witnessed the fight earlier would misunderstand things and go on blaming the king for nothing.

But the experienced soldiers could tell that something was wrong. They could see the footprints of a person other than Lia and Edda who wasn't around anymore. Still, the young and inexperienced guards who still didn't understand anything continued to gossip amongst each other while blaming the king for his brutality.

But at this time, the simple-minded Martin didn't have anything to do with this. His mind was buzzing with only one word: Princess Lia had wanted him to protect the king, but he failed before he could even start! Just what should he do now? Martin really wanted to go back in time and fasten the pace of his horse to reach here sooner.

He crouched on the ground and gently shook the king's shoulders with moistened eyes. "Your Majesty….What happened?"

The king finally opened his eyes, but he couldn't move. He felt as if he were a fish that was forced out of the water, and now he was out of breath. He could only speak one sentence before resting for eternity. His dry lips opened as he said, "Save Prince Heath. Go and find Princess Lia, and follow her to your death. That's all I wish for."

Rhesus was aware of the mistakes he made, and he knew it was too late to apologize to his daughter, whom he had neglected all her life, but at least he could make sure that she lived a pleasant life after he died. Yes, Rhesus was going to die, and he didn't regret it. At the last moment, he had protected his brother from dying a gruesome death, and he knew that the attack on the stomach wasn't deadly. So he could tell that Heath would survive.

That was all he needed to do to make it up to his family. Now he felt like he could face his ancestors in the heavens with pride. At least, he did something to make up for his regretful actions in his youth.

His eyes moistened when he thought of it, especially a familiar face of a young woman who had touched his heart in his youth. It was Prince Bradley's birth mother and his eldest brother's wife. Although he was responsible for her death, he still regretted it. But now, he could face her and his son with pride. He could tell them that he had changed for good.

Martin, who was in a daze after listening to those words, didn't hear anything else from the king. He shook Rhesus's body more than once, but the king didn't speak again. The latter's eyes that had partially opened closed again as if he were sleeping, but Martin knew that those eyes would never open again!

Teardrops finally dropped from his eyes. Why? Why was he so incompetent? When Martin was young, all he wanted to do was writing and reciting poetry. He was also fond of romantic stories and would read them all day long. But when he was forced to join the military, he hated his family, especially the king, for imposing such a rule that told every half-elf to become proficient in martial arts.

But now, when he saw the king dying right before his eyes, his chest felt heavy with emotion. He didn't want to admit to the fact that it was his laziness that had forced them all into such a situation. If only he were powerful enough, he would have saved everyone today.

Not only did he fail to fight against the enemy, but he also couldn't complete the mission that the princess had assigned! What was the use of his life when he couldn't even do such a simple thing?!

Tears continued to fall out of his eyes, but he didn't bother wiping them. The soldiers behind him realized something had happened before they swiftly got off their horses and walked toward the king's dead body. With just a glance, it was clear that Rhesus had died. The man's lips were dry, and skin tone was pale. A pool of blood was already beneath the man's mouth as if the king had just puked all the blood from his body. Sword was thrown on the side that had lost the touch of Qi.

No one said a thing. They all stood there silently as a gust of wind passed through them that made their clothes flutter. All the officials inside the court still hadn't woken up from the trance after witnessing a deadly fight between three people. The black-cloaked man was against two people and still couldn't be overcome. If Prince Heath hadn't used the forbidden attack back then, they were afraid that none of them would have stayed alive!