Chapter 680: Night Rescue Operation

'What does this all mean?' Leon shortly frowned in thought. 

Looking back on his family's ancestry, he basically knew nothing about his ancestors after the time of Aldrich the Hero King and before his grandpa, the previous king that went missing.

Considering the long-standing one heir tradition, it was impossible for each generation of the Crawford royal family's firstborn to be male every time.

Some princesses must have been born in those 512 years. 

'Don't tell me that one of my great grandmas teleported to the Dark Continent and started a family with the Battle God's descendants, or maybe even the Battle God himself?' 

Leon was startled by the thought. 

It seemed like an insane and ridiculous idea, but not impossible. Otherwise, it could not explain how there was a familial connection between their blood. 

After pondering hard for a moment, Leon found no definite answer. 

It was an endless stream of discoveries with no seeming end; one mystery unraveled, and another unfolds.

'It seems like I can only inquire into this matter further from the party in question themselves. For now, I need to focus on treating this kid.'

After Leon decided, he continued his treatment.

…

…

…

Wildlands, Desolate Netherbird Tribe's border

Nethergrass city. 

At that moment, various fires burned with pillars of smoke rising like tendrils in the dark of the night city skies, causing chaos and alarm among the local residents as they rushed to smother out the flames.

"You!" the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince singled out a servant with hasty footsteps from within his palace before he queried with a strong tone, "What is going on outside?"

"Someone or group started several fires in the city, Your Highness!" the male servant answered hurriedly to the best of his knowledge. 

Pah!

The male servant was quickly slammed to the ground before the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince stomped on the male servant irritatedly in anger, "Don't you think I can't see that? I'm asking who! Who is causing trouble in my city?!"

"I don't know, Your Highness! Please spare me—Ahhh! Have mercy, Your Highness!" the male servant cried as several of his bones were crushed. 

Bam!

The male servant's body slid along the ground after being kicked in the gut before the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince shot his gaze at the other servants in the area. 

"Who can tell me who is causing trouble in my city?!" the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's frustrated voice resounded throughout the palace. 

However, the servants kept their heads lowered in silence, not daring to look the second prince in the eye directly, afraid that the second prince will vent his anger on them next, verbally and physically.

Alas, their silence fueled the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's anger even more as he thundered, "Who?!"

"We don't know, Your Highness!" the servants answered simultaneously with a startled jump before their bodies continued to tremble with fear. 

The Desolate Netherbird Second Prince glared at them before he howled, "Then what are you all standing around for?! Go and find out who!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" 

The servants immediately scurried with haste as if their lives depended on it. 

Although they were in the middle doing exactly just that until they were stopped by the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince, not a single soul among them dared to refute him. 

Given the second prince's nature, they might just forfeit their lives doing so.

Suddenly, a bulky black-winged male subordinate half a body taller than the second prince appeared beside him with heavy footsteps before kneeling on one knee.

Thud.

The ground shook ever slightly from his sheer weight before the bulky black-winged subordinate suggested, "If you want, I can go find the troublemakers and bring their heads back for you, Your Highness."

"No!" the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince rejected firmly before he stated, "You are the strongest subordinate under me! If those troublemakers outside are willing to cause trouble in my city, they are either utter fools or extremely confident in going against me!"

"Perhaps, the fire is only a distraction for them to sneak into my palace and assassinate me after I send you out! As such, your duty is to stick close and protect my safety from these potential assassins!"

"Understood, Your Highness!" the bulky black-winged subordinated complied, but he silently sighed in his heart at the second prince's intense reaction. 

Evidently, the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince was extremely scared of death, a trauma developed from past attempts.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, Lord Jorn and his fellow elite warriors snuck into the prison and silently killed all the guards—even the warden was not spared. 

It did not take long for them to locate the right prison cell holding their clan leader and elders hostage. 

They had spent half a day studying the city and only waited until they had the cover of the night before making their move. 

Given the severity of the mission, they had to be swift and silent. 

After seeing the terrible states of the clan leader, the clan leader's wife, and the rest of the elders, Lord Jorn and the elite warriors' expression turned grim. 

"The Little Princess had made the right call. If we had waited until we were confident in tackling the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's forces head-on, we would have picked up clan leader and elders' corpses instead," Lord Jorn stated with a heavy heart in low whispers. 

Shortly after the door to the prison cells was unlocked, Lord Jorn immediately ordered, "Take out the Fasting Pills we've brought and feed them to the elders. Give them something to replenish their energy, then dress their wounds."

"Yes, Lord Jorn!"

At the same time, Lord Jorn quickly took out his own Fasting Pills and carefully fed them to Clan Leader Lidoran and the clan leader's wife, Lilianna. 

Feeling the movements and touches, Clan Leader Lidoran and Lady Lilianna opened their eyes weakly before opening their mouths, but no words came out.

"Don't speak and conserve your energy, Clan Leader Lidoran, Lady Lilianna," Lord Jorn uttered softly before saying, "We will escort you both back to the clan safely in a short moment, I promise. Sorry, we couldn't come sooner."

"Unfortunately, I couldn't allow the Little Princess to embark on such a dangerous mission. Otherwise, she would also be here with Clan Leader Lidoran and Lady Lilianna right now."

Shortly after Lidoran and Lilianna heard his words, their eyes became swollen red. 

It seems their daughter has returned.