Chapter: 49. Raid
Almost everyone was looking up at the sky.
Whether it was the experts who had sensed something, or the confused nobles, it was clear that the sky was… truly abnormal.
When they arrived to attend the banquet today, they had seen a clear sky, with the moon and stars visible even late at night.
But now, coming out of the hall, the sky was murky.
Dark clouds surged, and lightning flickered between the clouds, casting an ominous sense of oppression over the area between the castle and the church.
In fact, some nobles had already considered running away… But what could they do? The king was still sitting on the other side. If they fled at this moment, their titles and estates would probably be cleared out by the next day.
Moreover… there was nowhere to run.
There were heroes, members of the Light Family, and the Kingdom Knight Corps here. Was there anywhere in the kingdom safer than this?
At this moment, Xiya and Miss Shaya had also hurried to the outside of the hall side by side.
Looking at the turbulent dark clouds, Xialet anxiously shielded Xue Fei behind her.
“Have they not arrived yet?”
“They’re already here,” Princess Xue Fei remarked, observing the dark clouds, becoming more certain of the enemy’s identity. “I’m familiar with this magic; our guess was right, it is indeed the Six-Winged Demons. But first, Xiya, I need to confirm something. Do you remember what I told you before?”
“Uh… you told me… that… it’s so embarrassing to say it aloud.”
“Hey…! Again?! Why do you always lose your confidence at critical moments?! Just spit it out!”
Xiya stammered, her face slightly reddened.
After some inner struggle, she chose to be direct!
“Xue Fei, you said… you said you would choose to stay in the kingdom… and rely on your sister’s help… right?”
“What are you thinking?! I meant it earlier! Much earlier than that!”
Princess Xue Fei rarely spoke so seriously. She tapped the Hero’s head and angrily kicked Xiya’s heel, reiterating her previous warning.
“I meant! If facing the Six-Winged Demon directly, never think about fighting, and definitely don’t think that one person can win! Have you forgotten all this? Is your head full of food?!”
“Ugh… the only one whose head is full of food is you, Xue Fei. I remember what you said…”
Xiya covered her head where she was struck, but there was no sign of compliance with Xue Fei’s warning in her words.
“But Xue Fei, isn’t it inconvenient for you to act right now? That changes the situation. If necessary later, I might ‘temporarily’ forget your advice, okay?”
“Huh?! But not listening to Shaya will lead to regret right in front of you!”
“Hmph… I don’t care! I already said it! If someone tries to take Xue Fei, my sister will help you drive them away. Just because they are Six-Winged doesn’t mean I’ll go back on my word. I always keep my promises.”
Xue Fei was left speechless!
Xiya’s sad brain was actually quick enough to come up with a rebuttal today!
But the timing of her enlightenment was really inappropriate!
After several attempts to dissuade her, Xue Fei ultimately sighed in frustration and turned her head away.
—That could be seen as an acknowledgment.
“Really… who did you learn this stubbornness from? It’s infuriating!”
“I learned my stubbornness from you, Xue Fei… It’s definitely infuriating, and I completely agree with that.”
“……”
“And even if there is real danger, Xue Fei will act to help me at the critical moment, right?”
“Of course.”
Sometimes the two words “of course” were more eloquent than a thousand responses.
Xiya chuckled lightly, pressing her palm on Miss Shaya’s puffed cheeks playfully.
Then she raised her gaze to the sky once more.
The lightning continued to surge, and the darkness felt increasingly tangible.
This stalemate would be broken.
The head of the Light family, Ecklight, who was guarding the king, stepped forward after ensuring that his kin were well secured.
He lifted his broad sword toward the sky.
At the same time, Ecklight’s deep and powerful voice, enhanced by some magic, resonated throughout the area.
“Would Your Excellency please reveal yourself? Since that previous attack was just a greeting, now that you have arrived, why continue to hide?”
“Hehehe…”
“……”
An astonishing scene unfolded.
A somewhat aged laughter echoed down from between the clouds.
As a lightning bolt struck the ground nearby, scorching the trees, a figure gradually emerged from the sky.
—It was a thin, frail, elderly man with white hair, appearing decrepit and weak, dressed in dark red robes, as if he could be sent back to the afterlife with a single blow.
This was the first reaction of the nobles.
Even Ecklight, who had just witnessed the power of that magical attack, was momentarily taken aback by the appearance of the newcomer.
This was… the one who caused the chaos?
But the next second, what happened told everyone that one should never judge a person by their appearance.
The old man’s body was surrounded by dark currents, and in the blink of an eye, six pitch-black wings erupted, shining with dark light!
Though the black wings were only about two meters on either side of the old man, the power of that magic felt like it could block out the sky and moon.
“The… Six-Winged Demons! It’s the Six-Winged Demons!!”
Some nobles shouted out what kind of being hovered above them.
People were not afraid of those six wings, but rather what they represented behind the Six-Winged Demon.
—Destruction, slaughter, fear, despair.
They had already tried to flee; they didn’t want titles or wealth, just to survive! But the Kingdom Knight Corps had tightly surrounded them, making escape impossible.
“I am Jeffrey,” the elderly Demon floated in mid-air, slightly nodding, but not truly looking at anyone on the ground. “Hehe… it’s rare for a human to wish to greet an old man like me. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard such words…”
His self-indulgent entrance made the king furrow his brows.
The arrival of the Six-Winged Demons in the capital was a violation of high-level race restrictions…
After all, the king was still the king.
He instructed those beside him to prepare the amplification crystal; before conflicts broke out, he needed to first confirm if it was possible to reach a mutual agreement through dialogue, to make him retract voluntarily.
Meanwhile, the Six-Wing named Jeffrey didn’t mind—he was observing around, seemingly looking for something.
Princess Xue Fei, blocked by Xiya, was still muttering to herself.
“What’s this… so it’s Uncle Jeffrey?”
“Uncle… he looks more like a grandparent, doesn’t he? You know him, Xue Fei?”
“Kind of. He was the one who taught me fishing when I was little. His fishing skills are terrible; he could never catch fish but would always boast about how ‘even if there are no fish on the line, there are still fish in my heart.’ Just because you think there are fish doesn’t mean you can catch them! It’s such nonsense. When I called him out on it, he got mad and almost flipped the lake over at his age. Isn’t that absurd?”
Well.
Now Xiya probably understood why Xue Fei’s fishing skills were also so poor and why she got easily frustrated.
It turns out they were taught by the same person!
However, Princess Xue Fei’s observations didn’t stop at the seemingly busy Jeffrey.
Behind him, there was a moment of magical energy surging…
This was fully captured by Xue Fei’s Visual Magic.
“He didn’t come alone.”
“Could it be… the Demon Army is also here?”
“No, besides him, there’s another one. I don’t know why, but they’re still lurking and haven’t revealed themselves.”
【Magic Surge】 is a special magic that demons of the Four Wings and above can use, allowing them to conceal their presence completely for a certain period.
Just now, Xue Fei’s Visual Magic clearly saw the traces of the magic surge activation not far behind Jeffrey.
And others would definitely not be able to see it; the magic’s completion was very high, well concealed, as if it had been prepared in advance.
This meant that besides Uncle Jeffrey…
—There was another demon present.
And at the same time, observing something in the shadows.
Tsk… who could that be, and what could their purpose be?
Speaking of which, why did Uncle Jeffrey suddenly come to the capital? Are you here to fish too?!
Regardless of Princess Xue Fei’s colorful thoughts.
King Celtic’s amplification crystal was already quickly set up in the open space.
