Standing before Hiren, Xia Jin thought for a moment and then smiled. “I can let you go back. Go tell Count Amelo that the Princess of the kingdom has returned, and she will personally take back the kingdom that exiled her. Amelo, will he choose to submit to Xia Jin, or continue his loyalty to this kingdom? Now is the time to make a choice.”
Hearing this, Hiren and the soldiers were all deeply shaken.
The next moment, he dropped his weapon and knelt on one knee. “Princess... Your Highness.”
Seeing their commander like this, the ordinary soldiers naturally knelt on the ground one after another.
Having just experienced a frantic slaughter, the soldiers, who were at their wits’ end, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Because of this rare moment of relief, some even had tears in their eyes.
Who doesn't want to live?
Dying at the hands of these magic beasts was an unavoidable fate.
But now, the appearance of the Princess brought hope instead, causing the resolve of these soldiers, who were prepared to fight to the death, to waver.
“There is no need to bow to me. Go back and tell your lord.”
With a wave of Xia Jin's hand, the entire swarm suddenly retreated like a tide.
Of course, as they left, they took the corpses on the ground with them.
Turning around, Xia Jin prepared to leave with the several elves who were still somewhat in shock.
To be honest, people like Yan Yu had never seen a battle of this scale.
Previously, when they were shooting arrows at the enemy’s mage unit from beyond visual range, they only saw fragments of enemy resistance.
But looking at the entire battlefield stretching for several kilometers, with blood drenched corpses everywhere, the impact of the scene made these elven girls, who had little experience, feel an unspeakable cruelty.
This was true war!
Seeing Xia Jin about to leave, Hiren plucked up his courage and asked, “Your Highness, were you... really exiled?”
“Yes. The core of the kingdom has been hollowed out. I merely wish to take back the country that belongs to us from those outsiders.”
Xia Jin left behind these words and slowly disappeared from sight.
...
The scene remained in a long silence.
After an unknown amount of time, whispers began to rise among the soldiers.
Hiren was dazed for a long time, then suddenly stood up and asked the warrior beside him, “Do you hate the Princess?”
This question left many people stunned.
Hate her?
It was really hard to say.
They originally thought the enemy was magic beasts, but now they found it was the high and mighty Princess.
She looked so young, at most fifteen or sixteen years old, yet she led such a terrifying legion to slaughter them.
From an enemy's perspective, they should hate her.
But now...
Everyone's feelings were complicated.
To say the least, most of them were Amelo's subordinates. While they were loyal to Amelo, they also held great loyalty toward the kingdom.
Based on the kingdom's long standing propaganda, Princess Xia Jin's status in this country was, in a sense, a spiritual symbol. Even when people talked, they would proudly tell foreigners, “You have no idea; our country's little princess is the true reincarnation of the Goddess of Beauty. Not only is she kind hearted, but she also possesses beauty that even immortals would envy.”
Under such circumstances, if news of the Princess's exile suddenly spread, most people would likely find it hard to accept... or rather, they wouldn't believe it.
Currently, such rumors had not yet spread to most civilian areas. But within the circles of lords and the military, this information had already begun to circulate.
As a Count, Amelo also knew a lot about what was happening in the kingdom's capital. In past conversations, he had already told Hiren such news and said things like, “This kingdom is no longer what it used to be.”
Thinking of this, Hiren took a deep breath and said to everyone, “Whether you hate her or not, you have no choice. You can only choose to pledge loyalty to one side: either the Princess or the nobles currently in the capital. In truth, I don't know what happened in the palace, why the Princess was exiled, or what these magic beasts she leads are. But regardless, everyone must make a choice.”
“How can we choose?” The adjutant immediately shook his head with a bitter smile. “Let's follow the Count. We are his men; whatever he says goes.”
“Right. The Count must be having a bigger headache than us. After this battle, the territory is basically finished. Let him worry about such things,” a warrior immediately followed up.
“Mhm.” Hiren nodded. “Then let's head back and report everything to the Count.”
...
The remaining thousand defeated soldiers left the scene.
Over half a day later, these warriors returned to Tate and reported the entire situation through Hiren.
Amelo sat in his chair. After hearing everything, he frowned.
After sitting in silence for a long time, he muttered to himself, “In other words, after being exiled to the forest, the Princess gained the support of magic beasts? No... that's unlikely. A magic beast lord wouldn't hand over military power to a human, nor would they use such a small amount of force to interfere with the rule of the human world. I'm afraid there's a deeper reason.”
“Could it be the elven race?” Hiren asked.
“Forget about the elves. That race is even more arrogant. The kingdom's interior is indeed controlled by outsiders now, but for me, if I rashly stand by an exiled princess and even use so-called magic beasts to fight... I'm afraid some people would have even more reason to oppose me.” Amelo patted his chair, caught in a dilemma.
This wasn't a question of who to be loyal to, but a question of picking a side.
Xia Jin's magic beasts were strong, but what she had to face was, after all, a massive kingdom with a vast ruling range and terrifying strength.
But if he didn't stand on her side, he would definitely be the first to bear the brunt of it.
Rate on N.U.
