The effect of the Ethereal Form on Broken finally ended, and his body returned to normal. The silver energy that had enveloped him disappeared, revealing him without body armor or pants armor. Realizing his state, he walked slowly behind Polly, trying to hide himself as he was only in his underwear, especially since the Royal Princess and her Royal Troops were present.
“Look at him! That’s the Player Killer maniac who goes around naked attacking people without any armor on. He’s a total psycho!” The man with the greatsword couldn’t stop hurling accusations at Broken, desperately trying to protect himself.
Broken defended himself, “I challenge you to show your levels, and I’ll show mine. Then everyone will see who’s lying!”
“The Spirit Beast has a high level. He uses that stupid Spirit Beast to kill other players.” They kept trying to corner Broken.
The Royal Troops ran and surrounded Broken and the five Player Killers kneeling on the ground while Princess Alora continued to assess the situation.
Two of the Royal Troops pointed their spears at Broken, who was only in his underwear. “Put on some clothes, fool.”
“Give me your armor, then,” Broken replied.
The Royal Troops tried to force Broken to kneel as well.
“I want to hear more first; don’t corner anyone,” Princess Alora spoke. She directed her attention to Polly, who was standing protectively in front of Broken in her larger form.
“A Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit Beast,” she murmured softly to Polly. “Can you tell me what actually happened?”
“My master was the first one to be attacked; we were only defending ourselves,” Polly, the fox spirit beast, explained, still in a defensive stance.
Alora, being an elf with a close connection to spirits, trusted the purity of the spirit’s soul and believed their words over the players’. Especially since the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit Beast had historical ties with the elven race.
Alora then recalled an ancient song often sung by her tribe in the past. It was also a song her mother used to sing.
“Hear ye, O Princess, the wisdom of the ancient elven seers,”
“Foretold through ages, as the stars align and whisper in the twilight.
“There shall come a soul, blessed by the deities themselves,”
“Bearing a divine grace, untouched and unchallenged by any foe.”
“This being, whose presence is trailed by majestic spirits,”
“Wreathed in an aura of ethereal splendor and unparalleled might.” freeweɓnovel.cm
“They shall walk among us, a beacon of hope and deliverance,”
“Bringing salvation to the elven kind, in our darkest hour.”
This song was actually a prophecy, foretelling the destruction and subsequent salvation of her elf tribe. Though she had left her elf tribe long ago because she was now the crowned Princess of Dissidia Kingdom, she had never forgotten this prophecy and visited her tribe at least once a year.
The prophecy seemed to align with the player standing before her. He clearly possessed divine skills granted by the deities, and the majestic spirit that followed him confirmed it. This meeting was surely not a coincidence.
She needed to talk to him and gain more clarity about him. She had a feeling that he could be someone of great importance.
After considering it for some time, Alora finally made a decision. “I am certain this Spirit Beast is telling the truth. One person with poor armor and a bad weapon could not have possibly attacked six people with much higher levels.”
The player killers looked panicked after hearing Princess Alora’s judgment.
“But, Your Highness… we are truly innocent,” they pleaded.
“Explain it later at the trial,” she replied.
“Arrest those five players,” Princess Alora finally decreed.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the knights responded, moving to apprehend the player killers.
“Wait, what are you doing? Are you stupid? This is absurd! We are the victims; why are we being arrested?”
“How dare you call Princess Alora’s decision absurd!” the knights snapped, dragging the protesting players away.
Broken finally breathed a sigh of relief once the player killers were apprehended. He admired Princess Alora’s logical decision-making. She deserved to be a commander in battle; her judgment was commendable.
He knew he had to thank the Princess, but he realized he was only wearing underwear. He couldn’t imagine having a conversation with the Princess in this condition. He needed to find a way to leave quickly since he had been proven innocent.
“Your Highness, what should we do with this player? He is not using any armor. Allow us to do something about it,” one of the knights suggested.
Hearing this, Broken thought quickly. If he were captured and imprisoned by the knights, he wouldn’t be able to log out of the game. He needed to log out immediately because Lily was surely waiting for dinner.
Then, something unexpected happened. Broken heard Lily’s voice calling him from outside the game. She seemed to have finished cooking and was trying to wake him from the game.
Not only that, Lily continued with her favorite trick. She managed to do something that left him completely unable to control his laughter. She tickled him in his stomach, the most sensitive spot. He couldn’t hold it in and fell to his knees, trying to stifle his laughter.
“Please, Lily,” he muttered to himself. “I can’t handle this.”
Despite his efforts, Broken couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. He was determined not to make a sound in front of Princess Alora, afraid she might think he was mocking the royal family.
“Mr. Player, Broken, thank you for cooperating with the kingdom. I believe you deserve a reward. Would you be willing to have some tea? I have something I wish to discuss with you,” Princess Alora said, walking slowly towards Broken, who was kneeling on the ground.
“Please, don’t kneel. I don’t deserve it. Please stand up,” she said.
Broken struggled to stifle his laughter and desperately searched for a way to escape from Alora’s presence.
“Your Highness, Princess Alora, thank you for trusting my explanation. I must go now,” Broken said, then promptly logged out of the game.
Princess Alora walked slowly to the spot where Broken had logged out.
“Why did he seem so afraid? Is he worried about his real identity being revealed? Clearly, he is not just anyone. To possess a Spirit Beast as majestic as that and to have the Ethereal Form skill, which is a gift from a deity, his level must be high. Yet he tries to appear humble with low-level armor and secretly assists the kingdom in hunting down those player killers,” she mused.
She then turned to the knights. “Set up camp in this area. I will wait for that player to log back in here.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the knights responded.