The gates of the King Family Estate stood wide open, revealing Kent King, standing with his arms crossed, an amused smirk playing on his lips.
Princess Chi Kai, seated atop her white-golden spirit beast, gazed at him with an expression of disgust and superiority.
The thousands of onlookers lining the streets whispered eagerly, their anticipation thick in the air.
Chi Kai dismounted gracefully, her royal robes swaying elegantly as she approached Kent.
“Kent King, do you have even a single ounce of intelligence in that thick skull of yours?” Her voice rang across the courtyard.
Kent lazily stretched his arms. “Oh? The great princess comes all this way to deliver insults? How thoughtful.”
Chi Kai’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re a fool. An insolent, brainless child who doesn’t know when to bow his head.”
Kent chuckled, shaking his head. “And you’re a spoiled brat who still thinks her word holds weight over me.”
The crowd gasped at his audacity.
Chi Kai’s expression darkened. “You dare talk back to a princess of the Empire? You, a murderer, an exiled criminal who should have died long ago?!”
Kent’s smirk faded slightly.
“You came here with a group of armed men just to throw petty insults?” He sighed, tilting his head. “Listen, I’ll give you one chance, Princess. Turn around and go back before I change my mind about letting you leave unharmed.”
The crowd roared in excitement.
“He’s threatening her!”
“The nerve of that bastard!”
“Does he want to die?!”
Chi Kai laughed mockingly, her eyes filled with pure contempt.
“Kent King, you truly don’t understand your place. Do you think that just because you can swing a sword, you’re someone important? You and your pathetic King Family are nothing but a pile of waste! The Emperor was foolish to even let your family exist this long!”
Silence.
A dangerous chill filled the air.
Kent’s expression turned to stone, his eyes burning with a killing intent that sent shivers through the crowd.
Without warning—
BOOM!
Kent vanished in a blur.
The next moment, his hand was wrapped around Chi Kai’s delicate throat.
Her eyes widened in shock as she was lifted off the ground.
“You talk too much.” Kent’s voice was cold as ice.
The royal soldiers reacted instantly, drawing their weapons.
“Let go of the princess!”
Kent snorted. “You wanted to humiliate me publicly, right? Let me return the favor!”
With a sudden flick, he tossed Chi Kai through the air, sending her crashing against a thick tree trunk.
The ground trembled as she hit the bark with a painful gasp.
“Attack! Kill Kent King!” the army captain roared.
The royal soldiers charged at once, their weapons glowing with enchanted energy, forming a massive assault formation.
Kent stood his ground, cracking his knuckles.
“Let’s see what the Emperor’s lapdogs are capable of.”
SWOOSH!
The first wave of attacks came.
Fire-elemental blades shot toward Kent, burning the air with deadly heat.
Kent moved like a phantom, dodging the fiery slashes with precise footwork, his Mirage Movement Technique allowing him to evade even the fastest strikes.
He countered with a sweeping kick, knocking three soldiers backward.
But the next wave of soldiers were already activating their treasure weapons.
A massive golden shield was placed at the frontline, while dozens of soldiers behind it infused mana into a massive war cannon.
The cannon’s barrel glowed, gathering a devastating energy blast.
“Kent King! Die!” the commander roared.
The blast fired, exploding forward with blinding force.
Kent barely managed to react, raising his arms as the shockwave blasted him through the air, sending him crashing into a stone pillar.
“Hahaha! He’s finished!”
But the celebration was too soon.
As the smoke cleared, Kent was still standing, though blood dripped from his lips.
“Not bad.” He smirked, cracking his neck. “But you’ll need more than that.”
The soldiers hesitated, their faces filled with disbelief.
“Impossible! No one survives a direct hit from the War Cannon!”
Kent wiped the blood from his mouth.
“You guys fight well in groups… but you’re forgetting one thing.”
His golden eyes flashed.
“I don’t fight fair either.”
BOOM!
Before the soldiers could react, Kent vanished—this time appearing right in the middle of their formation.
He grabbed a soldier by the throat and swung him like a hammer, knocking five men away.
With his free hand, he grabbed another warrior’s sword and snapped it like a twig.
One by one, soldiers fell back, overwhelmed by Kent’s raw strength.
Then—
BOOM!
A powerful mana wave exploded against Kent’s back.
The Army General, who had been hiding among the crowd, revealed himself, his hand still glowing from casting a high-damage spell.
Kent staggered forward, blood pouring from his back wound.
“It’s over! That attack was enough to kill a High Earth Wizard!”
The crowd cheered, believing the battle was won.
But then—
Kent lifted his head, his breath heavy, but his eyes still burning with fury.
He was still alive.
His body flickered, and suddenly—
He vanished again.
Before anyone could react—
Kent reappeared right next to Princess Chi Kai, grabbing her wrist in an iron grip.
“Wha—?!” She gasped, completely caught off guard.
Kent tightened his grip.
“You caused all of this, Princess. So guess what? You’re coming with me.”
With a powerful leap, Kent soared into the air, dragging Princess Chi Kai with him.
The soldiers scrambled to chase after them, but Kent was too fast, his Mirage Movement Technique allowing him to disappear into the dense forest surrounding the King Family estate.
“Find them!” the Army General roared, but Kent and the Princess had already vanished into the shadows.
As Chi Kai struggled in his grasp, Kent grinned coldly.
“You wanted to humiliate me in public? Let’s see how you like being my hostage.”
With that, he darted deeper into the forest, leaving behind a city in absolute chaos.
The soldiers rushed forward and tried all means to keep up with Kent. But soon, Kent’s dragon took them away like a flash. Slowly, the princess’s cried died-down.