Decisive Battle Severing the Road of Life II

Prince Nolan's gaze was so direct that Lady Min could no longer maintain her act. Especially with the threat in his words, Lady Min was forced to respond.

When Prince Nolan said he could wipe out Liancastle within three days, it wasn't just talk. With his current power, he could absolutely do it, and Lady Min didn't dare take that risk.

Strike a snake at its seven-inch mark and it dies. Prince Nolan was not surprised at all by Lady Min's change in attitude. He gave a cold laugh, meeting her gaze—once the closest of kin, now only murderous intent and icy indifference between them.

"Saint-Min Empress, you're just as cowardly and afraid of death as ever." Prince Nolan bit out each word with clarity, his sharp eyes full of contempt and disdain.

Serena Feng had no doubt—if Lady Min kept provoking him, Prince Nolan would absolutely be capable of killing his own mother.

Lady Min was both angry and frustrated, but at this point she had no choice but to accept it. She shot Prince Nolan a cold glare and ordered her attendants to untie her ropes.

Once safely on the ground, Lady Min took a handkerchief from her subordinate, wiped the dirt from her face, and dropped her damsel-in-distress act. With regal bearing, she strode toward the main seat.

The man pretending to be the Ghost King immediately stood up and yielded the seat to Lady Min. She paused, and attendants rushed forward to wipe down the chair and replace the cushion. Only then did Lady Min sit down in full imperial splendor.

"So pretentious," Serena couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She admitted she'd never liked Lady Min. Thinking of the pain Lady Min had brought to Prince Nolan, her dislike instantly escalated to outright disgust.

Of course, as just one background player, Lady Min didn't care about Serena's reaction. In Lady Min's eyes, Serena was as good as dead—why bother worrying about someone about to die?

Seated in her chair, Lady Min looked arrogantly at Prince Nolan, Serena, and Sean, no trace left of her former frail, aggrieved act. For a moment, Serena almost doubted she was facing the same person.

Serena knew she wasn't Lady Min's match, so she quietly stood beside Prince Nolan and kept her mouth shut. But Lady Min wasn't about to let her off—her very first words were aimed straight at Serena.

"Miss Feng, do you want to know the secret I mentioned to you that day?" She brought up old matters, but Serena didn't care. Prince Nolan, however, visibly flinched. Before Lady Min could continue, he cut in: "Release Vincent Su, and I'll spare Liancastle."

"What now? My son, are you scared?" Lady Min's eyes swept over him with a piercing edge. "You won't even admit to the name your mother gave you. Are you really so concerned about this woman?"

Lady Min looked at Prince Nolan but pointed at Serena. "Protecting her like this—aren't you afraid of hurting your mother's feelings?"

"Shut up." Prince Nolan said coldly, drawing wild laughter from Lady Min.

"What does she mean?" Serena turned her head to look at Prince Nolan.

This mother and son’s conversation was getting stranger and stranger.

"Tsk tsk... Eldest Miss of the Phoenixfield Clan, I really pity you. If your father knew you were with a descendant of the Lan Clan, he'd probably crawl out of his grave from rage."

Lady Min looked at Serena as if she were an idiot. If Serena had been less emotionally resilient, she might have loudly demanded an explanation right then and there.

But Serena’s resilience was top-notch. Even though she was full of confusion inside, she showed little on her face. After asking her question, she fell silent, leaving Lady Min disappointed.

At that moment, Prince Nolan simply stood there, saying nothing. He knew Lady Min didn't dare expose his true identity.

If she dared to reveal his identity, he would not hesitate to destroy Liancastle.

After all that, Lady Min still hadn't provoked Serena into questioning further, nor had she triggered Prince Nolan's anger. She was dissatisfied, but she also didn't dare go too far—if she truly pushed Nolan over the edge and he wiped out Liancastle, she'd be in serious trouble.

"Jiu..." Lady Min began. Prince Nolan thought she’d call him 'Jiuqing,' but she stopped herself. "If you don't have the Heaven-Son Sword, then hand Serena over to me. Vincent Su and her—I'll give them both back to you. What do you say?"

Lady Min made another offer—if Prince Nolan agreed, everything could be resolved peacefully today. But Nolan's answer was: "Keep dreaming."

"Do you really want to tear things apart with your mother?" Prince Nolan's defiance made Lady Min very unhappy. "I've already given you plenty of chances."

"Mother? Do you even deserve that title?" Prince Nolan saw that Lady Min didn't dare reveal his identity, so he knew exactly what she feared. He stepped forward and offered, "Release Vincent Su, and I'll let go of everything that's happened. From now on, we go our separate ways."

"Vincent Su? And what about the other one—you're just going to ignore her?" Lady Min raised her eyebrows, pointedly looking at Serena. Prince Nolan's face darkened; he stepped forward again, putting himself between Serena and danger.

"The other one you like, I'll leave for you. Release Vincent Su, and I'll spare Liancastle." After learning Bella Qin had also fallen into Lady Min's hands, Prince Nolan guessed Vincent's trouble must have Storm Cloud Bu's fingerprints all over it.

Prince Nolan's attitude toward Bella Qin had gone from indifference to outright disgust. Unlike Vincent Su, Nolan blamed Bella Qin for everything—if not for her, Storm Cloud Bu would never have betrayed him.

"That's your idea of sincerity? You expect me to let them go for such a paltry benefit, after I went to all the trouble of capturing them?" Lady Min suddenly softened, acting as if negotiation was possible. This immediately put Serena and Prince Nolan on alert.

"Watch out—she's up to something," Serena couldn't help but warn. She'd already suffered at Lady Min's hands several times before.

"Mm." Prince Nolan felt both pleased and ashamed at how much he relied on Serena.

"What do you really want?" Prince Nolan asked openly. If there were terms to negotiate, all the better.

"The Nine Provinces Treasure Map." Lady Min was just as blunt. "Don't tell me you don't know what that is—I've already given you two fragments."

Hidden above on the cliff, the Ghost King watched coldly as things unfolded. His eyes lit up at the mention of the Nine Provinces Treasure Map and the Heaven-Son Sword. Clearly, this Former Dynasty Princess's son was no ordinary regent. The Ghost King’s eyes gleamed, itching to make a move...

"So what if I do?" This time, Prince Nolan didn't deny it—there was no point.

"Hand over all the map fragments you have. I know you’re holding quite a few." Lady Min tried again to bait Prince Nolan.

Lady Min didn’t care whether she could trick Prince Nolan into talking. All she needed was for the Ghost King lurking in the shadows to know that Prince Nolan had the Nine Provinces Treasure Map—and maybe even the Heaven-Son Sword.

She was borrowing a knife to kill—she’d chosen this blade carefully, waiting for just this moment to put it to use.

"Without all nine map fragments, it's useless to you anyway." Prince Nolan was calm as ever. While Lady Min wasn’t paying attention, he quietly moved a step closer to her.

Meanwhile, Serena and Sean, silent and unobtrusive in the background, had already moved into position—ready to block attacks from either side when Prince Nolan made his move to rescue the hostages...