Heroes, Hurry and Call for Reinforcements

Prince Damien of Southlyn suddenly ordered his men to strike ruthlessly. The martial heroes were caught off guard, forced to watch helplessly as bright red blood spurted from their companions' bodies and limbs flew through the air right before their eyes...

Anyone in the center of the battle circle who wasn't truly skilled was chopped down like vegetables.

The sudden carnage provoked the hot-blooded martial artists—someone shouted angrily, "Bastards! You were hiding your true strength all along. You're clearly demonic scum!"

"Heh heh... So what if we were hiding our strength? Did you really think this was all we could do?" A man with half his face missing stepped forward, grinning wickedly. "Without real ability, how could we dare to rule the martial world?"

His words made his companions burst out laughing. These freaks, born with deformities, treated killing and fighting as entertainment and didn't care about human life at all.

"How could anyone ask such a stupid question?" Not only did those freaks laugh—even Serena Feng couldn't help but sneer.

When lives are on the line, who cares about gentlemanly conduct? The other side is obviously ambitious—why would they ever reveal all their cards?

"These people won't last much longer." Prince Nolan noticed that several of the weaker fighters were already slowing down—their movements showed clear signs of suppressed inner force.

Sure enough, not long after Prince Nolan spoke, someone cried out, "This is bad—my inner force is gone!"

"We've been hit—the inner force won't circulate!" The sharper ones reacted quickly, withdrawing their inner force and switching to pure physical techniques.

"You demon! You actually used poison!" Fortress Lord Ling's face changed dramatically—he could clearly feel his own inner force being suppressed by something.

"You call me a demon, so why shouldn't I use poison?" By now, Prince Damien's eyes were bloodshot from killing. Though he answered Fortress Lord Ling, his gaze never left Prince Nolan.

No matter how many people there were, in Prince Damien's eyes, none of their lives compared to Prince Nolan's.

He wanted Prince Nolan dead. He wanted to ruin all of Prince Nolan's careful plans.

"When did you poison us?" Fortress Lord Ling pressed a hand to his chest, trying to suppress the surging blood and energy.

"Of course it was..." Prince Damien had just begun to answer when Serena cut him off: "The first day—the scent on Princess Royal Helena of Lyndaria, right?"

Such a strong fragrance couldn't have been just to target Prince Nolan—it must have been meant to mask the scent of the drug.

"Serena, you're as clever as ever. Too bad you figured it out too late." Blood dripped from Prince Damien's sword as he moved closer to Serena and Prince Nolan.

"I—I don't know anything..." Princess Royal Helena was truly panicking now. She turned to run, but halfway down the slope realized she had no way to get off the mountain.

"Don't know? Who would believe that, Your Highness." Serena Feng raised her crossbow and aimed at Princess Royal Helena. "Your Highness, you'd better tell the truth. Who is this man, and what are your real intentions?"

If Princess Royal Helena revealed Prince Damien's identity, he wouldn't be able to deny it, and no one could claim Prince Nolan was framing him.

"I told you, I don't know anything." Princess Royal Helena wasn't stupid—seeing the situation, she knew Prince Damien had the advantage. There was no way she'd betray him now.

"If you don't know, then why are you running?" Serena shot a look at Greenshine, who nodded and went over to Lily Li and the other young women. No one knew what Greenshine said to them, but suddenly they all surged toward Princess Royal Helena.

"Miss Feng is right—there's definitely something wrong with Princess Royal Helena. She brought this man up the mountain, and she set the drug. If she truly knew nothing, that would be bizarre." A young woman in goose-yellow clothes drew her blade and pressed it to Helena's throat.

"Whatever the case, detain her first. If it comes to it, we can send the princess back to Lyndaria—Lyndaria will have to give us an explanation." Lily Li spoke up, and her admirers immediately echoed her, helping to tie up Princess Royal Helena.

"Let go of me! I'm a princess of Lyndaria—how dare you!" Helena's face was pale as she shrieked, all bluster and no backbone. But the women showed no mercy, handling her roughly.

"Idiot, Dam—" Princess Royal Helena started to shout, then quickly changed her words: "Why aren't you calling someone to rescue me?"

"Still pretending you're not in league with him?" The women sneered, leaving Princess Royal Helena with no way to defend herself.

She truly didn't know Prince Damien's plan—she'd been tricked too.

"I came to Skyvault Fortress to find Serena. Lyndaria never meddles in jianghu affairs." Princess Royal Helena gritted her teeth. If Lyndaria found out she'd caused trouble abroad, her status at home would drop even lower.

Prince Damien didn't care about Princess Royal Helena's fate. To him, her only use was getting him up the mountain and letting him set ambushes on Skyvault. Now that she'd outlived her value, he couldn't be bothered about what happened to the princess.

The fighting continued, and injuries mounted. With their inner force suppressed, the crowd was no match for the freaks. Serena spoke briefly to Prince Nolan, then moved forward to check on the wounded without waiting for his reply.

Prince Damien's eyelid twitched, afraid Serena would ruin his plans again. He barked, "Move faster! If you can take prisoners, do it—otherwise, kill them all!" If Serena concocted an antidote, the pressure on his side would only increase.

"Got it!" The freaks grew even more frenzied at the sight of blood. Though wounded, they seemed tireless, eyes gleaming as they killed with wild excitement.

"Fortress Lord Ling, we can't hold out much longer—send a distress signal and get help from below!" The Moonvault Palace Lord saw the tide turning and wanted to retreat.

"That's right, Fortress Lord Ling! We know Skyvault Fortress has a powerful guard unit led by your second son—send for him to reinforce us!" The fighters battled and retreated, soon forced into a tight circle by Prince Damien's forces, with Fortress Lord Ling and Linden Ling inside.

At the mention of Ling Mo, Linden Ling's expression soured. Spotting Serena nearby, he brightened and said, "No need to worry, gentlemen. Reinforcements from Skyvault Fortress would take three or four hours to arrive—we can't last that long. Miss Feng is a master physician; once she makes an antidote, this rabble won't stand a chance against you."

Linden Ling's words sounded good—he gave everyone a perfect excuse for their failure. But...

"How do you expect Miss Feng to find an antidote so quickly?" Storm Cloud Bu wiped blood from his face and glared at Linden Ling. "Young Fortress Lord, be realistic. Summon your brother to help us deal with the crisis now."

"There's no way reinforcements will arrive in time." Linden Ling would never allow Ling Mo to become the hero who saved everyone.

"You think you can call for reinforcements? Keep dreaming!" Prince Damien laughed wildly. "I've already had my men douse the cliffs with oil. However many come, I'll burn them all!"

"Oil? Are you insane?" Despair flashed in the crowd's eyes—Prince Damien had cut off their escape.

Prince Nolan and Serena were both stunned, glancing at each other. If the Thunderbombs exploded, a fire could break out—if the cliffs caught flame, getting down the mountain would become nearly impossible...