Imperial Throne

Chapter 94: The Sound of Song

Yam dared not pause for even a moment.

He feared that if he stopped, he would fall unconscious entirely, for his body had already reached its absolute limit.

So, while Dean wasn’t paying attention, he used his longsword to draw a trace of Molly’s true bloodline essence and also took her pair of earrings.

Strictly speaking, it was the two blood-red round stones on Molly’s pendant earrings, these were the only things the longsword reacted to.

But curiously, unlike what he had heard from his father and Akar, these pearl-like stones didn’t automatically attach to the longsword. So Yam could only store them for the time being.

With this, the Demonic Sword now contained three drops of true bloodline essence.

One drop belonged to Burton Kasein, Second-Tier Bloodline, the Gray-Scaled Snake, whose lineage was the Six-Armed Martial Armor Demon Ape.

One drop belonged to Nail, Third-Tier Bloodline, the Wind Serpent, with no lineage.

One drop belonged to Molly Karco, Third-Tier Bloodline, the Bloodthirsty Beast, also with no lineage.

Originally, there had been one drop from Burton’s second uncle as well, but Yam had chosen not to absorb his bloodline power.

Instead, he directly converted it into Blood Energy, which was just enough to activate the power of Nirvana once.

Then he returned to the battlefield where Molly and Nail had initially planned to ambush Baron Ster. As expected, he found a scene of devastation.

But when Yam truly saw Baron Ster’s corpse, he couldn’t hold back his tears.

Baron Ster’s head was missing.

All that remained on the battlefield was the torso of this Lord of the White Mountain Territory, his chest torn open by a gaping wound.

Besides that, Yam also discovered another horrific, bloody battleground: two Bloodline Knights who had been almost completely dismembered.

Looking at this scene, Yam took a deep breath. He first carried Baron Ster’s body on his back, then quickly returned to the site where he had killed Nail and Hans Kasein.

There, he swiftly arranged and reorganized the battlefield. Then, taking the relatively intact body parts of Hans Kasein, he returned to the previous battlefield and staged the scene again, making it as chaotic as possible.

Finally, he took some parts away and even crushed the heads of the two Bloodline Knights.

Only after ensuring the scene didn’t reveal that there were only two corpses did he return once more and descend the mountain with Baron Ster’s body on his back.

Perhaps the misfortunes and tribulations of the Soderbell family had finally come to an end after surviving a brush with death, for this time, Yam soon encountered Roda and a few veteran soldiers on his way down the mountain.

Yet when both sides saw each other, there was not a trace of joy on their faces.

Their eyes fell upon the corpse of Baron Ster that Yam carried on his back, and then they all silently stood to either side, heads bowed.

At that moment, Yam suddenly felt that Baron Ster on his back had become even heavier.

His back bent slightly once more, and he used a bit of force to hoist the Baron’s body higher, then began walking down the path cleared by those standing on both sides.

Each of Yam’s steps was taken only after firmly planting his foot.

As Yam passed, the heads of those standing on both sides bowed even lower.

They gently placed their hands on Baron Ster’s body.

Someone began to cry.

Roda, however, began to hum a song.

“Thank you, our brave lord.”

“We have begun the journey home.”

“The scars are now the honor of this campaign.”

The sound of weeping grew louder.

But more people joined in the chorus.

“Thank you, our fearless lord.”

“The heroes have begun the road to return.”

“The cheers recorded the glory of this campaign.”

Yam too hummed the song of the Tyrella Kingdom.

“Thank you, our lord.”

“We swear to fight for you.”

“You sheltered our return to our homeland.”

In the tranquil night, the sound of the song grew louder.

With the mountain’s echoes, it was as if countless voices were singing along.

The few veteran soldiers who had accompanied Ion and Dean also joined in the chorus.

They sang.

They cried.

They both sang and cried.

“For freedom.”

“For honor.”

“For loyalty.”

“Young soldiers have already left their homeland.”

Dean listened to the song echoing in the wind.

He turned to look back at Eaglehead Mountains, then glanced toward the distant White Mountain City.

Finally, he looked at Ion, who had lost an arm.

A soft sigh escaped his heart once again.

Ion, lying on a stretcher carried by others, slowly closed his eyes. Tears gently flowed out, and his hoarse voice began to rise.

“Fold the banners.”

“Put away the horns.”

“Sheathe the weapons.”

“O fearless heroes, are returning home.”

...

After returning to the foot of the mountain, everyone soon took a rest on the spot.

But Ion’s condition was far from optimistic.

Although he had managed to halt the bleeding through emergency treatment, his other injuries remained dangerous.

If not for the fact that he was a Bloodline User with a body far stronger than an ordinary person’s, even a single infected wound could have been fatal before the next sunrise.

So under Dean’s arrangements, several soldiers quickly lifted Ion and rushed toward White Mountain City.

Thirteen soldiers survived the breakout.

Four of them escorted Ion back to White Mountain City immediately, while another five followed Roda back up the mountain to search for Yam, leaving just four soldiers behind.

These four might not be capable of much else, but they could still handle hard labor and support tasks.

Thus, a bonfire was soon lit at the foot of the mountain, also serving to guide those descending.

Sure enough.

Not long after the bonfire was lit, Yam came down the mountain with Baron Ster’s body on his back.

However, Roda and the others did not follow him down.

“I’ve already ordered a few soldiers to escort your father back to White Mountain City first. His injuries are quite severe and need immediate attention from a physician.”

“Thank you, Knight Commander Dean,” Yam bowed in gratitude.

Dean shook his head and said in a low voice, “It was my failure for not arriving in time. Otherwise... sigh. Let’s send Baron Ster’s body back first. We’ve prepared another stretcher here.”

“Alright.”

Yam slowly crouched down. Several soldiers who had been waiting nearby immediately approached, carefully supporting Baron Ster’s body and placing it onto the other stretcher that had already been prepared.

No one asked where Baron Ster’s head had gone.

Everyone remained silent about it.

As the group departed, only Dean Seath and Yam were left beside the bonfire.

The atmosphere turned momentarily somber.

After a while, Yam finally spoke: “Knight Commander Dean, near Baron Ster’s body, I saw another... battlefield. There were several corpses, severely damaged. I didn’t see any heads, but judging from the remnants of their clothing, they appeared to be of noble status. So... I wanted to ask if there were any other Bloodline Knights besides you who came to support us?”

Hearing Yam’s words, Dean’s expression changed sharply.

“Several? How many exactly?”

“I... I’m not sure, maybe three?” Yam pondered for a moment. “I saw at least three left arms. I met Roda on my way down and asked them to go identify the bodies. If they confirm the corpses aren’t enemies, they’ll gather them along with the others who fell.”

Dean rose with a grim face.

He clearly intended to head up the mountain to check, but upon seeing Yam’s expression, he hesitated again.

As the chief Household Knight of the Kasein Family, and the appointed first Knight Commander of the knight order that the Kasein Family intended to establish, no one other than Marquis Visen had the authority to command him.

Therefore, he naturally understood well that for Marquis Visen, Yam was the truly important target to be protected, after all, following the unexpected fall of Burton, Marquis Visen had become much more cautious in his decisions.

This time, if Monica hadn’t mentioned the matter regarding Yam and Akar, he naturally wouldn’t have rushed over from Eaglehead Territory so quickly.

So even though he knew that those corpses on the mountain were most likely Hans Kasein and two Third-Tier Bloodline Knights secretly sent to raid Eastern Mountain Territory, Dean still didn’t dare to leave Yam’s side rashly. After all, he wasn’t certain whether people from Spring Breeze Territory were still lurking nearby.

As time passed, the anxiety in Dean’s heart grew steadily.

After some time had passed, Dean finally heard new footsteps.

Roda came down the mountain with four soldiers.

Roda carried two corpses on his back, and the other four soldiers each held a makeshift stretcher in pairs. Each stretcher held four corpses, ten in total.

After descending, the group silently laid down the corpses and arranged them properly. Then, the four soldiers picked up the stretchers and headed back up the mountain.

Clearly, there were still the corpses of comrades left unrecovered on the mountain.

At this moment, Yam spoke at an appropriate time. “Those severely damaged corpses, have you confirmed their identities and exact number?”

Roda nodded. “I checked. The corpses were not only severely damaged, but many limbs were also missing. The scene was heavily destroyed, seemingly out of spite. The number should be three. As for their identities…”

Roda hesitated for a moment, then walked up to Dean and handed him a ring.

It was a golden signet ring.

One side of the signet was engraved with the family crest of the Kasein Family: the head of an ape with a pair of sharp fangs.

Engraved inside the ring band was the family motto of the Kasein Family: Faced with my enemy, I shall draw my sword.

Upon seeing this signet ring, Dean finally gave up all hope: the Kasein Family had lost another member.

But at the same time, he also felt relieved.

Because he knew there was now a perfect excuse to postpone the outbreak of a full war with the Fertile Territory: since the Western Wind Territory’s Blood Knight, Molly Karco, had dared to cross the border and kill the Marquis Visen’s second son who had come merely to deliver a warning, then the death of the Fertile Territory’s most promising and potential future powerhouse, who was said to be invincible among Third-Tier Bloodline Users in the Southern Region, at the hands of this Knight Commander’s revenge, was only natural.

After all, it was the Fertile Territory that had broken the agreement first.

Dean picked up the ring and let out a light sigh. “It was Hans... Hans Kasein, Marquis Visen’s second son. Because of the battle in the Red Soil Territory, the Marquis couldn’t immediately send reinforcements to the White Mountain Territory. So he had Lord Hans, who had been stationed in Eaglehead Territory, lead a troop ahead to provide support. But who would’ve thought…”

Ion lowered his head, gaze fixed on the campfire.

His mind was completely blank, and he appeared dazed, almost numb.

“This war has taken too many lives.”

“Indeed,” Dean sighed. “Too many have died.”