The crisp sound of horses' hooves pounded on the bluestone pavement, and the clear sound of bells accompanies the rolling of wheels. A magnificent carriage appeared at the intersection in front of the prison.
The sentries on the wall had already been alerted, and they all poked their heads out, muttering, "Who would come so late?" From the sound of hooves, the well-trained men knew it was a four-horse carriage, and clearly approaching at considerable speed.
In the blink of an eye, the carriage arrived at the gate. Almost simultaneously, two figures appeared outside the gate. They were two burly men clad in light armor, their hands on their sword hilts, and they shouted loudly, "Halt, you intruders!"
As soon as the driver pulled on the reins, the lead horse reared up, and the oncoming carriage came to a steady stop in front of the two armored soldiers. This move immediately demonstrated the driver's skillful technique.
"Immediately announce that Princess Selene Qian has arrived in person!"
After a flurry of activity, the main gate swung open, and officials of all ranks from the imperial prison lined up to greet them. This was extremely rare; for a princess of noble birth to come to the imperial prison in the middle of the night was certainly a surprise to the prison's officials.
A carriage adorned with the royal coat of arms of Fast entered the prison square. The doors opened, and Princess Selene Qian's petite figure flashed out. Before the prison officials could even pay their respects, Princess Selene Qian brandished the imperial edict in her hand and urgently demanded, "Where is the Aurelian Dragon imprisoned? Take me to him immediately!"
Before the people below could answer, a piercing alarm whistle suddenly blared from the high tower. The crowd below paled instantly, looking up to see a series of red lights rapidly rising above the tower. The supervisor, understanding their meaning, anxiously exclaimed, "Something's wrong! There's a situation at Courtyard A!"
"Huh?" Before Princess Selene Qian could understand what he meant, a large number of prison guards rushed to the scene of the incident. Although the incident happened suddenly, there was no chaos at all.
After finding out that the incident occurred at the place where Aurelian Dragon lived, Princess Selene Qian was extremely anxious and hurriedly urged the chief and deputy chiefs of the prison to rush there as well.
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Obsidia Shade unleashed her swordplay, her sword energy seemingly swallowing and spitting out. Although she hadn't actually attacked, the chilling aura emanating from her was already overwhelming the two women who were attacking from the left and right. The sharp energy was like countless piercing needles. The two women, who were charging with their swords, couldn't help but pause. With a sharp cry, they hurriedly brandished their longswords to defend against the murderous aura that seemed to be coming from all directions.
Before Obsidia Shade even drew her sword, she merely assumed a stance, yet the powerful aura emanating from her sword strike was already overwhelming for the two aggressive women. At this moment, another woman standing behind her also drew her sword and joined the fray, her gleaming longsword thrusting forward and pointing towards Obsidia Shade's left front, attempting to deflect Obsidia Shade's sword strike.
Obsidia Shade sneered, her jade wrist turning slightly as she unleashed the second half of her "feigned reluctance" move. As the immense energy contained within her sword surged forth, the three women who rushed forward found it difficult to breathe, making it even harder for them to wield their swords, and their moves became somewhat chaotic.
The sword flew through the air like lightning, its shadow becoming blurred. By the time the blade was visible, Obsidia Shade's sword was already within lethal range. The bone-chilling coldness chilled the woman on the left to the bone, causing her to scream in terror.
The other two women rushed forward frantically, veering sideways into the center gate in an attempt to deflect Obsidia Shade's longsword and rescue their companion from danger.
A flash of cold light, and the sound of two longswords clashing rang out almost simultaneously, sparks flying. A woman with slightly weaker skills felt a burning sensation in her hand, and her longsword flew out of her grasp.
Obsidia Shade actually struck two swords thrusting from opposite directions simultaneously, even knocking one of them away. This skill quickly demoralized the three women who had been aggressively attacking. Fighting such an opponent was like throwing eggs against rocks—there was absolutely no chance of winning. They all involuntarily took a step back.
The four of them clashed in an instant, like a spark from lightning. The outcome was decided the moment they made contact, and no one else could intervene in time.
Seeing this result, the alluring leader couldn't help but shake her head inwardly. An expert's skill was indeed extraordinary; this exquisitely beautiful woman's martial arts prowess surpassed even her own, not to mention the maids she had trained. With such a woman blocking their path, killing Aurelian Dragon would be extremely difficult. However, this woman's progress in martial arts was truly astonishing. It seemed the last time she saw her, she hadn't reached this level. To have progressed so rapidly from this level of skill was simply miraculous.
Unbeknownst to her, even Obsidia Shade couldn't believe she had made such great progress. Her initial plan was simply to deflect the two longswords and repel her opponent, but the result had exceeded her expectations. She realized how much she had improved, and all of this must be thanks to the man behind her. Thinking this, she couldn't help but turn and gaze affectionately at Aurelian Dragon.
It turns out that when Obsidia Shade merged with the still-corrupted Aurelian Dragon, she absorbed a significant amount of demonic essence from the dragon. Because the demonic essence was perfectly compatible with the dark martial arts she practiced, the benefits she received were incredible. She felt her power increase greatly while circulating her energy, but she never imagined the increase would be so substantial.
At this moment, waves of noise came from outside. The four intruding women exchanged glances, knowing what this meant. The guards of the Heavenly Prison had noticed something was wrong, and in a moment, a large number of skilled guards would flood into the courtyard. If they didn't leave now, they would definitely be entangled by those guards, and the consequences were obvious.
The sound of wind breaking through the air rang out one after another in the courtyard, and angry shouts came in very clearly.
"You audacious scoundrel, how dare you break into the prison at night!"
"Come out and surrender immediately, or you will be guilty of the crime of exterminating your entire family!"
The scene was noisy and filled with threats and intimidation. Indeed, this was the first time in all the years the guards had been in the prison that the enemy had invaded their territory. Although they had planned for such an event in their daily drills, a drill was not the same as actual combat. The guards tried their best to execute the pre-designed response plan, but once it was implemented, it deviated from their expectations. As a result, the scene was not exactly chaotic, but it was not orderly either, and some noise was inevitable.
The window shattered with a crash, and pieces of wood flew towards the oncoming prison guards with a sharp whistling sound. The guards quickly used their martial arts skills to shake off the small pieces of wood that were imbued with true energy.
Amidst the cacophony of voices, a woman's beautiful voice clearly reached the ears of the guards.
"Oh no, they've found us! Lady Aureliand, be careful!"
The sound was very soft, but the guards who rushed into the courtyard could hear it clearly. Before they could have any other thoughts, four graceful figures flashed out from the broken window.
"Huh, could it be Aurelian Dragon's beautiful bodyguards? Are they here to rescue him?"
A huge question immediately arose in the minds of all the guards. Though they pondered it, they didn't hesitate. With shouts, the guards quickly surrounded them.
However, the invading women possessed martial arts skills that matched their beautiful figures. Despite suffering a loss against Obsidia Shade, they were still capable of dealing with the guards of the Heavenly Prison. Most importantly, their timing was impeccable. They arrived just as the guards had rushed into the courtyard, having blocked the attack of the small wooden blocks, and were still unsteady on their feet. Moreover, their objective was clear: to make a quick breakout.
When Princess Selene Qian arrived, the four women had already broken out of the encirclement from the other side, and their beautiful figures disappeared one after another into the vast night.
Just as the woman at the very back was about to disappear, she suddenly felt a sharp whooshing sound behind her, and a strong gust of air rushed towards her.
Knowing it was a ranged attack from the enemy behind her, she didn't dare to be careless. She rapidly descended through the air, twisting and turning to the left in a beautiful, fluid, and seamless serpentine movement. She was so satisfied with her perfect performance that when she heard the enemy behind her gasp softly, she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased: "What is a master? Someone like me!"
The thought had barely formed in her mind when her smugness turned to utter horror. Her attempts to escape had been largely ineffective, and the magical attacks were already upon her.
It felt like someone had given her a hard push from behind, causing her to stagger forward. Then, a piercing pain shot through her left shoulder, and she could smell the burning flesh.
"Damn it, it's a fireball!"
She cursed inwardly, but at the same time, she was also secretly alarmed. A fireball spell with such power could not be cast by an ordinary mage; it must have been cast by a high-level mage at least at the level of a strategist. But what she didn't expect was that the attack was not over at all.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two sharp, chilling sounds came from her left and right, giving her no time to dodge.
"This is... Wind Blade Split Body?!"
The thought flashed through her mind as her clothes were mercilessly ripped open, her skin burst open, blood splattering everywhere. Two fierce wind blades struck her waist from the left and right. She only had time to let out half a scream before her circulating inner energy was cut short, scattering blood across the ground. She had been cut in half at the waist by this attack, paying the ultimate price for her momentary carelessness.
The earlier exclamations from the prison guards were in praise of Princess Selene Qian's strength. Although they were also palace guards, they had never had the opportunity to witness the princess's extraordinary magical talent like their comrades who served in Sanssouci Palace . They had always only heard about it, and always thought it was just exaggeration by their comrades. Could a royal princess really possess such high magical attainments? They figured it was probably just praise given to her because of her noble status.
But now they finally witnessed Princess Selene Qian's terrifying power as a Grand Master mage. She was actually unleashing two different magical attacks simultaneously: a fireball spell (a fire magic spell) and a wind blade attack (a wind magic spell). Moreover, the seemingly ordinary fireball spell possessed such immense power in Princess Selene Qian's hands, leaving them utterly astonished. If they were to face such a Grand Master mage, who knew what the outcome would be?
After launching her attack, Princess Selene Qian didn't dwell on her success. Instead, she rushed to the room with its completely shattered window and called out, "Brother Aurelian, Brother Aurelian, are you in there?"
There was no sound or response from inside the room, only the shouts and whistles of the guards in the distance, still chasing the three women who had come uninvited. Princess Selene Qian panicked and jumped in through the window that had no panes left.
"This guy is really lucky!"
Upon hearing Princess Selene Qian's cry, everyone in the arena had the same thought: a noble princess making such a move must have an unmistakable meaning. However, some also recalled the words of the invading enemies as they left—didn't this indicate that Aurelian Dragon and his beautiful bodyguards were about to rescue him from the prison? This was no ordinary event.
Regardless of their motives, the most important thing at this moment was to rush into Aurelian Dragon's room and see what was going on. Just as the dungeon's chief officers, filled with astonishment and uncertainty, were about to enter, they heard a scream from Princess Selene Qian inside the room.
"What is it?!"
Everyone's heart skipped a beat. If anything were to happen to the noble princess inside, no one present would escape having their head chopped off.
With a deafening roar, highly skilled prison guards rushed into the room from all directions, forcefully shaking open the door. Aurelian Dragon's room was instantly filled with people. The room was in disarray, clearly indicating a fierce battle had taken place before their arrival, and both sides appeared to be exceptionally skilled.
To their shock, the room's temporary owner, Aurelian Dragon, was lying face up on the floor, motionless, and they didn't know whether he was dead or alive.
Princess Selene Qian clutched Aurelian Dragon's head with both hands, crying out in alarm, "Brother Aurelian, what's wrong with you?"
A sharp-eyed guard noticed the cause: there was an unusual spot on Aurelian Dragon's head, a bulge. He quickly said, "Your Highness, Lord Aurelian has been knocked unconscious!"
Princess Selene Qian then felt her hands were a little wet and cried out, "Quick, come a few people! His head is bleeding!" Concern clouded her judgment; Princess Selene Qian completely forgot that she possessed the highest level of healing magic, and that such a minor injury should have been a piece of cake for her.
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Watching Princess Selene Qian's carriage drive away from the prison, the prison's stewards couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. What a hectic night it had been! But the good news was that the man who had caused them trouble was gone. Judging from Princess Selene Qian's attitude towards him, this man would become a prince of the Fast Empire sooner or later.
They were truly envious of Aurelian Dragon's luck and circumstances, because no one had ever been released from prison in less than a day, and the person who came to pick him up was none other than the most noble princess of the empire. It was simply a miracle!
What's even more astonishing is that this man, in less than a day, has caused an unprecedented scene of activity in the Heavenly Prison, a place no one has dared to enter before. Four women have invaded this prison. Although they don't understand their identities—whether they've come to rescue Aurelian Dragon or to kill him—this has become a mystery that will forever remain in their hearts. His Majesty's decree has been very clear: release Aurelian Dragon without charge and restore all his rights. Even if they wanted to know, they would have no way of asking.
All they knew was that His Majesty's favor towards this man was indeed unbelievable. It was simply incredible that His Majesty would issue an edict in the middle of the night to release someone who had just been allowed to be imprisoned by His Majesty himself!
Later, a minister in the court who considered himself impartial and incorruptible raised the matter of Aurelian Dragon during a meeting. Andre III replied: I have investigated and found that Aurelian Dragon was not the murderer!
"But all the evidence…" The minister, unwilling to give up, wanted to continue investigating, but Andre III's expression changed and he said, "I also have conclusive evidence. Aurelian Dragon was with my daughter at the time. Shouldn't you summon Princess Selene Qian for questioning?"
What puzzled the ministers even more was that Prince Elnario and Gilmans, who had been the two most capable opponents of the Aurelian Dragon, suddenly put on a show of public-spiritedness and spoke well of the Aurelian Dragon. This left the ministers who wanted to support them feeling powerless.
Aurelian Dragon was, of course, unaware of these things, as he was currently lying comfortably in Princess Selene Qian's carriage, receiving the beautiful princess's services.
Princess Selene Qian gently wiped Aurelian Dragon's face and head with a snow-white silk scarf, asking with heartache, "Who exactly are they? How could they be so heartless!"
Aurelian Dragon was surprised by the rare gentleness shown by this usually willful and beautiful princess. He also smelled the faint fragrance emanating from her delicate body. Upon hearing this, he reached out and touched his still throbbing head, and said with a wry smile, "How would I know who these guys are? Luckily, I cleverly dealt with them, otherwise, by the time you arrived, I would have been dead already!"
"Hmph, if I find out who beat you up like this, I will not let her off easily!" Princess Selene Qian's movements were very gentle, but the hatred in her tone was quite considerable.
"Anyway, they're just those guys who don't like me!" Aurelian Dragon touched the spot where she had been hit, and under Princess Selene Qian's healing magic, there was no trace of anything amiss.
"Does it still hurt here?" Princess Selene Qian asked with concern, while gently rubbing it with her small hand.
Obsidia Shade sneaked into the dungeon at nightfall and hid near Aurelian Dragon, intending to observe his treatment. However, she happened to run into the women and sent a coded message to Aurelian Dragon. It was precisely because Aurelian Dragon knew Obsidia Shade was by his side that he played a joke on the four women.
Although she didn't understand what the Aurelian Dragon wanted, Obsidia Shade faithfully obeyed, slashing the dragon's head hard with the hilt of her sword, because the Aurelian Dragon insisted on making it believable. So when Princess Selene Qian and the others rushed in, the Aurelian Dragon was unconscious, while Obsidia Shade had already vanished into thin air.
If Princess Selene Qian hadn't been discovered, Obsidia Shade wouldn't have left. She knew how powerful this beautiful princess was, and she wasn't confident she could keep her hiding place a secret. Plus, she knew the princess meant no harm to the Aurelian Dragons. To avoid trouble after being discovered, Obsidia Shade simply slipped away.
"We've arrived, let's get off!" Princess Selene Qian said in a rare gentle tone, making Aurelian Dragon feel as if she were in a dream.
"Wait a minute, where is this…" Aurelian Dragon peeked out and realized that this was not Fei Feng Mansion, so she quickly called out to Princess Selene Qian.
"Of course, this is Sanssouci Palace!" Princess Selene Qian said matter-of-factly.
"Ah!" The bewildered man was taken aback. So late at night, Princess Selene Qian had brought him to Sanssouci Palace... Could it be...?
A boundless stream of random thoughts immediately welled up in Aurelian Dragon's mind. Princess Selene Qian noticed the strange expression on his face and asked, "Is something the matter?"
"No! No!" Aurelian Dragon snapped out of her reverie and asked, "Where are we going now?"
"Father wishes to see you!" Princess Selene Qian said, then led the way. "Follow me!"
"Huh!…" Aurelian Dragon was taken aback. Why would Andre III seek him out at this time? With a heart full of doubt and uncertainty, he followed Princess Selene Qian toward the study.