Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 423: Curious Windbane

The blade stopped just a hair’s breadth away from Taranis’s neck.

Tommy gritted his teeth and tried to push it further, but it did not budge in the slightest.

"Why won’t it move down?" Tommy muttered, veins bulging across his arms as he tried to force the blade down with both hands.

Yet it remained firm, as if an invisible wall was stopping him.

"Oya~ what are you trying to do with our Prince?" a playful male voice came from behind Tommy.

He snapped his head back, only to find a handsome man with neck-length mint-colored hair sitting cross-legged on a pile of dried leaves. His face carried a faint smile, and his narrowed emerald eyes were fixed on Tommy.

"B-Barbatos El Windbane..." Tommy murmured, recognizing the figure.

"I asked you a question, knight of the empire," Barbatos said, the smile unwavering on his face. "What were you trying to do to our Prince?"

"Shit... why would one of the Sect Leaders of the Hundred Sky Mountains come here?" Tommy muttered inwardly, beads of sweat trickling down his temple. "He must be protecting Taranis while keeping himself hidden. He will definitely kill me for attempting to assassinate their Prince."

Gulping hard, Tommy stammered, his sword still pointed at Taranis, "D-don’t move or I will k-kill him."

"Oho~ Aren’t you a brave one to threaten me?" Barbatos said, rising to his feet.

"I-I told you not to move!" Tommy shouted. "I-I will really kill him!"

"Alright, kill him," Barbatos said, stepping forward.

"H-huh?"

"Kill him," Barbatos repeated, his smile slowly fading, his voice turning deep.

"I said, kill him."

Shivers ran down Tommy’s spine. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and, with all his might, shoved the blade downward.

The blade snapped in the middle as the tip refused to move even a fraction from its position.

"Im-impo—"

Before he could finish his word, he felt a gust of wind brush past him. Countless thin lines appeared all over his body. In the next moment, blood seeped from those lines, and his body collapsed to the ground, sliced into countless pieces.

"How long are you going to stare?" Barbatos asked, waving his hand toward a tree.

A sharp wind blade formed with the motion of his hand, cleaving the tree in two. Behind it, Jason was revealed, hiding while holding his breath with both hands.

He had come to stop Tommy, but when he arrived, what he witnessed was Barbatos walking toward Tommy and ordering him to kill Taranis.

The next moment, he saw Tommy’s body cut apart like an onion on a chopping board.

From his waist, Jason unsheathed his sword with trembling hands, preparing himself to face Barbatos, even though he knew he would not survive a single move.

"You must be here to stop your foolish comrade," Barbatos said, the smile reappearing on his face. "What will you do now that I have killed him?"

"H-he went against my orders and received what he deserved," Jason replied. "We are only here to take the corpses of our fallen comrades back. We are not here to fight, and I know I do not stand a chance against you. However..."

Taking a deep breath, he declared, "But if you intend to attack my knights, I will fight you, even if it costs me my—"

"Get lost," Barbatos said, turning his attention toward Taranis.

"Eh...?"

"What? Do you want to fight me instead?"

"Ab-absolutely not! B-but why would you let me go? Aren’t we your enemies? Taking down as many of us as possible should be beneficial for you."

"Hah, you are just one ant out of thousands. Killing you would not change anything," Barbatos said with a shrug. "But if you really want to—"

"Thank you for sparing us!" Jason said with a deep bow before bolting away.

"Why did you let him go?" Taranis asked once Jason had left.

"You woke up, Your Highness?" Barbatos said with mild surprise, sitting beside him.

"Who could sleep while you were causing such a ruckus?" Taranis replied coldly, slowly opening his tired golden eyes. "Nonetheless, my question remains the same."

"Because he did not pose any threat to us," Barbatos responded. "Killing him would not have changed the outcome of the war. I would have only accumulated negative karma."

Taranis did not reply. He pushed himself into a sitting position, took out a hair ribbon from his inventory, and tied his disheveled hair into a ponytail.

"Fascinating..." Barbatos murmured, his emerald eyes filled with curiosity as he stared at Taranis.

Ignoring his gaze, Taranis rose to his feet and began walking.

"Your Highness, I am thoroughly impressed and shocked," Barbatos said, quickly catching up to him. "You just eliminated the mightiest knight of the Azure Sun Empire along with their infamous Elite Knights."

"I did not do it to impress you," Taranis replied. "Besides, Rhaegar was not the mightiest. He was even weaker than eighteen years ago. The Dukes are far stronger than him."

"Indeed they are, Your Highness. But the influence he carried was second only to Kharos. Once news of his death reaches the empire’s army, their morale will completely shatter."

Taranis did not respond. After a brief silence, he asked, "Has Father reached the fortress?"

"Yes, and His Majesty is being treated by Lady Sylvaris," Barbatos informed. "He is currently resting in his chamber."

Taranis gave a slight nod before ordering, "Explain our current standing in the war."

Barbatos explained the situation and how the empire’s army had been forced to retreat.

"The losses of empire’s army are fewer than I expected," Taranis said. "The next attack is going to be troublesome."

Taranis’s concern was not unfounded. The only reason the Banes had managed to push the empire’s army back was because of the Elemental Arrays and the Mirror Detonation Mandola. The method to cast those arrays had been provided by Ume, which Taranis had passed on to Tartaglia, as he was the only one with the talent in spells and magic craftsmanship among the Bane leaders.

However, the Elemental Arrays had already been used, and recasting them was not feasible, as they required the Soulforce of Eternal Sages of each respective element to charge them.

The Sect Master could recharge them, but doing so would consume a massive amount of Soulforce, making it highly inefficient.

Additionally, the Mirror Detonation Mandola could not unleash its full potential because Tartaglia’s realm and understanding of the array were insufficient to activate one of the Seven Great Arrays.

Kharos, with his sharp intellect, must have already realized the weaknesses in the array and would likely be preparing a plan to destroy it.

Once that happened, the Banes’ army would be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the empire’s soldiers.

"We need to proceed with the next plan," Taranis declared, bolting out of the forest at lightning speed.