The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 264: Absolute Power II

"Soleia!"

Soleia’s eyelids felt incredibly heavy, as though someone was forcibly holding them down. She inhaled deeply, only to find that it was difficult to do so. Her lungs felt as though an elephant was sitting on her chest, and no matter how much she gasped and writhed for air, nothing quite seemed to satisfy her need.

Instead of responding to her name, her lips parted. A weak, trembling gasp escaped her throat, and her eyelids quivered but made no signs of opening.

"Soleia, please. Can you hear me? Soleia!"

This time, she was able to crack one eyelid a tad bit open. Her vision was blurry at best, but she could still barely make out the figure of Orion, with his fiery red hair and concerned blue eyes, crouched over her.

It was then she registered that she was no longer on the cold floor, but wrapped tightly in Orion’s safe arms.

Seeing she was finally responding to her name, Orion let out a shaky breath of relief. At the same time, Soleia tried to lift her hand. She trembled, her fingers shaking uncontrollably as she reached for Orion’s face, but she had no strength to bring it up completely. It stopped in the middle of the air before falling back down into her lap.

At the same time, Orion’s eyes went to the ring that she wore on her ring finger. He frowned, immediately recognizing the trinket as he reached for it. This was the ring Soleia wore previously, the very same that Rafael had been tracking her with.

With his eyes widening in realization, Orion turned back to Soleia. She could only weakly stare back, her lips moving slightly, but no words coming out.

Orion’s fingers pinched the ring tightly, attempting to pull the ring off Soleia’s finger so that perhaps Rafael might be alerted. However, she quickly cried out in pain, and Orion halted at once. The ring seemed to be bound to her flesh. Prying it off wasn’t an option to alert Rafael.

King Recaldo’s elated cackle resonated across the hall. With one swipe of his hand, blood was instantly drained from the orifices of the soldiers stationed in the room. They barely had the time to yell in pain before they dropped to the floor, their bodies dried and shriveled up like prunes left in the sun.

There were about twenty men present, and all twenty died in the blink of an eye. Their blood mixed together and rose into the air to form a giant axe, which Recaldo then used to smite the wall into two. The structure cracked immediately, rubble and dust flying everywhere as Orion quickly shielded Soleia with his own body.

"I have never felt this... alive..." Recaldo muttered to himself amidst maniacal laughter.

Orion winced as he shielded his face, tucking Soleia’s body into his embrace as much as possible. The shockwave of King Recaldo’s blood axe shattered wall after wall, knocking them down as though they were dominoes.

As a human, his physical strength would never have allowed such an impressive feat. But when he used his blood magic, King Recaldo could exceed his human limitations― that was what made it difficult for Orion to easily escape, other than the fact that he had to consider Soleia’s safety.

But this...

This was the sort of strength that even Orion needed a ton of adrenaline to pull off, boosted by his jade stone. Even then, King Recaldo didn’t even seem like he was breaking a sweat.

However, whatever glorious power Soleia had given him was quickly depleted. Without constant contact, the boost couldn’t last, and Recaldo learned it the hard way.

His eyes went wide with horror as the blood axe he was controlling suddenly refused to move to his command. It distorted in shape for a couple of seconds before completely losing its shape, splattering onto the ground, and dyeing the surrounding surviving walls crimson.

Likewise, Recaldo lowered to the ground, stumbling a little as he landed. His veins stood out against his natural skin tone, the green streaks practically throbbing due to how he had strained himself. Red had started to seep into his sclera as well.

He gritted his teeth and concentrated on the puddle of blood, groaning with exertion. Finally, the pool of blood regained its shape and formed a strong whip.

Recaldo turned sharply, his eyes scanning the sea of debris. When his gaze landed on Soleia, his eyes narrowed.

He needed a stronger boost.

"Hand her over, Elsher," King Recaldo said, his voice booming as he took a step forward. "And I’ll let you live."

Orion clenched his jaw. He said nothing, but made sure Soleia was even further hidden from Recaldo’s view than before. His actions caused King Recaldo’s eyelid to twitch in irritation.

"If you insist on being so difficult," Recaldo said, "then force it shall be."

With a battle cry, Recaldo slammed his hand down, and the whip followed. Orion’s eyes widened. He had a split second to drop Soleia on the floor safely before coming forward, the jade piece in his pocket pulsing as he caught the blood whip head on.

The force of the impact caused a shockwave to tear through the palace, shattering several other chunks of the building. Screams echoed in the background, and bodies fell from the ceiling due to the collapsed structure.

Orion’s feet dug into the floor, cracking the tiles beneath him as he tried to stabilize his footing. Beads of perspiration gathered across his forehead as he strained himself, a pained groan escaping his throat.

King Recaldo didn’t have it any better. He could feel the weaknesses in his magical power. The enhancements that Soleia provided were weakening, and it pulsed between strong and weak every couple of seconds. If Orion Elsher had the stamina, Recaldo wouldn’t be able to match. The longer they fought, the more he would be at a disadvantage.

As such, King Recaldo’s nose wrinkled in determination.

"I have given you enough warnings," Recaldo said.

Then, the blood whip sharpened into a blade in an instant and dug straight into Orion’s palms.