Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 858 - 167: Heart of Silver

"Who dares to kill me? Who dares to kill me!"

The Eldest Prince, with bloodshot eyes and the noble sword he kept waving in his hands, indeed had a somewhat intimidating aura, causing the impassioned prisoners to calm down.

Why did they follow the hero?

Was it to declare war on the Royal Family or to burn this city to ashes?

Most of them did not have such noble awareness. They just wanted to seize this possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, pinning their hopes on the hero, praying that he might indeed lead everyone to carve a bloody path out of the prison.

As for what happened afterward, the vast majority hadn't thought it through.

But if they were to kill the Empire's Eldest Prince here, the nature of things would change, plunging them into a death match with the Empire. Waiting for them outside the prison would be the Imperial Army, and in a fury, the Royal Family might deploy the Golden Fleet.

"Maybe... we should use him as a hostage."

Soon, a prisoner spoke up.

"As long as the Prince is in our hands, the Royal Family won't dare to act rashly against us."

This opened a line of thought for everyone, and they started brainstorming. This prison uprising was undoubtedly successful. Not only did they break through the guards' defenses, but they also captured the Empire's Eldest Prince alive. They didn't believe any promises from the Empire's nobility but could use the Eldest Prince to escape the Imperial Capital.

After escaping, they would naturally go their separate ways, and whether they could evade the Empire's pursuit depended on their own abilities.

As the Demon King, Meiliya would not take any nonsense from the Eldest Prince. She flashed in front of him, ignoring the blade he kept swinging, and kicked his knee hard. His manic shouting turned into a painful cry, and the Eldest Prince fell awkwardly to the ground, his face making intimate contact with the cold floor.

Still unsatisfied, Meiliya didn't give the Eldest Prince a chance to continue cursing. She slammed her foot on his back, forcing all his threats and curses back down to muffled groans.

The Eldest Prince silently listened to the conversations of the prison guards. Despite the intense frustration in his heart, he quieted down.

If he followed these traitors' suggestions, he could leave this prison alive, and by then, the Forbidden Guard would surely rescue him.

This time, he would personally command the Golden Fleet to reduce all the rebels' hiding spots to scorched earth.

After a heated discussion, everyone's eyes turned in unison towards Solan.

Meiliya did the same.

She was curious to see what Solan would choose.

If it were the past, that justice-filled hero, no matter what sins the other party had committed, as long as they cried bitterly in front of him, claiming remorse, he would choose to forgive them.

This was the part of Solan that she disliked the most.

In a world like this, his sense of justice and kindness always seemed extremely hypocritical.

If he wanted to burn this city to ashes, he needed more than words; he had to make a decision, even if it could bring destruction to those around him and himself.

"Your Highness, at this point, do you feel remorse for yourself or even for the Royal Family's actions?"

Solan asked.

He looked down at the Eldest Prince, trembling uncontrollably, stomped under Meiliya's foot.

This was a situation the Imperial Royal Family had never experienced, but it was life for most people in the Silver Radiance Empire. To survive, they abandoned dignity and thought. If needed, they would grovel before those nobles, begging for forgiveness and mercy.

It was clear the Eldest Prince was unfamiliar with such a situation.

After a long silence, he squeezed out a barely perceptible "Hmm."

"Then, are you willing to admit the Royal Family's crimes in front of the Imperial People and clear the names of those wrongfully imprisoned?"

"... I understand."

Their conversation left Meiliya half-exasperated.

She never imagined that after experiencing so many upheavals and witnessing the darkness of the Silver Radiance Empire, Solan still had not made any progress.

Their conversation continued.

"More importantly, can you restore Lord Balmon and even the entire Violet Commune's innocence, giving them a just evaluation?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman who was urging the doctors paused for a moment, giving Solan a meaningful look.

"... Understood."

They all knew the Royal Family's promises were not worth trusting. Once the Eldest Prince was rescued, they would face reckoning—just like how Henry VI once dealt with the Violet Commune.

"Grandma, Mr. Balmon is in a weak state; he needs more professional treatment,"

Solan glanced at the unconscious Balmon on the bed and said, "Your Highness, I hope you will keep your promise."

At his signal, two prisoners supported the Eldest Prince by the shoulders.

His knees shattered by Meiliya's kick, he could only walk with someone's aid.

After a conversation with Solan, the Eldest Prince's tense heart relaxed a bit.

Indeed, he almost forgot, Solan was the hero they had painstakingly chosen, an ambassador of justice and kindness, and the stupidest person in this world. Now even he had to reassess Solan's level of stupidity; even at this point, Solan still fantasized about a "happy ending" to this matter.

That was probably Solan's long-held ideal.