Seeing that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, Baron Doyle, who was being held hostage, screamed in pain.
"Wait! We can still talk … "
But the enraged Anker was in no mood to listen to pleas. He grabbed the old baron's neck and choked the latter's words.
"I've had enough of your family's viciousness and hypocrisy! Doyle! "
The hostage-taker bellowed.
"Regardless of gender or age!"
Behind Thales, the hesitant Doyle's eyes widened and his arms trembled.
Procca had no choice but to rush forward and help Glover hold him down.
Despite being the captain, Mallos remained silent and only sized up the hostage-taker with a cold gaze.
The old baron's breathing became visibly labored and his face quickly flushed red, eliciting a scream from the baroness.
"Ah! You cold-blooded bastard! You dare touch my man, I swear, I'll … "
Seeing that the situation was dire, Count Godwin hurriedly gestured for the ladies to hold the baroness down and pull her back into the crowd to prevent her from further provoking the hostage-taker.
Fear and worry spread. The guests began to discuss among themselves again, and it was the guards who managed to maintain order.
"You! Doyle's son! "
Anker's hair stood on end. He was furious as he pointed his sword at Doyle on the steps.
"Don't hide behind a woman anymore!"
"Get down here!"
Thales looked at the crazed Anker from afar with a heavy heart.
That man. He's desperate.
Thales said silently.
Hysterical.
All for a duel.
But he was just a pawn: his existence was to complete a small step in someone's chess game.
Thales felt even more sorrowful at the thought.
The guards separating the crowd from the assassin tensed up, but Anker seemed to retain his last shred of rationality. He did not kill, nor did he draw his sword hastily.
He only glared at Doyle.
"We'll settle this! Like a man! "
"Son of a b * tch —" Doyle instinctively wanted to charge down but was stopped by the well-prepared Procca and Glover.
"Let go of me!"
"At least, she gained some advantage. People's perception has been shaken." Vogel ignored Doyle's loss of composure. He looked at the crowd around him and frowned.
"If we kill him now, maybe …"
"No." Mallos stared at Anker and shook his head.
"Our audience is not just in this hall, but the entire kingdom. They are as stupid as ever and only care about the result."
"This chess game is still unsolved."
The Go game.
Thales stared at the situation in the field, which had not only not been alleviated, but had even worsened. He was mentally and physically exhausted, and he felt incredibly bitter.
In the distance, Zayen, Koshder, Val and the others were still silently watching the situation in the field. They had no intention of intervening.
Lady Eleanor, Lozano, Adrian, Patterson, Stone, and the other guests from the Seven Jadestar Attendants family seemed to feel the same way. They locked their gazes on the prince and waited for his reaction.
"Then …"
Vogel frowned and leaned toward Doyle.
"Have you thought it through? Vanguard Doyle? "
Vogel repeated Mallos' words in a low voice.
"Sacrifice the pawn."
When he heard the vice-captain's words, Doyle shuddered slightly, and his emotions changed.
"Duel, then die."
Vogel said calmly, like an emotionless machine.
Doyle's angry struggle lessened.
Doyle stared blankly at his father, who was being held hostage.
With a last glimmer of hope, he turned to Thales and Mallos as if asking for help.
But the prince only pursed his lips and said nothing.
What could he do?
Tell Doyle not to move, and let Anker kill his father?
Let Doyle fight a duel, and then deliberately die by his opponent's sword?
What else could he do other than "sacrifice the pawn"?
Think, think!
At the side, Mallos watched the prince's twitching eyebrows and remained silent.
"Now, you are the only one who can save your father and resolve this stalemate," Vogel said coldly in Doyle's ear.
"Realize this early."
Doyle turned back stiffly, his gaze filled with despair.
"Duel, die …"
He stared in the direction of Anker and the old baron, but his eyes were dazed. He kept muttering,
"Duel, die, duel, die, duel, die …"
Thales turned his head away, unable to bear it. He forced himself to focus and think of a way out.
Or should he just ignore it, and order the guards to kill the hostage-taker in front of him, once and for all?
As for the aftermath, the aftermath …
Forget it, as long as he gets through this unbearable hardship and pain, who cares about the aftermath?
Let his father clean up the mess?
No, I can't …
Thales' mind was in a mess.
Glover could not bear to see his colleague like this. He pressed down on Doyle's shoulder from behind and said sternly,
"Doyle, pull yourself together."
But Doyle subconsciously shook off his hand.
"As long, as long as I die in the duel," Doyle said absentmindedly,
"Father … can be saved? The problem will be solved? "
Thales could not bear it anymore, but just as he was about to speak, Mallos suddenly said,
"It's not that simple."
The guards looked at him in unison.
The watchman's gaze was still fixed on Anker, whose face was contorted.
"From just now until now, this Anker's gaze has always been unwavering in the face of death.
"I think he probably has the same goal as you."
Mallos calmly stated his conclusion to Doyle at a moderate pace.
"He also wants to die in your hands in the duel."
Doyle's dazed gaze suddenly shifted.
Thales frowned and looked at Anker.
"Yes, that's the only way," Vogel said gloomily.
"To bring the greatest benefits."
Mallos nodded.
"See, as their pawn, he's the same."
He looked at Doyle with a profound gaze.
"Sacrifice the pawn."
The watchman glanced at Thales again.
"General."
Thales closed his eyes.
Sacrifice the pawn.
General.
Sacrifice whose pawn?
Whose army will it be?
Doyle was still breathing absentmindedly, occasionally mumbling to himself.
But Anker was already impatient.
"Answer me! Doyle's son! Do you have the guts to fight me fair and square? "
The hostage-taker's rage and the old baron's cries of pain further agitated the crowd, inciting gasps and uproar.
"Or I can start with this old varmint's limbs!"
"Let's see how much blood he can bleed!"
Watching Anker move the blade to the baron's wrist, Thales' heart clenched.
This is bad.
"Alright," Seeing that Doyle was in a state of panic and confusion, Vogel scoffed at Mallos in dissatisfaction.
"If you don't want to dirty your hands, watchman, then I'll do it."
He turned to his subordinates.
"Gather the Flag Bearer Division, choose four people, the best snipers …"
But the next moment, a loud and sonorous voice interrupted them.
"Duke Thales!"
The banquet hall fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at the person who spoke.
It was Doyle.
The one who shouted the duke's name was not Anker, but Doyle.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze no longer lost.
But there was an additional layer of gloom.
"Please give the order, Your Grace!"
Doyle spoke loudly so that everyone could hear him clearly.
But there was a hidden bitterness in his voice that Thales could hear.
"I, the son of the Baron of Mirror River, Danny Doyle!"
Under the gaze of the entire hall, Doyle took a step forward and gritted his teeth.
"I am willing, for the sake of my father and family, to follow the ancient tradition of the Empire, and under the witness of Duke Thales and all of you, to respond to his challenge, with this despicable man …
"To fight to the death!"
Thales looked at his personal guard in disbelief, and then at Mallos.
But the latter seemed to have expected it, and responded indifferently.
Doyle glared at Anker, whose face was full of provocation and desire, and tried his best not to look at his dumbfounded father.
"I am willing to defend our dignity and reputation."
Doyle spoke mechanically, as if his mouth did not belong to him.
"As long as … you let my father go."
After saying these words, Doyle, who was drenched in cold sweat, swayed as if he had deflated.
Until Glover steadied him.
The guests were silent at first, then a small commotion broke out.
The sound of debate once again drowned the hall.
"Very good, very good!"
"There are still men in the Doyle family after all."
Anker, who received a response, looked at the soulless Doyle and smiled. But Thales could not feel any happiness or satisfaction from it.
There was only a different kind of desolation.
Thales gritted his teeth.
"Doyle …"
Vice-captain Vogel pursed his lips and looked at Doyle with a complicated gaze.
Mallos was silent as well, but his expression was much calmer.
"No, no, no!"
In the hall, the old baron, who was being held hostage by Anker, could no longer care about his pain and disheveled state.
He shouted in exasperation, "Brat, what … what are you doing!"
Doyle snapped out of his daze, glanced at his father, and forced a weak smile.
The old baron looked at his wife in horror.
"My dear, stop him, stop him!"
But the baroness was also frightened. She looked around in panic, but all she received was sympathy.
"Your Highness? Is anyone there? Anyone? "
The old baron was so anxious that he was on the verge of tears.
"Anyone! Stop him, knock this damned unfilial son out! Doyle will be heavily, heavily indebted! "
"I will give him half, no, forty percent of my income this year! Forty percent? Alright, then half it is! Sixty percent? Seventy percent? "
The baron's shouts echoed between the pillars of the hall. Apart from the flickering flames, there was no reply.
Desolate and helpless.
Looking at this scene, Thales felt even more uncomfortable and indescribable.
But he could not reveal it.
He had to maintain his most elegant, most detached, and most noble posture.
Because he was the second prince.
The Duke of Star Lake.
Under countless gazes, Doyle took a deep breath, composed himself, and strode forward.
"Byrael! I've already promised you! "
Doyle roared angrily at Anker.
"Now, let go of my father, I'll play with you!
"Let's settle our scores!"
Anker smiled.
He did not let go of the old baron, but turned to Thales.
"Duke Thales, Your Highness?"
"The initiator and the receiver of the duel are both present, and only the noble witness remains."
Anker's gaze was a mixture of desire and anticipation, despair and madness.
Doyle also turned around and looked at Thales with a rare gloominess in his eyes.
The old baron stared at him and shook his head frantically, his eyes pleading.
The royal guards looked at him, their expressions subdued and restrained, making no sense of his demands.
"Your Highness."
Vogel quietly stood beside him.
"This is proper justice, a necessary evil."
Mallos sighed as well.
"When it's time to end, a pawn should be sacrificed."
Thales clenched his fists.
Sacrificed pawn.
Damn it, sacrificed pawn again.
Pawn.
The guests in the hall stared at him menacingly and aggressively, filled with all sorts of emotions.
At this moment, countless gazes converged on the prince aggressively, waiting for his response.
Zayen's gaze was contemplative, Koshder's expression was murderous like the autumn wind, and Val stared fixedly at Thales, his emotions indiscernible.
The Seven Jadestar Attendants stared at him intently, as if the prince's next decision was an irrefutable oracle.
No one knew that at this moment, what the expressionless Thales wanted to do the most was to sit in his chair, bury his head, close his eyes, and ignore all gazes and voices.
Leave all the troublesome matters to his subordinates.
This way, he might be able to use the inviolable majesty of the royal family to fool his anxious and helpless moment.
But he could not.
Because he was the second prince.
He could not.
He was the Duke of Star Lake.
"Your Highness, make the announcement."
Doyle's words were rather weak, like a terminally ill patient whose hope was dashed.
"Let it come, the sooner the better.
"Save you the trouble."
Thales was expressionless, but his heart was bitter.
Alright.
The sooner the better.
Save me the trouble.
Finally, after a few seconds (to Thales, it felt like a lifetime), the Duke of Star Lake maintained his most upright and noble posture, slowly rose, and raised his voice.
"Anker Byrael."
The moment his voice rang, everyone in the hall, from the officials to the bureaucrats, from the nobles to the merchants, carefully listened to the words of the returning prince, displaying — at least on the surface — the uniform deference and obedience.
"In the name of Constellation's Duke of Star Lake, the second prince, Thales Jadestar."
The duke's voice was incredibly deep, and people could not help but feel respect for him. However, only those who had been with Thales for a long time would notice that at that moment, the prince's voice was much hoarser and gloomier than usual.
Much more tired.
"In accordance with the long-standing tradition of the Empire, I hereby grant you permission to initiate a duel to the death against another noble, against Danny Doyle, in order to avenge your blood kin."
Doyle lowered his head and exhaled a long breath.
Thales' expression was gloomy as he stared darkly at the long-awaited Anker.
"And I will personally witness its outcome.
"I guarantee its fairness and propriety.
"Is that enough?"
The duke's words were met with silence in the hall.
Until a few seconds later, Anker's equally tired voice rang out.
"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you."
Under everyone's gaze, he seemed to have been freed from his shackles and pushed the old baron away.
Baron Doyle fell to the ground, but did not leave. He just lay paralyzed on the spot, sobbing softly and panting in pain.
The guards took the opportunity to step forward and help the baron away.
A few people hesitated on whether to take the opportunity to attack the hostage-taker, but Count Godwin sighed and shook his head, indicating that they did not have to.
"Whether you believe it or not, Your Highness."
Anker smiled bitterly.
"You and this Doyle brat, out of the hundreds of people I've met over the past few months, the two of you are the only ones who are willing to respond to my request."
If it was not shocking, no one would listen.
Thales recalled his words and could not help but feel dejected.
"Whether we live or die, Thales Jadestar, Your Highness, Your Grace."
Anker took a deep breath and knelt down on one knee with sincerity. He placed the hilt of his sword in front of his chest and bowed his head deeply.
"I will remember it forever …
"Your grace."
Thales sat down weakly and closed his eyes.
I actually updated eighty thousand words this month. What's wrong with me?
(End of this chapter)
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