Chapter 198 Hell Tree! Bad comedy!
The golden wind vortex, carrying healing particles, swept through the hall, rapidly restoring everyone's abnormal conditions.
Everyone's gaze turned into sharp swords, piercing Ain, who was firmly restrained by the Thousand Winds.
Her skin was still cracking in a bizarre way, and from the fissures in her flesh, strange flowers with a peculiar fragrance bloomed one after another, only to be instantly annihilated into nothingness by the fierce divine wind.
"How rude... all my flowers and grasses are gone."
Ain coughed up blood, a sadistic, demonic smile playing on her lips, as if the prisoner in the dock was not herself.
Arthur shook his hand, and a pale flame rose, burning away all the thorny flower seeds that tried to pierce his skin.
He turned to look at Stella, who was still shaken, and gently comforted her.
"Don't worry, Avalon can heal all injuries, everyone will be fine."
Stella stepped forward, staring intently at Ain, whose body was covered in flowers, and raised her hand to summon Hiryū Zai Ken, flames blazing!
"Who is this person? Why is she in the castle?"
Ain, enduring the torment of countless wind blades, barely managed to raise her head, a look of mockery on her face.
"I'll confess, actually, this gentleman invited me here."
"The purpose, well, was to stage a hero saving the beauty, and by the way, save the lady's entire family."
Upon hearing this, Stella's eyes immediately blazed with fire, and her voice, filled with murderous intent, echoed through the hall.
"Stop spouting nonsense! My lover would never do such a despicable thing!"
Seeing this, Arthur quickly raised his hand, pressing down on the Princess who was about to draw her sword and attack, and said in a deep voice.
"Calm down! She's deliberately provoking you to get closer!"
With that, his indifferent gaze turned to the struggling Ain, a hint of disdain surfacing in his eyes.
"Stop acting. In front of me, the magic power reaction in your body is no different from a bomb that could explode at any moment."
At these words, everyone was stunned, and even Ain, who was feigning capture, couldn't help but furrow her brows.
"Tch~ Don't get carried away, you brat!"
"Astaroth: Hell World Tree!"
Instantly, Ain's entire body gushed blood, and countless snake-like twisted tree trunks tore through her flesh, bursting out of her body!
The tree roots ripped up pieces of the floor, and the branches completely engulfed her body, the growth process seemingly endless!
The sprawling giant tree was as dark as rotten flesh, and the sap flowing on its surface emitted a foul, pungent odor, threatening to break through the castle's dome!
"Thousand Winds, heed the call of the Sky-Wielder, come swiftly!"
The next second, a pulsating roar shook the air, and the invisible divine wind transformed into the sharpest giant blade in the world, striking down fiercely!
The tree roots, filled with overt malice, shattered inch by inch!
The tree trunk, covered with dark, decaying vines, was twisted into countless fragments that filled the sky!
A spherical root, expanding and contracting like a heart, was forcibly pulled out from underground by the wind lock!
Its bulging, human-like shape was precisely Ain's hideous upper body!
"If you ruin the royal castle on your first visit, wouldn't I, as a son-in-law, be very embarrassed?"
Arthur casually swung his sword, severing the still-twitching thorns, and precisely impaled Ain, who was deeply hidden within the spherical root, with durandal!
"Alright, the side show ends here. Tell me the whereabouts of the Puppet King, and I'll give you a quick death."
"Ugh… cough! Cough!"
Ain's gaze dropped, staring intently at the already shattered innate spirit armor within her body, a mocking smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, which was covered in dark red blood.
"No matter what, I'm a professional assassin. Do you expect me to betray a client?"
The filthy spherical root surged with all its might, and a sharp bamboo shoot burst out of the ground without warning, piercing Ain's own heart precisely, ending her life!
Arthur noticed her act of suicide but did not stop her.
He had seen many unyielding individuals who would rather die than surrender; such people's mouths could not be pried open.
With the death of its host, the rotten-flesh-like tree trunk lost its color, and the Hell World Tree gradually withered.
Arthur retrieved durandal, turned to look at Stella's family, who had already recovered, and bowed apologetically.
"I am truly sorry that this first meeting was so chaotic due to the grudge between me and the Puppet King."
Stella eagerly retorted, "How could it be, this isn't…"
"Stella!"
Sirus's playful expression vanished, his voice as majestic as a lion's.
"I want to hear him say it himself."
"The Rebel Army's Puppet King? How could a student like you provoke such a madman?"
Arthur spread his hands helplessly, "That nasty guy's hatred is completely without reason; I'm trying to find out why myself."
He looked around at the guards and maids who were gradually getting up, the pale light in his eyes fading as he continued to explain.
"Fortunately, due to the difference in strength, he would never dare to appear before me."
"And besides 'Flower of Evil,' there shouldn't be any Hell Silk puppets within Vermillion."
'Difference in strength?'
Sirus's peripheral vision glanced at the remnants of the Hell World Tree being cleared by the guards, his heart filled with turmoil.
The Rebel Army's 'Flower of Evil,' Ain, a top assassin renowned in the underworld, her strength was beyond doubt.
Yet, in front of this kid, she couldn't even last three rounds, and her final desperate struggle only managed to lift a few floorboards.
My dear daughter, what kind of monster have you fallen for?
Pacing back to the throne, Sirus had already hidden all his complex thoughts as he turned, speaking solemnly.
"Isn't it a good thing that no citizens were taken hostage?"
Arthur calmly shook his head, "I can't understand a madman's thoughts, but that guy even abandoned the hostages, so he must have a bigger scheme behind it!"
Sirus heard this, lowered his head, and fell into deep thought.
Stella seized the opportunity to move closer to Arthur's ear and whispered.
"Why didn't you tell me about the Puppet King before?"
Arthur's lips curved slightly, and a hint of playfulness was barely concealed in his lowered voice.
"Because you were asleep then."
The Princess, instantly recalling her previous experience, froze in place, her cheeks burning.
Slap!
Sirus slammed the armrest, snapping out of his thoughts, and solemnly announced to everyone in the hall.
"Regardless of the reason, the Rebel Army are internationally wanted criminals, and as the ruler of this country, I am duty-bound!"
"Immediately send a message to the International Alliance headquarters, and also convey the news of the Puppet King's activity in the vicinity to the neighboring country Kuiduolan, to discuss postponing the interest [war]."
... At the same time, in Luxieer, the capital of Kuiduolan.
Hell Silk covered the mountains and plains, moving rapidly through the air, like a spider web covering the sky.
O'Erge'Er, seated on the throne, wore a dark hooded sweatshirt, his heterochromatic eyes, flickering with red and blue ghostly flames, were full of mockery.
He tapped his fingers in the air, as if playing an invisible piano, and his annoying laughter echoed in the ears of every citizen.
"An interaction of interests with no regard for winning or losing? In the end, the Alliance's rules are nothing but a farce, more disgusting than a poorly acted comedy!"
"Boring lives nurture your boring selves; unable to even utilize your own value, in my opinion, this itself is a waste."
"Manipulating others is so..."
"How much longer are you going to keep yelling in that damned aria!"
A voice, gloomy and mixed with brutality, interrupted O'Erge'Er's solo!
Nasim, the Desert Death, his muscles bulging, tore off a piece of bloody venison with his mouth.
"I heard I could completely control two countries, that's why I came along, but for that low-level hobby of yours, how long are you going to drag this out?"
Beside him, Baby, the Giant Baby, who was holding a cake, put down his dessert and glared angrily at Nasim, who was threatening his friend.
O'Erge'Er, however, dropped his hands listlessly, appeasing the two.
"Don't rush, Nasim. I will definitely do what I promised you."
He looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through space, landing on the distant royal capital of Vermillion, a hint of madness spreading across his lips.
"After all, what I truly want to see is Stella's desperate little face when she completely breaks down."