"Hohohoho, money, beauty, I want it all!"
Half a day later.
Augustine Castle.
Sage extended his hand with a fierce grip, letting out a wild laugh.
"So, you divided your forces on this front? Hmm... that's alright, Lily has the Supreme King, the weaklings are easy to handle. It's a good idea for you to split your forces against those relatively troublesome ones."
On the crown throne, Sage picked up a bottle of wine, gulped a third of it down, and smiled at Marika and Renedia below.
In just half a day's time, they returned, bringing back a prisoner who, after Sage pointed a Secret Hole, was tied with Seastone and sent down for healing.
"Of course, it's the fastest this way. Sage, in a few days you will see the triumphant return of all of us!" Renedia exclaimed excitedly.
"Alright, then you'll get the first credit and a great reward!"
Sage laughed softly and waved his hand, "You two should go and rest, you've worked hard."
The two clearly expended a lot of energy, now looking somewhat weak.
After they retreated, Sage took another sip of wine, thought for a moment, and clicked his tongue, "Bella, Bella!"
"Master..."
From the back, a woman in a maid's outfit quickly came running over, holding a duster in her hand, panting.
"It's unsatisfying drinking like this, bring my Gemstone Wine Glass... and what are you doing?" Sage looked her up and down.
"Master, I'm cleaning... this Royal Palace hasn't been inhabited for a long time, it's dusty everywhere," Bella replied honestly.
When Sage took over this palace, it was completely empty, not even a servant for basic operations was present.
It seemed that after the old king died, everyone withdrew.
He rolled his eyes, "You are my maid, from now on the head maid, hire other maids to handle this in the future. For now, leave it, go get my cup."
"Yes, yes, I'll go right away, Master."
His things were still on the Death Star; although Augustine Castle had a docking port internally, that ship was still docked outside the city gate. People could enter, but the ship could not.
Waiting to wipe out both forces and completely dominate Gares Kingdom, the Death Star representing the Pirates would officially dock.
Bella quickly ran out of the Royal Palace, out of the Inner City, out of the North District, and along the East Avenue towards the outer city gate, where Stansen was sitting, drinking barrel after barrel of wine.
To an ordinary person, a barrel of wine would be as tall as a person, but in Stansen's hand, it was only the size of a palm wine glass, easily emptied with a single gulp. By his feet, there were already more than a dozen empty barrels.
Before Bella could completely approach, two figures appeared at the entrance guarded by Stansen.
One was over three meters tall, carrying a broad sword, dressed in full knight armor, with a mane-like helmet that only exposed a resolute face.
The other was much smaller, child-sized, wearing a hooded black robe that concealed their figure, though they seemed somewhat frightened, half-hiding behind the man, with a pale small hand clutching the man's armor edge.
"Hmm?"
Stansen emptied a wine barrel, threw it onto the pile, glanced sideways at the pair outside the gap, and asked in a muffled voice, "Who are you? Pirates? If you want to join the Pirates, it's too late now. Captain said we won't accept anyone until he wins."
The knight paused, looked up at Stansen, allowing Stansen to see the general appearance of the face under the mane helmet.
He looked like he was in his thirties, with a heavily scarred face and very sharp eyes!
"I've come to grant him victory..."
The knight spoke slowly: "Or perhaps, defeat."
Hearing this, Stansen was first stunned, then reacted, instinctively reaching for the hammer placed beside him.
Crackle!
An electric arc extended from Stansen's lower abdomen to the shoulder of his reaching arm, slicing diagonally across.
The knight somehow reached into the air, holding the broad sword with one hand as he slowly descended, and the hooded small figure also ran up, following behind the knight. The two moved forward without looking back.
Sizzle!
From the position where the electric arc just flashed, Stansen's chest suddenly burst open, spraying blood like a fountain, and he fell with a crash.
"Sir Stansen!"
Bella exclaimed and instinctively started to run back towards the Royal Palace.
The knight's eyes flickered, but he didn't pursue, instead, he swung the broad sword forward, unleashing a white electric Soaring Slash toward the fleeing Bella.
If this move hit, it would likely cut a person in half directly.
Boom!
Just as the slash was about to strike Bella's back, a black fire meteor suddenly fell from the sky, fiercely crashing into the slash. As it neutralized the attack, a blast wave swept through, knocking Bella forward.
Swish!
Just as Bella was about to hit the ground, a shadow flashed by, as if supporting her, allowing her to stand back up.
Clang!
Then, a crisp sound burst from behind her.
She turned to look and saw only a figure in a black-with-red-tipped fur cloak, maintaining a punching stance. Before her, the knight had raised his broad sword, retreating several steps back.
The knight glanced at the broad sword, then at Sage, whose face was clouded, and nodded, "Truly a natural disaster..."
Sage, glancing at the bleeding figure of Stansen on the ground, confirmed he was still breathing. Without turning his head, he said, "Bella, find the medical team and Hogback to treat Stansen's wounds, and as for you..."