Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  In the intense pain, Niven, who acted like the pain had no effect on him, did not try to snatch the blade back anymore, but instead, he took the initiative to move towards the direction of the blade. He suddenly flipped the hilt in his right hand, holding the long sword in reverse, and poked the sword at the carotid artery of the newcomer!

  Bang! In the loud bang of steel breaking, Niven’s long sword snapped into two. The sharp blade of the long sword turned a circle in the air and landed on the ground, clattering.

  Meanwhile, the arrow that had split the long sword in two in an instant brushed past Niven’s shoulder and nailed itself into the stone pillar with a buzzing sound. It was only until the opponent’s dagger had been pressed against his neck that the whistling sound of the arrow could be heard, and it was too late for Niven to do anything else.

  He had lost.

  Niven looked at the newcomer, expressionless. On the high towers of Westminster Abbey, the low-pitched sound of arrows being nocked on crossbows rang out, the bows already aimed.

  The newcomer did not cut Niven’s throat, but simply withdrew the dagger calmly. After sizing Niven up for a moment, he gave a soft laugh and backhanded the dagger back into its sheath on Niven’s arm.

  As the newcomer flipped his hand, the coat of arms on his rerebrace was revealed—the badge of a grand knight of the Knights of the Round Table.

  The newcomer, who was one of the 16 grand knights of the Knights of the Round Table, extended a hand and patted Niven on the shoulder. “Enough, Sentinel, you are relieved from your duties.”

  Niven was surprised and furrowed his brows. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  The grand knight raised his hands and showed him the military order issued, “Under the command of Lord Lancelot, from this moment onward, the Knights of the Round Table is taking over the Westminster Abbey. All of you are under the protection of the Knights of the Round Table…”

  Low rumbles came from all directions.

  As a result of thermal imaging, in Niven’s vision, dozens of aether furnaces glowed in scorching hot scarlet-red colors. Heavy power armors driven by the aether furnaces advanced along the streets of Avalon, and the steel gave off whistling-like sounds. They had completely surrounded the entire Westminster Abbey, the army base of the Religious Court of Inquiry.

  In the Westminster Abbey, the low-pitched noise of power armors being started rang out continuously. The arrow knocked on the huge longbow was aimed at the grand knight from afar.

  The situation was tense.

  In the hall, a sleepy Shi Dong drowsily raised his eyes slightly and looked at Archbishop Mephistopheles, who was yawning. Shi Dong asked, “Is this considered… house arrest?”

  “Probably. Do you want to resist?” the Archbishop replied.

  “Why is it that whenever a critical situation is happening, the Grand Inquisitor would be away at some-goddamn-where else? It’s been going on for hundreds of years, is this a curse of some sort?” Shi Dong sighed troubledly. After a good while, he shook his head. “Forget it, it’s too much trouble.”

  He lowered his eyes again. “Since someone else is guarding the door for us, let the lads go back to their dorms and get some sleep. They’re still growing, it’s unhealthy for them to stay up all night. Let’s not be unworthy of their good intentions.”

  …

  Under the same dark night sky, in the ruins of what used to be a manor in downtown, Watson yawned and lit the cigarette at the corner of his mouth. The flickering light of the cigarette illuminated the long sword pressed against his neck. The blade was covered in layers of patterns which were glamorous like blooming flowers. It was clearly a rare, high-quality sword.

  A cold wind blew, and in front of him, the riddled desk whined forlornly, as if it was about to collapse.

  He took a deep breath in the aroma of tobacco and relaxed, leaning back on his wheelchair, and slowly scanned his surroundings. He looked at the shadows that surrounded him.

  Half a minute ago, he was still sitting behind his desk in his office, looking at the latest news the informants had sent, and the fireplace was warm. But after half a minute, his office had collapsed, and the walls on all four sides were instantly shattered by the visitors that had rushed in. Then, the fireplace was covered by the collapsed walls, and the warmth was no longer.

  Meanwhile, Watson was besieged, a long sword to his neck. He had to watch on as his subordinates were curtly defeated, pressed onto the ground, and shackled by the group of visitors.

  Light covered armor, fierce offensive means, deft cleaning up of the scene in the aftermath, all kinds of equipment specially designed for secret killings, plannings and schemes that had apparently been done carefully… He mentally made a list.

  “That rumor actually turned out to be true?” Watson laughed. “The special forces set up for the purpose of conducting special operations during wartime, or in other words, the legion of assassins that Anglo keeps in its employ… really exists, huh.”

  No one responded. Those cold eyes just stared straight at him. If he had shown any signs of resistance, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to behead him.

  In this regard, Watson had no doubts, but still couldn’t resist reaching out to flick at the sword against his neck. “Nice sword, a first-class one, eh? Patterned steel from India, is it a smuggled good? Where did you buy it from?”

  Seeing the circular marking at the end of the blade, it suddenly dawned on him. “Oh, the merchandise of the cripple in Roundworm Alley? He sources them from me. How funny, robbing me with a sword bought from me…”

  In the silence, someone sighed softly.

  The soldiers guarding him moved aside, and a man in a coat walked over to him, dragging a broken chair along. The man sat opposite Watson, and the blade on Watson’s neck was withdrawn.

  “Let’s be honest with each other, Mr. Watson,” the man said.

  He put a badge on the table. “Do you recognize this?”

  Watson’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Oh, you’re the head spy of the military? Kindly pardon my lack of manners. Has anyone told you that you have crossed the line by meddling in such matters beyond your jurisdiction?”

  The head spy seemed resigned. “I don’t really want to intervene with the matters of the Fifth Department. Unfortunately, life never turns out exactly the way one wishes it to. For some reason, the higher-ups believe that you guys can no longer be trusted.

  “So, you must cooperate with me.”

  Watson smiled. “Or die?”

  “Yeah, or die.” The head spy nodded. “We need to make sure everything can be handed over smoothly. Although you have been fired, you must at least handle the job handover properly, and not leave any trouble for your successor, right?”

  In the lengthy silence, Watson smoked and looked at him, expressionless. The head spy sat in the chair and waited quietly for his response.

  After a long time, Watson cracked a smile and enthusiastically spread his hands. “Then what are you waiting for, bring me a map. You’re welcome to search the house and confiscate the property, my dear gentlemen!”

  Soon, a map was laid on the broken table. With the cigarette sticking out of his mouth, Watson made markings on the map rapidly, one by one. “Presently, within Avalon, we have 17 secret warehouses, nine gangs under our control, and 41 bank accounts.

  “The working capital roughly totals up to about 160 million pounds. The fixed assets are worth more than six times of that, and we secretly hold the shares of 51 large companies…”

  After a number so astronomical that it was suffocating rolled off his tongue, Watson put out the flame of the cigarette and smiled. “Which one would you like to check first?”

  586 Tomorrow

  In the hospital sickroom, the atmosphere grew tense. The sound of the friction of metal lingered, as if it was a fantasy.

  “Do you know what people like you are called by the Religious Court of Inquiry when they are executed on the scaffold?” Ye Qingxuan gaze
d at Lancelot, his stare gradually growing colder. He said in a cold voice as if produced by gears and springs rubbing each other, “Defeatist!”

  Lancelot didn’t show any change in expression, as if it didn’t concern him at all. He shook his head indifferently and said, “You should learn to prepared for the worst before you place your bet.”

  “Lancelot, this is not the same!” After only three days of transient harmony and friendliness, Ye Qingxuan sabotaged the atmosphere between them and addressed his uncle by his name. “The queen is now missing, Maxwell is nowhere to be found, and the Privy Council of Anglo is not working. As the minister of the second division and the de-facto leader of Anglo, you are talking about surrendering even before the war has begun? Where is that family honor of yours? Where are the noble characteristics and pure morality of yours? Where is that integrity of yours?”

  “There is nothing that is perfect in this world, nor is there any saint. Ye Qingxuan, you always expect too much for this world.” Lancelot heaved a sigh. “You come back or not, the Religious Court of Inquisitors will fight in this war or not, Anglo will fight to the last man and Lancelot will fight for this country to the end, but you need to understand, the war is impossible to win.”

  Lancelot determined that they would lose the war and was so sure of his judgement. There was no confusion or doubt in his eyes, as if he had seen the outcome of the war himself. “Our defeat was destined when Leviathan broke the second seal. As to why we are not able to win, it is because we have no chance to defeat Leviathan at all. It has been so from the very beginning.”

  Ye Qingxuan was shocked. After a long silence, he asked in a hoarse voice, “We have 13 musician divisions including the royal musician division, all the power armor, the round table cavaliers, including the seven round table armors, the second, third, and the fourth naval fleets of Anglo. There are 460,000 soldiers in total. And you think we don’t even stand a chance to fight Leviathan?”

  “We may have a chance if Anglo was still an intact country.” Lancelot answered, “but is Anglo now an integral country? Ye Qingxuan, you must know, the king just died, the new king has not yet been crowned. And we have only a month to prepare for the war! In such a short time, it is not enough to ensure the loyalty of the ministers? Not to mention unite the whole country to fight the war? If the queen was alive, she could control the situation and force everyone to act in favor of the good of the whole country and suppress their own dark, selfish plans. But Mary, she is not capable of that.”

  “Ask master Haydn to work with me, then.” Ye Qingxuan raised his voice and said, “As long as I can get close to the hall of the throne, I can retrieve the Stone Sword and the spear of St. George. I can…”

  Looking into his eyes full of unwavering courage, Lancelot lowered his head and heaved a sigh. He didn’t let Ye Qingxuan finish but took out a familiar bottle from his pocket instead; a bottle full of fresh blood. The sticky blood was not red but was clear and transparent like amber. It was as if it were boiling in the bottle. It was only a small bottle, but in it there seemed to be monstrous waves roaring. Even the light was deflected and dispersed in the bottle. It disappeared into the deep darkness in the bottle, as if devoured by some invisible monster. The darkness was like smoke, floating and swirling in the bottle.

  Ye Qingxuan’s voice was cut off immediately, and he stopped moving. In just one moment, it was as if he were frozen. Staring at Lancelot, his face turned ghastly pale. Yet on the skin under his neck, spots of blood-red grew quickly and covered almost every inch of his skin almost immediately.

  That was blood; boiling blood…

  Lancelot looked at him pitifully. “You still haven’t realized where your most vulnerable spot lies.”

  Ye Qingxuan could see Lancelot’s lips moving, but he could not hear anything he said. He heard someone singing. The singing lingered around him. Sometimes it was as if the voice was by his ears, and other times it was as if the voice was within his own body. He felt like there were numerous amounts of mouths hidden in his blood, incited by the blood in the bottle to sing loudly.

  “The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream…

  “We have the power, yet where should we go? Oh, men, hoist the sail! Pull, thieves and beggars, we’ll live forever…”

  This, however, was an illusion.

  There should have been no sound at all, except that his blood was like a live animal in pain, twisting and cramping. The blood seemed to want to kill Ye Qingxuan as it tore up the veins in his body and oozed out of his body, as if it were gasping for fresh air greedily. Then, numerous tiny filaments grew out of his blood like mold, sticking to his body in large blocks.

  This was hilarious. This was really hilarious, Ye Qingxuan.

  Unspeakable desire to kill and anger brewed up in him. When did this evil creature get into my body? Why haven’t I noticed it before?

  The Blood of Deva circulated violently in his body. The silver moonlight surged in his blood, wrestling with the wild evil creatures to kill them. Yet, after being killed, those things came back to life again and again, sucking Ye Qingxuan’s blood and consuming his life. It seemed to have integrated with Ye Qingxuan.

  “Lancelot!!!” with blood-red eyes, Ye Qingxuan howled angrily. He used up all his remaining strength to throw himself at Lancelot, who, sitting on the wheelchair, didn’t defend himself at all but raised his hand to put the orange-colored amber blood between him and Ye Qingxuan.

  In the blood, an eye opened, looking at Ye Qingxuan. It was gazing at Ye Qingxuan’s blood. Then, the evil thing in his blood began to grow much faster. Almost in one split second, it spread to his all his veins, his nervous system, internal organs, trachea, mucous membranes, ear drums… It deprived him of all his strength. He fell to the ground, losing control of his own body, right in front of the wheelchair.

  Everything fell into silence.

  Finally, Lancelot said, “I know that your thumb of card is the Stone Sword. As long as you have the Stone Sword, with the national defense metric supporting you, you might have a chance to defeat the catastrophe. However, there was a fatal flaw in this plan from the very beginning of its making.”

  Lowering his eyes, he continued, “See? The closer you are to the core of Avalon, the harder it is for you to control your negative emotions. Do you think you are spared from the curse of dragon blood? This was the capture from last night’s battle—the blood of Leviathan. In it carries the will power of Leviathan. Therefore, it is deadly poisonous for anyone of royal blood. This is the tragedy for all the royal family members: without dragon blood, he or she will not be accepted by the Stone Sword. Yet, once a royal family member has dragon blood flowing in the veins, he or she will have be subject to the control of Leviathan. You will be driven mad the moment you approach Leviathan. How could you fight it?”

  Ye Qingxuan didn’t know what to say, as there was nothing could be said.

  The door was pushed open and a nurse wearing protective clothing covering his entire body came in with all the caution he could exercise. The nurse carried Ye Qingxuan to his bed, made sure he was comfortably positioned, and gently covered him with the quilt.

  “Stop playing the hero, Ye Qingxuan.” Stretching out to tuck in the corner of the quilt, Lancelot said gently in a low voice, “You don’t belong to this country, nor does this country belong to you. Get yourself a good night’s sleep. When you wake up, everything will be over.”

  In great pain, Ye Qingxuan tried with all his might to open his eyes. Over Lancelot’s shoulder, he saw a blurred figure standing behind Lancelot. The figure was smiling mockingly towards Ye Qingxuan.

  “Lancelot, you…”

  …

  In the dimly lighted room, Mary woke up and opened her eyes. Hearing the noise outside, she knew she was not in the dream where the magic mirror was. However, she was afraid of the bustling world.

  “What was that, Christine?”

  Christine was not there to answer he
r question. She had gone out.

  Mary was left alone in the room. The room was grand and magnificently decorated, yet it made Mary feel frightened and lonely.

  “That was the cheering of the people, Your Highness,” a strange yet polite voice came from outside the door. Mary couldn’t think of any courtesy officer with such a deep and low voice. She felt dizzy and muddled.

  “Cheering?”

  “Yes, cheering.” The voice answered, “For you.”

  “Why are they cheering for me?”

  “Because you will take the throne to inherit the glory of your ancestors.” The voice answered, “You will be the ruler of Anglo, leading them to a bright future. As her majesty passed away, you are the only one who can lead the country. This was the cheering of your people. Everyone, whether in the central area or the lower area of the city, is so happy as they see the new hope of their country.”

  Mary was transfixed.

  The door opened. Maid servants walked in, carrying gorgeous clothes and ornaments. They opened the windows to let in fresh air. They also brought Mary delicious breakfast. Served on bronze plates, the dishes smelled so delicious and tasty. The 12 best cooks in Avalon had waited until now to serve their new queen. To show their loyalty to their new queen, they had cooked the dishes once every hour to make sure they were served hot and fresh.

  Outside the window, lamps were lit, lighting up the palace. The gentle melody of violin could be heard from afar, indicating that a grand banquet was underway. That was the celebration feast for the crowning of the new queen. Laughter full of hope could be heard in the wind. The dying city seemed to be alive again. It was singing for its revival. All this was thanks to Mary.

  Yet Mary felt so frightened.

  “Where is Christine?” she asked. “Where is the captain of my guards?”

  “She was injured. She wanted to stay with you, but the doctor stopped her,” the voice answered respectfully. “Please don’t worry, Your Highness. You will see her in the coronation ceremony tomorrow.”