…
Meanwhile, Aragon’s prisoner transport arrived at the Royal City that same day.
A rumor spread that the Crown Prince not only had ties with the rebels, but had also colluded with those Heathens from another world.
Due to the miracle that descended a few days ago, even most of the population who had sympathized with and admired Aragon didn’t trust him.
They watched from the sidelines.
Things started to move in the dark in the Royal City.
The moment the transport came through the gate, people started gathering to watch the Prince moving through the city.
Their gazes were cold and heartless, as if they looked at a true sinner.
Last time he had returned to the Royal City was after he recaptured White Elephant City that the rebels had been occupying for three years. He had returned to get a commendation from the Shrine and the Kingdom!
Such a huge contrast. Even if the Prince had made good mental preparations, sadness still flashed through his eyes.
The prisoner cart followed the Royal City’s main street past the Imperial Palace before quickly rushing toward the Eastern Snow Mountain.
There, the Prince would receive the Shrine’s trial!
High Priestess Capella herself would direct the trial. As the Apostle of Father God, no heathen would be able to escape her judgement!
The procession kept moving forward.
People watched in silence and followed with their eyes as the Prince they once loved and respected headed toward the main trial hall.
At the bottom of the flight of white marble stairs, the High Priestess Capella was waiting.
Her gaze was cold as she attentively watched the Prince’s prisoner carriage.
Aragon looked very depressed.
“Carry him into the trial hall,” the black-gowned High Priestess ordered coldly.
Two Paladins immediately removed the prisoner’s shackles and the half dead Prince was carried out.
In the crowd, most people couldn’t bear to see this.
They lowered their heads.
The entire Kingdom’s nobility was on the side, but none of the Nottingheim family came to the scene.
Capella felt pleased.
This world was finally God’s world.
She proudly raised her head and contemptuously derided the dazed Prince, “Even a bigger ant, after all is said and done, is still an ant.”
…
In a small courtyard of the Imperial Palace.
A young girl was sitting on a swing by herself, silently listening to the report of the maid besides her.
“Princess, Prince Aragon’s trial has already started.”
“Lady Capella herself judged him guilty.”
The maid stopped there, unable to bear the rest.
“Talk.” The Princess’ tone was very calm.
“Ties with the rebels, working with the heathens, going against God’s desires,” the maid quietly recounted. “3rd grade crime. Due to the Prince many year of meritorious services, it was lowered to 1st grade.”
“The punishment originally was seven days of withstanding God’s Fire… It is now three.”
“And it will happen in three days.”
“Bang!”
A cord of the swing broke, and the Princess stood up, unharmed.
“I understand, you can go.”
The maid look at the Princess, a bit at a loss, but under the Princess’ determined gaze, she still left.
In the empty courtyard, only the girl remained.
“Come out.”
“The swing won’t break for no reason,” the Princess remarked indifferently.
“Your older brother said you were very smart.” Marvin’s figure nonchalantly appeared from the shadow of the swing.
“But I didn’t expect you to react so nimbly.”
“Rebels? Heathen?” Her gaze was clear.
“Is it important?” Marvin asked back.
“It isn’t.” Princess Nana gently inquired, “So what is your goal?”
Marvin didn’t say anything, taking out a ring and handing it over.
A slight change finally appeared on her expression.
“You are someone Brother trusts? Why haven’t I seen you before?” She asked cautiously.
“Some people are bound to remain in the shadows.” Marvin also didn’t explain. “If Prince Aragon dies, the Nottingheim Royal Family will be in an even bigger crisis. He intends to fight with all he has. What is your opinion?”
The girl looked emotionally at the ring. “Brother’s stance is my stance.”
Marvin clapped. “Good.”
“Send invitations. You have to hold a banquet or a ball tomorrow night in the Imperial Palace. Invite some people…”
“Of course, there are also a few other things you need to do.”
Chapter 301: Ball
Chapter 301: Ball
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
At night, the Royal City was still brightly lit.
Her Royal Highness Princess Nana was going to be holding a court ball tonight. Such news in these troubled times made a lot of people wonder.
The ball was for the Princess’s sixteenth birthday.
There was a court banquet for this birthday just ten days ago, but because Princess Nana was feeling unwell at the time, they didn’t host a ball.
This ball was to supplement it.
But many famous people in the Royal City knew that this ball definitely wasn’t ordinary.
Almost all of the bigwigs were invited.
Apart from the King, who probably wouldn’t show up at the ball as he had been feeling unwell recently, everyone else was invited.
The Shrine’s High Priestess included.
…
“A ball?”
In the Shadow God Palace, Capella sneered while looking at the invitation card in her hand. “Her older brother is facing punishment and she’s still in the mood to dance?”
“Who doesn’t know about the Royal Family’s matter? It was said that Prince Aragon and Princess Nana had an excellent relationship. But with the current Nottingheim family, the emergence of the first Queen in history shouldn’t be ruled out.” An attendant on the side respectfully explained, “In my opinion, she intentionally invited you because she wants to preserve the Nottingheim Royal Family’s bloodline.”
Capella muttered, “Or perhaps she wants to bet everything?”
The attendant shook his head. “The old King is already unable to do so, and no matter how able Princess Nana is, how big could the waves she creates be?”
“Aragon volunteered to be a prisoner and is now locked in a Divine Spell water prison. Even if he wants to escape, it would alarm the four Great Priests.”
“With the four Great Priests joining hands, he definitely wouldn’t be able to escape.”
“But Lady, if you really aren’t interested, you naturally don’t need to pay attention to it.”
Capella calmly decided, “Say that I’m not feeling well.”
The attendant slowly nodded. He was about to bow and notify the person behind the door, but surprisingly the always unwavering High Priestess suddenly changed her mind. “Hold on!”
“I’ll go.”
“That Nana girl isn’t that simple. The powers she won over in secret might not be stronger than her older brother, but she also has some forces of her own.”
“These past few years, the old King apparently intentionally gave her some power. He probably foresaw that result.”
“They certainly don’t dare to have a fall out with the Shrine, but what Aragon did definitely provoked the Shrine. If she really wants to preserve a bit of the Nottingheim’s bloodline, I might as well go take a look at how she curries favor with us. And if not, tonight is also a good opportunity.”
“The Nottingheims ruled Arborea for so many years, so ending the rule now isn’t too strange.”
After saying thi
s, she leisurely got up and looked at her gown.
“I’ll go change.”
“…When was the last time I danced?”
…
Outside the Shadow God Palace, the supreme High Priestess was waiting in the carriage as it moved slowly toward the Royal City.
The King’s road which had been built straight from the Eastern Snow Mountain was very smooth and safe.
It would take at most fifteen minutes to reach the Imperial Palace.
But these fifteen minutes were enough for Marvin to make a move.
In the dark shadows, the Night Walker quietly acted.
His movements were erratic, but the final goal was that Shadow Shrine!
The Shadow Priestess was the Shadow Prince’s Apostle, and even if she didn’t have the strength of a Legend, each corner of the Shadow Shrine was within her perception!
She ordinarily waited inside the Shrine, rarely going out.
And Marvin’s plan this time was to draw out the High Priestess at all cost.
The Princess’ ball was only a smokescreen.
Of course, if the Shadow Priestess didn’t leave the Shrine, Marvin still had another plan.
‘The first step was very smooth. This High Priestess is truly paranoid,’ Marvin sneered, as he suddenly sped up and brushed past the two guards.
The two men didn’t notice anything.
This was the advantage of 180 Stealth.
With Eriksson’s Brooch, Marvin was confident in facing against the Shadow Shrine.
He had to be quick!
The Princess wouldn’t be able to stall for too long!
Marvin quickly travelled through the Shadow Shrine based on his memories of the place.
Soon, he bypassed a group of Priests and arrived at the prayer hall.
Countless candles were arranged in the middle, with the statue of a masked man, the Shadow Prince.
A shadow flickered on the statue.
“Glynos…”
Marvin looked coldly at the stone statue carrying Divinity. But the stone statue didn’t notice anything.
Eriksson’s Brooch could even cheat a Heavenly Observer, let alone a statue with a detection spell on it!
Marvin didn’t linger. He went around the prayer hall and found the entrance leading downward.
This was the Divine Spell Prison.
All kinds of prisoners were locked up downstairs. Most of the prisoners were very dangerous.
And this flight of stairs was also defended by all sorts of experts.
From what he knew, the strongest there should be those four old bastards.
Before they guarded the last layer of prisoners, they had guarded this flight of stairs for who knows how many years.
The entire Divine Spell Prison had a total of six layers.
Marvin easily slipped into the prison.
He needed to pay attention to everything here.
Even if detection Divine Spells couldn’t find Marvin, if he tripped an alarm, it would be troublesome.
‘I don’t have much time.’
He wiped his sweat and directly skipped over the first three layers.
A criminal like Aragon would certainly be in the 4th or 5th layer water prison.
And as expected, he found the naked Aragon in the 4th layer water prison.
There were a lot of whip marks on his body and the lower half of his body was soaking in a green liquid. A pair of handcuffs bound his wrists tightly.
This layer had six guards defending it.
Each guard was a level 15 Paladin.
Marvin walked over quietly.
“Ready?”
The voice was very faint, only entering Aragon’s ears.
The Prince suddenly raised his head.
The six Shrine Paladins noticed something strange at the same time. One of them demanded, “What are you looking at?”
“Filthy thing going against God’s desires! If not for the High Priestess’ command, I would use the God’s Fire to burn you!”
Aragon raised his head and gravely watched those Shrine Paladins before saying, “Give me a sword.”
The six Paladins froze before laughing their heads off. “Is something wrong with you? Why would we want to give you a sword?”
But at that moment, a cold light flashed in the darkness.
“Clang!”
Sounds of shattering could be heard as Blazing Fury chopped off the shackles!
As the Paladins watched in shock, Aragon took a sword and walked out of the pool of acid.
His expression was as calm as ever.
“There won’t be a Shrine after tonight.”
Chapter 302: Marvin’s Plan
Chapter 302: Marvin’s Plan
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Level 18 Storm Swordsman!
Arborea’s peak powerhouse.
If not for Aragon being willingly imprisoned, only a few people in this world could stop him, including the High Priestess!
And it was unlikely for these six Paladins to do so, let alone after he got rid of the Divine Spell Prison’s shackles!
In an instant, a violent storm rose. Aragon was like a tornado, covering the six Paladins in a flash!
Screams pealed out as the entire Divine Spell Prison was alarmed!
…
The ball was very lively.
The High Priestess’ carriage arrived in front of the Imperial Palace and the Princess welcomed her in.
Nana was all smiles. “Lady High Priestess joining this ball is a great honor for Nana.”
“I hope Father God blesses the Nottingheims,” the High Priestess told Nana indifferently.
She looked at Nana’s face and was about to say something else when suddenly, her expression changed!
“What happened? Lady?” Nana calmly asked.
The High Priestess shouted in anger, “I’m going back to the Shrine!”
“Aragon dares to break out of prison!”
“Nottingheim, this isn’t an easy crime to forgive!”
Her voice was powerful, and everyone in the Royal City heard it!
Soon, the ball’s atmosphere went cold!
Fear crept across the faces of the nobles as they watched the trail of dust behind the High Priestess’ carriage.
They understood that the High Priestess was truly enraged this time.
The previous Nottingheim Royal Family might have still had hope to preserve their bloodline, but they now lost that hope.
Why was Aragon this stupid?
Before they could understand the ins and outs, a black-armored army quietly surrounded the Imperial Palace.
“Princess Nana!”
“Your Highness!”
The nobles and officials cried out in alarm.
The young girl slowly turned around, her dress fluttering as she displayed a beautiful smile. “The ball isn’t over…”
“Wanting to leave this early, isn’t that making me lose face?”
They all turned silent.
That group of black armored troops, how long had they been waiting?
They didn’t even notice them!
“It’s the Royal Iron Guard…” The Finance Minister’s voice was shivering. “Could the King…”
“Father gave me the Royal Iron Guard three years ago, does anyone else have a question?” Nana answered candidly.
“What about the City Defense Army?” The Military Minister glared at the Princess. “You don’t think that the City Defense Army will come help when I shout?”
“Sir, you are thinking too much,” Nana smilingly said. “Lady High Priestess said that heathens had come to our world. She already dispatched half of her Paladins, and as for the City Defense Army, they would obviously cooperate with the Shrine’s movements.”
“Tonight they were dispatched to go out on a mission to capture the heathens. They shouldn’t get back to the Royal City for three days.”
The Military Minister shouted, “Yo
u dared to fake the Shrine’s order? Who gave you military approval?”
Nana blinked. “Sir, please calm down. I have quite a lot of friends.”
The court was completely silent.
Under the stares of the Royal Iron Guard, all of Royal City’s nobles were captured.
After a while, a loud sound could be heard in direction of the Shadow God Palace. It felt like a bestial roar!
An old noble asked with difficulty, “I dare ask your Highness, do you really plan to completely go against the Shrine?”
“If that is the case, why would you come out personally? Letting his Highness Aragon take care of it is good. That way if it fails, you would still preserve a bit of the Nottingheim bloodline.”
The Princess’ eyes were as clear as ever, her voice very resolute. “After tonight, there will be no Shrine…”
…
The fight at the 4th layer ended up faster than Marvin expected.
He was still hesitating about whether he should help out when Aragon finished dealing with the six Paladins!
He was a lot stronger than Marvin imagined!
‘With this talent, if he was in Feinan, he would have already become a Legend!’ Marvin inwardly praised.
This plane’s limit was level 18, so Aragon had reached the point where he couldn’t advance anymore.
His strength was restricted by the plane’s laws. This was one of the negative part of the Secondary Planes.
If he was in Feinan, he would definitely become a Legend.
…
After easily getting rid of the six Paladins, Aragon and Marvin nodded and the latter once again disappeared in the shadows!
The Princess’ ball was a decoy.
Why not break Aragon out of jail?
Marvin’s plans were interrelated, and no mistake was allowed.
Soon, Aragon rushed to the 5th layer!
Three heinous criminals were imprisoned there. But they had been tortured by the Shrine and didn’t look human anymore.
“Aragon!”
“You dare to break out!?” A thunderous voice roared beside his ears.
In an instant, the candles died out. The sword in Aragon’s hands suddenly let out cold light.
There were four shadows.
The Shadow God Place’s four elders.
Each one of them was a peak level 18 Cleric.
Night Ranger - Full Series - 735 Chapters Page 179