LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 24: The Empire's Crisis
Dorje seemed to be immersed in his memories. He did not notice the anticipation on Alan's face. He took a big gulp of wine and let out a long breath. "Phew..." Under the dim candlelight, Alan seemed to be pulled into his memories as well.
"When Wayne was young he was very strong. There were many villains around him who flattered him all the time. As time passes, even he couldn't help but feel that he was a true genius."
"After accepting the mission, he found someone to do some research. The evil dragon mentioned in the mission was an adult frost dragon named Quilem. He was one level higher than Wayne. But you have to know that dragons' physical fitness is many times stronger than human's, and they are also natural magicians. Even if he was one level lower than Wayne, it would still be very difficult to defeat it, let alone kill it."
"Therefore, looking at him now, Little Alan, you should be very clear about the outcome of that crusade. He was heavily injured by the adult frost dragon and left behind some residual injuries. Wayne's body completely collapsed. For the rest of his life, other than relying on the elven wine to heal his injuries, I think he really wants to temporarily forget about that humiliating battle when he's drunk."
Dorje's face was full of helplessness and regret. After all, he was the prodigal son back then. Now, he has to rely on alcohol to numb his body and live his life as if he was on his last leg.
After listening to him, Alan also looked at Wayne regretfully.
"Why are you asking about these old things? Little Alan, don't take it to heart. It's all in the past. I'm very satisfied with my current life."
After feeling Alan's pitying gaze, Wayne, who had his eyes closed, couldn't help but say.
"Hey, Mister Wayne, are you awake? When did you wake up..."Alan was shocked. He didn't sound drunk at all. It was indeed a strong physique.
Since he couldn't continue pretending to be drunk anymore, Wayne took his glass and poured himself more whiskey. However, the ice in the glass had completely melted.
"Although I was seriously injured by Quilem, hmph...he was no better. It's been ten years, but he still doesn't dare to show his face." Wayne drank his wine, his face full of disdain.
"Oh please...You almost lost your life. Quilem was brought back by his clan leader to be disciplined. Can the two of you compare?" Seeing that Wayne sobered up, Dorje recovered his venomous tongue from before and no longer showed the pity and regret he had shown to Alan just now.
When Wayne heard this, his breathing stopped, and he thought to himself, 'Dorje is still as venomous and stubborn as ever.' But when he thought of something, his face began to shine with pride again.
"Hmph, we'll see. I'll be able to recover in a short while. When that time comes, I'll go to the Dragon Domain and challenge Quilem one-on-one. This time, I'll definitely beat him!" Wayne gritted his teeth and said.
Dorje stuck out a little finger and dug it in his ear to clean his ears. "What did you say? Who's going to recover? Recover what?" His face was full of doubt and disbelief.
"Yesterday, after I drank little Alan's magic Lafite, my injuries were stabilized, and my magic power wake up," Wayne explained with a rare serious expression.
Alan was also very surprised. After the magic storm yesterday, mister Wayne didn't explain, and he didn't ask much. Now that he heard him say that, he thought about it and realized that his injuries were really stabilized.
"Are you serious?" Dorje's face was full of doubt, thinking that he was lying to save his face.
"Of course. Why would I lie to you about this?" Wayne rolled his eyes at him.
Alan asked again, "Mister since the magic Lafite is effective on your injury, why didn't you drink it today?"
"Hey, since it's stabilized, let's take some time to let it heal. Besides, you have a new drink here, so I have to try it." Looking at mister Wayne, who was laughing heartily, Alan's impression of him became even better.
The pedestrians on the street could hear the loud laughter coming from the tavern as they passed by. The rich aroma of the wine and the warm yellow light coming out of the window made the tavern look especially warm and comfy.
..
Yupanji, who had fallen to the ground and was in a sorry state, no longer looked like a high-level mage or the leader of the Knights of the Roders empire. He was just an ordinary prisoner.
From the moment the knights who were still alive in the mission turned around and left, Yupanji was declared dead. Even he did not think that he could survive this time.
"Then tell me what you know, Knight Yupanji," Olivia said in a low voice with a sullen face.
Yupanki was silent for a while, then he slowly told the news that he knew without hesitation.
"Your Highness, you must have guessed it. The person who sent the news to Roders was indeed one of your siblings. Of course, it could be a few people, but I only know one person."
When Olivia heard this, she looked very upset. Although she expected that it was her family who leaked the news, she did not expect the situation to be so confusing. It was better to talk about their family matters behind closed doors. Why did they have to bring in outsiders?
Yupanki was an extremely smart person. If it was not because his dream was to become a knight, he believes that he would be more successful as a politician.
"Your Highness' third sister, your empire's third princess, is the person I know who sent the message this time."
Olivia was deep in thought. "You mean to say that there are other people who are also sending messages to you?"
Yupanki shook his head. "I'm not clear about the specific situation. Based on what I know, other than Roders, the orcs and the blood clans all received similar news for cooperation."
This time, Olivia could not maintain the expression on her face. No wonder she always felt that it was strange that there were always small conflicts between Oreste and the other races in the past five years, small troubles were intensified. It turned out that someone had been purposely creating the conflict. She did not know whether her father knew about these things either.
"In all of Oreste, other than your highness, who in the royal family does not have one or two foreign aid?" Yupanki looked at Olivia with a slightly sympathetic gaze, his eyes filled with pity.
Olivia was angry at his gaze. She turned away from him and tried to calm the anger in her heart.
On one side she was angry at being looked down upon by such a despicable person, on the other side she was angry at her disappointing brothers and sisters.
After thinking for a while, Olivia made up her mind. It seemed that she also needed to find a foreign aid, and there happened to be a smart and suitable one in front of her.
"Yupanki, do you want to live, or do you want to die?"She turned around and looked at the knight on the ground seriously.
The sky in the forest gradually darkened. Only the afterglow of the setting sun shone through the branches of the tall and luxuriant trees.
When Yupanki heard the princess' question, his eyes lit up. He knew that this was his only chance.
"I want to live." He tried hard to raise his head and looked at Olivia with determination.