novelraw Chapter 497: Rightful Heir
Chapter 497: Rightful Heir
Zena could not contain her laughter; she approached the once-arrogant, untouchable woman who had made her and her brothers’ lives a living hell. The torture that their mother went through for bearing the child of the duke was even worse than hell. All because of this fucking bitch.
She caressed Nerma’s terror-stricken face with her bloody hands, which made the Duchess shudder once more. She whispered like a devil, "Tell me, you worthless bitch, what are you willing to do? For your sons? To keep them alive?"
And before Zena could continue her delightful vindictive monologue, a crushing pressure descended upon the personal villa of Duchess Nerma. Her eyes widened. Meanwhile, Nerma screamed in joy and desperation, "MY HUSBAND, YOU HAVE COME, SAVE ME AND OUR CHILDREN FROM THESE DEMONS..."
Zena clenched her fists in murderous rage; her father, the Duke, had arrived...
And it was at the worst time possible.
A figure landed from the skies on the balcony of the luxurious hall. Dressed in a neat suit and combed beard, his posture and presence screamed of noble authority.
When the man’s eyes scanned over the bloody room, noting down every kill, and his gaze lingered for a bit longer on the cut-off hands of his two dear sons.
The pressure exuding from him increased in intensity until it became suffocating enough to smash the faces of Zen and Zena onto the bloody ground, and they could offer no resistance against the might of a mid-4th phase seeker.
His enraged voice thundered in the heads of two siblings, rupturing their eardrums, "Who are you wretches that dared to hurt my people and my sons? You must be tired of living."
At this moment, Duchess Nerma dashed towards the duke, her face covered in blood and snot, her beautiful face twisted into something hideous, but uncaring of it, she immediately hugged the Duke tightly, her body quivering in fear.
She stated through gritted teeth, "Duke save us, these demons, they... they.."
The Duke patted her back, and anger only flared even more, seeing his women in such fear.
Duchess Nerma added, pointing her fingers towards Zen and Zena, "Don’t you recognize them, Duke? They are the children of that whore, that you once had."
The duke’s expression abruptly changed; he examined the faces of the two, and there indeed was some resemblance between them and that woman, specifically Zena’s eyes, whose pupils were the same color as his own.
He snorted, "So, what if you carry my blood. I refuse to acknowledge those born to a damn prostitute."
He added after a moment of pause, thinking about it a bit more, "On second thought, you two are surprisingly strong. I will do you two a favor: join the war in the name of my house, earn glory in my name. I shall then think about lessening your punishment."
But to that statement, Zena merely smiled, not an ounce of fear in her eyes, showing her bloody teeth, "No such thing will happen. Your two children and your beloved wife will both die in our hands."
The duke’s eyes turned cold at that defiant reply. He walked forward, his steps reverberated throughout the bloody hall like an impending doom. The noble man sighed, "It seems I would have to teach you little bitch a good lesson, just like your stupid mother."
Just as he was about to stomp on her head, a pair of light footsteps was heard coming from the gateway. The sound of black boots hitting the wet, bloody ground reached the Duke’s ears, "STOP."
The Duke frowned, not recognizing the two presences that were coming. The voice seemed somewhat familiar, but he could not put his finger on who exactly it was. He didn’t mind and decided to wait and see the face of whoever the fuck it was.
If it weren’t anyone important enough, there would be another dead body on the floor.
But when the first figure walked in, his face betrayed the duke’s shock. He said in disbelief, "Prince Conner? You? How are you...?"
As for the other man, he was a tall, muscular figure with a roughly cut beard and slightly long hair; he looked dangerous, but the Duke felt no threatening power coming from him. So, he promptly ignored the mysterious man. Focusing back on the prince.
But Zen and Zena immediately recognized the man, their eyes flashing with a trace of relief.
The Raven prince let out a chuckle, seeing the Duke’s shocked expression. The fact that Conner and the other crown princes and princesses had been rescued from the clutch of the Great Kingdoms was kept a secret.
The prince stated coldly, "Don’t look at me like that. You are acting like you’ve seen a ghost or something, Duke of Karmann."
The Duke’s expression turned solemn, but he did not answer immediately. Seeing his silence, Conner answered, "One of the Ghost race powerhouses was able to rescue me and the other crown princes and princesses of our minor kingdoms."
The Duke looked at the prince with suspicion. His family was the most important noble family within Ravenspire, so why didn’t he know about this? The man sighed and, regaining his composure, asked, "May I ask why the crown prince is here?"
Conner’s eyes flashed with a cunning glint. This damn Duke had always given him and his royal family trouble by rallying the other noble families against his father, causing unnecessary problems, both small and big.
The Raven Prince stated with a mocking tone, "Isn’t it obvious. To make sure that the right person becomes the heir of the Karmann Duchy."
The Duke’s eyes flashed with anger, unable to comprehend the audacity of this boy. Just because he was respecting the boy due to his position, did this little shit think he could come and meddle in the matters of his own household?
And from the statement of the boy, it seems the crown prince was helping these two bastards; no wonder they had such guts.
The man scoffed, his gaze filled with contempt, "I apologize, Crown Prince, but that is an internal matter of my household, which I will personally see over. This is merely a small disturbance, as for the position of the rightful heir, that naturally would be decided between my two official heirs, not these roadside rats."
Conner did not mind and continued with a wide grin, "No, Duke, I’m afraid I have to disagree. By the law, even if these two children of yours are bastards, do they not carry your own blood? Of course they do. And from what I see, it is painfully obvious that Zen and Zena are significantly stronger than your two official children."
"As such, the rightful heir to your seat as the Duke must absolutely be decided between them."
"As for your official sons, both of them, from henceforth are disqualified from their right of being able to compete for your position."
As the declaration of the crown prince was finished, the Duchess Nerma, who heard of this, had her face turn completely pale. Even her two children, whose conditions were barely stabilized, from having their one hand cut off, almost near the shoulders, felt their minds spin in terror.
Were they about to lose everything in one single day?
After all, this was none other than the crown prince of Ravenspire; his words would naturally carry an immense weight.
Eventually, the Duke let out a wild laugh; the bold words of the Crown Prince amused him. It had been quite some time since the Raven Prince had been missing; all of his political influence had also vanished. So, did the boy really think that he could actually put any pressure on him?
The Duke sneered, "I will talk to the King directly about this. The prince does not need to bother about this thing; you may leave now, your highness."
But to that comment, Conner’s smile widened unnaturally as he whispered, "Golgoth."
The tall man, who had been silent like a statue all this while, moved for the first time; his figure became a blur at such speed that even someone as strong as the Duke failed to track his movements. The Duke’s heart palpitated; he had made a great error in judgment.
BANG!!!
A destructive punch landed on the stomach of the Duke, safety artifacts flared, barely managing to block that lethal strike, but in the span of a single second. Golgoth punched again; the force behind his fists was enough to shatter mountains with utter ease.
The duke, who was supposed to be nearly invincible in the eyes of the Duchess and her two children, now coughed up an unhealthy amount of blood. His body had crashed into the walls, causing cracks that spread through the entire building.
The Duke’s legs trembled; he could barely stand. His entire skeleton had been rattled from that one damn punch. The first punch didn’t even reach his body because of the various defensive artifacts. But the second one, he didn’t even get the chance to block it.
But at the same time, when the Duke was too busy recollecting himself from Gareth’s powerful strike, Zen and Zena did not stay idle. They moved like they already had a plan in mind and immediately swung their weapons towards their two half-brothers. Intending to finish them off, not a shred of mercy, in their eyes.