The Wastrel Prince Becomes Ruthless

Chapter 128

Chapter 128

On the high altar, Terrien and the Thunder Bird stood facing each other. Terrien had long since drawn his sword and aimed it at his enemy.

From his body, sharp and refined like a polished blade, surged intense killing intent. The Thunder Bird was not the kind of creature to overlook a mere human who dared to radiate murderous intent toward it.

The Thunder Bird opened its beak wide and unleashed a terrifying roar.

Kkieeeeeeek—!

It was a ferocious cry that made the ears ring and one’s body instinctively want to retreat. Yet Terrien did not back down. If he faltered now, the children trembling behind his back would be in danger.

“Khuh—!”

The Thunder Bird was on an entirely different level from the small, lesser beasts Terrien had encountered in the Great Jungle. In the unofficial food chain of the jungle, it ranked among the top ten most fearsome creatures!

At the sound of its roar alone, Terrien had to clench his trembling arms and legs tightly just to keep standing.

“This much…! Compared to His Highness’s presence, it’s nothing…!”

Thinking that way strangely made it easier to endure. The suffocating pressure radiating from the gigantic beast faded as if it had been an illusion.

‘I can do this. This monster is definitely stronger than me. Perhaps even as strong as His Highness was in my memory. But that’s exactly why I can win.’

A genius of the century—Yurion Aphahiel.

No, to call him a genius was insufficient.

There were many geniuses, but Yuwon’s level had always been beyond comparison.

‘There are many geniuses. I too was once called one. But His Highness stands at the summit. Even if he is not there now, he will stand there again someday…!’

To follow one who stands at the peak—one might not walk shoulder to shoulder, but at the very least, one must be capable of treading the same path he once walked. Terrien now challenged the realm that Yuwon had once surpassed.

He grasped his sword’s hilt again, slick with sweat threatening to make it slip from his grasp.

“You beast! How long will you only roar? If you won’t come to me, then I shall come to you!”

And to prove his words weren’t empty, Terrien kicked off the ground and shot forward as if flying.

Tak— Tadak—!

With steps lightened by magic, Terrien seemed to glide through the air. His sword’s tip shot straight toward the Thunder Bird’s heart, intent on ending the battle in a single strike.

“Take this—!”

Grrrk—! Clang!

But Terrien’s strike failed to pierce the creature’s exposed chest, bouncing off harmlessly with sparks. Using the recoil, Terrien landed back on the altar, staring wide-eyed at the beast’s unscathed chest.

“Damn it…!”

Even the magic that could slice through iron like paper couldn’t pierce the Thunder Bird’s seemingly delicate feathers. Its hide was stronger than steel—as if this were the basic trait required of a great beast of the jungle.

‘My instincts tell me… the orc and the serpent we faced before were far stronger than this one. His Highness fought such monsters to protect us, even then…’

Grit—

Frustrated by his own helplessness, Terrien ground his teeth. But anger alone wouldn’t solve anything.

The Thunder Bird, having witnessed its chest being struck, launched a counterattack.

Kieeeeek—! Kyarururuk—!

Though uninjured, perhaps enraged that its chest had been touched, it let out a furious roar and swept its massive wings forward in attack.

Whooosh— Whooosh!

Its wings tore the air apart, sending a gale crashing toward Terrien. As that violent pressure approached—

“Damn…!”

His head screamed to dodge, yet his heart held his feet in place.

‘If I move, the children behind me will be caught…!’

Then—

“Terrien! Move! I’ll take care of the children!”

A voice that made his heart leap—a reliable comrade, Hastings’s voice. In that fleeting moment when there was no time to look back, Terrien trusted his words and threw himself out of the Thunder Bird’s attack range.

Boom! Kwaaang—!

In the blink of an eye, the altar where Terrien had just stood shattered into dust. Immediately, Hastings’s urgent voice rang out.

“Now that it’s come to this, we’re saying farewell to the Thunder Bird Tribe here. I’ll distract or block the tribe’s warriors—leave the children’s safety to me and focus on taking down that monster!”

Terrien didn’t look back as he answered the familiar voice. If he did, the Thunder Bird’s long beak would never let him go.

“I was being reckless, but thanks for going along. I’ll repay this favor.”

“So you do know you’re being reckless. Anyway, what’s done is done—handle it well. Ack! They’re coming! We’ll part ways here for now.”

As if to prove his words, armed tribal warriors had already surrounded Hastings.

“You traitors! We trusted you, and this is how you repay us! I said we should never trust those from the continent!”

“We’ll kill you and offer you to the enraged Thunder Bird!”

“Cut them down and seize the children! We’ll sacrifice them as planned!”

Most of the tribal warriors aiming weapons at Hastings seemed to be in their thirties or forties.

The ones who had once fought alongside Terrien and Hastings against the orc now hesitated in the rear, unsure what to do. Their grips on their weapons were awkward, as if they couldn’t bring themselves to attack comrades they had once shared the battlefield with.

Seeing that, Hastings gave a faint grin.

‘Thank you. Even though we’re turning our backs on you, you still hold to loyalty until the end.’

Hastings exchanged one last look with his comrades. Then he gathered the three children into his arms and vanished.

“…! What—!”

“He took the children and disappeared!”

In the heart of the Great Jungle, Hastings Bartlett, the new leader of the Shadow Raven, had performed his concealment technique.

‘Catch me if you can.’

Terrien’s desperate battle—and Hastings’s escape—had begun.

Inner Fortress of Southern Valaris Territory.

“I will go.”

“What? No! Renania, you know what kind of place the Great Jungle is!”

Count Valaris was shocked by his daughter’s declaration and immediately tried to dissuade her.

“If I don’t go, Valaris will be in danger. They’re already creating hostility and threatening our people. If I step back now, they’ll strike our territory even more openly. I have no choice but to go.”

To think she would volunteer to head into the Great Jungle! Count Valaris had never intended to relay Ipalim’s message in that way—it was as if fire had been set to his own foot.

“I am still the Border Count of the South. Do you think I lack the strength to protect my own daughter? You don’t need to go that far. Just refuse outright. Then I’ll lead the southern forces myself and go to war with those rebels if I must, to protect you!”

“No, Father. I must go. The title and power of Border Count, passed down from our ancestors, were given to protect Aphahiel—not someone like me.”

Renania’s answer was resolute. It seemed her mind was already made up.

“You… how can you not understand your father’s heart…”

Instead, it was Renania who began to persuade him.

“Father, you must stay strong. If you exhaust your strength on matters like this, then when His Highness returns and needs your help, you may not be able to support him as he deserves. You know this, don’t you?”

“Of course I must help His Highness, but…”

“Yes, exactly. This is helping His Highness. You know as well as I do—if trouble arises over someone like me before His Highness’s return, the South’s forces won’t remain intact.”

Her tone, her posture, even her expression—all were firm and unyielding. At last, Count Valaris realized that nothing he said could change her mind.

‘My daughter… when did you grow so much…’

Renania Valaris, who had always seemed small and delicate in his eyes, now chose not to flee but to face the daunting task of entering the notorious Great Jungle—not for herself, but for Valaris and Aphahiel.

“…Fine. But promise me this: do everything you can to survive. That’s all this father can say.”

In the end, Renania won the argument. The Count closed his eyes tightly and permitted her departure into the jungle.

“Don’t worry, Father. Soon enough, the Great Jungle will be safer than this place.”

“…?”

“Even if they try, they won’t be able to capture His Highness. The situation will only escalate from here, and the South will inevitably be drawn into war. So it’s for the best.”

“What?”

“Why that look? Did you think I was going to die?”

“Well, not exactly… but I’d never let you die.”

“No, Father. I’ll disappear.”

“What do you mean by that!”

“Listen to me. If I go to the Great Jungle and by chance end up staying by His Highness’s side, then protecting not only me but also Valaris—and the entire South—will become easier. No matter how audacious they are, even they wouldn’t dare pressure you for troops if the sole heir of Valaris were to go missing in the Great Jungle. By then, they’ll have no choice but to tread carefully around the South.”

Count Valaris could only exhale in awe at her resolve.

“Haah… my daughter, you’ve thought that far ahead…”

Renania replied to his dazed expression with a gentle smile.

“Father, before being a lady, I am a knight who serves Aphahiel. Just as you have, I’ll one day lead Valaris as its next lord. How could someone like me ever be taken hostage?”

It was a calm, confident smile—one that soothed the heart and inspired trust. It was the very same smile that Yuwon himself once wore.

“They’ll regret taking me along to the Great Jungle.”

Thus, the noble lady of Valaris, Renania, set out for the turbulent battlefield—the Great Jungle.