Chapter 72 Castile (Twenty-Three) Farewell; Fifth Prince...

"Vivi, what happened?" Chu Jing subconsciously reached for the necklace Xu Lingzhao had given him, his back lifting off the cushion and his body stiffening slightly.

“Hmm…it all happened so suddenly, I only found out recently.” Viv looked into the eyes of the Omega in front of her, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes. After hesitating for a few seconds, she slowly spoke, “His Highness made a mistake and was assigned to Solo by the Queen. He will be going there along with Yu Yu’s Rose Knights and Xu Lingzhao’s Holy Light Knights.”

"Solo." Chu Jing murmured these two words softly. He seemed to have heard of this place before, but he couldn't piece together a specific memory from his hazy recollection. He blinked anxiously, "What kind of place is it?"

"Solo is a place where Castile borders three kingdoms. It is extremely cold, inhabited by insectoids, and constantly invaded by enemy countries. If, if they can return alive, it will take at least... ten years. The Queen's order is to pacify Solo or... expand Castile's territory."

"Ten years." Chu Jingze's face suddenly turned pale. He recalled what Alpha had said when she left that morning, that she would wait for him to come back. His eyes were filled with tears, and his lips trembled slightly. He wanted to say something.

But it was like a fishbone stuck in his throat; he kept pondering Viv's words—if he could come back alive.

Chu Jing suddenly grabbed Viv's hand, his voice not loud but exceptionally firm, "I...I want to go, I want to be with her, you must have a way, right?"

Viv lowered her head, her gaze fixed on their clasped hands, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I promised her I would take care of you, but it's not safe outside right now."

“I believe they will come back. I still have a way to send letters to them.” Viv’s voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

Chu Jing understood what she meant. He suddenly felt that everything in front of him had lost its color, and the only thing he could do now was to wait.

He didn't want to cause Viv any trouble.

“Once I’ve settled things at home, I’ll bring you to a safer castle,” Viv’s eyes darkened. After a moment, she continued, “Fifth Prince, he came here yesterday. Unless absolutely necessary, you must not go out.”

Perhaps it was because Viv's tone was too serious.

A flicker of reason crept into Chu Jing's mind amidst his grief. He sniffed and asked, "Why would you say that?"

“He likes beautiful Omegas, and the Queen condones his behavior.” Viv spoke cryptically; she had met the Fifth Prince, who was an extremely rude, arrogant, and lecherous man.

The Omega in front of him was his type, but she couldn't be by Chu Jingze's side all the time.

The atmosphere became somber for a moment.

Before Viv left, she said, "I will send some knights here to protect you."

Snowflakes landed on the tip of her nose, but Viv had no time to notice the slight chill. Her gaze unconsciously drifted to another small manor where Ryan lived. After thinking for a while, she led her maid toward Ryan's quarters.

That was a pitiful Omega.

We cannot stand idly by and do nothing.

On the deserted street, a magnificent carriage was slowly moving along. A male Alpha dressed in fine clothes leaned back on the cushions with a bored expression. "I heard that my brother went to Solo. Tsk tsk tsk," he said with a disdainful look on his face. "After swaggering around for so many years, his end is not as good as mine."

The attendant beside him quickly chimed in, "Our Highness is the wisest; he knows how to protect himself."

Valentino glanced at the sycophantic servant. "I heard that Mother bestowed one of her concubines upon a knight, is that right?"

"Yes, Your Highness, it was bestowed upon the First Prince's guard, Timothy, but they should be on their way to Solo right now."

Valentino gave a meaningful smile and used his toe to lift the chin of the kneeling servant. "That concubine also lives here, right? I just flirted with him a little, and my mother was furious with me."

"Yes, Your Highness. However, we will have to wait for a while. The Second Prince seems to be paying some attention to you lately."

"Tsk, troublesome." Valentino simply closed his eyes. He had just been thinking of playing with that concubine, but an obstacle appeared out of the way, forcing him to temporarily suppress his restless desires. "Go to Vina's place."

After seeing Viv off, Ryan leaned weakly against the door, his heart pounding so loudly he could hear it clearly. Valentino had come; a strong sixth sense told him he had come for him.

Fear spread through his heart. This small manor only had two servants, and if Valentino forced his way in, he would be helpless. Although Viv had promised to protect him to the best of her ability, she could not protect him all the time.

Ryan swallowed unconsciously. Perhaps, perhaps, he could ask the owner of the small manor next door for help.

-

Xu Lingzhao sat on horseback. The entire knightly order was unusually silent the whole way. The knights beside her were the Rose Knights. Feng Sui nodded to her in greeting. Soon after, the two horses rode side by side.

"I know you're amazing, you got promoted so quickly." Feng Sui's tone was full of praise.

"Your tone is fine, but how is Commander Feng's recovery?" Xu Lingzhao looked at the female Alpha. Her complexion was normal, but there was some sadness between her brows.

"Much better. Solo's here too. I was just saying we should have dinner together! I didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon. We can have dinner together tonight." Feng Sui smiled. "That's good. Maybe Solo isn't so dangerous after all."

“Yes, Yu Yu brought a lot of delicious food,” Xu Lingzhao replied to Feng Sui’s previous statement.

Then she said, "Perhaps we can all make it back alive."

“Perhaps.” Feng Sui shrugged with a smile. “Life is truly unpredictable. Just a few days ago, I was saying that I would rest for two days after completing the escort mission. I didn’t expect to be told that I was going to Solo as soon as I arrived at the Knights’ Camp, without even a chance to say goodbye to my family.”

"Captain Feng, are you married?"

Feng Sui shook his head. When the topic came up, a bitter smile appeared on his usually expressionless face. "Let's not talk about this. It's a good thing we're not married yet, otherwise I would feel too bad for them. Don't you think so?"

Xu Lingzhao looked away, Chu Jingze's face appearing in his mind. He cried so much, he should already know he was going to Solo by now.

"Don't say such discouraging things, we will definitely go back."

"Then I'll take your kind words."

-

After a month of non-stop marching.

Xu Lingzhao raised her hand to wipe away the black blood belonging to the Zerg on her face. Yu Yu stood behind her, panting heavily, "What kind of hellhole is this? So many Zerg, fighting every day, it's never going to end!"

"Don't talk, save your energy, it's not over yet." Xu Lingzhao licked her dry lips, wrapped the sword in her hand, and her eyes revealed a rare weariness.

For the past month, they have worked almost non-stop. The closer they get to Solo, the more numerous and powerful the Zerg become. Many A-level Zerg have to cross another mountain to reach their destination.

However, the number of knights in the fifteen knight orders has been halved.

Without supplies or rest, their ammunition and gunpowder reserves were running low.

Even food was extremely scarce, and the Zerg kept breaking up the ranks, resulting in the loss of a lot of supplies.

Xu Lingzhao's knight uniform was covered in scratches, the white fabric had turned black, and the original color was almost unrecognizable. His once smooth golden hair had become frizzy and unruly.

"When will this kind of life end?" Yu Yu kicked away a swarm of insectoid creatures that lunged at her. "I'm so tired."

"Hold on a little longer." Xu Lingzhao grabbed one of the insectoid's tentacles and ripped it off, then used his wrist to forcefully plunge the sword straight into its head.

After a long period of no rest, Xu Lingzhao felt that his mental energy was exhausted, and sometimes he even saw double.

If she's in such a state, imagine what others must be like.

-

Chu Jingze's leg had almost fully recovered, and he was walking with the help of a maid when there was a knock on the door. Ryan came in carrying a plate of toast, a smile on his face. "Come and try this. It's a new method I've been researching."

"Okay." Chu Jing took a small bite of bread, praising it without stopping, "It seems you have quite a talent for cooking."

"Really? Once your leg is healed, we can do it together."

Chu Jing readily agreed. He turned to look at Ryan, who was looking at a gourmet manual. A month ago, Viv had brought him here and asked if Ryan could come and live with them at the manor.

At first glance, Ryan couldn't hide his surprise when he saw him, but he still frankly said that he knew Chu Jingze said that the queen's concubine was dead.

It was his honesty and his own experiences that moved Chu Jingze to pity.

If he hadn't met Xu Lingzhao, or hadn't arrived in the capital to become a formal concubine.

My fate will probably be similar to Ryan's.

So Chu Jing agreed to let Ryan stay with him. When he was bedridden, Ryan stayed with him. He said that his Alpha and his Alpha knew each other.

She even saved her life.

"I wonder how they are doing."

Chu Jing shook his head. "Vivi said the letter can't be delivered anymore." But he quickly recovered from his grief. "They'll be safe. As for us, we need to take good care of ourselves."

Ryan nodded, took a deep breath, and continued studying the book in his hands.

A maid walked up to Chu Jingze, lowered her voice, and said with a serious expression, "Lord, recently, there have been some strangers around the manor. They seem to be the Fifth Prince's people."

Ryan also heard the maid's words. His expression paused slightly, and his hand, which was turning the pages of the book, stopped in mid-air. He looked up at Chu Jingze and asked, "We didn't go out, so why are we still being watched by him?"

“Perhaps it’s because we don’t go out that he’s become curious.” Chu Jing’s expression turned unusually serious, half a month after Ryan moved in.

The manor where he used to live was forcibly broken into by a group of knights in the middle of the night, making quite a commotion. At that moment, Ryan grabbed his wrist in fear, tears streaming down his face. They watched everything that happened through the gap in the curtains.

If Ryan hadn't come here, he probably would have been forcibly abducted by that Fifth Prince long ago.

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