Chapter 138 Sacrifice
◎ Roni flicked the tip of the sword lightly, brushing against the scabbard and retracting it.◎
Tick-tick, tick-tick, blood formed a line and dripped along the blade. Roni flicked the tip of the sword lightly, brushing it against the scabbard and retracted it.
"What's wrong?" She raised her dark red eyes.
Gulp, there was dead silence all around, and everyone couldn't help but take two steps back.
Because the headless corpse on the ground belonged to the first prince of Rome, Marcus.
Ronnie shook her cloak, glanced at the metal insignia that symbolized her generalship, then calmly knelt on one knee, cradling Marcus's head in her arms. "You all witnessed His Highness Marcus attacking the defenders. I killed him in battle. When Her Highness Elena returns, I will personally explain the crime to her—I bear all responsibility."
Carry, what are you carrying?
The soldiers exchanged nervous glances. Everyone knew that Her Highness Elena aimed for the throne, and that she would only drink three cups of wine if the eldest prince died. They were simply astonished, astonished that Marcus could be easily killed by a commoner.
Yes, Roni was once a star gladiator, with a streak of over 100 victories. While such a person is certainly powerful, Marcus is Caesar's son.
Royal blood holds an advantage in every aspect. Even if Marcus isn't as brave as Caesar, he should still crush the commoners. That would prove the royal family's superiority.
How can it be so easy to die?
It was just an ordinary charge, a standard duel. Swords clashed in the air. The next scenario should have been Ronnie getting slashed in the shoulder, or Marcus carelessly slipping off his horse and being captured in an inexperienced fight.
However, the facts are completely different and absurd.
[Ha, no wonder His Majesty never lets the eldest prince fight. Such a weakling would only bring shame to the Romans.] Whether they were city guards, garrisoned legions, or captured private soldiers, every witness felt a surge of contempt.
"General." The adjutant rode up to her, untied his cloak and helped cover Marcus's head. "What should we do next?"
The soldiers looked at them with sharp eyes. They had already killed them, and there was no way they could revive them even if they stuck them back.
They all understood each other: the most important thing was to successfully welcome Her Highness Elena back. As long as Her Highness succeeded in ascending the throne, would those who supported Marcus dare to seek revenge later?
Roni easily jumped back onto her horse, pointing her whip at the lights in the city. "Prince Marcus must have been instigated to act this way. Notify the troops stationed outside the city to blockade all districts!"
"yes!"
Their faces were lit red by the torches, and the soldiers quickly separated and ran to different places under the leadership of their team leaders.
They said the city was to be blocked, but everyone knew who they were targeting: the nobles and elders who had political capital.
Until His Highness returns triumphantly, no elder may even set foot outside their home, not even a mouse may be released!!
…
The sky brightened and then darkened, and Sulla slowly closed the heavy cowhide scroll.
The mess outside the window could not be hidden from his ears: Marcus was defeated, faster and more thoroughly than he expected.
[It's really hopeless.]
Without even standing by the window, he could mentally calculate the soldiers' movements. They had completely surrounded the mansion, but no one was breaking in.
After all, confiscation of property and extermination of a family required the emperor's approval, so these soldiers simply used Marcus's death to blockade "suspicious individuals": they wouldn't search your home, nor would they meet you. It was like a child putting a basket over a puppy, not hitting, scolding, or touching it, but simply holding the basket tightly to prevent the puppy from coming out.
This strategy is not aimed at me alone. None of the elders, including Muro, can connect with each other during the siege.
Even the roughest people have their own wisdom. Which general came up with such a clever response?
It doesn't matter if you don't understand politics or personal relationships; the winner can always afford to drag it out for a few days. The First Prince is dead. As long as Elena returns to the throne as usual, she will be rewarded according to her merits, and the elders who were released will be grateful for not killing her.
Oh.
He smiled, as if he had thought of something interesting.
Knock knock knock.
"Come in."
A pale-faced man dressed as a butler pushed open the door and knelt on the ground with a thud: "Sir, sir..."
He stammered for a long time, and seeing that Sulla was unmoved, he had no choice but to bang his head on the ground: "Madam refused to come over and struggled violently... She called you over and said, she must ask you to say it yourself..."
"Is it done?"
"...It's all over."
"Get up, and all who are still alive go to the cellar."
"yes…"
The butler stumbled to his feet, nearly tripping on the carpet. Normally, someone would have dragged such a disrespectful slave out and punished him, but today he slipped away from Sura's sight without a hitch.
In person...I should go in person.
Sura rubbed his forehead, stood up with the help of the table, and the slight dizziness gradually disappeared.
Before leaving the study, he took one last look at the leather scroll on the bookshelf. Without even opening it, he could still remember every word and every stroke.
Legends about fairies are mostly fictional, but there are also some true stories. Those who know him well would think that Sulla is a pragmatist who is not very pious and has no interest in the history of the Age of Gods.
After all, Sura lacked even the slightest magical talent and was a complete insulator. In the distant Age of the Gods, he would have been a pariah among the pariahs.
He was right, but he never stopped exploring, whether it was his untalented magic or the ancient legends hidden in the cracks. He could probably guess at the goblins' thoughts.
In fact, he had always been concerned about one thing: why did Melia escape his predictions again and again? It was like a star spinning back and forth, constantly changing its trajectory.
The biggest changes were naturally before and after Muala's funeral, but no matter how he changed his plans, Melia could always respond surprisingly perfectly.
So this time, he deliberately chose a day when she was not around.
Click, Sura pushed open the bedroom door himself and stepped lightly into the pool of blood.
"Ahem, ahem." A beautiful woman in a red long dress was chained to a couch. Her makeup was wet by water stains, revealing fine crow's feet.
"Nova, I'm here." He called her nickname affectionately.
"Ahem...you, you're crazy." Nova's pupils dilated and her teeth chattered. "The child...the child...he's yours..."
How pitiful, she's crazy.
Sulla looked at his wife of many years with sympathy.
It's said that women can tolerate pain far better than men, but he doesn't think that's the case. At least when it comes to children, women are always vulnerable and sympathetic.
He had clearly hinted at the room for maneuver in Nova's plan, and that everything would be fine. Unexpectedly, even after taking such a huge risk, she still refused to believe him.
Sura walked over the bloodstains and sat down on the bench. "Don't worry, the goblins will be forced to start their plan early. As long as they succeed, everyone who died in the [Domain] will be resurrected."
"Ahem, cough, cough. Did the goblins tell you that? Did they promise?" A glimmer of hope flashed in the woman's eyes, but more of it was resentment, anger that penetrated deep into her bones.
"No," Sulla replied lightly, "it's a guess, a reasonable guess."
This is a precise and bold calculation.
The Fairy Queen has constructed a small history, a fictional future woven around reality like threads. When magic is activated, these threads can constantly modify and replace reality, fulfilling the fairies' expectations.
Since the false will replace the real, after the false is implanted, it doesn’t matter what happens in reality, it will be overwritten and modified anyway.
The flame of hope was extinguished, and the woman's eyes flushed red: "You, you didn't care about him at all! You didn't care about anyone!!!"
What goblin? What magical calculation? He didn't care if he guessed wrong at all! This devil—he was just trying, trying!
The chains rattled violently during the violent struggle, making the corpse on the ground seem even quieter.
"Hush, be quiet." Sura frowned slightly. "I can have more children. If you are not satisfied, you can adopt a few in the future. I will treat them as my own."
"Ha, hahahaha... Treat her like your own child? Pah! A tool! Worse, worse than an orphan!" Nova spat out a mouthful of blood, which dripped onto the carpet. So many dark red blood beads had solidified on it that the color was completely invisible.
"You should take a rest first. When everything is done, take a nap in the basement. Maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow..."
Before he could finish his words, Nova's neck suddenly tilted and she collapsed. Sura's eyes glared. He quickly walked towards his wife, then hesitated and stopped in front of the couch.
Could it be a trap? Does she have hidden guards? Nova is not rational, she might seek revenge for that foolish child.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally couldn't help but walked up to her and sniffed her tremblingly.
No, my wife is no longer breathing.
It could be the heart problem the witch doctor had repeatedly warned her about, or it could be a poison pill hidden in her mouth. Born into a wealthy family, she had come close to using these little things many times in her early years.
Call for a witch doctor? No, the witch doctor was dead too. These guests died earlier than the slaves. After all, too many of the sacrifices he had purchased in advance had gone missing. With the blockade, this was the only option left.
He did nothing wrong, nothing was wrong.
The fairy will definitely start the plan. As soon as Elena sets foot in Rome, the magic will be activated. He is just raising the stakes now. The fairy has already planned everything.
Yes, that’s right. Think about the high priest. He set up the formation a long time ago and it is about to be activated. If it succeeds, the dead will be resurrected.
His steps were a little unsteady, and the dagger he used for self-defense slipped into his hand, trembling with excitement.
"Grandfather?" A thin shadow timidly crawled out from under the curtain.
Oh, it's his only grandson, so it's worth something. What's the child's name? How old is he? It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter, there is a kind of magic that does not require any talent, only sacrifices.
The more precious and cherished the sacrifice, the greater the effect. That is a miracle, a miracle paid for.
Sura didn't even bother to lift the carpet to examine the lavender magic circle, which had already paid enough and was successfully operating. He simply smiled and held out his hand to his grandson, his other hand behind his back, tightly gripping the dagger.
…
As the sky darkened, Ophelia walked to the back door of the courtyard wrapped in her cloak. She was quite simple today, not wearing any jingling jewelry, but a large ruby hidden under her cloak.
Damn, why are there so many soldiers! She waited anxiously under the tree until the soldiers changed shifts.
"Hurry, take me upstairs." She supported the secret guard's shoulders and pointed at the window hurriedly.
After all, she was a Roman princess, and the elite troops under her were naturally not comparable to those new recruits. Although her slippers almost hit the ground, she still managed to climb into Sulla's villa with the strong support of the secret guards.
Hiss, why does it smell a bit?
No, it’s because the incense is too strong, it smells terrible.
Ophelia coughed twice and knocked on the door modestly.
No response.
Strange, even if it was a mistake, a servant should have come to help. Could it be that Lord Sura has been having such a hard time lately that he even dismissed his servants?
She secretly lowered her opinion of Sura, but considering that there was really no one to discuss it with, she still bit the bullet and went upstairs with the secret guards.
As we all know, Sulla likes to live in high places, so the bedroom on the highest place should be his... Wow!
“Ahhhh!”
She was frightened by the figure in the dark and fell backwards. Fortunately, the secret guard was quick-witted and hugged the delicate princess.
"Princess Ophelia?" Sulla, wearing a loose nightgown, stood at the stairs with a gentle expression, holding a scroll of parchment. "It's so late, you must be very anxious."
Uh, Ophelia patted her violently beating little heart.
He was down and out, so down and out that he had to get up in the middle of the night to take a walk without even an attendant.
Even as he thought this, wrinkles formed on his face. "Lord Sura, I'm here to ask for advice. As you know, my brother... wuwu."
He whimpered twice, but the handkerchief was not even wet. His acting was much worse than when Caesar died.
"A suggestion? It seems that the Golden King has poor vision and rejected you?" If Ophelia can come back so soon, Elena should not be far behind.
Sura's voice touched Ophelia's heart: "That's right! The idea is a good one, but the Hun king is a beautiful idiot and a big fool!"
She stamped her feet in anger, "Yes! I've been so humble, but I never thought that Hun, that barbarian, actually wanted me to be a slave!"
"That won't do. You are a noble Roman princess. The Golden King's concubines are nominally concubines, but in reality they are little more than slaves." Sulla warned pertinently: "If the Golden King is foolish, he might even let his concubines and others..."
"Yes, yes, what should I do then?"
"If the Golden King truly loves you, do you still want to be his queen?" Sura raised her eyes and slowly rolled up the parchment.
Of course—I do! Although the Golden King has poor taste and is a crude, crude, and brainless barbarian, he is really handsome.
Ophelia bit her lip and nodded vigorously.
"Have you heard of love potion?" Sura turned and walked up the stairs. "I can give you a bottle of love potion that will make the Golden King fall madly in love with you."
"Uh, but how am I going to get him to drink it?"
Ophelia's small mind suddenly felt something was amiss. The Golden King wasn't her pet puppy, more ferocious than a wolf. How could she possibly hold a bottle of medicine by the neck and force it down his throat?
Besides, the love potion is just a legend. The ones left now only last for two and a half days. When the effect of the potion wears off, the Golden King will slap her, right?
Ugh, even if she does get pregnant and becomes a princess, it would be too embarrassing~
"No, it's a true love potion." Sura's voice was full of temptation. "Don't worry, just put it in the wine as the legend says. The Huns love wine, and the Golden King will definitely drink it."
"That's too suspicious... What if he doesn't drink it?"
"Well, you can put it on your nails, or somewhere else, or sprinkle it on barbecue. It wouldn't hurt to have more people admiring you."
"Then I... try again?"
Su La opened the door of the study and nodded with his back turned: "Then you must hurry up, time is running out."
"I know~"
Ophelia followed him into the study and took a bottle of dark purple liquid from his hand. The smell was so strong, the air was filled with thick incense.
As soon as she got the bottle she covered her nose and left.
Humph, you've lost your usefulness anyway~ poor thing.
The author has something to say:
Thanks to nanaya_scarlet and Lei Lei from Doubi Xiao Mushroom~
Thanks to sunJOJO, Ajiu, Xiangfeng, Doubi Xiaomushi, Don't Want to Get Up, and Yunzhong Feixiang for their support~
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