Return to Beijing (2)

That day, Cheryl and Uri found Alex lying deep in the Monster Forest, and the latter carried him back.

Oppid asked a teacher to lead a team to find Inger.

"There are no injuries on his body, neither external nor internal, but his breathing is very weak." The doctor examined Alex and shook his head.

Teacher Lola, a wizard, also said: "There are traces of strong fire magic on the body, but there is not a single sign of burning."

Opide pressed his temples.

The teaching assistant shouted, "Professor! Everyone is here... except Inger Nieka."

Opide looked at the prince lying on the bed with his eyes closed, and finally said, "The teaching assistant and I will stay here to look for someone. Teacher Lola will take the prince back to the capital to let the bishop take a look."

Cheryl said anxiously, "Professor! I'll stay and help find someone!"

Several other wizards echoed this.

Opide sternly rebuked them: "The place where we just found him clearly showed signs of fighting, and his magic wave power can reach that of a high-level knight. If you stay here, it will only increase the danger. All of you, return here!"

Uri tugged on Cheryl's arm.

Cheryl bit her lip and pushed him away.

Wu Rui said: "There is no trace of blood here, so he must have escaped."

A wizard student guessed: "Did he use a teleportation circle to escape?"

Cheryl's expression relaxed slightly.

Lola sent Alex back to his annex in the palace without making a big fuss. She just asked someone to call Bishop Bisi.

After trying a few times, Bixi shook her head and said, "There's nothing wrong with her. She has a lot of vitality. It's just that the traces of fire magic are too strong."

She asked again: "Where's Inger?"

Laura frowned and said in a deep voice, "It's missing. Professor Nanlord is leading people to look for it."

Bixi's face darkened. "What happened?"

Laura shook her head. It was because they knew nothing that they had no idea where to start.

Quinpeu stood by Alex's bed like a wooden sculpture, not daring to close his eyes.

With Alex's careful care, the staff in the cafeteria fattened him up a bit. At least he was no longer as skinny as he was at the beginning. He also grew taller, and his bones gradually took on the outline of his future.

But his back still didn't straighten.

This was the first time he saw His Highness looking so fragile and powerless.

The Alex he saw was so dazzling, kind and friendly.

He treated everyone as his friend and gave him the best of everything. All he could do was to keep accepting his kindness and study hard.

When faced with this situation, he sat aside and could do nothing.

Kunpeiwu clenched his teeth tightly, tears of unwillingness streaming down his eyes.

When he was beaten by the nobles, starved, frozen, and fled with the refugees and slaves, he had long forgotten to cry for the pain, as if it was insignificant.

At that time, he had nothing to lose, not even his own humble life.

And now, he has.

The moment Alex pulled him out of hell, he made up his mind to live and die for him.

He is his monarch.

How can an incompetent person, who cannot even protect his own monarch, be called a knight?

"...Kunpewu...?"

Alex's face was reflected in the blurry vision.

Kun Peiwu quickly wiped away his tears and knelt down: "Your Highness? You are awake!"

Alex was in a trance, and in front of him, the urgent face with tears overlapped with another face.

Desperately, desperately praying for the faces of those who survived.

Then it gradually overlapped with the faces of countless cold corpses.

The sacrifices from previous lives accumulated, and all the sorrows condensed into the driving force to move forward. He knew that those people were willing to die for the greater good, and so was he.

But he will never forget those tearful eyes.

Inger Nieka.

There is only that one person.

He was telling him, it hurts.

Alex had just woken up. He didn't feel any pain on his body, but his heart felt like it was being grabbed by a pair of hands and was beating painfully.

It's hard to breathe.

Alex grabbed Kumpeu's shoulders and yelled, "Where's Ying?! Where's Inger?!"

He obviously knew the answer.

He watched him die.

It's like waiting for a death sentence.

Those were the saddest seconds of his life.

Kunpeiwu was stunned by his yelling, but still replied: "The teachers said they didn't find him and went to look for him..."

A light gradually appeared in Alex's dead eyes.

He looked at his body and saw that he was clearly seriously injured, but he was fine. He asked, "Did the Archbishop heal me?"

Kunpei shook his head: "When you were sent here, you were not injured, but you were in a coma for several days."

Alex: “How many days?!”

Alex immediately got out of bed, grabbed his riding suit and put it on, then hung the broken sword around his waist.

Kun Pei Wu was surprised and asked, "Your Highness! What are you doing?"

Alex suddenly remembered this guy and drew his sword.

"Wake up! What happened after I passed out?!"

The sword eating was in dead silence.

Alex said coldly: "If you don't tell me now, I will find a dragon and melt you with dragon fire."

A crack appeared on the sword and its mouth opened.

Eat Sword: "...Your threat is not as great as his, and the dragon flame can't melt me..."

"say!"

Kumpeu was frightened by Alex's sharp voice and was also stunned by the sword in his open mouth.

Maybe because he had been fed for too long, the sword-eater said in a timid tone: "What a fierce bullshit! He turned into an immortal bird and flew away! Who knows if he is dead or not!"

Alex had trouble suppressing his pounding heart.

He couldn't stop himself from thinking that.

He's alive! He's alive!

Alex quickly asked, "Where are the horses?"

Kunpei-u pointed outside the window, toward the garden of the annex palace.

Alex opened the window and jumped out.

“Your Highness!!!”

Alex leaned on the eaves several times and landed safely.

Alex climbed up without even putting on the saddle.

He rode his horse at full speed on the avenue of the imperial palace, attracting exclamations from the palace servants along the way.

Alex's mind kept flashing back to the image of Inger's death, while he held on to the faint hope that he would be revived like a dying ember.

He only has one direction in his eyes.

First ride to the train station, then take the train back to the Southwest Territory...

It didn't take long to ride all the way to the palace gate.

In the blink of an eye, a group of knights surrounded him with swords.

Alex looked at the gate which was only a few meters away from him, without even glancing at them.

He didn't realize that the sword had not returned to its sheath.

It is undoubtedly illegal to ride a horse with a sword in hand in the palace.

The light attribute magic power around Alex began to surge.

The look in the Knight Guard Captain's eyes suddenly changed under his helmet.

The golden magic power spread out with great force, centered on Alex.

The knights were blown away at once.

The Knight Guard Captain managed to keep himself alive by stabbing his sword into the ground. He half-opened his eyes and said, "…Level 6."

He himself is now also level six, but when he faces Alex, he subconsciously knows that he will never win.

Alex seemed to realize that he had advanced, and he grinned.

How ridiculous, at this time.

"Drive!"

Bloodshot eyes appeared in his eyes. He leaned down, whipped the horse hard, and rushed towards the gate.

He heard someone shouting behind him: "Your Highness the Ninth Prince!"

At this moment, a loud eagle cry broke through the sky.

The big snow-white bird spread its wings and covered a part of the sky.

Alex subconsciously pulled the horse up and raised his head.

"…Fine?"

Finne howled happily a few times, circled twice, dived down, and landed heavily, raising a hazy cloud of dust.

A man tumbled down from above, bent over and vomited on the ground.

The other person, holding his cloak, slowly approached.

He was covered in dust and looked haggard, but he was full of life.

Alex dismounts.

Inger comes over.

The two of them stopped at the same time, about ten steps apart.

Inger opened his mouth, and when he saw that Alex's wounds were gone, he knew that he was safe, so he breathed a sigh of relief and could not ask anything else.

Alex stared at the person in front of him motionlessly.

Like a fishbone stuck in the throat.

He watched helplessly as the dead person stood before him alive. The result he had hoped for most happened, but he was the one who found it the most unbelievable.

Am I dreaming now?

[………Or should I say that everything that happened before was just a dream. ]

He hoped it was the latter.

But I didn't have the courage to verify it immediately.

He was afraid that this was just a dream caused by his unconsciousness and would be shattered if touched.

Finne shrank, flew to Alex's shoulder, rubbed his face, and seemed happy that he was still alive, stabbing his shoulder with its claws.

The sharp pain made him feel an unprecedented reality.

Then, as Finne flew back to his master, Inger pointed to the ground with a blank expression.

With this claw, his bones would have been broken without shoulder and arm guards.

Finne could only flap his wings, land on the ground, move a few steps with his tail wagging, curl up into a ball and look at the two of them with grievance.

"Alex! What are you doing!?"

Ola heard the news and rushed over with his team.

Alex turned around and slowly put away his sword.

At this time, Ola also saw the knights on the ground and Inger standing at the door.

Ola frowned and asked, "You're back? Have you returned home?"

Inger shook his head in silence.

"They're going crazy looking for you." Ola scratched her blonde hair and looked at Alex, "Let's take you home first."

The momentum around Alex subsided. He soothed the frightened horse a few times and led the horse to Inger's side.

Inger glanced at him and sat down.

Alex sat behind him and held the reins.

Finé flew to Alex's shoulder and called out a few times.

Ola just wanted to get another one, but seeing that the two of them didn't seem to object, he gave up.

But they didn't speak at all along the way.

The silent suppression was too much for Ola who was traveling with her to bear.

When he arrived at the Duke's Mansion, Karena, Pendeljia, and Lanmore grabbed him and interrogated him repeatedly. Bixi also hurried back, and Christine, Uri, Cheryl, and Norihua all came.

The house was bustling as never before.

"Alex and I ran into some trouble. An unknown monster chased us deep into the woods. After we killed it, we found another monster coming out from the ground. We thought it was dangerous so we killed it. Then we both collapsed from exhaustion. It might have been because we smelled some anesthetic plants. Finne saw that I had blood on me, flew down from the sky and took me to another place. Then I was taken in by Miss Breya and Miss Arlene for a few days."

This was the speech he made up on the way.

Inger looked at Alex and said, "Alex, you are so worried because you are afraid that I will be taken away by monsters in that forest, right?"

Alex nodded silently.

Inger put on a tired smile and said, "Don't worry, you see I have all my limbs intact and I don't have any injuries."

His father, mother and brother took turns touching him several times before they felt at ease.

"Tell me, how come accidents like this always happen to you?"

"Then I always turn danger into safety." Inger said with a smile, "By the way, father and mother, please reward Miss Blea and Miss Alinai for me. Miss Alinai lives in a village on the edge of Blea and Amiel territories."

Eric was about to say something to refuse, but Inger stopped him with one sentence: "Since it was obtained through exploitation, what's the burden of taking it back?"

Eric was inexplicably annoyed by that smile. She knew Inger was lying, but she couldn't make up her mind to expose him.

Inger later sent Langmore away and told him to get back to work.

Lanmore didn't want to leave, but seeing Ola standing beside him, he couldn't refuse this reasonable request, so he walked away, looking back every few steps and giving instructions with every step.

Inger looked at Christine, who was smiling brightly.

The two of them didn't talk to each other, but they immediately understood what was in each other's eyes.

【So this is what her prophecy meant. 】

Died, tragically. But resurrected. So the outcome is good.

It's so accurate that it sends chills down your spine.

Norihua finally had the chance to speak: "Professor Nanlord is still looking for you. I'll go and tell him to come back."

"No need. I went there first and reported to the teacher. He should be walking back on the train now... I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble." Inger sighed.

Norihua smiled and said, "If I knew I was in trouble, I would take good care of my body."

Norihua left without much idle chat. She was very good at reading the atmosphere. These people obviously had other things to talk about, so she sent everyone away one by one.

After Norihua left, Ola commented: "She has become very famous in the social circle recently, and has many profitable business routes and connections under her." Her words were suggestive.

Inger smiled but said nothing.

Ola didn't waste any more words and asked, "What on earth happened to you? What has put you in such a mess?"

Seeing that Alex didn't want to answer, Inger said, "We met the Fourth Prince."

"Rudolf?" Ola gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence.

Alex's first words so far: "He was level 8 when he fought us."

Aura's pupils shrank, and he blurted out subconsciously: "Impossible!"

Aura had been a level 7 knight for some time, and she was promoted when Rudolf had just reached level 6.

Compared to Alex, who is leveling up like a rocket, Ola is considered talented. If it weren't for the two of them, Rudolph would also be considered a genius.

But he relied more on his own efforts and various evil ways.

Since he became a mercenary, he has more ways to obtain strange and exotic potions.

After Ola was shaken, she said, "It's very likely that he drank some potion and got a temporary improvement. That damn..." She cursed at Qiu Ne a few times.

Christine's leg disability was caused by Rodolfo, and Christine no longer cared about it. On the contrary, Ola always held a grudge against him. She always wanted to find an opportunity to kill him.

Inger also agreed with this guess and nodded. In the comics, Rudolph was only level 7 when he first appeared, and he couldn't beat Alex who was level 6.

Moreover, although the Rudolf they had seen before was strong, his level 8 aura was not stable, and his condition was also very strange.

But he had time to think about this later. The fact that he was at level 8 was enough to shake his mind, not to mention the critical moment of the battle.

Ola raised his eyebrows and asked, "Then how did you escape from him unscathed?"

Alex clenched his fists suddenly and tightened his jaw.

Inger turned to Christine, surprised that she had not told Ola about this.

Christine smiled mischievously and said, "It's a secret between the three of us."

Ola: "What? Chris, did you see that?"

Inger was silent for a while, then slowly said: "...There's nothing I can't say... I..."

Alex suddenly interrupted him and said to Ola and Christine, "Sister Ola, Christine, I have something to say to him."

Ola frowned and was about to say something, but Christine pulled her sleeve and she shut up.

Alex stared at Christine. "Will you keep this secret for us?"

Christine smiled politely, "Of course, I won't tell him without his permission."

Christine stood on tiptoe, took Ola's arm, and said sweetly, "Ola, let's go back! I suddenly want to eat Mrs. Kant's dessert."

Aura was speechless: "You still need to make excuses with me?"

Christine pouted: "It's true that I want to eat it!"

Ola had never been able to do anything to her, and although she was very curious about the secrets of these two people, she never delved into it.

The door opened and closed for the nth time.

Alex walked to the bed and reached out to pull up Inger's collar.

Inger was startled and forced to look up at him.

The red bloodshot in Alex's eyes had not yet faded.

Inger suddenly felt a tightness in his throat.

Alex took advantage of his distraction and tore open his clothes. He saw the scar left on his chest, which looked perfectly healed - long and deep, a mark that could never be erased.

This is the strongest evidence of what happened.

Alex said sorry softly and withdrew his hand.

So he really died... once.

Even if I could be resurrected.

It doesn't mean that the pain, struggle, despair and near-death experience will disappear, not to mention that Inger has an exceptionally good memory.

Alex's memory is not as good as Inger's, but what about Inger himself?

He couldn't imagine it.

Alex sat on the edge of the bed, hunched over with his head in his hands.

Inger felt indescribably uncomfortable, and Alex's emotions came flooding back.

Inger then did his best to comfort him in a soft voice: "Alex, I'm still here."

From an angle that Inger couldn't see, tears from Alex's closed eyes fell silently to the ground.

Inger put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him twice, saying helplessly, "Why didn't I realize that you were such a tearful person before?"

It’s not that Alex didn’t cry during the war, but he couldn’t let anyone see it. But later on, he didn’t even have time to feel sad, as he spent all his time saving people.

In the end, not many people survived.

In his pangs of self-reproach he detected a strange inconsistency in the words.

Inger continued without noticing, "Look." He summoned the dawn.

Alex looked up and saw seven balls of light floating out.

Inger looked at them and said with a sigh, "Do you remember the last spell I chanted at that time?"

"Oh, by the way, you don't understand, sorry." Inger suddenly laughed.

That smile didn't seem forced at all.

Alex looked at him intently.

Inger blinked and said, "Although it hurts a little, I'm still alive. Isn't that something to be happy about?"

【Why bother with death? 】

"Alex, why are you looking so sad? I did what you begged me to do, aren't you happy?"

Alex's eyes were sore.

When he came to his senses, he was hugging Inger tightly.

Listen to the lively heartbeat.

Unprecedented peace of mind.

Of course he was happy that he was alive.

But he hated himself even more because he was right beside him but couldn't protect him, couldn't save him, he couldn't do anything.

Inger patted him gently on the back.

He just swallowed all the bitterness under his tongue.

There is nothing we can do about the past.

He will cherish everything he has gained even more.

There is always hope in life.