Chapter 314: Siege

“You’re mad?”

The speaker was one of the beautiful women, clad in a sky-blue gown, her long golden-brown hair reminiscent of Blanche’s.

But Rouning was certain: aside from the elder princess, Sharon, already married off, and the second princess, Julia, the King had only one younger princess—Blanche.

Therefore, this woman could not possibly be any princess.

Rouning cast her a cool glance and goaded, “So your confidence can only be found by picking on your pitiful knights?”

He turned to the red-haired man. “Either nod in agreement or shake your head in refusal—letting a woman speak for you? What kind of man are you?”

“You—!”

The red-haired man was visibly enraged. “I’d like to see what kind of power you possess to dare such arrogance!”

With a blur of motion, he lunged toward Rouning.

His entire body was sheathed in aura armor, moving at blinding speed, closing the distance in an instant.

Aura surged, flames erupted—he slammed a fist straight at Rouning’s face.

Strong. Not weak.

Rouning’s eyes flickered with coldness. He did not dodge. He did not draw his sword. Instead, he met the red-haired man’s fist head-on.

The two fists collided with a dull, heavy thud.

The red-haired man’s face twisted in shock. His fist felt as though it had struck a mountain cliff—not only agonizingly painful, but violently recoiling him backward.

Rouning, however, stood motionless, not even swaying.

“This…?”

Shock flashed in the red-haired man’s eyes. He had never imagined the rumors were true—that this man was truly as powerful as they said.

Beside him, the others stood frozen in disbelief.

They had expected Rouning to pay dearly for his arrogance—yet now, it was their own side that had been thrown into disarray.

“I underestimated you,” the red-haired man breathed deeply, extending his hand. One of his knights swiftly handed him a longsword.

His gaze grew grim. “But to flaunt arrogance before the House of Vira? You are not worthy.”

Rouning’s heart stirred.

This red-haired man was from the Vira Duchy, to the right of Wushan Domain. No wonder he had mentioned his grandfather earlier.

“It was Andreas who provided false intelligence, causing my uncle’s death and leaving my grandfather gravely wounded.”

Rouning sneered. “And now you’ve injured my servants in the Golden Feather Palace, slandered my name—how fitting, truly, grandfather and grandson.”

“You seek death!”

This time, the red-haired man was truly furious. He swung his sword, unleashing a torrent of flame that engulfed the air, as if determined to reduce Rouning to ash.

“That’s the aura technique—Instant Blaze. Only a Silver Knight can wield it.”

Rouning now had a rough gauge of his opponent’s strength. Andreas’s grandson—indeed, formidable.

He countered with the same technique. The twin walls of flame met in midair with a deafening roar. The heatwave swept outward, whipping the ornamental plants into a frenzy.

“What’s happening over there?”

“Are knights fighting?”

“Impossible—this is the Golden Feather Palace! Who would dare act so recklessly?”

Nearly all the nobles and guests invited to the birthday banquet had been stationed nearby. At the thunderous boom and rising inferno, they poured out in droves.

Simultaneously, the royal palace’s knight squad surged toward the scene.

The aura flames clashed, devouring each other—but Rouning’s technique proved superior. It not only overwhelmed the opponent’s attack but carried residual force to crush forward.

“Damn it!”

The red-haired man cursed inwardly, raising his sword desperately to block.

But the impact came too swiftly. Before he could brace himself, the full force slammed into him.

Thankfully, his aura armor absorbed the brunt.

Yet Rouning followed with a single punch—straight to the chest.

The force sent the red-haired man flying.

“Pfft!”

He crashed to the ground, spitting blood. He could feel several ribs broken.

He simply could not believe he had been defeated in an instant.

“You should be grateful you didn’t accept a duel to the death. Otherwise, what struck you just now wouldn’t have been my fist—but my sword.”

This man was the grandson of Duke Vira. Though they clashed, since he had not agreed to a mortal duel and no witnesses were present, killing him would have been foolish.

But breaking two of his ribs? That was justifiable.

“Now, will you tell me your name?”

“I—”

“Never mind.” Rouning cut him off. “I don’t remember the names of those I’ve defeated.”

“You—!”

The red-haired man’s face flushed crimson. He spat another mouthful of blood.

Rouning turned his gaze to the remaining three.

“Who else injured my servants?”

The other two men and two women shifted uncomfortably. They hadn’t expected Rouning to be this strong—or to strike so brutally.

The grandson of Duke Vira—just laid low like that.

“What a coward!”

Rouning sneered. “If you won’t face me, then apologize to my knights. And since their injuries are so severe they can’t even stand, you’ll pay five thousand gold coins each for their medical expenses.”

“Enough talk! Attack him together!”

The red-haired man roared. Chivalry? Nobility? All gone. Only rage remained—only the need to crush Rouning beneath his boots.

“Attack!”

The others needed no further urging. They drew their swords and charged as one—nine against one.

Rouning unleashed a Flame Whirlwind. Five were instantly flung away. Only four broke through, approaching from four directions.

“Too weak.”

Rouning, though not the strongest, saw at a glance—their movements were riddled with openings.

Swords clashed. With superior strength, speed, and technique, he handled their close-quarters assault with effortless ease.

Seeing their assault fail, the four combined their aura techniques.

Blades of Storm. Flame Cleave. All hurled at Rouning.

Meanwhile, one of the uninvolved women—a mage—fired a Water Arrow straight at him.

At that moment, the Golden Feather Palace’s guard unit arrived on the scene.

They arrived just in time to witness this spectacular spectacle.

Which noble lord could possibly take on five at once… no, six, seven, eight, nine?

“Vera, Fleming, Odyn, Gregor, Wushan…”

The captain of the knight squad felt his scalp tighten with dread.

“Quick, stop this fight!”

He charged forward at the head of the group.

The others dared not hesitate; all unleashed their aura, transforming into human firewalls as they surged toward the center of the battlefield at maximum speed.

Their pace was swift—but how could it rival the speed of martial arts and magic?

Facing such a coordinated assault, Luo Ning dared not underestimate them, nor could he count on the arriving knights to shield him.

He had to tread carefully too—using an overpowered technique like Inferno Slash might well result in death or injury to his opponents.

“Cyclone Cross Slash!”

Boom—roar—

The Cyclone Cross Slash concentrated its force more tightly, slightly outmatching Instant Blaze.

Yet even so, the combined assault of five was stronger—and shattered Luo Ning’s technique.

Seeing the Golden Feather Palace knights arrive, and noting the fading residual force of their combined strike, Luo Ning chose to abandon resistance entirely, letting the aftershock slam into him.

Thud!

His whole body shuddered—he still felt the discomfort.

With the impact and a slight push off the ground, he was hurled backward, crashing heavily onto the earth.

“My lord!”

Tom and David scrambled over in panic—they had never seen their lord wounded so severely.

“Everyone… stop!”

The knight captain and his men finally interposed themselves at the center, halting what might have escalated further.

“Please, cease this violence!”

Luo Ning pushed himself up, sitting on the ground.

“Sir Knight, you’ve arrived just in time!”

He coughed, feigning grave injury: “Had you come a moment later, I fear they would have slain me together!” (End of chapter)