1. Prologue (His Past) - 4. I Will Risk My Life to Protect My Kingdom
After three days of travel, Angel arrived at Springwell City at dusk. Springwell City was one of Asteria trading cities with beautiful natural scenery. It was located on Southwest Asteria near the Southern border.
Since it was close to the Kingdom of Zephyrus and the Kingdom of Euphorion, the city was usually very lively with so many foreign merchants and traders, even at night. But now, the city looked quiet, only some people were seen walking in a hurry to return to their homes.
Realized the situation was worse than he expected, he spurred his horse straight to the City Hall. Shortly, he saw a big mansion with iron fences surrounding it. He swung the reins around his hands to slow down as the mansion drew near.
In front of the mansion's gate, two guards approached him, blocking his way.
"Halt! The city hall is closed, you can come back tomorrow!"
"I'm Prince Angelus. The king sent me to deal with the monster," answered Angel.
The guards looked surprised and bowed.
"Please forgive our rudeness, Your Highness."
Because of his hair colour, some people often mistook his identity, but he was already used to this.
"It's fine, open the gate," he said nonchalantly.
They gave him a quick bow and rang the bell in front of the gate to inform his arrival. Then they opened the gate and stepped aside.
"Thank you," he said as he moved forward.
After he arrived at the entrance, he got off from his horse and gave the reins to a guard. A man in a white official uniform came out in a hurry to greet him. The official bowed.
"Good evening, Your Highness. I'm Gerald, the major's assistant. Welcome to Springwell City."
Angel nodded slightly to reply to his greeting.
"I apologize for our unpreparedness. We only receive short notice about your arrival," added Gerald.
"I'll cut the chase, call the mayor and chief in charge to meet me in the meeting room."
Gerald gestured to a guard beside him to carry out Angel's order. The guard bowed and left.
"I'll accompany you to the meeting room," said Gerald as he gave Angel a gesture to enter.
Angel walked to the meeting room accompanied by Gerald and several guards.
They entered a large room with a long table with some chairs lined up on the sides.
"I'll call the servants to make you some tea. Is there anything else you need before I leave?" said Gerald.
He turned his gaze towards Gerald.
"Rather than tea, could you give me some information about the monster?"
"About that-" Before Gerald finished his sentence, a guard came in a rush.
"My apologize, Your Highness. The mayor and the chief can't meet you right now. The monster has attacked the South gate so they have already left to take care of it," he said breathlessly.
"What ?!" said Gerald in shock.
"Take me there!" said Angel. And he followed the guard.
-------
When he arrived at the South Gate, the situation was very chaotic. Many people ran for their lives while the mayor led the evacuation, ensuring no one was left behind. On top of the wall's gate, the archers shot their arrows. While the magic users used their Magic Barrier spell to defend the city gate that was almost destroyed.
He went up to the top of the gate to check the situation outside of the city. And he could see a raging Nether Buffalo surrounded by some swordsmen.
'That won't work ...' Nether Buffalo was a bull-shaped monster that was five times bigger than an ordinary bull. Its horns were long and sharp. Its stocky legs were equipped with sharp claws with a long and thorny tail. And its body was covered in thick black scales. That's why he knew that monster couldn't be defeated in the normal way.
Angel swept his gaze looking for the chief and quickly caught a man around his age in military uniform with an iron badge on his collar, a lieutenant's badge. The man was busy giving orders to his subordinates as his hands also shot the monster with his arrow.
Quickly, Angel approached the lieutenant.
"Are you chief in charge here?"
Realizing his presence, the lieutenant bowed.
"Yes, Your Highness. My name is Helias, I apologize for not being able to meet you earlier."
"Listen to me! Withdraw your swordsmen now, their sacrifice will be in vain. Order all the archers to aim at the monster's eyes. Once you see my signal, stop the attack. I will take care of that monster by myself." As soon as he finished his order, he turned around and left in a hurry.
"You can't face it alone, Your Highness! That monster is very dangerous!" said Lieutenant Helias in panic.
"There's no time! Do as I say!" shouted Angel as he continued to run down the stairs.
Quickly, he exited through a small door beside the main gate. As he expected the monster's attention was diverted by the arrows. He approached the Nether Buffalo as he hid between trees and bushes near the gate. When he felt close enough, he pulled out his sword and raised his hand, ordering the archers to stop their attack.
The monster noticed his presence and turned its gaze to him. Angel dashed toward it as fast as he could, as well as the monster. Once close enough, the monster tried to attack him with its horns without stopping its steps, charging at him without mercy. Everyone held their breath with shocked faces and thought Angel would die in that one strike. But no, he dodged as he slid down to its stomach, the only part that wasn't covered with scales. He knew that the gap under the stomach was big enough for one adult and he could stab it easily from there. It was just that not everyone had the courage to do something as bold as him.
With one slash, its stomach was torn apart. The monster groaned loudly, its blood soaking his body. Its intestines popped out of a large wound on its stomach, showing how deep his blade had ripped through the monster. A second later, the monster staggered, Angel quickly rolled his body to the side to avoid its body falling on him.
The monster collapsed. But its tail was still moving in rage and destroying everything around it, indicating his battle wasn't over. Angel stood up and approached it as he struggled to avoid its tail movements. His eyes focused on the monster's neck. Then in one precise thrust, he pierced its neck. As his blade penetrated its neck, the monster tail fell, signifying his victory.
Everyone fell silent.
Angel was still standing beside the monster's body with panting breath. His actions were reckless, if his calculation was a little off, he was the one who died.
A voice from the gate's wall broke the silence.
"We won! The monster is dead!" Followed by the sound of applause and cheers of others.
He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the city's gate which was filled with happy faces for his victory. As he watched their happiness, a satisfied smile started to develop on his lips. This was what made him keep going and fighting despite whatever happened in his past or his family treatment because he wanted to give his best for his kingdom and protect his people.
The city gate opened. Lieutenant Helias and his subordinates came out to greet him.
"Congratulations, Your Highness. You have conquered the monster," he said with a happy smile.
Angel sheathed his sword as he returned to his usual expression and approached Lieutenant Helias.
"Burn the carcass as soon as possible, its blood will lure the other monsters." He pointed to the gate that was about to collapse in front of him.
"Close this gate for a while and ask the major to fix it. For the report, you can submit it to your leader. You don't need to report it to me. And one more thing ..." He gave a pat Lieutenant Helias' shoulder.
"Thank you for your good work." Although everyone saw this as an easy victory for him, actually defeating that monster wasn't that easy. And to be honest, he was close to his death when he attacked the monster without any preparation. That's why he knew Lieutenant Helias was doing his best amid that sudden attack.
Lieutenant Helias smiled broadly upon his compliment.
"It's my duty, Your Highness."
Angel replied to him with a slight nod. Then he could feel someone watching him. He glanced toward the gate and noticed his uncle's spy was hiding there. He sighed quietly.
'Uncle, how much longer do you have to doubt me.'