Two assailants engaged Duke Arthur in combat while the others fought and attempted to withdraw.
However, King Alexander wasn't about to let them escape so easily. He issued a command, "Don't let them escape."
He wanted to identify the audacious individuals who dared to attempt his death. Upon receiving the order, the guards moved to intercept the retreating members of Blood Rain.
Moreover, these assassins had previously manipulated the situation to drive King Alexander toward a the end of Forest of Nirvana and entrance to Forest of Death.
Now, they found themselves surrounded, with no escape behind them. The leader of the Blood Rain clenched his teeth, slew a guard, and contemplated abandoning his comrades to escape alone.
Glancing aside, he saw First Consort Jace standing behind Consort Lancelot who had been in his way earlier.
Seeing that the Blood Rain leader was looking at them, First Consort Jace extended his hand, pushing Lancelot out of the protective circle of the guards and into the midst of the battle.
The Blood Rain leader's face elated with suprise. Keeping a Consort on knife point and escaping would be easier, wouldn't it?
He made a swift decision and reached for the thrown Consort who appeared to be dazed.
Lance played along perfectly, allowing himself to be caught by the assassin. He lowered his head and observed the blade, which gleamed coldly.
He spoke to 007 in his mind, ["I have to give this move a perfect score. Even in trouble, First Consort Jace's wants to kill me first."]
007 remarked with a hint of sarcasm, ["You earned it."]
It was starting to feel like the host had fully embraced Lancelot's role, participating foolishly in the palace intrigues.
The Blood Rain Leader tightened his grip around Lance's waist and warned, "Behave!"
Then he raised his voice, shouting to King Alexander in the distance, "This man just shielded you from a spear. Will you stand idly by as he dies?"
King Alexander's complexion turned ashen, his gaze locked onto the scene. "Release him." he ordered.
The people around him also hesitated, uncertain whether they should continue their fight.
Lance weakly placed his hand on the one gripping his waist trying to loosen it while gazing at the emperor with determination in his almond-shaped eyes.
Seeing Lance staring, 007 couldn't help but comment, ["I told you to follow King Alexander, he has a favorability of 80 unlike Duke Arthur's 10. Even your brother Liamsworth's favorability towards you is 75!"]
[You can see everyone's favorability towards me?] Lance sighed, ["In the future, tell me these things beforehand. It would make executing the strategy less challenging."]
007 vaguely replied, ["You should ask..."] It couldn't let the host know it had forgotten!
The Blood Rain Leader's eyes filled with hope as he heard King Alexander's command. He took two steps back, still holding onto Lance, and warned, "If your men make a move, I'll kill him."
"I command you to release him." King Alexander's gaze was heavy as he focused on the assassin. His voice was slow and firm as he added, "I promise your safety."
Lance chimed in, ["Look, he won't take back soldiers. What a dick."]
007 commented, [Already at 80%...] Human nature was complex, this percentage meant early love!
Lance smiled, [But it's not enough for a King to love.]
He only had a vague concept of the favorability value calculated by 007, but he knew King Alexander well.
A favorability rating of 80 wouldn't be enough to make him set aside his royal pride.
Nevertheless, it would be a loss to King Alexander if he chose to do so in this situation, letting the Blood Rain Leader go.
Lance's raised his hand onto the Blood Rain Leader's sword-wielding hand, but his eyes remained fixed on King Alexander.
When he caught King Alexander looking at him, a fresh, radiant smile graced Lance's face, reminiscent of trees reviving after winter.
"I've had the honor of being with the King in this life and will have no regrets when I lay in my coffin!"
Having spoken these words, Lance grabbed the Blood Rain Leader's hand with his eyes closed, pushed the blade towards his neck.
"No!" King Alexander exclaimed before he could think it through.
In the spur of the moment, King Alexander took a step forward but was pulled back by First Consort Jace behind him. "Your Majesty, please don't squander Consort Lancelot's sincerity."
Lance's fair neck couldn't feel the coolness of blood. The Blood Rain Leader had withdrew the blade quickly, fearing that he might genuinely kill himself.
To the Leader's surprise, there was no resistance. Instead, it seemed that Lance was also pushing the sword away.
Suddenly, Lance broke free from the Blood Rain Leader's grasp.
At first glance, it seemed as though the Leader had let him go, fearing he would take his own life.
Lance made eye contact with the Leader behind him and saw the surprise in his eyes. He offered a slight smile and whispered three words.
"Dumbass, look behind."
The Blood Rain Leader was baffled by Lance's actions. Just as he was about to look behind, he felt a chilling sensation in throat.
The tip of a sword had pierced through, bright and gleaming.
Duke Arthur had been closely observing the Blood Rain Leader, looking for an opportunity. When the Leader hesitated and became distracted, he acted swiftly.
Before the Blood Rain Leader could react, Duke Arthur thrust his sword into the Leader's neck.
007 remarked, ["Should we add another point of goodwill to Duke Arthur, he saved your life twice now!"]
Lance remained in his spot without moving. To the others, he appeared too shocked to know what to do, embodying the image of a young man who had just experienced a life-and-death ordeal.
Seeing Duke Arthur kill the assassin, King Alexander felt a sense of relief.
Although he inexplicably felt a void within him, he finally relaxed. "Hurry, treat Consort Lancelot!" he ordered.
While the Blood Rain Leader who had taken Lance was dead, Lance and Duke Arthur was still surrounded by the remaining Blood Rain members.
This command not only roused the guards but also caught the attention of any members nearby.
The Leader had been slain, and they were now in disarray. Surprisingly, they didn't opt to flee but instead continued their assault on Duke Arthur, who had killed their Blood Rain Leader.
It seemed they intended to fight to the end.
Duke Arthur wore a grim expression as he tried to retrieve his sword from the leader's body. To his surprise, it wouldn't budge.
After a moment of puzzlement, he decisively let go of the sword, rolled to evade an attack from behind, and pulled Lance with him.
This roll not only put more distance between him and the sword but also kept the swords of other guards and soldiers out of reach.
These battle-hardened killers fought with remarkable coordination, preventing him from reaching the fallen weapon on the ground, let alone retrieving it from the corpse.
Duke Arthur had no choice but to hold onto Lance's wasit with one hand while stepping backward.
Lance stumbled beside him, somewhat bewildered by this unexpected twist in the plot.
Why couldn't Duke Arthur just pull out the sword? '_'