“Did Garrard instruct you to do this?” Eligina asked Jess, pausing for a moment. The “Garrard” she mentioned was the highest commander of Aquilandia stationed in the Polar Domain.
She finally understood why Jess didn’t save the other teammates before. He intended to kill them to silence them, so how could he possibly lend a helping hand?
“My dear princess, do you know what your biggest mistake is?!” Jess didn’t directly answer her question. “No matter how good your relationship is with Glavale’s Commander Gardner, you can’t sacrifice Master Jim’s arm just for a stranger!”
“Master Jim is the only son of the Supreme Commander, and do you think he will let it go easily?”
“That shouldn’t be the only reason.” Eligina took a deep breath and continued, “Some people in our country don’t want to see Aquilandia getting too close to Glavale, but rather prefer to show goodwill to Northfortia. So, if news of me being killed by Glavale’s Commander Gardner reaches our country, my father will definitely waver, which is exactly what some people want! Am I right?”
“Heh, they say the princess is a rare genius in our country for hundreds of years, and it seems to be true!” Jess chuckled lightly. “But, since you’re so clever, why didn’t you guess that this expedition to the Ice Cave would be your path of no return?”
“You and the people behind you are truly pathetic!” Eligina responded calmly. “You think that by kneeling to Northfortia, Aquilandia would live a good life? Haven’t you seen the examples of Oriana, Veridiania, and other countries? In Northfortia’s eyes, they have never seen any country as a partner, only subjects to be used and manipulated! After they are done using you, they will discard you and let you fend for yourselves. Do you really want Aquilandia to end up like that?”
“That’s not your concern, Your Highness!” Jess shrugged his shoulders.
“Besides, haven’t you noticed that Glavale is no longer the Glavale of a hundred years ago? Their rise is an unstoppable trend!” Eligina continued, “For Aquilandia, to maintain its current position in the world, cooperating with Glavale for a win-win situation is the only way!”
“It seems that Commander Gardner from Glavale has successfully brainwashed you and deeply poisoned you!” Jess sneered. “Enough talking, I won’t waste any more time with you. Let me send you off!” As he spoke, his aura suddenly surged, and a strong killing intent emanated from him.
“Your Highness, run!” The Seventh-rank Sovereign man shouted, activating his full power and rushing towards Jess.
Jess narrowed his eyes, raised his hand, and struck out with a palm. With a difference of one realm and the man already injured, after a few exchanges, he was on the verge of collapse.
“Let’s fight to the end!” The man roared, his body swelling up like a balloon.
“Want to kill yourself? It’s too late!” Jess saw through the man’s intention. After speaking, he quickly rushed forward, then unleashed his full power and struck out with a palm.
As a burst of blood mist exploded, the man disappeared instantly.
“You bastard, you deserve to die!” Eligina exclaimed angrily. She had no intention of escaping, knowing that she couldn’t possibly get away.
“You know you can’t escape, so you didn’t plan on running?” Jess looked at Eligina with a faint smile.
“Even if you kill me, you won’t succeed!” Eligina retorted, “Do you think my father is a fool who would believe that Commander Gardner killed me?”
“You don’t need to worry about that!” Jess sneered again. Then, his tone turned serious, “Don’t blame me, blame Commander Gardner. It’s because of him that you’re going to die!” As he spoke, his eyes narrowed, and a powerful wave of energy surged towards the princess.
At this moment, Eligina had given up resistance. Her eyes closed tightly, and in her mind, the image of a familiar figure appeared.
Boom! Just then, a violent gust of wind swept from behind Jess, sending him flying hundreds of meters away. He crashed heavily onto the ground and slid for dozens of meters before finally spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Eligina opened her eyes, sensing something unusual. Then, she saw Billy and his group walking steadily towards her from the front. Immediately, tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably, “Lord Dragon?! Is it really you?!”
“Are you alright?” Billy approached her and asked.
“I’m fine, thank you!” Eligina’s voice choked, her eyes filled with complex emotions as she looked at Billy. This man had once again saved her life.
Just then, Jess, who had climbed to his feet a few hundred meters away, quickly turned and started running back along the same path. He never expected Billy to appear here. At this point, all he could think of was to escape.
“Do you think you can get away?” Casey’s voice reached his ears as he took a few steps to pursue. But before he could swing his blade, Eligina shouted, “Please spare his life!”
“Alright!” Casey responded, and with a palm strike from his left hand, he sent Jess crashing down a hundred meters away.
And just as Jess was about to get up and continue fleeing, Casey had already reached his side. Without hesitation, Casey raised his hand and struck his lower abdomen with a palm.
“No…” Jess screamed in despair, his eyes rolling back as he fell unconscious.
“Thank you again, Lord Dragon, for saving my life!” Eligina turned to Billy and spoke.
“It’s nothing.” Billy shook his head and took out a healing pill from his body, handing it to her. “Take this pill, it will help with your injuries.”
Eligina took the pill without hesitation and swallowed it.
“Your Highness, who is he and why did he want to kill you?” Stout pointed towards Jess and asked.
“He must have been acting under the orders of your commander, right?” Billy added. Just thinking about it, he could guess the general idea. The trigger for this must have been the incident at the Snow Dragon City hotel that day.
“Yes!” Eligina nodded.
“Damn it! Your commander has some nerve! He even dares to kill a princess like you!” Stout continued.
“It seems like there are quite a few people who want to become vassal lords in the Polar Domain!” Bob remarked with a touch of emotion.
“We have caused you trouble with this!” Billy said to Eligina.
“No, Lord Dragon.” Eligina shook her head in response. “Commander Garrard had already shown signs of disloyalty. This time, he just used this as an excuse. Even without that incident, he would have turned against us!”
“Understood.” Billy nodded slightly and asked again, “Will you continue with us or go back?”