301 Red Crystal
The ten Paladins that the crown prince had dispatched were either slain or decapacitated. But their sacrifice was to give the prince some time to prepare his ultimate plan, an unprecedented spectacle that almost none of the population of the continent had ever witnessed.
"So the captain has been defeated." Outside the king's tent, Richard XVI took a deep breath as he watched his army get overwhelmed by his younger brother's. Next to him was his henchman, who was holding the box containing something ominous. "Master, are you sure you want to do it by yourself? Taking it might cost you your life." "Hmph. I don't care." The prince shrugged off the man's warning before grabbing the box. He then opened it and a couple of assorted colored crystal shards were faintly glowing like heartbeats inside the box. Those were actually data crystals, with each one having specific effects.
"But, Master, you know what the effects of each crystal are, am I right?" "I know. I would not have resorted to doing this if I did not."
After saying that, the prince picked up a crystal radiating a crimson glow and clenched it tightly in his fist. Crack. A sound of something breaking could be heard from his fist. He intentionally shattered the crystal in his hand. Soon after, blood started to drip from his fist, and the prince's face displayed an agonizing expression. "Fuck! It hurts. Hold this for me!" "I understand." As soon as he handed over the box to the man, Richard bent one of his knees and held his wrist with another hand. Upon shattering the red crystal, its sealed effect started to take hold in his body.
"This is it! I can feel it! The tremendous power is coursing wildly through my veins!" As he exclaimed, powerful energy suddenly oozed off his body, so powerful that it created a shockwave that billowed the garments of the ones nearby. The man even stepped back, meters away from him. Not only a shockwave, but he also emitted a powerful aura that gave goosebumps to anyone in a kilometer-radius zone. When they took a glance at where that frightening force came from, a pillar of black and white lights was gathering around the prince.
"Aah. That is more painful than I initially thought. But the pain is worth it." After a few seconds of suffering, Richard slowly rose to his feet. He then nonchalantly dropped the pieces of the shattered crystals to the ground. His hand started to release light smoke, and his supposed wounded palm revealed itself fully intact.
"So this is the power of that person." The prince clenched his both fists, and he could conclude that the crystal's effect had successfully taken effect in his body. He gained an instant of immense power just by consuming one crystal.
For additional confirmation and to test his new powers, he quickly thrust his fist forward, as if punching the air, and a violent gust of wind blasted away the soldiers in front of him.
"Ha ha ha ha!" He began laughing manically. "This is truly amazing! With this power, I could even take out the army and the ones or whatsoever that pulverized the Paladins! Come here." "Yes, master." He ordered the man to come over to him before he grabbed the remaining crystals in the box and put them into his pocket. Upon obtaining the crystals, Richard scanned the battlefield and began looking for his younger brother, Paul, whom he found almost immediately.
"There you are, you little. For me to gain the victory, I shall aim for the head." One way to win a battle, aside from annihilating the enemies, was to take out the general's head, and that was the method that the crown prince chose. After unsheathing his orichalcum sword, he then sprinted his way to the target, who was busy encouraging his troops.
Whoosh.
With his newly acquired powers, his speed drastically improved as well. Before, Richard could only run a little bit above an average person, but now he easily surpassed the speed of the Paladins' captain as he indiscriminately sent everyone flying in his path.
At a distance of three kilometers, Richard shrunk the gap between him and Paul by a few meters in a matter of five seconds. His speed was over the sonic speed, which was way faster than that of average knights. "Brother?!" As a warrior, Paul quickly took heed of his brother's approach and was surprised at how fast he could be. But as soon as he caught a glimpse of him, a golden blade was about to slash at him. Paul had nothing to do but close his eyes, hardly accepting his fate. However...
Clink!
A sharp sound of metals colliding rang out of the surroundings. Paul did not feel any part of his body being sliced. He finally opened his eyes, and then he saw his brother and a young man crossing their blades together. Before the sword could reach him, Raphael Raevender had saved his life.
"Lord Raphael?!"
"I am glad I came in time," Raphael replied as he held Richard back. "Are you okay, Your Highness?" "Yeah, you saved me." "If you may, please go somewhere safe. I'll deal with him."
"...I understood. Hiyah!." Hesitant, Paul uttered before reining his horse to move away.
"By Raphael, are you perhaps Raphael Raevender, the son of the Sword Saint and the Sage?"
Still with their blades crossing together, the prince asked. In response, Raphael slashed his Sanguine Lotus to create distance between him and Astley's crown prince. "Yes, I am, so what?"
"What an unexpected turn of events, so that was why the Paladins were getting beaten; the Raevender family had entered the battlefield. But if you are a real deal, such as your parents, you may be a good target practice for my new powers." "I don't know what you did to your body, but try it if you can." "Bring it on!"
With that, the duel between Raphael and Richard XVI had begun.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om