Yet that was totally the opposite of thing others prayed for. Many got fooled by the dirty schemes of a few of the royal family's high elders, the king's brothers, and cousins. They were the ones who led this scheme in the first place and played the role of traitors and assassins to get rid of the king and pave the road for them to rule.
All of this changed because of an old man they never thought he'd cause such trouble before. Many of them regretted not taking Sloth down when they got the chance. And few thought about what they should do if a miracle occurred, and the king woke up.
As they were preparing for such a scenario, a few others of the loyalist to the king and kingdom were preparing a counter for this! Without showing anything on the surface, the entire place was brimming with fire, hidden and waiting for the right time to explode!
"Kingdom that lost its heart, its capital, its people… And you are fighting among each other like this to save an old man like me?"
Just as everyone was watching the king's fragile body lying on a bed, the voice of the king appeared. Yet it didn't come from the body out there, it came from a different direction.
Everyone moved their heads slowly to watch a gathering of dark gold fog appearing tens of metres away from the king's bed. It was still within the protection of the defensive array, and no one needed to ask about what this fog was.
"The king's manifestation… It's the king's special technique… It's the king…"
"The king… The king is alive!"
"Long live the king! Long live the king!"
"Attack!"
The moment the fog appeared, taking the shape of a weird two-headed tiger, many muttered in disbelief and delight. Then a wave of cheer prevailed next, with voices raising the words to the high sky. But in the middle of all this, and as many had tears flooding from their eyes, another type of shout appeared.
This was the kind that would appear from anyone towards his deadliest enemy. No one had time to act when many shadows flashed, shadows using the darkness element to travel fast, head like a bullet towards the tent.
"Stop them!" Anjie was one of the few who got jolted awake and realised what was going on, "protect the king!"
She didn't know who was heading toward her father, but she was pretty sure of their ill intentions. Just the fact they had darkness elements and used darkness techniques was enough to point towards their identities.
They were dark masters, and they were hidden within the masters gathered here. Even if she knew that she couldn't move in time to intercept and stop them. She was away from her father's tent, and she wasn't strong enough to flash like them.
"You think this useless array can stop us? We are the ones who placed it here in the first place, and we know how to stop it!" One of the many who moved spoke up in a tone that was filled with mockery and weird anger.
"Grand Uncle… Why?!!!" Anjie wasn't the only one to recognise the owner of this voice, but everyone as well. He was the Grand Uncle, the king's uncle, and oldest relative alive to the king.
"The capital is gone, and the king is halfway through the death doorsteps… There is no Novistic kingdom anymore. I'll kill the king myself, kill all of you together with my friends and trusted allies, then rebuild a brand new kingdom…"
"Shut the hell up!"
Just as the Grand Uncle was speaking, many shadows landed around the king's tent. It seemed he was buying time for them to do something, and he was this close to succeeding only if Sloth wasn't here.
The latter already expected traitors to move and knew about their presence before all this. It was thanks to William who proposed such shocking and unbelievable doubts to him. If not, he'd have been like others, standing in immense surprise and feeling much confused.
The moment these shadows moved, Sloth gave the order to his handpicked masters to get ready to move. Everyone on his team already trusted him. And after hearing the voice of the king and seeing his unique and famous technique of his, they knew they were this close to success in saving him.
Being this close and yet about to lose this chance was enough to drive them mad. When Sloth gave them the signal, they were prepared to move and stop these shadows.
Yet Sloth waited for the shadows to arrive at the array. He didn't imagine such a formidable and terrifyingly defensive array had weak spots. And so he wanted to see how these traitors would deal with it.
The moment they reached the array, he saw them taking a few materials out, throwing them on the ground. Without waiting any further, he spoke up, giving the signal for his comrades in arms to act.
The next instant, a big and intense battle erupted between the traitors and Sloth's men. The battle jolted everyone awake, and they joined the fray, helping Sloth and others to protect the king.
"Damn you! I won't stop until you all are dead! Do you hear me?" the Grand Uncle knew he already lost his chance the moment Sloth spoke up. He thought he hid himself quite well and didn't arouse any suspicion at all. Yet Sloth seemed to not get fazed by his act, seemingly prepared for him.
If it was just Sloth, then things wouldn't have ended this badly. Yet there were one hundred formidable masters on the side of Sloth, acting and moving at the same time, stopping the Grand Uncle and his treacherous subordinates.
As any proper dark master would act in his place, the moment the situation turned worse with the joining of other royal members and their guards and top masters, he turned around and started to run for his life.
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