Chapter 1602: Island of Death

Lory stood at the edge of the deck, her gaze fixed on the departing vessel as it drifted deeper into the open sea. The great ship grew smaller with each passing moment, its silhouette slowly dissolving into the vast horizon until it became nothing more than a distant shadow.

A quiet breath escaped her lips. If all went well, the King’s Men would intercept it soon. But relief, as always, was short-lived. Behind her, the air shifted.

Lory caught the faintest murmur at first, so quiet it was almost lost to the air. Then it swelled, spreading like ripples disturbed by an unseen force. Voices sharpened, trembling as though fine cracks were splintering through glass. Mouths fell open; eyes bulged in naked disbelief, as if they might burst from their sockets.

Then, at last, someone forced the words out through clenched teeth.

"P-Princess... Lorient...?"

The name struck the crowd like a boulder cast into still water, sending shockwaves in every direction.

"H-How... how is she still alive?!"

"That’s impossible—she should be dead!"

"No... no, this can’t be real!"

"Someone, contact headquarters—NOW!" one of them shouted, panic breaking through his voice.

The news didn’t just spread, it exploded.

Panic spread through the crowd as they scrambled for their communication devices, fingers moving quickly, voices colliding in a storm of hurried whispers and coded phrases. Signals were sent, retransmitted, encrypted, anything to get the message across.

They all understood.

The return of the Princess of Lorient wasn’t a complication—it was a disaster. Facing King Lucas and the Archknights was already difficult enough, but if Princess Lorient had truly returned, then everything had to change.

Every calculation, every scheme, every carefully laid plan needs to be scrapped and reconsidered from the ground up. Nothing could proceed as before.

Another colossal obstacle had appeared, looming over them like an unavoidable storm. The higher-ups had to know.

Immediately!

"Contact headquarters—now!" someone shouted, barely able to suppress the tremor in his voice.

"We must inform President Navarro immediately!" another urged, and someone had already begun to send an urgent message.

But suddenly, an intense heat came like a wave, and they didn’t have time to react before they felt their skin being struck by an intense heat.

Dark purple flames erupted without warning, spreading across the deck like a silent catastrophe. The fire didn’t crackle or roar, yet it devoured everything in its path with terrifying inevitability.

The soldiers screamed in agony. Some managed to erect barriers against the searing heat—but would they hold?No. Not when the one they were facing was the great Lord Zhao Li Xin. Panic shattered what little discipline remained.

Lines broke, and formations dissolved into chaos as men stumbled back, eyes wide with terror, hands trembling as they struggled to reinforce their failing defenses.

The barriers flickered for once, and twice, before splintering under the relentless pressure, like glass crushed beneath an unseen hand.

"R-Retreat—! Fall back!" someone shouted, his voice cracking, but the command drowned in the rising tide of screams.

"Everyone, get out of here!" Desperation took hold. Some tried to flee, tripping over one another in their haste, while others stood frozen, paralyzed by the sheer weight of his presence.

Even the air itself seemed to grow heavier, pressing down on their lungs, stealing the strength from their limbs. Because they all knew, this was no battle.

This was annihilation.

Through the raging dark-purple flames, Zhao Li Xin strode forward. His movements were calm, almost elegant, yet each step drove a deeper chill into their bones.

"You have seen my wife," he said quietly.

The words fell without force, without heat... and yet they struck harder than any blade. "You know, I cannot allow you to live, right?"

The air around them grew heavy, like a mountain pressing down on their chests. In that suffocating weight, they understood, this is their end.

Their fate was sealed. Zhao Li Xin raised his hand, and with a quiet shimmer, a sword materialized in his grasp.

"’His wife,’ he said..."The words echoed, cold and hollow, reverberating through their minds long after his voice had fallen silent. 𝖿𝖗ⅇℴ𝑚

Did that mean, this man... was the husband of Princess Lorient?

A chill crawled up their spines, deeper than the searing heat that surrounded them. Dear God...Just what kind of monster had the Princess brought back with her?

The enemies trembled, fear tightening its grip around their throats. Even the proud Dragxtarn could not suppress the shudder rippling through their ranks.

"Y-you... do you even know what you’re getting yourself into?!" one Dragxtarn shouted, clinging to the last fraying thread of courage.

Zhao Li Xin lifted his gaze beneath lowered lashes, his expression colder than a glacier’s heart. He raised his sword and settled into a stance.

The air around him warped as power surged toward the blade, drawn in as though the world itself were being devoured.

"Do- Do you know what you’ve done?!" another barked, desperation cracking through his voice. "If you kill us, Luxemborough won’t spare you! Your family, your friends, they’ll all die! You know that!"

Their threats rang out, but sounded painfully hollow.

Zhao Li Xin’s lips curved into a faint, merciless smile. "Oh?" He tilted his head, a trace of amusement flickering across his eerily beautiful face. "I have no such things."

His gaze darkened, voice lowering to something far more dangerous."What I had was only a wife."

At that moment, all color drained from their faces. They knew it was over.

A second later, he was gone, leaving only an afterimage behind. Their barriers shattered instantly. Blood burst into the air as their throats were cut cleanly, one after another, until they dropped, lifeless, into the crimson pool below.

Lory watched in silence. Once Zhao Li Xin finished, he wiped his sword clean before storing it back in his ring. Then he turned and walked toward her, then continued wiping the remaining blood from his hands.

"You don’t have to do that for me, Li Xin." She took his hands, still stained with blood, without the slightest hint of disgust or fear. "I can handle it myself."

Zhao Li Xin lifted his gaze and met her clear eyes. The coldness in his heart melted instantly. Those eyes, it was those eyes that seemed to see through him and accept him as he was, without even a trace of aversion or fear, even after witnessing what he had done and what he was capable of; she accepted him.

It was those eyes that made him hopelessly in love with her.

"But I want to..." His face softened with gentle affection, a stark contrast to the bloodthirsty tyrant who had killed dozens without blinking.

"After all...You’re never cut out for this, Lory," he said quietly.

Yes, Lory could never enjoy taking another person’s life. Even when they were enemies, and some people said they deserved what was coming, there was always a small voice in the corner of her heart.

It took a lot of time, training, and experience for her to learn to ignore that voice, but Zhao Li Xin knew it; he always did.

Lory summoned a wet cloth from her ring and meticulously wiped his hands clean. "For that, I’m grateful, from the bottom of my heart... always." She held his gaze as she spoke.

A slow, warm smile spread across Zhao Li Xin’s face. "You’re welcome."

Once she made sure Zhao Li Xin’s hands were clean, she looked around, finally noticing the catastrophe they had caused. "We should get going," Lory decided.

Zhao Li Xin nodded in agreement, but didn’t forget to remind her, "Don’t forget to send a message to your brother. Let them know you’re alright."

"Oh, right." Lory realized she hadn’t contacted Lucas and the others. She could only imagine how anxious they must be. She quickly took out her phone, but since she couldn’t type while running, Zhao Li Xin offered to carry her on his back.

Lory didn’t hesitate. She chuckled and jumped onto his back. "Don’t move too fast—I get nauseous when you go too fast while I’m typing."

"Oh? Motion sickness? Since when?" Zhao Li Xin sounded surprised. "Is it because of your age?" he teased.

"Hey!" Lory pulled his ear angrily. "Are you saying I’m old?"

Zhao Li Xin laughed. "It’s fine. My wife is like fine wine—she only gets better with age." Then his voice shifted into a flirtatious tone. "Some parts of you have gotten even better as you’ve matured."

Lory’s face turned red like a tomato. "That’s it—you’re not allowed to hang out with Fargo ever again... or Garrof, or anyone else as such!" She was certain Zhao Li Xin had been led astray by bad influences.

"But I learned that from the soap operas we watched." With his strong memory, Zhao Li Xin remembered all the romantic and steamy scenes. And because Lory always seemed excited while watching them, he had unconsciously paid more attention—learning a thing or two along the way.

Lory paused and bit her lip. So the ’bad influence’ had been her all along.

No wonder Fredhardt and Uncle Stephan were always so strict about what she and Lucas watched—so that was the reason.

What was she supposed to do now? Her refined husband had been led astray!

If Mong Ki and Mong Yi heard this, they would say that their lord had been led astray the moment he met the young madam.

_____________________________________

I just got a message from Lory," Lucas said sharply, instantly drawing Fredhardt and Fargo’s attention.

Both men turned toward him with obvious anticipation.

"She said she will stay behind on the island," Lucas continued, his tone controlled but firm. "She wants to know what Luxembourg is doing with those people, what makes them bold enough to start kidnapping."

Fargo frowned, crossing his arms. "Then it’s not random. Something big is going on."

"And urgent enough to force their hand," Fredhardt added calmly, his eyes already calculating. "Desperation makes people careless... or reckless."

"But for what?" Lucas’s jaw tightened slightly.

Fredhardt didn’t answer right away. Instead, he glanced at the screen displaying Lory’s location, his gaze sharpening. "That’s what Lory tries to figure out."

Lucas didn’t hesitate."Mobilize a Noxcra unit. Dispatch aircraft for backup," he ordered, his voice sharp and absolute, cutting cleanly through the tension in the room.

"Tell them to hold position and await Lory’s signal," Lucas continued, each word measured, carrying the weight of command.

"And no engagement, under any circumstances, without her authorization or my direct order."The command settled over the room with finality.

Fargo lowered himself into a formal bow, "As you command, Your Majesty."

Fredhardt’s lips curved faintly. "I guess we’ll have to depend on her and Zhao Li Xin again."