Chapter 1543: Chapter 270: Scales of Good and Evil (4)

“I still want to hear a story…”

The young Princess was lying in bed looking at her mother, coquettishly saying she wanted to continue listening to her mother’s stories… The little princess truly believed her mother was the best storyteller in the world.

Her mother’s stories were always so novel and interesting… stories she had never heard from the servants of the Royal Palace.

And there were always more stories to tell.

“Then, what story does Yamana want to hear?” Her gentle mother softly kissed the little princess on the cheek and whispered, “If Yamana goes to sleep, I’ll tell you a story tomorrow.”

The little princess replied, “I want to hear the story of the Mermaid Princess.”

“Alright.”

Her mother was indeed very gentle… The little princess contentedly hugged her pillow and fell into a deep sleep — in her dreams, she felt as if she had truly transformed into a mermaid swimming in the sea.

But she had never seen the sea… not even a river, since even a small river was rare in the desert. It’s said there’s an underground dark river beneath the City of the Sun, and the city’s drinking water is extracted from there.

However, the little princess had a great imagination. She imagined the water to be vast, like the ocean… Wouldn’t it be cool to swim in that water?

Just like on that day when it rained, with water droplets gently wettening her face, that refreshing feeling remained vivid in the little princess’s memory.

Drip…

Mmm, the moist rain fell on her cheeks.

Drip…

Cool and refreshing.

Drip… drip.

She awoke from that free and pleasant dream, her small eyes saw a shadow looming over her… carrying a familiar fragrance — her mother’s scent, even her mother’s clothes.

Except the clothes were already torn — she saw something much larger than her usual mother.

Like algae, tangled hair, split eyelids, and spiralling pupils… Fingers like withered branches — and a nose.

A very long nose, like an elephant’s trunk, and a gray-black face.

The little princess’s eyes widened instantly, the horrific fright caused her to open her mouth wide — as she was about to scream in terror, the thing before her suddenly covered her mouth with its dry hand.

Its other hand simultaneously grasped the little princess’s neck.

Teeth like sharp serrated blades lined the split mouth, with thick saliva flowing from between those sharp teeth… On the little princess’s bed, the ceiling of the bedroom was already unknowingly covered with white silk threads.

A web… a spider’s web!

It carried the scent of her mother… faintly resembling her mother’s face, but the nose was long, very long, like a monster — however, it only half appeared human, the other half was shockingly a giant spider.

A great fear caused the little princess’s body to tremble, tears welled up in her eyes, but the monster’s spider-like body pressed her down, it opened its mouth full of sharp teeth forcefully.

It seemed as if it wanted to consume the little princess.

“I told you to sleep… Why don’t you listen, Yamana? This way, mother won’t be able to tell you a story tomorrow.”

Her mother’s voice, now sharp and unfamiliar, accompanied by laughter.

Mother… Why has mother become like this? Maybe it’s a nightmare, she desperately wanted to awaken — unable to, with hands squeezing her neck, her breathing became incredibly difficult.

Then, a shrill voice rang out… immediately afterward, a sharp knife pierced through the monster’s body from behind, cleaving its head open.

Blood should have rained down… but instead, what fell was the most familiar thing to the desert dwellers: sand!

Its head turned into sand, the body suddenly turned into a sand-built form and scattered… everything became sand.

The little princess dared not speak, she curled up and sat upright… in the heap of sand, her eyes scanned timidly and fearfully — scanning the owner of the knife that killed the monster.

“Father…”

She saw the man closest to her — the man stood silent, face pale, looking directly at the curled-up little princess on the bed.

“Forget everything that happened tonight, Yamana. Your mother has already died of illness, Yamana.” The man thrust the knife forcefully into the floor, he picked up the little princess, “Remember, it was just a nightmare… Sleep, Yamana.”

He carried her, slowly walked out of the bedroom. He repeatedly assured her, just a nightmare that would soon be gone — once she closed her eyes and fell asleep again, the nightmare would disappear.

Just a nightmare.

Again and again.

…

The Princess’s steps were somewhat unsteady, she had to hold onto the wall to alleviate the dizziness — the Pharaoh, transformed into a Hawk-Headed Humanoid Creature, had thrown her against a pillar, and the Princess knew she wasn’t as well as she appeared.

She subconsciously touched her neck — where marks of the Hawk-Headed Humanoid Creature’s grip remained… just like that time in her childhood.

The Princess clenched her fist and struck the wall… she even bit her lip to stay clear-headed.

“Escape… escape!! A monster, there’s a monster! The monster is invading the Royal Palace!!”

“Guards… Where are the guards? Protect the Pharaoh quickly!!”

“Inform the Temple! Only the White Robed Guards can handle the monster!”

“Ah—Help… Help!!”

At this moment, chaos broke out… the screams reached the Princess, causing her steps to slow down as she suddenly turned to look in the direction of the sound.

It seemed like the place she had built as her research institute, a monster… a monster?

“Could it be?!”

The Princess couldn’t help but feel a shock in her heart, and at this moment, she had already vaguely sensed the origin of the monster invading the Royal Palace… Her face changed uncontrollably; if it truly was that, the City of the Sun would face an unprecedented catastrophe!

But… why did the monster awaken—by reason, it should not have been able to leave—the cage used to imprison it was made with materials akin to those used by the gods!

She couldn’t ignore the guards and servants under attack by the monster, even though she was pursuing the Pharaoh who had turned into a Hawk-Headed Humanoid Creature.

Gritting her teeth, the Princess had to rush directly to the location from which the screams were emanating… On the way, there were Palace Guards and servants continually fleeing.

“Don’t panic! Calm down! Organize the defensive formation… Everyone quiet down—!!”

Drawing her gun, she fired into the night sky, where the loud gunshots immediately halted the Palace Guards and servants who were scattering in terror.

“Grab anything you can see that can serve as a weapon!” The Princess waved her hand, “Use this place as a fortress for defense; there is absolutely no way the monster can break out of this area… Someone, take my emblem outside the palace to inform the Expeditionary Force! In the name of Princess Yamanlana, I authorize the Expeditionary Force to enter the palace!”

“Princess! It’s the Princess! The Princess is here!”

“Yes, with the Princess here, we can definitely repel the monster!”

“Princess, I am ready, and I swear to protect you to the death!”

They began to feel less afraid… The Princess secretly nodded and quickly commanded the guards she could see, forming a makeshift team to head toward the area of the palace where the monster had appeared.

“The one who stays longest in the black night hasn’t arrived yet… Is the City of the Sun about to face calamity.”

Even before reaching the area where the monster appeared, the Princess couldn’t help but feel a sinking in her heart… Because at this moment, she was facing the most difficult situation in a decade of warfare.

“It’s truly a nightmare…” The Princess smiled wryly.

But this time, there was no man with a long sword telling her that once she fell asleep, everything would be better upon waking again.

Soon, the Princess led the hastily assembled team to the place where the monster appeared— the research institute!

This was indeed the place… The Princess’ face looked extremely ghastly!

The research institute she had established was now completely destroyed, the collapsed roof trapping unknown numbers of young scholars inside who were working hard to uncover the monster’s secrets… It was a team she had spent years nurturing and teaching before it finally took shape, now irrevocably ruined.

On the rubble, there was a massive shadow… resembling a cobra commonly found in the desert.

But it had three gigantic heads, and its body was thick enough for four people to encircle… On its three heads, hard single horns stood mightily.

“Everyone, be careful, the liquid this monster expels can corrode rock, do not touch it!”

The Princess took a deep breath and grabbed a shield from a guard’s hand, then wielding a long sword, she maneuvered around the monster and pierced through a gap between the scales on its tail!

This attack proved effective, and the monster let out an agonizing cry.

“Attack! Just like I did… Some of you distract the monster in front!” The Princess raised her long sword high, shouting, “Men of the empire! I, Yamanlana, will offer my affection to the bravest warrior!”

She rushed towards the monster with great effort… The guards, energized by encouragement, had their morale raised to unprecedented heights.

It felt so inspiring, so passionate and fierce.

…

It felt so moving to sacrifice oneself— at the Temple… a secret room.

Yamanlana silently watched the scene on the screen— the Princess, currently leading a hastily assembled team, battling the monster in the palace.

This provided a strange sense of viewing experience… As if she were an outsider watching herself fight fiercely at this moment.

She was not looking at past events, but at real occurrences happening in the same time and place… in the battle not far from her.

“Was this how I fought in the past…”

The light from the screen flickered constantly in the enclosed room, also casting shadows on her face… Yamanlana suddenly turned her head and saw modern women’s clothes and shoes on a cylindrical table behind her.

At that moment, the screen flickered, and the High Priest appeared before Yamanlana… The background seemed unfamiliar, but there was no time for hesitation, instinctively avoiding the gaze of the High Priest.

Even though it was just through a screen.

“Yamanlana, aren’t you ready yet?” The High Priest’s voice was calm, yet slightly faster than usual, “You’re hesitating… You’re disappointing me greatly.”

“They are fighting, fighting the monster.” Yamanlana slowly raised her head, “I… she is leading them to fight the monster, I shouldn’t just leave like this.”

The High Priest said indifferently: “She doesn’t need you because she is you… She is already there; hence, two identical princesses are unnecessary. We are out of time. Something urgent has occurred, and we need to leave this place immediately… Come to my side now.”

As soon as the High Priest’s voice fell, the metal wall in front of Yamanlana opened, revealing a bright passage.

The High Priest said directly, “I am waiting for you at the door… Don’t make me wait too long. Yamanlana, I love you more than anyone in this kingdom.”

“What urgent situation has happened?” Yamanlana frowned, “Why did this monster appear… It should have been stationed in my research institute… Only you know how to unlock its cage! Those scholars don’t have enough knowledge to break the lock of the cage.”

“It wasn’t me.” The High Priest said indifferently, “But I have an idea of who… Now is not the time to discuss this. The door will open in twenty minutes… Assemble by the door in twenty. I’ve already retrieved the Balance; this place will collapse soon… Come quickly!”

The screen flickered back to the battle scene… Yamanlana’s expression subtly changed, “The Balance… Is the City of the Sun going to be destroyed?”

Yamanlana appeared suddenly drained of energy, looking at the lighted passage on the wall, her thoughts chaotic.

At that moment, another door in the room silently opened… A young man wearing Palace Guard clothing curiously looked around as he walked in.

Yamanlana looked at the young guard in disbelief, “You… how?”

“Princess, so you’re here too.” The young guard said with a slight smile, “I was wandering around and found my way here… really amazing.”

Ghost… Who would believe you!