Chapter 51 - His Pride
Leaving the outside to Drayce and the others, Arlan returned straight to the banquet hall where he had first met the pig-like general and had to endure the perverted gazes of drunken men who had stripped him naked in their minds.
When he was pretending to be a courtesan, he could hear their dirty talks about taking him to their beds after their general was done playing with him. Only Arlan knew how much of a torture it was to control himself from not beheading those scumbags. As he continued to smile and refill the pig-like general's wine glass, he had already decided in his mind that tonight would be the last night of their lives.
The pride of the Crown Prince of Griven was an expensive thing, and these pieces of trash had to pay for his humiliation with their lives.
Funnily enough, the officers under Giles Seeiso were unaware of the chaos outside. When he entered the banquet hall, the drunk men were still enjoying themselves with women despite the chaotic situation outside. Even the earthquake from a while ago didn't faze them.
"What a disgusting sight!" Arlan frowned as he witnessed those disgusting naked men having fun with the women.
They didn't even know death had just entered the door.
Arlan flipped one of the tables, kicking it with his foot, making everything fall on the ground. The sounds of broken glass and the yells of those at that table were loud enough to be heard amidst the noise of merrymaking, pulling everyone's attention towards the young prince. There was a sudden uproar when they realized he's alone.
"What the hell?"
"How dare you disturb us?"
One man recognized Arlan. "Isn't he the one who left with the General?"
The officer beside him grinned like a beast. "Looks like the General couldn't satisfy him, so he came to us."
"He did well! I wanted to take him the moment I saw him," one old man laughed.
Ignoring those scumbags, Arlan called out, "Ladies!" and gestured with one sword towards the exit. "Please!"
These women were trained courtesans from the brothel, and they were sensitive enough to understand they needed to leave. They immediately separated themselves from the drunk men and gathered their clothes to leave the hall.
Only after all the women left did the officers from Thevailes realized that something was wrong. They scowled at the pretty young man standing by the door.
"So, remind me again, who wants to take me to their beds?" Arlan asked, his vicious glare passing across everyone inside the entire hall. "I'm here to fulfill your wish." Arlan stepped forward as he swung the sword in his hand. "Let's see if anyone can even touch me."
The already pissed men didn't even bother to wear clothes as they searched for their swords.
"This pretty boy doesn't know what kind of hell he has entered!"
"Don't kill him before we have some fun with him."
"Capture him alive, and let's all enjoy him together. Those women weren't as pretty as him anyway."
Hearing all the dirty talk, Arlan's rage could no longer be contained. He chuckled, "Morons!"
In the blink of an eye, the first two men who reached him were lying on the floor, struggling to take their last breaths. It didn't take much effort for Arlan to slit those drunk men's throats.
"When you are drunk, you should refrain from talking big," Arlan commented as he looked at the two dying men and moved his neck left and right to warm up, ready to tackle the remaining scums.
Those men didn't expect this pretty boy could really fight. Before they could get out of their shock, Arlan moved so swiftly, and a few more disgusting bodies fell on the floor with blood oozing out of them.
Seeing how fast and fearless this young man was, as well as the corpses on the floor, the men sobered up. Though they were veteran soldiers, being drunk made their minds and bodies slow to react in front of this skilled swordsman.
Not yet satisfied with the blood on the floor, Arlan smiled devilishly at the men who had started to back away from him. "To take me to your bed, you all first need to be alive."
Some of the more hot-headed officers lunged towards Arlan, only to taste the ground and whine in pain. From their severe injuries, death was only a moment away.
Soon enough, the entire hall was silent, and no one but Arlan was left standing inside.
Cian arrived only to find Arlan in that solemn state in the center of the hall, surrounded by corpses and dying men's bodies.
Though Cian was not close to Arlan, he knew him enough to understand the personality of the First Prince of Griven, who had always loved to jump into trouble on his own. Arlan Cromwell might look pretty sociable and seem easy-going at first sight, but like any firstborn royal, he was a man who carried the dignity of the future king.
Cian could easily guess that these people must have done something unforgivable enough to earn the personal retaliation of this proud crown prince.
Suddenly, one enemy soldier came behind Prince Cian, ready to swing his sword to hurt him, but Cian's ears sensed the slightest movement behind him and caught the sneak attack. He dodged the attack and pierced his sword through the soldier's stomach in one swift move.
When Drayce reached the last corridor, he saw the white-robed Prince of Abetha killing enemy soldiers by the banquet hall entrance. Drayce and the two knights with him helped Cian clean up the rest of the enemies.
It didn't take them much time to finish the soldiers, but they simply stood by the door and watched how Arlan turned different from his playful self. For Drayce, it was not new to witness Arlan like this, but it was rare. Although Drayce and Cian did not talk, they silently agreed to watch Arlan get his revenge.
Arlan gazed at the bodies on the floor. The most despicable ones were still alive. Wouldn't it be too easy for them to simply die with a single slash?
"How could disgusting and lowly creatures like you even dare think dirty about me, the Crown Prince of Griven, when you don't even deserve to stand in my sight, huh?" came the cold and mocking words from the future monarch of a powerful kingdom.
The next moment, Arlan stepped on the face of one soldier who was slowly crawling his way out.
"Did I permit you to leave?" Arlan asked before pressing his foot on the deep wound on the man's back.
"Ahh! L-Let me go...I swear…"
Arlan flung his sword, only to pierce the back of that soldier's neck, with the tip of the blade coming out through his throat. The whiny voice of the man stopped, and Arlan spoke coldly, "Wish Granted. You are free to go."
After pulling his sword back, Arlan walked around the hall, and whoever he saw moving a little or even breathing, he pierced his swords into their bodies to end their lives.
Making sure all of them were dead, Arlan sighed before turning towards the entrance of the hall. He had already noticed the newcomers a while ago, but he was still consumed with bloodlust and paid them no attention. As he walked towards them now, he acted as if nothing happened, and he had only returned after having a little fun with some friends.
The evil expression on Arlan's face changed to his normal playful one as soon as he closed the door behind him. "What's with that look? I saved you two from seeing a horrible view. Those disgusting naked men...ufff…almost made me puke."
Drayce and Cian said nothing, but they knew that the Crown Prince of Griven was a devil in the guise of an angel. One should not belittle him just because of his smiling face.
Along with their knights, the three royals then did a casual sweep inside the castle as they headed back towards their group.
It was finally time for them to leave.