What do you wish for?

Chapter 3 - Ambush ③

At that point, He Sun's mind had already gone blank for a while now, the surrounding voices reaching his ears seemed like a muffled buzzing sound. His face which was already fair and immaculate turned frighteningly pale, nearly reaching a morbid degree. The dried blood stains on his skin considerably contributed to this horrific image. His jaw hang open, his eyes unfocused. Looking at his appearance and bearing, no one would be able to tell he actually belonged to the highest noble rank.

After scrutinizing his delicate features for some time, the man in armor straightened slowly and rose from the ground, resuming his high stance and now looking down on the comparatively tiny prince in front. He no longer repressed the power in his voice, and called out as if yelling a command to his troops.

"Your Highness."

His voice broke down in a mighty and thundering loud noise, easily and clearly reaching tens of meters around. The effect on the person standing no more than 5 feet ahead went as expected. The shudder that ran through He Sun's body could even be seen to the naked eye. He quickly covered his face with the palm of his left hand and exhaled deeply a few times.

Just as the other man expected him to regain some of his composure, He Sun's trembling hand lowered quietly reveling a pair of moist and breathtakingly attractive eyes. He closed them shortly after, squeezing out two fine dew droplets. As they slid down his cheek, the one on the right side of his face moistened a black stain of dried-up blood, from which emerged a crimson water streak, and resumed its course down his neck.

The striking scene actually managed to shake the sturdy man's mind as an image of He Sun crying tears of blood flashed before his eyes. Trying to repress these emotions, the man felt a needle like pricking pain piercing through his head, that subsided just as fast as it came. He didn't care to spare it any mind, and resumed his speech in a slightly gentler tone:

"I beg your pardon for this affront, Your Highness. This lowly servant didn't mean to scare you."

He waited for a short while and, seeing that He Sun didn't have any desire to respond, the man continued speaking slowly, and enunciated every word clearly, as if afraid the youth wouldn't understand him otherwise.

"Your Highness, please listen to me for a bit, it won't take long. Do you know who is aiming for your life?" His tone turned rather annoyed after seeing He Sun evading his gaze and no longer bothered asking as he thought- Useless, but he still continued impatiently, "In any case, you won't have anything to worry about anymore. Tian Bo will take care of you, you only need to do as he says."

The man quickly concluded and shot a glance towards the boy who brought him here, whose name should be Tian Bo. The latter received his commend and nodded silently as he lifted him arm decisively, which was holding an arrow that looked familiar to He Sun. Falling into a daze for the nth time, he didn't manage to react in time as the boy mercilessly drove the sharp arrow head into his thigh. However, he didn't manage to repress the muffled grunt that escaped his lips.

When He Sun was finally able to move again and hastily advanced towards him, he quickly came to a halt as he saw Tian Bo lifting his hand to stop him as he smiled lightly and said, "I'm fine, Your Highness. We better hurry and go back to the palace, you shouldn't be feeling very well now. I will go looking for the Royal Doctor to examine you, as early as we return. Here, you can lean on me, Your Highness, I will support you back to your residence. We better hurry."

Guiding He Sun's arm to press on his shoulders, the youth started limping forward at an insanely fast speed, considering his now crooked gait. The prince had been once again easily dragged away and left speechless. He even had the absurd impression that Tian Bo would have preferred carrying him all the way back if he was able to do so, instead of dragging him like this. Towards this young lad, He Sun didn't actually know what to think nor how to behave.

His mind finally cleared up after a long while as he turned his head to look back, he locked eyes once again with the already far away iron clad man, whose gaze indistinctly betrayed a faint hesitation, unbeknownst to the man himself. He knew all too clearly there was no longer any room for backing off. Do what must, come what may. He has already made his bid.

As an eerie smile played on his lips, the soldiers surrounding him sucked in a breath. They felt a shudder crawling down their spine, and thought in unison, Chief has definitely been possessed.