Chapter 494: She Looks Exactly Like Her Mother

The procession was vast and mighty. With 500 Soldiers and five Transcendents, it was enough to incite panic in the barren Desert Area.

The dust kicked up by their hooves gave them the presence of an army tens of thousands strong.

The solitary beasts foraging in the desert had fled at the first sign of their approach. Desert bandits who had been planning to raid Mama City now obediently hid themselves, not daring to attract the powerful army’s attention.

The towering city walls atop a sand dune came into Black Thorn’s view. He staunchly refused to believe the story of a Half-Beastman siege; the nobility had a long history of such precedents.

For example, there was the incident where three nobles from the royal capital were gored to death by a wild boar during a hunt. Yet the official story claimed they had discovered a pig-headed demon and, after a fierce battle that raged for three days and three nights, had perished alongside it.

Then there was the minor noble from the Eastern Gorge who was bitten by a month-old puppy and contracted some disease. He managed to hide it well, until one day at a banquet, he went into a frenzy, convulsing uncontrollably and drooling. Scholars determined he had a particularly difficult-to-cure form of rabies. Yet, the official story later claimed he was battling a demon that controlled Slaanesh. Far from being ridiculed, he became known as a brave Knight in the people’s eyes.

Finding ways to save face was practically a biological instinct for the nobility.

Hadn’t even someone as powerful as King Bor II been bitten on the butt by a venomous snake while relieving himself in the wild, only to then declare that he had defeated a terrifying tribe of Snake-men, earning their submission and becoming their king?

It was said that some people, when encountering a venomous snake, would bring up the King’s butt. They believed the two fang marks on the King’s rear were like the crown of the snake clan, demanding respect from all snakes in the world. And while dropping your pants and presenting your rear to a venomous snake wouldn’t exactly win its affection, it could earn you a “crown” just like the King’s.

When they were still some distance from Mama City, Black Thorn raised his right hand.

Seeing the signal, the Soldiers at the rear came to a halt.

The high-flying banner of the Golden Holy Grail was like a sharp spike driving into Black Thorn’s heart.

As a loyal vassal to Princess Sophia, he had never bowed his head, not even to Count Buffalo. And now some upstart with a desert-bandit background dared to call herself Princess Sophia’s daughter?

Honor and conviction had Black Thorn on the verge of an outburst. ‘He couldn’t bear it!’

‘I must take Mama City!’

‘For the princess’s honor, for the honor of a Knight, and… incidentally… to expand the territory of the Hawthorn fiefdom.’

Mama City was clearly not going to just sit and wait for death. As figures began to appear on the city walls, a smile spread across Black Thorn’s lips.

‘Is that all they’ve got?’

‘There were quite a few of them, a few dozen perhaps.’

‘They were tall and didn’t look like ordinary humans.’

But his smile quickly vanished. The group of people actually leaped down from the city walls. It wasn’t a suicidal plunge to their doom; instead, like geckos, they jumped onto the wall face, caught themselves with their hands and feet, and then scrambled the rest of the way down.

The sight made Black Thorn’s eyelids twitch violently.

‘That wasn’t something ordinary Soldiers could do. His own men struggled to even jog in a full suit of armor, let alone scale a vertical city wall.’

‘Some of his own men could accomplish such a feat.’

‘But!’

‘He only had five men that powerful! Just five! And they were the reason he dared to defy Count Buffalo!’

‘They were called Transcendents.’

‘How many did they have? Fifty? More? Immortal Spirit above! What number comes after ten again?’ Black Thorn suddenly felt dizzy, his ability to count plummeting.

Black Thorn glanced at the Transcendents behind him. A moment ago, they’d all been the picture of arrogance, looking as if they were guaranteed to win. Now, their heads were bowed low, almost touching their saddles.

He hadn’t even realized he had Horaken people among his men; their ability to fold themselves up was truly something else.

‘A 5-versus-1 battle: we are the righteous, bravely smiting evil.’

‘A 5-versus-5 battle: a duel of honor befitting a Knight.’

‘A 5-versus-10 battle: a challenge for the fearless. If it weren’t for that whole anal fistula incident, they could all earn a reward from Count Buffalo’s Golden Cup.’

‘But a 5-versus-50 battle? That’s just insane!’

“Sheathe your weapons!” Black Thorn reacted with lightning speed.

Watching the few figures slowly approaching, he quickly raised his hands to rub his cheeks, then pulled at his jowls, forcing the corners of his mouth into a wide smile, like Count Buffalo’s mustache.

He led his troops forward, stopping his brother with a single glance. Before this, his brother had been tasked with carrying the banner and leading the Cavalry charge. Now… ‘Good thing he’s my brother; we have an understanding.’

As they drew closer, Black Thorn noticed that the group of Transcendents who had jumped from the wall weren’t approaching directly. Instead, they were slowly circling around to his rear in a flanking maneuver, apparently intending to cut off his escape.

Black Thorn’s full attention was on the short-haired young woman approaching on horseback.

She was accompanied by only a few ordinary Cavalrymen.

“Oh!” Black Thorn shot his brother a look, gesturing for him to come closer, and shouted, “Look! She’s the spitting image of her mother!”

His brother nodded repeatedly. He didn’t know Lisu Muma’s mother, but ‘isn’t it only natural for a daughter to resemble her mother?’

With his brother’s support, Black Thorn breathed a sigh of relief. He swung himself off his horse and quickly drew his sword.

He plunged his sword into the sand.

Then, in a decision that came straight from the heart, he dropped to one knee.

Black Thorn shouted, “Princess Sophia! I, Black Thorn, Lord of Hawthorn, have always been your mother’s loyal Knight! Now that I have finally had the honor of meeting you, I hope to pledge my fealty to you!”

His sudden change left everyone present completely baffled—everyone, that is, except for his Transcendents. They understood perfectly well what had just happened.

With that many Transcendents on her side, forget making Lisu Muma into Sofia; if Baron Porcupine himself claimed to be the princess, they would agree without hesitation. They would stare you straight in the eye and swear that he was the spitting image of his mother, Sofia.

The Desert Pearl gazed down at the kneeling figure. Having received a tip from Leech, she was already aware of the man’s intentions.

She paid the “spitting image of her mother” comment no mind. This wasn’t her first time meeting Black Thorn, and he had never once mentioned a resemblance to Princess Sophia before.

‘Why does everyone have to be so clear-headed about things? Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.’

But Black Thorn suddenly spoke again. “Upon learning of Your Highness’s appearance, Count Buffalo not only failed to return Leon City, but he also hired a large number of Mercenaries to attack you! I swear, I will take his head for you! I will rally all the nobles who still have faith in the Immortal Spirit and are loyal to you, and we will attack Leon City!”

His abrupt emotional outburst even took the Desert Pearl by surprise.

‘What happened? Why does Black Thorn suddenly look so full of hatred, as if Count Buffalo were his mortal enemy?’

Black Thorn had been angry about being duped by Count Buffalo. But the thought of the “reward” from the Count’s Golden Cup was like gasoline poured on the fire in his heart, making it erupt.

‘I was tricked into this suicide mission, and you have the gall to insult me with that cup on top of it all.’

‘Black Thorn even began to suspect that Count Buffalo had already thrown in his lot with Mama City and was deliberately trying to divide the desert’s forces—first the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps, and now him.’

‘But from Lisu Muma’s expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.’

‘Not important. First things first: latch onto this powerhouse.’

“As you wish, my Knight,” she said with a nod. “I will take back my Leon City… with your help.”