Chapter 270: Natural Desire

We were led into the command center's storeroom. The four of us walked up the staircase and soon arrived at a massive lobby. I immediately saw Zhang Xingxing's and the others' backpacks and luggage placed on the ground. I also saw their weapons with their belongings.

We lowered our bodies and sneaked over before opening the lobby door. The command room appeared before us. Zhang Xingxing, Master Crystal, and the others were in a corner and surrounded by 20 armed soldiers. In the middle of the room, Prince Toruse was seriously studying a map with his advisor.

"Looks like the prince has really arrested our people. What happened to him?" wondered Zhang Bao'er.

"The captain and the others do not have morph-capable gear, and those soldiers are watching them. If we attack rashly, we might cause them harm," said Old Du calmly.

"Canyue, any good ideas?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"The command room is too small. It's not a good place to fight. But we still need to save the captain as quickly as possible. I have a plan," I said.

"What is it? Spit it out," urged Zhang Bao'er.

"To capture the bandits, first capture their leader," I said resolutely.

"So we'll take control of Prince Toruse with Bulu. Good idea. But how do we get near him?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

I whispered into Old Du's ear, and a look of understanding dawned on his face.

"Baobao, escort us out as prisoners," I ordered Baobao.

Baobao was very enthusiastic about following my orders. He immediately pointed a gun at me. I laid down all my weapons, turned on my shield, and walked out with my hands behind my head.

A sentinel immediately spotted us and demanded loudly, "Stop! What are you doing?"

Everyone's gaze focused on me.

"Prince, how have you been? I was arrested the moment I returned," I asked loudly.

Zhang Xingxing and the others saw me as well. She yelled, "Canyue, the prince betrayed us. Be careful."

I nodded at her, signaling for her to not worry.

Prince Toruse was in no rush. He looked at me leisurely and said to a soldier by his side, "Canyue will normally go everywhere with his two brothers, Zhang Bao'er and Old Du. Take 30 soldiers with you and search for them."

The soldier left to carry out the order. He brought half the soldiers in the room with him. I made a quick headcount and noted that there were roughly 13 soldiers left in the room.

"Prince, what's going on? We're comrades-in-arms. Why did you have my team leader and Master Crystal restrained?" I questioned.

The prince did not answer. He merely stared at Baobao coldly.

"Soldier, you're Baobao, right? With the gear you have, how is it possible that you can restrain Li Canyue? If you were forced to do something, I am willing to pardon you and your family from execution if you repent and return to my side," said Prince Toruse.

'To kill someone, first kill one's heart. I did not expect the prince to threaten Baobao with his family. This is not something a noble king should do,' I thought.

Perhaps Baobao was provoked by the threat toward his family. I immediately heard the sound of the raygun's safety pin being removed behind me.

"Thank you, Prince, for your leniency. I will fight till the end for the kingdom!" vowed Baobao, indirectly admitting that the prince was right.

"I did not expect you to really be a traitor. Soldiers, kill them," ordered Prince Toruse ruthlessly.

"Hold on, Prince. I'm here to help you leave. Also, I come bearing a big present," I hurriedly said.

The prince stopped the soldiers with a gesture and asked, "Old friend, what present do you have for me?"

"Prince, you must have appointed yourself to the throne, right?" I asked.

"According to the laws of Akko, any member of the royalty who stays behind to fight for Akko is entitled to inherit the throne. The king that turns his back on his people shall lose the throne automatically. Therefore, I am the legitimate successor to the throne," said the prince.

"But you are only second in place for the throne," I reminded him.

"Is this the present you have for me? After you left with the king, the soldiers spread the news that Prince Arude died. My taking of the throne is acceptable in the eyes of the law," said Prince Toruse, his voice rising to a roar.

"Prince, we had fought alongside each other so many times before. Do you not have even the tiniest bit of patience? According to your laws, proof of Prince Arude's death is required to fully legitimize your ascension. I can help you with that," I said, trying to calm the agitated prince.

"And how are you supposed to help with that?" asked Prince Toruse.

"I fought alongside Prince Arude during the battle at Goldsteel City. I know the events there clearly." I started describing the battle in detail, "The enemy troops laid siege with a shell-breaker, resulting in heavy casualties for us…."

Listening to my detailed description, the prince slowly believed me. As he listened, he started walking toward me.

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"Is Arude dead? Did you not obtain more updates after escorting the king out?" asked the prince as he walked.

Suddenly, the prince stopped in his tracks. I took a glance at the backpack I was wearing in front of me. A slight red light could be seen within.

'Good. The prince had only heard about Bulu, but he had never experienced how powerful Bulu is,' I thought smugly and immediately whistled loudly.

Zhang Bao'er and Old Du rushed out of two different directions and roared at the soldiers in the room, "Lay down your arms! Surrender and your life will be spared!"

Baobao, who was in charge of watching me, hurriedly drew one of his guns and gave it to me. I accepted it and rushed toward Prince Toruse. Everything had progressed so smoothly that it almost seemed like we had rehearsed everything. Nobody in the room could react in time.

I placed my hand on the prince's shoulder and yelled at the soldiers, who were still dazed, "In the name of the prince, lay down your arms and release the prisoners."

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The soldiers looked at the prince doubtfully, only to see him nodding silently at them. Since the leader had spoken, the soldiers naturally wouldn't waste any time analyzing their situation. They immediately placed their weapons on the floor before removing the bindings on their prisoners. 

Titan, Sarje, and the young students of the imperial college hurriedly picked up the weapons on the floor and took control of the command room. Zhang Xingxing ran toward me the moment she picked up a gun.

"Team Leader!" the three of us greeted at the same time.

"Canyue, I have always believed that you would return for us even if the planet was submerged in lava, to say nothing of water," said Zhang Xingxing, carrying deep emotions in her words.

My eyes were brimming with tears of excitement. The bond we had forged through our numerous encounters was something few would understand.

"Team Leader, what happened to Prince Toruse exactly? Why did he detain all of you?" asked Old Du.

"Sigh. After Canyue left with the king and Duke Yidon, the empire started preparing to flood all the planet's underground bunkers and settlements. But before that, they sent an envoy to us," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Envoy? Did the envoy enter the underground palace?" I asked.

"Prince Toruse let him in. He came bringing news of Goldsteel City's fall and Prince Arude's disappearance. The city had been destroyed by flaming bombs. Nobody had been able to escape the city, but the empire hadn't been able to locate Prince Arude's corpse after the event," said Zhang Xingxing.

"In other words, Prince Arude is officially missing, not dead," I said.

"Yes. Prince Toruse was impatient to take the throne after hearing of Prince Arude's disappearance, but we had all seen the royal will. By right, Prince Toruse must ascertain that Prince Arude had really perished before he could legitimately take the throne," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Thus, he flew into a rage out of humiliation and detained all of you," said Old Du.

"Yes. The imperial envoy had been playing a great role in instigating the prince. Initially, the prince hesitated, but the envoy's constant persuasion convinced him to take the throne," said Zhang Xingxing.

"In that case, Prince Toruse has clearly reached an understanding with the envoy. Why didn't he retreat before the storm came?" I asked doubtfully.

"Yes, they had reached an understanding. The envoy had returned to bring the news back to the empire. In order to prevent the prince from illegally seizing the throne, we damaged the bubble gate, delaying his escape. However, we couldn't resist their superior numbers and were detained by his soldiers. Nevertheless, we were successful in trapping everyone here and were awaiting your arrival," said Zhang Xingxing, indicating her full trust in me.

"Young man, how did you get in here?" asked Master Crystal, who had also regained his freedom.

"It's a long story, Master. This planet has been submerged by a flood caused by a superstorm. Our top priority is to leave this place before rescuing Prince Arude," I said.

"Is Prince Arude really still alive?" asked Master Crystal.

"No idea. I only know that he has disappeared. King Xido requested me to bring both his sons back," I replied.

"Looks like we were right in trying to prevent Prince Toruse from ascending to the throne. He can't take the throne by force without any legitimacy," muttered Master Crystal.

We were racing for time, so I had Zhang Bao'er lead the people to the lobby to retrieve their gear. Then, I brought Prince Toruse, who was still under Bulu's control, to the underground palace's public square. There, I had all his soldiers gather.

Zhang Xingxing had a gratified look in her eyes when she saw how I was able to deal with everything in an orderly fashion. While waiting for the soldiers to gather, Zhang Bao'er, acting like someone who had been forced to shut his mouth for a long time, started narrating everything we had experienced in a greatly exaggerated fashion, including our battles and rescue operation. 

Naturally, he did not forget to insert his numerous heroic exploits during the storytelling while underselling what Domo, Dondon, and the others had done. In fact, Zhang Bao'er even claimed Wuzhou's repair of Fearless as his contribution, to the point both Old Du and I couldn't bring ourselves to keep listening. Seeing that roughly a hundred soldiers had gathered before us, I stopped his storytelling session.

"Team Leader, I plan to tell these soldiers the truth," I said to Zhang Xingxing.

She nodded and approved my plan.

"Brave warriors of Akko, I am your friend. I was entrusted by King Xido to rescue both Prince Arude and Prince Toruse. Naturally, you are all my rescue targets as well. Please get ready. We are going to withdraw from this flooded planet," I said to the gathered soldiers.

At that moment, Bulu had Prince Toruse nod his head. The soldiers started whispering to each other. According to what they had heard, Prince Arude was supposed to be dead. That was why they had all sworn their loyalty to Prince Toruse. Only upon hearing my words did they realize that everything they had done for Prince Toruse was illegal. Thus, they grew restless.

I saw through their worries and said, "Warriors, you have fought tenaciously and gallantly against the empire until the very last moment. Your dedication to holding this fort had resulted in your lack of understanding of what had happened outside. You should not be faulted for the actions you carried out in ignorance. So long as you work with us during our retreat, I promise that your mistake will be forgotten. You might even get the chance to earn more merits."

My speech seemed to allay their fears. Everyone started to prepare to withdraw. Seeing that I had completed my task, I turned around to face Zhang Xingxing. She nodded encouragingly as we also started preparing.

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