The question stumped Orel who was on high alert, it seems that the enemy was not looking at him seriously by throwing such a ridiculous question.
"Wait…" A sudden realization hit him in his predicament. The opponent has been referring to Antoine as big brother…
"Third Prince, Leon!!!"
Orel's eyes widened in disbelief, who would have known that this was one of the abilities of the so-cold trash Third Prince?
Looking at the little red world he was transported to, it truly lived up to his expectations that he was the Barbaric Blood Prince.
The surroundings that he sees made his blood turn cold from the goriness of the illusion that he was in. He was like on a battlefield, fighting with an omnipotent monster. If not for his strong mental state, he would have turned crazy after being transported here.
However, now that he realized this was Leon's doing, Orel thought that this ability must only be up to this extent. Thinking that this was just something Leon luckily managed to cultivate from years on the battlefield, Orel's initial fear and panic eventually subsided.
He adjusted his mental state and observed the little red world leisurely.
"You think that because you have figured out who I am, you can be at ease?" Leon's dark low voice sounded in the little world.
Slash!
Orel could not react for a second when he saw his dominant right hand up in the air.
"Aaaaaahhh!"
Afterward, the sound of his agonizing scream occupied the surroundings. Slash after slash, an invisible blade kept wounding his body making his entire appearance look like he was bathed with blood.
Every time he gets a wound, he would frantically search where Leon was in other to retaliate.
But no matter what he did, Leon's presence seemed to be nonexistent. It was like he had no opponent at all!
"Curse you, Trash Prince! Show yourself and fight head-on!" Highly agitated about the frustrating barrage of attacks, Orel growled and tried to provoke Leon.
Not minding the bleeding of this severed right hand, waved his sword blindly using his left hand like a madman trying to fight with the air as his opponent.
But Leon who was observing from outside the illusion array didn't show any change in expression. He only trapped Orel in the illusion which was actually Leon's mental technique - Battlefield of Despair.
In Orel's mind, he thought that he still had the ability to fight with Leon because the pain of the wounds he was sustaining were all real.
But in reality, he was standing still in a daze, his foot was still frozen in the air and his hand was bleeding profusely. Leon wounded his body without receiving much resistance. Orel in reality was like a meek lamb at the mercy of its butcher.
Leon only took a few moments to confront Orel as his mind was still filled with the thought of saving his brother Antoine.
"How was he?" He asked the roaming blade who immediately performed damage control procedures without needing Leon to order around while he was dealing with Orel.
"Master I temporarily stopped the bleeding and put the Second Prince's body in a suspended state, I am afraid that I do not have the ability to treat his injury. It was a great blessing that we finally have the cure to the curse potion! With its effects, we no longer have to worry about stopping the curse in his body and just concentrate on threatening his wounds."
"Then, I will send him immediately to the great doctor. You clean up this place and take them captive to our base." Leon ordered and looked at the roaming blade who acted as the leader of the platoon he was with.
"If there's still someone we can save among these knights, do not hesitate to use the cure potion. Take them to the base and nurse them to health. Also, leave someone from our side in case the Imperial Knights come back to investigate. Report transparently and give this token to them, they'll know what to report to the Emperor."
Leon could only briefly instruct them as he was preparing another spell to encase the wounded Antoine safely in the entrapment birdcage.
"Arthur and the rest of the Roaming Blades heard your commands, Master!" A young man with lush silver hair named Arthur, the platoon leader, answered immediately.
He knew that Leon had to prioritize saving Antoine's life as such, he didn't ask any further questions and assured Leon of taking care of the rest of the matter.
Leon nodded and immediately set off to transport Antoine to the underground Temple where Kayden was located.
Using his all-out abilities as an S-level mage, he only took less than five minutes to reach where Kayden was.
When Kayden saw Leon's bloody appearance, he already knew what happened. He just wordlessly took Antoine's body which was still safely enclosed with the miniature birdcage and deactivated it in the laboratory.
As Leon stood silently at the door of Kayden's laboratory, he couldn't help but blame himself for why it took him so long to reach the third district and assist his two brothers.
In truth, Leon couldn't be blamed for the matter as he was literally hundreds of miles away from the capital. If not for the vast mana stones on his hand and his S class level abilities, it would be even impossible for him to go there within the span of an hour.
Soon after, an exhausted Kayden went out of the laboratory, he looked at Leon and patted his shoulders with assurance. "His condition had already stabilized. However, there was a different reaction which I have observed in his body that could have possibly been the effect of the cure potion…" This time, Kayden's curiosity was obviously plastered on his face. A great wave of interest could also be traced in his tone.
Leon became worried upon hearing the last part of Kayden's sentence, could it be that the cure potion had an adverse effect on the body? What if the dose that they have initially given to Antoine was too strong for him who was severely wounded?
Kayden understood Leon's worry and immediately assured his friend, "Worry not, for the thing I have observed in his body was rather a good thing. However, as we have very little data about the cure potion that was made out of Eli's holy powers, this might be a good chance for me to fully observe the extent of its effects. I am just telling this matter to you in order to inform you. It might also be better if I could have the records of the effects of the potion from the other victims."
Hearing Kayden's explanations, Leon became relieved. As to the matter of the potion's effect, he left it to Kayden to take care of.
"One more thing…" Kayden asked Leon before he went out and take care of the matter outside. "Can you think of a way for the Riverfort Team to temporarily relocate to the capital? The manufacturing and study of the cure potion have to be expedited, especially today. My body couldn't take this heavy load anymore."
As Kayden said this, Leon could also see the traces of fatigue and exhaustion in his friend's appearance.
Their little team of eight along with the Emperor and High Priest has been moving nonstop in order to lay down the foundations of their move against the Vesalas.
But at this point, they have to recognize that they could no longer contain the matter of the curse and the traitors amongst themselves. They had to look for more people, whom they could trust, to take on the responsibilities that has to still be fulfilled along the way.
For Kayden, it was the Riverfort Hospital Crew, whom he knew could help him during this time. After pushing to work for a few days straight in discovering the cure, he and the rest of the team didn't stop as they immediately proceeded to manufacture the potion.
Leon knew his fact as well and immediately replied affirmatively at his friend's request, "Alright, I'll have Father Emperor issue a decree for them to go to the Capital. I'll also order Blaze to arrange someone to pick them up upon the release of the decree."
After exchanging a few words, Leon immediately left and went straight into the palace.
He knew that his Father have more or less tried to arrange everything into place and that the Elders were already present, assisting his Father in any way they can.
He took the initiative to go straight into his father's office and reported everything.
After hearing the details of the matters outside, Leon saw his Father finally break into a deep cry.
It was time for his father to let go of the pent-up feelings that has been tormenting him because of the sudden attack. It was also time for him to finally feel relieved after knowing that Antoine was safe and alive.
"Heavens… the heavens have given us hope!" Emperor Valentin exclaimed as he cried his heart out.