Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 359: When he met her

"Allow us to escort you to the castle," the knight said with a smile on his face.

"You need not trouble yourself, knight of the empire," Doran said, stepping forward. "We will be escorted by the royal wardens of Snowbanes."

Maintaining the same expression, the knight continued, "No offense, Prince Doran, but I do not see the wardens here. They must be busy guarding King Aurelion."

Doran stared at the knight with a deep frown. Just as he was about to speak, a cold voice echoed.

"Our King is in the Demi-God realm. He does not require our protection, Sir Arthur," said a middle-aged man approaching from the direction of the castle with five others dressed in similar attire, clad in silken white robes adorned with intricate patterns.

At Heaven’s Sovereign Peak, only the King and the Queen were permitted to use flying abilities. The array covering the peak suppressed all artifacts and the ability to fly, so every visitor was required to ascend on foot.

Once the group of cultivators drew closer to Nymeria and Doran, they offered them respectful bows.

After exchanging greetings, the white-robed cultivator named Javier El Snowbane continued, "Forgive us for keeping you waiting, Your Highness. We shall escort you now."

"The previous king was also in the Demi-God realm," Arthur, the empire’s knight, said with a mocking chuckle as he turned around. "Demi-Gods are not omnipotent."

As he was about to leave, a suppressive Soulforce pressure descended upon him.

"How dare you insult the former King of the Hundred Sky Mountains?" Javier muttered, his hand moving toward the hilt of his sword, his gaze sharp and cold.

The knights’ hands flew to their weapons as well. However, before the situation could escalate further, another voice echoed, deeper and heavier.

"Retract your pressure, Warden Javier," said a tall, muscular man with a colossal frame and short brown hair. "Unless you desire a clash with the Rockbanes."

"Did you not hear what that knight of the empire just said, Lord Titan?" Javier muttered, his eyes narrowed at Arthur, who stood frozen in place under the suffocating pressure bearing down on him. "Even if the Rockbanes have submitted to the empire, you once served King Voltrex. How can you defend them when they insult the pride of the Hundred Sky Mountains?"

Titan fixed Javier with a predatory gaze, the atmosphere between them turning heavy and suffocating.

After a brief pause, he spoke in a low tone. "Step back, Warden Javier. If you refuse, do not blame me for what follows."

"Javier, retreat," Nymeria said, stepping forward. "I do not wish for trouble on the eve of the competition."

"Yes, Your Highness," Javier replied, reluctantly withdrawing his Soulforce pressure. The moment he did, Arthur cast him a mocking smirk before departing with Titan, while Javier remained standing silently, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"Take us to the castle, Warden Javier," Nymeria said, her demeanor calm and unchanged. "We have already drawn enough attention."

They had indeed attracted too much attention. All the people who had previously been enjoying the festival now stood silently along the roadside, their gazes fixed upon them.

"As you command, Your Highness," Javier said.

The other wardens surrounded Doran and Nymeria from all sides, while Javier walked at the front, escorting them toward the castle.

Although thousands of people from different Bane families crowded the streets, not a single person dared to stand in the middle of the road or even raise their gaze once the wardens began escorting the Prince and Princess.

They did not fear Javier or Doran. The reason for their lowered gazes was Nymeria El Snowbane. Since her return from the Sentinel Lines seventeen years ago, she had not smiled even once. She was rumored to be cold, heartless, and merciless. Anyone who dared offend her, even in the slightest, faced absolute and irreversible punishment, sometimes considered worse than death itself.

While everyone silently wished for the royal procession to pass quickly so they could resume the festivities, something unexpected occurred, forcing Javier to halt.

"Why have we stopped, Warden Javier?" Doran asked. Along with Nymeria, his vision was obscured by the wardens surrounding them.

"Someone is obstructing the path, Your Highness," Javier replied. "Please wait while I deal with this hindrance."

Javier stepped forward toward a man crossing the street nonchalantly, the very road that was meant to remain clear whenever the royals passed.

With swift strides, Javier approached the long red-haired man, who was walking from one side of the street to the other without even a glance at the Prince and Princess currently using the road.

In the blink of an eye, Javier swung his sheathed sword at blinding speed toward the red-haired man as he muttered, "How dare you block the path of the royal family?"

Just as the sheathed blade was about to strike, the man’s hand moved even faster, catching the sword effortlessly.

"I have only just arrived, and someone is already seeking trouble?" the red-haired man said as he turned toward Javier.

"H-how did you catch my blade?" Javier asked, his eyes widening in shock.

The reason for his astonishment was clear. Although he had used barely a quarter of his strength, he was at the eighth level of the True-Sage realm. How could someone who appeared barely over twenty, with the Soulforce pressure of only a first-level Awakened Sage, block his attack?

If that was not shocking enough, the young red-haired man was blindfolded.

"What do you mean, how?" the red-haired man asked in an annoyed tone. "Why did you attack me without reason? I do not even know you."

"Such arrogance," Javier muttered, his eyes narrowing as he attempted to pull his sword free.

To his surprise, the blade did not budge from the young man’s grip. Already irritated by the earlier exchange with the empire’s knight, Javier had no intention of letting this public humiliation pass.

Just as he was about to unleash his Soulforce, Nymeria’s voice came from behind.

"Stop, Warden Javier," Nymeria said as she stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the red-haired man.

The moment the young man heard her voice, his grip loosened, and the sword slipped free.

A gentle breeze swept through the mountains, and the clouds around the peak shifted as though stirred by an unseen force when Nymeria came to stand before him.

"What is your name?" Nymeria asked.