Chapter 81 - Hestia's Strength

"We must hurry! Defender Duanmu is currently fighting with their leader, but the underlings of that man should be tailing us." The leader of the imperial guards shouted with a solemn voice. He then glanced at the fourth prince who was still unconscious in his arms before he turned to look at the fifth princess who was being carried by one of his men.

'Just how strong are the wines in that store for them to make these two geniuses remain unconscious for an extended amount of time?' He thought to himself.

"Halt!" More than ten men in black robes blocked the imperial guards from their path.

"Move away! The army of the Silver Wing Empire is just nearby! If you don't want to die, then step aside at this instant!" The leader of the imperial guards threatened while glaring at the opposing side. His heart was beating faster than normal, but he had to act tough to prevent the morale of his people from dropping down.

Although the imperial guards had the advantage in numbers, they were significantly weaker than the men in black robes.

One of the enemies stepped forward and sneered derisively. "So what if the army of the Silver Wing Empire is nearby? Even if you send them a distress signal, they still won't be able to see it! Our leader already blocked this zone from the outside world using a treasure! Hahaha!"

The leader of the imperial guards felt his heart skipping a beat when he heard those words. His men were also starting to get nervous.

'I have to maintain everyone's morale for us to escape here! Although we're weaker than them, we have the advantage in numbers. If we sacrifice our lives, the fourth prince and the fifth princess should be able to get out alive.' The imperial guard's captain thought while ignoring his rising nervousness.

He was the only 6th-rank King realm on their side and the enemy group had more than five of them. The combat strength of the two groups should be almost equal. But no matter who wins, the losses wouldn't be small for either side.

"Stop buying time! That old defender of yours will die under our leader's hands! Hahah! Men, kill the fourth prince and the fifth princess!"

Following that shout, the men in black robes started charging towards the imperial guards.

"Don't cower! We're soldiers of the mighty Silver Wing Empire! Even if the enemies outpower us, we will not back down!" The captain of the imperial guards shouted with vigor. He then grabbed the soldier holding the fifth princess and handed the fourth prince to him. "Soldier, you go and bring them back to the imperial palace. They must return alive!" The captain said with determined eyes.

The soldier who was holding the two imperial children held back the tears that were about to fall out from his eyes and replied with a resolute look. "Captain, don't worry. I will not fail you."

The captain nodded his head and glared at the incoming enemies with a fearless expression. "Brothers, let's use all of our strength in this final battle! Charge with me!" He shouted as he led the imperial guards to fight back.

But just as the two parties were about to clash, a brilliant ray of light descended towards the men in black robes. The scene surprised everyone greatly.

"Boooomm!" A violent explosion rang out after the brilliant light hit the men in black robes.

The imperial guards covered their eyes from the light while feeling extremely shocked in their hearts.

'Just what was that brilliant ray of light? Was it the Defender Duanmu?' The imperial guards thought to themselves as they slowly opened their eyes.

They glanced at where the men in black robes last stood only to see a huge crater enveloped by raging flames.

"What the hell?" The captain and the others were flabbergasted at what they saw. He stopped his men from going near the crater and went there himself.

As the captain was walking towards the crater, a lithe silhouette came into everyone's view.

"That's... Isn't she..." The captain muttered with a blank look on his face.

A woman with long red hair dressed in a maid's uniform walked out from the blazing crater. She had a kind smile plastered on her face but the short sword in her right hand which was covered in blood destroyed her saintly image.

"Young Miss Hestia, why are you here?" The captain asked with a dumbfounded look.

Hestia flicked her arm to removed the bloodstain on the blade of her sword before she turned to look at the stupefied captain. "These people might have forgotten to pay for their wines. That's why the master sent me to let them rest forever." Hestia smiled tenderly, but that smile sent shivers down the imperial guards' spines.

The captain of the imperial guards gulped in fear as he slowly inched towards the crater. He took a look at the situation down below only to see the mangled body parts of the men in black robes.

"Don't worry. All of them are now resting in peace." A gentle voice filled with warmth reached the captain's ears, making all the hairs on his body stand on end.

"Tha-Thank you for your help, Young Miss Hestia." The captain forced out a smile as he bowed his head.

Hestia giggled like a carefree teen after seeing the nervous imperial guards. She then turned to look at the fourth prince and fifth princess and said. "You should bring them back to the imperial palace... I still have to go back and help the old man."

After saying those words, Hestia slowly rose in midair and flew out of their sights.

The imperial guards stood rooted on the ground still not believing what they had just seen.

"To think that the gentle and kind Young Miss Hestia is actually an expert at the 8th-rank Divine realm. So Young Miss Theia isn't just the expert in that store..."

"Don't forget that Wine Master Jiu himself is also an Alchemy Saint. And there is also that new waitress working for him. Everyone in that store are monsters..."

"Everyone! Let's not waste our time talking about this here! We still have to bring the fourth prince and fifth princess back to the imperial palace and report everything to His Majesty!" The captain said while looking at the horizon.