The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 432: A Bloody Retribution (II)

Chapter 432: A Bloody Retribution (II)

"Weren’t you expecting me?" the knight asked sarcastically.

Ivar was still shaken by this revelation.

"W-why? Weren’t we comrades?" he stammered, bewildered.

"Comrades?" Noah chuckled darkly.

In an instant, several punches landed on Ivar’s face, causing the warm, crimson liquid to flow from his mouth. He spat thick saliva mixed with blood onto the ground, his chest heaving from the pain.

"What do you want from me?" Ivar shouted in anger. "Why are you doing this?"

"You’re asking me? I should be the one asking the questions! What have I done to you that warranted your betrayal?! We used to work together, and I never once intervened in your affairs! But you... you schemed against me for a r*pe and m*rder I never committed! Do you know how much I’ve suffered because of that?" Noah shot back, glaring at him.

Ivar’s eyes widened in shock.

"You... you knew?? But how?"

Noah scoffed.

"You may be good at covering your tracks, but know this... the truth always prevails. No matter how much you conceal your secrets, they always come out in the end because your evil deeds stink!"

Ivar’s companions exchanged fearful glances after knowing that Noah had uncovered their scheme.

One of them immediately begged, "Please let us go! This is all Sir Royd’s doing! He plotted the crime out of jealousy when the Grand Duke of Gerhard chose you over him! We just went along with him! If we didn’t, he would have beaten us!"

"Shut up, you liar!" Ivar shouted back.

"No, I’m not! I’m telling the truth!" argued his companion.

"You’re all lying! Do you think I would believe your pathetic excuses?!" Noah yelled. "You conspired together in this! You all betrayed me and wanted me to die!"

He stood up and delivered a brutal kick to Ivar’s companion, sending the knight crashing to the ground. The others winced in fear. Bound and beaten, they realised they were now truly doomed—their capture had become a matter of revenge.

Ivar’s mind raced as he searched for a way to escape this predicament. At his wit’s end, he desperately tried to persuade Noah.

"Look here! This is all a scam! We were a team! We grew up together, and you’re like a brother to me! Whoever told you this is lying! I would never hurt you!" Ivar pleaded.

"My woman would never lie like you, b*stard!" Kiev suddenly interjected.

Ivar turned to him, and as the morning light brightened, he noticed the Mederian Prince’s striking hair and eye colour. Shock washed over him as he recognised him, the only man with such unique features, even though he was still wearing a mask.

"It’s you! Elisabeth’s husband!" he exclaimed, recalling their last encounter in the plaza when Kiev had claimed to be Elis’s spouse while Ivar and his men had been pestering her.

The other Knights of Gerhard exchanged surprised glances. They were aware of the incident when Elis had been harassed by the Knights of Abinair, which had resurfaced her trauma, but they hadn’t known that Kiev would publicly declare himself her husband.

However, none of them commented, understanding the depth of the Mederian Prince’s feelings for her.

Kiev removed his mask; his expression was solemn.

"So, it was her who told you!" Ivar said, confirming the man before him was the same man he met. Kiev’s striking features were unforgettable, and Ivar could never erase the memory of the Mederian prince’s furious gaze.

He then turned back to Noah and asked, "But how? She knew nothing about it!"

"That’s not for you to know!" the knight answered.

Looking around at the other masked figures, Ivar pondered who they were. Their skills in combat and swordsmanship were top-notch, and they were fully equipped for battle. A realisation struck him swiftly, knowing who they were after piecing the puzzle together.

"You are all the Knights of Gerhard, the Grand Duke’s men!" he exclaimed.

"So what? Scared now?" Luke mocked him.

The Knights of Gerhard removed their masks, following Kiev’s lead. Ivar recognised a few of them from two years ago when Kyren had come to Dracor with his knights.

That was when he had orchestrated his plan to frame Noah as the perpetrator behind Erika’s r*pe and m*rder, leaving her body in the knights’ settlement while Noah was alone.

Panic surged through Ivar as he knew that these men would surely kill him. Even his own companions had turned against him, choosing to stab him in the back to save themselves.

He felt doomed. But then, he recalled the collaboration between his lord and the Grand Duke. His eyes sparked with a glimmer of hope.

"You can’t do this to me! Our lords have an agreement! The collaboration they established states that our safety in Cassian is secured for as long as we do business here! If you kill us, it means you are betraying your lord. The duchy stamp is sealed on the letter given by the Count of Abinair!"

"Don’t use the letter as leverage! Do you think I don’t know about it? I was the one who received the letter and allowed it to be stamped! Even so, the laws of our kingdom surpass any agreement! You have committed a crime, and you must pay for it!" Garin exclaimed.

The letter had arrived at Gerhard’s palace long ago, coinciding with Noah’s return alongside Armel, Emily and Clara. It was during that time they decided to rush the sick knightess to Gantz for emergency treatment, with Elis and Garin accompanying them to care for Clara throughout the journey.

"It never happened in Cassian, so the law doesn’t apply to us!" Ivar defended himself.

"So, you did r*pe and k*ll Elis’s sister!" Kiev retorted. "Your own words imply that you did!"

Ivar’s lips quivered; he realised he had inadvertently admitted to his crime.

"I did not! You have no proof, and Elisabeth is delusional! Whatever that b*tch said isn’t the truth! That wh*re is a liar!" he exclaimed.

A surge of anger coursed through Kiev. In an instant, he lunged forward, kicking Ivar’s face and sending the knight sprawling to the ground. The Mederian Prince then bent down, seizing him by the collar, and began to punch him relentlessly.

"How dare you speak of my woman like that, you filthy b*stard! I’ll kill you! For what you’ve done to my Elis, you don’t deserve to live!" Kiev shouted, rage boiling over.

His expression turned murderous as he continued pummeling Ivar. The force of his punches broke the knight’s nose, leaving Ivar’s face a bloody mess. Kiev’s wrath showed no signs of abating. With one hand, he choked the knight’s neck, intensifying his assault.

Seeing that Kiev was on the verge of losing control, Alex rushed forward and gripped his arm.

"Your Highness, get ahold of yourself! We can’t kill them! Otherwise, our plan will be ruined!" he warned.

Kiev pushed the knight away, his fury reaching its peak.

"Even if I can’t, I will still do this!"

The Mederian Prince drew a sharp dagger from the sheath hung on his belt and slashed through Ivar’s pants. The knight’s lower body was quickly exposed.

At that moment, the other Knights of Gerhard knew what Kiev was about to do. They rushed to stop him, all except Noah, but the Mederian Prince acted faster.

In mere seconds, a howl of agony erupted through the forest, sending shockwaves through the surrounding wildlife. Nearby birds took flight while other animals fled the scene, escaping the chaos.

A chunk of flesh fell to the ground, blood pouring from Ivar’s body in a gruesome cascade.

He screamed – a raw, agonised sound echoed through the forest as Kiev tossed him aside like a discarded, useless sack.

The knight writhed in agony, his body convulsing in sharp, searing pain from the gruesome wound.

"Aaa! Aaa!!"

His howling of torment persisted, a desperate cry that tore the calmness of the quiet forest, filled with the weight of despair and helplessness. Blood gushed from the cut, splattering onto the ground, creating a macabre pool that pulsed with his pain.

The other Knights of Abinair screamed in horror at the ghastly sight. Without mercy, Kiev had castrated Ivar before their eyes, leaving them in total shock. The reality of the moment sent a clear message to them that they, too, would suffer the same.

"No, please! Let us go! Don’t do this to us!" shouted one of the knights, struggling against his bindings. His face turned pale, fear gripping him as he pleaded for mercy.

"Your Highness, why are you doing this? You said you’d spare them! How can we continue if you kill them? This knight will surely bleed to death!" Damon asked worriedly.

"I guess I got carried away," Kiev replied coldly, his gaze shifting to the rest of Ivar’s men. "It doesn’t matter anyway if one or two of them die!" he added dismissively.

The group huddled together in terror, watching Ivar writhe in pain, a sight that filled them with dread.

Concerned, Alex stepped forward again, nodding slightly to Eli, who joined him as they approached Kiev.

"Your Highness, please calm down. If you can’t control yourself, the plan will be ruined," Alex urged.

"Sir Jarr is right," Eli chimed in. "I’m angry too, but we need to stick to our original intention to achieve our goal."

"Can’t I just kill them all?! They hurt my Elis! They caused her great pain and trauma! I feel like skinning them alive!" Kiev shouted, his chest heaving with rage.

"Wait! Your Highness... Elis’s husband... whoever you are! Please! Spare me, at least! I’ve never done anything to your wife! Though I colluded with Sir Royd, I’ve never assaulted her or her sister!" one knight among Ivar’s men exclaimed, panic in his voice.

He didn’t know who Kiev was, but hearing Alex address him as ’Your Highness’ made it clear that this striking man was royalty.

Kiev’s crimson eyes locked onto him.

"I swear I’m telling the truth! My name is Joshua Hermann! You can ask Elisabeth yourself! I didn’t join Sir Royd and the others tormenting her because I have men’s issues from an injury," the knight, known as Josh among the Knights of Abinair, insisted.

Kiev narrowed his eyes, recalling the names Elis had mentioned. He was confident that Joshua Hermann hadn’t been on the list.

"Elis didn’t mention your name, so I’ll spare your life for that," Kiev said.

A flicker of relief crossed Josh’s face. But the reprieve was short-lived as the Mederian Prince continued, "However, even though you weren’t directly involved in her suffering, you admitted to plotting with your comrades against Sir Brooks. Therefore, the Knights of Gerhard have every right to punish you!"

At this point, Ivar’s screams had faded to a whisper; his dark eyes rolled back, revealing only the whites as he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness from excessive bleeding.

"State your order, Your Highness!" Garin urged, disregarding the grim state of the Knight of Abinair.

His resentment for Ivar overshadowed any concern for the knight’s fate; his sole focus was on the safety of his team as they executed their mission.

Kiev surveyed the terrified group, a cold determination in his eyes. To instil fear, he kicked Ivar’s body mercilessly after sheathing his dagger.

The knight, now unable to move from his torment, lay helpless on the ground.

"Beat them all you want as a lesson for messing up with you! Afterwards, leave them to me. I will whip them till there’s no skin on their back!"

"Men, you heard what His Highness said," said Garin. "Leave no room for mercy! But let them live to restore our good names!"

The Knights of Gerhard moved closer, the sound of cracking necks and popping knuckles echoing ominously in the air.

"No, no! Please! Save us! Somebody, help!!" Ivar’s men shouted in desperation, full of fear.

But their pleas fell on deaf ears, drowned out by the isolation of the forest. They were far from any settlement, and no one was there to hear their cries for mercy.

The torture began with a brutal onslaught. Kicks and fists rained down on the Knights of Abinair, each strike landing with bone-crushing force. They stumbled, gasping for breath, as their bodies absorbed the merciless blows. Blood spattered onto the ground, mixing with cries of pain and desperation.

But the torment didn’t stop there. The Mederian Prince, with a cold, calculated fury, dragged Ivar’s motionless body aside after Noah had severely beaten the knight. He reached for the barbed whip tucked at his back, its cruel tips glinting menacingly in the morning light.

Kiev stepped forward as he armed himself with the whip.

’Splash! Splash!’

The whip snapped against Ivar’s back, tearing through his tunic as the flogging began. Each lash ripped into his skin, jolting his body and exposing raw flesh, causing blood to flow freely from the wounds. With every strike, his back became drenched in crimson, grotesque gore of suffering.

As the blood poured out, Kiev’s fury intensified. He was haunted by memories of the night he first saw the scars on Elis’s body, reminding him of the ruthless atrocities she had endured for years.

Each recollection shattered his heart into pieces, fueling his resolve. This time, he would ensure that the wrongdoings of these men were met with the justice they deserved.

And so, blood and screams continued to fill the air in the depths of the forest. In that isolated clearing, a brutal retribution unfolded for the price of vengeance.

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