The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 151: The General’s Sacrifice

Chapter 151: The General’s Sacrifice

Alaric opened the palace gate from the inside. Dillon grabbed that chance to bring Franco out of the palace.

Caleb’s group was also fighting the guards stationed outside the palace gate. They clashed swords with the enemies.

Then they spotted Dillon and Franco running to them.

"Brother!" Miles yelled, catching their attention.

Dillon felt relieved upon seeing Miles, Randolf, and Caleb. With his remaining strength, he forced himself to be near them.

Alaric stayed behind, preventing the other guards from chasing after Dillon.

Miles quickly assisted Dillon and Franco. Then a mysterious group of warriors suddenly showed up, helping them escape.

Commander Kevin sent a group to assist Alaric’s team. They received the distress signal from the fireworks.

"Where are General Alaric and Lambert?" Caleb asked Dillon.

"Lambert is gone. General Alaric is fighting the guards at the palace gate. He protected us," Dillon responded.

Caleb glanced in the direction of the gate. He saw Alaric fighting several knights.

"Alaric!!!" Caleb shouted.

He was about to charge in and help Alaric but a member of the mysterious warriors stopped him.

"We should leave now before the royal guards regroup here!" He said, dragging Caleb with him.

"No! Our general is still there!" Caleb refused to leave.

Seeing how reluctant his comrades were from running away, Alaric made a drastic decision. He closed the palace gate, trapping himself inside while fighting the remaining royal guards.

’I need to buy more time for them to escape!’ Alaric thought to himself, feeling determined.

Meanwhile, Caleb and his comrades felt disheartened when they saw the gate shut down before their eyes. Their general tried his best to protect them.

"We need to leave now. Don’t waste the sacrifices of your general!" A warrior knocked a sense on Caleb’s group. His statement encouraged and convinced Caleb and his comrades to escape with them even without Alaric.

"Let’s move! We need to flee and hide from the knights patrolling tonight!"

Miles shed some tears as he ran away. He was sad about Lambert’s death and worried about Alaric’s safety.

"The Seer was right. We failed the mission tonight. We lost a comrade. And General Alaric is trapped in the palace," Miles murmured, his eyes filled with regret.

"Don’t worry. We will make a plan to rescue him," Rolando said, reassuring them.

The group quickly retreated and followed their escape routes.

Meanwhile, back in the palace, Alaric had no way to run. He was cornered by Zephyra’s knights headed by Captain Beru and Chancellor Gustav.

"Capture him alive! We need him to find out Princess Eve’s whereabouts!" Chancellor Gustav gave his command.

After two hours of resisting and defending himself, the Zephyra’s knights finally managed to capture Alaric.

He was immediately brought to the prison fortress. He was subjected to torture as they interrogated him. But Alaric continued to persist, not disclosing anything about Eve’s whereabouts.

Chancellor Gustav spearheaded the interrogation of Alaric.

"General, you should speak now! Where did you hide Princess Eve?" Chancellor Gustav questioned him.

However, Alaric remained tight-lipped. He ignored him as if he was invisible in his eyes. Captain Beru continued hitting him using a leather whip with spikes.

Alaric endured the striking pain, not even making a sound. He just gritted his teeth while clenching his fists. His body was now covered with bruises, cuts, and blood.

"Talk now if you don’t want to die!" Captain Beru yelled at him, pinching his jaw tightly.

Alaric just smirked before spitting out blood on Captain Beru’s face.

"You Damn Bastard!" Captain Beru punched Alaric’s face.

"Chancellor Gustav! Let’s just kill him. He doesn’t want to talk."

Chancellor Gustav rubbed his chin while observing Alaric. He was trying to figure out how he would be able to lure Princess Eve out. He also noticed something when Alaric’s comrades were trying to escape earlier.

"Are you working with the Rebel Group? There is a group of unidentified warriors who came to your comrades’ rescue. I don’t think they are from Kingdom Averion. They are more likely former knights of Zephyra." Chancellor Gustav expressed his observation earlier.

Though Alaric didn’t speak, Gustav was able to confirm his suspicion through Alaric’s expression.

"Hmmm. So I am right. I guess... Princess Eve is now under the care of the rebel group consisting of the loyal royal guards of Former King Arthur." Gustav made his deduction out of his observations.

At that certain moment, Captain Beru felt threatened.

"Chancellor, do you think they want to seize the throne from King Zaraki?" he asked him expectantly.

Chancellor Gustav nodded. "Yes. It’s possible that they are planning to reclaim the throne using Princess Eve."

He shifted his attention back to Alaric. "Where is Princess Esmeralda? Is she still alive?" he asked Alaric again.

But Alaric was stubborn enough, keeping his mouth shut. He would never tell them what they wanted.

"Summon Chancellor Igrin here," he commanded a royal knight.

The knight immediately left the prison fortress to find Chancellor Igrin and bring him to the prison fortress.

Captain Beru continued torturing Alaric as they waited for Chancellor Igrin. It did not take long before the old chancellor showed up.

Chancellor Igrin was surprised the moment he saw Alaric’s current state. It only meant they failed the assassination.

"Why did you summon me here?" He asked, clearing his throat.

"This guy refused to talk. Do you have any idea how to make this guy useful? We need to capture Princess Eve. But we didn’t know her whereabouts," Chancellor Gustav replied.

Chancellor Igrin shook his head. "This is going to be difficult. He is General Alaric. Princess Eve’s husband. He won’t betray her."

Chancellor Gustav’s eyes lit up when he heard that. An idea suddenly flashed in his mind.

"Hahaha! Now I know what I have to do! Let’s see if this guy is important to her."

Alaric gritted his teeth, and his gum bled. They couldn’t allow them to use him as bait to lure Eve out.

"Just kill me!" He angrily shouted.

Chancellor Gustav burst into a peal of mocking laughter.

"You don’t have to worry. We will definitely kill you," Gustav said meaningfully.

"Listen to me, General Alaric. I have a great idea how I will make Princess Eve surrender," He paused for a moment, taunting him.

"What is your plan, Chancellor?" Captain Beru asked him curiously.

"I’ll give Princess Eve a three-day ultimatum to surrender herself. Spread the news all over the kingdom about General Alaric’s public execution. Tell them that we will execute him if Princess Eve does not surrender."

"Damn you! Don’t touch my wife! I’ll hunt you down even in hell!" Alaric was enraged upon hearing Gustav’s plan.

The chancellor chuckled once more. "Don’t worry. We will not kill her. We need her! Besides, she is Princess Esmeralda’s daughter."

Alaric struggled from his binds. But Captain Beru whipped him over and over again.

After forming a plan on how to make Eve surrender willingly, Chancellor Gustav and Chancellor Igrin left the prison fortress.

"You caught the assassin. Now, it’s the time to fulfill your promise. Chancellor Gustav, please mobilize your army now. I’m going back to Kingdom Eldara." Chancellor Igrin reminded him about their deal.

Chancellor Gustav halted on his steps, turning around to face Igrin.

"Tonight, we suffered a loss. That young general injured so many royal guards. With the threat of rebellion, I’m afraid I can’t send out an army to escort you. This is not the right time for that."

Igrin was about to complain but he shut his mouth after seeing Gustav’s grim expression.

"Is he really strong enough to injure a lot of knights by himself?" Chancellor Igrin asked him.

Chancellor Gustav nodded. "Yes. He is beyond strong. His combat skill and power are insane! He single-handedly fought our royal guards and managed to injure them. He is a formidable opponent. I don’t want him to be an enemy on the battlefield."

Chancellor Gustav couldn’t help but express his admiration for Alaric’s combat skills and strength.

"Then you must kill him no matter what. He is a big threat!" Igrin said, urging him to eliminate Alaric.

"That decision will not come from me. King Zaraki has the last say on this matter. He might reconsider and try to convince this young general to join our army. He might agree because we will take his wife as a hostage. He will have no choice but to serve and fight for Kingdom Zephyra."

Chancellor Gustav didn’t want to kill Alaric, hoping to use his combat skills for Zephyra’s benefit. He could use him since Princess Eve was his wife. He could easily convince Alaric to join their army.

Chancellor Igrin could only hide his disappointment. Because of Alaric, his return to Kingdom Eldara would be delayed.

"Fine. I’m going to wait until you capture Princess Eve. After that, I’m heading back to my kingdom."

Chancellor Gustav just nodded in response. When the two got separated, Gustav headed to King Zaraki’s chamber to report the incident and relay his plan.