Rivers of the Night-Chapter 323: Sadie’s Influence

The eyes of the Crown Prince opened wide. Their heads snapped toward the silhouette of Theron, only to watch it slowly fade away as well.

The water from the first [Water Clone] fell limply to the ground, never becoming dangerous. Marcel and Morelle both realized that they had been tricked at the same moment Aetherion did.

Suddenly, they were down to just three, and they didn’t even have a chance to help the Auran Crown Prince at all. And maybe worst yet, Theron had casually broken their encirclement, standing to the edge of where one of them had just been as though it had never been much of an encirclement to begin with.

At that moment, it seemed to finally settle in for them the sort of monster they were dealing with. Theron wasn’t just a powerful cultivator—he had the intelligence and wit to apply his spells in such a way in the midst of battle that they almost had no ability to react to it at all.

Trying to outsmart him, especially in the heat of battle, felt impossible. The only way was to suffocate him with real strength, and it was hard to say if even that would be possible.

Each and every one of the princes was a Gold Mancer. Marcel was even in the Third Gold Resonance, having only just recently broken through.

Even so… Auran had died without even being able to utter a word.

Prince Nightingale was the most shaken of them all. That was because he was the one who understood the underlying thought process of what Theron had just done most clearly.

For Theron to plan this, he must have been aware enough to know that Aetherion would recall his abilities. But in battle, people had habits, and when they ran into one trick that worked so effectively every time, they would tend to use it again—even if it was just as a starter for a battle.

Theron, though… not only broke away from his own habits, but he did so in the perfect way to reap the most benefits out of it.

Run.

Aetherion made the decision instantly, and without the slightest hesitation, he vanished into a swirling mass of shadows.

For the first time in a long while, Theron was taken aback. His gaze shifted to where Aetherion had just been, watching him fade away.

Then he frowned.

Theron didn’t want Aetherion to slip away so easily; it could cause annoying problems later. But by the same token, he didn’t want to chase either. That would throw his plans off and ruin the timing of everything.

Logically speaking, these princes shouldn’t run—not just because of pride, but because the consequences of doing so were quite heavy. It would mean enraging the Clan that even Elder Black was afraid of.

But Aetherion still chose this path, and Theron couldn’t help but notice that the Firewings were not here.

Of course, the Firewings also didn’t have a "Crown Prince," and it would be foolish of them to send Thessa at him just to watch her die. It was more than acceptable for Aetherion, as her fiancé, to take responsibility for the both of them. The Seijin wouldn’t be enraged by this alone.

But for Aetherion to know this and still run…

There was, indeed, something odd about the Nightingales. freeweɓnøvel.com

Theron’s gaze looked to the Alpha, and he shook his head.

SHIIING.

This time, he unsheathed his blades for real, facing off against the two remaining princes as cold sweat beaded down their brows.

Originally, they were just fine. This was the world of cultivation—no one was just happily granted the role of Crown Prince by birthright alone. Such cases were rare. They had more than likely proved themselves to stand here.

And judging by the fact they had made it to Gold Mancy while being so young, this was proof enough.

But none of them were fools for this exact reason as well. Aetherion running so decisively wasn’t something they expected, and they also didn’t assume that the man was a coward either.

"Are you going to run? Or are you going to fight?" Theron asked lightly.

The two froze.

"You could stay and die. Or, you could rush off and gather more people. This is even the Sangun Empire—I imagine you could gather quite a large army here, no?" Theron looked toward Morelle with a placid gaze. "One I’m sure you’re already in the process of mobilizing."

The two Crown Princes could practically hear their own heartbeats.

Originally, Theron planned to kill them all right here, but Aetherion’s decisiveness had taken him off guard. What Theron didn’t know was that Sadie being a constant whispering fairy over her elder brother’s shoulder had applied more pressure than even Aetherion knew.

Sadie’s belief in Theron had, subtly or otherwise, rubbed off on Aetherion, and all of that culminated in Theron making a rare mistake in assessing someone’s character.

In Theron’s opinion, Aetherion was far too arrogant to do what he just did. And under 99% of circumstances, that was true.

But Theron was always ready to pivot from a plan.

If he couldn’t kill all five Crown Princes here, killing just three of them wasn’t good enough. In fact, that would end up giving the Nightingales an advantage he didn’t want to give them just yet, and it would make it more difficult to execute his later plans.

In that case… he would force them to run.

A thrumming Mana came from Theron, and a wave of energy pulsed from him.

At that moment, his cultivation, usually restrained and hidden deep within him, spilled out like a raging tide.

The hair of the two Crown Princes was blown back, and suddenly they felt like the short young man before them had become a towering mountain. They had never felt so small in their lives.

Their legs moved all on their own as they turned and ran as fast as they could, all the blood in their faces draining away.

Theron, though, wasn’t even looking at them. His aura was like a beacon in the middle of the city, a towering mass that loomed taller than even the Gold Mancers that oversaw this Imperial City.

With a flash, he appeared on the Alpha’s back, his lingering gaze leaving a certain location as he sped away…

Toward the Daggers of the Night.