½ Prince

Chapter 1: Infinite City Will Never Fall – translated by eilinel

“Don’t bother about me! Hurry up and riddle them with arrows!” howled Fan, who was pinned to the ground under Wolf-dàgē’s foot.

I raised my eyebrows, but just as I was about to say something…

“The mages have already cast a protective barrier around us, so long-range attacks from archers should be useless against us,” Broken Sword said doubtfully. “Has Fan become so consumed with rage that he’s lost his mind? Why would he give such an order?”

“Even if he were to give orders, why would he so openly announce them? Why didn’t he use the PM system?” Wicked analyzed calmly. “I think he must have given a different order via the PM system. Looking at the current situation, he probably ordered them to charge and then have the thieves or warriors with high agility rescue him during the attack.”

“That’s right; we must not fall into his trap. We should start forming our defensive line right away.” A woman with a commanding aura walked up to us. She looked like she was going to give orders, but after some hesitation, she looked at me, “Liege lord, is the formation of our defensive line at this time acceptable?”

I smiled while looking at her, Wow, such a cool, smart, and beautiful girl–but who on earth is she? I was puzzled, but still dutifully answered, “Of course it is, but please ask the mages to remove the protective barrier and attack the enemy’s rear with AoE magic attacks, or help our side defend with simple spells.”

She was struck dumb, then replied frantically, “No, we can’t do that! If the opponent switched to attacking us with arrows or spells, we would sustain heavy damages due to our tight formation.”

“Believe me, there will be no problems.” I looked at her resolutely, “There is no time to explain now. Please, just follow my orders.”

Despite my words, she continued to look dubious. She turned towards Zui as though looking for help. “Do as the liege lord orders,” Nan Gong Zui said without any hesitation, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Prince, please stand back a bit.” Wicked said coolly, “You are our leader; your job is to give us instruction and to be our pillar of spiritual support. The front line is not your place.”

My face dropped. But I want to fight too! I stared at Wicked with a pitiful expression, but even acting pitiable was of no use this time, as Wicked’s determined expression did not even flicker, so I could only rub my nose and obediently listen to his words.

“I will stand back. Kenshin, remember to help me protect them,” I said to Kenshin, feeling disgruntled.

I walked to the back and stood in front of the group of mages. I saw that our opponents already stood in their offensive formation and White Bird had also given the orders for defense, so now both sides seemed to be waiting for a signal to start the battle.

“Prince, are we really going to remove the protective barriers?” Rose and the other mages asked with some hesitation.

I gave a wave of my hand while keeping my eyes trained on the tense situation in front, “Yes! All of you should just attack with spells without worries.”

I suddenly thought of something, and turned towards Sunshine to ask, “Sunshine, can you use the spell that’s able to chase people? The one you told me about before?”

Sunshine smiled gracefully, “Guided Arcane Missiles? Yes I can, but I will need a long time to lock onto the enemies.”

“Mm, you can take all the time you need; just make sure you cast it before the battle ends.” I nodded and then returned my gaze to the front line.

Eh? Why hasn’t it started after so long? I’m almost falling asleep. Feeling extremely displeased, I shouted at Kenshin listlessly, “Kenshin, did you fall asleep? Quickly start the battle.”

Kenshin turned his head to look (glare?) coldly at me, slowly drew his katana out, then suddenly disappeared from his location.

In the blink of an eye, while everyone was still stunned, the sound of a howl suddenly came from the enemy’s side. After that, the sounds of different people’s howls seemed endless. Everyone stared at the sight of a red figure that jumped here and there without pause. Wherever he went, enemies’ stomachs were cut open and intestines flowed out. Bodies lay all over the place and the flowing blood formed a river.

Sigh! Kenshin, can you stop disembowling our opponents? We could easily slip if we stepped on the intestines that have been dropped onto the ground! You should consider the effects for our side.

The opponents, who were only able to react after their initial shock wore off, finally started to hunt down Kenshin. I snorted, If even I was unable to follow the speed of a level 100 Kenshin, how would it be possible for you all to catch Kenshin? If you all can even touch a corner of Kenshin’s clothes, you would already be considered incredible.

“Everyone, quick, follow the original plan; don’t be distracted by him!” a warrior who was pretty good-looking yelled with all his might as he saw the situation going amiss.

Under the roar of this person, everyone from the enemy side suddenly rushed towards Infinite City. When they drew near the defensive line, countless Fireballs, Ice Spears, Wind Blades and Jaws of Hell “greeted” them and killed a row of enemies straight away. Then, before I could even clap my hands and applaud them, another wave of spells attacked. It was so fast between waves that there wasn’t time enough to bat an eyelash. I looked over to the group of mages, slightly perplexed. Ooooh! So they are attacking in turns. Furthermore, they are moving with perfect coordination, taking turns and casting spells without missing a step.

“Magical attacks? They have removed their protective barriers? Mages, quickly attack!” There was another anxious roar from the opponent side.

Then, as our side watched on with some fear in their eyes, I admired the sight of a multitude of spells—plus one smelly sock that came out of nowhere—being hurled in my direction. Sigh, a liege lord is a liege lord indeed; eight out of ten spells were aimed at me. I raised my eyebrows, unconcerned, but Gui, who was at my side, suddenly rushed out to stand in front of me, and hugged me tightly. A vein throbbed on my temple while I smiled tightly.

Gui, I am really touched that you are willing to help me block the attacks, but I’m more angry than touched about the fact that you slyly hugged me again. I ruthlessly pinched Gui’s face, hard.

“Ouch!”

Then, as I expected, the sound of many cries went up again.

“What is happening?” Gui, who was originally prepared to be a meat shield, had forgotten about the pain from my pinch. He stared in a daze as the spells that flew close to his head suddenly reversed their direction and blasted the enemy mages into the sky.

“Good job, Yun,” I praised Yun, who also stood quite close to me, and he signaled a “V” to me.

Facing the shocked stares displayed by both sides, I calmly explained, “Rebound Barrier is a special skill in a job that is extremely obscure—the Barrier Master. It’s just nice that there was a Barrier Master, Gu Yun Fei, among the people I brought back.”

Everyone looked towards Yun. Just when Yun was feeling high spirited and proud…

Gui looked at Yun, smiled, then said, “Yun Fei, you had only scored a C in your mid-term literature exam, please work harder for the final exam. You should learn from Lü Jing, as her grade was A+.”

Yun looked overjoyed instead of disappointed and he mumbled to himself, “I scored a C! I thought my exam result this time would have definitely been closer to the cup size of Tian Xin, a F.”

I wonder what I scored on the exam? I really, REALLY want to ask… I fiercely tried to control my mouth in case I asked Gui accidentally.

“You should quickly set up your Rebound Barrier,” I could only order Yun with a bit of resentment, since I couldn’t ask about my result.

Yun exaggeratedly gave me a 90 degree bow, “Yes Dàgē.”

The battle had cooled down for a bit as the opponent side seemed helplessly bewildered. I couldn’t help but laugh loudly as I leisurely walked to the side of Legolas. “Do you have an extra set of bow and arrows?”

Legolas stood bewildered for a moment, then handed me a bow and a quiver of arrows. I waved my hand to call Jing over, drew the bow and notched an arrow, while Jing automatically tied a piece of fu paper to the tip of the arrow. I released the arrow …and hit some unlucky man on the shoulder, then the fu suddenly exploded, sending the man and a few unlucky people around him up to see Buddha.

When everyone looked at me with admiration, I revealed a faint smile as usual, but I was actually thinking in my heart…Shit! I missed the target! Originally I wanted to shoot the warrior on the left that was so ugly he hurt my eyes. How did I hit the people on the right instead? I furrowed my brow, drew the bow again and shot another arrow.

Damn! Why did I miss again? Being slightly annoyed now, I swiftly pulled the bow and continuously shot the arrows like mad. I was shooting so fast that Jing almost had no time to tie the Fu on to the arrows in the quiver.

In the end, the entire front row of people died, except for the ugly warrior that was still standing and looking at me with wobbly feet. Hmph, this time I will kill you for sure. I drew my bow again, aimed, and shot the arrow…

“……” With a swipe of his sword, Kenshin deflected the arrow that was flying towards him. Coincidentally, the deflected arrow struck the ugly warrior.

Good thing I didn’t choose to be an archer in the beginning, I rejoiced silently and then smiled innocently at Kenshin while the latter speechlessly glared at me.

“Sharpshooter!” Hearing the shouts of admiration from our side and seeing the terror in the eyes of the opponents, I scratched my face,This…really is a beautiful misunderstanding.

The opponents seemed to be at an impasse now. I thought, Well it’s to be expected; they can’t use spells and arrows since they are worried about the attacks being reflected back and if they charged at us directly they have to face both warriors and mages at the same time. What can they do even if they outnumber us? I started to feel bored, as the outcome of the battle seemed to be decided. So, I took out a packet of guazi from my pouch and started to crack them open.

“Hey Prince, the battle is still going on, don’t you think you are too relaxed?” Lolidragon said while watching my actions with a vein throbbing on her temple.

I continued to chew on my guazi. Just when I tried to explain to her that I was feeling bored, a huge beam of light rose up and shot toward the sky behind my back. As I raised my head to observe the light and crack my second guazi, the beam of light divided into one hundred smaller beams of light in the air, and descended from the sky. Everyone finally realized what was happening when the first small light beam killed an opponent.

Guided Arcane Missiles, is an ability similar to guided missiles. The only difference between them is that while guided missiles can only target one target, Guided Arcane Missiles can target one hundred people at once. However, its disadvantage is that not only does it have a casting time long enough to make one fall asleep, the caster also must look at each and every target in the eye in order to lock on. Therefore, this ability is extremely useful for defending castles but not much else, similar to Yun’s Barrier Master abilities that are only useful for defending too.

As this attack had killed one hundred people simultaneously, the morale of the attacking side was dropping lower and lower; some people had even went as far as to stand there helplessly without doing anything. I saw a man with green hair and blue eyes roar, “Stop!”

Everyone in the attacking side froze immediately, while everyone from the defending side looked towards me. Oh? So it’s my turn to talk now? But my mouth is full of guazi… Thus I was forced to suavely raise my right hand and everyone from our side stopped instantly too.

The green-haired blue-eyed man drew a deep breath and said, “We surrender.”

“Kui, you are not allowed to surrender!” Fan roared angrily.

That man, Kui, looked dejectedly at Fan, “Fan, it’s over. There is no need to make our brothers pointlessly lose levels.”

“No matter what the situation is, I forbid you to surrender to him.” Fan said while giving me a malicious glare.

I swallowed the guazi in my mouth calmly and turned to give Wolf-dàgē a look… Wolf-dàgē immediately stomped hard on Fan’s chest. I watched with satisfaction as Fan vomited a few mouthfuls of blood and was unable to talk again. Then I turned in Kui’s direction and said, “Surrender? Won’t you regret it? You still have a lot of people that can fight.”

Kui smiled bitterly, “Fight? From the moment you dropped from the sky, I should have known that it was over. When that man who was so agile that he was like a ghost started to butcher our people, I had faintly guessed the outcome in my heart. When I learned of the Rebound Barrier, I could only pray for a miracle to happen. But what really made me give up was the fact that after you used the bow to shoot us one by one like in an FPS game, you took out the guazi to eat. It was then that I realized that you never took us seriously, and that this whole battle was only a game to you.

“‘GAMESTART’, really was game start.” Kui said while smiling with a touch of bitterness.

After listening to Kui’s words, I raised my head and laughed while saying, “You are really interesting. Are you interested in joining Infinite City?”

Kui was stunned for a moment, and then he replied, “I have already joined Fan’s Divine Coalition.”

With a smile that was dripping with malice, I said, “If you refuse to join Infinite City, I will kill all your comrades present here and declare all members of Divine Coalition to be KOS.”

Kui’s face was filled with anger.

I ignored his anger and roared on, “Anyone from Divine Coalition that joins Infinite City will be treated as a comrade. Those who don’t will be banned forever from Infinite City and hunted down within its walls.”

The opponents started to riot upon my declaration and many of them were infuriated. When I saw this, I smiled faintly and said, “What are you all being angry for? I’m just helping you find a reason to quit Divine Coalition.”

“……” Kui and the other members of Divine Coalition quieted down after they heard this and looked undecided.

If they are in doubt, it means that they actually want to join Infinite City very much; it’s just that they are still undecided because of worthless reasons such as loyalty, their strength of character, and reputation. So, without waiting for them to agree to join Infinite City, I raised my brows and told Nan Gong Zui, “Zui, go and ask Kui how many members there are in Divine Coalition and discuss with him how to fit the people into Infinite City.”

Zui nodded and walked to Kui. Kui smiled with bitterness for a moment, then stopped doubting and started to discuss intently with Zui.

I revealed an extremely malicious smile as I crouched down to see Fan’s eyes that visibly shone with anger and hatred, and said, “Fan, oh Fan, what do you suggest I do with you now?” I deliberately paced around as if unsure and continued, “You can’t beat me in a one-on-one duel and now you also lost in a battle. What can you do now?”

At this time, Kui walked over with a pleading expression. He watched his former superior Fan with a sorrowful gaze and said, “Prince, can you please let Fan go?”

“Let Fan go?” I asked with a soft voice and furrowed my brows deeply.

“Please Prince, let Fan go,” Ice Phoenix, who had been standing silently with her head bowed at the side all this time, suddenly raised her head and pleaded with me.

I sighed deeply and said solemnly, “If I let Fan go, will you let yourself go?”

Ice Phoenix lowered her head and didn’t say a single word while crying continually. My heart ached as I watched her cry… Erm, my heart aches because we both are women, so I know her feelings; don’t think too much everyone… I still prefer handsome men.

“Never mind. Wolf-dàgē, heal him up and then let him go.” I ordered helplessly. Really, originally I had wanted to try The Ten Torture Methods of the Manchu Dynasty on him!

After being healed, Fan stood up calmly; his eyes were so calm that it was unsettling. He said, “Prince, you are indeed a worthy adversary. I, Fan, swear to you that I will return and the next time, I will defeat you fair and square.”

I raised my brows and said, “I will be waiting for you at Infinite City.”

Fan gave me a last look before his lonesome figure walked out of Infinite City.

“Wicked and Broken Sword, we should lead the surviving comrades to tidy up Infinite City. The city is a mess now and it’s an eyesore!” I said. After I watched Fan walk out of the gates of Infinite City, I suddenly realized the gates were slanted and barely hanging on their hinges. It really went against my virtue of cleanliness so I couldn’t help but feel like wanting to tidy it up.

Therefore, a fierce battle for a city that shocked the heaven and earth and made both the devil and god cry, ended clumsily, with the sound of us hastily moving bricks and wood.

“This battle that wasted countless amounts of money and levels of comrades just suddenly ended with a mess like this? Who is going to be responsible for the financial loss?” Yu Lian-dàsăo sobbed tearlessly in Wolf-dàgē’s lap.

“Mm, after accepting everyone from Divine Coalition, our military strength has greatly increased. I think there isn’t anyone who would dare to attack us for now,” said Madame White Bird, who seemed quite happy.

“We have to redesign and reconstruct the gates again.” Gui said, releasing a heartfelt sigh while observing from afar the terrible state of the four gates.

“I wonder how much money Yu Lian will agree to give us?” Fairsky was depressed too; the battle between The Social and Construction Department and The Financial Department would just be starting now.

“I have to lay the traps all over again…” Lolidragon said with a pale face. Thousands of traps!

“Prince, you are finally back.” Nan Gong Zui said to me.

“Yep, did you miss me?” I asked him with a smiling face.

Nan Gong Zui contemplated for a moment and replied, “I rather did, especially when the battle was drawing near.”

“Who said that he missed Prince very much?” Wicked, Gui, and Fairsky, three people that were separated in three different corners turned their head back as one and roared. Their eyes plainly showed that they would kill the next person that dared to join the battle for Prince.

Zui’s face was expressionless, although I saw that he was dripping cold sweat… He turned his head slowly and said, “I’m saying, Liege Lord, welcome back to Infinite City!”

“Liege Lord, welcome back to Infinite City!” some random person suddenly roared, whom I strongly suspect to be that fellow, Kong Kong.

“Liege Lord, welcome back to Infinite City!” Everyone roared joyfully. The battle just now had ended so fast that everyone hadn’t had time to react to it yet. Now the joy of successfully defending our city had finally burst out.

I also laughed wildly while raising my Black Dao high, and yelled, “Infinite City shall never fall!”

[½ Prince Volume 4 Chapter 1 End]

Footnotes

AoE: (Area of Effect) Spells that have an area of effect from around the target or a radius from the caster.

Guazi: A popular snack for the Chinese. They usually are made from melon seeds, but other variation such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are common too.

FPS: (First-person shooter) A video game genre which centers the gameplay around gun- and projectile weapon-based combat through the first person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. See Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_shooter) for more information.