Night World Players

Chapter 268 He Will Return Like Lightning
The corridor outside the wards on the top floor of the United Hospital.

Ophelia stood by the corridor, silently watching the scene in the ward through the observation window, waiting for her elder sister.

The ward was very soundproof, and the whole world was silent... Ophelia could even hear her own heartbeat clearly.

For some reason, the faint heartbeat sounded in Ophelia's ears as inexplicably urgent and panicked.

"Knew it……"

"No matter how many times I've seen it, I still can't help but feel sad whenever I witness such a scene again."

As Ophelia gazed at the scene of Hiltina and the sleeping boy in the ward, an indescribable bittersweet feeling welled up in her heart.

Two years ago, this was an emotion she had never experienced before.

But at this moment, it surged like a tidal wave, engulfing Ophelia's heart.

Despite proclaiming herself an absolutely calm and collected princess, she is referred to as a "manipulative witch" by the nobles of the capital...

Rationally speaking, Ophelia knew very well that these were distracting thoughts that would affect her rational judgment and had to be discarded.

But no matter how hard she tried, she could never erase those feelings.

Cut constantly, the rationale is still chaotic.

This feeling kept recurring in Ophelia's mind, causing her unbearable heartache.

"If only that ferret were here at a time like this, I could take my anger out on it and distract myself."

Ophelia chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Just then, the sound of the door opening quietly echoed down the silent corridor.

This also forced Ophelia to suppress the chaotic thoughts in her mind, so that those thoughts would not show on her expression and be noticed by her older sister.

"Let's go, Ophelia."

Her bright chestnut hair cascaded down, reflecting the twilight glow in the dim space, shining like flames.

The ward door closed quietly behind Hiltina.

This was completely different from the girl Ophelia had glimpsed in the hospital room earlier... a girl who still retained some confusion and attachment.

At this moment, Hiltina exuded an aura of majesty and superiority.

She has transformed once again into the peerless female knight who single-handedly cut off the tide of countless Iron Crosses in Deep Blue Harbor.

……

The black sedan glided slowly away from the United Hospital and began to drive along the road towards the inner city of the capital.

The hospital jointly established by Star University and the Empire is located on the outskirts of the capital, while the coronation ceremony is held in the heart of the capital's inner city, within the royal palace complex...

Considering the size of the capital, it takes about half an hour to travel from the suburbs to the inner city.

This was also the last bit of time left before Hiltina ascended the throne.

The fiery red glow of the sunset spilled down from the western horizon and reflected in Hiltina's eyes, like a hazy, golden sea of ​​stars.

Beside her, Ophelia held a gorgeous ribbon and, using the mirror in the back seat of the car, was giving Hiltina the final touches.

With nimble, pale fingers, Ophelia gathered Hiltina's long, loose chestnut hair.

After a while.

Snapped--

The ribbon made a crisp sound as her cascading chestnut hair was gathered into a single ponytail, revealing Hiltina's swan-like white neck.

Ophelia looked at her sister in the mirror: "For the royal succession ceremony, this attire might be a little too plain."

"I remember that the royal family had dedicated aristocratic etiquette attendants and costume designers."

"Since it's such an important ceremony as the succession to the throne, why don't you let the professionals handle it, sister..."

"no need."

Hiltina turned her gaze from the window to herself in the mirror.

Then she smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Anyway, this is just a temporary outfit, there's no need to make it too complicated, it'll just get messed up sooner or later anyway."

"Once those lurking in the shadows show up and the great battle breaks out, who will care about these things?"

"elder sister……"

Ophelia looked at her elder sister, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"The information I told you earlier, and that person in the royal family..."

"Are you really not going to take action ahead of time to completely resolve those unstable factors?"

"By simply following their lead, you'll fall into their trap... and you'll likely find yourself in a very unfavorable situation."

"I understand, but it's okay."

However, upon hearing Ophelia's slightly worried words, Hiltina simply shook her head again.

"Ophelia, you only need to be in charge of the cult and ensure that the descent of the evil god will not affect the people of the capital."

“Senior Akshia contacted me recently, saying that she will also participate in the battle this time... With you and Dean Yin present, the damage from the aftermath should be kept under control.”

"As for the battlefield on my side, don't worry about it. You just need to ensure that nothing happens in the capital, and that will be the greatest help to me."

"But……"

After a moment's hesitation, Ophelia spoke again: "I know you are very confident in your strength, but the other party is, after all, an ancient relic that has survived from the Age of Gods."

"Your chips and combat power have been completely exposed, but who knows how much resources and backup the other side has? Since the time of the gods, they must possess multiple holy relics that can interfere with legends and even angels."

"This is not a fair fight for you."

"There are hardly any fair things in this world."

Hiltina smiled again and shook her head slightly.

She raised her head and looked at the distant sky, which was dyed fiery red by the sunset glow.

"Those evil gods on the Cage of the Blazing Sky, and the tomb guardians... all see today as an opportunity to ambush me during the coronation ceremony and to hunt me down before I have fully grown up."

"Little did I know, I also regarded today as a trial before I became king."

Her words had a profound and lasting impact.

“If I only wanted to be a law-abiding, mediocre, and unassailable ruler, then of course I wouldn’t need to do that.”

"In the realm of being a ruler of a country, my father has already done very well. I only need to learn five or six tenths of his abilities to become a qualified empress."

“But what I pursue… is not merely to become a qualified, or even perfect, king like my father.” Hiltina reached out her hand in the rosy light.

Then, she gently stroked the hilt of the azure blue rapier at her waist.

This was a gift left to Hiltina three years ago by her former best friend, a girl named Fran, before that one-way exploration of the Night World—

Heraldry "Sword of the Night Sky".

It could also be said to be a keepsake given to Hiltina by the deceased girl.

After Hiltina's original rapier, "Shining Morning Star," was shattered, she fought using this relic of her dearest friend for a long time.

Today, as Hiltina grows up, she has achieved legendary status and is not far from becoming an angel... Furthermore, after being chosen as the heir to the throne, she prematurely made the Holy Sword recognize her as its master.

Before that holy sword, forged from a planet and radiating infinite light, the "Sword of the Night Sky," a mere ordinary emblem, could no longer keep up with Hiltina's growth rate—in battles at the legendary level, emblems would easily shatter upon impact.

Or rather, given Hiltina's status as the soon-to-be Empress of the Empire... she could find as many of these ordinary heraldic weapon sets as she wanted.

Even so, Hiltina always kept the rapier with her.

Every time she stroked the hilt of her rapier, she could recall the bloody battle in the mist of Frozenwater Town, and all the moments she shared with Fran.

And the peaceful time spent with Last at Star University.

"My father was undoubtedly a qualified, even impeccably excellent, monarch."

"However, he was by no means a good husband... willing to do anything for his duty as king."

"Personal feelings or family matters... in my father's eyes, all of these were things that could be completely sacrificed."

Her voice paused slightly: "I have no intention of blaming my father, nor do I believe that his choice was wrong."

"On the contrary, sacrificing one's personal interests for the sake of a more noble cause, for the sake of the nation and the world... from any perspective, this is undeniably correct."

"However, such correctness is just correctness, and I don't need it."

“I am different from my father. I am greedy and unwilling to sacrifice anything.”

"Whether it's the responsibilities of being a princess, the duties of an empress, the ideals of being a ranger inherited from her mother, or the beautiful future she and Rust are about to embrace together as Rust's fiancée."

"All of these things are treasures in my heart, and I will never give up any of them."

Hiltina spoke softly.

"Of course, such greed is unrealistic, wanting everything at once."

"The difficulties we will face will undoubtedly be much more perilous than choosing the lesser of two evils."

"After all, the so-called 'equivalent exchange' is a universally accepted principle in this world—often, to gain something, you must give up something else."

"However, since I have chosen this greedy path of wanting everything, I already knew the difficulties I would face on this path, and the dangers I might find myself in..."

"I will continue down this path and I will never regret it."

Outside the window, the once expansive suburban scenery suddenly changed, and the golden fields on both sides of the road gradually became prosperous, with people converging on the city center everywhere.

“If it were my father, he could certainly use this intelligence advantage to close the net in advance and nip the traitor’s conspiracy in the bud. It would be simple, efficient, and effortless.”

"But I can't."

"Since I have chosen that greedy path of wanting everything, it means that I will face far more difficulties, dangers and setbacks than my father did."

"If even these dangers at this moment, those enemies from the gravediggers and the cult, cannot be overcome by my own strength."

"Then how can I become the empress of the empire?"

"And what then is the point of becoming the woman standing beside Rust..."

Her voice was very soft, mingled with the evening breeze that swept by at dusk.

However, to Ophelia's ears, it carried an unwavering resolve, like steel forged through countless trials.

"This is a trial for me, and for Hiltina Ingrid."

"Either surpass yourself and overcome this trial... or die in the trial, falling on the road to pursuing your ideals, dying without regret."

"For me, there is no third option."

Upon hearing this, Ophelia had no choice but to abandon her idea of ​​continuing to persuade her.

She knew that once her sister Wang made up her mind about something, she would never waver... even if she hit a brick wall, she would not turn back.

Since that's the case, all I can do is offer my silent blessings from afar, hoping that my sister will return in triumph.

That's it.

However, at that moment, Ophelia heard her sister's voice again.

"Besides -"

"A reunion with him after many years."

"If it weren't for a triumphant victory, if I hadn't been able to present myself in my best form before him."

"Then how can I leave a deep, indelible mark on his heart?"

"And what else—"

She paused, then said, "Only then can he stand up to Xiao Ai, whom he can't forget?"

Ophelia was slightly taken aback by her elder sister's words, but quickly recovered.

She spoke somewhat stiffly, "Sister Wang, do you know that Last's consciousness has been awakened?"

The contact with Rast in the Night World was a secret that Ophelia and Dean Silver had kept together.

Unexpectedly, Hiltina seemed to have already guessed that Rust would return today.

"I don't know, it's just a gut feeling."

"I think that a mere soul collapse and fatal wound that plunges one into annihilation is no match for that iron-forged heart that has returned from hell."

She shook her head slightly.

"Given his personality, I think he would definitely not be absent from an occasion like today."

In his words, it was a "return like lightning."

The car slowly drove into the inner city.

A sly smile appeared on Hiltina's lips.

That's why she took advantage of the boy while he was still unconscious in the ward.

After all, such an advantage might not be available once the other party truly wakes up.

(End of this chapter)