Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

Chapter 218 Death of the Star-Child
"Stop them, stop those Sriracha monsters and buy time for His Royal Highness the Prince!"

The soldiers of Xingluo City rushed forward one after another, waving their swords and charging forward without fear of life or death. Their skin was trembling and numb.

The starlight above our heads sprinkled on the ground, and those lights seemed to be connected with the lives of these people.

They don't know the time, but everyone believes -

If they hold on a little longer, their Highness the Prince, known as the Son of the Stars, will truly put an end to all this.

However, the next moment.

The starry sky above suddenly darkened and turned into a chaotic blood red!
"What's going on?! Is this the Prince's doing? Or are they those Sri people..."

Seeing the abnormality in the starry sky, all the soldiers of Starfall City felt a sharp pain in their heads and felt their bodies rapidly weakening, but even so, they still leaned against the city wall and confronted the Sri army outside the starry barrier.

But the next moment, something even more terrifying happened.

Those Sri Lankan troops actually rushed directly towards the barrier.

Then, enter it.

The starry barrier also shone with a layer of blood light - it did not cause any effect on these invaders.

"Why are they..."

After a brief moment of confusion, the defenders of Xingluo City regained their resolve. They continued to raise their swords and rushed forward.

Just because the enemy is coming.

……

The gate of the Xingluo City Palace was heavily slammed open and smashed against the wall.

A dull sound echoed in the space.

The leper king walked in front, looking at his child sitting on the throne.

and the Star-Child leaned against it now, drooping.

Her whole body was still surrounded by starlight, but her eyes were wandering, and deep inside, there was a trace of difficult-to-detect guilt.

"What's going on with the Starry Barrier? You're letting those Sri Lankans in. These starlights, under your control, are actually affecting our warriors."

The Leper King took a step forward, his eyes behind the mask revealing a hint of anger.

"I'm sorry, father..."

The Star-Child stammered, but the Leper King and the people behind him saw that the "Son of the Star" before them did not stop what he was doing.

"Listen, tell me your reasons, or stop and fight those demons!"

The Leper King took another step forward. Although he was just an ordinary man, he still exuded the majesty of a king in front of the Son of Stars.

"I, I can't..."

"As the king of Starfall City, you sit in this position, yet you turn to those demons?"

"I, I'm not, I just can't stop—I don't dare to fight those demons..."

"stop!"

The Leper King looked at the sky outside the palace. The blood-red light was still spreading in the starry sky.

He raised his voice and took another step towards the Star-Child!
But the next moment, the Star Child raised his hand, and a sword-like starlight emerged from the air, leaving a deep scratch just a few centimeters in front of the Leper King!

"you--"

Then at last the Leper King showed horror, and he looked at the Star-Child, and sighed silently:

"Child, as you said before, you are the child of the stars. You possess the power given to you by the starlight. If you don't want to, no one in this world can force you to do anything."

At these words the Star-Child trembled, and held his head in his hands, and tears streamed down his handsome face and dropped onto the silvery ground.

"Please, father, I was wrong. Please leave. I really don't want to hurt you."

And the Star-Child raised his eyes once more, and in his red eyes was a look of pleading, 'Those devils are too strong. No one can defeat them, not even me!'

The group looked at the state of the Star Child and knew that something might be wrong.

But last night, before those Sri Lankans even set foot in the city, something like this happened?!
The Leper King also did not try to move forward.

But from the bulging veins on his hand holding the sword, it can be seen that the king is definitely not calm at this moment.

"My child, it's been a long time since I heard you call me father."

The Leper King's voice was a little muffled by the mask, "But if you call me father in a situation like this—I'd rather not hear it.

I would rather you still call yourself king, still sit on the throne, let me go, and still shout to me that you are the child of the stars and you can protect everything and rule over everything.

And the Star-Child heard it, and opened his mouth, but only these words came out:

"I'm sorry, Father."

When Lake and others behind the Leprosy King heard this, they all grasped their weapons.

If this prince is really controlled by the devil——

Then the worst case scenario occurs. Before the final battle with King Sri, he must first face a "Son of the Stars" who may be stronger.

But then, the Leper King waved his hand and stopped several people from taking action.

When the Leper King heard what the Star-Child had said, he said no more, but with disappointment in his eyes, he said:
"My queen, no matter what the cause is—now is the time to take this accidental hunting rifle from our child's hands."

As he finished speaking, the simply dressed queen, the astrologer witch, stepped out behind him.

She looked at the Star Child, her eyes also filled with inexplicable sadness.

"I'm sorry, child. We shouldn't have given you power too soon, making you bear responsibilities that don't belong to you."

The next moment, the astrologer witch raised her hand and pointed.

The starlight scattered throughout the palace suddenly stopped at this moment, and then the starlight on the Star Child began to dissipate. He looked at his hands in disbelief, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not summon up a trace of starlight.

After that, his originally smooth and fair skin surface began to wrinkle and crack rapidly.

It seemed as if it had lost some kind of support and became a little thin.

After that, the blood color in the starry sky outside the palace finally stopped spreading.

"Sorry, kid."

The astrologer witch retracted her fingers, her eyes showing a complex expression filled with deep sadness. "If we can survive this time, you can just be an ordinary child."

But at this time, the Leper King stopped his queen and walked out of the palace with the astrologer witch.

After a few brief seconds, he walked back to the palace, looked at the Star-Child slumped on the throne, and said in a deep voice:

"That day, you asked me for this position. You said that in this world, only you were worthy of sitting on the throne.

At that time, I wasn't angry. On the contrary, I was happy. You have such power. If you can protect the people and lead them out of the darkness, then you will be the undisputed king. "

Then the Leper King advanced step by step, and stood before the Star-Child, and looking down at him, he said, “I have written down all my plans and thoughts concerning statecraft, and left them for you, but you have not read even one page.

After the war started, I completed the battle formations and policies for you, but you never tried to understand them.

I'm not surprised, because perhaps the stars can teach you more than I can."

When the Leper King had said this, he lowered his head to look at the Star-Child on the throne. At this moment, there was no light in the Star-Child’s eyes, only some kind of pleading and guilt.

After a long silence, the Leper King sighed and drew the sword from his waist.

Seeing this, the Star-Child was terrified, twisting his body and trying to dodge backwards.

But the Leper King did nothing, but turned his sword around and laid the hilt before the Star-Child:

"Take this—can't you even hold a sword?!"

"It's... father."

And the Star-Child shrank his neck, and with trembling took the sword which the Leper King offered him.

"Your mother wanted you to be an ordinary person, but when you sat on this throne, you should have understood that you lost that opportunity!"

There was no room for argument in the Leper King's words, and such undisguised wrath that the Star-Child grew pale.

"You're not dead yet. You still have limbs and you can still breathe. Then you should be like those soldiers. You are the king. You have accepted the respect of the people, so you should take responsibility!"

"Father, I, but I'm scared, please..."

"Are you afraid? Are you afraid to face the Sri? Are you trying to say that without Starlight, you're no match for any of those millions of soldiers?"

"But I really don't dare. I don't dare to face those demons... ghosts."

"you--"

And the Leper King uttered a word, and lifted up his hand; but when he saw the frightened look in the eyes of the Star-Child, he slowly lowered his hand.

"Your power still exists within your body. Your mother's spell cannot completely seal you away. Recover your power and, as king, let us win this battle."

"Or, take up your sword and die here in battle like an ordinary Starfall City soldier."

As he spoke, the Leper King regained his composure. He removed the crown, the symbol of royal authority, from the Star-Child's head, threw it to the ground, and stepped down from the throne. "The starry barrier will soon fail. After the starry sky disappears—the warriors will need some encouragement. I will lead them, or die with them."

After saying this, the Leper King left the palace without looking back.

Lake and others who followed him noticed that the Leprosy King's eyes had also become a little red and swollen.

The team became a little silent. After all, no one had expected that the Son of the Star, who was placed with the greatest hope, had lost all his strength on the eve of this final battle, and even opened the door to invasion for the Sri people!

"I know you're very strong. You should be able to escape before the city is broken, right?"

The Leper King looked at Lake and others and spoke.

The Poro noticed a shadow in the Leper King's eyes—a growing determination to die.

"But your arrangements for the decisive battle require our help. We will stay here and must kill King Sri in this city..."

"But now, most of the plans have failed as the stars have faded away."

The Leper King looked up at the alienated starry barrier not far away, "Without the help of the stars, our Starfall City will be no different from the thousands of cities destroyed by the Sri Kingdom.

And the chances of success for the only plan are slim to none."

The Leper King sighed. Several Starfall City generals, their eyes filled with pain, rode over from the other side of the street. The Leper King sheathed his second sword and tightened his armor. "I'm not a good father. I only know how to be a king."

My child, he did allow the Starfall City, which should have been destroyed, to hold out for a long time against the attack of the Sri Kingdom. Perhaps, he is not as bad as I said - but if you want to be a king, you have to pay the price.

There is only one chance to turn around, but I don’t have time.”

Looking at the Leper King mounting his warhorse and preparing to head to the front line, the Poros and the others understood what the "turning point" that the Leper King was talking about was.

That is to regain the power of the stars - but it is difficult.

During her time in Starfall City, Lake also tried to control the ubiquitous starlight in the city, but the amount she could control was far smaller than that of the Star Child.

Can enhance your combat ability.

But controlling the starry barrier, resurrecting those who died in battle... none of that is possible.

"Unless, let the Son of the Stars step forward again?"

Poro and Lake thought about it, but they looked at each other in silence. They didn't know what affected the Star Child, and even if they could find a way, it would take a long time, and in Starfall City, there was no time left.

"I'll try."

At this moment, Oz, who was standing beside them, suddenly took a deep breath, and then walked straight into the palace where the Star-Child was and closed the palace door.

Then, by the faint light of the stars in the sky, he walked toward the Star-Child who was sitting on the throne.

The Star-Child still had his head bowed, staring blankly at the "long sword" in his hand which his father had given him.

"Still thinking about what your father said?"

"Are you... the special envoy appointed by my father?"

' asked the Star-Child tentatively, after looking Oz over.

After losing his power, he was able to look more clearly at these "ordinary people" who he usually didn't care about. For some reason, the Star Child felt a sense of oppression and authority from the "special envoy" in front of him.

It was like facing another king.

"You destroyed the barrier and opened the door for the demons because those demons tortured and forced you in some way, right?"

Oz didn't answer. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and asked another question, "If you can't speak, you can nod."

Then the Star-Child nodded weakly.

"Those demons may have used some means to force you to do this—but do you know that when you abandoned Starfall City, the defenders were still shouting your name, suppressing their pain, and charging towards those sharp knives?"

"I'm sorry."

And the Star-Child looked away, not daring to meet Oz's gaze.

But Oz still keenly discovered the Star-Child's fear of the sword from his expression - this was very unreasonable, because the Star-Child's power had never been and should not be harmed by a sharp blade.

"The feeling of a sword piercing your flesh must be painful, right?"

At these words the Star-Child shuddered as if by reflex. Seeing this, Oz’s expression darkened, and he continued:

"Do you know that the soldiers of Starfall City, although they will not die, have experienced the feeling of having their skin pierced by sharp blades countless times, but they still advance towards the sharp knives?"

"I, I...I'm sorry for them."

And when the Star-Child heard this, tears welled up in his eyes again, and he trembled as he looked at the sword in his hand, and said, 'But I _cannot_ do this.'

"It's okay, you can try to escape, like your mother said."

Oz spoke calmly, but then his voice became as dark as a ghost. "But now, Starfall City is surrounded by demons. They will capture you and torture you—in reality."

The voice of Oz was slow and calm, but every word that followed made the Star-Child tremble:
"They will use red-hot iron nails to pierce your fingers, they will use a knife to remove your flesh bit by bit, they will make you watch helplessly as your internal organs are dug out -

At this time, you will not die. You should also know the "holy water" of the Sri people, right?
You are the king, you cannot escape the devil's torture!"

And when he heard this the Star-Child burst into tears again, and he besought him:

"No, no, I, but I really can't be their enemy anymore."

"Then hand over your power to us, and we will protect Starfall City for you."

Oz said.

"But then I would..."

The Star-Child opened his mouth. Although the latter part of his words were missing, Oz made some kind of judgment based on the Star-Child’s expression and his understanding of these powers. “You will die, right?”

The Star-Child made no reply, but lowered his head, remaining silent.

"Death, what's so scary about it? In Starfall City, so many warriors bravely faced death without hesitation. Didn't you see that?"

Oz spoke calmly. He walked slowly forward and stood before the Star-Child. He bent down and raised one hand. He placed it on the top of the Star-Child’s head and stroked it gently. “You are a star-son, a natural king, a king above all the earth—”

For someone like you, why are you afraid of death, which ordinary people don't fear?"

"but I……"

"Have you ever had a moment when you thought that being alive would be worse than being dead?"

Oz locked his eyes with the Star-Child's and asked again.

"I--"

At these words, a trace of panic flashed across the Star-Child’s face again, and he thought of that extremely painful illusion - no matter how he begged, he could only hear the dull sound of the knife entering his body under the sound of the clock.

And Oz, as though he had not noticed the Star-Child’s alarm, spoke again with sincerity in his eyes:

"Give us your power, we will help you, save everything, kill those demons and avenge you!

And after I succeed, I will tell the soldiers of Starfall City that it was the Son of the Stars—that is, you—who sacrificed yourself to save everything.

They will not know your fear, betrayal, or cowardice. They will always praise you, and from now on, you will always be the supreme king in their hearts.

Your Highness, what do you think of my proposal?"

Hearing these words, a little light once again shone in the empty eyes of the Star-Child:

"Is what you said true?"

"Of course, you only need to choose courage, and you can become—the eternal king, flawless."

Then the words of Oz came into the ears of the Star-Child.

The Star-Child took a deep breath, looked up, and took a last look at the starry sky. Then he slowly looked around and finally, he looked at the clock in the corner of the palace.

In my ears, I could hear the hallucination of the midnight bell.

"thank you, sir."

So murmured the Star-Child, and he raised the sword given him by his father, but pointed the tip at his breast, and his trembling hand gradually steadied itself, 'Perhaps the girl in the red cloak whom I saw before is more worthy of the gift of the stars than I am.'

"Maybe I'm not a king, but just a coward. My courage can only support me to do things like this—"

At this point, his tears burst out again.

The long sword in his hand also pierced his chest with force, and blood gushed out of the Star Child's chest like a fountain.

And within the blood, there was a layer of star-like light spots peeling off from the blood.

And the Star-Child's face, already full of cracks, lost its last bit of color and quickly turned gray.

With the last of his strength, he raised his other hand, directing the starlight pouring out from his chest, which swirled, entwined, and condensed together to form a tiny transparent, glowing blue crystal, which seemed to contain flowing stars.

Finally, he placed the crystal in Oz's hand, and his voice became as soft as a mosquito:

"Help me say sorry to my parents again."

And after that the hand of the Star-Child dropped down, and there was no more sound.

(End of this chapter)