Chapter 108: The Rat

Chapter 108: The Mouse

A group of small mice scurried swiftly through the tunnel, squeaking, their tiny paws scratching against the ground with a faint scuttling sound.

They were the most ordinary, most common mice in the world. In sewers, in the shadows of city streets, in kitchen corners, in places beyond human sight, they moved in droves.

But one among them was unusual. It was grayish-white all over, its small eyes gleaming with the light of intelligence.

It rose onto its hind legs, sniffed the foul air with its nose, and turned back to the other mice, announcing proudly: "This is the underground passage of the Moltalia royal palace!"

The mice advanced a few steps, their gazes sweeping across the rock-hewn corridor. There was not a single ray of light here, yet a mouse's eyes could pierce the darkness and discern everything in the passage.

They gasped in awe: "So this is the human royal palace! Truly magnificent!"

"What's the big deal? It's nothing special!" the grayish-white mouse said dismissively. "Cape Prison's underground is way more impressive than this. Stick with me, and you'll see way cooler stuff!"

The mice gazed at the grayish-white mouse with admiration. This mouse, named Dandelion, had come from the south with a traveling troupe and was not a local mouse. Its every word and action differed vastly from ordinary mice, and its smarts were way above the average mouse.

For instance, the underground passage of the human royal palace in Starfall City was usually sealed, so that not even a single mouse could sneak in. But the grayish-white mouse knew that the passage would open today, and so led the mice inside to "see the sights."

Such a feat was beyond the ability of ordinary mice. Thus, the mice were totally won over by the clever Dandelion, thinking it was indeed a remarkable mouse that had seen great things.

"Honored Lord Dandelion, how did you know the passage would open today?" the black mouse asked with utmost respect.

"Simple, because war has begun," Dandelion said, looking all mysterious.

Then it stopped. Once the mice were dying of curiosity and begged it to spill the details, it continued smugly: "The human king and queen will stay behind to command the city's defense forces, but they will send their daughter abroad for refuge. This passage leads directly out of the palace and was built as a secret escape route when the palace was constructed. So I knew the passage would definitely open today!"

The mice understood nothing of war or politics, but they understood refuge. Where there's life, there's hope, right?

Dandelion led them, strolling through the secret passage like they owned the place. Suddenly, chaotic footsteps echoed from the end of the passage, and the mice instinctively hid in the shadows.

A group of soldiers decked out in full armor walked toward them. Leading them was a young man with brown hair. His breastplate had a three-mountain crest.

"That is Duke Alfonso of Cold Mountain," Dandelion whispered to the mice. "He's the biggest lord in Moltalia and the king's own nephew. His mother was the old king's only child, but in Moltalia, women can't take the throne, so it passed to the old king's younger brother—the current king."

"Oh!" the mice all said at once. Mice only live a few short years, yet Dandelion spoke of events from decades ago. To know history that old, it must be a real brainiac!

Dandelion sniffed. It had heard all this from Captain Dorian Calest's conversations with others—just repeating what it'd overheard.

Behind the Duke of Cold Mountain were several armored guards. Their breastplates had the Scale Lion, the royal crest of Moltalia. In the center of the guards was a stunning young woman with black hair.

"That is Moltalia's princess—Her Highness Stella," Dandelion introduced. "They say she's the prettiest woman in the north, the gem of Moltalia."

"She's not as pretty as 'Short Nose,'" said a black mouse. "Short Nose" was the sturdiest female mouse around, every guy mouse's dream girl.

By mouse standards, that frail black-haired girl could hardly be considered "beautiful." First of all, she was too clean, which was bad for hiding.

"This Duke of Cold Mountain is taking Princess Stella somewhere safe," Dandelion explained. "Of course, they are cousins, so it's only right for the older cousin to look after the younger one."

"I heard the princess also has a brother, doesn't she? Why isn't her own brother protecting her?" the black mouse asked.

Dandelion snorted smugly: "That's where you're wrong! Prince Aster is leading his troops, the Griffin Legion, at White Spring Valley in the south of the kingdom, getting ready to face the enemy. That's the only way into Moltalia from the south. Hold that, and nobody can take Moltalia by land."

The mice marveled again. They'd never been past the gates of Starfall City in their entire lives, let alone heard of White Spring Valley. They were all jealous of Dandelion—for a mouse, it knew so much, and following it was definitely the right call.

The young Duke of Cold Mountain led his soldiers through the long, narrow corridor. The torches in the soldiers' hands cast their shadows upon the walls, like dancing ghosts.

Just as they were about to reach the exit of the passage, one of the guards guarding the princess in the center of the formation suddenly let out a muffled grunt and crumpled face-first onto the ground. The clang of armor hitting the stone floor boomed through the quiet tunnel like thunder.

Behind him stood one of the Duke of Cold Mountain's men, holding a bloodstained sword.

The princess's eyes went wide, and she let out a piercing scream. At the same time, the female guard beside her drew her sword and stepped in front of her.

She looked to the Duke of Cold Mountain at the front, waiting for him to explain what was going on—why would his own soldier attack one of their own?

The young duke stood with his hands behind his back, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. One look was all it took for his men to get the message. They drew their weapons in unison, their blades pointed at the princess and her guards.

"Alfonso, cousin! You, you're not..." the princess's lips trembled as she stared at her relative in disbelief, her expression like someone watching a tsunami about to swallow the harbor of Starfall City.

"Quiet now, Stella." The Duke of Cold Mountain made a "shush" gesture. "You are my cousin, and I do hope you can depart peacefully."

The female guard spat on the ground: "You madman! How much did the Holy Nation pay you to betray your king?"

"The throne." The Duke of Cold Mountain said coldly. "Funny thing is, it was always mine by right. Your father took it from my mother, Stella. I'm merely reclaiming what belongs to me, and yet I have to ally with outsiders—tell me, isn't the world twisted?"

The princess stared at him in shock, unable to utter a word.

The female guard continued to curse: "Traitor! Sellout! When Prince Aster returns to Starfall City with the Griffin Legion, he'll put your head on a spear..."

"Aster. He won't get the chance to return." The Duke of Cold Mountain smiled faintly. "The Holy Nation will send its most elite troops, and the Church's superhumans will grind the Griffin Legion to dust. Aster's corpse will hang on the gates of White Spring Valley alongside those of his parents and sister. Now, Stella, please go on ahead. Light the way for them in hell!"

The black mouse turned to Dandelion, utterly confused: "Uh, didn't you say the Duke of Cold Mountain and the princess were cousins and that he was escorting her? This isn't what you said..."

Dandelion pondered for a moment, then said firmly: "You see, this is how humans are. When faced with profit, they abandon even family bonds and betray anything."

As the mice spoke, the Duke of Cold Mountain's soldiers and the princess's guards had already clashed. Torchlight flickered, blades flashed, and the clang of metal rang out like raindrops falling across the passage.

The guards protected the princess, retreating toward the exit while fighting. One by one, they fell, blood flowing like rivers across the stone-paved floor.

Soon, only the female guard remained by the princess's side. Though gravely wounded, she still gripped her sword tightly, standing tall to shield her mistress. The soldiers who fought her all faltered slightly under the fierce, fearless gaze she swept across them.

The Duke of Cold Mountain stood with his hands behind his back, watching the female guard with appreciation: "Though a woman, you fight more fiercely than any man—truly surprising. Come to my side, and you can be the King's Captain of the Guard. The treatment I'll give you will be several times better than what you have now! Hand Stella over to me!"

The mice exchanged glances. They thought, since humans often betray for profit, surely this female guard would sell out the princess to the Duke of Cold Mountain. After all, that was human nature.

The female guard suddenly grabbed the princess's shoulder with her free hand. Just as the mice were about to chorus "just as I expected," she shoved the princess forcefully into the passage behind her, then with lightning speed pressed a stone brick on the wall of the secret passage.

The brick sank into the wall with a "click." No one could have imagined it was a mechanism. At the same time, a stone wall began to descend from above, gradually separating her from the princess.

"Run, Your Highness!" the female guard shouted without looking back. "Run! Run as far as you can! Go to another country! Go somewhere no one can find you! Run!"

The soldiers surged forward, trying to grab the princess before the stone wall completely sealed the passage. But the female guard straightened her back, swinging her sword, beating back soldier after soldier who charged at her.

When her sword was chipped and broken, she discarded it and drew the dagger at her waist. When the dagger was knocked away, she fought with her fists and teeth. Finally, exhausted, she fell to her knees. But she still mustered her last ounce of strength to stand, then fell backward. She refused to kneel to that traitor and sellout.

The Duke of Cold Mountain gritted his teeth, shouting at his soldiers to disable the stone wall mechanism. The soldiers studied the bricks on the wall for a long time but couldn't figure out how to stop it. In the end, they used their swords to prop up the stone wall.

A miracle occurred at that moment. With a grating sound that set teeth on edge, the descent of the stone wall halted. It now stood less than a foot above the ground—one would have to remove their armor to barely crawl through.

The noble duke naturally wouldn't crawl himself. As the soldiers frantically helped each other remove their armor, the black mouse looked at Dandelion suspiciously: "This is different from what you said again! Didn't you say humans love to betray? But that female guard never sold out the princess to the end."

Dandelion replied with a knowing look: "This is where you don't understand. Everything in this world is relative. Where there are clever people, there will always be foolish ones. Where there are brave people, there will always be cowardly ones. Where there are those who betray family for profit, there will inevitably be those who are utterly loyal and never betray. As vile as humans can be, so too can they be noble."

The mice suddenly understood, feeling that Dandelion was truly a master of human nature.

Dandelion said to the mice: "Let's go! Follow the princess and see where she goes!"

It thought to itself: The princess is a friend of Captain Dorian Calest. Captain Dorian is a friend of Mr. Lehman. And Mr. Lehman is my friend. By that logic, the princess is my friend. I ought to help my friend.

A soldier who had removed his armor was struggling to crawl on the ground, trying to squeeze through the gap. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a whole swarm of rats darting out from the shadows.

They moved like a disciplined army, washing over the soldier's back like a tide and lunging at the twisted sword that propped up the stone wall. They bit and clawed, setting teeth and claws against steel.

A single rat's strength was pitifully meager. Yet through the swarm's combined efforts, the sword began to bend and give way. With the sound of metal snapping, the stone wall resumed its descent. The soldier rolled backward in terror, narrowly avoiding having his head crushed by the stone wall.

Now the gap under the wall was utterly impossible for a human to squeeze through. But the rats could slip through easily.

Amid the Duke of Cold Mountain's frantic cursing, the rats darted through the gap and raced toward the exit of the tunnel.

They quickly caught up with the fleeing princess. She was panting, her face wet—whether from sweat or tears, or both, was hard to tell. She stared intently at the end of the tunnel, not even noticing the swarm of rats scurrying behind her.

Finally, she reached the tunnel's exit. She climbed the steps and triggered a mechanism, and a hidden stone door appeared. She squeezed through and crawled out from under a statue's base. The rats followed close behind.

The princess looked around, momentarily disoriented, unsure of where she was. She figured this had to be Prosperity Square, which should have fountains, sculptures, and reliefs that blended with the northern-style buildings, with vendors lining the streets hawking their wares, brimming with vitality.

But now, the city was burning before her very eyes.

The fountain had run dry, its white marble stained with soot and gray. Panicked crowds ran around like headless chickens through the smoke-filled streets. Soldiers in Scale Lion armor clashed with soldiers in Three Mountains armor in the middle of the roads. Well-dressed nobles and ragged paupers mingled together, surging toward the city gates.

Screams, bloodshed, weeping... Starfall City was being devoured by fire.

No one noticed a young woman emerging from the tunnel beneath the statue. And no one cared about a large swarm of rats—after all, in this city, rats were the least scarce thing of all.

The rats huddled in the shadows, watching the bewildered princess. Smoke and dust had stained her dress, hair, and skin a sooty gray-black.

"She looks much better now," the black rat said. "With more dust on her, she'll blend in more easily."

The other rats nodded in agreement. In rat aesthetics, this was far more appealing.

The princess stumbled toward the fleeing crowd and joined them in running for the city gates. They raced against time, hoping to escape before the city was completely sealed off.

Just then, a shadow loomed over them from above. A wooden stall by the roadside collapsed with a thunderous crash, and burning timbers tumbled down onto the crowd.

And so, the rats shrieked and scattered.