Kingdombuilding: All My Inventions Are Novelty

In the dark of the night, only the lanterns cast a faint glow.

Simon looked at the Third Prince’s face, which appeared hazy and unclear in the candlelight. A sense of displeasure rose within him, and he couldn’t help but ask. "Third Brother, what do you mean by that?"

"No special meaning; I just wanted to tell you this is Eldora. Some people aren’t fit to be here." The Third Prince said, still smiling.

Simon’s expression turned cold. He understood that his presence in Eldora had clearly displeased the royal princes who viewed Eldora as their territory.

With a calm glance at Leonard, Simon replied. "Thank you for the warning, Brother. But this is the Eldorian Empire, and Eldora is Father’s domain. Whether I stay here or not is for Father to decide. Others have no right to say otherwise."

The smile on the Third Prince’s face slowly froze. Simon’s words struck a nerve.

The scene at the family banquet, where Alaric treated Simon as an equal, was still vivid in his mind. Now, in Alaric’s eyes, Simon’s status was on par with theirs.

"Hmph!" The Third Prince said coldly, "Simon, your achievements are remarkable, and I have no objections to that. But just because I accept it doesn’t mean everyone else will. I’ll stop here; you can figure it out yourself." With that, the Third Prince dropped the curtain, and his carriage gradually disappeared into the darkness.

Simon stared at the departing carriage, his brows furrowing. He didn’t fully understand why Leonard had chosen to act this way.

Shaking his head, Simon also began his journey toward the castle, guarded by his soldiers.

Inside the carriage, Simon continued to ponder the Third Gslour’a crscczi knfusluu. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

As he gazed out at the endless night, a sense of unease crept into his heart. Just as the Third Prince had said, this was Eldora, not Brambleford.

He couldn’t fully grasp the situation here.

While he was lost in thought, a sudden sound of a bowstring being released pierced the silence. In the pitch-black night, the sound was extremely clear.

Instantly, Simon’s body went rigid, his hairs standing on end.

"Assassin! Protect His Highness!" Thomas and William, who had heard the sound of the bowstring, immediately shouted.

At once, over a hundred elite cavalrymen who were assigned to protect Simon formed a tight circle around his carriage.

"Assassins!" The soldiers shouted.

The sound of bowstrings being released continued. Simon heard the constant ’thunk, thunk’ of arrows hitting the wooden frame of the carriage, and the screams of soldiers and the whinnying of horses filled the air.

After the attempt on his life in Brambleford, Simon had strengthened his security measures. For this trip to Eldora, he had specially prepared firearms for self-defense.

In the face of danger, he instinctively reached for the firearms hidden inside the carriage.

"Your Highness, the enemy is in the dark, and we can’t see them. Please, stay inside the carriage and don’t come out!" Thomas’s voice was filled with urgency.

Being attacked in the darkness left them with no choice but to fight defensively.

Simon glanced at the box inside the carriage. It was filled with fireworks, which had been prepared for use at the wedding. An idea struck him, and he instructed Thomas and William to bring the box outside. He called out. "Quickly, these are fireworks. Once they explode, everyone will see us, and the light will help you spot the enemies."

Thomas and William, who had been guarding the carriage, immediately carried the box outside and, using torches, lit the fireworks and sent them flying into the sky.

"Boom boom..."

Six consecutive fireworks exploded in the air, lighting up the ground as bright as day.

At that moment, Simon saw a group of figures in black closing in on them from the front. There were hundreds of them. He lifted the curtain of the carriage again and looked behind. There were also hundreds of black-clad figures approaching from behind.

The arrows on both sides had not ceased, and they were now surrounded.

Outside the carriage, Thomas and William also saw the black-clad figures. The cavalrymen, who had been shot by arrows, had lost half their numbers but were still in the fight.

"William, protect His Highness. The rest, follow me!" Thomas shouted.

Despite being attacked, the cavalry protecting Simon didn’t panic. These soldiers had experienced the battle at Preston, and the slaughter on the battlefield had forged their steel-like will. They drew their sabers, and half the cavalry charged toward the black-clad figures.

The injured soldiers didn’t give up fighting either. They clustered around the carriage, using their bodies to block the incoming arrows.

These cavalrymen wore breastplates, which, although not as strong as plate armor, were much thicker and more durable, designed to withstand bullets. While many soldiers were injured, most of the damage was to their arms and thighs, and the armor protected their heads from the arrows.

Seeing Thomas lead the charge, William wasn’t idle either. He cursed loudly. "You cowards hiding in the shadows, today I’ll show you how to behave."

While speaking, Thomas handed out more fireworks to the soldiers, shouting. "Aim the fireworks at these dogs and blow them up!"

Thomas lit another rocket and shot it directly into the crowd of black-clad figures.

"Boom!"

The firework exploded among the black-clad figures, and several screams rang out as the light from the explosion illuminated the area.

The black-clad figures, like ghosts, had already closed in on the carriage, now less than twenty meters away.

At this moment, other soldiers also lit various kinds of fireworks, some of which were rocket-type fireworks that would shoot for a full minute. These fireworks, once lit, kept the area lit up.

"Kill!" Thomas, with over twenty cavalrymen in a tight formation, charged fiercely toward the black-clad figures, cutting through the enemy with the sounds of battle and screams.

But while they managed to block the black-clad figures behind them, they couldn’t pay attention to the ones coming from the front.

"Kill!"

The black-clad figures charged into the ten-meter range around the carriage and let out a battle cry. Each of them held short swords and rushed toward Simon.

Thomas threw a firework at the ground and, along with the other soldiers, surrounded the carriage, his eyes fierce as he looked toward the black-clad figures. "If you want to kill His Highness, you’ll have to step over our bodies."

He drew his saber and stood in front of the carriage.

At this moment, the black-clad figures reached the front of the carriage, and the guards immediately clashed with them.

Simon sat inside the carriage, watching the scene unfold. He realized that his trip to Eldora would not be peaceful, but he hadn’t expected someone would try to kill him.

Thinking back to the warning from the Third Prince outside the castle gates, a cold sweat ran down Simon’s back.

If it wasn’t the Third Prince’s doing, then this must have been premeditated; someone was trying to kill him quickly.

The number of black-clad figures continued to increase, and the scene of Thomas and the guards fighting the attackers played out before Simon like a movie.

A cruel smile appeared at the corner of Simon’s mouth as he leapt up, drawing two firearms and shooting at the two black-clad figures charging at Thomas.

"Bang, bang!"

The two black-clad figures, who had just reached Thomas, fell to the ground as the shots rang out.