I’m Really Not Trying to Be Chased by the Heroine as the Villainous Playboy! – Chapter 76

Chapter 25: Civil War Erupts

Even though I was mentally prepared, seeing the terrifying aura of a high-tier warrior coming from Xue Nuo still sent shivers down the spine of the veteran general from the Empire.

Back in those heroic times, high-tier fighters weren’t that surprising. But a high-tier with a golden bloodline was a whole different story.

That was a truly mythical being.

Glancing at the barely conscious prince, the old general let out a sigh of relief for now.

It seemed the royal treasure, the Ice Mirror Doppelganger, was living up to its name; otherwise, facing the same bloodline high-tier, Hal would already be dead and gone.

But before he could finish his sigh, anxiety gripped his heart.

Xue Nuo, as if ignoring him, raised her hand and summoned an icy wind towards Hal.

“Not on my watch!”

The old general drew his sword, shielding the prince behind the saintess, and the silver blade’s light arced upward, clashing with the icy wind. The flash of the blade and fragments of ice scattered everywhere, shattering the adjacent blood-red roses into cascading, dazzling ice crystals.

“Xue Nuo Andervys! Are you out of your mind, attacking the royal family? Do you really want to ignite the flames of war between the borders and the royal family, disregarding the safety of the Empire’s people?!”

The old general dropped this line, and it effectively drew Xue Nuo’s chilling gaze away from her cold killing intent.

“Is that just for show, or do you mean it?”

“I thought the Silver Blade general was simply caught in the middle, but if you truly mean it…”

“A royal lapdog, are you qualified for that?”

Strong ones have their own pride.

The old man’s demeanor darkened as he surged with a fierce aura, forcing back the cold wind that rushed at him.

“Even your father wouldn’t dare to disrespect me like that.”

“Clearly, you’re not worthy of his respect, nor of mine.”

Amidst the high-tier standoff, the atmosphere shifted like a brewing storm; the formerly calm silver grasslands seemed suddenly to plunge back into the age of the first era when mythical races dominated the world.

“You people forgot your gratitude, betrayed my family, and the entire border! General, there are only two outcomes waiting for you.”

“Either you win, and I swear I won’t stop until every drop of blood from the border’s people is shed.”

“And you better pray it’s not the other outcome — from this dog to the woman on the throne, I will personally make sure that all the root causes of the sins from nineteen years ago pay in blood!”

Clearly stronger, yet gazed upon by those icy eyes filled with killing intent, even the renowned general felt a chill and dared not reply.

Because he understood that unlike the half-hearted prince, the threat from the duchess was no idle talk.

She had the determination and ability.

The count and countess, along with the townsfolk, all wore expressions of resolve identical to their duke.

Perhaps I should just kill this woman right now.

But looking over at the prince slumped in a corner like a dead dog, the old general could only sigh.

If it came to fighting, he was confident he could take down Xue Nuo, but a battle between high-tiers would easily lay waste to the entire town, and in that case, the prince would undoubtedly die.

Gazing at the young lady wrapped in a blanket behind Xue Nuo, along with those local nobles and civilians who had been rescued, the general realized.

This woman was clever.

She intentionally spared the prince’s life to keep herself in check…

The prince and the commoners’ lives? He had no choice.

“If it weren’t for Prince Hal, you’d be dead today.”

“Next time, you won’t be so lucky, Andervys’ daughter.”

With one last deep look at Xue Nuo, the old general seized the prince Hal and vanished in a flash. Swiftly, swiftly.

The young lady in the blanket bowed her head apologetically: “I’m sorry, if not for us, you could’ve killed Hal…”

Xue Nuo shook her head, tightening the blanket around her.

“This war will last a long time; as long as he thinks of me, there will be plenty of chances.”

“Besides, his life isn’t that important.”

——————————————

After days of friction and conflict, Prince of Winter invited the Grand Duchess to negotiate peace. Just as everyone expected, the talks could not suppress the fighting spirit of both sides, and civil war erupted inevitably.

However, the inland nobility were taken aback when the border took the initiative and attacked so violently.

Having stepped into high-tier territory, Xue Nuo Andervys herself led the border troops into a massive battle on the plains, even once pushing back the inland forces.

Fortunately, no matter how valiant the border soldiers were, their less than a hundred thousand troops couldn’t match the royal military of three hundred thousand, with the Silver Blade general keeping the border duke in check, which returned the situation to normal.

But whatever the case, this civil war was far more brutal than the inland nobility had anticipated, forcing them to leave their warm taverns, casinos, lovers, and cozy fireplaces to head for the battlefield.

As for the southern allied expeditionary forces?

The situation was already chaotic enough; who cared about those southern folks?!

After all, they were just stuck on the border, putting on a show. In the face of the watchful border army, the southern officials who once caused them headaches now seemed friendly and inconsequential.

Including the Winter Empress, almost no one in the expansive Winter Empire cared about the so-called expeditionary forces.

However, they didn’t know this was a mistake.

As for the lower-tier soldiers, they had no clue about the overall situation; all they could do was follow orders.

The vast silver plains were carved into numerous battlefields, with the border and royal troops continually clashing.

The large-scale battles that had been frequent for the first half month became rare; the border troops, lacking in numbers, found it hard to launch major offensives. Meanwhile, the inland nobility, accustomed to luxurious living, dreaded for their lives, while the lower-tier soldiers were even less willing to fight against their fellow countrymen, resulting in low morale across the board.

It seemed the situation was stuck like this; the civil war shocking Veszyra didn’t appear as earth-shattering as it initially did.

But small-scale conflicts never ceased.

Today was no different.

In the nameless coniferous forest on the southwestern edge of the silver plains.

The border troops escorting civilians were engaged in fierce combat with the inland nobility’s ambush, painting the forest floor a deep red with blood.

From time to time, soldiers from both sides fell, and the border troops were clearly at a disadvantage, often needing ten men to equal one from the enemy side.

After all, the units escorting civilians were not frontline elite, whereas the ambushers were heavily armored Winter Iron Guards mounted on snow bears.

Horses lay dead, broken wagons scattered, and a slender, short-haired noblewoman clad in a fur coat couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the civilians hiding nearby.

She was Remilia, the daughter of a small-town noble whom Xue Nuo had personally saved.

“I’m sorry for dragging you all into this. I wanted to escort you to safety, but didn’t expect these royal lapdogs to set their sights on me…”

“Don’t say that, miss!”

“Yeah, even for you, we’ll fight those royal lapdogs to the bitter end!”

The noblewoman’s dedication to the civilians earned her all their respect. Even without the beauty and powers of the Ice Rose, she was equally adored.

The young men were brimming with vigor, but the spirited girl from Xue Nuo’s memories couldn’t muster even a faint smile.

She had already experienced such scenes in her hometown, and the memories of that grim outcome still haunted her dreams.