Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 420: You are unbelievable

When Lucas, the King, and Commander Alexander began walking back toward their lines, the valley no longer felt the same.

Before, the air had carried the tension of a battle waiting to explode.

Now it carried heavy atmosphere.

The soldiers of Valerion had seen everything.

From the slopes where their formations stood, thousands of eyes had watched the meeting in the valley. They had seen Ken hold something up in the air. At first the distance had made it difficult to recognize what it was, but the moment the sunlight caught the gold surface, whispers had begun to spread through the ranks like wildfire.

The King’s crown.

Every soldier of Valerion knew what it looked like.

Some had seen it during ceremonies in the capital. Others had only seen it from a distance during royal processions. But the crown was a symbol no man in that army could mistake.

And when it appeared in the hands of the enemy, there was only one meaning that could possibly carry.

Valerion had fallen.

The whispers quickly became murmurs.

Men who had stood proudly earlier now lowered their heads slightly. Some stared toward the distant horizon where their homeland lay beyond the mountains. Others simply stood frozen, their weapons resting against the ground.

A few soldiers quietly muttered prayers under their breath.

The realization struck every one of them differently.

Some felt anger.

Some felt disbelief.

But for many of them the weight of it settled into something far worse.

Hopelessness.

They had marched across half the continent believing they were defending their kingdom.

Now the kingdom itself might already belong to the enemy.

The army that had once marched with confidence now stood in uneasy quiet, their morale slowly draining away like blood from an open wound.

Lucas noticed it immediately as he approached the front of their lines.

Even the officers seemed shaken.

A group of soldiers stood in a loose circle whispering among themselves until they noticed Lucas returning with the King. They immediately straightened, but the heaviness in their faces remained.

The King himself walked slowly now.

His earlier rage had faded, replaced by a silence that felt just as dangerous.

Commander Alexander walked beside him with his usual disciplined posture, though even he looked troubled.

Lucas said nothing as they continued toward the central camp.

Not far from the main command tents, another small gathering had formed.

Nyx sat on a low wooden crate near the edge of the camp.

Her shoulders trembled as quiet sobs escaped her.

Lira sat beside her, one hand resting gently on her back while speaking softly to her. Selene knelt in front of Nyx with a worried expression, trying to keep her eyes focused on the girl’s face.

Nyx wiped at her eyes again but the tears refused to stop.

"I do not understand," she said weakly.

Her voice shook with every word.

"The crown was in his hand. That means the palace..."

She could not finish the sentence.

Lira squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Do not assume the worst yet," Lira said softly.

"But how can I not?" Nyx replied, her voice breaking again.

Her eyes were red from crying now.

"My mother... my brother... they were in the capital."

She covered her face with both hands as another wave of tears came.

"What if they are dead?" she whispered. "What if the usurpers killed them when they took the palace?"

Selene leaned forward slightly, her voice calm but firm.

"Nyx, listen to me."

Nyx slowly lowered her hands, though tears still clung to her eyelashes.

Selene spoke gently.

"He only showed the crown."

Lira nodded in agreement.

"That means they may still be alive," she added.

Nyx looked uncertain.

"Or imprisoned," Selene said honestly.

Nyx’s lips trembled again.

"That is not better."

Selene reached out and took Nyx’s hand.

"It is better than death," she said quietly.

Nyx lowered her gaze.

Her mind filled with images of the palace in Valerion. The long halls she had walked since childhood. The garden her mother loved. The training yard where her brother had spent endless afternoons practicing with the royal instructors.

The thought that all of it now belonged to the enemy made her chest ache.

"What if they are hurting them?" she whispered.

Lira immediately shook her head.

"They would not do that."

Nyx looked up.

Lira spoke with calm certainty.

"The royal family is far too valuable alive."

Selene nodded slowly.

"They would keep them as leverage."

Nyx swallowed hard.

"That means they are prisoners," she said quietly.

Selene squeezed her hand.

"For now."

Nyx tried to breathe slowly.

The tears still slipped down her cheeks, but she was no longer sobbing the way she had been earlier.

Lira leaned closer and brushed some loose hair away from Nyx’s face.

Somewhere nearby, not far from the command tents, the Ice Belle sat calmly eating the remains of another roasted bird Tom had prepared for her earlier.

The bones were already mostly stripped clean and small grease stains marked the front of her sleeves where she had eaten without much concern for manners.

She leaned back slightly and used a thin wooden twig to pick at her teeth, carefully fishing out a stubborn shred of meat that had lodged itself between two of them.

Her expression was calm.

Almost bored.

Around her soldiers walked past with grim faces, some discussing the fall of Valerion in worried whispers, yet she seemed to exist in an entirely different world from the rest of the army.

Tom stood a few paces away watching her.

At first he said nothing.

He simply stared at the sight of her casually picking her teeth while the entire camp struggled under the weight of terrible news.

Finally he shook his head slowly.

"I don’t understand you," he said.

The Ice Belle glanced at him briefly but did not stop what she was doing.

Tom folded his arms.

"Everyone in this camp just learned their kingdom has fallen," he continued. "The soldiers look like men walking to their own funerals tomorrow."

He gestured toward the valley where the duel would take place in the morning.

"And you are sitting here happily eating like this is some sort of festival."

The Ice Belle finally pulled the small piece of meat from her teeth and flicked it into the dirt beside her.

Then she looked down at the roasted bird in her hands and took another bite.

Tom stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you even listening to me?"

She chewed slowly before answering.

"Yes."

Tom sighed.

"Then how can you eat at a time like this?"

He pointed toward the valley again.

"You might have to fight Celestial Ken."

The Ice Belle swallowed the mouthful of meat and wiped her fingers on a piece of cloth beside her.

"That is exactly why I am eating," she said calmly.

Tom blinked.

She lifted the bird slightly.

"If I am going to fight him, I will need a lot of energy."

Her tone was perfectly serious.

"So I must eat a lot."

Tom stared at her for a long moment.

Then he slowly rubbed his forehead.

"That is not the reason," he said.

The Ice Belle tilted her head slightly.

Tom gave her a tired look.

"You would still be eating like that even if there was no duel coming up."

She said nothing.

Tom pointed at the pile of bones beside her.

"You finished two birds already."

She calmly tore another piece from the one she was currently holding.

Tom shook his head again.

"You love food," he said plainly.

The Ice Belle chewed thoughtfully for a moment.

Then she shrugged.

"Yes."

Tom let out a quiet groan.

"That is what I thought."

He crouched down near the fire and poked at the glowing coals with a stick.

"Do you even understand who you might be fighting?" he asked.

The Ice Belle swallowed another bite.

"Yes."

Tom looked at her.

"That man is a Celestial cultivator."

"I know."

"He could probably destroy half this valley if he wanted."

"Yes."

Tom stared at her again.

"And you are still this calm?"

She finished chewing and wiped her fingers again before speaking.

"Why should I be troubled?"

Tom opened his mouth, then closed it again.

For a moment he did not even know how to answer that.

The Ice Belle leaned back slightly on the stone.

"Fighting is fighting," she said simply.

Tom studied her face carefully.

There was no fear there.

No anxiety.

Not even the kind of forced bravery soldiers often showed before a dangerous battle.

She truly did not seem worried at all.

Tom sighed again.

"You realize that eating three birds tonight will not make you stronger tomorrow."

The Ice Belle glanced down at the bones beside her.

"That is unfortunate."

Tom shook his head.

"Food does not decide how well you fight."

She looked back at him calmly.

"I know."

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Then why eat so much?"

She thought for a moment.

Then she answered honestly.

"Because it tastes good."

Tom stared at her for several seconds.

Then he slowly leaned back and laughed quietly to himself despite everything happening around them.

"You are unbelievable," he muttered.

The Ice Belle simply took another bite of the roasted bird and continued eating as if the fate of kingdoms was someone else’s problem.