Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

"Stop them, stop those Srui monsters, buy time for His Highness the Prince!"

Starfall City soldiers charged forward one after another. They brandished the long swords in their hands, rushing forward without fear of death, every inch of their flesh trembling and tingling.

The starlight from above scattered on the ground, those rays seeming to be connected to their very lives.

They didn't know the time, but everyone believed—

If they persevered a little longer, His Highness the Prince, the one they called the Child of the Stars, would truly end it all.

However, the next moment.

The starry sky above suddenly dimmed, turning into a chaotic blood red!

"What's going on?! Is this His Highness the Prince's doing? Or is it those Srui people…"

Seeing the strange change in the starry sky, all the Starfall City soldiers felt a stabbing pain in their heads, and their bodies rapidly weakening. But even so, they still stood back-to-back against the city walls, confronting the Srui army outside the Starry Barrier.

But the next moment, something even more infuriating happened.

The Srui army actually charged directly into the barrier.

And then, entered it.

The Starry Barrier also rippled with a layer of bloody light—without causing the slightest impact on these invaders.

"Why are they…"

After a brief daze, the Starfall City garrison's eyes became firm again. They continued to raise the sabers and swords in their hands and charged forward.

Simply because the enemy had arrived.

… …

His whole body was still entwined with starlight, but his eyes were wandering, and deep down, a trace of hard-to-detect guilt was hidden.

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

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

"I'm sorry, Father…"

The Star Child stammered, but the Leper King and the others behind him all saw that this "Child of the Stars" in front of them did not stop his actions.

"Listen, give 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 a kingly aura in front of the Child of the Stars.

"I, I can't…"

"You, as the King of Starfall City, sitting in this position, have you turned 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, those bloody rays still spreading in the starry sky.

He raised his voice a notch 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 mid-air, leaving a deep scratch just a few centimeters in front of the Leper King!

"You—"

The Leper King finally showed horror. He looked at the Star Child and silently took a breath:

"Child, just like 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."

Hearing these words, the Star Child's body trembled, and he held his head in his hands. Tears flowed from his handsome face, dripping onto the silver-white ground.

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

The Star Child raised his eyes again, his bloodshot eyes full of pleading, "Those demons, they are too powerful, no matter who—no one can defeat them, and neither can I!"

The group looked at the Star Child's state, and they all knew that something might be wrong.

But last night, those Srui people hadn't even stepped into the city half a step, and this kind of thing had already happened?!

And the Leper King also did not try to move forward again.

But from the bulging veins on his sword-wielding hand, it could be seen that the King's mood was definitely not calm at this time.

"Child, it's been a long time since I heard you call me Father."

The Leper King's voice was somewhat muffled by the mask, "But if you're calling me Father in this kind of situation—I'd rather not hear it.

I'd rather you still call yourself King, still sit on the throne, let me leave, still say loudly to me that you are the child of the stars, that you can protect everything and rule everything."

The Star Child listened, opened his mouth, but in the end, only uttered one sentence:

"I'm sorry, Father."

Lacey and the others behind the Leper King gripped their weapons upon hearing these words.

If this prince was really controlled by demons—

Then the worst-case scenario had appeared. Before the final battle with the Srui King, they had to face an even stronger "Child of the Stars."

But then, the Leper King waved his hand, stopping the few people from acting.

After hearing the Star Child's words, the Leper King no longer said anything, only the disappointment in his eyes was completely exposed. He said:

"My Queen, no matter what caused it—now, it's time to take the misfired hunting gun from our child's hand."

As soon as the words fell, the Queen, dressed in simple clothes, who was also the Astrologer Witch, stepped out from behind him.

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

"I'm sorry, child, we shouldn't have given you the power too early, letting you bear responsibilities that didn't belong to you."

The next moment, the Astrologer Witch raised a finger.

The starlight emanating throughout the palace suddenly stagnated at this moment. After that, the starlight on the Star Child's body began to dissipate. He looked at his hands in disbelief, but no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer summon a trace of starlight.

And after that, the surface of his originally smooth and fair skin began to wrinkle and crack rapidly.

As if losing the support of some kind of power, he became somewhat thin and withered.

And after this, the blood color in the starry sky outside the palace finally stopped spreading.

"I'm sorry, child."

The Astrologer Witch retracted her finger, the expression in her eyes appearing somewhat complicated, carrying a strong sense of sadness, "If we can survive this time, just be an ordinary child."

But at this time, the Leper King stopped his queen, took the Astrologer Witch, and walked out of the palace.

After a brief few 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 deserve to sit on the throne.

At that time, I wasn't angry. On the contrary, I was very happy that you possessed such power. If you could protect the people and lead them out of the darkness—then you would be the undisputed king."

The Leper King walked forward step by step, standing in front of the Star Child, looking down at this child, "I recorded all my strategies and thoughts on governing the country and left them for you, but you didn't 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 things the stars can teach you far outweigh what I can."

The Leper King said here, looking down at the Star Child on the throne. At this time, there was no trace of light in the Star Child's eyes, only some kind of pleading and guilt remained.

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

And seeing this scene, the Star Child actually showed horror, twisting his body, about to dodge backward—

But the Leper King didn't do anything, just turned the sword over, placing the hilt in front of the Star Child:

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

"Yes… Father."

The Star Child shrank his neck, trembling as he took the long sword handed over by the Leper King.

"Your mother wants you to be an ordinary person, but when you sit on this throne, you should understand that you have lost that opportunity!"

The Leper King's words brooked no argument. The undisguised anger made the Star Child's face pale.

"You're not dead yet, you still have limbs, 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 afraid, please…"

"You're afraid? You're afraid to face the Srui people? Are you trying to say that without the starlight, you are not even as good as any one of those thousands of soldiers?"

"But I really don't dare, I don't dare to face those de…mons."

"You—"

The Leper King listened, gritting his teeth and spitting out a word, then couldn't help but raise one of his hands, but looking at the Star Child's terrified eyes, he still slowly lowered his hand.

"Your power still exists inside your body. Your mother's magic cannot completely seal you. Find your power, and as the King, let us win this battle.

Or, pick up the sword and die here like an ordinary Starfall City soldier."

While speaking, the Leper King regained his composure. He took off the crown symbolizing kingship from the Star Child's head, threw it on the ground with a flick of his hand, and then turned and walked down the throne.

"The Starry Barrier is about to fail. After the starry sky disappears—the warriors all need some encouragement. I will go to lead them, or die with them."

After speaking, the Leper King left the palace without looking back.

And those following him, like Leike, noticed that the Leprous King's eyes were also becoming red and swollen.

The group became somewhat silent, after all, no one had expected that the Star Child, who had been placed with the greatest hope, would lose all his power on the eve of this final battle, and even open the door for the Srui to invade!

“I know that you are very strong. While the city hasn’t fallen yet, you should be able to escape, right?”

The Leprous King looked at Leike and the others and said.

From the Leprous King's eyes, Poro noticed a shadow—a gradually thickening resolve for death.

“But your arrangements for the decisive battle require our help. We will stay here and must kill the Srui King in this city…”

“But now, most of the plans have failed with the departure of the stars.”

The Leprous King looked up at the mutated starlight barrier not far away. “Without the help of the stars, our Starfall City is no different from the thousands of cities destroyed by the Srui Kingdom.

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And the only chance for the plan to succeed is also very slim.”

The Leprous King sighed. Several Starfall City generals with bitter expressions on their faces rode over from the other side of the street. The Leprous King put the second sword back into its scabbard and tightened the armor on his body. “I am not a good father. I only know how to be a king.

My child, he did allow Starfall City, which should have been destroyed, to hold out for a long time under the Srui Kingdom’s offensive. Perhaps, he is not as bad as I said—but wanting to be a king requires paying a price.

There is only one turning point, but I don’t have time anymore.”

Watching the Leprous King mount his warhorse and prepare to go to the front line, Poro and the others all understood what the “turning point” the Leprous King was talking about was.

That is to regain the power of the stars—but that is very difficult.

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

It could enhance her combat power.

But controlling the starlight barrier, resurrecting the dead… all of that was impossible.

“Unless, the Star Child stands up again?”

Poro and Leike thought, but they were both speechless. They didn’t know what was affecting the Star Child, and even if they could find a way, it would take a long time, and Starfall City didn’t have that time.

“I’ll go try.”

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

Following the faint starlight in the sky, he walked towards the Star Child on the throne.

The Star Child was still lowering his head, staring blankly at the “longsword” his father had given him in his hand.

“Are you still thinking about what your father said?”

“You are… the special envoy appointed by my father?”

The Star Child sized up Oz and asked tentatively.

After losing his power, he was able to more clearly examine these “ordinary people” whom he usually didn’t pay attention to. For some reason, he felt a sense of oppressive power from this “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 to do so by some means, right?”

Oz didn’t answer, but narrowed his eyes and asked another question, “If you can’t say it, you can nod.”

After that, the Star Child nodded weakly.

“Those demons may have forced you to do this by some means—but do you know that when you abandoned Starfall City, the guards were still shouting your name, suppressing their pain, and charging towards those sharp blades?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

The Star Child looked away, not daring to meet Oz’s eyes.

But Oz still keenly noticed the Star Child’s fear of the blade from his expression—this was very unreasonable, because the Star Child’s power had never been, and should not be, harmed by sharp blades.

“The feeling of knives piercing flesh is very painful, right?”

Hearing this, the Star Child’s body trembled reflexively. Seeing this scene, Oz’s expression darkened, and he continued:

“Do you know that the soldiers of Starfall City, although they will not die, have experienced countless times the feeling of being pierced by sharp blades, but they still move forward in the face of sharp knives?”

“I, I… I’m sorry to them.”

The Star Child heard this, and tears welled up in his eyes again. Looking at the sword in his hand, he trembled and said, “But I, I really can’t do it.”

“It’s okay, you can try to escape, just like your mother said.”

Oz said in a calm voice, but then it became as ghostly as a ghost, “But now, Starfall City has been surrounded by demons, they will catch you and torture you—in reality.”

Oz’s voice seemed slow and calm, but every word after that made the Star Child’s body tremble uncontrollably:

“They will use red-hot iron nails to pierce your fingers, they will use knives to cut out your flesh bit by bit, they will let you watch your internal organs being dug out with your own eyes—

And at this time, you will not die, you should also know about the Srui’s ‘holy water’, right?

You are the king, you can’t escape the demons’ torture!”

Hearing this, the Star Child’s tears burst out again, and he kept begging:

“No, no, I, but I really can’t be enemies with them anymore…”

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

Oz said.

“But that way, I will…”

The Star Child opened his mouth, although there was no second half, Oz made some judgments through the Star Child’s expression and his understanding of these powers, “You will die, right?”

The Star Child did not refute, lowered his head, and remained noncommittal.

“What’s so scary about death? In Starfall City, so many warriors have died without hesitation, haven’t you seen it?”

Oz said calmly. He slowly walked forward, stood in front of the Star Child, leaned down, raised one hand, placed it on the Star Child’s head, and gently stroked it, “You are the Star Child, the natural king, the king above the earth—

For someone like you, why are you afraid of death that ordinary people are not afraid of?”

“But I…”

“Haven’t you had a moment when you thought that living is not as good as dying?”

Oz locked his eyes on the Star Child’s eyes and asked again.

“I—”

In this sentence, a trace of panic flashed across the Star Child’s face again. He thought of that extremely painful illusion—no matter how he begged, he could only hear the muffled sound of the blade entering his body under the sound of the clock.

Oz seemed not to notice the Star Child’s panic, and a sincere look appeared in his eyes, and he said again:

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

And after success, I will tell the soldiers of Starfall City that it was the Star Child—that is, you—who sacrificed himself to save everything.

They will not know your fear, betrayal, cowardice, they will always praise you, and in the future, 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 reappeared in the Star Child’s empty eyes:

“What you said… is it true?”

“Of course, you only need to choose courage to become—the eternal king, perfect and flawless.”

Oz’s words entered the Star Child’s ears.

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

The phantom sound of midnight chimes rang in his ears.

“Thank you, sir.”

The Star Child said in a low voice, raising the sword his father had given him, but the tip of the sword was pointing at his chest, and the trembling hand gradually stabilized, “Perhaps, the girl in the red cloak I saw earlier is more suitable to receive the gift of the stars than me.”

“Maybe I am not a king, just a coward. My courage can only support me to do, to do such a thing—”

Speaking of this, his tears welled up again.

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

And in those blood, there was another layer of starlight-like spots, peeling off from the blood.

And the Star Child’s already cracked face lost its last trace of blood and quickly turned gray and white—

With his last strength, he raised his other hand, and led the starlight gushing out of his chest to spin, entwine, and condense together, making a small, transparent, glowing blue crystal, which seemed to contain flowing stars.

Finally, he put the crystal in Oz’s hand, and his voice became as thin as a mosquito:

“Help me, and say one more thing to my parents… I’m sorry.”

After that, the Star Child’s hand drooped down and became silent.