Chapter 779 A Trustworthy Leader (Part One)


    The unperturbed silence inside Lance''s bedroom was broken by the sudden appearance of Matthew.


    Lance was baffled to see the prince right in front of his eyes. He had been told that the ck g Army


    was far away from the capital of the South Kingdom. But how could the prince reach his pce so


    soon? He was so intimidated and petrified to see the unexpected visitor that he almost lost his speech.


    "Prince... Prince Matthew, why did you break into my pce at this unearthly hour of the night? What


    are you up to?" Lance stammered. His throat became dry and his tongue felt heavy as he tried to


    speak. He did not have a son and had only two daughters. His elder daughter was the Holy Maiden of


    the South Kingdom and his younger daughter, Diana, was forcibly taken into the Labyrinth Swamp by


    Harper. He was afraid that Diana would not be able toe out of the swamp alive. And that was why


    he had been cursing Harper in his mind. And now, even her husband had barged into his pce in the


    middle of the night. ''What a shameless couple they are! Today, only because of his wife, my heir to the


    throne is in danger. And now this man shows up in my pce unwarranted in this way to scare me,''


    Lance thought to himself.


    There was an uncanny silence at the moment inside the pce. Matthew sat quietly at the table, slowly


    wiping bloodstains from the sword. Lance swallowed hard, looking at the fresh blood on Matthew''s


    sword.


    "I am here to take my wife back. But you seem to have forgotten what I said before I left," Matthew said


    in a low and cold voice. His voice sounded lethal. It sent a chill all across the room. Lance felt as if the


    temperature of the room had fallen and started to shiver. Though spoken in a low voice, Matthew''s


    words reverberated to the core of Lance''s heart.


    "Lady Harper... Lady Harper has gone to the Labyrinth Swamp!" Lance managed to find his voice once


    again. He added in a trembling voice, "I have no idea why did she go there."


    The very mention of the swamp felt like a blow on Matthew''s chest. He sprang upright on his seat and


    asked, squinting his eyes, "The Labyrinth Swamp?"


    "Yes, the Labyrinth Swamp. It is believed that the swamp is the home to many wonderful medicinal


    herbs that are not easily avable in the market. I think Lady Harper entered the swamp in search of


    some rare medicinal herbs. And the worst part is that she also took my daughter with her." Lance


    somehow managed toe up with a convincing exnation. He deliberately covered up the fact that


    they had forced Harper to enter the Labyrinth Swamp. Instead, he put it in a way that Matthew would


    think that Harper had entered the Labyrinth Swamp to look for medicinal herbs out of her own free will


    and nobody of the South Kingdom had anything to do with that.


    Matthew had heard of the Labyrinth Swamp before. It was infamous for being life-threatening in many


    ways. There was a very high level of poison in almost everything inside the swamp. Then some


    extremely dangerous insects and animals were waiting to feast on the flesh and blood of an intruder.


    And above all, the poisonous miasma filled every bit of the swamp. Apart from these, several other


    dangers were lurking in every nook and corner that they might not have even heard of. Even the


    strongest shamans in the South Kingdom dared not enter the notorious swamp. They would only


    wander around the edge of it at the most because the poisonous miasma in the swamp was a hundred


    times stronger than the poisonous miasma that existed outside. If anyone entered the swamp and even


    if he or she seeded in fighting the poisonous miasma, he or she could still die due to any other


    hidden danger.


    "Did Harper go to the Labyrinth Swamp of her own?" Matthew asked. He could not believe in Lance''s


    wordspletely.


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    "Yes, Lady Harper went there out of her own free will. We tried our best to dissuade her. But she was


    obstinate. Moreover, she even took my daughter along!" Lance said in such a solemn tone that it


    sounded quite convincing. However, Matthew knew in his heart that Harper hade to the Starry


    Pce in search of the Sacred Seal. There was no reason for her to risk her life by entering the


    Labyrinth Swamp on her own. The only possible exnation could be that she had been forced by


    someone else into the swamp.


    "If that is the case, I won''t make things difficult for you," Matthew said slowly. After hearing what he


    said, Lance heaved a sigh of relief. "I will attack a city of the South Kingdom every two days. I won''t


    stop unless I see my wife!" Matthew added in a menacing voice.


    Just when Lance had thought that he had managed to give a convincing exnation about Harper


    being missing from his pce, Matthew''s words made his heart leap into his mouth once again. Even


    after he made it clear to Matthew that Harper had gone to the Labyrinth Swamp out of her own will and


    that she had even taken his daughter to such a dangerous ce, Matthew was still threatening to


    invade the territory of the South Kingdom. It was not until at that moment that Lance finally understood


    that the prince would invade his kingdom no matter what.


    To avenge what happened with Harper was just a fair pretext. Lancemented his stance when he


    used to get involved in the affairs of the Bright Dynasty. He should have withdrawn at least after


    Harrison''s copse. But, he didn''t. At that time he reaped the benefits of his alliance with Francis. And


    now, he had to pay for it.


    Long after Matthew had left his pce, Lance was still sitting upright on his bed and thinking about his


    past deeds that had brought about this doomsday to the South Kingdom. And as far as Harper was


    concerned, she had been inside the Labyrinth Swamp for three days now. Nobody had ever survived


    inside the swamp for that long. Even if he sent his men to find her, they might juste back with her


    dead body. He sat thinking until he dropped on the bed out of sheer fatigue and fell into sleep.


    Walking out of the imperial pce of the South Kingdom, Matthew headed straight towards the Starry


    Pce. He had to find out whether Harper had really entered the Labyrinth Swamp. As he hurried into


    the Starry Pce, he was stopped in the midway by the Holy Maiden.


    "Get out of my way," Matthew stormed at the very sight of her.


    "Stop! You can''t go there!" Catherine said it loud and clear as she blocked Matthew''s way. "The


    Labyrinth Swamp is extremely dangerous. Even the best of your martial art skills will not be of any use


    there. It is a pit of death infested not only by poisonous insects and fierce beasts that in it, but also


    many other kinds of danger!"


    "Just get out of my way, I said!" Matthew shrieked fiercely, ring at Catherine.


    But Catherine was unwilling to rest herurels. She continued to reason with him. "Prince Matthew, it


    has already been three days since Lady Harper entered the Labyrinth Swamp. There is no chance for


    you to find her. Moreover, you might risk your own life if you go there. Are you going to give up your life


    for a woman?" Matthew did not give a damn to Catherine''s words. He walked past her and took brisk


    steps to reach the Labyrinth Swamp as soon as he could. He had a gut feeling that if Harper had really


    entered it, she must have left a message for him. With bated breath, he walked closer to the swamp to


    find some sign that would assure him of Harper''s safety.