"But Your Majesty, there has still been no outcome in case of the assassination of Her Highness," Jenkins reminded in a low voice, making one last bid to drag Lazaar down into the mud.

"Oh, I didn't get a chance to tell all of you about this yet. Yesterday, I was informed by Archbishop Sirius and Prime Minister Fuller that according to their investigation, people from the Skycourt Kingdom had bribed the tournament committee's administrators to tamper with the equipment of Lazaar's son. That was why he went into that deranged state and tried to assassinate Onean," King Cameron said. "It seems that the people of the Skycourt Kingdom are trying to sow dissension among our ranks before the commencement of the war, but their little tricks aren't going to work here!"

"Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Your Majesty! Those imbeciles from the Skycourt Kingdom have placed Her Highness in grave peril and also greatly tarnished my reputation! I will be sure to exact vengeance against them on both accounts on the battlefield!" Lazaar vowed, and it seemed that the relationship between him and King Cameron had suddenly been mended.

Thus, all of the questions that had been lingering in everyone's hearts for the past few days were dispelled by a simple statement from King Cameron.

Seeing as King Cameron was already determined to put an end to this case, the officials naturally weren't going to dig any deeper into the incident. As for exactly who it was in the Skycourt Kingdom that had taken the blame or if the Skycourt Kingdom were actually even involved at all, that was completely unknown to everyone.

King Cameron then turned to Prime Minister Fuller as he said, "Fuller, make a public statement revealing the Skycourt Kingdom's sinister machinations to the entire kingdom. Also, release a conscription order right away, and get all of the private mercenary regiments to report to the department of military affairs."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Fuller accepted the order with a respectful bow.

On the eve of setting off for the front lines, King Cameron still had many things that he had to take care of, so he quickly dismissed everyone. Seeing as he was about to return to the front lines for the first time in decades, he had suddenly thought of an old friend.

After being pardoned by the king, Prince Lazaar had regained a spring in his step, yet he had only just returned to his manor when he caught sight of Lana standing outside with a furious and grief-stricken expression.

"What happened?" Prince Lazaar hurriedly asked.

"Father, my brother was just carried back to our manor not long ago, but... but..." There were tears swimming in Lana's eyes as she spoke.

A sense of anxiety immediately welled up in Lazaar's heart at the sight of his daughter's despondent display, and he hurriedly asked, "Where is your brother right now? Take me to him right away!"

Thus, Lana led him to Jeff's room. Jeff was lying on the bed, still in an unconscious state, and Prince Lazaar felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning at the sight of his own son.

Due to the fact that his injuries hadn't been treated in time, the burns on Jeff's face and body had already caused large sections of his skin to begin rotting away. Pus was flowing all over his dark purple skin and flesh, and his once-handsome face now looked like something straight out of a nightmare. There were only sporadic tufts of hair remaining on his head, and his scalp was either charred black or riddled with pockmarks, presenting a horrific sight to behold. The exposed skin on his body was in such terrible condition that Prince Lazaar could hardly bear to look at it.

A normal bystander would've most likely been so horrified by this ghastly sight that they would've already averted their eyes, but Prince Lazaar was staring intently at his own son's severely ravaged body, gritting his teeth tightly in silence.

"Father..." Lana's voice was beginning to quiver, but she didn't want to cry at a time like this.

"Can his burns still be treated?" Prince Lazaar sat down onto the side of the bed and began to carefully inspect the injuries all over Jeff's body.

"I already brewed some magic potion in advance to be used to treat his injuries," Lana said in a concerned voice. "But I just had a look at his wounds, and the rot has already spread too deep. In his current physical condition, if I were to apply the magic potion I had brewed in advance onto his body, the medicinal effect would be too potent and could kill him on the spot."

"I don't know anywhere near as much about magic potions as you do, so I'll leave that to you," Prince Lazaar said with furrowed brows as he conjured up a cloud of frosty mist over his palm, then skimmed his palm over Jeff's body to apply a fine layer of frost to his skin.

Jeff gave a relieved moan in his unconscious state. This was a fast-acting treatment method that Prince Lazaar often used on the battlefield, and it could temporarily alleviate Jeff's pain, but it could only provide temporary pain relief without treating any of the actual underlying injuries.

"Father, these injuries are only secondary concerns," Lana said as a furious look appeared in her eyes. "As I was examining Brother's injuries, I discovered that two silver needles had been driven into his spine."

"Silver needles?" Prince Lazaar's heart immediately jolted slightly upon hearing this, and he carefully flipped over Jeff's waist to find that there were indeed two silver needles buried in his coccyx and his lumbar spine.

Prince Lazaar immediately reached for the silver needles to pull them out, but Lana hurriedly stopped him. "You can't pull them out now, Father! Many of Brother's injuries have become infected, and the poison has entered his meridians and internal organs. If you pull out the silver needles in his spine now, he might not make it!"

"If I don't pull the needles out now, your brother will be a cripple in just a few days anyway," Prince Lazaar yelled. "Do you want to see your brother be reduced from one of the most promising young martial artists of his generation to a cripple?"

Lana didn't know what to say in response.

"Father..." Jeff finally began to awaken from his unconscious state.

Prince Lazaar knew that Lana was right, but he couldn't bear to see his own exceptionally talented son be reduced to a cripple who could only live out the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair.

Prince Lazaar wore a heartbroken expression as he looked at his own son's severely disfigured face, and he heaved a long sigh. "It's all my fault, my son. I shouldn't have brought the two of you back to this accursed city."

"It's not your fault, Father. I should've been more careful." Jeff's voice was extremely hoarse, and it was clear that his vocal chords had also sustained burn damage.

"Brother..." Lana squatted down by Jeff's side, and she finally couldn't hold back her tears any longer as she erupted into sobs.

"I heard what the two of you said just now. I can't become a cripple, I still have my entire life ahead of me! Listen to me, Lana, pull those needles out of my spine," Jeff said in an urgent voice. His lips were dry and cracked, and he didn't even have the strength to turn over by himself.

Tears were streaming down Lana's face as she frantically shook her head.

Prince Lazaar couldn't bear to pull the needles out as Jeff requested, and he tried to console Jeff in a gentle voice. "It's alright, my son. What's most important to me is that you're alive. As long as you're still alive, we can always find ways to help you recover, but if you're dead, everything will be lost."

"But Father, I don't want to be a cripple who has to be looked after like useless baggage for the rest of my life!" Jeff wore a pained expression, but his voice was extremely decisive. It was clear that the thought of being a cripple for the rest of his life was far more painful than his physical injuries.

Prince Lazaar and Lana didn't know what to do from here.

"Father, I can't become a cripple! That would be a life worse than death for me!" Tears began to stream down Jeff's face as he begged in a hoarse voice, "If you won't pull out the needles, then at least kill me! Please! I would rather die than be a cripple for the rest of my life!"

Prince Lazaar's children were all extremely proud and ambitious, so for Jeff, becoming a cripple and losing all of his abilities as a martial artist really would be a fate far worse than death.

"Calm down, Brother! Give me a bit more time, I'll think of a way to help you recover without risking your life," Lana hurriedly said in a panicked voice.

"Alright, if that's what you want, then I'll grant you your wish!" A vicious look suddenly appeared on Prince Lazaar's face as he raised a palm before slamming it down onto Jeff's forehead.

"No! Father!" Lana wanted to stop her father, but it was already too late, and Jeff instantly fell dead on the spot.

Lana was completely rooted to the spot, staring at her father with an incredulous expression, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.

"It's alright, I didn't actually do it," Prince Lazaar said with tears swimming in his eyes. "How could I bring myself to kill my own son? I only knocked him unconscious for now."

Lana was greatly relieved to hear this.

"Quick, go and prepare the magic potions that your brother will need on the way back to Burmen. Once you're done, we'll return to Burmen right away," Prince Lazaar instructed. "The Skycourt Kingdom has invaded Burmen, and His Majesty needs me to defend the border, so he can't kill me for now. We have to take advantage of this opportunity to leave right away."

Only after hearing this did Lana understand why Jeff had suddenly been released.

Lana did as she was told and turned to leave, but just as she was about to exit the room, she said in a low voice, "But Father, are we just going to accept this? They ruined my brother! Are we just going to let them get away with this?"

"Don't worry, I won't forget this. No one hurts my child and gets away with it!" Prince Lazaar said in a menacing voice.

At this point, Prince Lazaar's investigation had also yielded the outcome that the liver juice of the Scarlet Dragon had ultimately ended up in the hands of Jenkins, and he could only assume that Jenkins was also responsible for the silver needles that had been driven into Jeff's spine, whether directly or indirectly.

Later that day, Prince Lazaar set off with Lana and the heavily injured Jeff back to Burmen. Jeff was still unconscious, so he was riding on the same horse as Prince Lazaar, and the three of them sped out of Sarus on two horses without a single backward glance.