The impact from Goliath's Star clearly shook Montette's mind, creating a slight opening in his movements. Buck seized the opportunity and launched a successful surprise attack.

  However, even with one hand lost, Montette still had a leg to act. With a sudden whip-like motion, his leg lashed out like a bolt of black lightning, striking Buck's waist with immense force. Buck was sent flying once again, his body tracing an arc in the air before crashing heavily against the carriage wall.

  "You can't use that powerful red arm of yours in quick succession, can you?" Montette grinned viciously. As he sent Buck flying, he raised his severed arm without hesitation and stabbed it toward his own eye socket.

  He intended to commit suicide using the sharp bone spur of his severed limb, knowing that only death could free him from his current predicament, allowing him to return at full strength.

  Like a flash of pale lightning, the Heretic’s Arm shot out, grabbing Montette's leg. Mid-air, Buck used the Heretic’s Arm’s power to pull himself back toward his target.

  [Heretic’s Arm III: Consumes 80 points of spirit energy or life force to activate “Fool’s Touch.” Cooldown: 3 minutes.]

  Over the past year, Buck had hunted down cultists in the viscount’s domain, upgrading the Heretic’s Arm to level three, reducing its cooldown even further. Since Montette’s two attacks had been spaced several minutes apart, the arm was already ready for use again. However, it could only restrain Montette for one second!

  The moment Buck pulled himself back, he grabbed Montette's arm. As soon as Fool’s Touch ended, he immediately activated the Demon Creature’s Arm, slicing off Montette’s leg in one swift motion.

  Despite being an undead, Montette was still made of flesh and blood. With his sawblade locked in place by the life force field, he had no way to stop Buck's attack.

  In the instant he regained consciousness, Montette let out a beastly roar. A terrifying, mysterious force erupted from within him. Buck paid no heed, swinging the Demon Creature’s Arm once more, attempting to rip off Montette's remaining arm.

  However, a black-and-white flame suddenly ignited across Montette’s body. The moment Demon Creature’s Arm touched the flames, it instinctively recoiled.

  A dreadful aura of death engulfed Buck, making him feel as though he had plunged into an icy abyss. His very soul seemed to burn, the agony overwhelming. He had no choice but to release Montette.

  The Flames of Death!

  A power from the Fifth-Tier Death Ritual—The Gaze of the Death Goddess!

  Montette's entire body was now wreathed in black flames. His severed limbs reappeared, fully intact within the dark blaze. This was not regeneration—it was as if a divine force had returned his body to its original state.

  However, in Buck’s eyes, Montette had fallen into a bizarre condition. His life force bar flickered wildly, like a roller coaster—draining to zero in an instant, then filling back up completely, only to drain again.

  Montette screamed in agony. He was experiencing the same burning torment from the Flames of Death. Every time his life bar emptied, it meant he had died once. In just a few short moments, he had already died more than ten times!

  Such was the terrifying power of divine flames—they even burned through Goliath’s Star’s life field, scorching away the radiant protection surrounding the prince.

  Montette howled in pain. The self-destructive nature of the flames robbed him of reason, leaving only one desire—to claim the gem.

  With great difficulty, he extended his flame-wrapped hand and seized Goliath’s Star from the prince’s chest. The deadly fire crept toward Roland’s body. A mere mortal would turn to ash within seconds.

  Buck charged forward and tackled the burning Montette against the carriage wall. In such close contact, the flames wrapped around Buck’s body, incinerating more than ten thousand points of his life force in an instant.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, Buck summoned Demon Creature’s Arm and punched Montette square in the chest. The impact pierced through the carriage wall, blowing a hole through the steel plating. The flaming Montette was sent flying into the mist outside.

  Freed from the Flames of Death, Buck finally exhaled in relief. In just a few seconds, the divine fire had burned away nearly half of his remaining 280,000 HP.

  So this was the power of a Fifth-Tier Hunter.

  Panting, Buck slumped onto the ground and turned toward the prince, who had also collapsed.

  At that moment, the royal guards from the front and rear carriages rushed in, panicked, trying to help the prince up, but Roland waved them away once more.

  Buck’s gaze fell upon the prince’s now-empty chest, where Goliath’s Star once hung. In Roland’s hand was only a broken half of the necklace.

  Montette had ripped the gem away during the moment the flames broke through the life force field. The prince was now unprotected by the forbidden artifact.

  And Buck had failed to stop the enemy.

  There was no more chance to retrieve it.

  “Relax,” Roland said, smiling at him. “I don’t think he’s coming back.”

  “Why?” Buck asked, frowning.

  “He only wanted the forbidden artifact,” Roland replied, “but the Flames of Death won’t fade anytime soon. Right now, that so-called Undying One hasn’t even recovered to his peak. He doesn’t have the strength to chase us anymore.”

  “…Wait.” Buck’s eyes widened in realization. “Did you give him the gem on purpose?”

  Roland remained noncommittal, gazing out at the dissipating mist beyond the carriage.

  "Only by forcing his flames to emerge could we rid ourselves of him. In that case, what does losing a single forbidden artifact matter? Those fools who released him will soon learn the consequences of nurturing a tiger only to be devoured by it. Compared to me, an insignificant mortal, Montette harbors far greater hatred for those who imprisoned him in the Death Prison."

  Buck nodded thoughtfully. After enduring the lingering burn, he managed to stand and extended a hand toward Roland. "Your Highness’s wisdom and magnanimity truly command my respect."

  Roland smiled, clasping Buck’s hand. "This isn’t about magnanimity. Though I have lost the Goliath's Star, I have gained you."

  Suddenly, Buck noticed something unusual—the prince’s hand felt surprisingly soft. A strange feeling stirred in his heart, and when he looked into Roland’s eyes, he saw an unfamiliar gleam flickering within them.

  What shocked him even more was that Roland's features were subtly shifting. His emerald eyes were growing larger and rounder, his chiseled face softening into a more delicate beauty, and his golden hair, now cascading down, seemed lighter and more fluid.

  Most striking of all, as Buck pulled him up, he realized that Roland’s body had become noticeably lighter, his previously firm frame shrinking into something more… delicate. His once well-fitted clothes now hung loosely, while—

  His chest… was slightly swelling?

  He… she? What was happening?!

  Buck was dumbfounded, staring in disbelief as the prince before him transformed into a breathtakingly beautiful woman. He forgot to breathe.

  "You are not Prince Roland?"

  "I am Roland." The golden-haired, green-eyed woman smiled serenely, her voice now a melodious, distinctly feminine tone. "I am Roland O’Brien Goliath."

  "You're not a prince?"

  "I can be." Roland paid no heed to Buck’s bewildered expression. She turned, retrieving a large black cloak from a nearby shelf and draping it over herself, concealing her now undeniably feminine features.

  "I told you before, wearing the Goliath’s Star comes with side effects."

  Buck’s mouth hung open. A ridiculous thought formed in his mind—could a forbidden artifact really have such an absurd effect?

  "The Dual Celestial Star has two side effects," she explained, lounging back onto the sofa and elegantly crossing her legs. "First, it permanently distorts a certain desire within the wearer’s soul. Second, it temporarily alters part of the wearer’s physical characteristics."

  With a chuckle, she added, "To protect me, my father had me wear the Goliath's Star since childhood. And then, I found myself… turned into a man. This is a royal secret—very few know of it."

  Buck suddenly realized he had stumbled upon an enormous secret—the kind that usually ended with someone being silenced. However, Roland didn’t seem inclined to eliminate him.

  A question burned in his mind: what exactly had the other side effect twisted within her? But as he met the princess-prince’s knowing smile, he wisely chose to hold his tongue.

  Now he fully understood what Roland had meant earlier by "gaining him." Buck Frank, a man capable of withstanding a fifth-tier Fallen Hunter’s blood bullet with his bare body, was undoubtedly more valuable than a mere forbidden artifact.

  And now, knowing the prince’s—no, the princess’s—true identity, he could never betray this secret. In fact, as long as he wanted to stay alive, he had no choice but to align himself with the Fourth Prince’s ambitions.

  Until the day Roland became the Emperor of the Goliath Empire.

  But could a "prince" who was, in truth, a princess really ascend to the throne? A female emperor?

  Buck swallowed hard, forcing himself to tear his gaze away from Roland’s chest, which his traitorous eyes had unconsciously fixated on.

  Roland, unconcerned by Buck’s peculiar stare, was already contemplating her next steps—how to return to the capital, and more importantly, how to exact revenge on her dear brothers.

  Perhaps… she truly could claim that throne.