Chapter 44: Paying Tribute

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Exeter, Heisha led the way to Dragon Clouds City. http://www.lnwow.net Pinshu

"I still advise Your Highness to put away those two flags... especially the star flag with the cross and double stars." Among the marching northern soldiers, Viscount Kanda rode to the heavily surrounded Thailand with a rein in his hand. Sis beside him, ignoring the extremely bad expressions of Putilei and Huaiya next to him, he said to the second prince of the stars:

"Although we have 2,000 well-trained soldiers from the north, many of whom are standing troops beside the Grand Duke, it is obviously not the best choice to let everyone along the way know that Prince Xingchen is here."

Thales didn't pay attention to the snow scene on both sides of the road, the looming mountains in the distance ahead, and the occasional cooking smoke. The reason why he missed the magnificent scenery of the snow-covered mountains in the Northland was partly because he was still thinking about it for two days. The other part of what Ramon said before was the horse under him.

At this moment, he was riding alone, carefully steering the horse under him to prevent it from throwing his back from time to time. Rolf nervously followed beside him, ready to use the wind to lift his little employer at any time .

Although Jine and Gilbert have given him almost every trick of horse riding in the Mindyth Hall for more than a month, Thales seems to have a natural conflict with horses, whether it is in the Mindyth Hall The little pony, which was lent by the Duke Luba below him, was usually docile and obedient, and was specially equipped with a children's saddle for the noble family of the Northland. They obviously rejected him from riding or even approaching.

By the way, the saddle... Didn't Ramon say that it was also invented by mages?

So, magic is the science of this world? A mage is a group of people who are determined to study and discover the truth?

What about the mana? How did the magic disappear?

It's a pity that the conversation that day was quickly interrupted by Kanda, and it seemed that we had to find another chance next time.

Thales looked at the horse below him crossing an uneven snow pit with trepidation, and heaved a sigh of relief.

"I think it should be an international practice for missions to show their flags on the surface," Thales turned his head, looking at Kanda helplessly, while carefully paying attention to the disgruntled mount under him, "Besides, the 2,000-person The army stretches for hundreds of meters, with such a big commotion, even if I don’t raise the flag, don’t people know that Prince Star has stepped into Exeter’s territory?”

"Or maybe Grand Duke Lombard thinks that it's not beneficial to be too close to Prince Star at this time?"

Kanda smiled: "Your Highness, please believe in the Grand Duke..."

But Putile interrupted him.

"I have to send two thousand people to ensure that the prince does not perish in my own territory, but I also have to properly show my hostility to the stars." Puttilai slowly smoked his pipe and sneered, "Duke Luba The situation is actually very difficult... It is too heartbreaking to mobilize the territory regardless of the cost, but fail to take the Broken Dragon Fortress."

Kanda's face became a little ugly.

He didn't show it when he was on the road and fighting before, but Thales had a feeling that once he started to contact people, the deputy envoy Putile seemed to have returned to the battlefield where he was most comfortable. He deliberately provoked political topics, but he responded with sometimes humorous and sometimes embarrassing words.

"No matter what the purpose of Grand Duke Heisha is, whether it is beneficial to you or not - you should talk directly to King Nunn, not a counselor under Grand Duke Heisha." This is Putilei's private and calm explanation.

Rumba officially withdrew his troops two days ago, and the mission also departed at the same time.

In the bumps of the horse, they will go out of the scope of the northern plains today and enter the hills of sighs. The southwest of the hills is still within the range of the black sand collar, but the northeast of the hills is Exeter's rebuilt tower, the Trudida family territory under its jurisdiction.

Although he rejected his proposal of courtship and alliance without hesitation in front of the other party,

However, the Grand Duke of Lombard still generously allocated 2,000 people. Among these people, the standing army will protect Thales on the road, and the conscripts will gradually disband and return home on the road.

Thales didn't know whether it was the Grand Duke's generosity or hypocrisy, or both.

At this moment, a gray-helmeted knight in front parted the infantry line and rode to their side.

Thales could feel that Ada, who was riding a horse behind him, was slowly changing from a boring state to a tense state—in fact, after being infiltrated by that wave, Thales's various senses seemed to be a little subtle But a real improvement.

It seems that the fluctuation is not just a reliance in an emergency, its existence is still slowly changing Thales' body...but this is exactly what Thales is most worried about.

He doesn't quite remember what happened to him during the time he "died" by Serena's stranglehold, or briefly lost consciousness. But Thales always felt that he had experienced something important, and after waking up, the fluctuation appeared.

"Ahead is Leman's Pass," said the gray-helmed knight who came from the front, the flame knight Tuleha, who had previously confronted Alaka on the battlefield. Okay, solemnly said: "There is a village there, we can rest and eat, and continue to move forward in the afternoon, and at the same time let the scouts go to investigate... After all, we will soon be under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke of Reconstruction Tower."

Thales keenly noticed that when Tuleha finished talking about "Lyman's Pass", the expressions of Putilei and Huaiya sank slightly, while Kanda raised the corners of his mouth.

"What do you think, Your Highness?" Without waiting for others to speak, Kanda smiled at Thales: "Whether it is due to practical needs or personal reasons, I suggest that you stop for a while at the Leman Pass for recuperation Or pay homage."

Personal reasons?

Pay tribute?

When Thales was puzzled, Putile rode to his side and sighed deeply:

"The Lyman Pass is the starting point of the southwestern side of the Hills of Sighing, and it is also the place where the northern plains enter the hills." The thin deputy extinguished his pipe and frowned, while Wyatt next to him turned his head away.

"But that was also the place where the former second prince of Xingchen, His Highness Horace, finally died in the Year of Blood." Putillai said with a hesitant face.

Thales' expression changed, and he understood why the other people's expressions changed.

Obviously, Kanda found a topic that Thales had to respond to.

It happened to be about the war between Exeter and the stars.

As the prince of the stars, Thales lowered his eyelids at the right time and sighed: "Of course, Horace is also my blood relative."

Kantar nodded with a smile.

However, Thales was also muttering silently in his heart.

Did that genius ending swordsman at Kessel's mouth and the royal general with cruel military regulations at Sonia's mouth die here?

But it's also an opportunity to learn more about the truth of the bloody year.

He turned to Puttilai.

"The prince's cause of death?"

"At the end of the Bloody Year, the winter was so warm that King Nun assembled an army of nearly 100,000 people with seven grand dukes, with sufficient food and equipment, and besieged the weak fortress." Facing Thales' question, Putilei Sighing, he was the first to reply.

"At that time, the southwestern battlefield in Xingchen's country was at the final decisive moment - Duke John bit the last main force of the rebel army in the gap of the blade. The victory of the counter-insurgency war was expected, but this also meant that they could not rescue from the north. The backup of the fortress is nowhere in sight," Puttilai shook his head, put away his pipe, and said with complicated eyes:

"Tabusters, siege crossbows, magic guns, and countless ascending troops. Facing the uninterrupted onslaught without sacrifices, Prince Horace thought it was only a matter of time before Broken Dragon Fortress was breached, so he took the risk of attacking with A small number of troops surreptitiously crossed the Great Needle and broke into the rear of Exeter's supply line."

Wyatt sighed deeply.

The Exeter commander was next to answer.

"That was a risky choice," Kanda said with a light smile, "Obviously, this was Xingchen's miscalculation, and Horace lost the bet and paid the price for it..."

Wyatt looked at him angrily.

"That's a good choice, at least it goes straight to your vitals." Puttilai replied with a cold snort.

Thales frowned, not knowing how to answer for a while.

In his capacity, it is best not to say anything at this time.

He had heard Gilbert's account of the royal tragedy of the Bloody Year, in which Horace had fallen into the trap of the Exeters.

And Gilbert's statement of "no soldiers and no help for three hours" seems to imply that Horace's death is exactly the same as other members of the royal family: it was caused by being framed.

But from what Puttilai and Kanda said, it seems that Horace himself took the risk and took the blame?

And in a place so far away from the star border, isn't it normal to have "no soldiers and no help for three hours"?

He needs to know more.

Tuleha, who was beside them, spoke out at this moment:

"That was indeed a wise choice."

When Kanda heard this, he looked at the Flaming Knight with an unhappy expression.

Tuleha's solemn voice made Taylor's brows tighten:

"Horace is half successful. He burned nearly a quarter of our supplies—our supply lines are too long and too fragile. This move at least bought a lot of time for Broken Dragon Fortress," Tuleha said solemnly, It sounded like he was complaining about Horace:

"If we hadn't noticed it early, King Nun would have stopped attacking the city, withdrew the main force on the front line, and set up an ambush on the way back to the fortress..."

"That's right, we blocked Horace's way back from the Needle Forest and forced him to the plain," Viscount Candar snorted, seemingly dissatisfied: "It's like rounding up foxes."

Putillai's face darkened, Thales was also embarrassed, and Wyatt had an unbalanced expression.

No one in the stars should be happy to hear an Exeter tell the story of how they strangled the Prince of Stars.

"It's not fair to say that, after all, he only has more than a thousand people," but Lord Tuleha spoke again, only listening to him solemnly:

"We surrounded Horace on the plain with nearly 20 times as many troops, but his soldiers are all rare elites, and their will is as tenacious as the northerners. Under their counterattack, Elk City The Grand Duke’s troops suffered heavy casualties, and the battle flags of the Grand Duke of Fengzhao City and the Grand Duke of Weilan even wavered and retreated.”

"King Nuen had to use his resting troops, and sent his elite white-bladed guards to plug the gap before stabilizing the battle line. The battlefield was very tragic, and the black smoke burned so much that even the fortress could be seen... If Broken Dragon Fortress Send troops to rescue, break into the chaotic battlefield from the side, maybe you have a chance to rescue your prince."

Puttilai squeezed the rein tightly.

Thales was taken aback.

"But they didn't send troops?" Thales recalled the scene where he was besieged under the fort a few days ago, and wondered, "Didn't the fort send troops?"

"No, I still remember," Tuleha said lightly, "From afternoon to dark, the people in the fortress watched Horace's troops fall one by one on the plain..."

【No soldiers and no help for three hours】

Thinking of Gilbert's words, Thales frowned.

"Regarding this," Puttilai said with a straight face, "the choice of the fortress is reasonable."

"Come on," Kanda snorted coldly: "Their reluctance to save them makes even us Extites feel chilled when they see it."

Do nothing?

Thales squeezed the rein tightly, gritted his teeth and endured a jolt from the horse.

Kanda took a deep look at Thales: "Of course, maybe they are just as cautious as the flowers of the fortress two days ago."

"So who is it?" Thales turned around and asked with doubts: "Who was stationed at Broken Dragon Fortress when Horace led his troops out to attack?"

Puttilai looked worried and looked at Thales.

"Go on," Kanda chuckled, "tell your highness who is responsible for Horace's death...it's no secret."

Thales suddenly realized that it seemed inappropriate to talk about this in front of the Exeters.

Putilei stared at Kanda dissatisfiedly, but he still sighed and gave the answer:

"At that time, the northern border was in crisis, and His Majesty the late king ordered the surrounding nobles to come to help, and the largest reinforcement came from the Yadi Territory...the Duke of Stars, which is the closest to the northern border."

Puttile looked at Thales' expression worriedly, until he confirmed that Thales didn't have too many emotional changes, and said:

"And after Horace left, the commander of Broken Dragon Fortress was naturally the second highest-ranking person at that time," the deputy envoy said slowly: "The Guardian Duke of the Front Cliff——Rudolph Nantriest .”

Thales was slightly taken aback.

Putilei frowned, and continued: "He is also the current Duke of Yadi, the elder brother of 'One-Eyed Dragon' Quest Nantriest. Later, Broken Dragon Fortress was breached, and he was captured by Exeter and eventually died. In jail."

After the words fell, Thales' heart was shocked.

The former Duke of Nantrester...is also the brother of the current Duke of Nantreist. Could it be related to the strange death of Horace who was suspected of being framed?

At least, when Horace was besieged, Cyclops' brother stood by and did nothing to save him.

Is it.

Importantly, does Kessel think so too?

What about the one-eyed dragon? What does he think?

What did he think Kessel would think?

And the dead brother of Cyclops...could it really be...

Also, when he set off in Eternal Star City, those words of Cyclops...

【Yadi leader doesn't want to sit and wait for death】——Is that what he said?

Thinking about the relationship here, Thales' eyebrows became tighter and tighter.

Putillai patted Thales' saddle and shook his head at him.

Don't think too much... Thales thinks that's what he meant.

"At that time, Horace probably felt that there was no hope of returning to the fortress." The Flame Knight Tuleha stroked a sheathed knife on his saddle, and smiled bitterly with a nostalgic look: "He made a A decision that no one expected."

Puttilai shook his head, with a lonely expression on his face.

Thales raised his brows: "What did he - Horace do?"

"He no longer breaks out in the direction of the fortress," Tuleha said with an admiring smile on his face, "Just like you, Horace turned around and went out in the opposite direction, breaking out all the way north."

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

like us?

He recalled what the man known as the Kingdom's Wrath had said to him on the battlefield a few days ago, before breaking out towards the Lumbard flag.

【A long time ago, in the desperate situation, a Canxing told me...】

[Since there is no way to retreat. 】

[Why don't you go forward with all your strength? 】

So... What Araka said was...

"For a whole day and night, they fled here, and we—the army of the Black Sand Territory also chased here." Tuleha looked complicated, and he raised his hand, pointing to the snow-colored hills that began to undulate in front of him.

Thales looked around in a blink of an eye.

They came to the end of the plain, and black peaks half covered by snow began to appear in front of them.

Between the two low peaks, there is only a narrow entrance, which is only equivalent to the width of the driveway.

The procession of the Exeters slowed down until they stopped.

"We're here." Viscount Kanda said lightly:

"This is Lyman's Pass."

————

"Is this the battlefield back then?" Thales looked at a strange snow-covered rock in front of him, and asked Tuleha on the side with a special mood.

"We bit them and surrounded them to death again, while Horace's remaining troops stood by the rock," Tuleha nodded, his eyes deep and authentic: "The former Grand Duke Black Sand lit the torch, He personally led his guards to besiege uninterruptedly, and ordered that the use of bows and crossbows is not allowed-he wants to win the glory of capturing the Star Prince alive."

"Horace himself holds the sword, wears his black armor, and stands guard under his nine-pointed star banner. No matter how the people around him fall with swords and axes, they will not take a step back."

"The best fighters on both sides roared and rushed towards each other, and then fell one by one among the stones. That night, although there were a lot of people, all four of our extreme masters were still wounded, and one of them even died in the this."

Talking about the history of the battlefield, the Flaming Knight seemed to be full of emotion, but Kanda kept silent, just frowning at Tuleha.

"Horace pierced my chest with a sword, and I was snatched away by the people behind before he made another stab." Tuleha sighed and touched his right chest.

Thales frowned.

The Sword of Tracing Light, isn't it?

"His Highness Horace's swordsmanship has been learned from the Tower of the End, and he has experienced the washing of the army and the battlefield. In the history of the Canxing royal family, his reputation for bravery can only be matched by the 'Wolf Enemy'." Putilei said with a deep expression. Looking at the strange rock in front of him, he said slowly.

Thales felt Ada snort slightly behind him.

"Old Lord Black Sand abandoned his purpose—he realized that the intention of capturing Horace alive would only cost us more casualties."

"In the final fierce battle, Horace, who suffered more than a dozen wounds, chopped off the head of Tyrande the 'Endless Fire', and then was pierced through the heart with a sword." The tall stone seems to go back to that night of swords, lights and swords twelve years ago.

"A prince died here," Kanda shook his head, "This place will probably become a sightseeing spot in the future."

Wyatt glared at him relentlessly.

"That's right," Puttilai replied sarcastically, "You should build a statue for Prince Horace...to commemorate his bravery and fearlessness, as well as his skill in killing the enemy."

Thales sighed, closed his eyes, and bowed his head deeply to the strange rock.

Another group of unlucky people in the war.

"Watching Horace fall, his last soldiers also lost their fighting spirit, and when we thought it was over, a soldier beside Horace snatched the bow left by Tyrande in the chaos." Leha continued to speak quietly.

Kanda's expression suddenly changed.

Thales raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised: "You mean..."

Tuleha looked to the south and exhaled a long breath:

"The soldier carried Horace's body on his back, took the bow, covered his body with wounds and several crossbow bolts, howled like a madman, and rushed into the siege with the last few people. For some reason, we No one can stop him—until he bursts in front of the old Heisha Grand Duke, and then..."

Tuleha showed an incomprehensible smile, and hummed lightly:

"In the chaos, the soldier disappeared into the night."

"Since then, Alaka Mu has been called the 'Wrath of the Kingdom'." Tuleha stroked his knife, with endless fighting intent in his eyes.

Thales took a deep breath and looked at the strange rock from a distance.

But he couldn't see it at all. Twelve years ago, countless soldiers fell here, and a prince fell here, and another legend became famous from then on.

No, there are still some doubts.

Thales turned to Tuleha:

"So, Lord Tuleha, you personally experienced the battle between the two countries twelve years ago? Including how to break the Dragon Fortress?"

"I participated in that war," the Flame Knight nodded, "but as I said just now, thanks to the sword of Prince Horace, I was wounded in the early stage of the war, and it has been several months before I return to the battlefield. The later stage of the war. At that time, Sonia Sutherley led her Starlight Legion and took in the remnants of the defeated soldiers all the way—including Mu Bei, who fought us several times."

"Oh," Thales said with a heartbeat, "Have you ever fought against the Flower of the Fortress?"

Should it really be one of Exeter's "Five War Generals"?

"No, I don't have a chance to confront her," Tuleha frowned, "because of some despicable person."

"Scumbag?" Thales was taken aback: "Who?"

"I don't know," Viscount Kanda said with a smile, "Xingchen's little trick... Tuleha has always been worried about it."

I don't know who it is?

Brooding?

Exeter's Flame Knight Tuleha snorted coldly:

"On the battlefield, a damned guy disguised himself as one of us and hid behind my back. When I broke through the enemy formation and was about to attack the center of the Starlight Legion, that despicable guy gave me a slap from behind. ..."

"I was seriously injured again, and I couldn't catch up with the chance to directly confront Sutherley or Mu."

Tuleha frowned:

"I still remember that damned mean assassin hiding his head and showing his tail when he ran away, hiding himself behind a strange purple mask, using a gray short sword, elusive, and extremely fast."

Thales gave a strange "Oh" and scratched his head.

dress up as someone else

Give the enemy a hit from behind.

Purple mask.

Gray short sword.

Inscrutable, extremely fast.

These characteristics and habits... I seem to have heard of them somewhere?

Ada behind him snorted again.

"Is that so?" Looking at Tuleha's cold eyes, Thales frowned, nodded solemnly and said, "This kind of behavior is really despicable!"

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