Chapter 494 The Final Battle V (I Found Out that the Number of Previous Chapters Was Wrong...)
November, the month of frost. 『』
On the grassland where the cold wind howled, all the grass was withered and heavy snow fell. The winter of this year was particularly difficult for the Toquining Lions. The expedition failed, there were endless internal struggles, various clan leaders blamed each other and argued, and some areas in the south and west were rumored to have the sun plunged into eternal night. , a large number of cattle and sheep died in the snowstorm, and refugees came from all directions, making the situation worse.
The thick cowhide tent is as warm as spring.
A bright flame burned on the match, making a peeling sound. Sparks occasionally rose up and climbed up along the dark bottom of the pot. A lamb rib was boiling in the pot, with bubbles boiling on the thick layer of oil. The air was filled with the aroma of meat mixed with the aroma of plant tubers.
Nel's eyes were a little distracted.
The way the lion people calculate dates is slightly different from other civilizations. Because of their nationalization, they use the withering and flourishing of vegetation to divide the two most important seasons of the year - the grass and trees on the grassland will wither and flourish, and a year will pass. .
That seemed to be something not long ago. It was the season of the year when the vegetation was the most prosperous, and the tribesmen were in high spirits. But it had just had its coming-of-age ceremony, tied its white mane into a whip, and wanted to become the greatest lion-man tribe. warrior. Just like our forebears, regain Toqua's long-lost honor.
At that time, everything seemed to be going in the best direction.
But in the blink of an eye, they lost everything. They lost their childhood playmates, their father, and many close people. The lion man of Tuoquining had his backbone broken and was barely able to stand up anymore.
This harsh winter can bring disaster to the clan.
The young lion boy was filled with confusion. Torquining had lost its glory. When would they be able to get it back?
"Nair, Nair." The person next to him whispered, and Nair came back to his senses. The tent was bustling with people, and the leaders of seven or eight clans surrounded the three humans. Their green eyes were filled with unkindness. kindness.
The atmosphere in the tent was tense. The human knight put his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked alert. The wizard's hand was folded under his sleeve, holding something unknown. Only the human who called himself the envoy had a normal expression on half of his face under the hood.
Nel's light green eyes looked at these people.
"After my father died, I don't have any extra thoughts now. I just want to lead my people through this difficult winter," the young lion man said. He stood up and put a brass ring on the mane on his chest. They collided and jingled: "Although the Tuoquinings have temporarily lost their beloved king, it does not mean that we have fallen. We will not ally with humans on this."
"This winter is very cold," the human girl standing in the middle said. Half of her beautiful face was exposed under her hood, and she smiled slightly: "Tomorrow's winter will be even colder."
"Can I think you are provoking us?" Nair frowned: "But I won't argue with a woman, so you can go."
The girl raised her head, and everyone present felt their hearts beat heavily. What they saw was a pair of eyes shining like stars, wise and far-reaching, as if they could see through people's hearts: "I am the daughter of Duke Tix, you Do you dare to make a bet with me, Your Highness Nair?"
"What bet?" Nair obviously didn't want to be looked down upon by a woman.
"I will convince you that the stakes are the future of Toquinin's Lions."
"What if you lost?"
"I marry you."
The Lion boy's heart skipped a beat. Lion women are slim and slender, and their aesthetics are actually not much different from humans. But no matter what it said, it could not deny the beauty of the girl in front of it, those penetrating eyes, it fell into deep silence at the first sight.
But he still shook his head: "I can't accept it."
The girl didn't care, and glanced at her companion. The wizard then took out an old parchment from under his sleeve. In full view of everyone, the wizard carefully spread out the parchment.
Put it in front of all the lion clan leaders.
When they saw this parchment, all the lions' expressions changed.
Nel clenched his fists and suddenly felt a surge of hot blood rushing to the top of his head. His eyes burst out with anger as he looked at the girl. The face that had previously felt innocent, beautiful and heart-warming now became vicious and twisted in its eyes.
It was just a crumpled piece of parchment, and it seemed incomplete.
The yellow and cracked paper was densely covered with words, but in the blank corner, there was a dark paw print. This claw mark was torn from the middle, like a mark of humiliation, twisting and twisting apart the history and honor of the lion-man clan.
Under pressure from the Dark Dragon, the Earth Temple was the first to withdraw from the Holy Covenant.
The extremely angry King of Fire, Gilt, tore up the oath that represented the promise of the Toquinin people in front of the Lion King, and threw it in front of his former best friend, and the Lion King The hero, the Lion King of the Tuoquining people of that era, was too ashamed to face his friend and took away his half of the covenant.
Therefore, this eternal shame has remained with Cruz for nearly a thousand years.
This is also the hatred that the Toquinin Lions have harbored for generations. Their ancestor was just forced by the orders of the Earth Temple. The greatest hero in the history of the Lions died of depression shortly after withdrawing from the covenant.
And Nair's family is the inheritor of that great surname.
"Today, a thousand years later, we all know the truth," the girl replied quietly: "The lion king ended his guilt in his own way, but we can't choose history. Over the past thousand years, Tuoqua Ning Ren has indeed endured criticism that he should not have endured."
"My father just asked me to return it to you—"
Nel was stunned.
All the lion clan leaders were also stunned.
That was Tuoquining's long-lost glory, lying there so quietly. It subconsciously wanted to reach out to grab it, but it was so difficult that it seemed so far away. It is a regret for a thousand years that the lions have to be trapped in this barren grassland because of their failure and betrayal's inferiority complex.
The wishes of countless tribesmen, **** every night, make every lion king wish to go back to that moment, even if he dies immediately, he still wants to change Tuoquining's fate.
But people cannot choose history.
Confusion, low self-esteem, and self-doubt are the mentality of many Tuoquining people. The tragedy seems to have been cast from the beginning. A history without heroes is as bleak as an eternal night for a nation.
Because they are all descendants of betrayers.
But the lion boy finally clenched his fists.
"What do you want?" it asked lightly. The self-esteem and honor of a nation are not obtained by relying on charity. If the first people did something wrong, the later people will have to make up for it.
The girl looked up at such a lion-like monarch. He was only a young man, but he already had the bearing of a king.
"This winter is very cold. Many people will die on the grassland." She looked at the heavy snow outside the tent. "Next year's winter may be even colder. The food on the grassland cannot feed so many people. The only way is to abandon the old people and kill them. Frail babies, perhaps only one out of ten newborns can grow up in hunger, and how many young adults have Toquinine lost this year, and how long will it take to regain its vitality?"
She turned back and smiled, a heart-warming smile: "Your Highness Nair, we only have one request, which is to escort us away from this grassland."
After saying that, she bowed and saluted everyone, then turned around and prepared to leave.
It was a little quiet in the tent——
There was only the sound of gurgling water.
"Your Highness..." the leaders of the Lion Clan whispered.
They exchanged glances with each other, their green eyes full of worry and anxiety, but there was something else.
"etc."
Nair finally plucked up the courage to call out to the other party.
"Are you going to Anzerruta?"
"Have you formed an alliance with the Hazers?"
The girl stopped and nodded with her back turned.
The lion boy seemed to have made up his mind. He turned back to his men and said, "Take those things out."
There was silence in the tent.
The servants brought a box, carefully placed the contents in the box on the low table, and connected it with the broken piece of parchment - that was what the Lion Man had found piecemeal over the past few hundred years. The torn covenant back then.
These fragments seem to symbolize the obsession of the Toquining people, who collect it carefully, as if one day they can recover their long-lost glory from these fragments.
But at this moment, all of this seemed a bit worth mentioning.
A piece of crumpled and broken parchment soon appeared on the short table. It was about one-quarter to one-fifth of its original size. The broken dark red paw prints were crookedly distributed on these On top of the fragments.
Nel glanced at the girl.
He stepped forward, used his claws to cut a slit on his palm, and then let his blood drip on the black dried claw marks. Rose-red blood dripped down bit by bit, and under the bright firelight, the old and new blood seemed to gradually merge together at this moment.
"Torquining Lion, fulfill your promise again."
"What we failed to do a thousand years ago, we will make up for it a thousand times today!"
"We are with you—"
"To finish this war."
Just like the description above Cang Zhi's poem.
…
"What is that place?"
"Arel."
Brayson stared at the dots of firelight in the sky, and the black smoke pillars rising from the sky on the plain. Even though the stars were looming and the sky was getting closer to night, they were still clearly visible.
Airel is the important town of Corcova, the second largest city after the royal capital. The little bits of fire there prove that there is still fighting in Corcova, and the White Lion Army has not yet completely fallen.
The three of them stood on the mountain road, their eyes reflecting a little light, silently watching this scene.
The accompanying knights also remained silent. Although everyone was injured, the sight in front of them made them forget their pain.
The kingdom was in flames, and this was their shame.
Everyone gritted their teeth secretly.
"Is that your city?" a somewhat unclear voice asked.
It was an old dwarf, sitting arrogantly on the back of a heavily armored blue sheep, holding a war hammer in his hand, squinting his small eyes and pointing in that direction and muttering.
Brayson turned around and looked at each other strangely - it had been many years since he had seen dwarves moving on the surface. Although there is indeed a little-known trail leading underground beyond the Misty Mountains to the north.
This ancient road runs through high mountains, through deep valleys and ancient forests, past rocks and weathered giants, and finally reaches the entrance of an ancient passage. Many years ago, the mountain dwarves once controlled the entrance to the underground passage and guarded the door to the underground world.
They built halls deep in the mountains, and these underground halls were intricately connected to each other to form dwarf cities. When the dwarf kingdom was at its most prosperous, they even built a huge empire for a time.
But with the decline of the Silver clan and the disappearance of the rune dwarves along with the Silver Plains, the dwarves lost their glory and the empire fell apart, leaving only countless ruins deep in the darkness underground.
During the War of the Saints, the dwarves of the Chongshan clan betrayed the coalition of humans and elves. Since then, people have rarely seen their presence in the surface world. There are a few dwarf adventurers in human society, but they are not actually residents of the dwarf kingdom, but minorities who grew up in human society.
But these dwarves are obviously different.
The dwarf was sitting on the saddle of his goat. The saddle back was as high as a hill. Eruin did not have this type of saddle.
What's more, the other party is gorgeously dressed, wearing gold and silver. The necklace on his chest is studded with agates and rubies and sapphires. The thick dwarf armor is so carefully crafted that it looks like a work of art. Although Brasen didn't know much about precious metals, he could tell at a glance that the material of this armor was anything but simple.
Manrique was also stunned when he saw it. He turned back to look at the countess behind him. Delphire was holding a long box with a pale face, and told the two of them: "Mythril——"
The origin of this dwarf is obviously not simple.
In response to the other party's question, Brayson nodded silently.
The dwarf stroked the beard on his chest. The large brown-red beard was woven with brass rings, like several split flames. The rings are also engraved with interlaced patterns, which are the unique family emblems of the dwarf nobles. Each dwarf clan is different. Their compatriots living on the ground have long forgotten these traditions.
There was obvious disdain on his huge nose: "It's not that big either."
Manrique endured it and did not refute. On the one hand, it was because these dwarves saved their lives, and on the other hand, it was because of the more than 40 well-equipped dwarf heavy cavalry surrounding the old dwarf.
In fact, since the drastic change in Yan Castle that day, they chose to abandon the floating fleet staying in Yan Castle and leave the earldom with the holy sword in pieces - this was mainly to avoid the rebels' attack on Yanilasu and Yanilasu. After all, the aerospace ship cannot return to the south without passing through King's Port due to the blockade in the direction of Bray.
The secondary reason is that the target of the aerospace ship is too large and can easily attract the attention of the Sasardians.
But even so, they continued to encounter obstacles in Yanbao - it was obvious that Baron Dalle had no intention of giving up the Holy Sword Mysol easily. After continuously breaking through the rebel blockades, everyone finally had to change their route and head north. On the advice of a white lion knight born in Koros, they headed to Corcova through the foggy mountains.
Although the entire northern border of Eruin is now unstable, as long as they leave Corcova, it will be easy to join the White Lions stationed in Balta. Both Manrique and Bresson believed that the White Lions reorganized by Her Royal Highness the Princess would never rebel again since the Battle of Ampelsel.
But this is where the painful breakout journey begins. There are fewer rebels intercepting them, but their enemies have turned into more terrifying monsters this time - first of all, those they had seen in the Earl of Yanbao Crystal monsters, as well as the terrifying existences called Neng clan by the rebels, caused them heavy losses every time.
After entering the Wushan Mountains, they sacrificed dozens of White Lion knights along the way before they could reach here. If it hadn't been for these weird dwarves who suddenly appeared today, I'm afraid all of them would have been blamed here.
And Manrique has not forgotten that those terrifying monsters are hammered one by one under the hammers of these dwarves, as simple as smashing a watermelon.
"Why are those crystal clusters chasing you?" the dwarf asked again.
Manrique was stunned.
Delphiri and Brasen looked at each other and asked softly: "Are you talking about those monsters?"
"Yes, crystal clusters," the old dwarf glanced at the Countess: "Little girl, you don't understand how scary they are. I have seen with my own eyes the world crystallized by them, and there is no life there."
Delphiri never thought those monsters could be so terrifying. When she recalled the scene in the Earl of Yanbao, her knuckles turned a little white.
Seeing that she didn't look good, Brayson took the initiative to stand up and recount the whole thing.
"Is this Eruin?" the old dwarf suddenly asked.
Brayson was stunned and nodded.
"Good luck." The old dwarf nodded, then took a careful look at Delphiri and said, "He said you are the daughter of Earl Yanbao. Your name is Delphiri? Is your ancestor Sola, the knight of the Flame? Son, you are a sword-keeper family, right?"
He looked at the box that the count's daughter was holding tightly: "This is the Holy Sword Misol, don't worry, we will help you take it to where it should go."
Delfiri was stunned for a moment, her eyes widened subconsciously, and she even forgot to breathe when she saw this old dwarf.
There was a chaotic sound of ping-pong-pong, and the human knights drew their swords and looked at the dwarves warily. Brayson and Manrique also immediately stood in front of Delphiri. Brayson drew his sword, and Manrique took out a blunderbuss from his pocket.
"What do you want to do?" the young captain asked nervously.
But the old dwarf didn't even look at him. He turned around and told a dwarf knight behind him: "Blow the trumpet. Have you seen that place?" He pointed in the direction of Korcova, where the fire was shining on the plain. Soaring to the sky, "Let's go there. It's called Airel. I asked before -"
The dwarf cavalry nodded and immediately took off the horn from his waist.
But before he held the horn in both hands, Delphiri's voice finally came over: "You...who are you?"
The old dwarf put on his helmet, turned around, and replied to her angrily: "You can call me Kalifin, or the Griffin King... In the name of the Holy Anvil of Arryn, for the Silver Plains -"
The dwarf heavy cavalry shouted in unison.
Woohoo——
The trumpet sounded.
...(To be continued.) 8 For more exciting novels, welcome to visit our reading academy