A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The huge square was filled with dense crowds of people, but it was unusually quiet.

The huge statue of the gods Aaron Landis stands in the square, looking down on all living beings.

At this moment, no one spoke, and everyone's eyes were focused on one place.

In front of the square, on a high platform, a blond boy stood in front of everyone, with the huge lion standing next to him.

The thick brown mane was blown by the wind, making it even more powerful.

The brown lion, the legendary mount and pet of the sun god Shamash, and the sacred animal of Aaron Landis.

King Camos, who led two lions on the battlefield, was revered as the Lion King by everyone.

The king of beasts on the continent.

That majestic appearance makes people feel awe at just one glance.

When those charcoal-like eyes stare at you, no matter who you are, they will feel fear from the bottom of their hearts and tremble.

Most of the people in the square were like this, especially the countless people standing below. They were all terrified and did not dare to raise their heads.

The intimidating power of this male lion is so great that it makes people breathless, as if the Lion King Camos is standing there, which is intimidating.

It is said that Prince Garlan wants to use the holy beast to find the real culprit who killed the royal knight.

But even though it is a holy beast, it is also a terrifying beast.

Moreover, the rumors said that the one who killed the royal knight was obviously Prince Heimos. Why is it suddenly necessary to find the murderer among them now?

Or, as the rumors say, is this just Prince Garlan's way of exonerating Prince Heimos?

Many people in the palace knew that the lion named Nerga was raised by Prince Gallan since he was a child.

So, Prince Garlan just wants to command it to find a scapegoat among his group?

Many people were standing below, thinking in fear, and the more they thought about it, the more frightened they became.

Especially after Prince Gallan led the lion down the high stairs and came to them, the people in the first row who watched the lion approaching them were so frightened that they trembled.

Especially when the big lion came over and sniffed a person seemingly casually, the person was so frightened that he almost rolled his eyes and fainted.

And the people around the man who almost fainted were not doing much better. They were all trembling and almost collapsed on the ground.

Everyone was trembling in fear, but the big lion Nerga seemed to be in great spirits, swinging unceremoniously among the crowd, scaring many people to dizziness and weakness.

It wasn't until Gallan called it that it turned around and returned to Gallan.

Garlan raised his hand and rubbed its thick mane, and it stood still.

Standing in the dense crowd, Garlan stroked Nerga beside him while sweeping his eyes from the faces of the people standing here.

There are too many people working in the palace, and it is impossible to really suspend the operation of the entire palace for a day, so it can only be divided into three inspections.

The people standing here now are the first group of people.

The people here include lower-level nobles, ordinary officials, attendants and maids, and the lowest-level servants.

"Stretch out your hands."

Gallan said,

"Now, the sinner still has a chance to confess your crime. If you want to continue to hide it, then [the liar will have his wrist bitten off by the messenger of Shamash]."

[Liars will have their wrists bitten off by the messengers of Shamash]

This is a well-known motto among Aaron Landis.

There is such a story in the ancient myth of Aaron Landis.

A long, long time ago, a man relied on his eloquence, scheming, and ability to hide his thoughts. He came before the just Sun God, told him bad things about his enemies, fabricated unfounded crimes for his enemies, and tried to borrow Shamash. Punish your enemies with your own hands.

So Shamash ordered the man to reach out to him and swear that he was not lying.

This person does what he says.

However, the next second after the man finished swearing, the lion under Shamash bit off his wrist.

Hence this motto was formed.

When the Aaron Landis scolded a person for lying, they would often scold that person - "You will definitely have your wrists bitten off by Shamash's messengers!"

As soon as Garlan finished speaking, the entire square exploded.

Everyone was shocked.

Is this prince trying to emulate this legend?

That's a fairy tale!

Moreover, the person who identified the person who was lying in the story was the mount of the sun god Shamash. It was not something you could just find a lion to do——

What is here now is not the holy beast that understands human nature that follows Shamash, but a living beast.

If it were to become ferocious and displeased with anyone, if it took one bite, it would probably kill even one of its hands, not to mention its life.

Just when everyone was panicking, Garlan spoke again.

"Stretch out all your arms."

He said, "Anyone who is unwilling to do this, I will consider you a murderer."

When Prince Gallan said this, no matter how fearful or unwilling those people were, they had no choice but to stretch out their hands forward.

Not to mention the people standing in the square who were scared to death, the people sitting on the high platform in the square also looked at each other for a while.

A superior noble couldn't help but said: "Prince Gallan is using the power of Shamash and lions to scare the murderer?"

If the murderer was afraid that his arm would be bitten off by a lion, he might not dare to reach out.

Is this the idea of ​​Prince Gallan, to let the murderer reveal his own lies because he is afraid of it?

This - is still very unreliable?

Although it is a little more reliable than using a wild animal to identify the murderer, it is only a little more reliable.

You must know that the murderer who dared to do such a thing must have made up his mind and was desperate. How could he be frightened by the prince's simple words?

And while they were whispering and discussing on the high platform, Garlan had already started patrolling below.

When the big lion approached, almost everyone shivered violently.

I was afraid that the big lion would be in a bad mood and open his mouth——

Garlan just walked with Nerga among the crowd, his expression calm, as if he was taking Nerga for a walk.

Others stood next to the lion's huge head, occasionally rubbing Nerga's thick mane and combing it.

After a while, Nerga became a little impatient and let out a low growl, which frightened the person closest to him so much that he fell to the ground. It looked at the person with disdain and opened its mouth to yell at Garlan. There was a sound.

The roar made others tremble with fear, but the blond prince who was standing next to the sharp teeth exposed by the big lion's mouth smiled, rubbed its mane, and coaxed it in a low voice. He kept stroking its head to comfort it.

So, Nega, who complained a lot and got a pat on the head and coaxed her, was satisfied.

It purred from its throat, raised its majestic head, and continued to stroll among the humans it really found annoying.

This man and a lion walked in front of countless outstretched arms.

Garlan's eyes passed over these arms one by one.

Time passed like this bit by bit, but the tense and weird atmosphere still enveloped the entire square.

Moreover, as time went by, more and more people became dissatisfied and resentful.

The man and the lion walked around in the square. At first, everyone opened their eyes wide, fearing that something terrible would happen, but as time passed, nothing happened.

The big lion walked around the square as if for a walk, without looking at the people around him who were holding out their hands fearfully. It didn't look like he was identifying the murderer, but instead seemed to be leisurely talking to Garlan. Playing in general.

Naturally, the noble ministers sitting on the high platform became impatient.

"What Prince Gallan is doing... is too childish."

Finally someone couldn't help but say it.

"Yeah, this is the last group of people, right? Nothing was found at all."

"He was just playing with the lion, right?"

"Is it necessary for the prince to continue? How can we find out the murderer like this?"

Someone else whispered something meaningfully.

"After all, the murderer isn't here either..."

Just when everyone started to have objections one after another, the chief director who had been watching quietly spoke.

"Let the prince continue to do it." He said calmly, "After all, if we don't let him do it to the end, our prince will not give up, right?"

He chuckled and said, "We've reached this point anyway, so just be patient and wait until you finish reading."

The chief director just smiled gently, and his words sounded as if he was saying good things to Garlan, but in fact, he was already sneering in his heart, and he was extremely satisfied with the development of this matter.

What's the rush? Just wait.

Waiting for this stupid scene to finally come to an end, waiting for the 'wise prince' to be ruined.

And this is a good opportunity to convict Prince Heimos in front of so many people.

Simply kill two birds with one stone.

After all, Prince Gallan jumped into the pit on his own, and no one could stop him, right?

Compared to the troublesome Prince Heimos, this innocent little prince is much easier to deal with.

And only a prince whose reputation has been ruined will honestly choose to rely on him.

The Chief had a calm face, a gentle smile, and he felt quite happy in his heart.

Sitting steadily on the side, with his eyes squinted as if he was dozing off, Right Secretary glanced at the Chief Secretary out of the corner of his eye.

He vaguely guessed what the chief director was thinking, and the corners of his lips moved slightly, then disappeared immediately. He still lowered his head and eyes, as if he hadn't heard anything, and allowed the people around him to talk about it without expressing any opinions on the matter.

Some people, because they don’t have something, think that others won’t have it either.

He even firmly believes that such a thing does not exist at all.

opinionated.

So narrow.

The old man, who looked like he was about to fall asleep, squinted his eyes and thought.

I don’t know what the little prince’s intentions are.

That day, he once said something to his nephew of the same race.

Never underestimate Prince Garlan.

The old man said to the young civil servant.

I am afraid that many people in the palace think that his reputation is promoted by others with the support of King Camos.

But you have to remember.

That [name of virtuous person] is not something you can win just by trying to win it over.

From ancient times to the present, countless kings have tried their best to gain a reputation as a wise man, but has anyone ever succeeded?

The people may be easily deceived and deceived in a short period of time, but as time goes by, they can see clearly better than anyone else.

Because they can see the sincerity.

There are always some people who are too smart, think others are stupid, and think they have seen the truth.

Little do they know that the stupid person is actually themselves.

…………

On the other side of the high platform, Captain Sage stood there silently, staring at the back of Prince Garlan in the square.

He remembered what Garlan showed him that day in the ice cellar.

Garlan showed him the hand of the knight whose neck was broken. The nails were full of black things that had condensed into lumps.

At that time, Prince Garlan said to him.

"That's how you find the killer."

"What's the meaning?"

"When the murderer twisted his neck, he instinctively wanted to pull the murderer's arm away, so his nails left scratch marks on the murderer's arm."

Gallan said, "The black lumps between his fingernails are the solidified flesh and blood of the murderer who was cut off at that time."

"You mean the man who killed him should have had fingernail scratches on his arm?"

"That's it. And because it was a struggle before death, it must have been very strong, and the scars were definitely not light. It has only been more than ten days, and there must still be scars on the arms." Garlan nodded, "And During this period of time, you sealed off the palace and did not let anyone leave, so the murderer should still be in the palace. As long as you find someone with scars on their arms..."

He glanced at the knight in the box with a thoughtful expression.

"Actually, it's not just this. I also found a clue on his body. He should have pulled it from the murderer before he died. Following this clue, we can slowly find the murderer."

He shook his head and said, "However, this is too slow and there is no time, so it is the fastest way to find people with scars on their arms."

He turned to Sage and smiled.

"However, Captain Sage, please protect their bodies and don't move them yet. After all, those things can be used as evidence after the murderer is found."

…………

After waking up from his memories, Sage looked up and found that the atmosphere seemed to be a little wrong.

The noble ministers who had been whispering on the opposite side suddenly stopped talking and stared down.

And some noisy squares suddenly became silent at this moment, as if all sounds had stopped at this moment.

Sage suddenly stood up and looked towards the square.

I saw that the dense crowd of people standing together in the square dispersed at some point, leaving an open space.

In the upper left corner, people hurriedly backed away as if they were afraid of being infected, leaving a large circle there.

In that empty circle, the blond prince who had been walking among the crowd stood still.

A lion as tall as a person stood beside him, staring eagerly ahead.

In front of this man and the lion, there was a man kneeling on the ground, trembling all over.

Sage's heart tightened and his mind became hot.

Without thinking much, his body started to move on its own, and he rushed to Garlan's side almost instantly.

Lower your head.

His pupils contracted violently.

He clearly saw the ugly scar clearly visible on the right arm of the kneeling man——