A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Even late at night, Tweluer Mountain is still as lively as it is during the day. The dim light of dozens of oil lamps illuminated the ravine that had begun to take shape. The people living in Tweilur City were still digging hard, rotating again and again. No matter how many people dug the trench, the trench was still there. The excavation never stopped for a moment.

No one complained, everyone knew that now they were competing against flash floods and had to race against time. If they were slower, their own homes would be destroyed.

People in Tweilur City have also been evacuated, and they can only sleep in the wild tonight. Many people are looking at the mountains in the night, praying to the gods of Aaron Landis, hoping that the good news will come. Come as soon as possible so that they can return to their warm homes as soon as possible.

The area where the trench was dug was full of people, but far away from this place, on a flat ground around a hill, Garlan was sitting on the ground, while Shulos was lying on his back with his limbs spread out. , both of them looked exhausted.

Garlan felt his whole body aching.

Shulos, who was always talkative, lay weakly, not even wanting to say anything.

Garlan shook his head when he heard the faint voices coming from the other side of the mountain.

"It turns out I'm far worse than those people."

He thought that after all he had practiced martial arts, his physical strength should not be much worse.

Unexpectedly, digging holes was worse than those civilians who had never practiced martial arts at all, and even less efficient than them.

"They are more skilled at this kind of thing, and besides, they are used to working from morning to night."

Shulos replied.

"If we don't work harder, it will be difficult for the family to survive."

Garlan stared at the sky in a daze, then he fell backward and lay on the ground like Shulos, with the starlight shining on his face.

"Shuluos, you said that you have been traveling on the continent for a long time and have seen many things. So, what you have seen include people who have been wronged, bullied, and those who are too poor to live. Are these things common in Aaron Landis?”

"Yeah, everywhere."

Garlan sighed softly.

Class distinction is the rule of this world.

No one can break easily.

No one is exempt, including him. He used to think too simply. Because he had enjoyed privileges for so many years, he took them for granted and forgot about the hardships of ordinary people's lives.

Shulos looked at the night sky, as if in a daze, but there seemed to be many things surging in his eyes at this moment.

His eyes were struggling.

After a long time, he made up his mind and spoke.

"I feel that King Camos is not a competent king."

Garlan turned his head and looked at Shulos in surprise.

King Camos has always been respected by everyone in Aaron Landis, and everyone regards him as a god.

Even the people who were in turmoil at the time were in awe of him.

It was the first time that he heard dissatisfaction with King Camos from someone else, which made him both surprised and a little unhappy in his heart.

After all, that was his brother Wang who loved him.

He didn't like to hear other people say bad things about King Camos.

"I don't say this to slander King Camos. On the contrary, I also think that he is a great king, a powerful and respectable king. He was the one who saved the war during the war. All the people of Aaron Landis revered him...I am no exception."

Shulos looked at the countless broken stars in the sky and murmured in a low voice.

"Perhaps I ask for too much, but, Gal, I feel that this is not enough. As a king, he has not done enough."

"He is the king of Aaron Landis, the king of the nobles, but he is also the king of us commoners. However, he rarely listens to our voices and cares about our thoughts."

"Gall, maybe what I say next is strange and absurd, and may make you angry, but I really want to say it, to you."

After traveling around the mainland for so long and seeing too many things, this thought was always brewing in his heart.

He never dared to speak out because he knew that if he spoke out, he would only be regarded as a madman by others.

"I don't think it should be like this. Even if nobles are indeed nobler than commoners, we commoners are also the people of Aaron Landis. I... I don't know how to describe it, but... commoners, untouchables, even We are slaves, we are all the same, we are actually the same as the nobles, why can't we be treated as human beings?"

Garlan opened his mouth in astonishment and didn't come back to his senses for a while.

Half a step ahead is a genius, one step ahead is a madman.

Although Shulos's idea was only a vague prototype, and he couldn't even explain it himself, in this world of slavery, his idea was already shocking.

When Shulos said this, he stopped talking again and shook his head with a wry smile.

"Forget it, just pretend you haven't heard such crazy talk. Commoners are the same as nobles. I think this is stupid too."

He put his hands behind his head and sighed.

"The current Aaron Landis seems to be very powerful, but there have been wars for years since the beginning of the previous king. Even though it is much better now because of the reputation of King Camos, the wars have never stopped. The nobles may not care , but civilians, especially the poor, have a very difficult life."

"As a commoner, we should be grateful that we can live safely under the protection of King Camos, but we greedily want more. In addition to being able to live safely, we also want to live a better life. This kind of thinking ...Are you too ignorant?"

"...No, this is not about being ignorant and wanting to live a better life. It is human nature."

Garlan's answer made Shulos stunned for a moment. He turned his head and looked at Garlan.

The boy didn't look at him, he could only see half of the boy's face.

He didn't see any lies or perfunctory expressions on that side of his face. For a moment, all kinds of feelings surged in his heart, and he didn't even know what it felt like.

He knew he said a lot of things he shouldn't have said.

But for some reason, perhaps because he would soon be imprisoned for kidnapping a noble, now, at this night, in front of this young man, he just wanted to say these ridiculous words.

Gal is a noble after all.

He thought Gal would be angry, he thought Gal would scold him for his ignorance, he thought Gal would call him crazy and rebellious.

But, none of them.

As a result, he didn't know what to continue saying.

Shulos took a deep breath, smiled, and forcibly changed the topic.

"Speaking of which, the rumored Prince Gallan seems to be very different from King Camos. He seems to be quite popular among the common people. Hmm? Gal, speaking of which, your name is similar to Gal. Prince Lan looks a lot like him, hahaha."

"That's me."

"I'm telling you, that's enough. Stop talking nonsense. I'm talking to you seriously."

"……oh."

"In addition to him, there is also His Highness Heymos, and one day, one of them will become the next King Aaron Landis. Gal, which prince do you think is better?"

The young man was silent for a moment.

He said: "Heimos, he is more suitable."

"Hahaha, I knew that a noble young master like you would say this, thinking that he can fight and protect Aaron Landis, right?"

"..."

"However, as a commoner, I still prefer Prince Garlan to inherit the throne."

Shulos said, "When Prince Heimos comes to power, he is just another King Camos, a heroic king, but the common people are looking forward to a kind king who can make their lives less difficult."

The young man lowered his eyes and said nothing.

"However, if you think about it carefully, even if Prince Gallan is very kind to everyone, Aaron Landis will be very dangerous if the battle is not possible. So, I think it would be great if we can make those two people become one person. Being brave and good at fighting can intimidate all parties, so that other countries dare not invade in the slightest. At the same time, he can be kind to his people, and treat every one of his people fairly and wisely, no matter how high or low they are."

"Two people become one person? You think so well."

Gallan, who was silent at first, couldn't help but speak.

"Tsk, I also know that this kind of king only exists in fantasy, but why don't you let people dream about it?"

"Then go to bed and dream! Get up tomorrow morning and continue working!"

"I protest! We agreed to do it only for a short time -"

"Protests are futile."

…………

The small noises gradually disappeared under the night, and the two people on the top of the mountain fell asleep one after another out of exhaustion.

In the city of Tweilur at the foot of the mountain, the people in the city had been evacuated to safe places during the day. At this moment, the city was empty.

However, in the middle of this supposedly deserted city, the black-haired young man who had infiltrated the ruling government not long ago stood on the street, looking down at what was in his palm.

That's what he just took out from the ruling government.

He took his hand, held it tightly in his palm, and placed it close to his body.

Then he unfolded a piece of paper.

That was the information his subordinates sent to him not long ago.

‘…City of Meneste…’

Heimos glanced quickly, then clenched the note into a ball, raised his hand, and threw it into the river in the city.

He rode away and his figure quickly disappeared into the night.

The parchment soaked in the river water was soaked, and the words on it quickly turned into a smudge, making it impossible to read clearly.

……………………

For a whole day and night, everyone worked tirelessly to dig, and finally dug a channel that connected the accumulated pool of water to the crack on the other side of the mountain.

At this moment, only a small section near the mouth of the water pool has not been excavated, and a few specially selected young, strong and agile young people are carefully digging there.

They were also tied with thick ropes, and the other end was firmly tied to a strong rock or tree trunk in the distance to prevent danger.

Just when there was only a thin layer of earth wall left in the ditch and pool, the earth wall suddenly shook violently and was about to be washed away.

The dozen or so soldiers who had been staring at this place with quick eyesight and quick hands suddenly dragged the young men who were digging underneath from the ditch.

Soon after, there was only a muffled sound, and the thin earth wall was instantly broken by the water flow. A huge amount of water poured into the newly dug ditch, and surged along the ditch towards the crack on the other side of the mountain. And go.

The sudden splash of water was like a huge wave, and the people who were closer to the ditch were soaked all at once. They ran back quickly and left far away.

The huge amount of water rushing to the crack rushed straight down from the crack, carrying countless gravel, rolling up fallen trees, roaring down from the high mountain, and soon formed on this mountain wall. A small mudslide.

The huge roar of the mudslide coming from halfway up the mountain echoed in the mountain, deafening, as if the top of the mountain was shaken by the sound, which was terrifying to hear.

But no one was frightened by this. On the contrary, everyone had a look of joy on their faces.

They dug a channel before the blocked water pool collapsed, and they defended their homeland.

The crisis in Tweilur City is over.

Everyone looked at the surging water, and finally felt relieved after being worried all day and night. Some people even clasped their hands and knelt on the ground to thank the gods they believed in.

After digging trenches for a day and a night, everyone was disgraced and looked extremely embarrassed, but the atmosphere was filled with joy.

When the water in the accumulated deep pool was almost gone, and only the thin layer on the rock platform was left, submerged only to the knee level, the young people with ropes tied to their bodies immediately jumped in and moved away. The rocks and trees piled up on the opening of the rock platform were dug out, and the soil blocked in the rock gaps was dug out.

Like ants chewing on wood, they cleared away the fallen pile of rocks bit by bit.

On the cliff with a thin layer of waterfalls, only gravel and trees were seen rolling down one after another.

This work lasted another day and night.

The sun went down and rose again. When it reached the highest point in the sky, there was another bang. The last bit of gravel no longer needed to be cleaned, and was washed directly down the cliff by the flowing water.

The majestic waterfall reappeared on Mount Tweilur, and the sound of flowing water, which was not very loud at first, became deafening again, making everyone's eardrums buzzing around the waterfall.

Water vapor flew everywhere.

The bright sunlight shines down, forming a colorful rainbow light on the rushing water vapor of the waterfall.

The crowd let out a huge cheer, and the sound was so loud that it almost overwhelmed the deafening sound of the waterfall.

Everyone is covered in mud, as if they crawled out of a mud pit, but everyone's smile is brighter than the noon sun at this moment.

Lord Kanile, who had also stayed on this mountain for two whole days and two nights, finally breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.

Although he looked expressionless and motionless, he was actually very nervous deep down.

The late king gave him the city of Tweilur. If the city was destroyed in his hands, then even if he died, he would not have the shame to go to the underworld to see the late king.

On the other side, Shulos stood there. When he saw the waterfall reappearing with his own eyes, the things that had been blocked in his heart for a long time seemed to be washed away at this moment.

Feeling happier than ever before, he raised his lips and smiled.

Just when he was happy, there were footsteps beside him. When he turned around, he saw the middle-aged staff member who had been following the city lord walking towards him.

"Are you here to arrest us? To punish us?"

Shulos looked at the middle-aged man warily. He had not forgotten that he and Garlan had kidnapped the nobles.

"No, it's just that the Lord of the City has invited you over. He has something to say to you."

The middle-aged staff member said, "Where is that palace...well, your companion?"

"Here, over there, it's too dirty. Let's wash it off."

Looking in the direction Shulos said, he saw Garlan standing on the edge of the waterfall, reaching out to catch the falling water and washing away the dust on his face and hands.

The blond hair that was originally stained gray by dust was washed away by the water splashed on him and became wet, but it once again shone with a golden luster.

Shulos stood with the middle-aged staff member, looking at the young man at the edge of the waterfall, waiting for him to come over after washing.

The bard let out a sigh.

"Hey, I ran over to look for the unicorn, but the unicorn didn't see it, and it caused such a big trouble. Goddess Avdmir, have you abandoned your most handsome disciple?"

Thinking of his experiences over the past ten days, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"What? Unicorn?"

His muttering was heard by the middle-aged man next to him. The staff member was startled for a moment, and then laughed.

"You are just hearing this false rumor."

"What? Fake?"

The middle-aged staff member smiled.

"Of course it's false. How can there be a unicorn in this world? Even if there is, it will only follow the gods and cannot appear in front of us."

"But I've obviously heard of it... and it's been passed down for many years."

"There is an ancient poem in Tweilur that has been circulating. There is this sentence in it, [The white sacred beast haunts the sacred Tweilur Mountains]. It has been passed down from mouth to mouth. Just ask anyone in the city of Tweilur. The old people, they all know.”

The staff member shook his head slightly and said to him.

"It's just that in recent years, I don't know if it was the tourist who heard this poem from the old man and spread it, and the information that spread changed midway. It was passed around, and the result was "Tweilur Mountain" There is a white unicorn appearing, and some people are adding fuel to the rumors that a unicorn will appear in front of the most beautiful and pure girl in the world."

"Because of this incident, many inexplicable people have come here over the years, just to find the so-called unicorn."

Shulos was stunned by the staff's words.

"Then why don't you explain clearly?"

"Why do you need to explain clearly?"

The middle-aged staff member smiled meaningfully.

"Because of the rumors about this unicorn, many people came to Tweilur City specifically for this purpose, which made our place much more prosperous than before."

Shulos: "…………"

Ah, it was actually a lie. He thought he could really see the legendary unicorn by following Garlan, but he was really disappointed.

…………

Um?

Wait, something seems wrong.

If the white unicorn does not exist at all, then what on earth was the white shadow Garlan saw that day?

Moreover, looking back on it now, Shulos always felt that the white image deliberately led them to the waterfall...

Snap.

Snap, snap.

It was the sound of treading water very softly.

Once, and again.

Gently, step on the ground and splash the water.

The very soft sound of stepping on the water seemed to be right next to my ears.

Shulos was startled.

wrong.

They were obviously next to a large waterfall, but the sound of water pouring down from the waterfall was so deafening that they had to raise their voices to hear even when they stood so close to speak.

But what reached my ears...

Not only him, but also the middle-aged staff beside him, the Lord of Canile standing not far away, and everyone at the waterfall all heard the gentle sound of treading water.

Snap.

Da da.

The sound, like the light landing of four hooves, was so unreasonable that it sounded in their ears, and it seemed to have stepped into their hearts.

Everyone raised their heads in unison and looked in the direction of the sound.

In the dense and green jungle, a light figure ran from among the graceful trees.

Its limbs are slender but powerful. With a slight push, it leaps high into the sky.

As it ran lightly, its body showed an indescribable graceful arc, and even its leaping posture on the water was so elegant.

Snap, snap.

It ran from the forest and jumped on the ground, splashing a few small water splashes when its four hooves stepped on the ground alternately.

It jumped lightly and jumped down from the rocks with flowing water.

In the blink of an eye, it came to the blond boy beside the waterfall.

It was a snow-white white deer, like the incarnation of the forest spirit.

Its body was huge, almost a head taller than the boy, but its figure was more graceful than anything else.

The bright sunlight shone on it, and its fine white fur was as smooth as fine velvet.

The long horns standing like tree branches on its head seemed to be carved from flawless white jade.

It stood in front of Garlan, its eyes as clear as water, watching Garlan quietly.

Then, it lowered its head slightly and put the fresh laurel branch in its mouth into the young man's wet hand.

The waterfall falls from the cliff, splashing up layers of cloud-like water vapor.

On the edge of the splashing water, the blond boy stood there, the bright sunlight falling on him.

He raised his head and stared at the white deer in front of him.

The golden pupils reflected the shadow of this beautiful white deer.

He raised his hand and touched the snow-white velvet lightly with his fingertips.

The snow-white white deer stood in front of the young man, lowered his head and gently approached the young man's cheek.

It was as if he was rubbing his ears and temples with the young man.

………………

The sound of flowing water from the waterfall is still roaring.

Apart from the sound of water, there was no other sound.

When he saw the beautiful white deer, Lord Kanile's breath paused.

At this moment, the ancient song passed down from the Tweluer Mountains flashed in his mind.

Magh, god of earth

The Merciful among the Gods.

His body turned into the earth and carried all the burdens.

His blood became two rivers that gave birth to Aaron Landis.

His flesh and blood turned into wheat fields, nurturing all his people.

His bones turned into towering mountains.

Holy Mount Twilur is his backbone.

His heart beat deep in the mountains.

White holy beasts haunt this sacred mountain range.

That is his incarnation.

Looking down from the mountains to the land of Aaron Landis.

Holy Mount Tverur, towering above the earth.

People of Aaron Landis, please remember this.

That white holy beast.

He will only appear in front of the Holy King.