Kingdom’s Bloodline

Dragon Clouds City, in the doorway behind the first city gate.

Numerous Heisha collar soldiers were fully armed, surrounded the two carriages and their entourage tightly, and looked at these uninvited guests who dared to rush into the city gate with unfriendly expressions.

Thales sat in the carriage, looking through the window with numbness at the densely packed enemies in front of him.

Really bad.

This was the scene they faced on the other side of the city gate after rushing through the rain of arrows passing through the scalp at the risk of being flanked by two sides, and then desperately rushed into the city gate.

Thales clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and suppressed the panic in his heart.

calm.

Calm down, Thales.

It's not that bad.

In front of his eyes, the black sword was suppressed by Ashida, and at the very moment, he was still not in a hurry, looking for life and a way out.

I also thought of King Nuen's step-by-step, interlocking strategies and strategies in the duel.

Thales took a deep breath and forced himself to start thinking.

The accident in front of the city gate, whether it was the appearance of Lisbane or the Scarlet Witch, disrupted their plans - Shiles should have brought him into the Palace of Heroes in the name of an ally of Lumbard, not the current chaos. look.

The accident happened so quickly that they didn't even have time to discuss the next step.

Thales could only desperately think about the way out.

The people inside and outside the carriage were still panting sharply, even the horses pulling the carriage were panting, and the carriage that Thales was riding in even broke a tether.

"We, we rushed over...but..." Outside the carriage, Cohen held the wheel with one hand and pressed his abdomen with the other, gasping for breath in embarrassment.

He looked at the hostile soldiers in front of him with an ugly expression, and said to Miranda, who was panting harder than him: "Sunset, Goddess... Why do I feel that our choice is a little impulsive..."

"At least they didn't nail us into hedgehogs outside," Miranda calmed her breath, squinted her eyes to observe the surrounding situation, and then looked at the doorway and the Palace of Heroes, which was close at hand outside the hole, feeling uneasy : "Pick yourself up quickly."

Cohen threw his head back in pain and exhaled.

In the carriage, Thales looked at Puttilai.

"It seems that the way we came in is still too high-profile, and there are so many people," the prince looked at the scene outside the car worriedly: "They really became suspicious."

Neither the White Blade Guard nor the rest of Xingchen were in Thales' original plan.

"We've already done this, even though we put the rest of us in danger," Nikolai checked his disguise for the last time, and said with a heavy face, "At least, we don't have to face the Scarlet Witch."

"There is no other choice," Puttilai shook his head, "Once the Scarlet Witch finds out about our movements, even if there are a hundred backup plans, there is a great possibility of failure."

"It's better to think about the next step - how to deal with these people outside."

Thales sighed, feeling his head was as big as a bucket.

He turned his face and looked at their "good friend" from Comex.

Their original plan was to...

"Oh, I guess," Marquis Shiles also saw the scene outside the carriage, but he became more unhurried, and slowly straightened his collar that was skewed due to the galloping carriage, as if the rain of arrows that had just brushed over his head was just an aristocratic horse. Ball: "At this time, I suddenly become important, don't I?"

Thales frowned.

Ever since entering the city gate, Shiles has become quite relaxed, which made Thales quite uneasy.

Nicolai snorted softly: "Are you going to bet on this guy again?"

Puttilai let out a sigh of relief: "You can't force your way in—the number of guards in this gate is at least ten times that of ours.

"

Shiles spread his hands innocently at him, but his expression was very different from when he was still outside the city gate.

Just like in a casino, the dealer who just got back the chips from the player.

Thales took a deep breath.

The accident just now put the people of the North Land in danger, which made Nikolai's previous threat to Shiles seem a little weak.

And now, they probably can only rely on Shiles.

"I know that the way we invited you here is a bit unpleasant, Mr. Marquis," the prince said indifferently, "but in street gambling, 'winner takes all' often means crowding out other players—the Grand Duke of Black Sand is no exception. "

Shiles' eyes flickered.

"Handing us over will not strengthen your fragile alliance with Lumbardy," Thales calmly stood in the position of the Marquis, thinking about all this, thinking about what to do: "But sending me to Lumbardy and the Grand Dukes before……"

"Except for the so-called 'friendship' between Rumba and you because of your interests, you won't lose anything." Thales narrowed his eyes: "On the contrary, you may have unexpected gains."

Shiles' eyes lit up: "Is this a promise from the heir to the Star King's royal family?"

"From my experience, promises are very fragile—even if it's a lord or a prince," Thales shook his head resolutely: "But as you said, business can't just look at numbers and profits. We also need to do word of mouth and connections.”

Putillai raised his eyebrows.

Shiles narrowed his eyes and looked at Thales.

Outside the carriage, there was a scolding sound from Heisha collar, and their car door had already been knocked.

"Please stay out of Rumba," the prince nodded, with an unquestionable tone in his tone: "Take us as your back."

Shiles looked at the prince with great interest, the corners of his mouth curled up, and the look in his eyes kept changing.

Finally, he nodded slightly.

Thales exhaled.

"I will miss today, an amazing scene," the Marquis of Comus straightened his collar in the carriage, raised his hat slightly, smiled politely at them, and then gave Thales a look , with deep meaning in his eyes, "Whether it's Rumba or you, it's worth the fare."

Thales' tone was very serious: "Remember, all you need to do is send me to Lumbard and the Grand Dukes."

But the Marquis of Shanliu City just smiled at him, opened the car door, and walked down.

Thales took a deep breath, exchanged a look with Puttilai, and jumped out of the carriage.

Only Nikolai and Putillai were left.

"He's just a shameless bastard," Nicolai who was still in the car snorted coldly, looking at Shiles' back: "He won't obediently cooperate with us."

"That's why," Mr. Xingchen's deputy envoy shook his head, "he won't obediently cooperate with Luba."

Nicolai glanced at him.

"You don't seem to be worried about your prince at all." The meteorite said coldly.

Pete Lai chuckled lightly.

"When I first met him, Thales was just a little clever and precocious boy," Mr. Deputy Envoy showed a thoughtful expression: "Sensitive, hesitant, timid, procrastinating and lack of confidence, follow him from the country. It’s a far cry from the reputation that came out of the conference.”

Nicolai frowned.

Looking at Thales' small back, Puttilai sighed.

"But as we get along longer, I have a feeling," he said with emotion: "The more encounters along the way, the stronger he becomes-Thales is constantly learning, adjusting, and adapting."

"Whether it's a vampire, a disaster, the flower of the stronghold, the wrath of the kingdom, or even King Nunn or Charmain Rumba, whether it's his friend or enemy..."

There was a different light in Puttilai's eyes: "I'm afraid they didn't realize what impact their actions had on that child."

The Meteor paused slightly.

He turned his head, grabbed his scabbard tightly, curled his lips disapprovingly.

"Too much nonsense."

Outside the carriage, Thales followed Shiles, nodding slightly to Huaiya and the others who had disguised themselves.

Thales was not very used to the sudden increase in light, squinting slightly, looking at the city gate opening in front of him.

This is Thales' third visit to the first city gate in two days.

He still remembered the scene when he entered the first city gate for the first time. Surrounded by the embassy, ​​he watched the gate that separated the Palace of Heroes and the outer city of Dragon Clouds City fall down with apprehension, nervousness and embarrassment.

But this time, they are coming...

Thales quickly saw a "familiar" scene: the rough and magnificent Palace of Heroes was less than a hundred meters away in front of them, and the ten giant colonnades and eight large furnaces still stood there.

But the palace guards and white-bladed guards that could be seen everywhere have disappeared without a trace.

Instead, there were hundreds of Heisha soldiers.

They are full of vigilance and vigilance, and still wear patrol uniforms, but the patrol swords in their hands, which are specially used for small-scale conflicts, have long been replaced by weapons unique to large battlefields such as maces, fighting axes, and straight-edged sabers. Weapons of destruction, even bows and crossbows - it seems that the armory in the gates has just been ransacked.

Almost all the people on Thales' side held their breath.

In the formation of the black sand collar, a nobleman in plate armor strode out, with a broad face and a protruding nose.

"Your Excellency the Marquis," Lumbard's chief vassal, Earl Lewan, stared at the Marquis of Shanliu City standing in front of everyone with an unfriendly expression, "About your act of trespassing on the city gate."

"I need an explanation."

The soldiers of the Heisha collar surrounded the group of people tightly, with fierce eyes.

Almost all the people on Thales' side held their breath.

Shiles lowered his head and sighed slightly.

Everyone, including Thales, waited nervously for his reaction.

When Shiles raised his head again, the Marquis had put on that kind and polite smile again.

"Dear Earl," Shiles nodded slightly, with a reserved and friendly smile, "I brought you a surprise."

Earl Levan narrowed his eyes, carefully looking at Shiles and his "entourage".

"Appearing at the wrong time," Lewand said thoughtfully, "it can't be called a surprise—especially when you brought...these people?"

Even with the cover of disguise, Earl Levan noticed the strong figure and neat movements of the White Blade Guards, and couldn't help showing a strange expression.

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

But Marquis Shiles smiled slightly, and raised his hands confidently.

"I heard that your prisoners in the city gate made some small mistakes?" He whispered to Lewan, looking like he was watching a good show.

Lewand's complexion changed, and he was a little embarrassed: "A mistake? You misunderstood..."

With a face of "I knew it", Shiles raised his index finger and pointed away at Lewan, and shook his head with a tsk: "Oh, it looks like this, Your Excellency the Grand Duke still doesn't know about your mistake?"

Levan was at a loss for words.

Seeing Lewand's appearance, Shiles laughed, and gave way to the boy behind him: "Let me introduce you."

"This is your grand duke's missing 'guest', and also the honorable Prince Thales Canxing, the sole heir to the throne of the Star Kingdom."

"Under my escort, return."

Earl Levan's expression froze on his face.

Thales took a deep breath, walked forward slowly, with a look of resentment.

Shiles sighed, with a cheerful expression of restraint and showing off, he walked slowly to Earl Lewand and patted him on the shoulder.

"Take it easy, this is a 'surprise' that I managed to bring in from under the nose of the prime minister."

Shiles raised his eyebrows, and waved to Michael who was in the lead: "Look, if it weren't for this team of strong mercenaries I hired from the western edge of the desert, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to catch him."

Lewand's expression moved, and the hostility in the eyes of the White Blade Guard and the stars dissipated a lot: "Mercenary?"

Michael, who had put on makeup, had a high nose bridge, a dark face, and an exaggerated smile, and nodded to Earl Levan.

"Some of us are from Qiyuan City and are from the Northland, and some of us are from other places, sir," Michael said gruffly: "Looking for food in the desert, if you have any needs—we kill people Only six gold coins are needed."

The White Blade Guards showed simple and honest smirks neatly, which shocked Earl Levan.

I can really act.

Thales rolled his eyes in his heart.

It really is the 'all-powerful' White Blade Guard.

Lewand looked at these people, then at Thales surrounded by them in the center, and frowned.

Shiles still had a smile on his face.

Everyone is waiting for Count Levan's decision.

Finally, after pondering for a while, Lewan relaxed his brows and waved to the soldiers behind him: "Go back to your posts! Hailsen, Jason, you two teams stay here."

Following his order, the densely packed black sand soldiers turned around with rustling footsteps, and walked back to the city gate along the steps on both sides, and most of the people in the field dispersed immediately.

Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

"On behalf of the Grand Duke, I would like to thank you for your help."

"Lord Tuleha has already gone to plead guilty to the Grand Duke. If he sees your 'surprise', he will be very pleased," Earl Levan coughed unnaturally, glanced at Thales, and then turned to Shiles Nodding awkwardly: "I will convey your kindness to the Grand Duke, and I will take over now."

"You and your people can rest here..."

Shiles smiled and shook his head. He raised his right palm and pressed down what the Earl wanted to say.

"Oh, no," His Excellency the Marquis's eyes lit up: "The prince just informed me of an extremely important piece of new information. I think I need to take him to see His Excellency the Grand Duke as soon as possible."

Lewan paused slightly.

"Your Excellency is busy," the earl of Heisha collar frowned, "no interruptions are allowed."

Shiles dropped his smile and his expression became serious.

"Please believe me, the information on this prince is related to what His Excellency the Grand Duke is going to do." Shiles' suddenly serious tone made Earl Levan nervous: "You can't imagine."

Earl Levan looked at Shiles seriously.

The latter also looked back at him solemnly.

A second later, Earl Levan sighed: "Okay, I can send someone to take you to see the Grand Duke..."

"I have to take him there." Shiles shook his head, and said to Tels Nunu, "There are some things that can only be said from his mouth."

Lewand was a little strange: "Is it urgent?"

Shiles shook his head first, then nodded, with a mysterious expression on his face: "It's terrible."

Lewand looked at him for a few seconds.

"I understand," the count nodded. "You can start now. The Grand Duke is in the Palace of Heroes, near the Hall of Heroes."

Shiles smiled: "Thank you."

Thales felt that a big rock in his heart was finally about to fall to the ground.

As long as you can see the Grand Dukes, at least you will have a chance.

"Wait, your people stay here," Lewand said while directing his team, and nodded vigilantly at Shiles: "Our people will escort you there."

Shiles raised his eyebrows, pretending to casually glance at the people beside the convoy.

"Of course." Lord Marquis nodded indifferently.

Thales' heart sank.

He watched the people around the two carriages being taken away by the soldiers of the Heisha collar, and also watched a group of soldiers approaching him and Shiles, and the leader nodded politely.

very good.

The prince took a deep breath.

From now on, it's only him.

But at this moment, a thick male voice came from the steps leading to the city gate behind them:

"Please wait a moment!"

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

I saw a strange middle-aged man with gorgeous clothes and ordinary appearance, but with eight braids behind his head, walking down the steps slowly.

Earl Levan frowned, and asked angrily, "What's the matter, my dear Civilian Order Officer?"

He seemed very displeased with this new middle-aged man.

In the crowd, Michael and Nikolai Qiqi frowned and lowered their heads.

They recognized the person.

The middle-aged man shook his head, not caring about Lewand's tone of voice to him.

"Mercenary, right?" The middle-aged man walked to the two carriages, looked at the group of people, showed a subtle smile, and stopped his eyes on Miranda: "I don't know, there are maids among you." soldier?"

Cohen and Raphael looked at each other, feeling uneasy.

But Miranda was expressionless, looking up with a dark, rough-painted face.

"I come from the land of thorns, my lord," the female swordsman replied in a rustic voice with her tongue straightened out, "We are full of female mercenaries there."

Cohen narrowed his eyes: good acting.

The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I see," he nodded slightly, his eight braids shaking slightly: "Can I see your sword?"

"I'm curious how heavy the maid's sword is."

Miranda was slightly taken aback.

"That's enough, Urad," Earl Levan said unhappily, "Maybe the Grand Duke can tolerate your shamelessness, but here is..."

"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency the Earl," the man named Urad turned his head and interrupted him loudly, with deep meaning in his words: "You don't want to make any big mistakes again, do you?"

Levan choked for a moment.

Thales couldn't help wondering: What's wrong?

This middle-aged man... If I remember correctly, he should be one of the underground forces in Dragon Clouds City that Coen and the others mentioned.

Urad turned his head and smiled again at Miranda: "Is that okay?"

Miranda took the sword without saying a word and handed it to the man in front of her.

"Huh," Urad tried the weight on his hand, and couldn't help but sigh, "It's really not light."

Miranda smiled: "I think so too."

Urad sighed and pulled out a blade.

"By the way, let me introduce myself, my name is Chail Urad," the middle-aged man shook his head, looking down at the saber in his hand from various angles, "Twelve years ago, twelve Small villages are responsible for collecting taxes."

Miranda frowned slightly.

"Oh, Hanbao, I know," she laughed gruffly, "Are you from the Kingdom of Stars?"

Urad smiled.

Earl Levan shook his head disdainfully.

"Yeah, theoretically, we are employed by the Tax Office of Cold Castle," Urad said calmly, turning over the sword in his hand, "The reason why they hired us is because they need us to keep up with the next level, that is, The tax collectors from the central government are arguing with reason and evidence, so that they can pay less tax to the king."

Miranda and Raphael, who was listening attentively to the conversation, were slightly taken aback.

he……

Why do you say this?

"However, we have never seen the elders of Cold Castle."

Urad sighed: "They will only send their vassals, those idiots of the Sanlais family to check the accounts, take a lot of money from the tax bill, and let us bear the bad name, whether it is to the superior tax collectors or The villagers below—they have good hands and eyes, and they are the in-laws of the lord's family. We have nowhere to ask, so we can only swallow our breath every year."

"That's why you came to Exeter." Miranda shrugged and hummed nonchalantly, "It's understandable."

"No!"

Urad raised his head suddenly and raised his voice.

Startled everyone.

"You do not understand."

Urad put the sword in his hand back into the scabbard, with a sad expression on his face: "Finally, one year, Cold Castle sent a young master to collect taxes. He was noble, young and promising, and we thought things had changed—there was no need to be humiliated anymore. and oppression."

The tax collector from the former Star Kingdom sighed slightly, with a look of nostalgia in his eyes: "I remember very clearly, the name of that noble young master—Nolanuer Arund."

Miranda's expression remained unchanged.

But there was already a huge wave in my heart!

Rafael and Cohen looked at each other, feeling more and more uneasy.

Thales glanced around, only to feel that the situation was getting more and more wrong.

What happened?

He mentioned the Arend family to Miranda...

Did you recognize something?

"Nuran Noel told us that Hanbao has finally discovered the anomaly in the tax items." Urad said softly.

"He also said..."

At that moment, there was pain in Urad's eyes.

"He said that we, our little tax collectors, have been reported by the Sunless family for their perennial tax deductions," Urad said sarcastically, "We, these victims have been reported! Tax deductions , full of money!"

Earl Levan frowned: he felt something was wrong.

Urad may have been of humble origins and a vicious mind.

But he is not a fool, nor is he crazy.

Instead, he's smart.

Marquis Shiles on one side wanted to say something awkwardly, but Earl Lewan raised his hand and pressed down.

"No matter how much we beg," Urad shook his head with difficulty, as if: "That year, 'Nuran Noor the Just', amidst the cheers of the villagers, he personally beheaded eight of my colleagues, including my teacher."

"Eight innocent people."

Urad said sadly, his expression immediately turned into hatred.

"I will never forget Nulanor Arend, that stupid noble young master, I will never forget the feeling of kneeling in front of the execution platform, and I will never forget the disdainful eyes that all of them looked at us," his eyes showed resentment and hatred Concerned, the eight braids swayed slightly: "Fuck the Aaron family."

Urad clenched his teeth and let out a beastly low horn.

Miranda took a deep breath and looked up.

"I still remember that kid's disgusting face before his execution," Urad said with a cold look in his eyes, imitating the tone of that person back then, with a painful tone: "'As the lord of Coldcastle, the Duke of Arend In name, you will die at the edge of the 'flying eagle', atoning for your sins and doing justice' he said, and beheading a man."

Urad said bitterly: "I am the ninth person. I heard him repeat this sentence eight times, and I also watched him swing this sword eight times!"

"Until Cold Fort sent an order to call him back urgently."

Miranda only felt an endless chill rising from behind.

She snatched back her saber, her face pale and her brows raised.

Urad didn't stop her, just sneered ironically.

"Of course," Urad looked at the sword in her hand with a terrifying expression:

"I will never forget the shape of this sword until I die."

"His shining sword."

He said coldly:

"The 'Flying Eagle' belonging to Nulanor Arund."

"Yes," Urad said lightly, with deep hatred and anger in his eyes:

"This Miss Arend?"

Everyone on Thales' side trembled.

What they were most worried about finally happened.

Shiles looked palely at the person in charge here - Earl Levan.

The earl sighed and looked at the stiff Urad with a complicated expression.

"They're not from Camus."

Earl Levan turned to Shiles and Thales with a bad expression: "It's a guy with other plans!"

The earl waved his hand and coldly ordered to his soldiers:

"Take them down."

"all!"