Kingdom’s Bloodline

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\u003eFantasy Fantasy

\u003eKingdom Blood

\u003eChapter 381 Ghost Prince Contents Bookmark Comments Chapter 381 Ghost Prince

Novel: Bloodline of the Kingdom Author: Sword of Masterless Words: 9768

Compared with the way out, the return journey of the caravan was much calmer. Not to mention the orcs and sand robbers, except for a few corpses near the supply points, they didn't encounter a single person at all, and even rarely saw animals. 35xs

But everyone knows why.

Thinking of this, many people's moods became difficult.

As always, the merchants kept a distance from Dante's great sword, and stayed behind with their eight empty camels, with imperceptible resentment and unwillingness hidden in their sneaky eyes.

The few remaining mercenaries marched wearily, leading the team with two camels in front. None of their horses were left behind. The only two camels were Dean and the merchants. (Even pressing the sword to threaten), and "temporarily borrowed" it in the name of safety.

Dean and McGee walked in the forefront, dragging their tired bodies and gloomy moods to identify the way home, discussing the location of the next supply point from time to time.

Old Hammer has not recovered from his injuries. He put half of his body weight on the camel and coughed hard to move forward. It seemed that he might fall down at any time. Luisa walked behind him worriedly, ready to catch him when he fell. The fast rope was sullen. He followed behind, looking preoccupied, and at the same time lost interest in telling jokes and selling business.

The atmosphere of the whole team was quiet and depressing. Death and blood wiped out the relaxed and happy atmosphere of the mercenaries. After raids, battles, downsizing, and extortion, it seemed that the happy team would never come back.

Under such circumstances, the prince had no choice but to remain silent—he tightened the crossbow behind his shoulders, pulled the sunshade, and consciously walked at the end of the mercenary team. After having fought side by side against the orcs, He got to know a lot about the team that lost so much.

Fortunately, maybe the Star Cavalry wiped out most of the threats, maybe their bad luck finally passed, except for the long yellow sand under their feet and the venomous sun above their heads, nothing happened on the way home.

As the distance increased, Thales felt a faint sense of strangeness every time he stepped on the sand: the ground under his feet seemed to come alive again, telling him the direction and terrain after each step.

so……

Finally, on a certain day when the sun was setting and the team was moving forward silently, Thales stopped when he climbed a sand dune.

The mercenaries ahead stopped.

Louisa exhaled a breath with complicated meanings.

No one spoke.

"What's wrong?" Thales caught up with two steps and spoke cautiously.

Dean turned his head and said silently: "We are here."

Telston paused.

Following his gaze, Thales raised his head with an unspeakable mood, looked down the sand dunes, and looked at the seemingly endless desert horizon.

The boy froze immediately.

fortress.

A fortress in the desert.

No, that's more than one fort.

It is a group of fortresses.

They are large and small, with different styles, countless fortresses extending out of sight.

They appeared behind a low wall that grew without borders, sandwiched between several thick and large sand dunes, and the distances between them were different, and the difference was huge:

Some fortresses stand alone in the wilderness, away from others of the same kind, some fortresses are stacked closely together, squeezing each other, some fortresses are built in the style of sentry towers, pointing abruptly to the sky, and some fortresses are square On the square, khaki stone ladders can be seen faintly between different layers. Some forts are angular and thick, and they are used for defense at first glance.

Among the sand dunes stand out a group of chickens, some of which are one or two floors lower, and it seems that they can only dry clothes.

Perhaps because of the wind and sand blowing, the color of these fortresses matches the sand and gravel, and there are traces of fire and smoke in many places. From a distance, it looks like a pile of clumsy building blocks lined up on the beach.

Thales swears that if it wasn't for the vegetation sticking out between the fortresses, if it weren't for the foundations that appeared under many fortresses, if it wasn't for the double cross and silver star flag flying high on the fortress at the front, if it weren't for the surrounding walls If it wasn't for the bustling figures walking between the fortresses, he would have thought that the wooden horses were the relics of an ancient desert city.

"Blade Dune," Dean looked at the familiar place with complicated eyes: "Blade Camp."

Saber dunes?

Thales shook his head in amazement, looking at these artificial buildings that suddenly appeared in the desert.

This is……

"Pass this big camp that can sustain thousands of human life, and go east for another day, and your feet will no longer be yellow sand." Dean patted Thales on the shoulder: "Congratulations, Wyatt, The Great Desert ends here."

stop here.

Looking at the star flag fluttering in the distance, Thales sighed slowly, feeling the sense of direction reappearing in his heart.

The merchants rushed up, and many of them wept with joy as they saw the familiar scene in front of them.

"I knew it," Tomdin heaved a sigh of relief, and then said with a sad face, "but our goods..."

But his face changed quickly: "Hey, Big Dean, we are very grateful for your escort all the way, to be honest, you are the most powerful guide and bodyguard I have ever seen, really, if it were someone else... But you can also see that we have bad luck on this trip, we will lose all our money, and there will be some problems with capital turnover, so we may have to wait for a while..."

Dean's expression sank and he looked at him coldly. 35xs

The eyes of the mercenaries also turned cold.

"Wait for a while?" McGee said softly, "Why don't you wait a while in the desert, and send you back when your money comes back?"

Tomdin's smile faltered for a moment.

But he turned his head very quickly, avoiding the sight of the bald mercenary and the skeleton man, and turned to look at Luisa: "I'm not a bad debt...and I guarantee the reputation of the Tomdin family, we started with a loan Yes—even the royal family of Canxing borrowed money from us—we are the most trustworthy..."

Thales raised his eyebrows.

Tomdin's eyeballs rolled around, and he held the camel's reins tightly, as if he was about to ride it and escape in the next moment: "I'm just saying, you have to understand us... Dear Louisa, think about it, Your father, old Dante is such a good person, he helps the poor and the weak, and is willing to do good, and I have been friends with him for many years, how can I still renege on this little money?"

His face was full of sad nostalgia, and he looked at the female captain expectantly.

Luisa looked at him fixedly, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Forget it, don't use the trick of 'I know your father' anymore, I didn't expect you to pay me..." Luisa mumbled and shook her head: "You should think about how to pass the guard... Now the blockade is still in effect, but we are entering the camp at this time..."

Tomdin's expression brightened the moment he heard "forget it".

"I knew you were a good man," the potbellied businessman cheered, as if he wanted to pat Luisa on the shoulder, but his arm was knocked away by McKee halfway: "Don't worry, we've already bought that greedy freak, he As I said, no one will make things difficult for us..."

They soon knew whether Douro's words had any effect.

"Duro?"

The guard guarding the Saber Camp stood in front of Tomdin, looking suspiciously at the caravan, which had nothing left but ten camels: "Did he say that?"

Tomdin nodded obediently, with a smile on his face, looking familiar: "Yes, brother Douluo knows me very well, and he will know when he comes back... We don't know about the blockade order..."

The guard frowned and looked at everyone.

"Is that so, you... are very familiar with Douluo?"

Tomdin waved his hand and laughed: "Of course, the one we met on the road...we drank together, I gave him a lot of good things before leaving, and he insisted on sending soldiers from the Stardust Guard to escort me Come back, but I refused..."

Kuaisheng's eyes widened, and he turned his head and gave Thales a surprised look of "what are you doing?"

The guard nodded with a straight face, and he immediately turned his face and whispered in the ear of a senior officer.

"Ah, I don't feel good." Old Hammer whispered.

Louisa frowned slightly: "Why?"

Old Hammer shook his head, and pointed to the soldiers with unkind faces standing in front of the refusal horse: "Because I seem to recognize them, they are not..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw the officer nodded.

The officer strode forward and sternly ordered to the star soldiers present:

"Take them down!"

Tomdin's face suddenly turned pale!

The officer pressed the weapon on his waist coldly: "Violating the blockade order, going out privately, and daring to bribe the army...you are really brave."

The mercenaries looked at each other in amazement.

Looking at the dozen or so soldiers holding down their weapons, Tomdin waved his hands anxiously: "But Captain Douro said..."

"I don't care what that freak said!" The officer said sternly, pointing to the flag of the stars above his head: "This is the land of the stars, and we are the holy army. In front of the law, no one can bend the law for personal gain!"

Tomdin seemed to have turned into that helpless little cat in an instant, overwhelmed and full of grievances: "But... Duro... Aren't you together?"

The officer frowned.

"Who the hell told you we were with those freaks?"

He took off the shield behind him and tapped the pattern on it vigorously.

Thales narrowed his eyes, and was surprised to see that on the shield was a huge scary skull with four dark eye holes.

It's not that...

"See clearly, this is a four-eyed skull!"

The officer said proudly and proudly: "We came from the ruins, and we are soldiers of the Falkenhauser family!"

"Not the same as the Williams bastards!"

Tom Ding was completely stunned. He stared at the strange skull and murmured:

"Four-eyed skull..."

Dean sighed quietly.

Thales thought a bit more: The people guarding the Saber Camp are conscripts directly under the Falkenhauser family, that is to say, their commander is at least...

"You have two choices," the officer said arrogantly: "Pay a fine, or I will send you to the prison of bones..."

Amidst the panicked wailing of the merchants, Xingchen's soldiers pressed forward step by step.

The mercenaries gritted their teeth, while Thales clenched his palms, thinking which of these soldiers was the supreme commander.

at this moment.

"Colin!"

The old hammer's voice sounded: "Little Nose Colin!"

The righteous officer was slightly taken aback. 35xs

"Who?" The small-nosed officer looked around suspiciously: "Who is talking?"

"It's me," Old Hammer walked out of the crowd with a sigh, "I served with you under Lord Mann, and I was even ambushed while squatting in the pit with you..."

He didn't have to say any more.

"hammer!"

Little Nose Colin stared.

Old Hammer smiled awkwardly.

The mercenaries looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief again.

A few minutes later, the merchants entered the Saber camp under the escort of the soldiers in dejection, and their camels were taken away by the soldiers of Falkenhaus as a fine. Dante's great swords stood on the other side, silently Waiting eagerly for the outcome of Old Hammer's negotiations.

"My sunset..." Colin watched the ten camels being led away with a smile, and at the same time patted Old Hammer on the shoulder, speaking in his familiar Xihuang accent: "Hammer, why did you become a 'sword dealer? of'?"

Old Hammer sighed.

"It's a long story... Has there been any big action recently? Why were the soldiers from the ruins and the wing castle recruited at the same time, and they went into the desert with the standing army?"

Thales was aroused by these words, and listened with all his senses in hell.

Colin rubbed his hands: "It's a long story... In short, it's not just them. In the past two months, the Saber Camp has been filled with conscripts from all over the Western Wilderness. Many of the land offerings are nobles or noble soldiers who can bring their own horses, even the skull guards and crow whistle light cavalry, and they enter the desert in rotation..."

Old Hammer frowned: "What happened? I saw them chasing orcs in the desert..."

Colin shook his head: "I don't know, but I guess the skeletons or the gray bastards are going to move east again, because most of the people who go in are cavalry... and those of us with two legs..."

"Collect the toll here?" Old Hammer looked at the ten camels and Tomdin who was about to cry from afar.

Colin spread his hands and did not answer.

Old Hammer sighed helplessly: "But, ten camels, this is what this group of people have..."

"Don't, Hammer, don't intercede for them, you pity them, but who will pity us?"

"The standing army is paid by the king. What about our bounty? You can't even buy a ball of wool!" Colin sniffed dissatisfiedly: "You know, it's September, and my family's mill will start work soon. The service period that came out has long passed, but my brother and I don’t know how long it will take to go back, my buddies on the same team, and a family member who is about to give birth..."

"But you are too greedy, and the merchants will protest - do the nobles in the camp agree?"

Colin straightened his face, apparently in a bad mood.

"Listen, Hammer, you haven't been in the army for a long time... It's different from the desert war, the Falkenhauser family is no longer in charge of the Saber Camp," the little-nosed officer waved:

"Now this is the territory of the royal standing army, and the usual oil and water belong to the bastards under Williams. There are really not many places where we can profit. If it weren't for the standing army expedition and the shortage of manpower, do you think we can stand on the ground?" Here... So, it doesn't matter if he protests or not, just get it if you can, anyway, it's Williams' trouble if something happens..."

Listening to these words, Thales thought deeply.

"Listen," Colin grabbed Old Hammer's shoulders: "For the sake of the past, I won't embarrass you, and I won't collect the mercenary tax, but when you go back, remember to report it to my dad." A letter, let him take good care of my mother-in-law, and don't let that cripple from Qiancun mess with her..."

Finally, under the friendship of Old Hammer, Dante's great swords entered the city without any risk—or rather, this oasis camp in the desert, which occupies a large area.

Skimming the boundary formed by the low wall and the refusal horse, the crowd rushed towards us.

A crowd Thales hadn't seen for a long time.

Shoulder to shoulder, shadowy and indistinct.

"New here, go blackmail other people - we are not white pigs!"

Dean coldly pushed away a man who looked drunk, and gave him a hard kick in the stomach as the man fell limp.

"Dante's great sword, have you heard of it?"

Thales watched the cursing man get up on the ground and walked into another alleyway, where a group of fierce men looked at them maliciously.

"I thought you died outside," laughed one of the men inside, wiping his fists, "bald head—oh, and my beautiful prickly little flower, Louisa! When will you come to my bed for a night? Guaranteed to be more comfortable than Big Dean's bed!"

"Fuck you!" Luisa deadpanned and gave him the middle finger, walking on.

The man laughed.

"A free message is included, bald," he picked his nostrils: "It's been a mess here recently! Don't mess with the soldiers! Maybe they are the personal guards of a certain nobleman!"

The bald mercenary frowned upon hearing this.

Dean turned his head to Thales and said, "Follow closely, don't get lost."

"You don't want to be alone in the Saber camp. These people are more terrifying than orcs."

The fast rope behind him nodded fiercely.

Walking on the "street" between the fortresses, Thales looked around in amazement and trepidation: he quickly grasped the "features" of the Saber Camp.

The architectural style here is not even as orderly as an ordinary small star village, but the chaos is comparable to the shield area of ​​Dragon Clouds City and the lower city of Eternal Star City.

Between the yellow sand and gravel, there are people coming and going everywhere, because the roads between the fortresses are uneven and the width varies, which makes the place even more chaotic and disorderly. The star people I have seen are completely different, they are both light and shade, and many people cover their heads and faces.

And if you add sound to the picture...

"The dragon's kiss velvet that the king can't enjoy, only sells for two silver coins a bundle!"

"Want to know the story of your life? The authentic descendant of the desolate bone, the darling of the desert god, divination of your fate, six copper coins once..."

"Hey, handsome guy, don't you feel lonely sleeping alone at night... Do you want to see my face? Why don't you look at my legs? Yes, I'm a man... Hey, you're wrong, come here if you don't believe me Touch and see, which point on my body is worse than a woman-hey, you have touched it all, and you want to go? Come, look at my pectoralis major and fist, look at the brothers behind me, say it again : To give money or not, to give money or not, to give money or not!"

"I really want to kill someone? I really hate someone? I really want to fuck other people's wives? The experienced mercenary Mara, who has seen countless blood, will help you kill with ten gold coins! I promise not to do it in the city, the method is clean, and the corpse is thrown away. Neat, never illegal, well-known! Now you can pay the deposit first, and then pay the balance after the task is completed!"

"What? You said I stole your wallet? Grandma, do you think I look like someone who would steal from you? Look again, is this your wallet—yes, it is! I never steal, This is a Ming grab! Fuck your grandma!"

"Believers! Lambs! The catastrophe is imminent, and the dark night will eventually return, so that believers can live! Now go to the Temple of the Dark Night and watch the latest drama "The Story the God of the Night and the Queen of the Revival King Have to Tell", There is a chance to get an unexpected reward—ah? This is not allowed to act? Hey, you heard me wrong, I was talking about the latest play "The God of the Night and the Queen of a Founding King's Story"——Hey, what are you doing— - let me go - woo, you don't - you can't interfere with artistic freedom - the dark night will come back - help!"

"Pack up your weapons, collect your weapons! Swords, guns, swords and axes, bows, shields, spears and hammers, it doesn't matter if it's second-hand or new, whether you use it for the military or keep it private, big quantity is the priority, and the price is fair!"

"What should we do if the camp is blocked? Billy the Trader will help you! It's absolutely safe to go around the desert from the east and avoid patrols! The comfortable camel team goes straight to the Principality of Sera, one gold coin per person!"

Merchants hawking along the street, mercenaries with knives, adventurers in a hurry, prostitutes who almost showed their body parts, and of course groups of big soldiers, bustling and lively along the way.

Dante's great swords used to squeeze through these weird and varied crowds, scaring away many people who were about to move with fierce eyes and rude movements from time to time-according to McKee, Thales was "a white pig" The appearance" attracted the attention of many people. If they were not fully armed, there would be more troubles.

At last they turned around a windowed fort and came to a less cramped and closed clearing.

Dean stopped and said solemnly: "I have to go to the guard house and find Frank. He needs to know what happened this time."

"I'll go with you," Luisa said with a sad face, "I'm the captain after all."

Dean nodded.

McGee glanced at Dean, then at Louisa, and sighed, "Then... I'll go and deal with the extra equipment."

"Then let's go to 'my house' and join Seaman and the others," Old Hammer said, "By the way, help Wyah find out the whereabouts of his family."

Thales was taken aback, but before he had time to say anything, the mercenaries dispersed in a tacit understanding.

And he was dragged by the fast rope, followed the old hammer, and turned to another remote road.

"Let me tell you," Kuaisheng sighed, "You don't know how scary this place is. When I first came here, I met a beautiful young lady, and it turned out... well, life is impermanent, Wyatt , you have to cherish life, for example..."

Thales smiled ugly, and looked at Old Hammer begging for help.

Old Hammer smiled when he heard the words, and without hesitation broke the fast rope to start doing business.

"It is said that there were only sand dunes at the beginning of the Saber Dunes, and there was no camp. Until a long time ago, a caravan spontaneously built a resting fort here-as more people entered and left the desert from here, the forts increased one by one... …until it was comparable to a small town, a certain King of Stars or a certain Duke of West Wilderness took it down."

"Obviously, the location here is too important... Although the Saber Camp has been entrusted to many families, most of the families have perished due to war and desert harassment."

"After the Bloody Year, this place became the fief of Baron Williams, but he is not a vassal of the Falkenhauser family, but a direct vassal of the king—I used to doubt whether he could get from this continuous arable land. We don’t get enough tax revenue from fiefs that don’t even have one, but obviously, looking at it now…”

Old Hammer looked at the strange people all over the street, and shrugged.

Thales nodded.

"The Saber Camp is a famous chaotic place, with many opportunities and more dangers," the old hammer sighed, and said to Thales with nostalgia and emotion: "Many criminals in the kingdom have been sentenced to exile here, and some Go to the prison of bones, some become death squads, and those who survive become the residents of this city—I don’t know if it should be called a city—plus the surrounding farmers and craftsmen who can’t survive , the leader who has nowhere to go, has become like this."

"When fighting, it's even more exaggerated here."

Thales walked up an uphill, and the noise around him suddenly became much quieter.

Immediately afterwards, he saw a very tall tower behind a round bunker.

It is 20 to 30 meters long, slender and tall, and seems to stand in the middle of the open space of many fortresses, but it is far away from other buildings, and it looks particularly isolated.

Thales couldn't help noticing that there were few people around the tower, and all kinds of shouting people were strangely silent when they passed by it, turned their heads to look elsewhere, and left quickly.

As if afraid of something.

Thales narrowed his eyes, and he saw: the top of the tower, the tallest window was sealed with wooden strips.

Sparsely populated tall buildings...

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

"That tower is really tall, is there a big person living in it?"

the boy asked strangely.

Old Hammer followed his gaze, and his face immediately sank.

"No."

"The nobles never live there, and I guess Baron Williams doesn't either... that tower is called 'The Ghost Prince.'"

"For so many years, no one should dare to live there."

Thales frowned:

"What prince?"

"I know, I know!" Kuai Sheng beamed with delight: "The legend in the Saber Camp...there is something ominous in that tower..."

"Hush!" But Old Hammer cut him off sharply.

"Eighteen years ago...During the Year of Blood, the Desolate Bone Tribe and the orcs once captured the Saber Camp, and I served here at that time."

The old soldier looked tense and pointed to the tower: "Before the camp fell, a noble prince—I mean the son of the king, a real royal blood, not a prince in a fairy tale—came to the early west, came to The Saber camp, the labor army sits in the town."

"He lives there, the tallest tower in Camp Saber."

Taylor's heart tightened.

Looking at the lonely tower, he felt ominous.

"One dark night, from there, from the highest window..."

"Being pushed down."

Thales was stunned.

He looked at the farthest field of vision, the window sealed by wooden strips, and his gaze slowly moved from there to the open space at the bottom.

Suddenly the cold surged.

"I heard other people tell the story after I retired," Old Hammer exhaled slowly. "It is said that King Kessel caught the murderer after the war."

"As punishment, he locked the murderer and his accomplices in the highest room, and started the fire from the first floor and burned upwards."

Kuaisheng let out a breath and curled his lips.

"Many people couldn't stand the fire, jumped out of that window, and paid the price for the prince's death."

"Whether it's burning to death or falling to death, the screams and wailing of the prisoners disappeared within the first hour," Old Hammer's voice became cold and desolate: "But the fire burned for a whole day."

"The strange thing is that the tower still stands - and the most mysterious thing is that after the flames are extinguished, there is not even a trace of burn marks on the outer walls or interior."

Kuaisheng pursed his lips, followed Old Hammer's explanation, and nodded seriously, his eyes serious.

Thales stared fixedly at the tower, seeing its intact appearance, his scalp tingled slightly.

"Since then, all kinds of strange things have happened there - from singing in the middle of the night to ghosts on the windows, even faint screams and wailing, and even the sound of burning flames, even in broad daylight... The Baron had to seal it off. That window."

"The aristocrats stationed here once wanted to live in it...but..."

Old Hammer shook his head silently.

"Everyone who lived there died in the desert and never came back. They couldn't even move their belongings."

"Then it was said that the tower was cursed by the prince's death."

The old hammer pulled Thales back a little, who was approaching there unknowingly.

He has an ugly expression:

"Since then, the locals have called it—'Ghost Prince'."

Quick Rope shook his head and clicked his tongue.

Thales stared blankly at the gloomy and desolate tower.

ghost prince...

"who?"

The boy asked blankly: "The one who died there..."

"Which prince is it?"

Old Hammer shook his head.

"Forgot," the veteran said sullenly, "I only took a look at him from a distance when he entered the camp."

"That prince is very handsome, prettier than a girl."

Looks beautiful.

Thales swallowed his throat.

A long-standing name came to mind.

ghost prince.

"But what's the use of being handsome again," Old Hammer snorted softly, looking at the open space under the "ghost prince" with misty eyes:

"That night, I was the first patrol to arrive. And I remember very clearly, that beautiful prince..."

He sighed slowly:

"It landed face first."

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Chapter 381 Ghost Prince, Kingdom Bloodline - WuxiaWorld

Compared with the way out, the return journey of the caravan was much calmer. Not to mention the orcs and sand robbers, except for a few corpses near the supply points, they didn't encounter a single person at all, and even rarely saw animals. 35xs

But everyone knows why.

Thinking of this, many people's moods became difficult.

As always, the merchants kept a distance from Dante's great sword, and stayed behind with their eight empty camels, with imperceptible resentment and unwillingness hidden in their sneaky eyes.

The few remaining mercenaries marched wearily, leading the team with two camels in front. None of their horses were left behind. The only two camels were Dean and the merchants. (Even pressing the sword to threaten), and "temporarily borrowed" it in the name of safety.

Dean and McGee walked in the forefront, dragging their tired bodies and gloomy moods to identify the way home, discussing the location of the next supply point from time to time.

Old Hammer has not recovered from his injuries. He put half of his body weight on the camel and coughed hard to move forward. It seemed that he might fall down at any time. Luisa walked behind him worriedly, ready to catch him when he fell. The fast rope was sullen. He followed behind, looking preoccupied, and at the same time lost interest in telling jokes and selling business.

The atmosphere of the whole team was quiet and depressing. Death and blood wiped out the relaxed and happy atmosphere of the mercenaries. After raids, battles, downsizing, and extortion, it seemed that the happy team would never come back.

Under such circumstances, the prince had no choice but to remain silent—he tightened the crossbow behind his shoulders, pulled the sunshade, and consciously walked at the end of the mercenary team. After having fought side by side against the orcs, He got to know a lot about the team that lost so much.

Fortunately, maybe the Star Cavalry wiped out most of the threats, maybe their bad luck finally passed, except for the long yellow sand under their feet and the venomous sun above their heads, nothing happened on the way home.

As the distance increased, Thales felt a faint sense of strangeness every time he stepped on the sand: the ground under his feet seemed to come alive again, telling him the direction and terrain after each step.

so……

Finally, on a certain day when the sun was setting and the team was moving forward silently, Thales stopped when he climbed a sand dune.

The mercenaries ahead stopped.

Louisa exhaled a breath with complicated meanings.

No one spoke.

"What's wrong?" Thales caught up with two steps and spoke cautiously.

Dean turned his head and said silently: "We are here."

Telston paused.

Following his gaze, Thales raised his head with an unspeakable mood, looked down the sand dunes, and looked at the seemingly endless desert horizon.

The boy froze immediately.

fortress.

A fortress in the desert.

No, that's more than one fort.

It is a group of fortresses.

They are large and small, with different styles, countless fortresses extending out of sight.

They appeared behind a low wall that grew without borders, sandwiched between several thick and large sand dunes, and the distances between them were different, and the difference was huge:

Some fortresses stand alone in the wilderness, away from others of the same kind, some fortresses are stacked closely together, squeezing each other, some fortresses are built in the style of sentry towers, pointing abruptly to the sky, and some fortresses are square On the square, earth-yellow stone ladders can be seen between different layers. Some fortresses are angular and thick, and they are used for defense at first glance. Among the sand dunes stand a group of chickens, some of which are one or two floors lower, and it seems that they can only dry clothes.

Perhaps because of the wind and sand blowing, the color of these fortresses matches the sand and gravel, and there are traces of fire and smoke in many places. From a distance, it looks like a pile of clumsy building blocks lined up on the beach.

Thales swears that if it wasn't for the vegetation sticking out between the fortresses, if it weren't for the foundations that appeared under many fortresses, if it wasn't for the double cross and silver star flag flying high on the fortress at the front, if it weren't for the surrounding walls If it wasn't for the bustling figures walking between the fortresses, he would have thought that the wooden horses were the relics of an ancient desert city.

"Blade Dune," Dean looked at the familiar place with complicated eyes: "Blade Camp."

Saber dunes?

Thales shook his head in amazement, looking at these artificial buildings that suddenly appeared in the desert.

This is……

"Pass this big camp that can sustain thousands of human life, and go east for another day, and your feet will no longer be yellow sand." Dean patted Thales on the shoulder: "Congratulations, Wyatt, The Great Desert ends here."

stop here.

Looking at the star flag fluttering in the distance, Thales sighed slowly, feeling the sense of direction reappearing in his heart.

The merchants rushed up, and many of them wept with joy as they saw the familiar scene in front of them.

"I knew it," Tomdin heaved a sigh of relief, and then said with a sad face, "but our goods..."

But his face changed quickly: "Hey, Big Dean, we are very grateful for your escort all the way, to be honest, you are the most powerful guide and bodyguard I have ever seen, really, if it were someone else... But you can also see that we have bad luck on this trip, we will lose all our money, and there will be some problems with capital turnover, so we may have to wait for a while..."

Dean's expression sank and he looked at him coldly. 35xs

The eyes of the mercenaries also turned cold.

"Wait for a while?" McGee said softly, "Why don't you wait a while in the desert, and send you back when your money comes back?"

Tomdin's smile faltered for a moment.

But he turned his head very quickly, avoiding the sight of the bald mercenary and the skeleton man, and turned to look at Luisa: "I'm not a bad debt...and I guarantee the reputation of the Tomdin family, we started with a loan Yes—even the royal family of Canxing borrowed money from us—we are the most trustworthy..."

Thales raised his eyebrows.

Tomdin's eyeballs rolled around, and he held the camel's reins tightly, as if he was about to ride it and escape in the next moment: "I'm just saying, you have to understand us... Dear Louisa, think about it, Your father, old Dante is such a good person, he helps the poor and the weak, and is willing to do good, and I have been friends with him for many years, how can I still renege on this little money?"

His face was full of sad nostalgia, and he looked at the female captain expectantly.

Luisa looked at him fixedly, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Forget it, don't use the trick of 'I know your father' anymore, I didn't expect you to pay me..." Luisa mumbled and shook her head: "You should think about how to pass the guard... Now the blockade is still in effect, but we are entering the camp at this time..."

Tomdin's expression brightened the moment he heard "forget it".

"I knew you were a good man," the potbellied businessman cheered, as if he wanted to pat Luisa on the shoulder, but his arm was knocked away by McKee halfway: "Don't worry, we've already bought that greedy freak, he As I said, no one will make things difficult for us..."

They soon knew whether Douro's words had any effect.

"Duro?"

The guard guarding the Saber Camp stood in front of Tomdin, looking suspiciously at the caravan, which had nothing left but ten camels: "Did he say that?"

Tomdin nodded obediently, with a smile on his face, looking familiar: "Yes, brother Douluo knows me very well, and he will know when he comes back... We don't know about the blockade order..."

The guard frowned and looked at everyone.

"Is that so, you... are very familiar with Douluo?"

Tomdin waved his hand and laughed: "Of course, the one we met on the road...we drank together, I gave him a lot of good things before leaving, and he insisted on sending soldiers from the Stardust Guard to escort me Come back, but I refused..."

Kuaisheng's eyes widened, and he turned his head and gave Thales a surprised look of "what are you doing?"

The guard nodded with a straight face, and he immediately turned his face and whispered in the ear of a senior officer.

"Ah, I don't feel good." Old Hammer whispered.

Louisa frowned slightly: "Why?"

Old Hammer shook his head, and pointed to the soldiers with unkind faces standing in front of the refusal horse: "Because I seem to recognize them, they are not..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw the officer nodded.

The officer strode forward and sternly ordered to the star soldiers present:

"Take them down!"

Tomdin's face suddenly turned pale!

The officer pressed the weapon on his waist coldly: "Violating the blockade order, going out privately, and daring to bribe the army...you are really brave."

The mercenaries looked at each other in amazement.

Looking at the dozen or so soldiers holding down their weapons, Tomdin waved his hands anxiously: "But Captain Douro said..."

"I don't care what that freak said!" The officer said sternly, pointing to the flag of the stars above his head: "This is the land of the stars, and we are the holy army. In front of the law, no one can bend the law for personal gain!"

Tomdin seemed to have turned into that helpless little cat in an instant, overwhelmed and full of grievances: "But... Duro... Aren't you together?"

The officer frowned.

"Who the hell told you we were with those freaks?"

He took off the shield behind him and tapped the pattern on it vigorously.

Thales narrowed his eyes, and was surprised to see that on the shield was a huge scary skull with four dark eye holes.

It's not that...

"See clearly, this is a four-eyed skull!"

The officer said proudly and proudly: "We came from the ruins, and we are soldiers of the Falkenhauser family!"

"Not the same as the Williams bastards!"

Tom Ding was completely stunned. He stared at the strange skull and murmured:

"Four-eyed skull..."

Dean sighed quietly.

Thales thought a bit more: The people guarding the Saber Camp are conscripts directly under the Falkenhauser family, that is to say, their commander is at least...

"You have two choices," the officer said arrogantly: "Pay a fine, or I will send you to the prison of bones..."

Amidst the panicked wailing of the merchants, Xingchen's soldiers pressed forward step by step.

The mercenaries gritted their teeth, while Thales clenched his palms, thinking which of these soldiers was the supreme commander.

at this moment.

"Colin!"

The old hammer's voice sounded: "Little Nose Colin!"

The righteous officer was slightly taken aback. 35xs

"Who?" The small-nosed officer looked around suspiciously: "Who is talking?"

"It's me," Old Hammer walked out of the crowd with a sigh, "I served with you under Lord Mann, and I was even ambushed while squatting in the pit with you..."

He didn't have to say any more.

"hammer!"

Little Nose Colin stared.

Old Hammer smiled awkwardly.

The mercenaries looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief again.

A few minutes later, the merchants entered the Saber camp under the escort of the soldiers in dejection, and their camels were taken away by the soldiers of Falkenhaus as a fine. Dante's great swords stood on the other side, silently Waiting eagerly for the outcome of Old Hammer's negotiations.

"My sunset..." Colin watched the ten camels being led away with a smile, and at the same time patted Old Hammer on the shoulder, speaking in his familiar Xihuang accent: "Hammer, why did you become a 'sword dealer? of'?"

Old Hammer sighed.

"It's a long story... Has there been any big action recently? Why were the soldiers from the ruins and the wing castle recruited at the same time, and they went into the desert with the standing army?"

Thales was aroused by these words, and listened with all his senses in hell.

Colin rubbed his hands: "It's a long story... In short, it's not just them. In the past two months, the Saber Camp has been filled with conscripts from all over the Western Wilderness. Many of the land offerings are nobles or noble soldiers who can bring their own horses, even the skull guards and crow whistle light cavalry, and they enter the desert in rotation..."

Old Hammer frowned: "What happened? I saw them chasing orcs in the desert..."

Colin shook his head: "I don't know, but I guess the skeletons or the gray bastards are going to move east again, because most of the people who go in are cavalry... and those of us with two legs..."

"Collect the toll here?" Old Hammer looked at the ten camels and Tomdin who was about to cry from afar.

Colin spread his hands and did not answer.

Old Hammer sighed helplessly: "But, ten camels, this is what this group of people have..."

"Don't, Hammer, don't intercede for them, you pity them, but who will pity us?"

"The standing army is paid by the king. What about our bounty? You can't even buy a ball of wool!" Colin sniffed dissatisfiedly: "You know, it's September, and my family's mill will start work soon. The service period that came out has long passed, but my brother and I don’t know how long it will take to go back, my buddies on the same team, and a family member who is about to give birth..."

"But you are too greedy, and the merchants will protest - do the nobles in the camp agree?"

Colin straightened his face, apparently in a bad mood.

"Listen, Hammer, you haven't been in the army for a long time... It's different from the desert war, the Falkenhauser family is no longer in charge of the Saber Camp," the little-nosed officer waved:

"Now this is the territory of the royal standing army, and the usual oil and water belong to the bastards under Williams. There are really not many places where we can profit. If it weren't for the standing army expedition and the shortage of manpower, do you think we can stand on the ground?" Here... So, it doesn't matter if he protests or not, just get it if you can, anyway, it's Williams' trouble if something happens..."

Listening to these words, Thales thought deeply.

"Listen," Colin grabbed Old Hammer's shoulders: "For the sake of the past, I won't embarrass you, and I won't collect the mercenary tax, but when you go back, remember to report it to my dad." A letter, let him take good care of my mother-in-law, and don't let that cripple from Qiancun mess with her..."

Finally, under the friendship of Old Hammer, Dante's great swords entered the city without any risk—or rather, this oasis camp in the desert, which occupies a large area.

Skimming the boundary formed by the low wall and the refusal horse, the crowd rushed towards us.

A crowd Thales hadn't seen for a long time.

Shoulder to shoulder, shadowy and indistinct.

"New here, go blackmail other people - we are not white pigs!"

Dean coldly pushed away a man who looked drunk, and gave him a hard kick in the stomach as the man fell limp.

"Dante's great sword, have you heard of it?"

Thales watched the cursing man get up on the ground and walked into another alleyway, where a group of fierce men looked at them maliciously.

"I thought you died outside," laughed one of the men inside, wiping his fists, "bald head—oh, and my beautiful prickly little flower, Louisa! When will you come to my bed for a night? Guaranteed to be more comfortable than Big Dean's bed!"

"Fuck you!" Luisa deadpanned and gave him the middle finger, walking on.

The man laughed.

"A free message is included, bald," he picked his nostrils: "It's been a mess here recently! Don't mess with the soldiers! Maybe they are the personal guards of a certain nobleman!"

The bald mercenary frowned upon hearing this.

Dean turned his head to Thales and said, "Follow closely, don't get lost."

"You don't want to be alone in the Saber camp. These people are more terrifying than orcs."

The fast rope behind him nodded fiercely.

Walking on the "street" between the fortresses, Thales looked around in amazement and trepidation: he quickly grasped the "features" of the Saber Camp.

The architectural style here is not even as orderly as an ordinary small star village, but the chaos is comparable to the shield area of ​​Dragon Clouds City and the lower city of Eternal Star City.

Between the yellow sand and gravel, there are people coming and going everywhere, because the roads between the fortresses are uneven and the width varies, which makes the place even more chaotic and disorderly. The star people I have seen are completely different, they are both light and shade, and many people cover their heads and faces.

And if you add sound to the picture...

"The dragon's kiss velvet that the king can't enjoy, only sells for two silver coins a bundle!"

"Want to know the story of your life? The authentic descendant of the desolate bone, the darling of the desert god, divination of your fate, six copper coins once..."

"Hey, handsome guy, don't you feel lonely sleeping alone at night... Do you want to see my face? Why don't you look at my legs? Yes, I'm a man... Hey, you're wrong, come here if you don't believe me Touch and see, which point on my body is worse than a woman-hey, you have touched it all, and you want to go? Come, look at my pectoralis major and fist, look at the brothers behind me, say it again : To give money or not, to give money or not, to give money or not!"

"I really want to kill someone? I really hate someone? I really want to fuck other people's wives? The experienced mercenary Mara, who has seen countless blood, will help you kill with ten gold coins! I promise not to do it in the city, the method is clean, and the corpse is thrown away. Neat, never illegal, well-known! Now you can pay the deposit first, and then pay the balance after the task is completed!"

"What? You said I stole your wallet? Grandma, do you think I look like someone who would steal from you? Look again, is this your wallet—yes, it is! I never steal, This is a Ming grab! Fuck your grandma!"

"Believers! Lambs! The catastrophe is imminent, and the dark night will eventually return, so that believers can live! Now go to the Temple of the Dark Night and watch the latest drama "The Story the God of the Night and the Queen of the Revival King Have to Tell", There is a chance to get an unexpected reward—ah? This is not allowed to act? Hey, you heard me wrong, I was talking about the latest play "The God of the Night and the Queen of a Founding King's Story"——Hey, what are you doing— - let me go - woo, you don't - you can't interfere with artistic freedom - the dark night will come back - help!"

"Pack up your weapons, collect your weapons! Swords, guns, swords and axes, bows, shields, spears and hammers, it doesn't matter if it's second-hand or new, whether you use it for the military or keep it private, big quantity is the priority, and the price is fair!"

"What should we do if the camp is blocked? Billy the Trader will help you! It's absolutely safe to go around the desert from the east and avoid patrols! The comfortable camel team goes straight to the Principality of Sera, one gold coin per person!"

Merchants hawking along the street, mercenaries with knives, adventurers in a hurry, prostitutes who almost showed their body parts, and of course groups of big soldiers, bustling and lively along the way.

Dante's great swords used to squeeze through these weird and varied crowds, scaring away many people who were about to move with fierce eyes and rude movements from time to time-according to McKee, Thales was "a white pig" The appearance" attracted the attention of many people. If they were not fully armed, there would be more troubles.

At last they turned around a windowed fort and came to a less cramped and closed clearing.

Dean stopped and said solemnly: "I have to go to the guard house and find Frank. He needs to know what happened this time."

"I'll go with you," Luisa said with a sad face, "I'm the captain after all."

Dean nodded.

McGee glanced at Dean, then at Louisa, and sighed, "Then... I'll go and deal with the extra equipment."

"Then let's go to 'my house' and join Seaman and the others," Old Hammer said, "By the way, help Wyah find out the whereabouts of his family."

Thales was taken aback, but before he had time to say anything, the mercenaries dispersed in a tacit understanding.

And he was dragged by the fast rope, followed the old hammer, and turned to another remote road.

"Let me tell you," Kuaisheng sighed, "You don't know how scary this place is. When I first came here, I met a beautiful young lady, and it turned out... well, life is impermanent, Wyatt , you have to cherish life, for example..."

Thales smiled ugly, and looked at Old Hammer begging for help.

Old Hammer smiled when he heard the words, and without hesitation broke the fast rope to start doing business.

"It is said that there were only sand dunes at the beginning of the Saber Dunes, and there was no camp. Until a long time ago, a caravan spontaneously built a resting fort here-as more people entered and left the desert from here, the forts increased one by one... …until it was comparable to a small town, a certain King of Stars or a certain Duke of West Wilderness took it down."

"Obviously, the location here is too important... Although the Saber Camp has been entrusted to many families, most of the families have perished due to war and desert harassment."

"After the Bloody Year, this place became the fief of Baron Williams, but he is not a vassal of the Falkenhauser family, but a direct vassal of the king—I used to doubt whether he could get from this continuous arable land. We don’t get enough tax revenue from fiefs that don’t even have one, but obviously, looking at it now…”

Old Hammer looked at the strange people all over the street, and shrugged.

Thales nodded.

"The Saber Camp is a famous chaotic place, with many opportunities and more dangers," the old hammer sighed, and said to Thales with nostalgia and emotion: "Many criminals in the kingdom have been sentenced to exile here, and some Go to the prison of bones, some become death squads, and those who survive become the residents of this city—I don’t know if it should be called a city—plus the surrounding farmers and craftsmen who can’t survive , the leader who has nowhere to go, has become like this."

"When fighting, it's even more exaggerated here."

Thales walked up an uphill, and the noise around him suddenly became much quieter.

Immediately afterwards, he saw a very tall tower behind a round bunker.

It is 20 to 30 meters long, slender and tall, and seems to stand in the middle of the open space of many fortresses, but it is far away from other buildings, and it looks particularly isolated.

Thales couldn't help noticing that there were few people around the tower, and all kinds of shouting people were strangely silent when they passed by it, turned their heads to look elsewhere, and left quickly.

As if afraid of something.

Thales narrowed his eyes, and he saw: the top of the tower, the tallest window was sealed with wooden strips.

Sparsely populated tall buildings...

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

"That tower is really tall, is there a big person living in it?"

the boy asked strangely.

Old Hammer followed his gaze, and his face immediately sank.

"No."

"The nobles never live there, and I guess Baron Williams doesn't either... that tower is called 'The Ghost Prince.'"

"For so many years, no one should dare to live there."

Thales frowned:

"What prince?"

"I know, I know!" Kuai Sheng beamed with delight: "The legend in the Saber Camp...there is something ominous in that tower..."

"Hush!" But Old Hammer cut him off sharply.

"Eighteen years ago...During the Year of Blood, the Desolate Bone Tribe and the orcs once captured the Saber Camp, and I served here at that time."

The old soldier looked tense and pointed to the tower: "Before the camp fell, a noble prince—I mean the son of the king, a real royal blood, not a prince in a fairy tale—came to the early west, came to The Saber camp, the labor army sits in the town."

"He lives there, the tallest tower in Camp Saber."

Taylor's heart tightened.

Looking at the lonely tower, he felt ominous.

"One dark night, from there, from the highest window..."

"Being pushed down."

Thales was stunned.

He looked at the farthest field of vision, the window sealed by wooden strips, and his gaze slowly moved from there to the open space at the bottom.

Suddenly the cold surged.

"I heard other people tell the story after I retired," Old Hammer exhaled slowly. "It is said that King Kessel caught the murderer after the war."

"As punishment, he locked the murderer and his accomplices in the highest room, and started the fire from the first floor and burned upwards."

Kuaisheng let out a breath and curled his lips.

"Many people couldn't stand the fire, jumped out of that window, and paid the price for the prince's death."

"Whether it's burning to death or falling to death, the screams and wailing of the prisoners disappeared within the first hour," Old Hammer's voice became cold and desolate: "But the fire burned for a whole day."

"The strange thing is that the tower still stands - and the most mysterious thing is that after the flames are extinguished, there is not even a trace of burn marks on the outer walls or interior."

Kuaisheng pursed his lips, followed Old Hammer's explanation, and nodded seriously, with serious eyes.

Thales stared fixedly at the tower, seeing its intact appearance, his scalp tingled slightly.

"Since then, all kinds of strange things have happened there - from singing in the middle of the night to ghosts on the windows, even faint screams and wailing, and even the sound of burning flames, even in broad daylight... The Baron had to seal it off. That window."

"The aristocrats stationed here once wanted to live in it...but..."

Old Hammer shook his head silently.

"Everyone who lived there died in the desert and never came back. They couldn't even move their belongings."

"Then it was said that the tower was cursed by the prince's death."

The old hammer pulled Thales back a little, who was approaching there unknowingly.

He has an ugly expression:

"Since then, the locals have called it—'Ghost Prince'."

Quick Rope shook his head and clicked his tongue.

Thales stared blankly at the gloomy and desolate tower.

ghost prince...

"who?"

The boy asked blankly: "The one who died there..."

"Which prince is it?"

Old Hammer shook his head.

"Forgot," the veteran said sullenly, "I only took a look at him from a distance when he entered the camp."

"That prince is very handsome, prettier than a girl."

Looks beautiful.

Thales swallowed his throat.

A long-standing name came to mind.

ghost prince.

"But what's the use of being handsome again," Old Hammer snorted softly, looking at the open space under the "ghost prince" with misty eyes:

"That night, I was the first patrol to arrive. And I remember very clearly, that beautiful prince..."

He sighed slowly:

"It landed face first."