Kingdom’s Bloodline

In the dark cell, facing Barney Jr. and Belletti's questioning, Samir's face was ashen and defeated, as if he had been seriously injured.

Looking at this scene of sibling rivalry, Thales suddenly had more and deeper insights into the royal guard and the Bloody Year.

No matter who betrayed, no matter what the truth is, it seems that facing the thrilling assassination in the Fuxing Palace back then, the problem of the Star Royal Guard itself is beyond doubt.

But that's not the point.

Betrayal is far more than just a process in which people of the same path go against each other and a close friend is separated. Under the most superficial and superficial fuse, there is often a deeper truth hidden.

In the Northland, Rumba's rebellion stemmed from the ferocious backlash after the natural king came to Exeter. The swing of the dark room was actually a rational choice after the decline of Exeter's kingship. King Nun's sleight of hand is a legacy of viciousness.

In Xingchen, the usurping conspiracy of the Duke of the North has always revolved around the game between the Canxing royal family and the Arend family against the Broken Dragon Fortress and the northern region of Xingchen, and the collective conspiracy of the "Nova" nobles such as Kevin Dill and Nantrest Express their expectations and ambitions for the distribution of power in this country.

Even in front of Thales, the Saber Camp, which was so chaotic that it facilitated the infiltration of foreign enemies and put him in a predicament, was not the Baron Saber and the Duke of West Wilderness, the standing army and conscripts, the Royal Family of Canxing and the nobles of West Wilderness , Eternal Star City and the ruins, the Kingdom Central and the western frontier, is there a stage of competition and cooperation that is complex, changeable, vaguely hostile, and interdependent when facing the enemy of the desert?

So, what about the Year of Blood.

Thinking of this, Thales suddenly came to a realization: the apparent split of the royal guard was not an isolated case, let alone the main cause, it was just a reflection, reflecting the greatest contradiction of that era.

In the turbulent waves of that era, even if these poor people persisted in their original intentions, they could only drift with the waves, unable to return to heaven.

Even if it is a peerless master.

Even the king of a country.

Even... a magician.

There was a long silence in the prison.

Until Ricky's sneer faintly sounded.

"Just as I thought."

Little Barney, who was immersed in resentment, and Semir Qiqi, who was lost in sorrow and despair, turned their eyes.

The leader of the Disaster Sword slowly stepped forward and stood side by side with Semir.

"Do you understand now, Samuel?"

As Ricky spoke, he suddenly raised the torch to illuminate the brand on the latter's face.

Stimulated by the flames, Samir, who looked lonely, subconsciously raised his hand to cover it, and took a few steps back.

"No matter how much you want to go back to the original point, how much you want to redeem the regrets of the past, and heal the scars of the past."

Ricky said blankly, "No matter how much you want to get rid of that ugly brand on your face."

Samir put down his palms in embarrassment, straightened his waist again, his face struggled, and he lowered his head to pant.

Ricky sneered, pulled back the torch suddenly, turned around and illuminated the cell on the other side.

"And that's the answer."

The prisoners behind the fence were also in embarrassment to avoid the fire that Ricky deliberately approached. Only Barney, who was short of breath, stood where he was, with his face turned sideways, and his feet did not retreat at all.

Looking at the desolate prisoners in ragged clothes, Ricky shook his head: "This is the answer to you from the past and yesterday."

Semir didn't speak, he just looked at the colleagues in the prison who were once high-spirited but now dirty and embarrassed.

Past and yesterday.

He said silently in his heart.

"and who are you?"

Little Barney looked at Ricky with disdain:

"Is also the Shadow Shield, one of those disgusting scum?"

Ricky stared at little Barney as if to take something out of him, but after a few seconds he just smiled and shook his head.

"He can't make that oath," Ricky slowly withdrew the torch, making his face that seemed to have experienced vicissitudes of life shine brighter, and he pouted his chin at Semir:

"Because he was with us just an hour ago,

Kidnapped King Kessel's only son. "

"The last bloodline of Canxing."

As soon as this remark came out, Thales' breathing stopped abruptly!

Sure enough, the eyes of the prisoners of the royal guard all changed.

"What-what?"

Little Barney spoke slowly, his doubts revealed in his tone.

"Bright star?"

Thales immediately felt that several eyes came out from the darkness behind the prison and fell on him at the same time.

Marina, who was in charge of taking care of the prince, felt inexplicable pressure, causing the surrounding swords of disaster to surround Thales even tighter.

"You said...kidnapping?" Belletti's voice trembled slightly.

"When?" Naki, who had been humming a ditty earlier, got up from the ground, unbelievable:

"The new king has a son again, a new heir?"

Outside the cell, Samir still didn't say a word, but his face was sad.

"Kidnapping the prince? You? Samir, is what he said true?" Nai's eyes widened, his cheeks twitched, and he looked out of the prison nervously: "That boy with a decrepit face is now Can Xing ?”

"Hahahaha, it's really interesting." Taldin, who was beaten up with his roommate before, looked at Semir in front of him, and then at Thales in the distance. His laughter was bleak, and his irony became stronger and stronger: " It's getting more and more interesting hahaha..."

Outside the cell, Samir lowered his head in frustration and closed his eyes gently.

Seeing their different reactions, and enduring their gaze from the darkness, Thales was stunned.

Barney Jr., Belletti, Nye, Tardin, Bree, Nucky, Cannon.

The eyes of the former royal guards were complicated, and the prince couldn't tell exactly what their emotions were at the moment.

Is it stunned, lamented, regretful or excited and dejected?

Thales didn't know.

They clearly looked at themselves now.

But it seems to be looking at the past.

Ricky, who just told the truth, looked at Samir beside him, and saw that he was still in a daze, and couldn't help frowning slightly.

Inside and outside the cell, the silence and astonishment only lasted for a short while.

"So you really can't swear, can you?"

Naki sat back on the ground, with a flat face, and a touch of relief in his voice: "Samir, I really hope you know what you are doing,"

"Whether it was then or now."

"real."

Semir's expression moved, he raised his head with a slight hope, as if he wanted to find some comfort and understanding:

"Nacky..."

But Naki shook his head:

"Don't talk to me, go to Barney, the highest ranking person has the final say."

Samir's words froze, he closed his mouth in disappointment, and looked at the forward vanguard officer, Quill Barney Jr.

The astonishment in Little Barney's eyes was slowly replaced by stunned and indifferent.

"So this is the answer," the Vanguard Officer stared at the slumped Semir with a complicated expression, "Regardless of whether you betrayed back then... After all these years, you are still a traitor after all."

At that moment, Samir's expression froze.

"So what is this?" Little Barney sneered and leaned against the wall, no longer looking at his old companions:

"Abandon yourself?"

Samir took a deep breath, moved his lips, but couldn't say anything in the end.

Ricky, who watched the scene with cold eyes, smiled slightly.

"How about it, Samuel?"

"Tell them that," Ricky gently dropped the torch, letting it roll on the dusty ground, "and then justify yourself a bit, tell them you're not a traitor, tell them you're still a That good brother from back then."

There was a touch of sarcasm in his tone.

"Does this make you feel better?"

Semir quietly stared at the torch under his feet, watching the quivering flames on the ground.

"I have fulfilled my promise, giving you the opportunity to face the shadows of the past," Ricky looked back at the five cells in front of him, and looked coldly at the former seven royal guards: "But the problem is, Samuel, Is this really the 'reunion' you expected?"

Samir's chest began to heave.

The firelight was reflected in his pupils, weak and fading, like the last light in the darkness.

His dark back is projected on the wall by the torch on the ground, dancing back and forth, erratic.

Ricky stepped forward and snorted coldly: "How is it, is it full of flowers and excitement, beauty and hope, forgiveness and understanding?"

Hearing Ricky's razor-sharp questioning, Thales felt rather uncomfortable.

"Now, Samuel," Ricky said the question just now coldly:

"Do you understand it?"

Semir stared at the swaying flames in a trance, as if he didn't notice it.

"I can tell, you're not Shadowshield, buddy," Tardin in the prison sneered, "You sound like a brainwashed cultist."

Cultists?

Ricky froze for a moment, then smiled unexpectedly.

Instead of responding to Tardin's sarcasm, he continued to look at Semir.

"The past is gone, and yesterday is hard to mend. 'Everything is like yesterday' is just a dream, a kind of escape, because you will never be able to return to the past, no matter who it was or what it was."

Ricky seemed to have a deep meaning: "Many times, you can't find the answer when you go back to the original point."

"Or, the answers you find will only make you more desperate."

The torch on the ground was still struggling, but it became darker and darker, and even Semir's face became more and more blurred.

Including that ugly branding.

"We have to create a new path, a new future," Ricky sighed:

"To get over that bad past."

Samir listened to Ricky's words in a daze, the flames in his pupils became smaller and darker.

"But that's our life."

Ricky raised his head, looked at the stone pillar in the center of the hall, and looked at the emblem with similar eyes, his eyes dim.

"You can save nothing but yourself."

"Except for the future, you can't grasp anything."

The next second, the torch under Semir's feet was finally extinguished.

Leaving Samir's motionless face and pupils, as well as his bewildered and painful expression, in the deep darkness.

Not to be seen again.

"You dress like mercenaries," Naki sighed, and brightened a simple lamp in their prison, "but no mercenary has the courage and means to break into the black prison all the way—— Did something serious happen to Camp Ya, and you were so slack that you weirdos got in here?"

Ricky snorted slightly, but didn't answer.

The keen little Barney quickly realized:

"Why, there is another war up there, so the main force is not here? Who is it this time, the eight major tribes of the orcs or the three major tribes of the desolate bones? Or are they the people of the Northland, or even a civil war?"

No one answered them.

A few seconds later, the figure belonging to Semir slowly crouched down in the darkness, and the sound of the torch being picked up sounded in the air.

With a bang, the extinguished torch was lit again, causing the prisoners to shrink back again.

Semir's figure reappeared in the flames.

It's like returning to the bright world from the dark hell.

"Little Barney," Samir's voice sounded faintly:

"You know, when you entered the Royal Guard, a lot of people were saying that you just got in because of your father's relationship."

These words floated out with the air, making the hall slightly silent.

Little Barney was startled for a moment, then took a deep breath: "You..."

But Samir suddenly raised his head and said forcefully and shortly: "And I am one of those people."

Little Barney froze.

He suddenly noticed that at this moment, Semir no longer had that painful and remorseful expression.

Instead, it was cold and determined.

Even the brand marks on his face seemed to be much sharper.

"Looking at it today, what they said back then was right, Barney," Semier held up the torch, shook his head with a tsk, his eyes were indifferent:

"You don't inherit a single thing from Big Barney."

"The old captain gave up on you and chose Belletti to inherit the position of the punishment officer. It is really very wise."

Little Barney frowned slightly, while Belletti, who was opposite him, turned his head sideways.

"Because after many years of imprisonment, you are still an idiot," Semir said softly, and he, who had lost his confusion and pain, was like a cold and hard rock, which made people feel stressed: "I can't see things clearly, and I can't see people clearly."

"A madman who lost his mind."

The guard prisoners in the prison were startled.

Ricky looked at Samir like this and smiled silently.

"Ridiculous," Little Barney took a deep breath, resentment and anger accumulated again:

"These words actually came from the mouth of a traitor."

But he soon realized that the subject of the conversation had changed.

A second later, Samir spit out a number coldly: "Thirty-seven."

Little Barney was stunned:

"What?"

Samir waved the torch to make the flames burn more fully, illuminating the neat bones in the cell: "You said that in eighteen years, you gave a speech for the death of thirty-seven brothers in the guard."

The prisoners frowned.

Semir's face was expressionless: "Back then, there were forty-six people who were imprisoned in the Prison of Bones."

Little Barney's face suddenly tightened!

"In these years, thirty-seven people have unfortunately lost their lives. The seven of you have survived to this day, and with me, there are only forty-five," Semier said without any emotion, as if telling someone else's story:

"One person is missing."

Behind him, Clay and Ricky laughed.

Thales frowned.

Samuel took a step forward, getting closer and closer to Little Barney.

"It's him, isn't it?"

"He's not here."

Samir stared at Barney coldly: "I didn't see his name on the sign."

"You came in with him. Where is he?"

he?

Thales' heart slowly lifted.

There is one more person... who is it?

There was an unprecedented silence in the hall.

The prisoners' breathing became more and more rapid.

"I understand."

Little Barney stared at Samir unkindly.

"You didn't come to rescue us, nor did you come to see old friends, did you, coward, traitor," he said through gritted teeth, "As for those people outside..."

But Samir stretched out his arm, and the torch passed through the gap in the fence, pointing directly at Little Barney!

"Where is he?" Samir asked grimly.

"Bah." Little Barney looked at the flames that almost reached his eyes, and bawled angrily.

Samir snorted coldly and turned to the other side.

"Belletti, you took over as the punishment officer from him, you should be clear."

Belletti just closed her eyes tightly and shook her head.

With an unwavering expression, Samir turned his head again.

"Where is he?"

He said coldly, "Brie, tell me..."

But the strong Bree in the cell just kept shaking his head, his face was ferocious, and he let out a muffled voice in his throat: "Woooo——"

"Don't look at him," Tardin, who was in the same cell as Bree, crossed his arms and said sarcastically:

"Brie can't tell you."

"After wringing Raleigh's neck with his own hands, he can no longer speak."

What?

Sammy frowned imperceptibly.

It used to be Bobby...

He stared at Bree, who was looking resentful, for several seconds, and finally looked away, without asking him any more.

"You know who I'm talking about!"

Samir turned around and raised his voice:

"Since Captain Cullen and your father died in the Scarlet Year, he is the heaviest member of the remaining royal guards."

"Among us, anyone can die, but he can't!"

Semir's tone was cold, as if he no longer had any illusions about the righteousness of his comrades.

Little Barney expressed doubts:

"The Year of Blood?"

Samir snorted and looked at him disdainfully:

"That's right, that year, the bloody year—from His Majesty, Crown Prince, princes, down to nobles, commoners... that year when all the lives were devastated, and only blood was left."

"That's what they called that year."

The prisoners froze slightly, their expressions changing.

Seeing this scene in Thales' eyes, he felt a little disappointed.

this group of people.

They experienced the horror of the bloody year, but for eighteen years, they did not know what history and the outside world called this year.

Samir's voice was slightly sad at first, but he quickly returned to indifference:

"Tell me now,"

"The top master of the royal guard in the past, the former prison officer of the guard, and the current watchman of the guard," Samir said sharply, looking at the remaining seven prisoners without compromise:

"'Punishment Knight' Sackel."

"where is he?"

The next chapter is still being revised and will be published during the day.