Kingdom’s Bloodline

Chapter 4 Only 1 day left

Gilbert took a deep look at Thales.

"I can't jump to conclusions."

Even if only two people face each other, the foreign secretary is still strict and restrained in his choice of words

"Maybe they do have old grievances, maybe they are disobedient to each other, maybe it's just an accident that the king's order has not been implemented smoothly in Xihuang for many years, and it has been greatly discounted..."

But Gilbert narrowed his eyes

"However, from the perspective of your father and your rule, Your Highness, are they colluding, is it a coincidence, or both, it's just a tacit understanding..."

"Is it even important?"

Thales was stunned when he heard that.

Gilbert took a deep breath, very serious

"Xihuang, it is like a rough, uneven, hard and soft big cake, sometimes slippery, sometimes stubborn, there are hard stubble that is easy to break the teeth, and it is sticky that keeps cutting, no matter how carefully you chew it It’s still hard to eat it from any angle, let alone digest it.”

"Compared to this, whether it's Arend, who is desperate in the north, Nantriest, who is tough on the cliff, or Kevin Dill, who is young and energetic on the south bank..."

Gilbert shook his head, the fear and worry in his eyes continued unabated.

"So, do you understand the meaning of Baron Williams?"

Thales, who hadn't reacted yet, looked at him blankly.

Just hear Gilbert laugh softly

"That's right. Compared with his famous name in the desert, anyone who has really been in touch with the insider knows that Legendary Wing relies on his own ability, is arrogant and arrogant, difficult to get along with, has made countless enemies, and disdains to make friends."

His words are precise and direct.

"Even Fuxing Palace doesn't like him. He has no respect for nobles in his eyes, and lacks care for tradition. He can inspire teachers with anger, and destroy cities with joy.

"Naturally, I don't care about the political tricks of Xihuang."

Thales froze.

In his mind, the image of Roman coldly pulling on Nobu, blatantly threatening to enter the Fuxing Palace.

Next time, if they want to take my territory again and play some political game of balancing power... just wait for me to go to the Fuxing Palace to find them.

Gilbert's tone was slightly disdainful

"And with the support of the royal family and the army, he is even more unscrupulous. Regardless of the toughness of the black lion, the sophistication of the crow, the unpredictable four-eyed skull, and overnight after the desert war, no one can control the wings of legend. Facing the madness and ferocity, it pales in comparison."

Gilbert's eyes showed the excitement of a fox catching prey

"So, when a vicious spirit who doesn't even buy the king's account takes root in the complicated, chaotic and intractable Western Wilderness..."

He didn't say any more, just looked at Thales with a smile.

On the contrary, Thales looked at him in surprise

"So what you need is not a Xihuang who is at odds with each other and entangled with each other, but a Xihuang who is forced to be entwined under the pressure outside the rules?"

"So that you can hold the rope and hold the key, and you will be able to do it once and for all, trapped beast in a cage?"

"And Williams, is that pressure?"

In front of him, Gilbert still smiled as before.

Williams, Falkenhauser, Kroma, Bozdorf...

And now, it's Gilbert, and...

Kessel V.

Thales leaned weakly on the chair, rubbing the space between his brows in distress, feeling that his brain was about to explode.

After a while, he put down his palm.

"But does it work?"

"The nobles in the Western Wilderness, even the most radical ones, will not surrender obediently just because there is a lunatic making trouble at the door of their house. On the contrary, they will only be offended, and even more..."

Thales couldn't find any good vocabulary, so he just took an example to illustrate

"Just like this time, Gilbert, the arrogant Williams almost burned through half of the Saber Camp, and pitted all the supplies that the Lord of the West Wilderness put here, but they..."

But at this moment, a terrible thought flashed through Thales' mind.

His words continued,

Speech slowed down unknowingly

"They...they...he..."

The prince's words paused.

He stared blankly at Gilbert.

"Gilbert, if the Legendary Wing is part of your plan..."

Thales looks at his old teacher in disbelief

"Then how do you expect Xihuang to react?"

Gilbert realized something, and his smile faded away.

"Your Highness, it's getting late..." He cleared his throat.

But Thales seems to be immersed in his own world, doing his own magic

"I always thought that the Saber Camp was not your target, but a decoy."

"And the nobles of the Western Wilderness suffered heavy losses and had to spit out the camp. That is your achievement."

"But what if I'm wrong?"

Thales stared at the fragmented meals on the dinner plate.

Gilbert didn't speak, just looked at him worriedly.

"What if, if the Saber Camp isn't even a bait at all, if it's just a gambling table with rules written on one side, let the nobles of the Western Wilderness who think they know the rules carefully place their chips?"

Thales slowly smoothed his thoughts, reasoning and narrating, the more he said, the more frightened he became

"Until their chips are eaten by Williams who ignores the rules - what if that's the real bait?"

"If the result you want is not just to let the lords of the Western Wilderness spit out the Blade Camp?"

"If what you want is precisely that they are being fooled and severely injured, and under heavy pressure, they are forced to tear off their restraint and counterattack with nowhere to go?"

Gilbert frowned and shook his head.

"This is your overthinking, Your Highness, why should we..."

But Thales interrupted him again.

"Gilbert."

Thales stared blankly at the dinner plate

"Following you and Mallos, the thousands of royal standing troops dispatched from the interior, from the north and from the center..."

"They're not going to change the anti-blade camp, let alone come to meet me, right?"

Gilbert lifted his face and smiled a little forcedly

"I don't understand what you mean, of course they are here to welcome the heir to the kingdom."

Thales still stared blankly at the dinner plate, subconsciously shook his head

"Or they came to fight——the Western Wilderness nobles who intend to counterattack after facing a desperate situation overnight."

This time, the silence at the table lasted a little longer.

And Thales just froze in his seat, motionless.

Looking at the appearance of the second prince, Gilbert sighed heavily

"Think about it, Your Highness, the nobles are not that stupid and impulsive, even the most radical Bozdorf."

Gilbert coughed violently

"They are not sure about defeating Legendary Wings on the battlefield, nor do they have the bargaining chip to force the Fuxing Palace to make concessions, and then spit out the Saber Camp. Why do they do such an unwise thing?"

After the words fell, Gilbert looked at the prince worriedly.

This time, Thales looked back at him blankly.

In the Mindis Hall six years ago, compared to the invisible Yodel and the outspoken Ginny, the polite and kind foreign minister was one of the few people he trusted and admired from the bottom of his heart. Over the years, whenever he thinks about the years in Mindis Hall, he will have a clearer sense of belonging to the gradually blurred hometown and return journey.

But don't know why...

After six years in the Northland, after the aura of goodbye to the old man faded away...

For some reason, he felt that Gilbert's eyes suddenly became a little strange.

"Yes, you are right."

Thales stared blankly at the edge of the table, and spoke mechanically, as if repeating Gilbert's words

"Even though they have suffered such a big loss, the people of Xihuang have no bargaining chips. They will not be so unwise and give the royal family a reason to punish them and completely seize power from them for no reason."

The Western Wilderness people have no bargaining chips.

chips.

A bargaining chip to lure the nobles of the Western Wilderness to fight back.

At that moment, he suddenly understood.

Thales raised his eyes, stared directly at Gilbert, and reluctantly pursed his lips

"I think too much."

Gilbert avoided the gaze that Thales was about to see through him, and said stiffly

"My little sir, your dinner is getting cold, and we have to go on the road tomorrow..."

Thales' heart beat slowly.

At that moment, he only felt that his heart was beating so slowly, so slowly.

so slow.

"Your Highness?"

Thales woke up with a start.

He forced himself a smile, took a deep breath, and resumed eating.

The foreign minister seemed to sense something, but he just opened his mouth hesitantly and didn't make a sound.

"Why, Gilbert."

Gilbert looked up.

I saw Thales cutting up the meal in disbelief, feeling depressed

"Why, the Duke of Xihuang wanted to give me a sword from his family."

"Why, the Legendary Wing was so furious after seeing it."

"Why, the earl of the one-winged crow came in person and sent me home with extra courtesy."

It was clearly a question, but there was no questioning tone.

Looking at Gilbert's dumb hesitation, Thales understood something.

"About this..." Gilbert paused and explained patiently and gently.

But Thales could no longer hear what he was saying.

He remembered the story the watchman told Dele when he first met Mallos yesterday.

And from that day on... the king's favor has benefited all people, and everyone will live and work in peace and contentment, and live happily ever after...

turn out to be……

It's not just, it's just a story.

Thales lowered his head and froze in place.

The ugly old thing was right.

His father was indeed a genius.

Is not it.

only.

only……

Thales clenched the table knife in his hand.

"...So, this is a commonly used method among nobles, to curry favor and win over."

After Gilbert finished speaking kindly, he pulled Thales out of his silent thoughts.

The prince raised his head like a rusty doll, and forced a smile.

"Yes."

"So soon, the whole kingdom will know that the Duke of Xihuang and the returned Prince Xingchen chatted and laughed happily in the Saber camp, and exchanged gifts."

Thales is bitter and authentic

"And what happened the night before, the little unhappiness between Baron Saber and the lords of the Western Wilderness has disappeared."

"Their goal... has been achieved."

He didn't ask any more questions.

Gilbert looked at Thales' bitter expression, and finally said nothing, just exhaled and turned his head away.

"So you understand?"

Minister of Foreign Affairs with head down, expression unclear, tone of voice low

"It's better to return that sword."

Thales paused for a moment with the hand holding the knife.

He took a deep breath.

The lights in the main hall dimmed.

"No."

"At the National Conference six years ago, you said it, Gilbert."

Thales stared at the dinner plate closely, with mixed feelings in his heart.

"In politics, it is not a wise way of governing to face opponents and kill them all without leaving any room."

"In the past six years, I have understood this truth more deeply."

Gilbert frowned.

Thales took a deep breath.

When the prince raised his head, his smile had returned to calm and natural

"I thought, I'd better keep it."

"If there is such a day, I want to leave room for both parties who have nowhere to go."

Gilbert was slightly surprised.

"And this sword, no matter what the intention behind it is," Thales' eyes dimmed slightly, but he immediately returned to normal

"At least, it has the potential to be that space."

Thales is in a trance

"As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I don't want to give up."

The voice fell.

There was a long silence in the main hall.

After a while, Gilbert let out a long sigh.

"Your Highness," Xingchen's cunning fox looked at Thales with relief

"You've grown up."

Thales curled the corners of his mouth and tried his best

"You said that once."

Gilbert smiled, but it could be seen that his smile was a bit forced.

"Yes, Your Highness, but..."

Gilbert looked straight into Thales' eyes and sighed again.

"You've really grown up."

This time, Thales didn't refute, he just smiled again, and then turned his gaze back to the dinner plate.

Just when the two were silent and silently facing each other.

"Gilbert."

"Did my father ever think about it?"

The prince was slowly chewing a piece of food that he didn't even notice what it was

"What if I die along the way."

Gilbert's face became tense.

"Your Highness, our kingdom will do our best to protect your safety..."

Thales hummed, and raised the corners of his lips bitterly.

"Yeah, you said that too."

"six years ago."

The foreign minister was suddenly speechless.

A few seconds later, Gilbert took the conversation unnaturally

"This, this is also the reason why Yodel is by your side along the way."

he is barely authentic

"Your Majesty is concerned about your safety, so he sent his most trusted secret guard..."

"He trusts Yordle to protect you, just as he trusts him to protect His Majesty himself."

After saying that, Gilbert turned his head and scanned the air beside him, as if confirming something

"Is that right, old friend?"

But there were only two people at the dining table in the main hall.

The only sound in the air was the clash of knives and forks against plates.

no respond.

Gilbert's smile slowly froze.

Thales raised his eyes and looked at his old teacher with unclear emotions.

Gilbert exhaled.

"Perhaps Jodl isn't here at the moment," the Foreign Secretary smiled wryly.

"Or maybe he's just..."

Gilbert glanced around, finally lowered his head in embarrassment, and sighed helplessly

"...don't want to talk to me."

at this moment.

"The latter." A hoarse voice suddenly sounded.

The Foreign Secretary was taken aback.

Gilbert looked back subconsciously, but the only thing that caught his eyes was the void.

Thales bent his mouth.

"All right."

Gilbert loves you

"By the way, mission accomplished, old friend."

"You have lived up to His Majesty's trust and protected his heir to return safely."

Still no response.

Gilbert could only sigh and turned his head resentfully.

Thales put down the knife and fork suddenly, staring at the air.

"What's wrong?" Gilbert asked concerned.

Thales didn't look at him, just grabbed the spoon and scooped up a spoonful of beans.

"It's nothing, it's just..."

Thales looked at the beans in a daze, and subconsciously twitched the corners of his mouth.

"I miss the Northland a little bit."

in particular……

at mealtime.

Gilbert raised his eyebrows suddenly.

"You know, after the "Fortress Peace Treaty" eighteen years ago, for quite a long time..."

The Foreign Minister nodded, with endless nostalgia in his tone.

"I think so too."

At the dining table, the old and the young are immersed in their own memories.

After a few seconds, Thales came back to his senses and gently put down the spoonful of beans.

Grab hard-to-use knives and forks.

The second prince smiled decently at Gilbert, and ate a piece of meat covered in sauce with flawless etiquette.

Gilbert gave him a gratifying smile back.

But only Thales knows.

That piece of meat has been sitting too long.

bitter.

stiff.

————

In the dim light, Count Bozdorf stepped into the door in a hurry.

A guard with a four-eyed skull emblem printed on his armor rushed forward, but he pushed him away without any politeness.

The guard was angry from the heart, and was about to draw his sword.

"It's okay," a sharp and cold voice sounded in the room, causing the guard's arm to stop abruptly.

"He can come in."

Count Bozdorf didn't even look at the guard who had to retreat, and strode directly to the host with the sharp voice, staring fixedly at the host who was eating.

"You came in without announcing," Cyril Falkenhauser swallowed a mouthful of fruit, then raised his frightening face and squinted at the visitor

"If Gao He were here, he would directly beat you to death."

"Use your fist."

But his threats seem to have no effect on the guests.

"My father respects you, Cyril," said the owner of the black lion, Lewis Bozdorf, coldly.

"I don't."

The Duke of Xihuang sneered.

"Coincidentally, I also respect your father," he said, turning his attention away from the plate in front of him, his tone cold

"But not you."

Bozdorf snorted.

"It was you who sent the crow to the camp to pick him up day and night?"

Earl Lewis gritted his teeth, the anger in his eyes was almost overflowing

"you?"

The Duke of Xihuang chuckled again and did not answer.

But Bozdorf wasn't going to let him go just like that.

Boom!

Falkenhauser's table was hit with fists in iron gloves, shaking a plate of fish over and splashing its juices.

The Duke of Xihuang was calm and unhurried, neither sullen nor angry.

He just silently took out a handkerchief and wiped his splashed face.

The Earl of the Black Lion bent his elbows and slowly pressed his upper body towards the Duke.

"I even prepared that kid's family flag, it's so big," Lewis bit his words fiercely with sharp eyes

"Just wait to 'greet' him."

Duke Xihuang snorted

"real?"

Count Bozdorf stared at the seemingly indifferent Duke, and then curled his mouth.

Like being annoyed.

"In Enci Town, that kid is right in front of me, as close as I am to you now."

"You can cut your throat with one knife."

Bozdov tilted his head, his eyes were fierce, and he looked at the Duke of Shangxihuang with cloudy and numb eyes, and sometimes clear and sharp eyes.

"And he is still as self-righteous as he was six years ago, proudly showing off his ridiculous eloquence to me, unaware that he is only one foot away from a catastrophe."

Falkenhauser didn't feel threatened at all, instead he let out a haha

"You have to admit, that kid does have some eloquence, doesn't he?"

Bozdorf gritted his teeth as if he didn't hear

"And that damned crow, and his equally damned cubs stood there, standing between me and him, within the reach of my army, smiling at me like a goddamn close-knit bodyguard."

Bozdorf's voice is cold and his words are depressing

"because of you."

Falkenhauser's smile slowly retracted, thoughtful.

"Well, Nadler is still doing pretty well."

"Thanks to the sunset, he's a crow, isn't he?"

boom!

Lewis' fists hit the dining table again!

"I could have taken him!"

This time, Count Bozdorf could no longer suppress his anger.

"You clearly know that my army—the Black Lion Infantry Regiment, which is best at breaking cards and attacking fortifications and destroying cities—has arrived in Enci Town. You clearly know that I am far away from the Saber Camp, and from him..."

Bozdorf was furious, he took a few breaths before finishing his sentence

"...only one day left."

"one day."

he snapped.

Falkenhauser seemed to be serious too, he snorted disdainfully

"Then what?"

Bozdorf stared at the Duke of Xihuang.

"That is the lifeblood of the Fuxing Palace, the foundation of their rule, and the best bargaining chip we have had in the past ten years."

Earl Black Lion is aggressive, the anger in his eyes is clearly visible

"We can take back Camp Saber, and even drive out that sissy."

"At least, tell them our attitude..."

But the tepid Duke of Xihuang suddenly raised his head, resolutely

"Then the Bozdorf family of Heroesof Castle is only one day away from perishing!"

His words were as cold as the wind, and he was not polite.

The conversation between the two stalled for a few seconds.

This time, it was Bozdov's turn to sneer.

"Do you know what happened in the Saber Camp?"

"The pampered Duke?"

Earl Black Lion straightened up and distanced himself from the opponent, but the sharpness in his eyes continued unabated.

"Bailal lost a whole year's income, many of which were debts; Emery lost their family heirs; the new land even lost this season's autumn harvest manpower."

"And Toth said he would never join our military expedition again."

"Lugo even overwhelmed everything in the family."

Falkenhauser turned his head away from the earl's sight.

Bozdorf's questioning seems to be ground out

"this is us."

"Is there a difference between dying today and dying tomorrow?"

Falkenhauser slowly raised his head.

"Of course there is."

At this moment, Duke Xihuang's eyes darkened.

"If you perish today, you will have nothing."

Falkenhauser narrowed his eyes.

"If you perish tomorrow, you at least have hope for tomorrow."